George Washington Carver
By: Tonya Bolden
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Copyright: 2008
Genre: Biography
Summary: This photobiography of George Washington Carver provides a
detailed picture of his life and work. Readers will get an idea of his personality
and motivations, not just his scientific accomplishments.
Booktalk: Who invented peanut butter? If you think the answer is George
Washington Carver (I did!), then you need to read this book. Although he was
known as “The Peanut Man”, Carver did not invent peanut butter, but he worked
very hard to educate people on all of the uses of peanuts, soybeans, and sweet
potatoes. He was an artist and a scientist who had a great influence on farming
practices. This book is illustrated with photos, so you will feel as though you
have truly gotten a glimpse into the life of a great man.
Author’s Biographical Sketch: Bolden has written more than 20 books for
children, won several awards, and lives in New York City. For more information
about Tonya Bolden see:
http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=2703
http://www.answers.com/topic/tonya-bolden
Challenging Words (pronunciation, spelling, definition):
p 4 – stymied
p 5 – croup
p 7 – persimmon, crocheting, ingenuity, sundry, plantain
p 8 – perpetual
p 9 – revived, robust
p 10 – crucial
p 13 – rejoiced
p 15 – horticulture
p 17 – extracurricular, interrelatedness
p 18 – degradation, legalized, segregation, oppressive
p 21 – cultivate, pellagra, subsisting, vitality
p 22 – metaphor, campus, viability, flatiron, pipettes
p 23 – subjugation, lynch, temperament, innate
p 24 – instill, ultimately, potent, touted
p 25 – boon
p 27 – good steward, adorned, nourishment, resourcefulness
p 28 – convey, infuriated, lackadaisical, kindred, downtrodden
p 29 – venues, manifold, croquettes
p 30 – lamented, blighted
p 31 – consultations, reaped, levy, boundless, prosperity
p 33 – tariff, testimony, exaggerations, abound, crediting, notably, propaganda,
asset, legume
p 34 – artifacts
p 35 – revitalized, fatigued, withered
p 36 – realism, adjoining, versatile, ascended
p 38 – commemorative, irrelevant, revelations, detractors
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think Carver worked so hard all of the time?
2. What do you think is Carver‟s greatest accomplishment?
3. How could George Washington Carver‟s ideas be used today?
4. With contemporary emphasis on a “green” planet, how would the
teachings and practices of George Washington Carver “fit in” today?
5. Why was George Washington Carver called „The Plant Doctor‟?
6. What are some of the different things that Carver made from peanuts?
7. Why do you think most Americans know Carver as the man who invented
peanut butter?
8. Before reading the book, share what you already know about George
Washington Carver. After reading the book, share something that you
learned. Was there anything in the book that surprised you?
9. Name one obstacle George Washington Carver had to overcome and
explain what he did to overcome it. What can we learn from his example?
10. At one point in time, George Washington Carver hoped to become a
professional painter. How would our world be different if he had focused
on painting, instead of becoming a scientist?
11. Carver said “Regard nature. Revere nature. Respect nature.” (p 23)
What does that message mean to you? How is it important in our world
today? What can you do to honor that message?
12. On page 37, the photo caption includes the sentence: “He always had a
touch of nature in his lapel.” Look back through the book to find other
examples of “nature in his lapel”.
Suggested Activities
English/Language Arts:
1. Imagine you are George Washington Carver and you have been asked to
speak, as he was in 1921, before the House of Representatives about whether or
not a heavy tax should be placed on peanuts imported from other countries.
Using visual aids, explain why peanuts are such a valuable crop and why
American Record your presentation on video and evaluate your performance.
Repeat your presentation to make improvements.
Indiana Academic Standards: English/Language Arts
4.7.2 Summarize major ideas and supporting evidence presented in spoken presentations.
4.7.5 Present effective introductions and conclusions that guide and inform the listener’s
understanding of important ideas and details.
4.7.7 Emphasize points in ways that help the listener or viewer follow important ideas
and concepts.
4.7.8 Use details, examples, anecdotes (stories of a specific event), or experiences to
explain or clarify information.
4.7.9 Engage the audience with appropriate words, facial expressions, and gestures.
4.7.12 Make informational presentations that:
• focus on one main topic.
• include facts and details that help listener’s focus.
• incorporate more than one source of information (including speakers, books,
newspapers, television broadcasts, radio reports, or Web sites).
5.7.5 Clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence and examples.
5.7.6 Use volume, phrasing, timing, and gestures appropriately to enhance meaning.
5.7.13 Emphasize points in ways that help the listener or viewer follow important ideas
and concepts.
5.7.10 Deliver informative presentations about an important idea, issue, or event by the
following means:
• frame questions to direct the investigation.
• establish a controlling idea or topic.
• develop the topic with simple facts, details, examples, and explanations.
6.7.5 Emphasize important points to assist the listener in following the main ideas and
concepts.
6.7.6 Support opinions with researched, documented evidence and with visual or media
displays that use appropriate technology.
6.7.7 Use effective timing, volume, tone, and alignment of hand and body gestures to
sustain audience interest and attention.
6.7.13 Deliver persuasive presentations that:
• provide a clear statement of the position.
• include relevant evidence.
• offer a logical sequence of information.
• engage the listener and try to gain acceptance of the proposition or proposal.
Science:
1. Plant several sets of seeds of the same type and grow them for 6 weeks.
Choose the growing conditions for each set of seeds. (Variables = soil type,
amount of water, amount of light, etc.). Compare the growth results and analyze
what worked best.
Indiana Academic Standards: Science
4.1 Students, working collaboratively, carry out investigations. They observe and make
accurate measurements, increase their use of tools and instruments, record data in
journals, and communicate results through chart, graph, written, and verbal forms.
5.1 Students work collaboratively to carry out investigations. They observe and make
accurate measurements, increase their use of tools and instruments, record data in
journals, and communicate results through chart, graph, written, and verbal forms.
Students repeat investigations, explain inconsistencies, and design projects.
6.1 Students design investigations. They use computers and other technology to collect
and analyze data; they explain findings and can relate how they conduct investigations to
how the scientific enterprise functions as a whole. Students understand that technology
has allowed humans to do many things, yet it cannot always provide solutions to our
needs.
Lifeskills:
Effort
Initiative
Problem Solving
Related Internet Sites:
Gale Cengage Biography
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/carver_g.htm
Library of Congress http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgibin/page.cgi/aa/scientists/carver
George Washington Carver National Monument http://www.nps.gov/gwca/ and
http://www.nps.gov/archive/gwca/expanded/gwc.htm