Maniac Magee

Jerry Spinelli
Scholastic Inc., 1990
Grade Level: 5
Lexile: 820L
Fountas & Pinnell: R
Suggested Delivery: Independent

                    Winner of the Boston Globe/ Horn Book Award and the Newbery Medal

                              Individuality, Prejudice, Tolerance, Experiences, Learning

Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee might have lived a normal life if a freak accident hadn't made him an orphan. After living with his unhappy and uptight aunt and uncle for eight years, he decides to run--and not just run away, but run. This is where the myth of Maniac Magee begins, as he changes the lives of a racially divided small town with his amazing and legendary feats.

Teaching Strategies:
Key Vocabulary:
emanations
gaping 
pandemonium
maniac
shinnied
preposterous
filigreed
marauding
pavilion
dovetailed
astonishment

Before Reading Strategies: Discuss with the students some of the legends told about Maniac Magee. Do they believe these to be true? Why or why not? Based on these legends, have teh students predict what might happen in this novel.

During Reading Strategies: The students should be filling out a notetaking and summarizing chart. This chart will include; the setting, characters, summary and predictions. the students should complete this for each chapter. 

After Reading Strategies: Using their note-taking and summarizing chart, have the students complete a timeline of what they believe to be the most crucial points in the novel. The students will need at least six events, and an explanation to why it is a turning point or an important part of the text. 

Writing Activity: No one had ever been able to untie the Cobble's Knot before Maniac Magee even though many had tried. Imagine you are a newspaper reporter covering this story the day that Maniac Magee attempts this feat, making sure to document what happens during the events of the day.

 Activity Packet!

Extension Activities!

Because of Mr. Terupt

 Rob Buyea
Delacorte Press, 2010
Grade Level: 4
Lexile: 560L
Fountas & Pinnell: L
Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud
Winner of the CT Nutmeg Award

                          Challenging, Heart Breaking, Inspiring, Anticipation, Dynamic

It’s the start of fifth grade for seven kids at Snow Hill School. There’s . . . Jessica,the new girl, smart and perceptive, who’s having a hard time fitting in; Alexia, a bully, your friend one second, your enemy the next; Peter, class prankster and troublemaker; Luke, the brain; Danielle, who never stands up for herself; shyAnna, whose home situation makes her an outcast; and Jeffrey, who hates school.

Only Mr. Terupt, their new and energetic teacher, seems to know how to deal with them all. He makes the classroom a fun place, even if he doesn’t let them get away with much . . . until the snowy winter day when an accident changes everything—and everyone.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
knits
looping
sketch
blames
reliving
microphone
iodine
Inoculated
contorted

Before Reading Strategy: Have the students complete an anticipation guide as a before reading activity guide. The students should put an X next to the statements that they agree with. 

During Reading Strategy: The students should each be assigned a character. The students will write the characteristics of these characters when they are first introduced. As the story progresses the students should track any changes that they witness in their character.

After Reading Strategy: Have the students revisit the cover art of this book. In what ways are the images represented symbolic for the events that transpire throughout the course of the books? Have a class discussion where the students discuss these questions. 

Writing Activity: How does Mr. Terupt’s accident profoundly impact and change the lives of each of his students? Do you think they are ultimately better people because of what happens to him? Why or why not?

Book Trailer!

Official Author Website!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Brian Selznick
Scholastic Inc., 2007
Grade Level: 5
Lexile: 820L
Fountas & Pinnell: Q
Suggested Delivery: Independent Reading
Winner of the Caldecott Award

                                 Imaginative, Clever, Independent, Mysterious, over -coming obstacles

Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:

agitated
furious
snatch 
shudder
scavenge
rickety
decrepit 
apprentice
cavernous

Before Reading Strategy: play the movie trailer for The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Next play the book trailer. Ask the students if they have ever seen this movie? How are the book trailer and the movie trailer different? Brainstorm how the book and the movie could differ?

During Reading Strategy: The students will participate in a prediction relay. With a partner they will develop predictions, they will then read for five to ten minutes. After this time, they will check in with their partner to discuss whether their predictions were correct or incorrect and then summarize the main points of what they have just read. 

After Reading Strategy: Prepare a question- answer relationship. Have four types of questions prepared to discuss with the class. These questions should include; literal question, questions whose answers are gathered from several parts of the text put together, text to self related questions and questions based on prior knowledge. 

