|ABOUT THE BOOK
Timothy was different. He was huge, and
he was very old, and to Philip he seemed ugly. He
ate raw fish and believed in JUMBIS. And he was
the most stubborn man Philip had ever known.But
after the Germans torpedoed the freighter on
which he and his mother were travelling from
war-time Curacao to the U. S., Philip found
himself dependent on the old West Indian. There
were just the two of them cast up on the barren
little Caribbean island -- three if you counted
Stew Cat -- and a crack on the head had left
Philip blind. The story of their struggle for
survival, and of Philip's efforts to adjust to
his blindness and to understand the dignified,
wise, and loving old man who was his companion,
makes memorable reading.
Use as many words as possible in ONE
sentence to describe the cover of the book.
|Sentence Starters for The Cay
1. Living in a place without seasons...
2. When submarines attack..
3. An island that depends upon ships for food and
4. Watching a large ship explode is like...
5. Drifting for days on the sea in an open
6. Basic survival needs at sea are...
|CHAPTERS ONE AND TWO
Philip lives in the Dutch West Indies
where ships carrying oil from the Island of
Curacao are attacked by U-Boats.. The year is
1942. Philip's father arranges passage for the
boy and his mother on a ship to the states.
Activity: Answer these questions. Guess if you do
not know. Support or deny your guesses by finding out in an
1. How many tons did a U-Boat weigh?
2. German wolf packs of ___ to ___ U-Boats
traveled together to attack Allied ships.
3. A U-Boat could dive ____feet in ____seconds.
4. U-Boats sank a total of ____________ ships in
World War Two.
Total of all numbers________________
|CHAPTERS THREE TO SIX
Philip's ship is torpedoed. He awakens
on a raft blinded from a blow on the head. His
companion is Timothy, a black man. Philip resents
Timothy's efforts to conserve food and water. The
raft is surrounded by sharks . Philip falls
overboard and is rescued by Timothy.
Activity: Complete a data bank on an ocean
Use the Data Bank information in
Mystery Report. List ten facts (clues). Ask a
classmate to give a number between 1-10. Read the
clue for that number. The student can guess or pass. The game continues until the mystery
creature is guessed or all clues are read.
||21 ft. length
||dangerous to humans
|opens jaws wide
||top of ocean food chain
||bites but rarely eats
|waits for blood loss before eating.
|CHAPTERS SEVEN THROUGH NINE
Philip and Timothy arrive on a small
island surrounded by high coral reefs. Timothy
goes to explore and Philip becomes frightened to
be left alone. Philip rebels when told he has to
work and lashes out verbally at Timothy who hits
Activity: Island Analogies: How
many can you write?
Example: Coral is to island as claws are to bear.
(Both protect themselves by ripping and tearing.)
What can you do with sharks, palm trees,
coconuts, grass hut, wild birds, fish, hurricane,
palm fronds, tide pool?
|CHAPTERS TEN AND ELEVEN
Timothy is convinced that Stew Cat is an
evil spirit who prevents help from arriving.
Activity: Complete these
superstitions in a new way. Be as original as you
1. Breaking a mirror is
2. If you spill salt you should
3. Walking under a ladder is
4. Bubbles in coffee mean
5. A black cat crossing your path
|CHAPTERS TWELVE AND THIRTEEN
Timothy has a severe attack of malaria.
His fever sends him running into the water.
Philip pulls him out. Philip feels helpless to do
anything about Timothy's illness. The boy learns
to catch fish and volunteers to climb the trees
Activity: Island Mystery Report
List ten clues. One must be a 'give-away' clue. A
student gives a number 1-10. Read the clue for
that number. The student can guess or pass. The
game continues until the answer is guessed or all
clues are read.
1. I am used in building houses.
2. Vinegar is made from part of me.
3. Part of me is used to make cups or bowls.
4. I am found in a tropical climate.
5. I can be used to make soap.
6. I can be as tall as 100 feet.
7. My fruit grows eight to ten inches long.
8. I have a thick husk around my fruit.
9. My shell has three eyes.
10. Palm leaves shade my fruit from the sun.
|CHAPTERS FOURTEEN AND FIFTEEN
A hurricane hits the island. Philip and
Timothy lash themselves to a palm tree. Timothy
dies protecting Philip with his body. The storm
passes leaving Philip so sad that he is 'beyond
Activity I: Read paragraph as a
Activity II: A Poetic
1. Choose one: The rain, The surf, The wind, The
Example: The rain
2. Place one or two descriptive words before the
Example: The pounding rain
3. Tell what the (rain, wind or surf) reminds you
Example:The pounding rain was a battering ram
4. Tell what it does that a person does.
Example: The pounding rain was a battering ram
smashing its fist
5. Tell how or where it does the action.
Example:The pounding rain was a battering ram
smashing its fist against the angry sea.
|CHAPTERS SIXTEEN THROUGH NINETEEN
Alone Philip buries Timothy and tries to
rebuild his island home. He is attacked by wild
birds and by a moray eel as he tries to fish. He
hears planes overhead and sets the signal fire. A
rescue party arrives and Philip is reunited with
Activity: Use this pattern to
write about the ways in which Philip changed from
the beginning to the end of the novel.
You are changing, changing.
You feel: describe the atmosphere
You are: two adjectives
You: two verbs or verb phrases
You are: color
The color of: name an object the same color
You are: give size and shape
And are: use participle and prepositional
You look at the world with different eyes as you:
three verb phrases
It is: adjective to move like this
so: one adjective and one simile
You are: name