Brown Girl Dreaming
Lexile Level: 990L (ages 10-14)
This book
is written by Jacqueline Woodson. This book is written in the form of poems.
The poems at first seem to be placed randomly, but then they start to work
together to tell a beautiful story of Jacqueline Woodson’s life. She talks about
how she moves place to place, and deaths in her family. She talks about how she
wanted to be a writer, and her journey as a Jehovah witness. This book is a
fast read, and it is truly beautifully written.
Is this a good story? I think middle schoolers would enjoy this, because it is not your typical book, nor is it a typical poem collection book either. The story flows nicely after the reader gets through the first few poems.
Did the main character overcome the problem? Did it seem natural?
This character overcomes the struggle of not feeling smart enough, but she finds her way and becomes the writer that she has always inspired to be. I really like that this book deals with a young black girl, and her day to day life. I think students will really relate to this Jacqueline.
Is the culture accurately portrayed?
I think the culture and the setting were portrayed very well. She discusses her journey as she has seen it.
Are nonwhite characters shown as equals to white characters?
The nonwhite characters are not shown as equals to whites, but this is due to the time period this book is sent on. It does an accurate depiction on what it was like back then.
The book includes many literary elements such as free verse. Woodson writes all her poems with no intention of a rhyme scheme. Woodson also chooses to write in italics for when people are speaking in her poems instead of using quotes. Woodson also has stanzas for her poems. When teaching poetry these are important aspects to point out for students. When teaching student, you can turn to any page and show these elements in this story.
For my mini lesson I would have students write their own poem on writing. Woodson has multiple poems in the book discussing her journey as a writer, so I would like my students to be able to write a poem about their writing. They can write like Woodson, using free verse or they could write their poems in a different way. There would be no length requirement for this lesson. The lesson would be given after the students have finish reading the book, so they can really have a chance to study Woodson's writing techniques.
Citation:
Woodson, J. 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming. Puffin Books.
Is this a good story? I think middle schoolers would enjoy this, because it is not your typical book, nor is it a typical poem collection book either. The story flows nicely after the reader gets through the first few poems.
Did the main character overcome the problem? Did it seem natural?
This character overcomes the struggle of not feeling smart enough, but she finds her way and becomes the writer that she has always inspired to be. I really like that this book deals with a young black girl, and her day to day life. I think students will really relate to this Jacqueline.
Is the culture accurately portrayed?
I think the culture and the setting were portrayed very well. She discusses her journey as she has seen it.
Are nonwhite characters shown as equals to white characters?
The nonwhite characters are not shown as equals to whites, but this is due to the time period this book is sent on. It does an accurate depiction on what it was like back then.
The book includes many literary elements such as free verse. Woodson writes all her poems with no intention of a rhyme scheme. Woodson also chooses to write in italics for when people are speaking in her poems instead of using quotes. Woodson also has stanzas for her poems. When teaching poetry these are important aspects to point out for students. When teaching student, you can turn to any page and show these elements in this story.
For my mini lesson I would have students write their own poem on writing. Woodson has multiple poems in the book discussing her journey as a writer, so I would like my students to be able to write a poem about their writing. They can write like Woodson, using free verse or they could write their poems in a different way. There would be no length requirement for this lesson. The lesson would be given after the students have finish reading the book, so they can really have a chance to study Woodson's writing techniques.
Citation:
Woodson, J. 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming. Puffin Books.
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