LESSON 16 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Come to Nicodemus
by Barbara Tillman
Fountas-Pinnell Level S
Historical Fiction
Selection Summary
Aunt Sally leaves Tennessee in 1887 to work as a teacher in
Nicodemus, Kansas. The Civil War is over and slavery has ended.
She wants Benjamin and his family to move to Nicodemus because
it is a settlement of former enslaved African Americans who have
moved there to enjoy freedoms denied to them in the South.
Number of Words: 1,866
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Historical fiction
• First-person narrative organized in eight letters
• The action takes place over nine months
• Civil rights
• Working together, meeting challenges
• Starting life in a new place is exciting.
• Sometimes you have to take a chance in order to have a better life.
• Conversational language and enthusiastic descriptions
• First-person narrator
• Many long sentences with formal language
• Series commas
• Words that are not defined in the text, such as penmanship, blacksmith, slate
• Multisyllable, challenging words: triumphant, churning, perished, millinery, liveries
• Illustrations, sign, and a map with captions
• Eleven pages of text, dated headings, and illustrations on most pages
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Come to Nicodemus
by Barbara Tillman
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of early settlers to visualize the selection. Build interest
by asking a question such as the following: What was life like for early settlers in plains
states like Kansas? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Note
how the story is told through letters. Tell students that this story is historical fiction, so
the events and places are real, but the characters are not real.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 3: Explain that this is a story about the experiences of Aunt Sally, a
schoolteacher moving to and living in an all-black settlement in Nicodemus,
Kansas. Suggested language: The heading tells that the story is written as
separate letters written by Aunt Sally to her nephew Benjamin. The story begins on
August 3, 1887. Read the last sentence: I will try to write often to share news of
my new life and adventures on the great plains of Kansas. Ask: What do you think
would be some of the challenges of living in an early settlement in Kansas?
Page 7: Point out the picture of the school. What do you think would be the same
about school in 1887 and schools today? What do you think would be different?
Page 9: Make sure students understand that in the 1880s, even though former
enslaved people were now free, they were not treated equally in every state. Think
about what you know about freed slaves. What was their situation? Could they
vote? Could they go to school anywhere they wanted?
Page 12: Point out the map. Explain that the people of Nicodemus wanted the
railroad to go through their town. Why is the railroad important? What might
happen to the town if the railroad does not go through Nicodemus? Would no
railroad cause the town’s demise?
Now go back to the beginning of the story to hear Aunt Sally’s story.
Expand Your Vocabulary
correspondence –
communication by the
exchange of letters, p. 5
demise – the end of existence or
activity, p. 12
Grade 4
depot – a railroad station, p. 3
economy – the system of
economic activity in a
community, p. 9
2
settlement – establishment of
people in a new region, p. 5
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Monitor/Clarify Strategy
to understand parts of the story that are confusing.
, and to find ways
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: Have you ever moved to a new place? How did you feel? How did
Aunt Sally feel about moving to a new place?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Aunt Sally moves to Nicodemus
to teach and find freedom.
• People who work together can
accomplish great things.
• The dates on the letters explain
when the story took place.
• Aunt Sally wants Benjamin and
his family to move to Nicodemus
to enjoy the freedoms she has.
• Moving to a new place is scary,
but it can be rewarding.
• The language of the story
sounds very realistic, the way an
aunt would write to a nephew in
the 1880s.
• Aunt Sally is happy that
Benjamin and his family are
moving to Nicodemus.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a few paragraphs from the text to demonstrate
phrased fluent reading. Remind them to use any cues provided in parentheses to make
their reading more lively and realistic.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that suffixes can turn a noun into an
adjective. The suffix tic on the word optimistic on page 11 transforms the root noun
optimism into an adjective.
Grade 4
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 16.9.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their
Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend
understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Compare and Contrast
Remind students that they can examine how
details or ideas are alike or different in a selection. Model how to add details to the
Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
On page 9, the narrator describes what life is like for blacks who live
in Tennessee in 1887. She says that blacks cannot own land, cannot
go to white schools, and cannot shop in white stores. On page 11, she
describes how blacks can own land in Kansas. These details help me
understand how blacks are treated differently in Kansas than they are in
Tennessee during 1887.
