Meet Danitra Brown - Center for the Collaborative Classroom

Guide for
Meet Danitra Brown
by Nikki Grimes
Mulberry Books, 1997
Copyright © 2008 by Developmental Studies Center
All rights reserved. Except where otherwise noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced in
whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. For
information regarding permissions, write to the Editorial Department at Developmental Studies Center.
AfterSchool KidzLit is a registered trademark of Developmental Studies Center.
Developmental Studies Center
2000 Embarcadero, Suite 305
Oakland, CA 94606-5300
(800) 666-7270, fax: (510) 464-3670
www.devstu.org
ISBN-13: 978-1-59892-663-7
ISBN-10: 1-59892-663-2
Printed in Canada
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 MRC 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
Contents
The Five-part Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Get Ready. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Introduce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Leaders Read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Discuss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Wrap It Up!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Kids Read. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Five-part Process
Although each book in the AfterSchool KidzLit® program is different, follow the
same process to introduce the story, read and talk about it, and help kids see
how it relates to their own lives. This process should be done over several days.
Part 1: Introduce the story.
Lead an introductory activity (or two) (see “Introduce,” page 7).
Part 2: Read the story.
Read the story aloud to the kids and define new words (see “Leaders Read,”
page 11) or have the kids read the story in pairs or small groups, if the
reading level is appropriate (see “Kids Read,” page 21).
Part 3: Discuss the story.
If you read the story aloud to the kids, ask some of the group discussion
questions listed in the guide (see “Discuss,” page 13). If the kids read the story
in pairs or small groups, they can discuss the questions listed in “Talk” (page 22)
on their own. Then reassemble the kids and discuss the book together.
Part 4: Connect to the story.
Lead the kids in a connection activity (or two) to deepen the connection
between the story’s content and the kids’ lives (see “Connect,” page 14).
Part 5: Wrap up the story.
Lead the kids in an activity that extends their thinking about the story, reviews
new words, or brings closure to the book (see “Wrap It Up!” page 19).
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Get Ready
Review the “Five-part Process” to help you lead the guide. Read
through “What’s the Story?” “Heads Up!” “Some Things the Kids
Will Need to Know,” and “Big Ideas” for an overview of the book and
the themes emphasized in discussions and activities. You and the kids
may discover other themes as you read.
What’s the Story?
NOTE
In a series of thirteen lively rhymes, Zuri Jackson tells the story
of her friendship with Danitra Brown, the “most splendiferous
girl in town.” Danitra is strong, confident, and wise. Together,
the two friends can do almost anything they put their minds to.
These easy-to-read rhymes bring to life the joys and challenges of
friendship and growing up in a close-knit urban neighborhood.
Heads Up!
•Although the book is told in a series of thirteen poems, it can
be read cover-to-cover as if it were a story.
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Meet Danitra
Brown does
not have page
numbers. You
may want to
write them in,
starting with
the title page.
The poem
“You Oughta
Meet Danitra
Brown” is on
page 5.
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5
Some Big Ideas Suggested by the Story
Friendship
•Friends can learn a lot from each other.
•Friends help and believe in each other.
•Good friends can disappoint or get mad at each other—yet
still be close.
•Sometimes a good friend knows just what to say to make
things right.
•With a good friend around, it’s hard to be lonely!
Teasing
•When kids tease each other feelings can get hurt.
•Even when people don’t show it, they might feel hurt on
the inside.
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Introduce Choose 1 or 2 Activities
Lead an introductory activity (or two) to build curiosity and excitement
about the story. An introduction prepares the kids for the characters
and ideas they will encounter and gives them a chance to build on
what they know from their own life experiences.
The Two of Us
30 minutes
Materials
•Paper and pencils
•Hat or other container
1.Think. Gather the kids in a circle and tell them you are going to
read a book about two best friends. Invite each child to think
about a good friend they love to hang out with. Ask them to
pick a really memorable experience or situation they’ve had
with this good friend—something scary, funny, zany, surprising,
courageous, or even mischievous they got into together. Make
sure the kids know that they should think about memorable
experiences they don’t mind sharing, but ask them to keep
their stories to themselves for now—not to tell anyone yet!
2.Write. Distribute paper and pencils and have each child write
a very short description (2–3 sentences) of the memorable
experience. You might want to give an example of a time you
and your best friend got into a funny or sticky situation.
