Name: - : The Color of My Words
Name: - : The Color of My Words
Name: - : The Color of My Words
DIRECTIONS: Complete each of the lessons attached, as well as all of the chapter reading
questions. Please be sure to read all instructions carefully and follow them completely to
ensure you get full credit. You can check things off as we go if you’d like.
_____ LESSON THREE: Background (author interview and Dominican Republic Article)
DIRECTIONS: Before reading the book, consider each of the statements below and, in the
before column, write and “A” for agree or a “D” for disagree for each. You MUST either
agree or disagree, there is no in between on this. Be thoughtful. Once we have finished the
book, go back over the statements and answer them again in the after column. Take time
to consider and reflect on what answers you changed after reading.
Before: After:
______ If your words might be dangerous to speak, it’s best not to speak ______
at all, but rather to remain silent.
______ Family always comes first, even if that means we don’t live a perfect ______
life in order to take care of them.
______ Family is decided by blood, not personal choice (we don’t choose our ______
families)
______ Physical violence is sometimes necessary and the only way to ______
clearly communicate our feelings.
______ Anyone can earn forgiveness for the wrongs they’ve done. ______
* Complete questions 1 and 2 below before reading the book – answer the 3 rd question once
we have finished the novel.
1. Which of the statements above do you feel most strongly about? Why?
2. Based on the statements above what do you think The Color of My Words will be about?
3. What was one answer you changed and one you left the same? Why?
Lesson Two: Happiest Memory
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Lesson Three: Background
DIRECTIONS: Read both, the interview with the author and the article about the
Dominican Republic. As you read annotate the texts, then complete the chart below based
on the readings.
Interview with the Author: Lynn Joseph Article: Education in the Dominican
Republic
List 5 facts you learned about the author. List 5 facts you learned about the D.R.
education system.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
5.
5.
What did you find surprising or interesting What did you find surprising or interesting
in the interview? in the article?
How will this information help you better How will this information help you better
understand the novel? understand the novel?
An Interview with Lynn Joseph
Q. Most of your books take place in Trinidad or the Dominican Republic, but where were you born?
I am a “Trini” -- born and raised on the island of Trinidad in the West Indies. I spent a glorious childhood rambling about
on the rivers and the beaches of Maracas and Mayaro, hiking the green mountains near my home in Diego Martin, and
buying pallets (ice-cream) from the Pallet Man and fresh coconuts from the coconut man around the Queens Park
Savannah with my father.
Definitely. My early books feature Trinidad’s majestic Carnivals (Jump Up Time), its delicious foods like roti, doubles,
and pholourie (Jasmine’s Parlour Day) and my favorite beach, Mayaro Bay (A Wave in Her Pocket). I also retell folktales
based on the scary stories I heard from my aunts in Trinidad. Those stories are in A Wave in Her Pocket and The
Mermaid’s Twin Sister. My mother used to tell me I would turn into a mermaid if I went swimming on Good Friday, and I
believed her, so I wrote about it in the Mermaid book.
Read a lot. Go inward. Don’t be afraid to be alone with your thoughts. In Trinidad, I walked alone at the beach and years
later, I wrote scenes in The Color of My Words based on my memories. Try to absorb everything--the beautiful, sad,
painful and joyous moments—these experiences will be there to draw on later when you need to create a heartfelt scene.
And when you’re crying over some guy or girl breaking your heart, stop and think, “I need to remember this moment.”
And you’ll be just fine.
During the summers, my sister, Christine, and I walked to the Starlite Drive-In twice a week with our brother Gerard to
watch the double features. We saw four movies a week. My brother is now a filmmaker and actor, so movies are big in our
family. The Breakfast Club is my ultimate favorite. Most writers of young adult books are stuck in a teenage time zone—I
read YA books, see most teen movies, and have more teen friends than adult ones.
