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From My Classroom to Yours

I was lucky enough to see Sharon Draper read from this novel at an International Reading Association
conference the spring it was published. I would have loved the book no matter what, but hearing her passion
for the novel and cherishing the opportunity to share my experience with my students, I asked my reading
coach to buy a class set of the books the day I returned from the conference! Luckily, budgets were bigger
back in 2004, and she obliged. I spent the summer planning how I would teach the book. The lessons I’m
sharing with you now have been taught and revised and taught again and revised again. As I’ve been
preparing them for publication, I’m revising them once again.

Your students are going to love this book. I’m a reading teacher who believes in the power of a good book to
turn a nonreader into a reader; this book will do that. Therefore, I tread lightly when it comes to
“worksheets” and the kind of busy work that can turn a kid off from reading. I’m giving you a whole lot of
“worksheet” material here; I hope you’ll find ways to use it to augment the reading experience, rather than
distract from Draper’s incredible piece of literature.

NOTE: I did not provide answers to these questions! Many have more than one correct answer, are open to
interpretation, and ask for student opinion. All the questions are pretty straight-forward, and anyone who
has read the novel should have no difficulty answering them.

I use a lot of the questions for whole-class discussion, and sometimes I use the questions as a homework
reading check or individual response/formative assessments. I’ve provided them to you in a Word document
so you can cut and paste and adapt as you need. Your purchase of this unit allows you to do as you wish with
these materials in your classroom; however, it is a violation of the Digital Media Copyright Act to share the
material with other teachers at your school or to post the material on the Internet. Please direct your
colleagues back to TeachersPayTeachers where they can purchase their own sets! (I’m also a teacher who
knows that budgets aren’t what they used to be, so I keep my prices low and hope that others will recognize
the value in my work and refer their friends to my materials.)

These questions are second installment of a unit I plan to publish on Copper Sun. You can check out the
vocabulary activities on TpT by clicking here. Please follow me on TpT if you wish to be alerted when I post
the other components of the novel unit. I hope you find these materials useful and will post feedback on TpT
to let me know how they work out in your classroom.

Julie Conlon
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Julie-Conlon

Do you pin? Follow me on Pinterest. I’m building a significant collection of links and resources for all
the texts I teach. On my Teaching Copper Sun board, I have links to other lesson plans and
discussion questions, and other real-world connections. http://www.pinterest.com/hshots.

I’ve started a blog, too! Check out www.julieconlon.com for teaching tools and strategies for secondary
classrooms, with a special emphasis on reading and writing!
Author’s Note & “Heritage” by Countee Cullen

1. What is Draper’s personal connection to slavery?

2. Explain the connection between Draper’s note and Cullen’s poem.

3. Why do you think the last four lines of the poem are italicized?

4. Why would Draper use a phrase from this poem as the title of her novel?

Chapter 1: Amari and Besa

1. Describe life in Ziavi.

2. Despite being so far away, how is Amari’s life similar to that of an American teenage girl today?

3. Contrast the way Besa anticipates the guests with the way Amari’s mother does. Whose
reaction do you trust? Why?

Chapter 2: Strangers and Death

1. Why do you think the Ashanti accompanied the pale strangers?

2. What is the reason for attacking during a ceremony?

3. Why do you think some were killed and others were captured?

Chapter 3: Sorrow and Shackles

1. What does the Ashanti imply by “this time I will be greatly rewarded”?

2. What do you think keeps Amari going?

3. Amari feels Besa’s face has become a mask. What does that mean?

Chapter 4: Death March to Cape Coast

1. How does their destination differ from the Africa Amari has known?

2. What effect does the conversation with the woman have on Amari?

Chapter 5: The Door of No Return

1. Why do you think the men put salves on their wounds and give them generous portions of water
and food?

Chapter 6: From Sand to Ship

1. Why does Afi tell Amari to forget Besa?

2. Amari knew that she would never see Africa again. How do you think she is feeling as she nears
the ship?
Chapter 7: Ship of Death

1. Why would the sailors be even angrier than before after the losing the mother and daughter to
the sharks?

Chapter 8: Toward the Edge of the World

1. Why do the sailors bring the captives on deck to dance? How is this dancing and drumming
different from the dancing and drumming in Africa?

Chapter 9: Lessons—Painful and Otherwise

1. How can knowing English help Amari?

Chapter 10: The Middle Passage

1. Why is it an advantage to understand more English than she can say?

2. Why was the storm so devastating?

Chapter 11: Land Ho

1. Why do you think the slaves were treated better as they get closer to Carolina (and what seems
like the end of their journey)?

