Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

by

Mildred Taylor

About the Novel: Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry is told in straightforward chronological order and describes the Great Depression era existence of the Logans, an African American farming family. Cassie, the narrator, relates events that depict the racial tensions in segregated Mississippi during this time period. Themes of family love, social respoonsibility, maintaining dignity int he face of reacism and bigotry become evident as events unfold.

Maryland Learner Outcomes:

• Students will demonstrate their ability to read for literary experience by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from stories, plays, poems, and other works of fiction.
• Students will demonstrate their ability to read for information by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from articles, editorials, content texts, and other expository materials related to the content areas.
• Students will demonstrate their ability to read to perform a task by examining, constructing, and extending meaning from investigations or other sets of directions.

Mastery Objectives:

By the end of the lesson in the media center, students will be able to:

• use primary sources and reference materials to build backgrond for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.
• in a literature circle use text to support insights aout character development, plot, and theme.

Information Literacy Objectives:

• Students will demonstrate the ability to locate and use information resources, equipment and other technologies effectively and efficiently.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to review, evaluate and select the appropriate media.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to learn and apply reading, research and critical thinking skills to organize, and synthesize information in order to communicate new understanding. Using the AGOPP Method

RESEARCH PROCESS	DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENTS
Ask and Clarify Questions	What questions do we need to ask in order to gain background information on The Great Depression? What is the Great Depression? What caused it? What resulted from the event that affected US citizens? We will view the video, American in the 20th Century: The Great Depression for background knowledge.
Gather Information	In order to do a better job in gathering information, we will brainstorm key words to use with the resources, both print and nonprint. Key Word Search Activity Gather Information from a wide range of Sources We will use both print and nonprint resources for this project. Online Sources Encyclopedia Britannica Online World Book Encyclopedia Online Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia New Book of Knowledge Student Resource Center SIRS Knowledge Source Galenet U.S. History eLibrary Useful Websites Background on the Great Depression Photographs of the Great Depression America's Story: The Great Depression Hoover and the Great Depression New Deal Network A Century of Segregation Brown vs Board of Education Jump Jim Crow Ku Klux Clan About Lynching Lynching II Lynching in America About Sharecropping A Sharecropper's Contract Sharecropper Photos Rosa Parks Biography Rosa Parks: How I Fought for Civil Rights Mildred Taylor Site Mildred Taylor's Acceptance Speech for ALAN award Books (sample selection) Please use the Patron's Catalog to find more. 330.973 Brother Can You Spare a Dime? 330.973 We Want Jobs! 973,917 The Great Depression 338.5 Hardship and Hope 973.91 Life During the Great Depression 370 Going to School During the Great Depression REF 973.917 Great Depression and the New Deal 700.973 Headin' for Better Times You must also be able to cite your sources and write a Bibliography for your project. Below is a worksheet you can print and use to help you with this task. Be sure to write down the correct Bibliographic information as soon as you use a source. Check your NBMS handbook and your science divider for correct form. Bibliography Worksheet Finished Bibliography Model
Organize Information & Draw Conclusions	Graphic Organizers can help you organize the needed information by focusing on what you really need to answer your questions. Roll of Thunder Topics Graphic Organizer Roll of Thunder Presentation Guide
Prepare Materials to Present	Roll of Thunder Historic Presentation Guide
Present & Assess Information	Rubric Summarizer

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