Lit Comp:
Thursday, August 9th
• Today, we will begin our first novel study of the year:
Bad Boy!
• Make sure that you have your composition notebook
EVERY DAY so that you can begin taking notes!
• Warm-Up: On the very first page of your
composition notebook, write the following title: “New
York Reflection: 8/9/12”. Next, spend the next five
minutes reflectively writing in your composition
notebook about what you know about New York?
Standards
• ELACC8RL2:
–Determine a theme or central idea
of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the
text, including its relationship to the
characters, setting, and plot;
provide an objective summary of
the text.
Introduction to Novel Study
Bad Boy
A Memoir by
Walter Dean
Myers
Book Synopsis
As a boy, Walter Dean Myers was quick-tempered and
physically strong, always ready for a fight. He also read
voraciously-he would check out books from the library
and carry them home, hidden in brown paper bags in
order to avoid other boys' teasing. He aspired to be a
writer. But growing up in a poor family in Harlem, his
hope for a successful future diminished as he came to
realize fully the class and racial struggles that surrounded
him. He began to doubt himself and the values that he
had always relied on, attending high school less and less,
turning to the streets and his books for comfort.
Who is Walter Dean Myers?
Click on Picture
For Video
Harlem Renaissance
• You may have background knowledge on or
have heard about Harlem because of the
Harlem Renaissance.
• Let’s watch a video about the Harlem
Renaissance by clicking here.
What is a Memoir?
Autobiography? Biography?
• A memoir is a special kind of autobiography, usually involving
a public portion of the author’s life as it relates to a person,
historic event, or thing. The text is about the personal
knowledge and/or experiences of the author.
• In contrast, an autobiography covers the author’s entire life to
the present, and is expected to include details about his or her
public and private life.
• A biography is someone’s life story written by another person.
• Memoir Writing Techniques
– A memoir is written in first person from the author’s point of view.
– It is narrative nonfiction written in story form like fiction.
– Dialogue can be included, but since few people can remember precisely
every word spoken, the dialogue is not literally true; instead the author
attempts to recreate it as accurately as possible.
– For this reason, some memoirs tell the story without dialogue.
Book’s Setting:
Where is Harlem, New York?
NEW YORK STATE
NEW YORK CITY
Setting of the Book:
Harlem in the Manhattan Borough of New York City
New York City
Harlem, New York
Harlem is a
neighborhood in the
New York City
borough of
Manhattan, which
since the 1920s has
been a major
African-American
residential, cultural
and business center.
What are boroughs?
• New York City is one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five
boroughs.
• Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in.
• The county governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898,
along with all city, town, and village governments within each county, all
being governed by the expanded city.
• The term borough was adopted to describe a unique form of governmental
administration for each of the five fundamental constituent parts of the
newly consolidated city.
• Technically, under New York State Law, a "borough" is a municipal
corporation that is created when a county is merged with populated areas
within it.
History of Manhattan
Click on the
picture for a
short video
clip!
United States History: 1950s
• The most popular product was the television.
• A mix of blues and country music was
popular and was known as rock n’ roll.
• Elvis Presley became the most recognized
personality in the world.
• 90 years after slavery ended, music was one
of the few fields that was open to AfricanAmericans.
• The Civil Rights movement started.
Public Schools in the 1950s
Desegregation of Public School Education
• Publicized legal case Brown v. the Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas which reached the United States Supreme
Court, not only declared segregation unconstitutional in schools
but prompted measures to end discrimination in other public
institutions.
• The Court's decision in 1954 changed the course of education
for states, educators, and, most important, America's students.
• Black families, who had been forced to send their children to
generally poorly funded, black-only schools, could now legally
demand that their children be able to attend the same schools
as white students.
• The country wrestled with integration.
• Full desegregation took more than twenty years.
The Garment District
• Fashion District
• Located in Manhattan
• Center for fashion
design and
manufacturing in the
U.S.
• Home to major
fashion labels
• Caters to the fashion
world
Make a Prediction about the Book!
•
•
•
•
•
Characters?
Background Information?
Setting?
Conflict?
Themes?
Homework
• Go home and conduct 20 minutes of research
on one of the following topics:
–
–
–
–
–
United States history in the 1940s and 1950s
Harlem, New York
Public Schools in the 1950s
Boroughs of New York
Manhattan’s Garment District
• Write a paragraph about your findings and be
prepared to share this information with your
classmates tomorrow.
Let’s Listen to “Roots”
Click Below!