Collection Coming of Age in a Complex World

Guide

Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

Teach a unit on Jacqueline Woodson's coming-of-age memoir in verse that invites students to reflect on their own experiences and identities.

Subject

English & Language Arts

Language

English — US

Updated

December 9, 2021

Culture & Identity

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Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

Date of Publication: December 2021

Jacqueline Woodson opens Brown Girl Dreaming with a poem about her birth on February 12, 1963, in “a country caught / / between Black and White.” In this coming-of-age memoir in verse, Woodson—who was raised in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York by her mother and grandparents—invites readers to consider what it means to be from a place but not fully belong there, as well as the ways in which family and memory can shape our identities and beliefs as we grow up.

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About This Guide

Over the course of this literature unit, students revisit the following essential questions in order to reflect on their own coming-of-age experiences in light of the many complex factors that influence their identities and choices:

What individuals and experiences have shaped my beliefs about myself and the world around me?
How is each one of us connected to the past? How does history and the legacy of past generations influence who I am today?
How do the acts of reading, writing, and storytelling impact the way I understand myself and make sense of the world around me?

This guide includes the following resources:

Unit essential questions and Facing History learning objectives and outcomes
Guiding questions, classroom activities, and formative assessments for each section of the memoir
Text-based discussion questions, supplemental readings, and handouts (PDF and Google Doc)
Three summative assessment options

Facing History & Ourselves, “Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming”, last updated December 9, 2021.

Additional Resources

Book

Through using free-verse poetry, the author shares her childhood memories of growing up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement.

Insight

by Kaitlin Smith

Jan 31, 2022

Facing History offers an overview and guide for Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, an ideal book to teach in the middle school classroom.

Activity

Students practice gratitude by naming and recording three good things that have happened that day.

Two students look to the front of the classroom with smiles on their faces.

Activity

Students use poetry as a spark for reflection and discussion about what’s happening in their lives and the world.

Four students in conversation with each other in a classroom.

Activity

Students practice debate and perspective taking by taking a stand on a controversial statement.

Students move around the classroom in conversation with each other. One student looks directly into the camera with a smile on their face.

Activity

Students reflect on the day by asking them to share an appreciation, an apology, and an “aha” moment.

Activity

Students identify one personal or academic goal that they would like to commit to in the week ahead.

A Facing History journal sits on top of a student guide for Choices in Little Rock.

Activity

Students reflect on the past year and generate ideas for the kind of learning community and learning experiences they are hoping for this year.

Activity

Students consider what parts of our identities we choose for ourselves and what parts are chosen for us, as well as the impact our names can have on our identities.

A student in conversation with a peer outside of the photograph is in the center of the photo. Another student looks at a laptop.

Activity

Students explore the idea of “community” in order to identify its key aspects and deeper meaning.

Activity

Students explore the factors that make up a community.

A silhouette of the Chicago City Skyline at sunrise.

Activity

This mood meter activity develops students’ vocabulary for describing their feelings and their empathy muscles.

Text Set

Designed for students in grades 9-10, this text set includes lesson plans and multi-genre texts for a 1–2 week unit exploring the essential question, "What makes me, me?"

Activity

Students use emojis to practice sharing what they are feeling while building empathy for their classmates.

A student looks down at their paper with a pen in hand. A smiling emoji is in the foreground.

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Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

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Updated

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Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

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About This Guide

This guide includes the following resources:

How to Cite This Guide

Additional Resources

You might also be interested in…

Three Good Things

Slow Down with The Slowdown

Take a Stand

Appreciation, Apology, Aha

Closing Challenge

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Our Names and Our Place in the World

Making Meaning of Community

Community Is… Community Isn’t

Mood Meter

Identity and Storytelling

Emoji Emotions

Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

Subject

Language

Updated

Access all resources for free now.

Teaching Brown Girl Dreaming

Download a PDF of this resource for free

About This Guide

This guide includes the following resources:

How to Cite This Guide

Additional Resources

Related Facing History Resources & Learning Opportunities

Brown Girl Dreaming

Why and How to Teach Brown Girl Dreaming

You might also be interested in…

Three Good Things

Slow Down with The Slowdown

Take a Stand

Appreciation, Apology, Aha

Closing Challenge

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

Our Names and Our Place in the World

Making Meaning of Community

Community Is… Community Isn’t

Mood Meter

Identity and Storytelling

Emoji Emotions

Inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved