4.13 Strengthening Our Empathy for Quiet Characters CONNECTION - PowerPoint Presentation

4.13 Strengthening Our Empathy for Quiet Characters

CONNECTION When I first came to this school, I was given a tour by a first grader. He pointed out: Playground Swings Tree His locker The principal gave me a tour and showed me: Main office Mailboxes Copy room Teacher’s lounge

CONNECTION Different people have different perspectives and focus on different things that are important to them. Think: What would a bird see and share? What would you show to a new kid at our school? What would you show to a new parent at our school?

TEACHING POINT Today I want to teach you that readers see differently by taking on the perspectives of characters different from themselves.

TEACHING In “Bud, Not Buddy” whose perspective do we get? Whose thoughts do we especially know? To deeper understand the book, I can try to take on someone else’s perspective.

TEACHING All the men looked over at the drummer. He stopped tapping. He said, “ Awww , man. Look, this child ain’t no kin of mine. What’s your momma’s name, boy.” I said, “You ain’t my daddy.” I pointed right at Herman E. Calloway’s big belly. “You know it’s you.” All eyes jumped over on Herman E. Calloway. He quit smiling and looked at me a lot harder, like he was really noticing me. I knew if I was a regular kid I’d be crying buckets of tears right now, I didn’t want these men to think I was a baby so I was real glad that my eyes don’t cry no more. My nose plugged up and a little growl came out of my mouth but I kept my finger pointed, cleared my throut and said, “I know it’s you.” Herman E. Calloway said, “What in Sam Hill is going on here? First off, don’t you be coming in here accusing folks of being your father, and second off, where is your mother?” Shucks, he said it like he didn’t already know. I said, “She’s dead, sir, she died four years ago.” Herman E. Calloway said, “I am truly sorry to hear that, but it’s obvious that you are a disturbed young man and that you don’t have a clue who your father is. You just tell us who’s looking after you now, and we’ll get you sent back to wherever it is you belong.” “I belong with you now sir.” Herman E. Calloway said, “Now you look here…”

ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT Finally I decided that Mr. C. had waited long enough. I stuck my rocks in his face and said, “See, I told you I had some rocks like those, the only difference is mine say, ‘flint m dot eight dot eleven dot eleven’ and ‘ gary in dot six dot thirteen dot twelve.’ “ He said, “Where did you find these? Didn’t I tell you not to do any rummaging around in that room you been sleeping in?” He reached for the rocks. I don’t know why but I let him take them. He was the first person other than Bugs that I’d ever let touch the rocks that my momma had give to me. Mr. C. turned the rocks over and over in his hands and said, “Well? Where’d you get these?” Uh-oh, I could tell by the way Herman E. Calloway was holding my rocks that he didn’t plan on giving them back to me anytime soon. I kept watching his hand, waiting for a chance to snatch my rocks and get out of there. If I could get my hands back on my rocks, I knew I could outrun Mr. C. even though he was a lot stronger and his legs were a lot longer than mine. Herman E. Calloway said, “Answer me, where’d you take these from?” Mr. C. sounded meaner than he ever had before. Mr. Jimmy heard him and put down the box he was carrying and walked over to us real quick. Herman E. Calloway had the rocks squeezed tight in his right-hand fist and had his left-hand fist balled up like he was ready to fight.

TEACHING Once we are able to understand other perspectives, we can get to the heart of what the story is really, deeply, truly about. What deep themes might you come up with for “Bud, Not Buddy?”

LINK One way to grow a new idea is to infer the thoughts and feelings of secondary characters and let this lead us to new ideas. Try this with your own books today!

MIDWORKSHOP Sometimes we make judgements about who is good and who is bad. How can this change when we consider other perspectives?

SHARE Remember the post it board for our thoughts last week? What if each side of the board was a different character’s point of view about one central event? As a group, decide on a big event. How many characters are involved in this event? Make a sticky for each character’s perspective. Share with your group. Remember to allow yourself to be changed by your conversations!