N
ew W
indmills
New
Windmills
2004
Resource sheets
Locomotion
By Jacqueline Woodson
Activities © Alan Pearce, 2004
The following pages consist of teacher’s notes and classroom support
sheets for Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson. These pages can be
downloaded and printed out as required. This material may be freely
copied for institutional use. However, this material is copyright and under
no circumstances can copies be offered for sale. The publishers gratefully
acknowledge permission to reproduce copyright material.
Locomotion
Locomotion
by Jacqueline Woodson
Synopsis
Locomotion is a novel told in 60 poems. The poems tell the life of Lonnie Motion, an
eleven-year-old boy. He was born prematurely and was lucky to survive. At the age of
seven his parents died in a house fire, leaving Lonnie and his younger sister, Lili. The
authorities split the siblings up and placed them in different care situations. Lonnie hated
the group home that he was sent to, but he was rescued from there by Miss Edna. This
foster mother provides Lonnie with the love he needs and her grown-up son provides
Lonnie with an elder brother. At the same time his teacher, Ms Marcus, encourages him
to write poetry. The support Lonnie receives from these people, and his own
determination to survive, provide the novel with an uplifting tone.
Prior learning
This novel provides an ideal opportunity to study the nature of poetry, within the context
of students’ own experiences. The novel includes free verse, haikus, a sonnet, and
considers rap as poetry. It would be helpful if the students had some understanding of
these and other forms of poetry before they started to read the novel.
Study areas
Many students will be able to relate to the confusions Lonnie and his classmates face
while growing up. The novel also encourages readers to consider the nature of love
within the family setting. In the novel, it is announced that Ms Marcus is ‘Teacher of the
Year’, which provides an opportunity to consider what qualities make a good teacher.
Author’s craft: The various forms of poetry used to explore emotions and to tell a
narrative could be explored.
(Author’s craft: Yr7 R12; Yr8 R10; Yr9 R9)
Persuasive writing: Write a letter to persuade people that Ms Marcus deserves to be
Teacher of the Year.
(Persuasive writing: Yr7 Wr15; Yr8 Wr13; Yr9 Wr13)
Personal writing: Write a story about your own childhood, in prose or poetry.
(Personal writing: Yr7 Wr19; Yr8 Wr16; Yr9 Wr13)
Group discussion/presentation: Which chapter of the novel is the most interesting
poem?
(Group discussion: Yr7 S&L12; Yr8 S&L10; Yr9 S&L10)
Collaborative drama: Create the dialogue for scenes in the play that we know
happened, but are only told through Lonnie’s eyes:
– Lonnie’s first meeting with Miss Edna
– a scene involving Lonnie and Rodney, Miss Edna’s son
– the day Eric returned to school.
(Collaborative drama: Yr7 S&L16; Yr8 S&L16; Yr9 S&L14)
2
Teacher’s
Notes
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
Personal view: What are the strengths and weaknesses of a novel written in poetry?
(Personal view: Yr7 Wr19; Yr8 Wr16; Yr9 Wr13)
Discursive writing: What qualities make a good teacher?
(Discursive writing: Yr7 Wr15; Yr8 Wr14; Yr9 Wr13)
Teacher guidance
Resource Sheet 1
This resource sheet helps the students to analyse the structure of a sonnet. They are asked
to recognise the number of lines in the sonnet, the number of syllables in each line, and
the rhyme scheme. The students are then encouraged to write a sonnet about an actual
event in their own lives.
Literacy Framework Objectives
Year 7: R14 Appreciate writers’ language choice; R19 Explore how form contributes to
meaning; Wr8 Experiment with language.
Year 8: Wd11 Appreciate figurative language; R13 Read a substantial text; R14 Recognise
conventions of literary forms; Wr6 Experiment with figurative language;
Wr9 Experiment with different forms of poetry.
Year 9: R6 Comment on authorial perspective; Wr8 Use different poetic forms.
Guided Reading Opportunities
This task asks the students to analyse the structure of a sonnet. Most students will be able
to follow the requirements of the task, but others will have difficulties. Take a group of
students and work through the counting of syllables, and the identification of a rhyme
scheme. (Note that the number of syllables per line is not entirely consistent.) You could
ask the guided group to report back to the rest of the class to ensure that the whole class
have the correct structure.
