One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia

Published by: Harper Collins 


Set in 1968, Delphine, an eleven year old girl, hopes to get to know her mother. With her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern she will travel from her home in Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA to do just this. Once in Oakland, Delphine and her sisters finally see are reunited with their mother and realize she does not want anything to do with them. Their mother Cecile sends them to a summer camp, where they will learn more about themselves, the world around them, and their mother.

Suggested Delivery: Small-group read

Reading Level: Lexile: 750L

Vocabulary: dispatched, reverberated, deceived, fugitive, ambushed, dispersed, stucco, revolution, flummoxed, sullenly, oppressed, indignant, racism, protestors, Freedom Fighter, begrudgingly, Political Fighter, Black Panthers. 

Vocabulary Activity: Once the words have been defined, have students relate the vocabulary to the Civil Rights Movement. As a class, discuss each term to clarify its meaning and to address it in relation to the movement. 

Teaching Strategies (adapted from HarperCollins): 

Pre-reading: Discuss the Civil Rights Movement with students. Address their questions and misconceptions. Create a KWL chart about this movement. Address questions such as: Why did it occur? Who was involved? What resulted from it?

During Reading: Have students compare and contrast the characters Cecile and Delphine in a Venn Diagram. Discuss with the students: how are these characters similar and different? 

After Reading: Have students locate and write down some of the many metaphors in the story. They will list these metaphors as well as address the meaning of these in relation to the story. 

Writing: Have students write as a journalist and research the Black Panther movement. Students will write a newspaper or magazine article about the group from Delphine's perspective. 

Web Resources: 

Ideas for lessons: http://www.the-best-childrens-books.org/One-Crazy-Summer-ideas.html

Literature Unit: http://www.edhelper.com/books/One_Crazy_Summer.htm

HarperCollins Teaching Resource: http://files.harpercollins.com/PDF/TeachingGuides/0060760885.pdf

Author's Website: http://www.ritawg.com/

Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer. New York: Amistad.