If you’re looking for an inspiring and captivating novel to share with your students, look no further than Willa and Old Miss Annie by Berlie Doherty. This classic coming-of-age story contains vivid characters and thoughtful themes that will spark meaningful conversations among readers.
This blog post will provide an overview of the novel and ideas for engaging your students through the text and exploring its central topics. With our expert guidance, you can ensure that Willa and Old Miss Annie have a lasting impact on you and your students as a staple in your classroom!
The Storyline of Willa and Old Miss Annie
After relocating to a bustling city far away, Willa felt quite lonely. When she finally met Miss Annie, Willa was taken aback by the older woman’s bent and twisted hands and words, which were so soft that it sounded like she was whispering secrets. Willa thought there must be a ghost in the garden. However, it was a lone goat.
With time, Willa and Miss Annie develop a friendship as they help find a good home for the animal. In the extended middle chapter of the story, they stumble across a pony that had been tied up and left behind to suffer, leading to a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting tale featuring satirical characters serving as adversaries.
Through this episode, Vicky Fox introduces us to the realities of trying to maintain a wild pet and further explores the different mindsets between young people and adults when it comes to ownership and companionship between humans and animals; here is where Willa also makes another close friend who is around her age.
Key Themes in Willa and Old Miss Annie
Loneliness and Companionship
The story follows the journey of Willa, a young girl who relocated to a big city far away and thus experienced loneliness. Through helping Miss Annie find a home for the goat, Willa discovers companionship and eventually forms friendships with other children her age (Miss Annie, Vicky Fox).
Nature and Human Empathy
The story explores nature versus human empathy by depicting how humans interact with animals. Though presented as antagonists, it is clear that humans must be compassionate towards animals and treat them respectfully. It also shows how human interaction with nature can be beneficial and lead to positive outcomes.
Possession
This theme is explored through how Willa’s attitude towards possession differs from that of adults. She is not interested in merely claiming ownership over an animal; instead, she views it as her responsibility to nurture and care for it until an appropriate home can be found.
Key Characters in Willa and Old Miss Annie
Willa
Willa is the protagonist of the story. She is a young girl who moved to a big city far away and feels lonely. Through her interactions with Miss Annie and other characters, she discovers companionship and eventually forms friendships with other children her age.
Miss Annie
Miss Annie is an older woman whom Willa meets in the garden. Her bent and twisted hands frighten Willa, but they soon form a strong bond after helping to find an appropriate home for the goat they discover in the garden.
Vicky Fox
Vicky Fox serves as an antagonist in the story. She is presented as someone who believes that animals should be treated as mere possessions rather than living creatures that require compassion and care. Though she opposes Willa’s views, she eventually comes around when confronted with what has happened to the pony they find abandoned.
Teaching Opportunities from Willa and Old Miss Annie
Loneliness and Companionship
This story is a great way to discuss the complexities of loneliness and companionship. The teacher could introduce literary devices such as imagery, dialogue, and point of view to help students identify how Willa navigates her new environment, finds companionship, and feels less lonely. Additionally, this provides an opportunity to open up a dialogue about the importance of friendship and how we can navigate feeling lonely in new environments.
Nature and Human Empathy
Throughout the story, Willa learns to empathize with animals and show compassion for them. This provides an excellent teaching opportunity for students to discuss why it’s essential not to take advantage of animals or treat them merely as possessions. By using imagery and sensory details, the teacher can help students understand what it means to be compassionate towards animals. Moreover, vocabulary related to the natural world can be taught through this text to facilitate further understanding.
Possession
The theme of possession is explored through Willa’s attitude towards ownership. This allows students to explore alternative ways of thinking when confronted with a situation that involves someone else’s belongings. They can learn that there are other ways of looking at things beyond simply claiming something as one’s own. Through narrative techniques such as characterization, setting description and internal monologue, they can better understand how people may process ownership differently depending on their circumstances.
Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan 1
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to analyze Willa’s journey and how she interacted with Old Miss Annie.
- Students will be able to understand the power of relationships, especially between children and adults.
- Students will gain insight into the importance of family, community, and tradition.
Introduction
In this lesson plan, students will explore the story “Willa and Old Miss Annie.” It is a story about a young girl named Willa who embarks on a journey to learn more about her grandmother, Old Miss Annie. During her travels, Willa learns about the human spirit’s warmth, wisdom and resilience through the people she meets. This lesson plan helps students to explore themes of relationships between children and adults, family bonds and traditions related to this story.
Main Teaching Points
- Analyze how Willa interacts with Old Miss Annie in different ways throughout their relationship and when they are apart.
- Identify different themes within the story, such as resilience, love and courage and explain what makes them stand out in this story or any other stories they may have read or experienced.
- Discuss cultures with strong family ties or traditions unique to them that positively impact relationships between adults and children.
- Talk about why listening to elders and respecting their wisdom is essential, even if we sometimes have differing views or understand it completely at first glance.
- Understand what makes achieving big goals possible — no matter how hard our circumstances may seem — by looking closely at Willa’s dedication towards her mission, even though she had a few hiccups along the way.
- Take away meaningful lessons from this tale: sometimes, we need an old friend (or a new one) to remind us that we are never alone.
- Improvise difficult conversations: thinking through questions carefully before speaking up can make tough conversations easier for ourselves & others involved.
- Reflect on shared values & beliefs: look closely at ways similar values & beliefs unite us even if we come from different backgrounds.