Resource Sheet 2
This resource sheet asks the students to write a biography of Lonnie’s first seven years.
Relevant page references are given to help the students collect the necessary information.
Literacy Framework Objectives
Year 7: R2 Use appropriate reading strategies; R6 Adopt active reading strategies;
R8 Infer and deduce meaning; R19 Explore how form contributes to meaning;
Wr10 Organise texts appropriately; Wr11 Select and organise information.
Year 8: R4 Review active reading strategies; R7 Identify implied and explicit meaning;
Wr10 Organise and present information; Wr12 Use formal language.
Year 9: R1 Review and extend reading strategies; R3 Improve note-taking; R6 Comment
on authorial perspective; Wr1 Write for specific audience and purpose.
3
Teacher’s
Notes
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
Guided Reading Opportunities
1
This task asks the students to select relevant information from the page references
provided below:
Events
Pages
Memories of Lili
5
Memories of his mother
7–8
Memories of Lili
9
Memories of both parents
18–19
How Lonnie got his name
21
A letter to Lonnie’s father
24
His birth
70
His epitaph to his mother
80
The fire
82
However, you could set the additional reading task of reading beyond Lonnie’s text
to understand how he feels about things – as at times the reader understands more
than he does. Finally, ask students to re-order the information before they begin their
piece of biographical writing.
2
Take a group of able readers and read pages 5–6 together. The pages tell of a day when
Lonnie had Lili sitting on his knee. However, the account allows us to infer a great deal
about his relationships with his sister and his mother. Work with the group, asking them
questions that encourage them to infer meaning. For example, Lonnie recalls that when
a pigeon pecked at the window, Lili screamed: ‘Not a scared scream / just one of those
laughing screams’. What does this detail suggest about Lonnie’s feelings for his sister?
Does the scene have a metaphorical meaning, with Lonnie aware of his sister’s
vulnerability? Afterwards, ask the students to read page 24 and talk about Lonnie’s
relationship with his father. Also ask them to explain the metaphor: ‘Underwater
familiar – like I dreamed it sort of’.
Resouce Sheet 3
This resource sheet asks the students to produce a newspaper article which celebrates
Ms Marcus’s ‘Teacher of the Year’ award. Relevant page references are given to help the
students collect the necessary information. However, all of the information is provided
through the eyes of Lonnie, so let them know that they will need to make judgements about
the factual worth of some of Lonnie’s observations. At times, for example, the reader has a
better understanding of events than Lonnie.
Literacy Framework Objectives
Year 7: R2 Use appropriate reading strategies; R6 Adopt active reading strategies;
R8 Infer and deduce meaning; Wr10 Organise texts appropriately; Wr11 Select and
organise information.
Year 8: R4 Review active reading strategies; R7 Identify implied and explicit meaning;
Wr5 Develop use of commentary; Wr10 Organise and present information.
Year 9: R1 Review and extend reading strategies; R3 Improve note-taking; R6 Comment
on authorial perspective; Wr5 Explore different structures; Wr7 Entertain in
non-fiction; Wr11 Make use of descriptive writing.
4
Teacher’s
Notes
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
Guided Reading Opportunities
This task asks students to write a newspaper article about Ms Marcus. To collect the
necessary information, the students are provided with the following page references:
Details
Pages
Ms Marcus discusses race with Lonnie
12–13
A poetry lesson
22–3
Lonnie is angry with Ms Marcus
46
Angel’s poetry
50
Ms Marcus encourages the class
54–5
Lonnie refuses to let Ms Marcus read his poetry
56
Teacher of the Year
75
Students will need to infer a great deal from the content of these pages. Take a group and
read pages 12–13. Lonnie does not think that Ms Marcus understands about the way his race
affects his life. Ask the students whether they could interpret the incident in another way. For
example, an alternative reading might be that Ms Marcus wanted to provide Lonnie with an
opportunity to articulate his feelings. Afterwards, ask the group to read pages 54–5 and tell
you what they learn about Ms Marcus. For example, we are told that Ms Marcus: ‘looks a
little bit sad’. Why?
5
Teacher’s
Notes
© Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2004
Locomotion
1
Writing a poem
Introduction
Locomotion has been written as a series of poems. The author has used a number of
poetic forms. You are going to study a poetic form called the ‘sonnet’. You will see how
a sonnet has a number of patterns. Afterwards, you will write your own sonnet.