And Music! We grew up with calypso, reggae, funk and soul, samba, Frank Sinatra, Santana, all playing in our house. I
hung out with friends at Rhyner’s Record Shop in downtown Port-of-Spain listening to dub and rockers (forms of reggae
music), American soul, and the incomparable Michael Jackson. Now I listen to music as I write. I have a playlist for every
project to get me in the mood of the characters.
Q. Do your books feature mostly real-life experiences, or do you make up stuff, too?
I never plan it, but most scenes in my books come from something or some feeling I have experienced or observed. Like
my first crush, which lasted for years (he knows who he is!). In my book, The Color of My Words, Ana Rosa describes
her mad crush on her brother’s friend, who doesn’t notice her at all. I know that feeling so well! My first slow dance was
at a party to the song, You Make Me Feel Brand New by The Stylistics. I thought that song would never end, I was so
nervous. Then, I had to stand there and watch all the guys ask my sister to dance. Christine was the cutie pie; I was the
nerd. In The Color of My Words, Ana Rosa has to stand by and watch the boy she loves dance with her sister. So, it’s real
to me and to my characters.
I attended the University of Colorado, Boulder and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English, so I did a lot of
reading, and a lot of hiking in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains. I didn’t know then about the MFA (Master of Fine Arts)
degree where you can study creative writing. I thought writers just wrote.
I moved to New York to work in publishing and, by chance, I ended up in the Children’s Book Department of Harper &
Row working with two phenomenal editors Laura Geringer and Joanna Cotler. I learned everything about children’s book
writing from them! It was an extraordinary apprenticeship. While working for Laura and Joanna, I wrote my first
children’s book Coconut Kind of Day, but I was too shy to give it to them so I sent it to another editor, Dinah Stevenson,
who publishes award-winning multi-cultural books. That’s how I started. It was the most exciting thing I had ever done.
Q. How did being a lawyer and mother affect your children’s book writing?
I had no time to be alone anymore. No time to think, and certainly no time to write. Eventually, I took a hiatus from law
and traveled back and forth between New York and the Dominican Republic researching and writing The Color of My
Words for two years. That country dazzled me. I loved the music, the people, and the culture--it all reminded me of
Trinidad. Although I did not speak Spanish, I felt the same way I used to back home because that same joy permeated the
air.
Q. How did you pick the Dominican Republic for the setting of The Color of My Words?
I read an article in Caribbean Travel & Life magazine about Jewish refugees who escaped Europe in the 1940s to settle in
Sosua on the North Coast of the D.R. A few years later, I read about freed slaves emigrating from the United Sates to the
coastal town of Samana in 1824 and developing a boatbuilding and agricultural society. I was drawn to the similarities
between these two different groups of displaced people from different centuries, finding a new home on this island. I felt
as if the Dominica Republic was calling me. So, I went by myself and traveled around exploring and meeting people. The
Color of My Words was the result of those encounters. I was fortunate that editors Joanna Cotler and Justin Chanda from
HarperCollins loved Ana Rosa and her story of wanting to be a writer. I felt like I had come full circle.
Now, I’m writing a middle grade novel, Heart & Joy, in which the protagonist’s grandfather is one of the original exiled
Jews. It is based on my interviews with the people of Sousa. Also, in Flowers in the Sky, to be published next year by
HarperCollins, the main character, Nina, is from Samana. So, the D.R., is still very much alive in my heart and in my
writing.
I’m back in New York, loving the beaches of Long Island and the mountains of the Catskills. I’m a part-time lawyer, but
I’m 100% a writer. I wasn’t the most popular teenage girl, but I’m the most popular Mom amongst my sons’ friends. And,
music is still always playing in my house. In fact, my son Jared left his Recovery CD in my Jeep by accident. But there’re
no accidents. Eminem’s song “Not Afraid” woke me up and his incredible intensity got me writing seriously again.