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NOTE
If handwriting
is likely to
reveal who
wrote the
story, consider
reading the
stories aloud
yourself.
3.Pass the hat. Have the kids fold up their friendship stories
and put them in a hat or other container. Invite a volunteer
to pick a paper from the hat and read it aloud. Then have the
rest of the group guess whose friendship story it is. Point out
that the “owner” of the story will want to stay neutral and
participate fully so as not to give himself or herself away!
Once a match is made, invite the kids to ask questions to
learn more about what happened to the friends. Repeat this
process until all the stories are read.
Meet Danitra Brown
5–10 minutes
Materials
•Book cover
Discuss. Show the cover of the book and read the title aloud.
First in pairs, then as a whole group, discuss:
QWhat can you tell about this girl from looking at the cover?
QWhat do you wonder about her? What do you want to know?
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Graffiti Poem
20–25 minutes
Materials
•Chart paper
•Markers
1.Prepare. In advance, use a marker to write each of the sentence
starters below at the top of its own piece of chart paper.
• One of my best friends is…
• Together, we like to…
• People say that we’re…
• Hanging out with a great friend is like…
2.Visualize. Gather the kids in a circle and tell them you are
going to read a book about two best friends. Invite the kids
to close their eyes and think about a really good friend. Let
them know it can be a friend from school, a friend from the
neighborhood, or even someone who lives far away. Ask them
to picture this friend in their minds and think about what they
like about him or her. Then ask them to picture themselves
hanging out with this friend, and to think about some of the
things they like to do together.
3.Chart. Spread out the sheets of chart paper (with sentence
starters) on tables or on the floor. Put markers out for
everyone to share. Invite the kids to add their own ideas
and information about their friends to the charts. They can
use different kinds of writing, graffiti style. Remind them
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that they can write responses that are serious or funny, very
true or a little true, and short or long. (Point out, for example,
that they might not know what people say about them and
their friend, so they can make up what they think people
might say!) Remind everyone to write longer answers to
make the graffiti more interesting.
4.Group poem. Hang the charts on the wall in the order
that they are listed above. Read each chart aloud, or invite
volunteers each to read a chart aloud, to capture the wide
variety of things the kids have to say about their good friends.
Note: If volunteers read the charts (now a group poem) aloud,
remind them to make their reading interesting by varying their
tone of voice and volume. Demonstrate with the first chart
how it sounds great to read the sentence starter, then a few of
the responses, and then the sentence starter again, followed
by a few more responses, and so on, rather than reading the
sentence starter for every response.
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Leaders Read
Use this section only if you are reading aloud to the whole group. For
kids reading with kids, use “Kids Read” pages that begin on page 21.
Reading
15–20 minutes
Read the collection of poetry aloud to your group, pausing
occasionally for the kids’ comments and questions about the
story, its illustrations, or words they don‘t know.
NOTE
You may want
to introduce
“Cool Words”
before you
read.
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Cool Words
Help the kids understand each suggested cool word as you come
to it in the story. As you read the story, read the word, briefly define
it, and reread the word and the rest of the sentence (for example,
“And she rapped—rapped means hit sharply and quickly—and
she rapped the desk with her ruler”). You may want to write the
word and its definition on a self-stick note and attach it to the
page where the word appears. After the story, ask the kids if they
remember any words that stood out in the reading. Invite the kids
to pick words they like or want to remember and write them.
splendiferous (p. 5): a made-up word for wonderful,
fantastic, amazing
bifocals (p. 8): eyeglasses whose lenses each contain two
sections, one for reading and one for seeing far away
Timbuktu (p. 10): a city in Africa
culture (p. 17): the arts—theater, film, literature, music,
and art
humongous (p. 25): huge or massive
Nobel Prize (p. 29): an international award given to people
who have done exceptional work in science, medicine,
literature, and creating peace
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Discuss
Give the kids a chance to react to the story. First in pairs, and then as
a whole group, discuss some of the questions suggested below.
QWhat do you think of the book?
QWhy does Zuri Jackson think her friend Danitra is wonderful?
QWhat is special about her?
QWould you want to be friends with Danitra and Zuri? Why or
why not?
