Empowering, Profound, Factual, Unforgettable, Stirring
Day of Tears: A Novel in Dialogue by Julius Lester
Published by Hyperion Books for Children Copyright 2005
2006 Coretta Scott King Award Winner
This PDF file serves as a guide for students. It contains discussion questions that measure literal and inferential comprehension. It also includes key vocabulary activities, True/False assessments, grammar and punctuation activities, and open-ended questions for research projects and writing assignments.
Book Trailer
This brief video clip gives students an overview of the book that is complimented by quotations from the text, period illustrations, and voice-over. This video can help students imagine the impact of the largest auction of slaves in American history.
Key Vocabulary: Bureau, Commission, Gangrene, Hoarse, Infernal, Installment, Prosperous, Reprimand, Sentiment, Unscrupulous
Teaching Suggestions:
Pre-Reading- This text requires significant preparation due to the mature content. Prepare students by teaching a lesson about slaves and plantation owners during the 19th century. Before reading, have students write down everything they know about slavery in America. Have them record their feelings, comments, and questions about it. As they begin reading, students can refer to their lists and adjust their response as they become more familiar with the content.
During Reading- Have students meet for literature circles frequently to answer discussion questions based on each chapter. The small group discussions can help students reflect on the text as well as clarify any misconceptions or confusion about the text and improve comprehension. Some suggested questions include:
1. Describe the relationships between Mattie, Will, and Pierce Butler.
2. Why does Pierce Butler have to sell his slaves?
3. What are the differences in attitude between the older slaves versus the younger slaves?
Post-Reading- Conduct a Reader's Theater. Assign students different characters from the text and have them read their sections out loud. Have them explain how they feel portraying these roles. What are the differences between how the student reading Master Pierce Butler's lines feel versus the student reading the slaves, Emma or Will's, lines?
Writing Activity: Ask students to imagine that they are slaves. Have them write a monologue about their experiences and feelings. Be sure to have them include what their day is like, such as their chores and the labor, how their living circumstances are, and what they think about. Do they imagine what freedom is like? Is it attainable? Have students share their monologues with a partner and discuss any similarities or differences they wrote about.
Lester, J. (2005). Day of tears: a novel in dialogue. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
Told from multiple points of view, this text, by Julius Lester, gives readers insight to a slave auction in Savannah, Georgia that took place from March 2-3, 1859. It was the largest auction of slaves in United States history. The text is expressed in dialogue from the perspective of slaves, masters, auctioneers, and run-away slaves to show what each person was feeling and experiencing. This era was considered "The Weeping Time," because so many families and friends were torn apart by the auctions. To compliment these emotions, the author uses rain in all of the tragic and dismal circumstances that occur throughout the auction and the aftermath to symbolize the crying and mourning. While most of the characters are fiction, Julius Lester does include statistical information about the number of slaves sold and the price for them. Pierce Butler, the main master of the text, also is portrayed as a historically accurate character. Providing an unforgettable account, the text gives readers a mix of emotions and a sense of the heroism that slaves displayed.
Reading Level: Lexile Framework NP, Grade 5/6
Suggested Delivery: Small Group Read
Description: Historical Fiction, Diversity, Slavery
Electronic Resources:
Student GuideThis PDF file serves as a guide for students. It contains discussion questions that measure literal and inferential comprehension. It also includes key vocabulary activities, True/False assessments, grammar and punctuation activities, and open-ended questions for research projects and writing assignments.
Book Trailer This brief video clip gives students an overview of the book that is complimented by quotations from the text, period illustrations, and voice-over. This video can help students imagine the impact of the largest auction of slaves in American history.
Key Vocabulary: Bureau, Commission, Gangrene, Hoarse, Infernal, Installment, Prosperous, Reprimand, Sentiment, Unscrupulous
Teaching Suggestions:
- Use this text in reading and language arts to discuss point of view.
- Use this text in reading and language arts to demonstrate the author's use of symbolism with the rain. Have students identify other elements in the text that are symbolic.
- Use this text in social studies during a unit on slavery to show how slaves and their masters felt, what they experienced, and how it impacted them.
Pre-Reading- This text requires significant preparation due to the mature content. Prepare students by teaching a lesson about slaves and plantation owners during the 19th century. Before reading, have students write down everything they know about slavery in America. Have them record their feelings, comments, and questions about it. As they begin reading, students can refer to their lists and adjust their response as they become more familiar with the content.
During Reading- Have students meet for literature circles frequently to answer discussion questions based on each chapter. The small group discussions can help students reflect on the text as well as clarify any misconceptions or confusion about the text and improve comprehension. Some suggested questions include:
1. Describe the relationships between Mattie, Will, and Pierce Butler.
2. Why does Pierce Butler have to sell his slaves?
3. What are the differences in attitude between the older slaves versus the younger slaves?
Post-Reading- Conduct a Reader's Theater. Assign students different characters from the text and have them read their sections out loud. Have them explain how they feel portraying these roles. What are the differences between how the student reading Master Pierce Butler's lines feel versus the student reading the slaves, Emma or Will's, lines?
Writing Activity: Ask students to imagine that they are slaves. Have them write a monologue about their experiences and feelings. Be sure to have them include what their day is like, such as their chores and the labor, how their living circumstances are, and what they think about. Do they imagine what freedom is like? Is it attainable? Have students share their monologues with a partner and discuss any similarities or differences they wrote about.
Lester, J. (2005). Day of tears: a novel in dialogue. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.
No comments:
Post a Comment