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Unit One - NIGHTJOHN
Nightjohn is a story that is set in the south during the time of slavery. Based on an actual incident, Gary Paulsen tells about a young slave girl, Sarny, who it taught to read by another slave, Nightjohn. Nightjohn has escaped to the North where he was taught to read, but he keeps coming back to the south to further educate the slaves of the plantations. Nightjohn meets Sarny and convinces her that she should learn to read. Knowing the consequences, each night after the others are asleep, Nightjohn teaches Sarny one letter. Nightjohn makes Sarny promise that she will never say or write the letters that he is teaching her. He tells Sarny, “To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad for them. They thinks we want what they got. . . That's why they don't want us reading.”
NIGHTJOHN Web Resource
Classroom Connections
Language Arts
· Have students write journal entries about how it feels to be Sarny, Nightjohn, a slave, what they would do in Nightjohn's situation, etc.
· Using as many of the letters of the alphabet as possible, find adjectives to describe a character in the book. (for example: Nightjohn – a – ambitious, b- brave, c-courageous and so on)
· Write a story about a time you sacrificed something for someone else. Make sure to include your reasoning and feelings.
· Write a poem that includes the emotions that the book made you feel.
Math
· In the book, Mammy kept the children's ages by sticks. How else could she have kept track? Think of as many ways as you can. How do we keep track now? (This activity can introduce a lesson on calendars, multiplying, etc.)
Science
· Research what crops are grown on a plantation. Find out what conditions are needed for the crops to grow and possibly plant the crops used in the book at school.
Social Studies
· Locate and research a slave state in the South and a free state in the North in groups. Present material to class.
· Before or after reading this book, discuss and study slavery and/or the Underground Railroad. Find similarities and differences of the Underground Railroad and slavery as compared to the book.
Art
· Draw how the book made you feel after each chapter or at the end of the book. A different color could be used for each emotion.
· Illustrate what you picture a real plantation or the “pit school” to look like.
-- Angie West
Unit 2 - The Librarian - Quest for the Spear
Review Summary
A "professional student" lands a truly remarkable job in this witty made-for-TV fantasy adventure. Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle) is a 30-year-old graduate student who has managed to collect a whopping 22 university degrees; despite his brilliance, shy Flynn seems to have a hard time with the real world, and his mentor at school finally has him expelled so he can start putting his knowledge to work. Things are not much better for him at home, where his mother, Margie (Olympia Dukakis), wants him to meet a nice girl and settle down on his own. Needing a job, Flynn finds an unexpected opening with the New York Metropolitan Library, where Judson (Bob Newhart) and Charlene (Jane Curtin) hire him to look after a special collection. And a very special collection it is -- unknown to the world, the library has been caring for the world's most precious relics, including the Holy Grail, Pandora's Box, the Golden Fleece, the Sword of Excalibur and the Mona Lisa (the real one...turns out the Louvre only has a copy). It isn't long before Flynn learns how dangerous his job can be when he's approached by Lana (Kelly Hu) and Rhodes (David Dayan Fisher), members of a secret underground mob known as the Serpent Brotherhood who happen to know that Flynn is the new guardian of the Spear of Destiny -- and will stop at nothing to take it from him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Resources for upcoming activities:
Quest for the Spear Activity
Dewey Decimal System
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