Teachers Lesson Plans

eWorkshop
Lesson Plans

Reading and Writing
in the Content Areas
(Fall 2003)

Making Adolescent Literature Matter
(Fall 2002)

Making Adolescent Literature Matter eWorkshop:
Bud, Not Buddy

This lesson plan was adapted by Joan Hamilton and Cheryl Klausner of the Brookline Public Schools for the Literacy Matters' Adolescent Literature Professional Development eWorkshop.

Section 1: Select a Lesson to Adapt

Title of reading selection: Bud, Not Buddy

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Name and URL of lesson plan:
Visit Electronic Anticipation Guides at
http://www.lite.iwarp.com/strugtech4.html#antguide

Goals: To engage students in critical thinking about major events, ideas, and issues in the text, prior to, during, and after reading.

Standards: (These are Brookline standards for Language Arts and Library Skills, which are based on the state standards.)

Students will:

Use strategies for prereading, during reading, and postreading
Connect prior knowledge and experience to new reading to construct meaning
Create and share responses to literature orally and in writing
Continue to develop as active readers who use strategies to determine important ideas and to construct meaning from text
Refer to the text and locate supporting evidence when writing or discussing a response to literature
Participate effectively in literature discussion groups
Formulate questions about the text
Listen and respond to points made by other group members
Develop a cohesive argument based on textual evidence
Use books, reference books, magazines, and Internet sites to do research

Reason why you chose this lesson:
Bud, Not Buddy is a benchmark book for the fifth grades in the Brookline Schools. We wanted to find as many ways as possible for thoughtful reading and discussion of this book. The project spans both library and language arts curriculum, affording an opportunity for us to work collaboratively.

Section 2: Plan Adaptation of Lesson

Materials: Class set of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, computers with Internet access

Management: Reading will be done in several ways. Parts of the book will be read aloud by the teacher or librarian. Students will read on their own or with a partner. Computer work will be demonstrated by the teacher/librarian. Children will work in pairs to complete assignments.

Strategies: We will employ the following from Strategies That Work by Stephanie Harvey: making connections, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determing importance, and synthesizing.

Assessment: We will use the Reading Rubric from http://www.mauigateway.com/~artek/ketra/rubric.htm

Section 3: Implement the Lesson

Write a brief description of your implementation of this lesson.

I. Before reading the book, we will ask students to agree or disagree with the following statements and to discuss why.

1. In the 1930s, riding the rail was a fun and efficient way to travel.

Riding the Rails:
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/sfeature/obstacles.html

2. During the Great Depression, if you wanted to find a job, you could.

American Cultural History:
www.nhmccd.edu/contracts/lrc/kc/decade30.html

3. Hoovervilles were named in honor of President Herbert Hoover.

Great Depression and World War II:
memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/depwwii/depress/hoovers.html

4. Being a pullman porter was a good job.

Tzar of the Sleeping Car:
www.catskillarchive.com/

5. Being a union member is a good idea.

Labor Unions Rise:
www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/depressn/laborun.html

The historic 1936-37 Flint auto plant strikes:
www.detnews.com/history/flint/flint.htm

6. The north wasn't segregated in the 1930's.

[We haven't yet found an appropriate website for this statement but think the issue is important to discuss.]

7. Jazz musicians played rock-and-roll in the 1930's.

Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame:
www.jazzhall.org/
Then click on jazzology; then jazz history; then swing.

That Thing Called The Jive and Swing!:
trinculo.educ.sfu.ca/pgm/depress/popcul/swing.html

8. The author drew on his own experiences to write this book.

Christopher Paul Curtis Goes to Powell's:
www.powells.com/authors/curtis.html

Christopher Paul Curtis: About the Author:
www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=6203

II. Working in pairs, students will explore at least two of the links and share what they've learned with the class.

III. While reading the book, in addition to class discussions on major themes, we will encourage students to return to websites as they need more historical context for their reading.

IV. After reading the book, students will again be asked to agree or disagree with the above statements. This time they will be expected to support their thinking with evidence from the text. They will each pick one statement to reflect on in more detail in writing.