Dana Kimmel

EDC 425
Literacy Lesson Plan
Elijah of Buxton-Chapter 11
Summary
Elijah Freeman, the main character in the story, was the first child
born free in Buxton, Canada, a settlement for escaped and freed
slaves. Elijah is known as the fragile one throughout the settlement
which may be because he is naïve and has never experienced what it is
like to be a slave. Elijah’s closest experience to slavery is hearing
stories from his elders and witnessing newly escaped slaves enter into
Buxton. This all changes when the Preacher steals the money Mr.
Leroy was saving to buy the rest of his family out of slavery.
Elijah, feeling partly responsible, agrees to cross over to America with
Mr. Leroy to get the money back. On their journey, Mr. Leroy dies
and Elijah vows to get the money back himself. He continues on and
soon finds himself in a dark stable holding runaway slaves shackled
and chained to the wall. Here, Elijah meets Ms. Chloe and her baby.
Unfortunately, Elijah is unable to rescue Ms. Chloe and the other
captured slaves so he instead takes Ms. Chloe’s baby and sets out back
to Buxton.
Text Overview The underlying theme contained in the book is slavery and race. We
see Elijah evolve from a fragile boy into a mature young adult who
realizes the horrors of slavery and wishes to make a difference for
others.

Quality Literature
Elijah of Buxton is a quality piece of literature for the classroom for
many reasons.
This book won the Newbery Honor Award for 2008.
The theme of race and slavery are important topics that should be
discussed with students.
Since the book is usually read by those in the Maturing stages of
reading, students are able to independently practice for fluency while
reading the selection on their own. Students will also be able to watch
the teacher model and facilitate “the critical thinking skills necessary
to evaluate complex text” (Tyner, 2005).
Elijah of Buxton provides opportunities for students to better develop
their fluency, word study, and comprehension skills. It will better
allow students to practice with independent level text while having
teacher support for difficult areas such as complex and unknown
vocabulary words, as well as the significant amount of slang present
in the text.
Throughout the chapter, teachers would generate questions for
students while simultaneously activating background knowledge.
 Both will aid in comprehension.

Grade Level
Fry Data:
 Selection 1: 131 syllables, 5 sentences
 Selection 2: 129 syllables, 6 sentences
 Selection 3: 118 syllables, 8 sentences
 Average: 126 syllables/ 6.3 sentences
 Mid 6th Grade
 Developmental Level: Maturing
1. The student will identify and summarize, in writing, two key
characters and two key events (with detail) contained in chapters one
through ten of Elijah of Buxton to determine what they know thus far.
(See Rubric)
RIBTS 2.3: Teachers select instructional materials and resources
based on their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness for
representing ideas and concepts.
RIBTS 3.2: Teachers design instruction that meets the current
cognitive, social, and personal needs of their students.
RIBTS 5.1: Teachers design lessons that extend beyond factual recall
and challenge students to develop higher level cognitive skills.
RIBTS 8.2: Teachers use a variety of modes of communication (e.g.
verbal, visual, kinesthetic) to promote learning.
RIBTS 8.4: Teachers emphasize oral and written communication
through the instructional use of discussion, listening, and responding
to the ideas of others, and group interaction.
RIBTS 9.2: Teachers use a variety of assessment strategies and
instruments that are aligned with instructional content and
methodology.
GLE R-5-4.1: Demonstrate initial understanding of elements of
Objectives literary texts by identifying of describing characters, setting,
problem/solution, major events or plot, as appropriate to text; or
identifying any significant changes in character over time.
W-5-2.2: In response to literary or informational text, students show
understanding of plot/ideas/concepts by summarizing key ideas.

2. The student will demonstrate an understanding of four key

characters contained in Chapter 11 by completing a “Character Map”
including four identifying descriptions for each character identified.
(See Rubric)
RIBTS 2.2: Teachers use a variety of explanations and multiple
representations of concepts including analogies, metaphors,
experiments, demonstrations, and illustrations that help students
develop conceptual understanding.
RIBTS 3.1: Teachers understand how students learn, how students
construct knowledge, acquire skills, develop habits of mind, and
 acquire dispositions toward learning.
RIBTS 5.1: Teachers design lessons that extend beyond factual recall
and challenge students to develop higher level cognitive skills.

RIBTS 8.2: Teachers use a variety of modes of communication (e.g.

verbal, visual, kinesthetic) to promote learning.
RIBTS 9.2: Teachers use a variety of assessment strategies and
instruments that are aligned with instructional content and
methodology.