Writing Activity: Author Brian Selznick uses pictures as a way of representing his story, not only to convey what is happening- but the characters emotions as well. The reader is able to gage how the character is feeling by the artistic depictions. Create a graphic story of your own either making a text to self or text to world connection. 

explore the world of Hugo Cabret!

Official Website of The Invention of Hugo Cabret!

The Gollywhopper Games

Jody Feldman
Greenwillow Books, 2009
Grade Level: 5
Lexile: 590L
Fountas & Pinnell: L
Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud

                       Heart Stopping, Exciting, Anticipation, Nerve Wracking, Fantastic

Are you ready?

Gil Goodson's future happiness depends on winning the GollyToy & Game Company's ultimate competition. If Gil wins, his dad has promised that the family can move away from all the gossip, false friends, and bad press that have plagued them ever since The Incident. Inside the toy company's fantastic headquarters, Gil will have to master trivia, solve puzzles, and complete physical stunts—and he'll have to do it better than all of the other kids competing.

Oh, and did we mention that Gil's every step—and every mistake—will be broadcast on national television? Hold on tight, because the ride of his life is about to begin!

Teaching Strategies:
Key Vocabulary:
exhilarating
corridor
sapphires
tousling
incompetent
multifacet
anagram
cordon

Before Reading Strategy: Ask the students if they have ever participated in a contest of any sort. Ask the students to share what type of contest this was, was it independent or did they work with a team? Was it physical or mental challenges?

During Reading Strategy: Keep track of the causes and effects that we see throughout the book. For example, Gil's father was accused of embezzling, because of this, Gil is receiving much more attention from the media than he would have otherwise.

After Reading strategy: Have the students pick a section of the text that they believe was the most important. The students will then work in small groups to create a script for readers theatre. Once they have completed this script the groups will share with the class why they chose this scene, and then perform their readers theatre.

Writing Activity: Since you as a reader play along with Gil and his friends during the competition, write a journal articles reflecting as if you were truly a part of this competition. Make sure to make references to the text, and include not only facts, but how you would feel emotionally as well.


Book Trailer

Official Site of The Gollywhopper Games!

I, Too, Am America

Langston Hughes
1994 By The Estate of Langston Hughes
Simon and Schuster, 2012
Grade Level: 3
Lexile: 390L
Fountas & Pinnell: D
Suggested Reading: Read Aloud
2013 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award

                                   powerful, inspiring, moving, encouraging, courage

Winner of the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, I, Too, Am Americablends the poetic wisdom of Langston Hughes with visionary illustrations from Bryan Collier in this inspirational picture book that carries the promise of equality.
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Langston Hughes was a courageous voice of his time, and his authentic call for equality still rings true today. Beautiful paintings from Barack Obama illustrator Bryan Collier accompany and reinvent the celebrated lines of the poem "I, Too," creating a breathtaking reminder to all Americans that we are united despite our differences.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
Ashamed
Darker Brother

Before Reading Strategy: The students will create an anticipation guide. Given the students prior knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement, they will create an anticipation guide on their prediction of what this poem will be about. 

During Reading Strategy: The students will perform an echo reading with the teacher, the teacher will read one line of the poem and have the students repeat. The students should pay close attention to the inflection and tone that the teacher reads with because it will mirror the emotions of this poem. 

After Reading Strategy: The students will perform a found poem activity using I, Too, Am America and another Langston Hughes poem of their choice. The students will take phrases from these poems and create one of their own. 

Writing Activity: The students will write a journal entry in the shoes of Langston Hughes or who they believe the narrator of this poem is. The students will write a journal entry making sure to stick to the era, and write their emotional reaction to the world around them. 

Langston Hughes Reads "I, Too"

Biography and Poetry Collection

One Crazy Summer

Rita Williams- Garcia
HarperCollins Publishers, 2010
Grade Level: 4
Lexile:  750L
Fountas & Pinnell: O
Suggested Delivery: Independent
Winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, Newbery Honor and Scott O'Dell Award Historical Fiction

                           Heart-Wrenching, Danger, Disappointment, Arising, Engaging 

                Eleven-year-old Delphine has it together. Even though her mother, Cecile, abandoned her and her younger sisters, Vonetta and Fern, seven years ago. Even though her father and Big Ma will send them from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to stay with Cecile for the summer. And even though Delphine will have to take care of her sisters, as usual, and learn the truth about the missing pieces of the past. 

