Rose Lee Jefferson overhears the ladies of the garden club discuss the city's plans to level Dillon's black neighborhood, Freedomtown, to build a park for the city's white residents.  Rose Lee soon finds herself at the heart of the debate about how to respond.  Can the families of Freedomtown fight the city's plans?  Must they leave their homes and neighbors? Carolyn Meyer's stirring novel of racial prejudice is based on a true incident and gives young adults a valuable oppertunity to explore a dark moment in American history.

Educators and parents across the country are recognizing the value of enriching the teaching of traditional subjects such as reading, writing, math, and science through the use of trade books.  This literature-based approach to teaching acknowledges that trade books enliven the learning process through rich language and quality artwork not often found in basal textbooks.

The activities that follow offer challenging and enjoyable ways to use White Lilacs by Carolyn Meyer with upper elementary through middle schhol-age children.  Parents and teachers are invited to follow any or all of the guidelines to introduce the children in their lives to the wonderful world of reading and books.

• Have the children make a word web of what they think life was like in 1921, including conveniences available and unavailable at the time, grocery prices, clothing styles, and forms of entertainment.
• Discuss the fact that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in this country in 1863 and that the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave African American men the right to vote.  Explain that they story to be read takes place fifty-eight years after Lincoln's action and discuss the children's thoughts on how well integrated into mainstream life African Americans were at that time.
• Give background information on the Jim Crow laws passed in many southern states and cities after 1865.  Discuss how buses, bathrooms, drinking fountains, theaters, and entire schools were segregated by race until the 1950s.
• Discuss ghettos and voluntary segregation.  Point out that in many cases, one group of people excludes others of different races or cultures from a neighborhood by refusing to sell homes to them.  By necessity, then, certain races or cultures had to live together in areas not controlled or desired by the majority group.  On the other hand, many members of a mnority group choose to live close to each other because of a common history, language, culture, religion, and/or customs.  As the children read this book, encourage them to look for both of these attitudes at work in the community of Freedomtown.
• Point out to the children that in this book they will hear a group refered to as Negro and as colored. Explain that these terms were used in the early 1920s, but that today most group members prefer to be called black or African American.  The children may wish to ask friends, acquaintances, or relaives which term they prefer.
• Discuss grandparents. Possible questions to ask: Do you see your grandparents on a weekly or daily basis? If not, how would your life be different if you saw them that often? Is there an activity that you enjoy doing with a grandparent? Has a grandparent ever taught you a lesson about life?
• Have the children recall the most beautiful natural setting they've seen. Discuss whether plants or trees grew wild there or if they were cultivated or cared for. Discuss the specific details of the place that made them feel it was beautiful.
• Discuss community parks. Possible questions to ask: Who do we have parks? Who benefits from them? Who pays for their acquisition and upkeep? How did various local parks get their names?
• Discuss friendship and the changes and the changes that can occur within one. Possible questions to ask: Is there a person whom you considered a friend that you're not friends with any longer? What happened to change your relationship? What kinds of things can break up a friendship? WHo have you been friends with the longest? Why do you think this friendship has lasted?

• Discuss the strict etiquette rules that Rose Lee was expected to follow when she serverd food. Possible questions to ask: Are these rules still in effect? Under what circumstances might such rules be follorwd today?
• Review the information in chapter 2 about all of Rose Lee's relatives by using the family tree diagram at the front of the book.
• Explain that Henry fought in World War I. Discuss Henry's attitude toward whites and why he was so angry.
• Discuss the fact that Rose Lee was asked to spy at the Bell's house. Possible questions to ask: Should her father have asked her to do such a thing? Should she have agreed to do it?
• Ask the children to predict whether Rose Lee will get to participate in the art class.

•  In chapter 8 Rose Lee is able to understand messages from her mother simply by being aware of her mother's tone of voice or facial expression. Discuss whether the children pick up messages from their parents even when nothing is said directly.
• Discuss Aunt Susannah. Possible questions to ask: What did she do that seemed to shock the people of Freedomtown? Why were they shocked? If she did exactly the same things in St. Louis, what would the reaction have been?
• Using the map at the from of the book, trace the route of te Juneteenth march from chapter 9.
• Discuss the cross burning. Possible questions to ask: Why did the Ku Klux Klan pick this particular date to march? What was the Klan tring to accomplish? Did it succeed?
• Have the children predict whether the Africans will go on strike.

