# of Days 1

Students’ Prior Students have read the first 80 pages of One Crazy Summer.
Knowledge They have received previous instruction on skimming texts,
writing paragraphs, and analyzing characters.
Critical Lens Youth
Lesson Objective(s) Students will be able to explain how the relationship between
young people and adults is depicted in One Crazy Summer.
Students will be able to describe the opinions of characters
from the text and form their own opinions about those
characters.
Formative Character stations worksheet
Assessment Exit-ticket
Standards (please CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.6
include the fully Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of
written out view of different characters or narrators in a text.
standard(s) here)
Materials Needed Student copies of One Crazy Summer, character stations
worksheet (one for each student), station directions (one for
each station), writing utensils, highlighters

Time Learning Task Methods or Procedures

5 Directions Have the students count off into five
groups. Give them a few moments to
move into their groups.

Pass out the character stations

worksheets and the station directions.
Each group will receive the directions
for one of the five stations.

Explain to the students that they will be

working in stations for this class period.
They will begin by reading the
directions for the station that their
group currently has and completely the
activity for that station. All written
work will go in their worksheets. After
8 minutes, they will pass the
instructions for their first station to the
group on their right, then begin working
on the new station. They will continue
changing stations every 8 minutes until
each group has completed every station.
 Each station deals with the characters
in the story, specifically the relationship
between Delphine (and her sisters) and
one of the adults from the novel.
8 Station 1 As a group, students will skim pages
1-12 of One Crazy Summer and make a
list of five of Big Ma’s opinions.

Individually, students will choose and

highlight one of Big Ma’s opinions,
decide whether they think Delphine
agrees with her or not, then write a few
sentences explaining why they think
Delphine agrees or disagrees with her
grandmother.
8 Station 2 Using pages 35-36 and pages 182-183
of One Crazy Summer, students will
complete a chart about how Mean Lady
Ming’s opinion of Delphine and her
sisters changes from the beginning of
the book to the end.
Then, they will discuss their findings
amongst their group.
8 Station 3 Students will read a short passage from
One Crazy Summer to spark their
thinking about Cecile as an adult and
mother.

As a group, they will briefly discuss the

following questions:
● Does Delphine think that Cecile
acts like an adult?
● What is Delphine’s familial role
while she and her sisters are
visiting Cecile? How does her
role fit or not fit with your
expectations about young girls
like Delphine?
● How do you think Delphine
wants Cecile to act?

Individually, students will write letters

to Cecile from the perspective of
Delphine.
8 Station 4 As a group, students will briefly discuss
what they remember reading about
Crazy Kelvin.

Then, they will skim pages 64-66 of One

Crazy Summer and write a paragraph
responding to the following prompt:
● Do you think Crazy Kelvin is
being fair in the way he treats
Fern? Do you think he would
treat her differently if she were
older?
8 Station 5 Students will read a short passage from
One Crazy Summer to spark their
thinking about Sister Mukumbu.

As a group, they will complete the Venn

Diagram on their worksheets,
comparing and contrasting how
Delphine and Hirohito view Sister
Mukumbu’s instruction style.
5 Exit Ticket Have the students respond to the
following prompt in any written format
they choose: What did you learn from
this lesson? How does One Crazy
Summer depict the relationship
between young people and adults?
(Make sure to write the prompt on the
board).

Collect the completed station

worksheets and exit-tickets.
# of Days 2
Students’ Prior Students have finished reading One Crazy Summer. They have
Knowledge received previous instruction on the Black Panther
Movement, how to search through a text for examples and/or
evidence, and how to annotate informational texts.
Lesson Objective(s) Students will be able to identify social justice issues that
occur in One Crazy Summer and create their own protest
poster based on one of those issues.
Students will be able to explain the impact that young people
(both real and fictional) can have on social justice movements.
Critical Lens Youth
Formative Quick-Writes
Assessment Annotations and List
Protest poster
Standards (please CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.3
include the fully Analyze the interactions between individuals, events, and
written out ideas in a text (e.g., how ideas influence individuals or events,
standard(s) here) or how individuals influence ideas or events).
Materials Needed Whiteboard, dry-erase markers, notebook paper, writing
utensils, student copies of One Crazy Summer, bowl or hat,
slips of paper, single-sided copies of article passages, poster
paper, markers, any other craft supplies (optional)

Time Learning Task Methods or Procedures

DAY 1
10 Quick-Write Have the students respond to the
following prompt in any written format
they choose: Do you think young people
can have an impact on social issues,
local or global? (Make sure to write the
prompt on the board).

Once the students seem to have finished

15 Identify moments in One Crazy
Summer in which young
characters get involved in social
justice movements
writing, ask for a few volunteers to
share their thoughts with the entire
class.
Transition to the next activity by telling
the students that the children in the
novel contribute to the Black Panther
Movement.

Instruct the students to take out their

copies of the novel and, with the person
 next to them (Think-Pair-Share), search
the text for a few moments when
Delphine and her friends help the Black
Panthers.

Walk around the room and help any

students that are struggling with finding
examples by directing them to a few of
these pages: pg. 70-72, 78-79, 87-90,
111, 121-122, 126-133, 148-151,
181-184, 192-199, 200-202.

For students who finish quickly, ask

them to consider how the characters’
youth influences their ability to make an
impact.
15 Real-world (current and Have the students get into their
historical) events assigned groups (3-4 students per
group) for the unit.