           When the girls arrive in Oakland in the summer of 1968, Cecile wants nothing to do with them. She makes them eat Chinese takeout dinners, forbids them to enter her kitchen, and never explains the strange visitors with Afros and black berets who knock on her door. Rather than spend time with them, Cecile sends Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern to a summer camp sponsored by a revolutionary group, the Black Panthers, where the girls get a radical new education. 

          Set during one of the most tumultuous years in recent American history, one crazy summer is the heartbreaking, funny tale of three girls in search of the mother who abandoned them - an unforgettable story told by a distinguished author of books for children and teens, Rita Williams-Garcia.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:

Brace

Jab

Whimper

Spectacle 

Signature

Terminal

Judgement

Riot

Black Panther Party

Before Reading Strategy: Have the students create a KWL about the Black Panthers and the Civil Rights Movement. 

During Reading Strategy: document a timeline about how Delphine interacts with the Black Panther Party. Pay close attention to how her feelings change. 

After Reading Strategy: Have the students work in small groups to create a reader's theatre from one of the scenes in this novel that they feel is one of the most important. The students will perform this for the class. 

Writing Activity: Write a passage in journals either defending or critiquing Cecile, the girls’ mother. Find evidence from the book that suggests she is a “Mommy, Mom, or Ma” or a “statement of fact,” as described by Delphine.

Interview With Rita Williams- Garcia

Meet The Author Book Reading

Third Grade Angels

Jerry Spinelli
Scholastic Inc., 2012
Grade Level: 3
Lexile: 390L
Fountas & Pinnell: H
Suggested Delivery: Independent

                                          Friendship, Behavior, Peppy, Obsession, Angst

George, aka "Suds," has just entered third grade, and he's heard the rhyme about "first grade babies/second grade cats/third grade angels/fourth grade rats," but what does this mean for his school year? It means that his teacher, Mrs. Simms, will hold a competition every month to see which student deserves to be awarded "the halo" - which student is best-behaved, kindest to others, and, in short, perfect. Suds is determined to be the first to earn the halo, but he's finding the challenge of always being good to be more stressful than he had anticipated. Does he have to be good even outside of school? (Does he have to be nice to his annoying little sister?) And if Mrs. Simms doesn't actually see him doing a good deed, does it even count?

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
fired (in regards to giving Mrs. Simms a smile)
shocked
spirit
dangle

Before Reading Activity: In the beginning of Third Grade Angels Mrs. Simms asks her students if they are perfect. Pose the same question to the class and discuss why or why not, and what makes a person an "angel"? 

During Reading Activity: Have the students work in their small groups of four to form literature circles. There will be one discussion director who generates questions, a vocabulary enricher who researches unknown vocabulary and clarifies these words to group members, a literary luminary who guides oral reading for purpose and the checker who makes sure everyone stays on task. 

After Reading Activity: Have the groups of four choose their favorite scene from the book and perform a readers theatre! 

Writing Activity: Respond to this writing prompt question "Suds’s mom tells a little white lie to encourage Suds to be good even when he’s not at school. What is it? When does Suds realize that his mom has exaggerated? Do you think it’s unfair of her to mislead him?"

Discussion Questions!

Book Trailer!

One Giant Leap

Robert Burleigh
Philomel, 2009
Grade Level: 3
Lexile: 470L
Fountas & Pinnell: J
Suggested Reading: Read Aloud

"The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet and our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited". -Neil Armstrong

                                        Inspiring, Historic, Unbelievable, Uplifting, Scientific

The words are instantly recognizable: ?That?s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.? Spoken by Neil Armstrong moments after he became the first human being to set foot on the moon, they have come to represent all that is possible when man?s determination to achieve the seemingly impossible results in success.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this extraordinary moment in human history, Robert Burleigh and Mike Wimmer have created a breathtakingly beautiful tribute that transports readers to the stars, where they will experience the moon landing just as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
orbit
descend
spindly
gouged
forbidding
altitude
sextant

Before Reading Strategy: play this audio clip of Neil Armstrong's quote "thats's one small step for man- one giant leap for mankind". Ask the students if they are familiar with this quote. Have a class discussion on what they know, and what they wish to know about the first men on the moon.

