When Marian Sang By Pam Munoz Ryan Pictures by Brian Selznick

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When Marian SangBy Pam Munoz Ryan Pictures by
Brian Selznick
Book cover from Amazon.com
Cyberlesson by Leigh Buczak 5th Grade
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Introduction

• Do you ever think about who the important people
  were who worked to make sure that all people were
  treated equally, no matter what their skin color
  was? Today we are going to learn about Marian
  Anderson, a woman who worked throughout her life
  to do this. We are going to be reading a
  biography focused on her called When Marian Sang.

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Materials

• When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan
• Pen
• Pencil
• Paper
• Jim Crow Web site
• Scholastic Writing Web site
• Marian Anderson Web site

Photo from Penn Library Exhibitions Web site
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Before Reading

• In your small group, share what you know
  about biographies and record your ideas here.
• When you are finished sharing ideas, continue to
  the next slide to see how your ideas matched an
  actual definition.

Photo from www.marian-anderson.org
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Before Reading

• Biographies
• Genre of literature based on the life story of
  someone other than the writer
• The main character is usually influential and
  important in some way
• Non-fiction
• Describes the history of a persons life or the
  series of important events about a person
• The author develops insight into who the person
  is/was, the persons personality and emotions
  linked to experiences

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Before Reading

• Look at the cover and pictures within When Marian
  Sang and read the book jacket. With your
  partner, discuss some predictions about what you
  think this book is about and why.
• The book jacket talks about the obstacles Marian
  had to face in the time before African Americans
  had equal rights to Whites. As the K part of the
  KWL, write down ideas about what you know about
  the African Americans struggle. When you are
  finished, jot down some questions you have about
  the African American struggle and what Marian
  Anderson might have to do with it under the W
  column of the KWL chart.
• Many times African Americans were not treated
  equally because they had to follow laws called
  Jim Crow laws. With a partner, click here to
  learn more about them, and discuss what you find
  in your small group. Read the documentary
  sections and personal histories.

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During Reading

• Read up to when Marian returns to the United
  States
• Using sticky notes, tab inspiring sentences or
  passages while you are reading to share with your
  small group. These passages should help you and
  your group members understand Marians
  personality. Discuss why you chose them with
  your group.
• Quickwrite Based on what you already know about
  Marian, do you think that she ever is accepted as
  an equal by the American people? Why? Keep in
  mind that the struggle for social justice
  continued through the 1960s.

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During Reading

• As you are reading, think
• about how you know that
• this book is a biography.
• Base your answers on what
• you learned a biography is
• at the beginning of the
• lesson. Discuss and
• record ideas in your
• small group here.

Photo from Penn Library Exhibitions Web site
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After Reading

• One way that authors collect information for
  biographies is by conducting interviews either
  with the person the biography is about or people
  who know the person. In your small groups,
  compose two burning questions you would have
  liked to ask Marian if you were interviewing her.
  Then, based on what you read and your background
  knowledge, answer the questions how you think she
  would have answered them. When all groups are
  finished, we will do the hot seat activity in
  which a group member will pretend to be the
  interviewer and another member will be Marian.
  Each group member will get to participate since
  there are two questions.

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After Reading

• In order to complete
• your KWL, fill in the L
• column of your KWL
• chart describing
• what you LEARNED
• about Marian Anderson,
• civil rights, and
• biographies from this
• Cyberlesson.

Photo from Penn Library Exhibitions Web site
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Beyond Reading

• Towards the end of this unit, you will be
  writing your own biographies. Explore this Web
  site with a partner to find helpful hints for
  writing biographies and record them here. The
  Web site begins by explaining how to change a
  boring first draft into an interesting final
  draft and then gives tips to follow while
  researching and writing.

Photo from Penn Library Exhibitions Web site
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Beyond Reading

• In your small group, explore this Web site
  that you visited before to listen to audio links
  and view a video of Marian singing. Use this as
  inspiration to write a song here about Marian and
  the person that she was. First make up the
  words, then you can sing the words to a popular
  tune or a tune that you create.

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Credits

• http//americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features
  /remembering/index.html
• http//teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/in
  dex.htm
• http//www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/rbm/anderson
  /