1. Who is the author of this book?

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1 Name: Bad Boy: A Memoir Summer Journal You will need to submit the completed packet in a 3 prong folder. In the back of your folder, behind this packet, create a Glossary of Terms on notebook paper. Follow the directions included here to know which words to add and define in your glossary. This project is DUE upon your arrival back to school! What I Know About Harlem in the 1950 s Complete before beginning Bad Boy What I Want to Find Out What I learned Include quotes and page numbers here Page 2- Pre Reading 1. Who is the author of this book? 2. Use the internet, a dictionary, prior knowledge, or an adult to help you define the term memoir. What makes a memoir different from other genres?

2 Pages 3-4, Chapter 1: Roots Draw your own family tree and include it in your journal. Use the example attached as a model. Ask your family members to help you. 1. What is this chapter mostly about? 2. Complete the following statements after reading the chapter: a. I wonder:. b. I wasn t expecting that:. 3. Explain why this quote is important: Each of us is born with a history already in place (pg. 1). Pages 5-6, Chapter 2: Harlem 1. What is this chapter mostly about? 2. I am confused about _. 3. Complete this quote: Harlem is the first place. a. What is Walter Dean Myers expressing? 4. Walter Dean Myers learns to read before he ever goes to school. Describe your memories about when you learned to read. What was that experience like for you? Who taught you the most? What book(s) was your favorite? Pages 7-9, Chapters 3 and 4 1. In chapters 3 and 4, Walter writes about some memories from his early school years. Write about the strengths and weaknesses he had at this time. 2. Chapter 3 is titled. Why is this an appropriate title? 3. Chapter 4 is titled. If you had to give the chapter a different title, what would you call it and why? Pages 10-12, Chapter 5 Chapter 5 is titled.

3 1. How does the author introduce bullying? 2. Use prior knowledge and/or any other helpful way to define the term bullying. Add this word to your Glossary of Terms. 3. Use detail to describe the incident with Richard Aisles. 4. Describe the events related to Walter s reading aloud in Mrs. Conway s class. 5. Discuss the incident with Johnny Brown. 6. Describe how bullying might negatively impact the person who is being bullied. Pages 13-14, Chapter 6 1. What vivid description is in this chapter? 2. Why do Walter s grades improve with Mr. Lasher? 3. Have you ever had a teacher that you connected with the way Walter connects with and responds to Mr. Lasher? What made you respond better to that particular teacher?

4 4. Add the following vocabulary words to your Glossary of Terms. Use a dictionary, the internet, or context clues to help you determine a meaning. p. 51, cache; p. 52, secret vice; p. 53, scoffed; p. 60, excruciating; p. 61, resolute, gingerly *hint- secret and vice are 2 words combined to create one meaning here. Pages 15-17, Chapters 7 and 8 1. Why is chapter 7 called I Am Not the Center of the Universe? 2. What is Walter learning about race relations? 3. How is Walter approaching reading and writing? Explain whether these things are important to him and why. a. Explain the positive impact books have had on Walter. b. Explain the negative impact books have had on Walter. Pages 18-20, Chapters 9 and 10: Create a Text Connections page on notebook paper and keep it in your folder. Complete the following connections on that page. 1. Text-to-World Connections: Find 2 quotes in these two chapters (may be one quote from chapter 9 and one from 10, or both quotes may come from the same chapter) that remind you of some aspect of the world that you are familiar with. May be past or present. Cite each quote and explain in complete sentences. 2. Text-to-Self Connections: Find 2 quotes in these two chapters (may be one quote from chapter 9 and one from 10, or both quotes may come from the same chapter) that remind you of yourself