• Discuss the Ku Klux Klan. Possible questions to ask: Were you suprised to learn that Mr. Bell was a member of the KKK? Who else do you suspect might be Klan members.
• Miss Firth's mother was a suffragist. Discuss what this meant and what led to the passage of the Ninteenth Amendment to the constitution giving women the right to vote.
• Discuss Miss Firth. Possible questions to ask: Why did the author choose to include this character in th book? Why is it significant that she is a Quaker and from the North?
• Discuss the plan to preserve Freedomtown in drawings. Possible questions to ask: Why did Miss Firth make this suggestion? Do you think it's a worthy idea? What good could come out of such a project?
• Discuss Catherine Jane's character. What has she said and done that shows she doesn't share all of her parents' ideas? Contrast her perspective with that of her borher, Edward?

• Discuss Aunt Susannah's decision to stay. Were the children suprised by it?
• Discuss the difficulties of holding school with no supplies for students and teachers.
• Discuss moving the house. Have the children ever seen a house moved?
• Referring back to the previous discussion of Catherine Jane's character, were the children suprised that she agreed to help Henry? Discuss what might happen if her parents or brother ever learned the truth.
• Discuss how Aunt Susannah's character changed from the beginning of the book to the end. Have the children predict what will happen to Aunt Susannah in the future.

• Discuss Freedomtown and contemporary ghettos. Possible questions to ask: Do you feel that Freedomtown came into being becuase of exclusionary rules by whites or becuase black citizens chose to live near each other? Are there cultural ghettos in the U.S. today? Can people choose to live in thes areas or not? Why would they make either of those choices?
• Discuss whether the black children in the story were able to play in the park replaced by their homes.
• Considering the way blacks were treated there, discuss why any stayed in Dillon. Would Rose Lee's family have better off if it had moved away?
• Before the breakup of Freedomtown, entire families, including aunts, unclues, and cousins, all lived close together. Is this a common situation today? Discuss why or why not.
• Speculate about the characters' fates after the story ends. Possible questions to ask: Will Henry eve get to Liberia? Will he ever give Rose Lee her sketch book back? What kind of people will Edward and Catherine Jane grow up to be?
• Rose Lee apparently stayed in Dillon her entire life. Discuss whether that suprised the children. Why might she have wanted to leave?
• Read the author's note. Discuss how authors often write fictional stories based on historical events. Does this information change the way the children feel about this story?

Geography

• Using a key on a U.S. map, determine how far Miss Mirth traveled from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and how far Aunt Susannah came from St. Louis, Missouri, to reach Denton, Texas.

• Have the children choose another Carolyn Meyer book to read.
• read aloud parts of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" ny Coleridge or "The Lady of Shallot" by Tennyson. Discuss Aunt Susannah's idea that memorizing poetry is a good exercise for the mind. Have everyone memorize a short poem.

• Discuss thr use of thw word nigger in Henry's speech in chapter 8 and by Edward later in the book. This is an offensive and racially insulting term. Possible questions to ask: Why did Henry use it? Why do black comedians and actors use it on television and in movies? Is it more acceptable when used by African Americans than when used by whites?

• Suppose that Rose Lee had decided to preserve Freedomtown in writing rather than in drawings. Choose one of the inhabitants and write a short charcter sketch as Rose Lee might have written it.
• Children are often curious to know where authors get their ideas. Reread the author's note. Point out that this is a novel resulted from an ordinary event and a lot of curiosity. If some of the children are interested in writing, urge them to honor their curiosity and to keep a notebook or journal detailing ordinary events.

• Rose Lee earned one dollar per week for serving meals and helping in the kitchen. Create word problems with this information. Examples: If Rose Lee worked four hours per day Monday through Friday, how much did she make per hour? If Rose Lee made our present minimum wage, how much would she have earned each week.

• Research the influenza epidemic of 1918. Discuss whether such an epidemic could happen again.