Thanks, Mr. Mathers. My new YA novel, Flowers in the Sky, will be published next year by HarperCollins, and in
October 2011, I was Bermuda’s Writer in Residence, teaching a Writers Workshop on children’s literature to a group of
talented writers. Like Eminem says on his Recovery album, “I’m back!” And I’m so happy to be doing what I love.
11JAN2017
Education in the Dominican Republic
Although the Dominican Republic has been known to have one of the most underperforming education systems in the world, efforts
are being made to improve education in the Dominican Republic.
Education in the Caribbean nation is split into three stages: preschool, primary school and secondary school. Preschool, or nivel
inicial (initial level), includes children from ages 3 to 6. Only the last year of preschool is compulsory. Primary school, or nivel
básico, is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 but is not strictly enforced.
Secondary school, or nivel medio, for students 14 to 18 is not compulsory. Students are awarded a bachillerato, or high school
diploma, after completion and may go on to university.
Some of the issues facing education in the Dominican Republic include overcrowded classrooms, poor-quality facilities and outdated
curriculums. Dominican law mandates that four percent of the GDP must be spent on education, but only about two percent of the
GDP is invested in education in the Dominican Republic.
Teachers are paid so little that instructors cannot earn a living to support themselves or their families. This makes teaching an
unpopular vocation in the Dominican Republic, resulting in very high student to teacher ratios in classrooms. Students don’t get the
individual attention they need, and a large number of teachers have not fully mastered the material they teach.
About 40 percent of students drop out of school before eighth grade. One in four girls drops out of school due to pregnancy. While
the literacy rate of the Dominican Republic is about 92 percent, studies have found that students who complete high school enter
university at a sixth-grade reading level.
After teachers campaigned across the country to make education reform a national focus, all candidates running for president in 2012
promised to double the education budget if elected. President Danilo Medina and his administration have made efforts to improve
education in the Dominican Republic since then, including building more schools and increasing the school day from five hours to
eight hours.
However, these reforms are not fully effective without adequate teacher training and increased teacher salaries. There is still a
shortage of teachers for schools that already exist in the Dominican Republic, and children only learn for a small fraction of the time
they are in school. Students end up sleeping or talking to peers instead of studying, and some teachers do not know what to do with the
extra classroom time.
These reforms are beginning to occur, with World Bank announcing in September of 2015 that the global financial institution
will invest $50 million over five years to assist the Dominican Republic government’s education reforms. The loan will be used to
train teachers and assess student learning in primary and secondary schools. The funds will also be used to improve preschools in
order to increase school readiness, decentralize management of public schools and promote community involvement in education.
– Cassie Lipp
2. Answer the following questions using complete sentences about chapter one:
a. What do we learn about Ana Rosa’s family in the first two paragraphs of the chapter?
c. What do we learn about the way Ana Rosa and her family communicate? Specifically,
how do she and her mother communicate with one another?
d. At the bottom of page 7 it says, ‘“You are the river, Ana Rosa,’ she whispered. ‘But you
must flow softly around the rocks on your way to meet the sea. There you can do as you
wish.”’
- Ana Rosa says her mother talk in puzzles . . . solve this one . . . what is her mother trying
to say to Ana Rosa?
e. What is Ana Rosa’s dream?
g. How do Ana Rosa’s parents feel about her desire to become a writer? Why?
3. Answer the following questions about chapter two using complete sentences:
b. Make a prediction about what you think will happen as a result of Ana Rosa using
Guario’s notebook?
c. What ended the search for Guario’s notebook and how did the family solve this problem?
d. What was Guario’s reaction when Ada Rosa confessed to stealing his notebook?
4. Complete the following chart citing textual evidence for your thoughts.
Chapters 3 & 4:
1. After reading “The Gri Gri Tree,” write a poem of your own about your “happy place.”
Your poem should include what your place is, where your place is, why/when you go there,
how it makes you feel, etc. This should be done in your poetry notebook and should be
called “Happy Place” in our table of contents.
a. What do you think it is that Ana Rosa sees in the water from her Gri Gri Tree? Why?
b. In the first paragraph of page 40 it says, “The whole world would find out about me.”