Adaptions for Children Working Below Expected Level
- Shorten the main teaching points list into 3-4 main ideas – Teach concepts using real-world examples instead of abstract abstractions.
- Allow students extra time to finish activities relevant to the main teaching points, such as writing stories based on their experiences or drawing pictures of crucial scenes in Willa and Old Miss Annie.
- Provide verbal cues/images where necessary during explanation/discussion sessions related to main teaching points.
- Utilize visual aids (like pictures) during post-reading discussion sessions focused on the abovementioned themes.
Adaptions for Children Working Above Expected Level
- Have students research famous African American writers along the same narrative lines as “Willa & Old Miss Annie” & present findings to the class.
- Ask students to create their version of “Willa & Old Miss Annie” based on characters that they find interesting.
- Lead guided discussion sessions comparing similarities/differences between contemporary literature targeting teen readers and classic books with similar themes like “Willa & Old Miss Annie.
- Challenge students to create alternate endings based on realistic conclusions for the conclusion paragraph.
Key Questions
- How does Willa feel when meeting new people? Does it change over time?
- What qualities did Willa display throughout her adventure? Are there any qualities you can relate to personally?
- What themes could be drawn from this story? How does it connect with your lives today?
- How did some people Willa encountered help guide her decisions during her journey? Is there something similar going on in your own life?
Reflections
At the end of each lesson, the session uses reflection questions/activities designed around “Willa & Old Miss Annie”, like having students draw/write out experiences they had while reading a story together or create songs composed of quotes written by characters throughout the book.
Lesson Plan 2
Learning Objectives
- Students will be able to observe the importance of the relationships between Willa and Old Miss Annie.
- Students will be able to identify themes such as love, courage, compassion, and resilience throughout the story.
- Students will gain insight into the power of storytelling and how it can bring us closer together across cultures.
Introduction
In this lesson plan, students will explore the story “Willa and Old Miss Annie.” This story is about a young girl named Willa who embarks on a journey to learn more about her grandmother, Old Miss Annie. During her travels, Willa knows many things about herself through the bond she forms with people she meets.
Through exploring ideas like love and courage, we discover how stories can help us understand each other better regardless of where we come from. This lesson plan helps students to explore themes relevant to this story, such as relationships between children and adults, family bonds and traditions unique across different cultures.
Main Teaching Points
- Analyze scenes in which Willa interacts with Old Miss Annie in various ways throughout their relationship, when they are together or apart.
- Identify different themes within the story, such as resilience, courage, boldness and compassion and discuss what qualities make them stand out in this story or any similar ones they may have read before or experienced themselves.
- Talk about cultures that have strong family ties or traditions unique to them & how those shape relationships between adults & children in positive ways.
- Understand why it’s essential to listen to elders & respect their wisdom even if we don’t always agree or understand it completely at first glance.
- Take away meaningful lessons from this tale: connecting with our inner selves can help us overcome life’s obstacles.
- Improvise difficult conversations: Develop strategies for approaching tough conversations by understanding our feelings before engaging with others.
- Reflect on shared values & beliefs: Look at ways similar values & beliefs unite us even if we come from different backgrounds.
- Explore impactful storytelling: Understand the influence stories have on individuals & larger societies alike.
Adaptions for Children Working Below Expected Level
- Shorten the main teaching points list into 3-4 main ideas
- Teach concepts using real-world examples instead of abstract abstractions.
- Allow students extra time to finish activities related to main teaching points, such as writing stories based on their experiences or drawing pictures related to key scenes in “Willa & Old Miss Annie.”
- Utilise visual aids (like pictures) during post-reading discussion sessions focused on the abovementioned themes.
- Provide verbal cues/images where necessary during explanation/discussion sessions related to main teaching points.
Adaptions for Children Working Above Expected Level
- Have students research famous African American writers along the same narrative lines as “Willa & Old Miss Annie” & present findings in class.
- Ask students to create their version of “Willa & Old Miss Annie” based on characters that they find interesting.
- Lead guided discussion sessions comparing similarities/differences between contemporary literature targeting teen readers vs classic books with similar themes like “Willa & Old Miss Annie”.
- Challenge students to create alternate endings based on realistic conclusions for the conclusion paragraph.
Key Questions
- What challenges did Willa face throughout her journey? How did she overcome them?
- How do you think people’s reactions might differ if this was told from another culture’s perspective?
- Are there any anecdotes in this story related to your life experiences? How so?
- How did the people around Willa support her journey despite all odds? Can you name other stories where characters do something similar?
Reflections
At the end of each lesson or session, use reflection questions/activities designed around “Willa & Old Miss Annie”, like having students reflect on what courage means to them through written statements/drawings or creating songs composed of quotes written by characters throughout the book.
10 Books Similar to Willa and Old Miss Annie by Berlie Doherty
- The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
- The Stone Fox By John Reynolds Gardiner
- A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B White
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- Holes by Louis Sachar
- My Side Of The Mountain By Jean Craighead George
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Website Resources
The Berlie Doherty website overviews the book and its themes with a brief description, sample illustrations, and other information. It also offers readers to purchase books in print or audio format.
Waterstones is a UK-based online store which carries Willa and Old Miss Annie in paperback along with other titles by Doherty. It also has reviews from other customers who have read the book.
Calibre Audio is an online marketplace that provides access to audiobooks of Willa and Old Miss Annie and other audio titles by Berlie Doherty, narrated by Kim Lewis and available with streaming or downloading options for digital devices like phones, tablets and computers.