Have one student from each group draw

a slip of paper from a bowl. The slip
they get will determine which topic
their group will work on. Each of the
topics are social justice movements that
have been influenced by young people.
1. Civil Rights/Sit-Ins
2. Vietnam War
3. Tiananmen Square
4. Arab Spring
5. Indigenous Rights
6. Apartheid
7. Velvet Revolution
8. Black Lives Matter

Distribute the matching article sections

(which can be found here and
here) to each group.

Instruct the students to read their

materials as a group, then add three
annotations to their passages.

On the other side of the paper, have the

students write a list of three ways that
 young people influenced their assigned
social justice movement.
Walk around the room and check in
with every group.

Collect the papers at the end of the class

period.
10 Making posters Distribute poster paper, markers, and
other craft supplies to each group.

Instruct the students to choose a social

justice movement that matters to them.
They can focus on the Black Panther
Movement, their article topic, or a
current issue they care about. Have
them create a poster that they could
take to a protest or rally for their chosen
issue.

Walk around the room and check in

with every group. Make a list of the
social justice issues that students have
chosen. If a group is having trouble
coming up with an idea, suggest that
they try a few different designs on
notebook paper before transferring it to
their posters. If a group’s poster design
is very abstract, ask that they create a
slogan to go along with the poster.

Students will not finish their posters

today. Store posters and other
materials in the classroom for the next
day.
DAY 2
20 Finishing posters Students should continue to work on
their posters.

As groups finish, ask them to explain

their design to you. Give suggestions for
things they could add.
20 Presentation of poster Each group will informally present their
poster to the rest of the class.
 Students should explain why they chose
their social justice movement and what
their poster means.
Each group will have 2-3 minutes to
present. Ask any necessary follow-up
questions about their designs.
10 Quick-Write Ask the students to pull out their
Quick-Writes from yesterday. On the
same sheet of paper, have the students
respond to the following prompt in any
written format they choose: What did
you learn about One Crazy Summer from
this lesson? How will you get involved
in social justice issues that you care
about? (Make sure to write the prompt
on the board).

Collect both Quick-Writes at the end of

the class period.
 Station 1: Big Ma

Big Ma is very vocal with her opinions about how Pa, Delphine and her
sisters, and black people should act. With your group, skim pages 1-12 of
One Crazy Summer and make a list of five of Big Ma’s opinions.

Individually, choose and highlight one of Big Ma’s opinions and decide
whether you think Delphine agrees with her or not. Write a few sentences
explaining why you think Delphine agrees or disagrees with her
grandmother.
 Station 2: Mean Lady Ming

Mean Lady Ming is a bit rude to Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern when they first
visit her restaurant for dinner. Over the course of the book, however, her
treatment of the children changes. Use the chart in your worksheet to
examine how Mean Lady Ming’s opinion of Delphine and her sisters
changes from the beginning of the book to the end.

As a group, skim pages 36-37, then fill in the first box on your worksheet,
which is labeled “Beginning”, with details about how Mean Lady Ming views
and/or treats the girls in the passage.

Then, read the bottom paragraph on page 182 (it continues on to page
183) individually. Fill in the second box on your worksheet, labeled “End”,
with details about how Mean Lady Ming views and/or treats the girls in the
passage.

With your group, discuss how Mean Lady Ming’s opinion of Delphine and
her sisters has changed and how it has stayed the same throughout the
book.
 Station 3: Cecile

Read the following passage:

“As many times as Big Ma said it, I never fully believed it. That no one, not
even Cecile, needed to have their way so badly or was so selfish. That she
could leave Pa, Vonetta, Fern, and me over something as small and silly as
a name. That Cecile left because Pa wouldn’t let her pick out Fern’s name.
But I saw and heard it with my own ears and eyes. She refused to call
Fern by her name” (Williams-Garcia 55).

Delphine is angry at Cecile for not being the mother that she and her
sisters need. Consider the following questions with your group about
Delphine’s opinion of Cecile:

● Does Delphine think that Cecile acts like an adult?

● What is Delphine’s familial role while she and her sisters and visiting
Cecile? How does her role fit or not fit with your expectations about
young girls like Delphine?
● How do you think Delphine wants Cecile to act?

Individually, imagine that you are Delphine. Write a short letter (in your
worksheet) to Cecile expressing your thoughts and feelings about Cecile’s
success and/or failure as a mother. Explain how you think Cecile should
treat you, Vonetta, and Fern.
 Station 4: Crazy Kelvin

With your group, briefly discuss what you remember reading about Crazy
Kelvin. Then, skim pages 64-66 of One Crazy Summer. Write a paragraph
responding to the following prompt:

Do you think Crazy Kelvin is being fair in the way he treats Fern? Do you
think he would treat her differently if she were older?
 Station 5: Sister Mukumbu

Read the following passage:

“That was how I knew Sister Mukumbu was a real teacher, aside from her
welcoming smile and her blackboard penmanship. She asked a teacher’s
type of question. The kind that says: Join in” (Williams-Garcia 71).

Delphine likes that Sister Mukumbu encourages the children at the

community center to get involved in the lessons. Hirohito, on the other
hand, seems upset that he was chosen for the class demonstration on
revolutions.

With your group, complete the Venn Diagram on your worksheet,

comparing and contrasting how Delphine and Hirohito view Sister
Mukumbu’s instruction style. Put Delphine’s views in the left circle,
Hirohito’s in the right circle, and any similarities they have in the middle
section.
 Character Stations Worksheet

Station 1: Big Ma

Big Ma’s Opinions:

1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________

Response:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.

Station 2: Mean Lady Ming

Beginning (pg. 36-37) End (pg. 182-183)

Station 3: Cecile

Dear Cecile,
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
Sincerely,
Delphine

Station 4: Crazy Kelvin

Response:
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________.
Station 5: Sister Mukumbu