The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read
by Rita Lorraine Hubbard & Oge Mora
Informational Resources:
Author Information:
Author Information-
Rita Lorraine Hubbard:
Interview with Rita Lorraine Hubbard:
https://chapter16.org/the-nations-oldest-student/
Illustrator Information-
Oge Mora:
Audio Pronunciation Guide for Oge Mora:
https://www.teachingbooks.net/pronounce.cgi?aid=31120
Activities & Resources:
Activities-
Teacher’s Guide by Random House Children’s Books:
https://images.randomhouse.com/promo_image/9781524768287_6788.pdf
Mary Walker
A Chattanooga icon: The Life of Mary Walker (2:48):
Literacy
Watch this short video on how being able to read is true freedom--Silvia’s Legacy (2:28):
https://storycorps.org/animation/silvias-legacy/
The World’s Oldest First Grader:
https://myelt.heinle.com/media/books/PATH_INT_H_A/activities/media/PWRW1h/pdf/PWRW1_01_02_A_03.pdf
Historical Events
The Emancipation Proclamation:
https://www.historyforkids.net/emancipation-proclamation.html
The Chattanooga Flood of 1917:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=5ee257701ef84fb1be2bc60c150b8688
Create a digital timeline of historical and personal events in the life of Mary Walker:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html
Interview an elderly person that you know. Write down 5 questions you’d like to ask them about what life was like when they were a child. Report back or write what you learned about their life. How does it compare to your life?
Achieving Your Goals
Watch this video and learn to make your own vision board (9:12):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hik2zuWQsQ4
Using Poetry Machine, create a poem about Mary Walker or a famous person that overcame obstacles to achieve their goals:
https://www.poetrygames.org/poetry-machine/poetry-13.php
MakerSpace Activities:
To promote literacy at your school, create a Literacy Night filled with fun activities. Use the following websites for ideas and inspiration:
http://buzzingwithmsb.blogspot.com/2014/08/super-family-literacy-night-superhero.html
https://conversationsinliteracy.com/secrets-to-a-successful-family-literacy-night/
Design a literacy scavenger hunt for young students at your school. View this example to get ideas:
Using the ScratchJr app, use your coding skills to create a literacy game:
Recreate a scene from the book by using the collage technique used by Oge Mora:
https://www.artofthepicturebook.com/oge-mora
A dam had to be created to protect Chattanooga from future flooding tragedies. Build a dam with LEGO bricks and then test it out with water:
https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/lego-water-activity-building-dams-stem/
Discussion Questions:
Based on the title and cover of the book, what are some predictions you can make about the story?
Why wasn’t Mary Walker ever taught how to read and write as a child? Communicate your opinion on this reason.
Describe some of the obstacles Mary Walker faced during her lifetime.
Why is the ability to read an important skill?
How does reading give you freedom? What can you do after you learn how to read that you couldn’t do before?
Share how Mary Walker is an inspiration to us all.
Describe the steps Mary Walker did in order to reach her goal.
What is the theme of this book? Give examples to support your answer.
Which illustration in the book best communicates the theme? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
The author included real photographs of Mary Walker inside the book’s cover. Why do you think the author chose to include them?
Look at the illustration where Mary Walker first goes to the reading class. Notice the signs. Why do you think the illustrator chose to draw the signs like she did?
What pictures or illustrations did you like the most in this book? Why?
Brainstorm some ideas of other things that are difficult to learn. What steps can you take to learn it? What are some obstacles that you may have to overcome?
Share about a time that you faced obstacles when learning something new. Describe how you felt and how you overcame it.
Mary Walker was over 100 years old when she finally went on her first airplane ride. Have you ever traveled by plane? Where did you go? Where would you like to go?
What are some personal characteristic traits of Mary Walker? Find text evidence in the book that demonstrates these personal characteristic traits.
What is the difference between slavery and sharecropping? Are there any similarities? Use evidence to support your answer.
Describe something you learned in this book that can help you in life.
Pretend you are summarizing the book on Twitter. What would you tweet? (must be under 280 characters)
If you got the chance to ask Mary Walker one question, what would it be?
Book Talk Teasers:
Read the Reader’s Theater for The Oldest Student.
Watch the book trailer on the Texas Bluebonnet Award website.
