Bookends Club met this week to do a parent/child discussion on the collective work of poetry of author Jacqueline Woodson. Ms. Woodson tells her story of growing up as an African American in the 1960’s and 70’s through poems from each stage of her childhood.–
Parents and students enjoyed learning a bit more about that era of American history as it relates to the Civil Rights Movement. The lesson was anchored around the theme of ‘personal and collective dreams’ as referenced in the title of the book, the epigraph of Langston Hughes’s poem ‘Dream’ poem, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech.
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Students and parents then did personal reflections and sharing around understanding what a memoir is, creating a biographical poem of their own, and sharing favorite poems and passages. The group focused on the literary tool of metaphors, similes, rhyme, and repetition.
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The club has been run this year by Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Shangle, who alternate sessions of leading the evening class. Mrs. Meisenbacher has been a creative support in designing snacks that are tied to each book’s theme and are homemade and delicious! The club will be available next year for all Upper Elementary students and their parents.