• Have the children construct family trees like Rose Lee's.
• Have the children map two or three square blocks ini town using Rose Lee's map at the front of the book as a model.
• Black soldiers in World War I found that they were being treated as equals in European countries, in contrast to being treated as inferiors in the United States. This led some move to Eurpe permanently. Discuss why this difference in treatment existed.
• Have the children study the petition and refrendum process, which often results in having certain measures placed on the ballot for a popular vote. Have them find out which recent ballot propositions in their state or community were the result of petition.
• Juneteenth is still celebrate in many areas of the United States. Have the children research if it is observed in their own or nearby communities.
• Discuss whether the children feel that African Americans now have equal rights and equal opportunities with everyone else in our society.
• Have the children choose a neglected corner of the school yeard or neighborhood and beautify it by planting flowers. Be sure they water and weed until the plants are well established.

• Play a recording of "Lift Every Voice and Sing." Play other hyms such as "Deep River," "Steal Away," and/or "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

• Have an "unbirthday" party with ambrosia, sponge cake, and pink lemonade. Try baked Alaska! Take turns serving and removing plates following the rules given in the book.

• Henry was a follower of Marcus Garvey; his father favored the ideas of Booker T. Washington. Have the children find out more about these two men and construct a chart or Venn diagram comparing their philosophies.
• Have the children do library research and present short reports on the history and location of Liberia.
• Have the children researcg the history of the Ku Klux Klan and recent Klan activies. Have them find out what groups actively oppose Klan activities and demonstrations.
• The Jim Crow laws were not overturned until the 1950s and 1960s. Have small groups of children researchand report on various aspects of the Civil Rights movement. Possible topics to reserch: Brown vs. the Board of Educations of Topeka; Rosa Parks; Martin Luther King Jr.; Freedom Riders.
• Many newsreel and fictionalized accounts of the Civil Rights movement are available on videotape. Show the children one that is appropriate for their maturity level.
• Catherine Jabe defined abolitionist as "trouble maker" and said that these people had been hung, years ago, in west Texas. Have the childrenresearch some prominent abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
• In chapter 7 Rose Lee mentions Prohibition. Have the children research when Prohibition began, when it ended, and the effects it had on American society.

• Have the children sketch the exterior of their own homes or their school building. Have them compare drawings, noting differences in style and in details.
• Examine the front cover illustration by artist Jerry Pinkney. Have the children experiment with watercolors.

When the principal at Rio Grande Middle School in Albuquerque asks the students to raise money for their school, the kids in the Heritage Project program decide to write and sell a book.  Ricky Began interviews his grandfather, who was a Navajo code talker in World War II. Tomás Jaramillo explains how his cousin outfitted his beautiful low rider with the painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the hood.  And Pauline Romero describes how her relatives at Santa Clara Pueblo make their famous pottery.

Alternating with the students' book entries are stories about the students themselves—and of their shared quest to understand their cultural backgrounds.  Readers of this creative collection will come to love these characters, as well as the colorful history and cultures of New Mexico.
 

The activities that follow offer challenging and enjoyable ways to use Rio Grande Stories by Carolyn Meyer with upper-elementary- through middle-school-age children. Parents and teachers are invited to follow any or all of the guidelines to introduce the children in their lives to the wonderful world of reading and books.
 

• Obtain some stories written and published by young people. Such stories can be found in several commercial magazines, literary magazines published by schools, in the Foxfire books, or by entering the words young authors into a search engine on the Internet. Read some stories or passages aloud and have the students guess the ages of the authors.

• Hold a discussion about potential problems with self-publishing. Some possible questions include: How would you decide what to write about? How much would it cost to publish a magazine or book? Who would do the editing? Who would create graphics and layouts? Who would supply illustrations? Who would purchase the book once it's published?

• Ask each student to identify his or her culture of origin. If some students don't know their cultural heritage, have them ask parents or grandparents for details. Be sensitive that adopted children may lack such information and accept their best guesses. Make a graphic representation of this information. Have each child prepare a paper square that includes his or her name and a picture (or pictures) illustrating some aspect of the culture. These paper squares can be taped or sewn together to make a wall quilt. Another option is to have each student write his or her name on a small piece of paper attached to a pushpin; have students place the pins on a world map.

• Ask the students to describe the most memorable project, event, or lesson from their school years. Discuss what these activities have in common and what characteristics make them memorable.

• Discuss the structure of your school district. If a student lives in the same house from kindergarten through high school, how many times will he or she change schools?

• Are there any magnet schools in your district? If yes, ask the students what they are and what the students know about them. If not, would it be a good idea to have such schools? Why or why not?

