Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

4-5 weeks

The Past

Students read and write "i am from" poems (Christensen). "Publication" is optional, but most share

Students view Fernando Perez's TEDx, "The Importance of Bearing Witness." Students then discuss what "bear witness" means to them and how it relates to the poetry they just worked on and shared.

Students read Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes as a full-class text (teacher reads aloud to class as they follow).

• Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)
• Teacher-generated focuses such as:
  • how the book is written alternating Jerome's narration between "Alive" and "Dead" - the relation with what happened when Jerome was alive with what is happening while he is dead.
  • The African story-telling tradition of using ghosts to teach a lesson
  • Emmett Till's murder (students view "The Body of Emmett Till" 100 Photos by TIME)
  • The significance of The Day of the Dead to Carlos - how we choose to remember those who pass
  • The Afterward

Possible Additions:

• Consider who tells most of history's stories (hooks). An example would be to look at how Emmett Till's story was from a white woman's perspective. Later, she recanted her position and said he never touched her or said anything to her. His death was based on a lie. Possibly also look at history books and how they deal with slavery and compare to actual slave narratives.
• Discussion of trauma and whether it can be passed down via genetics as well as "cultural trauma" and how "it is imagination that can provide a survival life-line" (Womack)

The Present

While reading Ghost Boys, students also consider our society now.

• Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)
• Teacher-generated focuses:
  • how the book is written alternating Jerome's narration between "Alive" and "Dead"- the relation with what happened when Jerome was alive with what is happening while he is dead.-
  • Tamir Rice's murder - and other news of race-related violence
  • The significance of The Day of the Dead to Carlos - how the dead can still be "present"

Students write a 6-word memoir about their present lives. These are published on sentence strips and hung (anonymously) in the hallway.

Possible Additions:

• Look at media bias by having students find current events (could be articles, videos, memes, etc.) and filling out the Critical Analysis Form. Students become critical thinkers, readers, and viewers of the stories they are told (hooks).

The Future

Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)

Teacher-generated focuses:

• Jewell Parker Rhodes' dedication in the front of the book
• The call to action at the end of the book (students view "The Children's Crusade of 1963" - American Freedom Stories on Biography)

Students write 100-word memoir modeled after Humans of New York's Instagram Page. They can choose to write about the present or the past or about looking ahead to the future. Students choose an image to accompany their memoir. These are published (with author name or without - student choice) in the hallway on a bulletin board called Humans of Wyoming (the city where our school is located).

Possible Additions:

• In addition to talking about the call to action to "bear witness," have students examine how "Black identity does not have to be a negotiation with awful stereotypes" (Womack). How are Black people empowered? What might a future like the one Jewell Parker Rhodes mentions in her forward look like? How can we get there together?

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

4-5 weeks

The Past

Students view the Daily Show with Trevor Noah interview with Jason Reynolds and the CBS This Morning with Gail King interview with Jason Reynolds

Students read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds as a full-class text (using the audio version that is read by Jason Reynolds).

• Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)
• Teacher-generated focuses on the past in the context of the book rather than society. Will encounters people from his past who were all murdered.
  • What does each ghost have to say to Will?
  • Why might the past matter in Will's situation?
  • Why are The Notorious BIG and Tupac important to Sean? Students read some of Tupac's poetry and learn about the "beef" between Biggie and Tupac/ East Coast and West Coast. How does their situation reflect the plot of the book?

Possible Additions:

• Students may benefit from history of where urban gang violence comes from, and how/why gangs moved from majority white (Italian) to other non-white minorities.
• Students would learn about the systematic racist structures in place that perpetuate inner-city violence as well as the stereotype that Black Men = Danger.
• Reynolds mentions the works of Queen Latifah and Maya Angelou as being born of each other. "Nothing is new," he says. Have students explore this idea that Black artists have been practicing the same techniques over and over. Perhaps connect Long Way Down with things artists have done in the past (Womack).

The Present

While reading Long Way Down, students also consider our society now.

• Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)
• Teacher-generated focuses:
  • Students view Code of the Street YouTube documentary and draw comparisons from the novel.
  • How does the way the text is written mirror the message the author is trying to convey (it's a novel in verse)
  • Why poems?
  • The Rules: No Crying. No Snitching. Get Revenge. Students read "The Code of the Streets" from the Atlantic

Students write a 2-4 pages memoir that goes through the entire Writing Workshop process before submission. Students can publish in the school newsletter if they choose.

Possible Additions:

• A discussion about how ghosts are used in both Long Way Down and Ghost Boys just just as a way to teach the living how to do better, but as a manifestation of the way imagination creates as a reaction to racist violence against Black men in this country (hooks, Womack).

The Future

Student-generated discussion (using sentence stems from Adaptive Schools)

Teacher-generated focuses:

• The ending is ambiguous, which drives students crazy. What will Will do? They read “Endless fascination: in praise of novels without neat conclusions” by Lee Rourke from The Guardian and discuss what might the future look like for Will? If he has one at all?
• How do the ghosts in both novels represent a call to action for a better future?

Possible Additions:

• What might Will's decision represent about possibilities in the future, specifically for the Black community affected by the cycle of street violence? (Womack)
• Excerpts from the graphic novel Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (Damien Duffy), specifically the quote "All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change," could be used to encourage students to imagine a future where racist violence does not exist. What might that look like? How might we get there? (Womack)

Note: Many lessons are used in their entirety or altered to fit the needs of our students from this Columbus City Schools Teacher Resource.