What is it that everyone is about to find out about Ana Rosa?
c. What are Ana Rosa’s parent’s feelings about her dream to be a writer beginning to
change?
3. Writing prompt: Write the story of the sea monster like you would if you were Ana Rosa.
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4. Based on the first page of chapter 4 draw Ana Rosa’s neighborhood.
5. Answer the following questions about chapter 4 using complete sentences:
a. Why do Ana Rosa’s neighbors love the fiestas so much (pg. 47)?
b. Compare and contrast Ana Rosa’s father on a normal day to who he becomes during
their fiestas.
c. How does Ana Rosa’s dad help her communicate through dance?
d. What is something that people in your life expect you to be good at but you just aren’t?
Have you done anything to work on this? Why or why not?
6. Think about what we learn about the characters based on what the author says by
completing the chart below. (Think indirect characterization)
Says: (cite your quote properly! Use a pg. #) Does: (What does the author accomplish?)
EX: Anna Rosa explains, “I went into the bedroom By having Ana Rosa steal Guario’s notepad, the
that I shared with Angela. I sat on the bed with my author not only reveals that narrator’s
hands in my pocket, holding my secret close. Finally ravenous desire to write, but introduces a
I reached under the thin mattress and stuffed the conflict within the family.
notepad as class to my side of the bed as I could”
(Joseph 16).
Chapters 5, 6, & 7:
1. Answer the following questions about chapter 5 using complete sentences:
d. Guario and Ana Rosa know what the other is thinking without ever speaking. How are
they communicating without words?
c. Do you think words have the power to create large-scale change and to heal? Will Ana
Rosa’s poem work? Why?
a. On page 105 it says, “Guario held up his leaflet and tore it slowly in half right in front of
Mr. Moreno’s face. Then he tossed the pieces carelessly into the back of the pickup, as if
they were nothing but trash. On the gesture the history of our neighborhood pivoted.”
Why do you think this is such a major turning point for the people of the neighborhood?
How does this change things?
c. Why does Ana Rosa blame herself for the death of her brother?
d. Explain the series of events which lead to the climax of this story. How did the conflict
escalate toward the end? How did their weapons change?
4. Think about how an author uses setting and actions to show the reader the mood of a
story or situation. Complete the chart below in order to prove you understand this idea.
Chapter 8:
1. After reading “The Color of My Words” and other color poems write a color poem of your
own. Your poem should be completed in your poetry journal and called “color poem” in
your table of contents.
b. Where is a place in which it is hard for you to be unhappy? Why is this place a “happy
place” for you?
d. In the end Ana Rosa feel forgiven for her brother’s death. Do you feel like she needed to
be forgiven? Explain.
Title:
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Final Assessment
Figurative Language:
DIRECTIONS: Read each of the quotes below. Using the word bank decide which example
of figurative language each represents. You might use a term more than once and you
might not use one at all.
Review:
1. From what point of view is this story told? Provide at least three examples from the text
that support your answer.
4. “I nodded and swallowed. I put my hand over the notepad in my pocket and slipped out
of the room.” (pg. 15)
Is this an example of indirect or direct characterization? What does it tell you about Ana
Rosa?
Is this an example of indirect or direct characterization? What does it tell you about Ana
Rosa?
Is this an example of indirect or direct characterization? What does it tell you about Ana
Rosa?
Is this an example of direct or indirect characterization? What does it tell you about Ana
Rosa?
- Character v. Self –
- Character v. Nature –
- Character v. Society –
Character Sketch:
DIRECTIONS: Complete a character sketch on one of the characters from the novel.
Head = what the character thinks . . . Eyes = what the character sees . . . Mouth = what the
character says . . . Arms = what the character does . . . Heart = what the character feels . . .
Leg = what the character does . . . Foot = where the character goes or wants to go . . .
Stomach = what’s in the character’s stomach