• Have the students imagine that they have enrolled in a magnet school or a newly built school for youths from many neighborhoods. What activities could help the students get to know one another?

• Ask if anyone has ever been the "new kid" in class. Discuss how this situation is different from a class in which all the students are "new."

If you are reading the book aloud, read Just one or two chapters each day so that students do not confuse the segments. You may wish to select one or two activities from Across the Curriculum to complete each day after the reading. As the students read each project, have them write a short descriptive heading for each segment, such as A How-to Article or A Character Sketch.

Discussion questions for each chapter:

• Chapter 1: Jeremy Steinberg's grandfather insisted on a weekly report from Jeremy about school. Do your parents inquire about your school activities? If so, what do you say?

• Chapter 2: What did you think about Teresa Chavez's standing up for Tony Martinez to Ms. Kelsey? Was she being sassy or helping a friend? Would you get into trouble for talking like that to a teacher at your school? Why or why not?

• Chapter 3: Pauline Romero's older sisters tease her a lot. Do most older siblings tease their younger ones? Why or why not? Do you ever tease your siblings?

• Chapter 4: Did Teresa Chavez's evil-eye spell have anything to do with Ms. Kelsey suddenly pronouncing her name correctly? What else could explain the change?

• Chapter 5: April Ellis and the other members of her family are vegetarians. Are you a vegetarian? Do you know anyone (a relative or friend) who is? What are some of your favorite vegetable dishes?

• Chapter 6: Johnny Aragon's grandmother chides him for spending a lot of money on his car instead of spending it on his wife and baby or to keep up their home. How do you think Johnny should spend his money?

• Chapter 7: Franklyn and Jacquelyn Cox are fraternal, not identical, twins. What would it be like to have a twin, either identical or fraternal? What might be good about being a twin? What might be difficult?

• Chapter 8: Discuss the behavior of the various tourists at the Plaza. Would these people have acted the same way with everyone, or just with Indians? Why or why not?

• Chapter 9: Rebecca Rivera and Sara McGinley's neighbors worked together to make Las Posadas successful. Do people in your neighborhood have any cooperative activities?

• Chapter 10: Rosa Gonzales wants to be a journalist, like her mother and father. Do you want to pursue the same career as one of your parents? Why or why not?

• Chapter 11: Peter Kingston and Joey Baca walked twenty-eight miles in one day. Have you ever participated in a marathon (26.2 miles)? What is the longest distance you have ever walked or run?

• Chapter 12: Manuel Medina eventually confesses his lie to Sandra Vargas because he feels guilty. Why did Manuel lie? Have you ever experienced a similar situation?

• Have the students compare the writing of the students at Rio Grande Middle School with the published work of young authors they discovered in their Before Reading research. What are the similarities? The differences? Although the selections in Rio Grande Stories were written by an adult author, do the stories sound like something seventh graders might have written? Have the students use specific examples from the book to back up their conclusions.

• Review your discussion about the potential problems with self-publishing. As a class, discuss how the Rio Grande students solved each of these problems.

• Discuss the final shape of the Rio Grande class book. Possible questions to ask include: Who do you think will buy the book? Would people other than members of the students' families be interested in their book? Why or why not? Will the Rio Grande students remember this project in years to come? Why or why not?

• Discuss Mr. Wilder and his teaching methods. Possible questions to ask include: What do you think of Mr. Wilder as a teacher? Describe his teaching style. Have you ever had a teacher like Mr. Wilder? If so, describe him or her. If not, would you like to have such a teacher? Why or why not?

• Discuss the magnet school concept. Point out that the Rio Grande students had to leave their neighborhood schools, pass an interview to attend their new school, and then be bused to a school where they didn't know the other students. In the face of these difficulties, why did parents want their children to attend this school? Why did the students want to attend? Would you consider attending a magnet school? Why or why not?

• What do the students think of the Heritage Project? What goals did they achieve by publishing the class book?

• Compare the headings the students wrote for each segment of the book in the While Reading section. Have them discuss any differences of opinion.

Literature

• Jeremy Steinberg wrote his school affiliation starting with the heading Heritage Project and ending with Universe. Have the students visit the public library to find a copy of the play Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Look for a similar address in act I of the play. Ask the students to write their own "complete" address or school affiliation using one of these two models or making up a new one.

