A Curriculum Guide for Kin: Rooted in Hope By Carole Boston Weatherford Illustrated by Jeffery Boston Weatherford About the Book Author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Jeffery Boston Weatherford provide an accessible examination of slavery and its impacts on individuals, families, communities, and nations. The book is historical fiction that chronicles the history of Boston Weatherford''s African ancestors and their descendants from the Gold Coast of Africa to America, from the 1600s through the present day. The author records in verse her efforts to discover and document her family''s past, interwoven with history, autobiography, and biography, including events and historic persons. Poems that are haunting and thoughtful chronicle the history in language that paints vivid images. Jeffery adopts a realistic artistic style using scratchboard techniques. Kin is the culmination of Carole Boston Weatherford''s ideas, interactions, and searching that shaped her quest for her ancestors'' stories. Prereading Strategies 1. Describe your initial reaction to the cover in a response journal through written description, poetry, art, or journalism.
2. Take a visual stroll through the book. Look at the front and back covers of the book. What do you see, feel, or think about when you examine the book? 3. Write down five to ten facts that you know about slavery in the USA. Why do you think the author chose Kin: Rooted in Hope as the title to explore her family''s history? 4. Identify new information you may obtain from the book. Discussion Questions 1.
Carole Boston Weatherford discusses the impact of Alex Haley''s book, Roots , on her as a teenager and now. Identify the key points and the ways in which her reactions changed over time. Who is Alex Haley and what has been his impact as a journalist and author? Review journal and magazine articles and list ten facts you acquired. How does Haley''s book, as well as the 1619 Project, shape Kin ? 2. The book cover is arresting. Determine clues in the text that suggest who the individual depicted on the cover might be. What are some possible meanings of the foliage surrounding the person on the cover? 3. Describe how the illustrations change, develop, or remain the same throughout the book.
Chart your responses. 4. Select four poems from the book that capture what you believe are the experiences and feelings of the enslaved. Compare their responses to those of the enslavers. 5. Discuss the technique of presenting alternating views of the enslaved and enslavers. How does the structure allow for greater insight into the individuals? 6. Carole Boston Weatherford chose to present her poems in chronological form.
What are some effects of this structure? 7. Historic figures are interspersed throughout the book. What is the impact of reading about Frederick Douglass, Francis Scott Key, and others? 8. Literacy, the ability to read and write, is a powerful tool. Frederick Douglass said, "Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." (p. 43) Discuss in groups what Douglass meant by this, and why enslavers did not want the enslaved to be literate. 9.
Irony is the expression of one''s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. An example of irony is the vignette about Francis Scott Key. (pp. 139-141) Explain why it''s ironic. 10. A person''s kin is their family members and those they are related to, but in the institution of slavery, people were often separated from their families, forcing them to create new family relationships, including adopted families and chosen families. Describe examples of these unique family bonds and relationships from the book. 11.
Identify five ways in which Carole Boston Weatherford presents the interior lives of the enslaved (e.g., spitting in the food of the lascivious guest or the pain of not keeping one''s children). 12. The Lloyds and other enslavers would list the names of their enslaved people in ledgers of their property, along with things like their farm animals, furniture, and clothes. The author goes on to call the names of the enslaved that she found in these ledgers. A person''s name validates their existence, is proof that they lived. Discuss in small groups what your name means to you.
Include any meanings your name might have in different languages, or if you share your name with other members of your family or ancestors, and how that makes you feel. 13. Metaphors are used throughout the book, for example, Marena Copper''s mirage and her comparison of the anchor with the ball and chain, and the sails of a slave ship with bed sheets. (p. 97) Select four examples and discuss their meanings. 14. In a small group discussion, talk about the use of multiple characters used to propel the story forward. How might responses change if the author focused on fewer perspectives with a more traditional narrative structure? 15.
Create a reader''s theater script for sections of Kin and perform it. Extension Activities 1. Nature: Carole Boston Weatherford highlights the importance nature plays in the everyday lives of both the enslaved and their enslavers. a. Select four poems from Kin: Rooted in Hope that incorporate the importance of nature, and discuss how they do this. b. Research some wild fruits and edible grasses that occur naturally in your area. Create a presentation or report that includes their edibility, their optimal growth environment and season, any animals or insects that use these fruits/grasses as a primary diet source, and any meals, dishes, or medicinal salves they could be incorporated into.
2. Music: Listen to music that was performed by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Here are examples: 1909 recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUvBGZnL9rE a. Describe your reactions. b. Research how this group came to be.
c. Identify insights you discovered about the Fisk Jubilee Singers in this news report: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/over-100-year-old-recording-of-the-fisk-jubilee-singers-revealed What is the current status of the group? d. Listen to other performers that recorded songs about African American experiences--whether folk or work songs, spirituals, etc.--such as Odetta, Oscar Brown Jr., Nina Simone, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Abbey Lincoln, and Rhiannon Giddens (who has resolved to highlight roots music and recently won a Pulitzer Prize for music, her second Grammy Award, and a MacArthur fellowship). Describe your reactions.
3. Stories: Slave narratives, historic records, and books and articles written by historians document enslavement resistance ranging from breaking tools to poisonings, fires, and revolts. a. Select one of the movies listed and watch it. Write a review for one of the following movies: Amistad , 12 Years a Slave , and Harriet . Identify major themes, point of view, character development, and historical accuracy. b. How does the form/genre/writing of the film affect its ability to impact the viewer? c.
Locate interviews with Carole Boston Weatherford (PBS, Reading Rocket, author''s page, etc.). What insights does she reveal about her writing (e.g., choice of topic, genre, format, etc.)? 4. Math: Plantation records provide stark realities of the financial aspects of purchasing a human and providing meager food and clothing, the sale of products produced on the farm or plantation, and how inheriting enslaved people improved the economic standing and lifestyles of the enslavers. a.
Document the rise in economic status of the Lloyd family in a graph. Create a key that explains the points on the graph. What insights can be acquired from the graph? 5. Information Searches: Developing research skills is necessary for critical thinking and discernment that goes beyond using Google. Librarians and media specialists welcome your queries. a. Interview a librarian about the best techniques for locating information about slavery and the use of archives. b.
Review information included in the author''s note, bibliography, and back matter. Identify an archive used by the author, and document the information contained within it. c. Interview a member or members of your own kin (birth, adopted, or chosen family) or someone in your community to learn their history and record their stories. If you''re not sure where to start, ask them about what their life was like when they were your age. d. Discuss the oppressive purpose of unmarked and anonymous graves of enslaved people on plantations. Consider having students research various grieving and mourning practices from different African countries and cultures and present their findings to the class.
e. Using your school or local library, or trusted online sources, research the ways in which slavery in the United States was different from other forms of slavery across time and in other countries. 6. Music Vocabulary: Some of the types of music created by the enslaved include work songs, coded songs about flight and freedom, and spirituals or "sorrow songs"; later, the emancipated created the blues, gospel, jazz, and rock and roll. a. Describe the ways in which the book includes refer.