Swim Team
Small Waves, Big Changes.
By Johnnie Christmas.
Published in 2022 by Harper Alley.
Embedded Files
Sports, Friendship, Courage, Inspiring, Realistic.
Sports, Friendship, Courage, Inspiring, Realistic.
You might like this book if...
You might like this book if...
You are a swimmer or like to read about competitive sports.
You like to read about friendships.
You have moved towns or schools.
You prefer reading graphic novels.
You want to learn about the effects of racial segregation on swimming.
Summary
Summary
Bree moves with her Dad from New York to Florida. At her new middle school, she gets stuck taking Swim 101, and Bree cannot swim! Lucky for Bree, her neighbor, Etta, helps her learn how to swim. As Bree gains confidence, she joins the school's swim team; they to beat the best swim team in town, Holyoke Prep. Can Bree and her friends’ ragtag swim team beat the prestigious private school team?
CCSS Standard
CCSS Standard
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Recommended Delivery
Recommended Delivery
Independent Read
Independent Read
Why assign this book for independent reading?
The content is fairly simple and the text does not require extensive background knowledge.
Even reluctant readers can become engaged in independent reading when they are presented with a graphic novel.
Comprehension Strategies
Comprehension Strategies
Before
Before
Utilize text structure.
View the YouTube video, "What is a Graphic Novel?" Discuss the following terms after viewing, including what they mean and why they are used in graphic novels.
Frame, gutter, speech bubble, thought bubble, sound effect, caption
Then, students will create a Venn diagram to categorize the similarities and differences between traditional novels and graphic novels.
Lastly, students will complete a Think-Pair-Share to answer the question: "How can I use these text features to help me understand the story?"
During
During
Take notes and build schema.
Throughout the novel, Bree’s thoughts and words often contrast. Using a 3-column chart, take note of how Bree thinks or feels, based on her thought bubbles; what she says, based on the dialogue bubbles; and what she does, based on the images and narrative description. Include page numbers for reference.
When students read about Etta's experiences regarding segregated swimming pools, show the YouTube video A Turning Point: the history of racism in swimming pools. Students will discuss with a classmate what they learned from the video about segregation and its impact on swimming, and how the video is similar to Etta's experience.
After
After
Ask and and answer questions about the text.
Teach or review the QAR method so students can independently practice asking and answering their own questions about the text. Read about the four types of questions on the Reading Rockets website.
Students will develop:
Right There Questions: questions answered on one page of the text.
Think and Search Questions: questions answered on multiple pages of the text.
Author and You Questions: questions based on the novel but related to student's personal experiences.
On My Own Questions: questions based solely on prior knowledge.
Key Vocabulary
Key Vocabulary
Elective: a class that students choose to take, like art, chorus, orchestra, or swimming. These are not classes students have to take, like math, reading, science and social studies.
Form: in sports, form describes the proper technique to complete a skill safely.
Meet: a sports competition where teams compete against each other to advance in the competition.
Semester: half of a year. In middle and high school, students can take classes for a half of a year instead of a full year.
Relay medley: a type of race at swimming competitions where each member of the team does a different stroke. The goal is to finish all four strokes faster than the other teams. It is a team race, not an individual race.
Segregation: an unfair practice separating people based on physical characteristics like race or gender. Even after slavery ended in the US, black and white people were kept in separate spaces and not allowed to use the same resources or go to the same places together, like pools and restaurants. Some people continued practicing segregation even after it was made illegal.
Writing Prompt
Writing Prompt
Bree and her friends are making an Instagram post to capture all the memories they have shared together since Bree moved into town and joined the swim team. Write a caption for the post, following the sequence of events in the story. Then, add details such as a username, profile picture, and photo for the post. Select one of the Instagram post templates found in this slideshow.
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