• Tony Martinez was astounded when the substitute teacher said she had read a book that said very bad things about Padre Martinez. Possible questions to ask include: Have you ever read a book that you believed did not tell the whole truth about someone or something? Why is it important to use multiple references when researching a paper?

• Manuel Medina helped his younger brothers and sisters learn to read English by reading Dr. Seuss books to them. Ask the students which books helped them learn to read, and list these titles on the chalkboard. Have your students volunteer to read to first graders in the school, if possible.

Writing

• Prepare your own class book. Each person or small team of students can research and write about a person, family or cultural event, or custom. The students may also want to incorporate favorite family recipes.

• Have each student write a ghost story. The story can be based on a familiar tale, like that of La Llorona, or it can be original. For extra chills, have the students sit in a dark room--lit only by flashlights or candles--when they tell their stories.

Language

• Form teams of three to six students, and have each team devise its own alphabetic code. Have the members within each team write secret messages to one another. Then have the teams trade messages and attempt to break the various codes.

Social Studies

• Have the students research and give an oral report about a cultural event mentioned in this book that was unfamiliar to them. Possible subjects include: Bar Mitzvah Sabbath meal, First Communion, tribal dances, Las Pomades, quinceañera birthday celebration, Good Friday pilgrimage, etc.

• Many young men love to decorate their cars in personal ways, just as Johnny Aragon did. Unless they've lived in the southwestern United States, many students probably have never seen a low rider. Have them describe the fancy cars they have seen.

• Every community seems to have homeless people like those who came to the Coxes' Thanksgiving dinner. Have the students research hunger-relief efforts in your area and discuss other services that are available to homeless people.

• Discuss the incident of the mal ojo or "evil eye." What other cultural superstitions have the students heard of?

• Discuss Ms. Kelsey's attitude about her new surroundings. Possible questions to ask include: Is she a pessimist or an optimist? How does a person feel when his or her name is mispronounced If a name does not sound "American," should everyone still be expected to learn to pronounce it correctly? Why?

• Jeremy Steinberg was sometimes embarrassed because his parents were older than those of many of his friends, and so were often mistaken to be his grandparents. Possible questions to ask include: What might adults consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of being older parents? What might children consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of having older parents?

• Ask the students if they've ever been to a family reunion like the one the Martinez family had--or if they can recall meeting certain relatives for the first time. Possible questions to ask include: How did you feel? Why do families have reunions?

• Teresa Chavez's grandmother was a curandera, a healer; she used herbal remedies and spells to cure people. Have the students research folk medicine in many cultures. They may want to start with Native Americans, but there are many other cultures that rely on natural remedies not widely used as medicine in the United States.

Geography

• Ask the students to follow the course of the Rio Grande River (as described on pages 12-13) on a U.S. map. Have them choose an outstanding natural feature in their state (a river, lake, mountain, plain) and write a specific description of it.

• The Romero girls had different ideas about where they wanted to live when they grew up. Ask the students where they hope to live someday. Then have them research the chosen location and list the advantages and disadvantages of living there.

Science

• Although the atomic bomb was developed in secrecy, the immediate and lasting effects of the bomb are well documented. Have the students research the scientists involved with this project at Los Alamos. Then have each student select one of the scientists and report on the role that individual played in developing the atomic bomb.

Art

• Locate pictures of Native American pottery and share them with your students. Supply them with clay and have them make a pot by following the instructions Helen Lopez provides on page 58.

• Like April Ellis, most teenagers want their own room. Have each student design his or her ideal bedroom. Have each of them draw a floor plan to scale, including details such as furniture, floor coverings, and decorations.

• Show the students pictures of paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe. Have them make a large, vividly colored drawing of just one blossom of a local flower.

• In conjunction with Halloween, have the students follow Rebecca Rivera's directions on pages 183-184 to make a luminaria for their front porch instead of   jack-o'-lantern.

Nutrition

• Try some Southwestern food. Set up a taco bar or have a tortilla feast, serving as many fillings and sauces as possible.

About the Contributor

The activities in Harcourt Brace Creative Curriculum Connections were written by Mary Lou Meerson.  An educational consultant, Ms. Meerson has been a classroom teacher, a language arts coordinator, an elementary school principal, and a  university professor. Her current position at San Diego State University enables her to test her ideas with student teachers and their students.
 
 

Copyright © 1997 by Harcourt Brace & Company.  Reproduced by permission.