GOAL:
To explore students' personal reactions to the story; to consider the author's purpose
ASSIGNED READING:
Chapter 15, Epilogue
WRITING PROMPT:
Has Kenny changed at the end of the story? If so, how?
Has Byron changed? If so, how?
Why does talking to Byron make Kenny feel better?
What kinds of magic powers does Kenny believe in?
Why do you think Christopher Paul Curtis wrote this book?
ONLINE PROMPT:
Use the Student Comment Form to share ideas and questions with your online peers.
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If there are still some issues from yesterday's lesson that students want to discuss, you can hold a community share at the start of today's lesson. Otherwise, students can begin reading the last section of the book right away.
After students have written in their logs and met with their book clubs, allow them to discuss in community share whatever issues are on their minds after having finished the book. Emphasize that their personal responses to the book are important. Authors write stories in part to evoke an emotional response in readers, and having strong feelings about a book is an important part of understanding and appreciating it. As Christopher Paul Curtis indicates in the Epilogue, he wants readers to care about Joetta and the Watsons so that they can understand the tragedy that struck some real families during the civil rights movement.
Ask students to consider the author's purpose for writing this book. Explain that there may be many different purposes, and that only the author himself really knows what these purposes are. However, the Epilogue suggests that Curtis is concerned about honoring the memories of the people who suffered and died during the civil rights movement. He also wants to remind readers that ordinary people are often heroes. Other purposes might include entertaining readers and enjoying the pure pleasure of telling a good story. Ask students to brainstorm a list of possible author's purposes for this book.
You may want to return once more to the topic of plot structure and ask students what part of the story they would call the climax. If they agree that the church bombing was the climax, what purpose does Chapter 15 serve? What final issues are resolved in this last chapter? Would students have been satisfied with the story if it had ended after Chapter 14?
At the end of each Book Club unit, we recommend having students assess
their own performance. It is also a good time for you to assess each
student's work during the unit and to give him or her a chance to respond
to your assessment. See the lesson plan for The Fighting Ground,
on pages 143-144 of the Book Club teacher's
handbook, for detailed student self-assessment and teacher evaluation
lessons. Blackline masters for assessment are provided in the sections
following pages 261 and 281.
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