During Reading Strategy: Have the students write any questions or unfamiliar vocabulary during the book. If their question is answered throughout the story, have the students write this answer down  beside the original question.

After Reading Strategy: Have the students write an exit slip about the first lunar  landing. This may be a fact they learned, something they found interesting or surprising or a comment about the text.

Writing Activity: Have the students write in a journal as if they were one of the astronauts on board. Have the students include facts about this trip, and also how they hypothesize they would feel if they were on this journey.

Watch footage from the first men on the moon!

interview with Neil Armstrong

Mirror Mirror

Marilyn Singer

Dutton Children's Books, 2010

Grade Level: 3

Fountas & Pinnell: U

Suggested Delivery: read aloud

An ALA Notable, winner of the Cybil Award in Poetry and the Land of Enchantment Picture Book Award, and nominee for the Texas Bluebonnet Award. Horn Book Fanfare list, New York Public Library's 2010 Best 100 Children's Books, 2010 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books, Betsy Bird's 100 Magnificent Children's Books of 2010, Publishers Weekly's Best Children's Books of 2010, Booklist's Editors' Choice list and Washington Post's Top 15 Children's Books of 2010.

                                 Fantastic, Enchanting, Reversible, Fun, Intriguing 

What’s brewing when two favorites—poetry and fairy tales—are turned (literally) on their heads? It’s a revolutionary recipe: an infectious new genre of poetry and a lovably modern take on classic stories.

First, read the poems forward (how old-fashioned!), then reverse the lines and read again to give familiar tales, from Sleeping Beauty to that Charming Prince, a delicious new spin. Witty, irreverent, and warm, this gorgeously illustrated and utterly unique offering holds a mirror up to language and fairy tales, and renews the fun and magic of both.

Teaching Strategies:

Key vocabulary:
Reverse
Waltz
Hacking
Fragrant
Startled
Muzzle
Nightingale

Before Reading Activity: play this youtube video of an example of reverse poetry. Ask the students to pay careful attention to the lyrics. When the two poems are finished being read, ask the students how the meaning of the poem changed? 

During Reading Activity: Have the students perform an echo reading activity. The teacher will read segments of this poetry and the students will repeat this. This will be especially helpful with the different meaning of the revered poems. 

After Reading Activity: This literature is perfectly fit to use with a poems for two voices activity. Have the students work in pairs and each one reads a poem, then discusses the meaning of their poem. 

Writing Activity: Have the students create their own reverso poem! They will be able to write their poetry on any subject and it should be at least four lines long. 

Examples of student's reverso poetry!

Marilyn Singers webpage!

Manfish: A Story of Jaques Cousteau

Jennifer Berne
Chronicle Books LLC, 2008
Grade Level: 3
Lexile: AD800L
Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud

              "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever" -Jaques Cousteau

                                       
                                         Magical, Wondrous, Inventive, Curious, Inquisitive

Before Jacques Cousteau became an internationally known oceanographer and champion of the seas, he was a curious little boy. In this lovely biography, poetic text and gorgeous paintings combine to create a portrait of Jacques Cousteau that is as magical as it is inspiring.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
Chemicals
Villainous
Invention
Aqualung

Before Reading Activity: play this video of a trailer for Jaques movie "The Silent World".  Have the students discuss who they anticipate Jaques Cousteau is and what discoveries he has made. 

During Reading Activity: Have the students complete a directed note taking activity while reading. Give them a worksheet that is divided in half. On one side the students should write key words and questions they wish to have answered. On the other side students should write key points, definitions of the key words, and the answers to questions they asked. 

After Reading Activity: Have the students write an exit slip. The students should write one concept that they learned, found interesting or that surprised them. 

Writing Activity: Jaques is extremely inquisitive as a boy. How do you think his curious nature lead him to becoming an oceanographer? 

Watch a video of Jaques biography!

The Authors Website!

The One And Only Ivan

 Katherine Applegate
HarperCollins, 2012
Grade Level: 3
Lexile: 570L
Fountas & Pinnell: L
Suggested Delivery: independent reading

                             "It is never too late to be what you might have been" -George Eliot

                                         Melancholy, Lonely, Patient, Creative, Hopeful

                                                 Newbery Award Winner

Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all. Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line. Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.

