Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Chapter 1 Writing Activity  seeing from someone else’s perspective  friendly letter writing format  tone, purpose  comprehension/chapter assessment  paraphrasing

A Letter to Papa

Imagine you are Mrs. Logan (Mama) and you are writing a letter to Papa, who is away in Louisiana working on the railroad. You want to tell your husband about the events that transpired on the first day of school. What would you tell him about the children’s trouble with Miss Crocker? What would you tell him about your decision to “mess up” the seventh grade books? Would you tell him about anything else from the chapter?

First, practice responding to a prompt by underlining the key words and phrases in the writing task above. Second, reread/skim the chapter to find the details that will be important to this mother speaking to her husband. You may want to annotate the issues you want to explain. Third, this activity is practice paraphrasing, so in your letter include at least three specific textual references to events that occurred in the chapter. A specific textual reference will include words and details from the book, but will not quote the text.

 This activity assesses both your knowledge of the chapter and whether or not you know friendly letter format.  Decide the purpose of your letter. Is it to inform, persuade, make a request, or something else??  Write in first person, consider your audience (Papa) and therefore your tone, and be sure to include a salutation and a closing.  Be sure your letter has a date (it says the month and year in the book).

ROTHMC Chapter 1 Writing Activity Exceeds Meets Approaching Below Does not Expectations Expectations Expectations Expectations address Rubric expectations Content  Three specific textual references are accurate and appropriate  Purpose of the letter is clear and the tone is appropriate  The letter includes accurate information Letter format: Meets Expectations  Salutation followed by a comma  1st person point of view, from Mama to Papa  Closing followed by a comma  Signature Spelling/Capitalization No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work Grammar/Writing Conventions No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Chapter 3 Writing Activity  understanding character motivations &  paraphrasing perspectives  journal/private writing genre  analysis of events  comprehension/chapter assessment 

Chapter 3: Jeremy’s Journal Write a journal entry about Chapter 3 from Jeremy’s perspective. How does he feel when he sees the Logans? How does he feel about the way they treat him? Why is he always hanging around them? Why doesn’t he take the bus, anyway?  Remember to write from Jeremy’s perspective.  Think about what his thoughts and feelings would be.  You are not just summarizing—after explaining what happened, explain what Jeremy’s analysis of the situation would be (Why did it happen, how does he feel about it, in what way is it important to him? Why are the Logans acting like this? What does this event reveal about…?).  Make at least 3 specific references to the text  ½ page minimum

Chapter 3: Cassie’s Journal Write a journal entry about Chapter 3 from Cassie’s perspective. Consider all of the events of the chapter, from the walk to school in the morning to when she went to bed at night. What was her range of emotions? What was her range of thought?  Remember to write from Cassie’s perspective.  Think about the various events of the day and the emotions she might have experienced.  What is Cassie’s analysis of the situation? (Choose a moment (or more than one) and explain what she’s feeling, what she understands and what she doesn’t understand. How will this affect her? What does she think now that she didn’t think before?)  Make at least 5 specific references to events that occurred in the text.  2/3 page minimum ROTHMC Chapter 3 Writing Activity Exceeds Meets Approaching Below Does not Expectations Expectations Expectations Expectations address Rubric expectations Content  Specific textual references are accurate and appropriate  1st person point of view  Perspective of the writer is accurate and true to the character  Includes analysis that clarifies the significance of events to the character

Spelling/Capitalization No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work Grammar/Writing Conventions No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Chapter 5 Writing Activity  tone, purpose  citing page numbers  paraphrasing  friendly letter writing format  analysis of events  comprehension/chapter assessment

A Letter to Cassie Cassie needs your help! At the end of Chapter 5 she tells us that this was the cruelest day of her life. Write a letter to Cassie in which you help her understand the events of the day. Why did she have so much trouble in Strawberry? Why did Big Ma make her apologize? Is the whole world as awful as the folks in Strawberry? What should she think? What should she do?

 Underline the key words and phrases in the writing task above.  Be sure to practice paraphrasing by including at least five specific textual references to events that occurred in the chapter, and cite the page number in parenthesis after each reference.  Do NOT summarize what happened—analyze. The purpose of this letter is to explain the significance of what happened—why it happened and how she can understand it.  Write in first person. This letter is from YOU; you are writing to a “friend” who is 4-5 years younger than you, and you know she is sad and hurt. What will your tone be?  Write in friendly letter format; include a salutation and a closing.

Citing: To cite a page number, you write the page number in parenthesis right after the event you are citing. Do not write p. or pg; just write the number in parenthesis. An example is below.

VAGUE TEXTUAL REFERENCE: What Mr. Simms did to you was not right. SPECIFIC REFERENCE & CITATION: When Mr. Simms twisted your arm and pushed you down into the street (97), I felt…

ROTHMC Ch. 5 Writing Activity Exceeds Meets Approaching Below Does not Expectations Expectations Expectations Expectations address Rubric expectations Content  At least 5 specific references to text  Textual references are accurate  Letter helps her understand what happened and why; the purpose is clear and the tone is appropriate Format: Meets Expectations  Salutation followed by a comma  1st person point of view  Closing  Signature  Pages cited accurately Spelling/Capitalization No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work Grammar/Writing Conventions No errors Few Many Careless errors errors work