The Books of Jacqueline Woodson
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INSIDE THE BOOKS OF AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR A Classroom Guide for Teachers G. P. Putnam’s Sons • Puffin Books • Divisions of Penguin Young Readers Group www.penguin.com/teachersandlibrarians • www.jacquelinewoodson.com PRAISE FOR Winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement Three time Newbery Honor Award Winner Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and Three Coretta Scott King Honors Two time National Book Award Finalist After Tupac and D Foster Show Way H “Asalways,Woodson’slyricalwritingrings H “Anoutstandingtribute,perfectlyexecutedin true....Athought-provokingstoryaboutthe termsoftext,design,andillustration.” importanceofacceptanceandconnectionsin —School Library Journal,starredreview life.” —Voice of Youth Advocates,starredreview Last Summer With Maizon H “Ms.Woodsonwriteswithasureunderstanding I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This ofthethoughtsofyoungpeople,offeringa H “Wrenchinglyhonestand,despiteitssad poetic,eloquentnarrativethatisnotsimply themes,fullofhopeandinspiration.” astoryofnearlyadolescentchildren,buta —Publisher’s Weekly,starredreview matureexplorationofgrown-upissues:death, racism,independence,thenurturingofthe The Other Side giftedblackchildandmostimportant, self-discovery.”—The New York Times H “Managestoplumbgreatdepthwithunder- statedsimplicity.” Feathers —School Library Journal,starredreview H “Withherusualtalentforcreatingcharacters whoconfront,reflect,andgrowintotheir ownpersons...thestoryendswithhopeand thoughtfulness.” —School Library Journal,starredreview INSIDE THE BOOKS OF DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, ACTIVITIES, AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS Author Information ANotefromJacquelineWoodsonandAbouttheAuthor Shared Reading InstructionsandPrompts Picture Books The Other Side, Show Way, Coming On Home Soon,andPecan Pie Baby The Maizon Series Last Summer With Maizon,Maizon at Blue Hill, andBetween Madison and Palmetto Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This, Lena, andFrom the Notebooks of Melanin Sun Miracle’s Boys, Hush,andIf You Come Softly FeathersandAfter Tupac and D Foster Thematic Connections Post-Reading Activities MakingConnections, ConsideringCharacter, andWritingMentor Jacqueline Woodson was raised and educated in Greenville, ABOUT THE AUTHOR South Carolina, and Brooklyn, New York. Woodson graduated fromcollegewithaB.A.inEnglish,andnowwritesfull-timein Brooklyn where she lives with her family. Writing with poetic simplicity, she has garnered much critical acclaim and many honorsforherwork.WoodsonwonaNewberyHonorin2006 for Show Way, a Newbery Honor in 2008 for Feathers and a thirdNewberyHonorin2009forAfter Tupac and D Foster. Hush andLocomotion werebothNationalBookAwardfinalists.Her workhasoftenappearedonnumerousBestBooksandNotable lists. She has been recognized by the Coretta Scott King Book AwardsCommitteeforI Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This, From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun and Locomotion, all Coretta Scott King Honor Books. Her highly acclaimed novel Miracle’s Boys wontheCorettaScottKingAwardandthe Los Angeles Times BookPrizeandwasmadeintoamini-seriesforNickelodeon.In 2006, she won the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievementinwritingforyoungadultsfromtheYoungAdult Library Services Association. Her citation for that esteemed award says, “Woodson’s sensitive and lyrical books reveal and giveavoicetooutsidersofteninvisibletomainstreamAmerica.” Visitherathttp;//www.jacquelinewoodson.com a A LETTER FROM JACQUELINE a I'moftenaskedwhatI'dlikeforyoungpeopletolearnfrommynovelsandpicturebooks. It'shardnottoflinchwhenIhearthis.IalwayssaythatIwritetoentertain,nottoteach. ButIknowtoo,thatitgoesdeeperthanthis.No,Idon'twantyoungpeopletocometo oneofmybookshopingtolearnafewnewvocabularywords,adifferentwayto composeasentence,character,theme,setting...WhatIwouldloveisthis:Thateachtime areaderclosesabookofmine,heorshecontinuestothinknotonlyaboutthecharacters onthepagebutalso,thebiggerworld,thegreatergood. Iwouldloveknowingthat readersmeetthepeopleinmybooksandgrowtolovethem.Andifthereaderlovesthe character,heorshewillwanttokeepthatcharacterandbyextension,peoplelikethat character,safe. Readinghasalwaysbeenawayformetogrow—emotionally,intellectually, philosophically...Myhopeisthatmybooksofferothersthissameopportunity.Young peoplearetoldoverandoveragainto'followtheirdreams'whileatthesametimebeing warnedagainst'dreamingtoobig,toounrealistically.Mychildhoodcircumstancesinso manyways,pointedawayfromwriting—whichseemedtotheeldersinmylifemoreofa hobbythanacareerchoice.Theconstantrefrainofmychildhoodwas"Choosesomething morerealistic". AndsoIdid.RealisticFiction. Enjoy! a SHARED READING a Tips for reading and understanding SHARED READING Sharedreadingisanexperiencethatmakesitpossibleforchildrentojoininorsharethereading