GOAL:
To have the students realize the importance of literature as a mirror of human experience, reflecting human motives, conflicts, and values
STUDENT OBJECTIVES:
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1. To describe the main character(s)
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2. To compare the main character with a real person
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3. To practice asking focused questions
ACTIVITY:
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1. Read aloud the poem,
Grandma’s Bones
by Eloise Greenfield and then reread it.
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2. Ask the students who the poem is about? Who is the main character?
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3. Record the answer on a large sheet of chart paper.
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4. Using the information in the poem, describe the main character. (You may need to reread the poem.)
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5. List the answers on the chart paper. Here are some possible responses:
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a. Grandma grew up in the 1940s.
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b. She danced the jitterbug.
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c. She listened to the music of Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, and Count Basie.
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d. She could spin a yoyo.
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e. She could put two sticks that she called bones between her knuckles and make them beat out a rhythm.
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6. From this list, is there anything that you would like to know more about?
Possible responses:
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a. What were the 1940s?
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b. What is the jitterbug?
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c. Who were Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, and Count Basie?
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7. Have some books, pictures, cassettes, and videos readily available to help the students answer the questions.
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8. Does the main character, Grandma, remind you of anyone that you know?
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9. List some of the questions that you would like to ask that person.
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Possible responses:
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a. When did you grow up?
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b. Where did you live as a child?
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c. What kind of dancing did you do?
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d. What kind of music did you listen to?
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e. Was there anything important going on in the world when you were growing up?
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f. Which TV shows did you watch?
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g. What kind of food did you like?
EXTENDED ACTIVITY:
Have the students interview an older family member or friend. Borrow some photographs of the individual at different times during his/her childhood.
Help the students to scan the pictures into the computer and make a hyperstack to be used in a slide presentation entitles, “Our Grandmas.”