Practice the Skill
Encourage students to share their examples of another story in which two places can be
compared and contrasted.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• What can readers tell about how life was better in Kansas for blacks during 1887?
• In the second paragraph on page 8, what does the word swelled mean?
• One idea present in this selection is that
_______________________________.
Grade 4
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Make sure the text matches the students’ reading level. Language
and content should be accessible with regular teaching support.
Cultural Support This story is about what life was like for former enslaved people
after the Civil War. The topics of Civil War, slavery, and what happened after the Civil War
might be unfamiliar. Explain that states in the north and south fought a war that ended
slavery. Explain that the states in the north won the war and the enslaved people were
freed. Describe that many of the enslaved people left the south to find a better life. Point
out that although the enslaved people were free, many states did not give blacks the same
rights as white people.
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?
Speaker 1: What is the main thing Aunt
Sally likes about living in Nicodemus?
Speaker 1: Why does Aunt Sally
think Benjamin and his family
should move to Nicodemus?
Speaker 2: Aunt Sally
Speaker 1: Who is Benjamin?
Speaker 2: Aunt Sally’s nephew
Speaker 1: Where did Aunt Sally move
to?
Speaker 2: Nicodemus, Kansas
Speaker 2: She likes how people help
each other.
Speaker 1: Why did Aunt Sally move to
Nicodemus?
Speaker 2: She wanted more freedom
than she had in Tennessee.
Speaker 2: She thinks they will
enjoy the freedom of owning
land and voting. She thinks they
will be safe there.
Lesson 16
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 16.9
Date
Critical Thinking
Come to Nicodemus
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Why did Aunt Sally move to Kansas?
It was advertised as the Promised Land with much opportunity.
2. Think within the text Contrast life for former slaves in
Kansas after the Civil War with the life of former slaves in
Tennessee.
In Kansas, African Americans can live safely, have good jobs, and farm and own
their land. In Tennessee, they cannot own land and must pay unfair prices for
farm supplies. They are mistreated or even killed.
3. Think beyond the text After the railroads were built, it
became easier to travel and move supplies across the country.
How have other forms of transportation changed life in the
United States?
The car lets people go farther from home than they could by walking or horseback.
People can see their friends and family more easily. Planes can make trips in a
day that used to take months.
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author uses
letters to describe a Kansas settlement?
It lets the reader learn about Nicodemus from the point of view of someone who is
experiencing it.
Making Connections Imagine you are Benjamin and you are reading
Aunt Sally’s letters. Write a letter back to her describing your reaction
to the new settlement and your plans.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
11
Critical Thinking
Grade 4, Unit 4: Never Give Up!
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First Pass
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Name
Date
Come to Nicodemus
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
On page 3, Aunt Sally says that Nicodemus is called the Promised Land.
What does Aunt Sally mean? In what ways do you think Nicodemus, Kansas
was the Promised Land? In what ways was it not?
Grade 4
6
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Lesson 16
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
BLACKLINE MASTER 16.9
Come To Nicodemus
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why did Aunt Sally move to Kansas?
2. Think within the text Contrast life for former slaves in
Kansas after the Civil War with the life of former slaves in
Tennessee.
3. Think beyond the text After the railroads were built, it
became easier to travel and move supplies across the country.
How have other forms of transportation changed life in the
United States?
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author uses
letters to describe a Kansas settlement?
Making Connections Imagine you are Benjamin and you are reading
Aunt Sally’s letters. Write a letter back to her describing your reaction to
the new settlement and your plans.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 4
7
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Student
Lesson 16
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 16.13
Come to Nicodemus • LEVEL S
page
7
Come to Nicodemus
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Dear Benjamin,
Your letter arrived! Thank you for news of family and friends. I
miss everyone but am happy in my new life in Kansas.
From your letter, I can tell you are filled with curiosity about
our school, which is not very different from your school except
that it is part of a building that also houses the post office and
a hotel. Townspeople made every single desk. We have a new
slate board, a sizable supply of chalk, and two erasers. We
have no bell tower; instead I call students with a hand bell.
They come promptly.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/99 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 4
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1413956
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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