Read Alikes:
Overcoming Obstacles
Cline-Ransome, Lesa. Before She Was Harriet: The Story of Harriet Tubman. We know her today as Harriet Tubman, but in her lifetime she was called by many names. As General Tubman she was a Union spy. As Moses she led hundreds to freedom on the Underground Railroad. As Minty she was a slave whose spirit could not be broken. An evocative poem and opulent watercolors come together to honor a woman of humble origins whose courage and compassion make her larger than life. (NoveList Plus)
Parker, Robert Andrew. Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum. Despite being nearly blind, young Art Tatum's passion for the piano and incredible memory in learning music kept his dream of becoming a pianist alive, making him a virtuoso at a young age with skills that were highly respected by many others in his field. (NoveList Plus)
Schmidt, Gary D. So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth's Long Walk Toward Freedom. Traces the life of Sojourner Truth from her enslaved childhood and remarkable emancipation through her history-shaping leadership while advocating for equal rights for women and African Americans. (NoveList Plus)
Inspirational
Ahmed, Roda. Mae Among the Stars. A great classroom and bedtime read-aloud, Mae Among the Stars is the perfect book for young readers who have big dreams and even bigger hearts! (NoveList Plus)
Meadows, Michelle. Brave ballerina: the story of Janet Collins. Presents the story of a remarkable pioneer, who was the first African American prima ballerina in the Metropolitan Opera, in a time when racial segregation was widespread in the United States. (NoveList Plus)
Literacy
Denise, Anika. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre. A lyrical picture book portrait of New York City's first Puerto Rican librarian describes how Pura Belpré moved to America in 1921 and became an influential writer and puppeteer who is celebrated for championing bilingual literature. (NoveList Plus)
Tate, Don. Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton. Shares the story of George Moses Horton, who born into slavery taught himself to read and earned money by selling his poems to the students of the University of North Carolina, before becoming the first published African American poet of the South. (NoveList Plus)
Reviews:
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read. Hubbard, Rita Lorraine. Randon/ Schwartz & Wade. 2020.
Booklist
The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read. (Starred)
Hubbard, Rita Lorraine (author). Illus. by Oge Mora. Jan. 2020. 40p. Random/Schwartz & Wade, $17.99 (9781524768287). Grades 1-3. 306.3.
REVIEW. First published November 1, 2019 (Booklist).
Mary Walker was born in the South eight years before the Emancipation Proclamation. She always contributed to the household, from her youth of enslavement to her time as a sharecropper. Mary longed to read, but marriage, child-rearing, and work kept her so busy that she couldn’t fulfill her dream until she was a centenarian. When, at age 116, she was finally able to read her favorite book, the Bible, she was declared the oldest student in the nation. With simple, no-frills prose, Hubbard (Hammering to Freedom, 2018) recounts the story of this hardworking woman who lived through 26 U.S. presidents and experienced the end of slavery, as well as the civil rights movement. This is a work that points to small contributions of African Americans that have made a big impact. Caldecott Honor Book author-illustrator Mora’s (Thank You, Omu!, 2018) cut-paper mixed-media style adds multiple layers to the narrative. The vibrant collage scenes feature flying birds (Mary always wanted to be as free as her winged friends) and squiggles on book pages that were indecipherable to her. Gradually, those squiggles morph into words, and readers will be as ecstatic as Mary when letters begin to appear, and the expressive faces and jewel-toned illustrations will inspire repeated readings. A lovely, inspirational picture-book biography about beating the odds and achieving your dreams. — Shelley M. Diaz
Reprinted with Permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/
School Library Journal (January 1, 2020)
PreS-Gr 3-Mary Walker, born into slavery in 1848 on an Alabama plantation and freed at the age of 15, was accustomed to hard work and survival. She always wanted to learn how to read, but obligations to husbands, children, and time-consuming work obstructed any opportunity. Although Walker yearned to understand the meaning of the passages in the Bible, "words would have to wait." Finally, when she was past the age of 90 and had outlived her husband and her three children, Walker signed up for a literacy class. It wasn't easy; Walker "memorized the sounds each letter made and practiced writing her name so many times that her fingers cramped." Walker conquered her illiteracy with practice and determination and enjoyed reading in the final five years of her life. Hubbard's direct prose is inspirational. The idea that "you're never too old to learn" is well executed. Mora's collage and acrylic illustrations, reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats, complement the text and add emotional weight to the story. VERDICT An absorbing narrative and excellent illustrations combine to create a moving story of encouragement for youngsters.-Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA © Copyright 2020. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal, 2020. http://www.slj.com.
Book Trailer
The Oldest Student How Mary Walker Learned to Read.mp4Author & Illustrator Interviews
Rita Hubbard.mp4Oge Mora Illustrator.mp4