Chapter 12: Welcome to Sullivan’s Island

1. How are beauty and strength going to be important to Amari’s survival?

Chapter 13: The Slave Auction

1. Summarize the advice that Tybee gives the newly arrived Africans.

Chapter 14: The Slave Sale

1. Who is the slave girl purchased by Mr. Percival Derby?

2. What surprises Polly about the girl’s reaction to the sale?

Chapter 15: Polly and Clay

1. How does Polly differ from Clay’s expectation regarding an indentured girl?

2. What are Polly’s goals for her life? How does she think her time with the Derbys will help her
achieve them?

3. What shocking realization does she make (in regards to these goals) upon arrival at the
plantation?
Chapter 16: Teenie and Tidbit

1. Why would Teenie encourage Amari to keep her English secret from the Derbys?

Chapter 17: Amari and Adjustments

1. What are some of the ways Teenie helps Amari adjust to life at Derbyshire Farms?

2. How would you describe Clay’s feelings about Amari?

Chapter 18: Roots and Dirt

1. Why do you think Amari wants a root that kills?

2. How did the death of the first Mrs. Derby affect Mr. Derby? Clay?

Chapter 19: Peaches and Memories

1. How is the relationship between Amari and Polly changing?

Chapter 20: Isabelle Derby

1. How does Mrs. Derby differ from Clay and Mr. Derby?

Chapter 21: Rice and Snakes

1. Why does Mr. Derby have to buy African men each year?

2. What predictions does Cato make about Amari’s future?

3. Identify the risks of working in the rice fields.

Chapter 22: Lashed with a Whip

1. Describe Clay’s relationship with his step-mother.

2. How does Noah differ from the other male slaves?

3. How are Polly’s perceptions of slaves changing?

Chapter 23: Fiery Pain and Healing Hands

1. Describe Amari’s healing process. Who helped and how? How did Clay respond?

Chapter 24: Gator Bait

1. What do you think motivates Clay to do something so horrible?

Chapter 25: Birth of the Baby

1. Why does Amari hide in the kitchen?

2. Why is Mr. Derby so nervous?


Chapter 26: Facing Mr. Derby

1. How does Mr. Derby react to the news? To Mrs. Derby? Toward the baby?

Chapter 27: Death in the Dust

1. Why doesn’t he kill Mrs. Derby?

Chapter 28: Punishment

1. Summarize Mr. Derby’s punishment plans for Teenie, Polly, and Amari.

Chapter 29: Locked in the Smokehouse

1. What surprising news does Cato reveal about Dr. Hoskins?

2. How is Cato going to ensure Clay cannot go to Charles Town in the morning?

3. Why does Cato advise them to go South instead of North?

Chapter 30: Tidbit’s Farewell

1. What is the significance of the piece of cloth Teenie gives Tidbit?

Chapter 31: The Doctor’s Choice

1. Why does the doctor choose to help Amari, Polly, and Tidbit?

2. What aid and advantages does he give them?

Chapter 32: The Journey Begins

1. If you were Polly, Amari, or Tidbit, would you go north or south? Why?

Chapter 33: Deep in the Forest

1. How does Amari provide food for the journey?

2. What lesson does she share about living in harmony with nature?

Chapter 34: Lost Hushpuppy

1. What are the risks of using the gun to get food?

Chapter 35: Dirt and Clay

1. How did Clay find them?

2. Explain how they got away and what you think will happen to Clay.
Chapter 36: Should We Trust Him

1. What information does Nathan share with them about Fort Mose?

2. Based on the events of the entire chapter, can they trust him? Why or why not?

Chapter 37: Lost and Found and Lost

1. Summarize the changes in Besa. Why is he not interested in going south with Amari?

2. What motivates Fiona to help the runaways?

Chapter 38: The Spanish Soldier

1. What was the soldier afraid of?

2. Does he believe Polly’s story about returning from a visit to her grandfather? How do you
know?

3. What does he reveal about Fort Mose?

Chapter 39: Crossing the River

1. What does Amari attribute her physical weakness to?

2. What is the significance of crossing the river?

Chapter 40: Time to Meet the Future

1. How does Fort Mose live up to their expectations?

Chapter 41: Fort Mose

1. What does Inez reveal to them about the realities of freedom?

2. What jobs does Captain Menendez suggest that each of them should take at Fort Mose?

Chapter 42: Copper Sun

1. What does Inez recognize about Amari’s physical condition?

2. How does Amari’s choices of names reflect her acceptance of the condition?

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