Katherine Applegate blends humor and poignancy to create Ivan’s unforgettable first-person narration in a story of friendship, art, and hope.

Teaching Strategy:

Key Vocabulary:

Chest Beat

Domain

Grunting

Silverback

Vining

Before Reading Strategy: create a short survey for the students to take before reading. This survey should have a statement where students should check off if they agree or disagree with this statement. The statements should include;

"Animals should not be taken out of the wild"

"Animals belong in captivity"

"Animals enjoy being separated from their families"

"Animals do not enjoy being alone for extended periods of time"

During Reading Strategy: Have the students participate in a fishbowl discussion. The small groups will pick a question out of the "fishbowl", discuss it within their small groups and then share their thoughts with the class. 

After Reading Strategy: Have the students create a timeline of Ivans' life starting from his life in Africa and ending with his transfer to the zoo. The students should have at least five events on their timeline. 

Writing Activity: In the beginning of this novel Ivan often says he cannot remember his life before the living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. As the story progresses we see glimpses of Ivan's past. Do you think that Ivan truly doesn't remember or do you think he chooses not to remember? Use evidence from the text to provide support. 

Meet the real Ivan!

The One and Only Ivan Book Trailer!

Inside Out and Back Again

Thanhha Lai
HarperCollins Publishers, 2011
Grade Level: 5th Grade
Lexile: 800L
Fountas & Pinnell: Q
Suggested Delivery: independent reading
Newbery Honor Book, 2011 National Book Award Winner, Boston Globe Horn Book Award Honor Book, 2012 Notable Books for a Global Society Award Winner

Summary: For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by, and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

Teaching strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
Lotus
Glutinous
Altar
Chant
Communist
Diacritical
Illogical
Solitude
Superstitious


Before Teaching Activity: Ask the students what they know about the Vietnam War. What have they heard from their parents or grandparent? do they have any thoughts or opinions they wish to share? What questions do you have about the Vietnam War? After discussing, show the students pictures from that era and give them background knowledge of this time.

During Teaching Activity: have the students compare and contrast Hà’s  home in Vietnam and her new home in Alabama using a Venn Diagram. 

After Teaching Activity: Have the students list some of the challenges that Hà and her family experience, not only in America but in Vietnam as well. Have the students how she overcomes these challenges and how these strategies change throughout the book. Have the students discuss their answers in a think-pair-share activity. 

Writing Activity:  Explain how Hà adapts to her surroundings over the course of the book. At what point do things begin to get better for her? Describe the specific episodes that lead to positive changes in her life.

Since this is a novel written in verse, have the students visit this website in order to experience writing poetry of their own!

have students explore the immigration experience in order to see what Hà and her family went through!

Shanghai Messenger

Andrea Cheng
Lee and Low Books Inc. 2005
Grade Level: 4th grade
Lexile: Not Available
Suggested Delivery: Independent
Winner of the 2005 Junior Library Guild Selection, Original Art Show Society of Illustrators, CALA Book Award Chinese American Librarians Association

                                               tradition, travels, heritage, family, culture

Eleven year old Xiao Mei is about to take the trip of a lifetime. She is on her way to Shanghai to visit her family. While Xiao Mei is excited, the anticipation of whether she will be accepted by her family is making her quite apprehensive about her trip. Will they embrace her even though she is only half Chinese? Or will these cultural differences keep her from enjoying this journey.

Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:
Wonton
Moped
Accordian
Bok Choy
Shang Hai
Nai Nai

Before Teaching Strategy:

During Teaching Strategy: Have the students complete a venn diagram while reading the book. On one side list how Xiao Mei's American culture is different, on the other side list how her Chinese families culture differs, in the middle document how they are similar.

After Teaching Strategy: Using the Venn Diagram completed during the reading, compare and contrast Xiao Mei's American culture to the culture of her family in China. What are some major differences between the two? what does she notice are similar? Have the students pair up and discuss.

