A Glimpse at Rikers Island

"The loudest sound in the world is the soft click of prison gates locking behind you. Maybe it's how final it is - the loud slam of the gate, then the quick, gentle click. Then the scary feeling of it all being forever." (page 94)

Poetry Saves the Day

Jacqueline Woodson frequently weaves poetry through her stories. Her poems help to give her stories a richer voice and a more personal touch. Her use of poetry allows her characters to become more dynamic and vital. A good example of her use of poetry can be found in her book "Locomotion" and its companion "Peace Locomotion". These two books chronicle the life of Lonnie C. Motion and his sister Lili who are placed in foster care after the death of their parents in a fire. In "Locomotion", Lonnie turns to writing poetry in an effort to come to terms with his parents' untimely deaths. The story continues in "Peace Locomotion" which is told through a series of letters that Lonnie writes to his sister who has been placed in a separate foster home. He writes them as he says, "to be the rememberer" until they can be together again.

Some of Her Favorite Things!

With twenty-four titles to her name, multi-award winning author Jacqueline Woodson is still as passionate as ever about her writing "because it makes me happy. Even when the words are slow in coming and the story seems all lopsided, writing keeps me happy." Her favorite subject in school was English "and anything where we got to do writing." She loved to read, often reading the same books over again. Among her favorite childhood authors were Virginia Hamilton and Judy Blume. Beloved stories include Oscar Wilde's The Selfish Giant, Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl and Jon Steptoe's Stevie.

The last book, Stevie, is about the relationship between a young boy and his foster brother....does this ring any bells?

Foster Care Art

An artistic expression of foster care. Taken from San Diego Youth Services.

More from Jeacqueline Woodson

Many of Jacqueline Woodson's stories are very poignant and filled with sorrow. She frequently writes about loss and how to cope with it, whether it be loss of a parent, a best friend, one's freedom, one's identity, or one's home. Some excellent stories that deal with loss include:

I hadn't Meant to Tell You This Lena

Miracle's Boys If You Come Softly


Behind You


For full descriptions of these stories (and more) visit:
http://jacquelinewoodson.com/ya.shtml#

After Tupac & D Foster Book Trailer

A quick trailer that provides readers, before they begin reading the book, with a glimpse of what the story is about.

From one of Utah's most vibrant and attended festivals, Utah's Foster Care Foundation's Chalk Art Festival. This artwork was done in dedication to those children in the system and the families who nurture them.

Many of Woodson's books focus on the foster care system. Although New York doesn't have such a festival as this, it's great to see artwork is being created to bring recognition to the children within the foster care system.

Reading Strategy: Character Mapping

Character Mapping is a good tool for students to use when comparing and contrasting two characters from a book, two characters from different books, or characters from a story to themselves. By writing out the characteristics of different people in a visually appealing way via a character map, students have an easy and memorable way to develop comprehension through their similarities and differences. Here is a quick explanation, from www.fcit.usf.edu on how to create one for use in your classroom.

Reading Strategy: Story Maps

Story Maps are a great way for students to make connections, follow along, and develop comprehension about the text they are reading. Story Maps help students identify important features about the text such as setting, plot/theme, & characters. Here is a quick .pdf file from www.readingquest.org to help create a Story Map in your classroom.

Reading Strategy: Compare and Contrast

Throughout the story the main character & Neeka would always reference how they viewed D when they would hear Tupac's music. Using what you've read and this Venn diagram, compare some similarities & differences you have found between these two characters Woodson writes about.

Reading Strategy: Synonyms

"I'm down for y'all, when homies call," D sang. "I was just a shorty," she said. "But that song to me, it was all about having good friends." p. 58, Woodson

Woodson uses the vernacular particular to African-American culture when writing dialog in this conversation between D, Jayjones, Neeka & the main character. Look at the underlined slang terms and think of synonyms that come to mind when you read this passage.

1. Down

2. Y'all

3. Homies

4. Shorty

Getting to Know Jacqueline Woodson

An interview that examines the different types of issues Woodson touches on in her writing. Topics include: race relations, incarceration, foster care, etc.

Jacqueline Woodson Picture Books

Similar to After Tupac and D Foster, Jacqueline Woodson's picture books have deep meaning and mature themes.
Show Way details her own lineage from slavery to the civil rights movement to the present. This book literally gave me goose bumps because it was so well written. I could feel the emotions coming through the words and illustrations.
The Other Side depicts an African-American child and a white child on opposite sides of the fence. They defied cultural norms of segregation by building a friendship.

As a social studies teacher, I would supplement my lesson with these books to help my students get a grasp on the lives and culture of those times.

What Drove Jacqueline Woodson To Write

As a child, Woodson had a knack for telling outlandish stories and, by her own account, telling "outright lies." A turning point in her life came in the fifth grade, and it changed her forever:

"That year, I wrote a story and my teacher said 'This is really good.' Before that I had written a poem about Martin Luther King that was, I guess, so good no one believed I wrote it. After lots of brouhaha, it was believed finally that I had indeed penned the poem which went on to win me a Scrabble game and local acclaim. So by the time the story rolled around and the words 'This is really good' came out of the otherwise down-turned lips of my fifth grade teacher, I was well on my way to understanding that a lie on the page was a whole different animal — one that won you prizes and got surly teachers to smile. A lie on the page meant lots of independent time to create your stories and the freedom to sit hunched over the pages of your notebook without people thinking you were strange."

Years later, she is still telling stories...but now, EVERYONE is saying, "This is really good."


Post based on Woodson's biography from her website: www.jacquelinewoodson.com