My class used all 4 featured debate-inspired strategies to analyze Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. They were to then create a "preview" video to upload which touched upon potential themes we uncovered in our preview. We used student-made preview videos available on You Tube for inspiration. Today I will focus on our first activity, Class Challenge, which we used asynchronously on GC and synchronously on Zoom.

We also used 4 corners to explore Little Man's point of view as a student going to school for the first time. We then used Scavenger Hunt to guide us through a close read. We plan to use Think/Pair/Share/Consensus to make text-to-text connections with other novel studies we have done this year in our book club.

Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/v/QFBRJZKLAvc

Link to Video: http://www.youtube.com/v/QFBRJZKLAvc

Excerpt from, Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry
By Mildred D. Taylor

Now, Miss Crocker made a startling announcement: This year we would all have books.
Everyone gasped, for most of the students had never handled a book at all besides the family Bible. I admit that even I was somewhat excited. Although Mama had several books, I had never had one of my vey own.
“Now we’re very fortunate to get these readers,” Miss Crocker explained while we eagerly awaited the unveiling. “The county superintendent of schools himself brought these books down here for our use and we must take extra-good care of them.” She moved toward her desk. “So let’s all promise that we’ll take the best care possible of these new books.” She stared down, expecting our response. “All right, all together, let’s repeat, ‘We promise to take good care of our new books.’” She looked sharply at me as she spoke.
“WE PROMISE TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF OUR NEW BOOKS!”
“Fine,” Miss Crocker beamed, then proudly threw back the tarpaulin.
Sitting so close to the desk, I could see that the covers of the books, a motley red, were badly worn and that pencils, crayons, and ink had marred the frayed edges of the pages. My anticipation at having my own book ebbed to a sinking disappointment. But Miss Crocker continued to beam as she called each fourth grader to her desk and, recording a number in her roll book, handed him or her a book.
I glanced across at Little Man, his face lit in eager excitement. I knew that he could not see the soiled covers or the marred pages from where he sat, and even though his penchant for cleanliness was often annoying, I did not like to think of his disappointment when he saw the books as they really were. But there was nothing I could do about it, so I opened my book to its center and began browsing through the spotted pages. Girls with blonde braids and boys with blue eyes stared up at me. I found a story about a boy and his dog lost in a cave and began reading while Miss Crocker’s voiced droned on monotonously.
Suddenly I grew conscious of a break in that monotonous tone and I looked up. Miss Crocker was sitting at Miss David’s desk with the first-grade books stacked before her, staring fiercely down at Little Man, who was pushing a book back upon his desk.
“What’s that you said, Clayton Chester Logan?” she asked. No one ever called Little Man “Clayton Chester” unless she or he meant business.
Little Man knew this too. His lips parted slightly as he took has hands from the book. He quivered, but he did not take his eyes from Miss Crocker. “I-I said may I have another book please, ma’am,” he squeaked. “That one’s dirty.”
“Dirty!” Miss Crocker echoed, appalled by such temerity. She stood up. But Little Man raised his head and continued to look into her eyes. “Dirty! And just who do you think you are, Clayton Chester? Here the county is giving us these wonderful books and you’re going to stand there and tell me that the book’s too dirty? Now you take that book or get nothing at all!”
I watched little Man as he scooted into his seat beside two other little boys. He sat for a while with a stony face looking out the window; then, evidently accepting the fact that the book in front of him was the best that he could expect, he turned it and opened it. But as he stared at the book’s inside cover, his face clouded. Then his eyes grew wide, and suddenly he sucked in his breath and sprang from his chair like a wounded animal, flinging the book onto the floor and stomping madly upon it.
“Pick it up,” Miss Crocker ordered.
“No!” defied Little Man.
“I’ll give you ten seconds to pick up that book, boy, or I’m going to get my switch.”
Little Man bit his lower lip, and I knew that he was not going to pick up the book. Rapidly, I turned to the inside cover of my own book and saw immediately what had made Little Man so furious. Stamped on the inside cover was a chart which read:

PROPERTY OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Spokane County, Mississippi
September, 1922
Chronological Issuance
Date of Issuance
Condition of Book
Race of Student
1
September 1922
New
White
2
September 1923
Excellent
White
3
September 1924
Excellent
White
4
September 1925
Very Good
White
5
September 1926
Good
White
6
September 1927
Good
White
7
September 1928
Average
White
8
September 1929
Average
White
9
September 1930
Average
White
10
September 1931
Poor
White
11
September 1932
Poor
White
12
September 1933
Very Poor
nigra
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