Barack Obama, Son of Promise, Child of Hope Read Aloud
by Nikki Grimes
Vocabulary Words: soothe, grueling, coaxing
Before:
Brief Overview of
the book
Ask for
predictions
Set purpose for
listening
During:
Concept Taught: Character Traits
The book I am going to read to you today is called, Barack Obama, Son of Promise, Child of Hope
by Nikki Grimes. It is about a man who grew up knowing he wasn’t like everyone else, but became a
bridge to bring people together. How can a person be a bridge? What do you predict will happen in this
book? What does Son of Promise mean? What does Child of Hope mean?
Listen as I read and see if you can notice when and how Barack learns WHO he is and how he changes
as he figures this out.
You may want a globe handy to preload where all of the following are on the map: Honolulu, Indonesia,
Harvard, Pali Mountain, Langston’s Harlem, Hudson River, Djakarta, and Kenya
Words to explain in context: tenement, gibbons, beggars, puny
(while reading
fluently & with
expression)
These are my attempts to construct meaning and question to guide comprehension as I read the book
aloud. I wrote these on sticky notes to use as I read to model my thinking.
Provide
opportunities for
students to
develop concepts
and vocabulary
Models to
construct meaning
Use questions to
guide
comprehension
After:
Discuss meaning of
story
Confirm or
disconfirm
predictions
Who is Hope? Explain what a tenement is.
Visualize this mind picture: a lady as white as whipped cream and a man as black as ink…are people
really THOSE colors? I wonder how is this mind picture important to Barry’s life?
Locate Hawaii on a map.
I am wondering if Barry really had a hole in his heart? What does this mean? T to S connections with
Divorce.
Locate Indonesia on a map. Gibbons are monkeys with long arms.
How can someone hum inside? Who said Someday, son. Someday.
I am wondering what Barry’s dad meant when he said, “It‘s in the blood, I think.”
Explain what Harvard is and how hard it is to get in and graduate.
Why did Hope say, “Hold tight…”
Why did Barry think the bridge was sinking?
How will Barry decide “who” he is?
Who is Hope? Who put Hope in Barry’s mind?
Why did Barry go back to being Barack?
How can a person be a BRIDGE?
How could Barack make a difference?
Who were those voices again? Hope?
Close your eyes and visualize words sprouting like seeds in spring.
Why do you think it was important for Barack to go visit Africa?
What does that butterfly have to do with Barry/Barack’s life?
How did Hope help Barack do all of the things he did?
What do you think will happen now that little Barry/Grown-up Barack is going to be our 44th President?
How
How
How
Why
Why
Why
did living in different parts of the world make Barry/Barack who he is today?
did having a white mom and grandparents raise him make him who he is today?
did having an African father who was not around most of his life make him who he is today?
is important to have HOPE?
is important to have COURAGE?
is change a GOOD thing?
What about that Butterfly?
What do you predict for the boy named David in the book?
Extending Mini-lessons & Activities for Next Lessons:
Expanding Connections Reading Power pg. 40
Writing Questions as We Read – answered in text & do they matter? RP pg. 63
Keeping Track of a Character’s Actions TCSARN pg. 66-67
(from Teaching Comprehension Strategies All Readers Need by Scholastic)
Defining Traits in Characters by Examining Their Actions TCSARN pg. 69-71
Co-construct Character Web on Barry/Barack TCSARN pg. 75
Model and Co-write a letter to Character TCSARN pg. 77
Synthesis: Making A Difference – Model with Barack RP pg 109,
Co-construct with next read-aloud RP pg. 97-109
Vocabulary Instructional Sequence (done immediately after a Read Aloud)
Contextualize the
word
soothe
The work was
grueling, with
stretches of failure
and puny patches of
success…
Door-to-door Barack
went, …coaxing
strangers to march
together…
coaxing
His mom, and
Gramps and Toot
told him brave and
funny stories of his
father’s past to
soothe his hurt and
make him laugh.
grueling
(Tell how it was used
in the story, reread
the sentence)
Say
the
word
Give a student
friendly definition
(Define in own words;
pair with an example)
to make less
mad, hurt, sad,
or upset; calm
or comfort
Use in another
context
(Give examples other
contexts)
We soothed the
cat by petting
her and feeding
her warm milk
something that
is very, very
hard work
The 100
problem math
homework page
was grueling to
finish.
to get someone
to do something
by asking nicely
My mom smiled
sweetly while
she was coaxing
my baby sister
into putting on
her shoes.
Engage students
(Students interact with
target
words/questions/
choices)
Which words go
with soothe?
firecrackers, soft
music, pacifiers,
rocking chairs, sitting
in mom’s lap, car
horns, dogs barking
Say the
Word
What word
means to
make
someone
feel
better?
What is a job that is
grueling to do?
What word
means very
tough?
Role Play: Show me
how a person who is
coaxing would look or
act…
What word
means to
get
someone
to do
something
in a nice
way?
Use all the words together. Related the words in the same context or format.
It was grueling work coaxing the big brother to forgive the little brother for breaking
his very favorite toy. I had to soothe them both and make them stop crying!