Synnamin Finley

ECE 260
12 July 2020
Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Extension Activity

Book Title: The Other Side

Book Author: Jacqueline Woodson

Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons

1. Pre-K/CCSD K-2nd Grade Core Standard

- Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about,
state an opinion, supply reasons that support the reason, use linking words to connect
opinions and reasons,and provide a concluding statement or section.
- With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and
publish writing, including collaboration with peers.

2. Objectives
- Students will be able to write a paragraph about their opinion.
- Students will be able to type and print their work.

3. Materials and Equipment needed:

- “The Other Side” by Jacqueline Woodson
- Writing materials
- Computers
- Printer

4. Teaching
- Read “The Other Side” with the class or in reading groups.
- Discuss topics such as why the adults in the town would put up a fence, and why it
should be taken down.
- Review ​opinion ​and the outline/main parts of a paragraph.
- Ask the question: Why is it important for all people to be treated equally?
- Each student will create an outline and a draft. Have children pair up to review and peer
edit each other’s work.
- Help students type their paragraphs in a word processor and print them out.

5. Closure:
- Discuss that even though racism is bad, it’s important that we learn about it so that we
can change things, like the fence.
- Link to a Black history lesson,another culture, another lesson in word processing, etc
 Literature Evaluation

Book Title: The Other Side

Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Contemporary realistic fiction
Illustrator: E. B. Lewis
Publisher/Year: G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Evaluate the Book for the following elements

Style and Language: Using examples for the book, explain the following: Word choices,
dialogue, rhythm, rhyme and sentence length. Share unexpected insights or interesting
information the reader learns from this story.
- The book has a combination of simple and complex sentences, and there are limited
sentences per page, which I think allow for readers to look at the illustration and start a
conversation about what is happening, background to the story, and how things have
changed.

Character: With examples from the book, provide the following

Who is the main character? Clover
How can the reader relate to the character? She likes playing with her friends, and she cares
what they think but pretends not to care.
Who are the supporting characters? Clover’s mother, Annie, Clover’s friends

Plot: Summarize the major events of the story

- One summer, there was a white girl who wanted to play with the Black kids who lived on
the other side of the fence. The Black kids wouldn’t play with her, because their parents
warned them not to cross the fence. The main character, Clover, and the white girl,
Annie sat on top of the fence that separated their neighborhoods. One day, all of the kids
jumped rope together, and then they all sat on the fence together, hoping for the day that
the fence gets torn down.

Setting: Explain the place and time of this book.

- This story takes place in Clover’s neighborhood over the course of a summer.
Theme: What is the main message of this book?
- Someone’s race doesn’t determine whether one should or shouldn’t play with another.

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories
Style: Realism
Media Choice: Paint

Give examples of describe how the following visual elements are used in the illustrations:
Line: The fence that stretches across most of the page serves as a guide for gauged distance or
lack thereof and in several instances guides the viewer’s eyes to the next detail.
Shapes: The organic shapes make the large images easy to look at, making them appear
natural.
Color: The colors are earthy and set the tone of the setting fo the book.
Texture: There is a lot of detail created with the paint in the images, and they create the illusion
of a photograph.
Page design: One half of the page is covered in full color paintings, while the other is plain white
with black text.

Emotional Development
Age: 7-11 years
Explain the cognitive development from this stage and provide an example from the book to
support your choice:
- Self- conscious emotions become part of inner standards for right actions.
- Shame and internal guild for failing to meet adults standards.
- Increase in cognitive based emotional and self-regulation
- Ability to consider multiple sources to explain others’ emotions.

1 would not recommend 2 average ​3 highly recommended

Your rating of the book: 8

Why?
This book’s stunning illustration and the Clover’s recount of the summer highlights Black stories
of and opens up discussions about race in classrooms at a time when teaching anti-racism is so
important.