GLE R-5-5.2: Analyze and interpret elements of literary texts, citing

evidence where appropriate by describing characters’ physical
characteristics, personality traits, or interactions; or providing
examples of thoughts, words, or actions that reveal characters’
personality traits, or their changes over time

3. The student will construct a text-to-life paragraph that includes

four character descriptions they found in the chapter and how those
descriptions connect to someone in their own lives. (See Rubric)
RIBTS 1.1: Teachers reflect a variety of academic, social, and
cultural experiences in their teaching.
RIBTS 2.7: Teachers generate multiple paths to knowledge and
encourage students to see, question, and interpret concepts from a
variety of perspectives.
Objectives RIBTS 3.2: Teachers design instruction that meets the current
(con’t) cognitive, social, and personal needs of their students.
RIBTS 4.2: Teachers use their understanding of students (e.g.
individual interests, prior learning, cultural experiences) to create
connections between the subject matter and student experiences.
RIBTS 9.2: Teachers use a variety of assessment strategies and
instruments that are aligned with instructional content and
methodology.

GLE R-5-16: Generates a personal response to what is read through a

variety of means…comparing stories or other texts to related personal
experience, prior knowledge, or to other books.
GLE W-5-2.3: Connecting what has been read to prior knowledge or
other texts, by referring to relevant ideas.

4. The student will identify ten (10) –ing words found in Chapter 11
and sort them by pattern (with 85% accuracy). (See Rubric)
RIBTS 1.1: Teachers reflect a variety of academic, social, and
cultural experiences in their teaching.
RIBTS 3.2: Teachers design instruction that meets the current
cognitive, social, and personal needs of their students.
RIBTS 3.3: Teachers create lessons and activities that meet the
 variety of developmental levels of students within a class.
RIBTS 5.5: Teachers use tasks that engage students in exploration,
discovery, and hands-on activities.
RIBTS 6.4: Teachers provide and structure the time necessary to
explore important concepts and ideas.

GLE R-5-1.1: Applies word identification/decoding strategies by

identifying multi-syllabic words by using knowledge of sounds, six
syllable types/syllable division, and word patterns (including prefixes
and suffixes).

 Book: Elijah of Buxton

 Index cards for word sort
 Character map for each student
Materials  Thesaurus
 Book on tape
 Printed directions for activities
 I feel as though this book is at about a fifth grade level. This
lesson would be most suitable towards the end of fifth grade
(difficulty of complex vocabulary words/ complicated slang
terms).
 This lesson will be used in the whole group, small groups as
pairs, and individually.
Grouping  Whole group will be used for asking questions and
generating discussion before reading and after reading.
 Students will read Chapter 11 silently in small groups.
I will be walking around the room and visiting each
group and ask question to monitor comprehension.
 Individually, students will be required to complete the
pre-reading activity, character map, and after reading
response activity.
Before Reading Questions
Question:What have you learned about slavery thus far?(Inferential)
Expected Response:Answers will vary

Question:Who are some of the characters we have met in the other

chapters we have read?(Literal)
Expected Response:Mr. Leroy, The Preacher, Ma, Pa,Mrs. Holton,
Mr. Travis
Preparation
Question: What are some significant things that have happened so far
in the story? (Literal)
Expected Response: Elijah and the Preacher went to the carnival
together where Elijah realized something different about the Preacher;
there was the fishing incident that happened at the lake and the new
lesson Mr. Travis’ taught at the school which ended up embarrassing
 Elijah and Cooter.

Question: Who have we become familiar with in previous chapters

that cannot be trusted? (Literal)
Expected Response: The Preacher
Follow-up: Why do you feel that the Preacher is untrustworthy? (text-
based inference)
Expected Response: Answers may vary. The Preacher tends to lie a
lot and Elijah has begun to see this when he was taken to the Carnival
and lied to the people there about who he and Elijah were.

Question: Have you ever known anyone that reminds you of Emma?
(Text to life connection)
Expected Response: Answers will vary
Follow up: Why does this person remind you of Emma?
Expected Response-Answers will vary

Question: How would you describe Elijah’s personality? (Inferential)

Expected Response: Elijah is fra-gile, respectful, kind, curious
intelligent. Answers may vary.
Follow-up: Why do you think he is so fragile? (Inferential)
Expected Response: He lives a good life and has never really
experienced what it was like to be born into slavery. Answers may
vary.

