Response Journal Questions

1. What was the author's purpose in writing this book?
2. Marco's father is a merchant. Explain what a merchant does for a living.
3. Marco is traveling with his cousin, Forester, who is about nineteen years old. Why do you think that Marco's father put Marco in Forester's care?

Chapter I: Planning

1. What are the two modes of acquiring knowledge that Forester talks about with Marco? Include an example of each.
2. Make a sketch showing one thing that Forester explained to Marco about the canal. Write a caption for the sketch.
3. Explain the difference between a packet boat and a line boat.
4. Why did Forester and Marco decide to take the train from Albany to Schenectady but then travel on the canal?

Chapter II: The Packet

1. What is a "maxim"?
2. Explain the meaning of the maxim: "what is worth doing at all, is worth doing well."
3. Write a maxim of your own.

Chapter III: Getting on Board

1. Sketch a scene in Schenectady. Include a caption.

Chapter IV: Night

1. Write a description about what it was like to spend the night on a packet boat.
2. Create a picture with words that makes the reader feel as if he or she were on the packet boat.

Chapter V: Canajoharie

1. Write a sequence of events explaining how a lock works.
2. Line boats usually carried goods on the canal. Why did some people travel on line boats instead of packet boats?
3. What is the purpose of feeders?

Chapter VI: Honesty

1. What is the difference between deception and concealment? Use examples from the text in your explanation.
2. What does it mean when a person loses his character? How can this happen?

Chapter VII: The Pass of the Mohawk

1. Why does the person who guides the locomotive receive more pay than the fare collector?
2. Why did Forester say that Marco should not be in charge of guiding a locomotive? Use details from the story to support your statement.
3. Make a sketch of the Pass of the Mohawk, which shows the Erie Canal, the Mohawk River, the turnpike, and the railroad all coming together.

Chapter VIII: Perplexity

1. Describe two things that Marco found especially interesting in Little Falls.
2. What is "perplexity"?
3. Why was Forester perplexed?

Chapter IX: A Project

1. Write a paragraph demonstrating how Forester compares a regular canal to a short canal, which must circumvent falls and rapids.
2. Write a paragraph giving Forester's explanation of the differences between the Niagara River and other rivers.
3. Marco hopes to build his own canal when he returns to Vermont. What has he learned that should enable him to do this? How will he do it? Do you think that he will succeed? Why?
4. Marco wonders how a canal can be built without a great deal of confusion. Discuss the formation and workings of a company that builds canals.

Chapter X: The Steersman

1. What did Marco learn about the German woman even though he could not understand what she said?
2. If you worked on a line boat on the Erie Canal, what job would you want (driver, captain, steersman, cook, or bowsman)? Why?
3. Why do you think that the old man called Marco "Bob"?

Chapter XI: The Ride

1. Why didn't Forester reproach Marco for his foolishness concerning the horse?

Chapter XII: The Outlet

1. How did you feel about the way the book ended?
2. If you had written the final chapter, what would have happened and why?

Overview  |  Teacher's Guide