Show Way

Bibliographic Information: Woodson, J. (2005). Show Way. Illus. Hudson Talbott. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Brief Annotation: A girl tells the story of her ancestral past, beginning with her grandmother's great-grandma who learned to sew quilts that led many slaves to freedom. The freedom quilt then led to her ancestor's battles and march to end segregation. Then she ends her story with the thought of how her ancestor's determination has allowed their future generations a life of freedom.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Grade Level: 3rd-5th

Readers who will like this: Students who are learning about the history of slavery and segregation.

Response/Rating (1-4): 4; I absolutely loved the illustrations to this book, it really help bring the story to life. This is definitely a must read; I highly recommend it!

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What do you know about slavery?


a. Reading Strategy: Quilts

b. Strategy Description: The students will use their comprehension of the book to create quilt pieces to add to a classroom quilt. The quilt will be a show way quilt from your class room to the playground area. Before starting the quilt, take the students on a walk from the classroom to the playground. Instruct the students to pay attention to any details they can use for the quilt. Then assign a detail for each student to create for the classroom quilt. Before putting the quilt together, have the students explain their design.

c. Rationale: This reading strategy will put emphasis on an important piece of the book. The details the students will have to add to the quilt will show just how important it was for the characters in the book. This will help with the comprehension of the theme of the book.