Crazy to the Z!

Title: One Crazy Summer

Author: Rita Williams-Garcia

Copyright: 2010

Publisher: Amistad

Guided Reading Level: V

Genre: Historical Fiction

This book has received:
The Coretta Scott King Award
The Scott O'Dell Award
The Newbery Honor
This book was:
A National Book Award Finalist

Summary: This wonderfully written heartbreaking, warm, and historical novel is set in the summer of 1968.  The novel depicts the confusing life of Delphine, an 11 year old strong and courageous African American girl, and her family. Delphine's mother Cecile abandoned her family when she was really young, and grew up with her father. During this "crazy summer", Delphine and her two sisters, Fern and Vonetta, are sent by their father to visit their mother in California. Delphine comes to realize that her mother really is crazy. Cecile does not even let her children eat in the kitchen! Cecile sends Delphine and her sisters to a summer camp run by the historical Black Panther party. There Delphine and her sisters learn how powerful her bond is with her loving sisters. Delphine and her sisters also learn more about their mother. They learn why Cecile picked their names - and why she is, well, kind of crazy! This incredible novel has won the Corretta Scott King award, the Scott O'Dell Award, is a National Book Award Finalist, and is also a Newbery Honor Book - so of course the book is bound to be an excellent one!  

Suggested Delivery: Classroom Read Aloud

Since this novel is historical, this book would be a great one to incorporate in a classroom read aloud - especially during an English Language Arts/Social Studies lesson.  Students will love this book, and teaching about diversity is always wonderful for Elementary School students!

Key Vocabulary:

• Cassius Clay
• Boeing 727
• Accordion
• Idlewild
• Exaggerated
• Black Panthers

Electronic Resources:

• A fitting book trailer: 

• Have students take this fun quiz - this will help develop their comprehension of the text!

Increasing Comprehension Skills:

Before Classroom Read Aloud:

• Start a word wall for the book! Also, have students create a K-W-L chart for each vocabulary word. For example, have the students list the word, and beside the word they can write what they know about the word, what they want to know. Have them leave the "L" part blank for later after they have learned about the word.

• I would have students brainstorm for a couple of minutes about the late 1960s. I would have them come to the whiteboard and write down what they think was going on during that time period. This will help the teacher be able to see how much students know about events going on during the time period.

During Classroom Read Aloud:

• Have students continue to fill out their charts for each word. As the book is being read, they will be able to find out meanings of each word with context cues during independent reads, and while the book is being read aloud, you, as a teacher, should point out key words and figure out what the words mean with the students as a class. I would also have students come up with definitions of 4-5 words they do not know during each assigned reading for homework.  

• Have students read about half of the book at home. After they read the assigned reading each night, have them come up with a Text to Text connection one night, a Text to Self connection another night, and a Text to World connection the night after that. They need to write these connections down in their reading journals, and write a brief summary about each connection. Keep the rotating pattern of all three connections. These connections will help students really understand the depth of the events within the novel.

After Book is finished:

• Use questioning skills in the classroom to see where exactly your students thrive in understanding the text. Use these different types of questions as a model for this activity:

- Answered Questions

- Questions regarding Background Knowledge

- Inferences

- Discussion Questions

- Research Questions

- Confused Questions 

• I would either give both summative assessment on vocabulary - either a multiple choice test or a fill in the blank test with a word bank -  and I would have them go up to the front of the classroom and play a vocabulary game. The game could go something like this:

Rules:

1.  Give each student a note card which holds a typed definition of a word on it.   

 Cards should look like this:

          I have the first card. The definition I have is the former name of the John F. Kennedy airport.

2. The next student shouts out the definition of the word, so in this case, a student would have a card that reads, "I have the word Idlewild, the definition I have is relating to African Americans, describing their appearance"

3. The class then continues until all cards are read. If a student misses or confuses a vocabulary word, I would ask the class to help the student, I would not help the student. This is a constructivist approach, which is something needed more often in the classroom within our educational system.

Writing Activity:

Have students write a sample diary from the perspective of one character throughout the read aloud. The diary will be a fun project!  To make things fun, you can have students be super creative with it! Each student will need a comprehension book, and they can decorate it however they would like - it just has to match the character the student chooses! The diaries should have ten entries, because the book may take two weeks to complete. The entries should be related to information in the book. This will help with summarization skills! Students will love this activity.

Tiffany Tidbit -  I loved loved loved loved loved this book! I say that with almost every single post I write, but this is true! I love history and this book captures the historical aspect of the late 1960s very well! My favorite character has to be Cecile - because she is just so crazy! The title of the book explains the book very well - we are reading about  "One Crazy Summer". The fact that the book has won a handful of awards is also a nice addition to the charm the novel holds. I hope you enjoyed this post! :)