Writing Activity: Xiao Mei is apprehensive to go to China because she feels as if she won't fit in, but goes because her Nai Nai wants her to be her messenger. Write a letter to Nai Nai about your trip. Make sure to include details from the text, especially about the turning point when Xiao Mei starts to feel at home in Shanghai.

book talk with illustrator Ed Young

Home page for author Andrea Cheng

Dead End In Norvelt

Jack Gantos
D&M Publishers Inc. 2011
Grade Level: 6
Lexile: 920L
Fountas & Pinnell: U
Suggested delivery: guided reading
Winner of the 2012 Newbery Honor Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

                                               Wild, Incredible, Heartening, Uplifting, Grief
Teaching Strategies:

Key Vocabulary:

Obituary
Typist
Sinister
Delusional
Willful
Carnage
Euthanized
Simian
Noxious

Before Teaching Strategy: ask students what types of information are usually found in obituaries. Read aloud the obituary of a house that Miss Volker writes for the newspaper (pg. 194-197). Have the students write an obituary for an old toy that includes personal information as well as humor.

During Teaching Strategy: have the students for literature circles in which they discuss their thoughts on this novel. This ensures that the students are actively engaging with this text.

After Reading Strategy: Think- Pair- Share. Have the students write down their thoughts on Jack. Bunny and Miss Volker often tell him that he needs to be a man. What do you think this means? In your opinion does Jack change and become more like "a man"? In what ways does he change? Have the students pair up and discuss their answers, and later share their thoughts with the class.

Writing Activity: Divide the class into four groups. Have the students pick their favorite chapter from the story and write a script from it. This script can be later performed.



extra activities!

This is a link to the National Museum of the US Air Force. Here you can view a plane just like the one Mr. Gantos bought!

Elijah of Buxton

Christopher Paul Curtis
2007 Scholastic Press
Reading level: 6th grade
Lexile: 1070L
Suggested reading: small group
 Winner of the 2008 Newbery Honor Award and the Coretta Scott King Award                              
                               
                                   Inspiring, daring, hopeful, eye- opening, coming of age

Eleven-year-old Elijah is the first child born into freedom in Buxton, Canada, a settlement of runaway slaves just over the border from Detroit. He’s best known in his hometown as the boy who made a memorable impression on Frederick Douglass when the great orator visited Buxton. But Elijah is also known for his amazing abilities to run on at the mouth, “rememberize” things, and hit fish dead in the water with one throw of a chunking stone.

Elijah yearns to be “growned up,” and he gets the chance when Mr. Leroy, a hard-working man in Buxton, risks everything to buy his wife and children out of slavery. Elijah joins Mr. Leroy on a journey from Canada to the United States in an attempt to regain his money from the double-dealing the Preacher. When Mr. Leroy dies on the journey, Elijah winds up pursuing the Preacher alone, but instead finds a group of runaway slaves who have been recaptured by slavers. Elijah witnesses the cruel realities of slavery for the first time; yet he summons up the courage to take a baby girl with him back to Buxton and to freedom.

Key Vocabulary:
haint
fretting
settlement
deceive
conjuring
fragile

Teaching Strategies:

Before: Since Buxton is a community shared by all races, including many that have reached the final stop on the underground railroad, have a class discussion where the students share their knowledge on this topic. While Harriet Tubman is not a main character in this book, ask your students what they have learned or heard about Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad. Next ask your students what else they would like to learn about the underground railroad and the lives that people lead once they have completed the dangerous journey

During: Have the students read the books in small groups, while reading the students should make a concept map of important events, especially including characters, so that they do not become confused further into the reading

After: Have the students write a response to the ending of the book. Was it what they expected? What do they predict will happen once Elijah returns to his community? What do they think the captured slaves in the barn will do?

Teaching Strategies:

1. Elijah Of Buxton has a variety of colorful characters, this book would offer a great opportunity for the students to immerse themselves into the story by performing a readers thetre. Have the students work in small groups and direct them to choose a selection of the book that they enjoyed the most or thought was a critical moment in the book and have them perform it for the class.
2. The book includes the underground railroad which was an extremely important part of our history. Have a readers corner set up with books about the underground railroad ranging from picture books to chapter books so that the students may take time to read through them during free time.
3. Since many of the vocabulary in the book may be unfamiliar, have the students make a collective list of some of these words. Then have the students generate creative sentences using these words to share wit the class in order to create a better understanding of the vocabulary.

Writing Activity:
The students should write a letter as Elijah on his journey to retrieve the stolen money. The letter will be to a friend or family member discussing the perils of his journey as well as any adventures that he encounters on the way.

extra activities!

Christopher Paul Curtis book trailer