QIn the poem “The Secret” (page 20), Zuri tells Danitra’s secret.
At first Danitra is angry, but then she forgives Zuri. Why do you
think Danitra forgives Zuri?
QHave you ever forgiven a friend for something she or he
did? What happened?
QIn the poem “Summertime Sharing” (page 23), Zuri gets
Danitra a popsicle with her own money without Danitra even
having to ask. Why do you think friends are willing to do this
kind of thing for each other?
QWhat was it like hearing a book told in a series of poems?
QWhat did you like about it?
QWhat was challenging about it?
QWhy do you think the author wrote it this way?
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Connect Choose 1 or 2 Activities
Use connection activities after the reading to help the kids take a deeper
look at the story’s content and themes, the characters’ actions and
motives, and how the book relates to their own lives.
Jump to It!
20–40 minutes
Materials
•Board or chart paper
•Chalk or a marker
•Jump ropes
•Optional: basketballs
1.Practice rhyme. Write the “Jump Rope Rhyme” from page 7
of the book on chart paper or the board and invite everyone
to say it along with you. Have the group say or sing it out loud
together a few times until the kids can do it without looking
at the words. Explain that they are going to sing the rhyme,
replacing the characters’ names with their own. Demonstrate
by singing “(Your name). That’s my name. Count to three, it’s
still the same. Turn the rope and watch me spin. Quick, (next
kid’s name)! Jump on in!”
2.Jump rope. Distribute jump ropes and take everyone outside
to jump rope to the “Jump Rope Rhyme.” Remind the kids to
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make sure that everyone gets a turn. If they would like to take
it further, they can make up their own rhymes to jump to.
Option: Play basketball. If your kids would rather play
basketball, head outside to shoot a few baskets playing a
“Basketball Rhyme.” Demonstrate how they might change the
rhyme to fit shooting hoops by singing an example, such as:
“(Your name). That’s my name. Count to three, it’s still the
same. Pass the ball and watch me score. Quick, (kid’s name)!
Shoot some more!”
NOTE
You might
want to
have some
kids jump
rope while
others play
the rhyming
game with a
basketball.
Watercolor Rhymes
Two sessions, each 30–45 minutes
Materials
•Paper and pencils
•Watercolor paints and brushes
•Cups for water
Session 1
1.Discuss. Ask the kids who they would like to write a
“You Oughta Meet” rhyme about. Have each child think of
someone and share their name with the group. Point out
that the person can be a friend, relative, neighbor, teacher,
their doctor, a pet, or even a favorite stuffed animal. Ask a
few follow-up questions such as, “Why did you choose this
person?” and “What kinds of things would you like to say
about him or her?”
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Write rhymes. Have each kid write a short “You Oughta Meet”
rhyme about their person. Move around as the kids write and
help kids who are stuck by offering sentence starters such
as, “He/She always…,“ “He/She is never…,“ and “You’d like
(name) because…”
Option: If your kids are likely to struggle with this activity,
consider providing them with a rhyme structure such as the
one that follows:
Meet
!
.
He/She is my
is
The best thing about
.
We have a great time together when we
.
because
I admire
.
Session 2
1.Paint watercolors. Distribute watercolor paints and invite the
kids to paint a background or frame for their “You Oughta
Meet” poem. When the watercolors dry, they can rewrite their
rhymes directly on the paintings.
2.Share. Gather the kids and invite them to share their
watercolors and rhymes. Display the kids’ work around the
room if you have the space!
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Coke-bottle Brown
30–45 minutes
Materials
•Chart paper or chalkboard
•Markers or chalk
1.Discuss. Reread the poem “Coke-bottle Brown” on page 8,
and ask the kids what they think about the way Danitra and
Zuri respond to the teasing. Ask questions such as:
• What does Danitra suggest they do about Freddy Watson’s
comments?
• Why does Danitra suggest this?
• What do you think about the way the girls handled
the situation?
Explain that what the girls did is sometimes called “taking the
high road” because it involves walking away
2.Create scenarios. Ask the kids about other positive ways the
girls might have handled the situation. Pair the kids and have
partners brainstorm other ways the girls might have responded
if they hadn’t just walked away. Then have partners share
their ideas with the whole group. As the kids share different
possibilities, ask them how each one might have turned out.