Your task is to write a sonnet that tells the true story of something interesting that has
happened to you.
Planning
Look back at the sonnet on page 20 of Locomotion. Answer the questions about the
patterns in the sonnet in the table below.
Sonnet Poem
Lines
How many lines are
there in this sonnet?
Syllables
How many syllables are
there in each line?
Rhyme
Which lines rhyme
with which lines?
Task
You now know what patterns there are in Lonnie’s sonnet. Your task is to write your
own sonnet about something funny or interesting that has happened to you. For
example:
an incident at school
a family holiday
sports day
on a shopping trip
last Christmas day.
Remember:
to use the correct number of lines
to use the right number of syllables in each line
which lines rhyme with which lines.
6
Student
Sheet
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
2
Lonnie’s life
Introduction
One of the themes of the novel is the difficulties that Lonnie has dealing with the
trauma of his parents’ death. The memory of these deaths also makes it difficult for him
to think back to the first seven years of his life. We get regular references to his parents
and his early years, but these references are often brief. Also, we are not told about his
past in a chronological order.
Imagine that a book publisher would like to produce a biography of Lonnie Motion.
They want to write this biography for a Year 8 audience. They have enough information
about Lonnie’s life from eight years. However, they have asked you to write the part of
the biography that deals with his life from his birth until the end of his seventh year.
Your task is to write up what we know about Lonnie’s first seven years. You will need to
write in the third person, in a formal style. You will also need to deal with events in
chronological order.
Planning
The table on page 8 records moments in the novel where Lonnie recalls events in the
first seven years of his life. Re-read the relevant pages. Then, in the final column of the
table, make notes for your piece of biographical writing.
Remember:
You are writing a biography. This means that you are writing in the third person
about Lonnie.
You will need to write in the past tense.
The events, as they appear in the table, are not in the correct order. You will
need to re-order them before you start writing Lonnie’s biography.
Not all of the information on the pages listed in the table is relevant. You will
need to select the relevant details.
7
Student
Sheet
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
2
Lonnie’s life
Events
Pages
Memories of Lili
5
Memories of
his mother
7–8
Memories of Lili
9
Memories of
both parents
18–19
How Lonnie
got his name
21
A letter to
Lonnie’s father
24
His birth
70
His epitaph to
his mother
80
The fire
82
Your notes
8
Student
Sheet
© Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2004
Locomotion
3
Teacher of the Year
Introduction
Ms Marcus is obviously an inspirational teacher. She definitely encourages a wide range of
students to enjoy reading and writing poetry. However, there are also many moments in the
novel when we see that Ms Marcus cares about the broader education of the students in
her class. Her story is the sort of story that a local newspaper would like. Imagine that you
are a journalist on Ms Marcus’s local newspaper, and you have been asked to write a report
about ‘Teacher of the Year’.
Your task is to write a newspaper article about Ms Marcus’s teaching. In your article you
need to talk about all of the great things that she has done. You also need to interview her
and some of the students. You might also think of other people to interview.
Planning
You are given a great deal of information about Ms Marcus. The table on page 10 lists
some of the key moments in the novel that involve Ms Marcus. Re-read the pages listed
and make notes for your article.
Remember:
Because this is an article to celebrate Ms Marcus’s award, everything in the
report will be positive.
We get all of the information about Ms Marcus from Lonnie’s point of view.
Sometimes he does not understand something as well as the reader does.
Remember to write your article in an appropriate style for a newspaper.
If you are able to use a computer, you could include a photograph of someone
who you think looks like Ms Marcus. The photograph could be taken from the
Internet, or you could use a digital camera and take a photograph of someone
you know.
9
Student
Sheet
© Harcourt Education Limited, 2004
Locomotion
3
Teacher of the Year
Details
Pages
Ms Marcus
discusses
race with Lonnie
12–13
A poetry lesson
22–3
Lonnie is angry
with Ms Marcus
46
Angel’s poetry
50
Ms Marcus
encourages
the class
54–5
Lonnie refuses
to let Ms Marcus
read his poetry
56
Teacher of
the Year
75
Your notes
10
Student
Sheet
© Harcourt Eduction Limited, 2004