Question: How do Emma and Elijah differ? (Inferential)

Preparation Expected Response: Emma is somewhat of a know-it-all, “crybaby”
(con’t) who always gets what she wants. Elijah is more laid back. He is
respectful and does not overstep his boundaries like Emma often does.
Answers will vary.
Follow-up: Are there any ways that the two are similar? (Inferential)
Expected Response: They are both rather sensitive and fragile.

Question: The chapter we are about to read is about Emma. Based on

what you know about her thus far, do you have any predictions as to
what may happen in Chapter 11? (Inferential)
Expected Response: Answers will vary

During Reading Questions

Question: Why foes Pa want Cooter to go get Emma and bring her to
the field? (Literal)
Expected Response: Because new slaves have arrived in Buxton and
Emma will be able to help welcome them.

Question: Why is there tension between Elijah and Emma?

 (Inferential)
Expected Response: Because Elijah knows that Emma is smarter than
him in some ways and sees that she is not fragile like him. He may
want to be more like her because she is not fragile

Question: What happens when new slaves arrive in Buxton?(Literal)

Expected Response: The community members greet them and Emma
introduces herself and shows them around.

Question: Why do you think the slaves are nervous about first coming
to Buxton?
Expected Reponse: The slaves are unsure where they are and do not
know if the people they see in the field can be trusted.

Question:Why did Emma give her doll to the new girl?(Literal)

Expected Response:To make the little girl feel welcome and to make
her feel not as scared of being in a new place

Question: How does Elijah react when he witnesses the new slaves’
reaction to the news that they were finally free? (Literal)
Expected Response: Elijah broke down and cried.
Follow-up: How does this confirm what we already know about his
character? (Inferential)
Expected Response: Elijah is fragile and sensitive which is why he
became so emotional upon seeing the family rejoice.

Preparation After Reading Questions

(con’t) Question:How do you think you would feel if you were in the new
family's shoes?(Inferential)
Expected Response:Very scared and nervous about what is to come
in their future. Answers will vary

Question:What did Elijah learn from seeing the new slaves?

(Inferential)
Expected Response:That he was very lucky to be born into a life of
freedom and he now sees how scary life can be for slaves-Answers
will vary

Question:Do you think Cooter and Elijah still think the same of
Emma? Why do you/do you not think so?(Inferential)
Expected Response: No, they probably think she is an even better
person than they thought she was before and she isn’t that stuck up-
Answers will vary

Question:What do you predict will happen next in the book?

Expected Response: Elijah helps more slaves like Emma does.
 Answers will vary.


I will use a Character Map for this lesson so students will be
better able to recognize and describe characters. The character
map is a type of graphic organizer that will help the students
identify and describe key characters in the chapter. The
descriptions may come directly from the text or may be
implied from what is being read in the chapter.
 Students will be encouraged to use a thesaurus for alternative
descriptive words they are using for their characters. This
strategy will not only aid in comprehension but will also foster
students’ vocabulary skills.
Procedure for Implementing Strategy
Pre-Reading
1. I will explain to the students that we will be focusing on the
characters in Chapter 11 and words that may describe their
personality, thoughts, feelings, etc.
2. I will show the students an example of what a Character Map
looks like by drawing one on the chalkboard and after I will
explain what each shape represents. Then I will tell the
Comprehension students that the title of the text goes in the rectangle in the
Strategy middle of the map. For the purpose of this lesson, I will tell
students to simply put the chapter number (11) and title
(“Emma Collins and Birdy”) inside their rectangle. I will tell
them that the circles are for characters and the triangles are for
descriptions of the characters that could include traits,
thoughts, feelings, etc.
3. I will then tell the students that they are to choose and identify
four characters that they found in reading Chapter 11. After
they identify these characters, they then have to include four
meaningful “fifth grade level” descriptions. (The students
already know what is expected when they are told they are
give descriptions at that level)
4. I will tell the students that they will each receive a Character
Map to complete once they are finished reading. I do not want
to give the students the Character map to fill out while they are
reading because it might interfere with comprehension of the
chapter.
5. To give the students an idea as to how to use the Character
Map, I will model an example using the Preacher. (See
attached example) I will ask students for their help and we
will fill out the map together.
During Reading
1. I will then be walking around the room visiting each small
group and asking each group questions that might be useful to
certain characters and their describing traits.
 After Reading
1. After the students have finished reading Chapter 11, I will tell
Comprehension them that they will each receive a Character Map that they are
Strategy responsible for filling it out independently.
(con’t)

1. Before we start reading, I will ask the class to join me on the

rug and to bring their literacy notebooks with them. While on
the rug, I will start discussion by asking them how they like
Elijah of Buxton so far.