5 or your own life in some way. May be past or present. Cite each quote and explain in complete sentences. 3. Text-to-Text Connections: Find 2 quotes in these two chapters (may be one quote from chapter 9 and one from 10, or both quotes may come from the same chapter) that remind you of something you have read, song lyrics you ve heard, or a movie you ve seen. Cite each quote and explain in complete sentences. Pages 21-22, Chapter What added problems does Walter have now? 2. Discuss the result of these problems in Walter s life. 3. Explain the significance of the following quote: My response to my problems was to immerse myself in literature. Books are often touted by librarians as vehicles to carry you far away. I most often saw them as a way of hiding oneself inside the other. (126) Pages 23,24,25,26- Chapters 12 and Chapter 12 is tited:_. 2. Chapter 13 is titled:. 3. What keeps Walter from fitting in at Stuyvesant High School? How is he different? 4. Ask an adult to help you understand this quote: Putting marks on paper is always only part of the writing process. The other part is looking at those marks and applying the judgment needed to ensure that the narrative that flies by your mind s eye will be recognizable to an independent reader. What part of the writing process is Walter referring to? (Pre-Write, Rough Draft, Edit/Revise, or Publish) (Circle one) 5. What does Walter mean in the last sentence in Chapter 13, Marks on Paper, I was officially disturbed?

6 6. Locate the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes in this packet. In the blank space surrounding the words, draw an illustration that fits the meaning of the poem. Then, at the bottom, summarize what the poem is really about in 3 sentences or less. Pages 27,28,29- Chapters 14 and What is happening in Walter s life in these two chapters? 2. What is Walter s attitude toward life? Find and cite 1 quote that proves your point. I was smart which meant that I was cutting myself off from people whose interests reflected their not being smart. My sole interests were in literature and philosophy, which made me a bad student at the school I had selected. What I wanted was to hide myself, to not show the ugliness I felt. I was big, over six feet tall, too large to hide, too gross in movement and posture not to be noticed. 3. Analyze this quote: *Note the page number that this quote is on in the book. 4. What does this quote reveal about the way Walter feels about himself? 5. What has brought on this attitude? 6. Add the following terms to your Glossary of Terms, and use context clues to write a definition: p. 155 stern-looking man; p. 156 stomach was churning; p. 158 extremely mild-mannered; p. 163 dilemma, deliberate, detachment; p. 164 dire; p. 171 sporadically

7 Pages 30,31,32- Chapters 16 and Find and cite 4 quotes from these two chapters that show how reading is affecting Walter s life. Be sure to explain why you picked each quote. Complete this on the Text Connections page in your folder. Then, answer #2 on the same page, labeled as a Text-to-Self connection. 2. How has reading affected your life? Be specific! 3. How does Walter struggle to define himself? a. How did Walter feel about choosing a career? b. Why did choosing a career mean different things at Stuyvesant and in Harlem? c. Describe Walter s thoughts when Dr. Holiday asks Walter if he likes being black. d. How does Walter finally identify himself? 4. Consider the following quote: My growing understanding of literature was a strength, even if my intense interest in it isolated me from people around me. My ambition to make things right, to mediate between God and man to bring fairness and judgment to the world, was a strength, even if it isolated me from the guys I played ball with. I thought that my seriousness was strength, even as it isolated me from the teenagers around me who were busily discovering the importance of their own sexuality and how much fun their lives could be. I knew my strengths well, and they were killing me. p. 182 a. What is Walter Dean Myers realizing about himself? Pages 33,34,35- Chapters 18 and What is Walter deciding about his life? Provide 3 quotes that prove your point. 2. Write 1 paragraph that summarizes this book. No more than 5-7 sentences. Complete this on a separate page in your journal labeled Summary.

8 3. Were you happy with the book s ending? Why or why not?

9 Mother to Son BY LANGSTON HUGHES Well, son, I ll tell you: Life for me ain t been no crystal stair. It s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor Bare. But all the time I se been a-climbin on, And reachin landin s, And turnin corners, And sometimes goin in the dark Where there ain t been no light. So boy, don t you turn back. Don t you set down on the steps Cause you finds it s kinder hard. Don t you fall now For I se still goin, honey, I se still climbin, And life for me ain t been no crystal stair.

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