Point out that the goal is to come up with a variety of possible
ways to respond to such a situation. Write the kids’ ideas in a
list with two columns entitled “Other Response” and “How It
Might Turn Out.”
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3.Act it out. Have the kids work together in groups of four to
take the parts of Freddy Watson, his friend, Danitra, and Zuri.
Explain that each group will choose one of the scenarios and
act it out. After all the kids have had time to practice, have
each foursome perform for the rest of the group. Ask the kids
what they think was the best possible response and why.
Point out that they need not agree on the best response,
there may be several equally good options.
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Wrap It Up! Bring Closure to Every Book
Choose 1
These short activities help the kids pull together and extend their thinking
and learning about the story, its vocabulary, and its themes.
Favorite Rhymes
20–25 minutes
Materials
•Photocopies of poems from the book (3–4 copies of each of
the kids’ favorites—the ones they really responded to during
the read aloud)
1.Pick a rhyme. Hang or lay out photocopies of the poems you
chose. Have the kids roam around to the different rhymes
and stand by the one they like the best. (If they don’t have a
favorite, encourage them to pick any rhyme.)
2.Practice. Have the kids around each poem form a small
group. Have members of each group take a copy of their
rhyme and practice reading it aloud together in preparation
for presenting it to the other groups. Point out that there are
several ways to read the poems aloud. Ask each group to
brainstorm ways they can read their poem together, pick one,
and practice reading. Remind them to “play it up,” have fun,
and make their poem as interesting for others to hear as they
can. Invite them to think about how to use expression as
they tell the rhyme, vary their tone of voice, use gestures, or
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NOTE
If necessary,
suggest that
the group
members
can all read
together,
divide the
poem up
into parts,
or alternate
lines.
even use quick and easy props (for example, a jump rope
or glasses).
3.Present. Invite each small group to come to the front of the
room and present their rhyme to the whole group.
All the Words
15–20 minutes
Materials
• Board or chart paper
• Chalk or marker
1.Review. Write the Cool Words or others the kids found on the
board or piece of chart paper. Review the word meanings with
the kids.
2.Write sentences. Have the kids work in pairs to make up
sentences or a rhyme using three or more of the words.
Explain that the words can be used in any order, and the
sentence or rhyme can be realistic or wacky!
3.Share as a group. Have the pairs read their made-up
sentences or rhymes aloud to the whole group.
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Kids Read For Kids Reading with Kids
For partner or small-group reading, cross-age buddy reading,
or book clubs.
Use this section only if kids are reading with kids. If you are reading aloud
to the whole group, use the “Leaders Read” pages that begin on page 11.
Directions to the Leader
1. Photocopy the “Kids Read” pages that follow. Make one copy
for each kid.
2. Introduce the story with an introduction activity or two.
(See page 7 of this guide.)
3. Give a set of photocopied pages to each kid. Explain how
partners or small groups will use the pages to guide them.
You may need to provide extra paper for writing or drawing.
4. Group the kids in pairs or small groups with one book per pair
or group.
5. Circulate as the kids read and talk, helping to refocus any who
are struggling or off task as you go.
6. Reassemble the kids into one group. Lead a discussion about
the book and the “Get It Down!” activity. Discuss what went
well and what was challenging during their pair or smallgroup work.
7. Lead a “Connect” and “Wrap It Up!” activity.
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Read!
20–25 minutes
Decide how you will take turns reading the book together.
Take turns reading. If you come across new words that are
important to the story, talk about their meaning together or
ask a friend or leader for help.
Talk!
QWhat does Zuri Jackson like about her friend Danitra?
How do you know?
QWould you want to have Danitra and Zuri as friends?
Why or why not?
QIn the poem “The Secret” (page 20), Zuri tells Danitra’s
secret. At first Danitra is angry, but then she forgives her.
Why do you think Danitra forgives Zuri?
Q Have you ever forgiven a friend for something?
What happened?
QHow would this book have been different if it was not
written as a collection of poems?
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Get It Down!
Talk with your partner(s) about your 2 or 3 favorite poems in
the book. What do you like about each one? Make a short list
of your favorites and what you like about them.
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Cool Words
What words do you like and want to remember?
Write them down here.
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Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Notes
Current and Past Funders
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Silver Giving Foundation
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Surdna Foundation, Inc.
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