A White Heron and Other Stories Lesson Plan

How did the news about Mr. Johnson progress and morph beginning with Mrs. Peak’s Thanksgiving visit to Petersham?

Mr. Johnson missed church on Thanksgiving day due to an illness. His daughter-in-law had mentioned this to Mrs. Peak, saying he was too feeble to be out of bed due to a bad cold, which was harsher at his age. Mrs. Peak immediately gets the wrong impression, discussing with her niece Martha what would happen when Mr. Johnson died. She returns home to a nearby town the next day, and she shares her news (exaggerated by her own misunderstanding) with Asa Fales and two of her neighbors, insinuating that this illness is a serious one and again discussing what will...