of story. Select one of Jacqueline Woodson’s picture books as a read-aloud and follow the instructionsbelow. Duringsharedreading,itisimperativethatchildrenbeabletoseethetextinthebook.Ifitis notpossibletoenlargeormagnifythetextforthewholeclasstosee,thenconductthisstrategy withasmallgroupofstudents. BEFORE Theteacherintroducesthestorybytalkingaboutthetitle,cover,endpapers,andtitlepage.This isthetimetoengagestudentsintalkingaboutthecoverillustrationandwhattheythinkittells themaboutthestory.Don’tforgettoshowtheend-papersandbackcoversofthesebooks,as theymayalsocontaininterestingpicturestodiscuss. Then conduct a brief picture walk through the book, making sure to point out how specific charactersandtheiractionsareshowninthepictures.Also,posequestionstoencouragechildren tothinkaboutthestorywithouttryingtotellthestoryandtalkaboutwhattheillustrationstyle might indicate about the story. Ask children to relate any experiences they have had that are inspiredbythepictures. DURING Theveryfirsttimethebookisreadisgenerallyforenjoyment.Pausefromtimetotimeandinvite childrentopredictawordorphrase,ortomakepredictionsaboutwhatmighthappennext. AFTER Attheconclusionofthestory,theteachercanaskaboutthepredictionsthatweremadeandif they were right. The teacher should ask open-ended questions to assist students in making connections. Subsequent readings of the book will allow children an opportunity to make furtherconnections.IfyouareincorporatingShow WayorComing On Home Soon intoasocial studiescurriculum,youcanaskyourstudentstomakeconnectionsbetweenhistoricaleventsand theprogressionofthestory. a PICTURE BOOKS a The Other Side CloverhastoacceptthefencethatseparatesthewhiteandAfrican-American communitiesinhertownfromoneanother.However,whenanewgirlcomes totown,theyfindawaytoturnafenceintoabridge. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS • WhydoesClover’smotherwarnheraboutthefence? • WhyisCloverinterestedinAnnie? • HowdoCloverandAnnieovercometheinstructionsoftheadults? • HowdoesCloverfeelabouttheothergirls’responsetothenewgirl? • HowdoCloverandAnnie’sactionsaffecttheothergirls? ACTIVITIES • Createamodelofthesettingofthestoryandthefencethatisatthecenter oftheaction. • Playajumpropegamelikethegirlsinthestory. • Pretendtointerviewtheadultsinthestoryafterthegirls begintoplaytogether.Doyouthinktheirideaswillbedifferent? Coming On Home Soon AdaRuthliveswithhergrandmotherwhenhermothergoestoChicagotofind workduringWorldWarII.Asthedaysgobywithoutanyword,AdaRuthcopes withhersadnessbycaringforastraykittenandhopingforsomenewsfromher mother. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS • WhydoyouthinkAdaRuth’smotherdecidestoleavehometofindwork? Whyistheremoreworkavailablethanbefore? • Howhasthewaraffectedthefamily? • HowdoAdaRuthandGrandmadifferintheirreactionstothestraykitten? Listthepositivesandnegativesofkeepingthekitten. • WhatcouldbesomereasonsforMama’sdelayinwritingtoAdaRuth andGrandma? • Howhavecommunicationschangedsincethetimeofthisstory? ACTIVITIES • ResearchthekindsofjobswomenwereabletoperformduringWorldWarII. FindoutifthejobsweredifferentforAfricanAmericanwomen. • WritetheletteryouthinkAdaRuthwouldwritebacktohermother. • MakealistofthewaysAdaRuthwouldspendhertimeduringthewinter duringthistimeperiod. Show Way Eachgenerationofafamily,fromthedaysofslaveryuntilnow,usesquilts, sewingandstoriestofindcourageanddeterminationthroughtimesof struggleandtriumph. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS • Whywerethestoriestoldaroundthefiresoimportanttochildrenduring slavery? • Howdidthesewingskillsthatwerepasseddownhelpeachgeneration? • HowdidSoonieusequiltsto“live”andto“remember”? • HowdidCarolineandAnncarryonthefamilytraditions? • Whatdidthefamilytraditionsofsewing,reading,andwritinghavein common? ACTIVITIES • Developapatchworkquiltprojectincorporatingquiltsquaresmadeofpaperwithquotes thatillustratethejourneyofSoonie’sancestorsanddescendants. • Readthetextasachoralpoemwithsoloandchorusparts. • Makeanddressdollsintheclothingofthehistoricalperiodsdiscussedinthestory. READERS WILL ALSO ENJOY A heartwarming story about adjusting to the idea of a new family member. a THE MAIZON SERIES a Thistrilogyofremarkablebooksexplorestheuniquefriendshipbetweentwogirls.MargaretTory andMaizonSingharebestfriendswhoshareeverything,andtheirbondseesthemthroughdistance andlife-changingevents. Last Summer with Maizon Margaretcan’thelphopingherbestfriend,Maizon,won’tbeacceptedtothefancyboardingschool outofstate.WhenMargaret’sfatherdiesandMaizonlearnssheisgoingaway,summervacation becomesmoreimportantthanever. Maizon at Blue Hill MaizonsoonlearnsthereismoretofittinginatBlueHillthanacademicsuccess.Asshebecomesmore familiarwithhernewschoolandherfellowstudents,herlongingforhomeintensifies. Between Madison and Palmetto MargaretandMaizonarereunitedintheoldneighborhoodbutthingsarenolongerthesame. Willtheirbondsurvivechangesintheirfriendshipandthenewpeopleintheirlives? Last Summer with Maizon DISCUSSION