Question: How does everyone like the book so far?

Expected Response: Answers will vary. Based on previous chapters,
students will probably answer that they enjoy the book.

Question: What are some significant things that have happened so far
in the story? (Literal)
Expected Response: Elijah and the Preacher went to the carnival
Pre-Reading together where Elijah realized something different about the Preacher;
there was the fishing incident that happened at the lake and the new
lesson Mr. Travis’ taught at the school which ended up embarrassing
Elijah and Cooter.

Question: Who are some of the characters we have met in previous

chapters? (Literal)
Expected Response: Elijah, Cooter, Emma, the Preacher, Mr. Leroy,
Ma, Pa, Mrs. Holton, Mr. Travis

1. I will tell the students that I would like them to identify and
summarize two key characters and two key events from what they
have read in chapters 1 through 10. Once each student is finished I
will collect the notebooks from them. Through reading their
notebooks, this is a way I will assess their understanding of what they
have read so far. While they are working on their after response
activity I will continue to correct and check through their notebooks.
After they are finished and I looked through their notebooks I will
start a discussion about slavery and what it means.

Question: Can anyone tell me what “slavery” means? (Inferential)

Expected Response: It means being forced to work for someone else
and not having your freedom. Answers will vary.

Question: How do you think slaves may feel when they are finally
free? (Inferential)
Expected Response: Very happy, extremely emotional, relieved.
 Answers may vary.

2. I will tell the students that today we are going to read about
Emma and how she does something very special for another
family. I will tell the students to think about the different
characters in the chapter and what qualities make each one
unique. I will go on to tell the students that it is very important
for them to focus on how the author describes the characters. I
will explain to the students that after they finish reading the
chapter, they will be responsible for completing a Character
Map where they will have to identify four characters and four
qualities or traits that describe them.
3. I will tell the students, “So from our readings of previous
Pre-Reading chapters we have started to see that Emma really annoys Elijah
(con’t) and he thinks she is a crybaby. Today, we are going to see
another side to Emma that will definitely surprise you and you
might see that this other side will surprise Elijah’s feelings
towards her as well. After you read this chapter, your opinion
of Emma will change and you will see her in an entirely new
light.” I am hope through foreshadowing I provide will spark
student interest and motivate them to read and find out just
what Emma does.
4. I will tell the students that they will be broken up into small
groups of four. They will silently read Chapter 11 and I will
be walking around the room, visiting each group and asking
questions to each student to help them in the process.
5. I will then tell them that following the reading they will each
be individually completing a Character Map that should
include four characters from the chapter as well as four
descriptions for each. They will be evaluated on the accuracy
of their identifications.

During The students will be divided into groups of four. These groups are
Reading based on the groups they have previously worked with before in class.
They will silently read Chapter 11 in their groups. As they are
working I will ask students questions to help guide them in their
comprehension of the story.

Question: Why does Pa want Cooter to go get Emma?

Expected Response: Because new slaves have arrived in Buxton and
Emma will be able to help welcome them.

Question: Why do you think the slaves are nervous at first arriving in
Buxton? (Inferential)
Expected Response: The slaves are unsure where they are and do not
During know if the people they see in the field can be trusted.
Reading
Cont’d Question: Why is there tension between Elijah and Emma? (Literal)
Expected Response: Because Elijah knows that Emma is smarter
than him in some ways and sees that she is not fragile like him. He
may want to be more like her because she is not fragile.

Question: Why do you think Emma gave Birdy to the new girl?
(Inferential)
Expected Response: She wanted to make the new girl feel welcome
in Buxton and let her know that she has a friend in Emma.
Follow-up: What do you think this means about Emma’s character?
Expected Response: Despite what Elijah and Cooter may think,
Emma actions show that she is actually giving, warm, generous, and
selfless.
1. I will bring the students back to the rug to engage in a discussion
about what they have read. I will go around the circle and ask
questions to see if the students are understanding what they just read.

Question: What do you think Elijah learned from his experience with
the new slaves? (Inferential)
After Reading/ Expected Response: Elijah may have realized that he was very
Responding fortunate to have the opportunity to be living in Buxton never having
had to experience life as a slave. He was also so moved that he may
have realized that he wanted to help other slaves.

Question: Through Emma’s actions, do you think Cooter and Elijah

still think the same of Emma? Why or why not? (Literal)
Expected Response: No, they probably think she is an even better
person than they thought she was before and she isn’t that stuck up-
Answers will vary.

Question: How do you think you would feel if you were in the new
family’s shoes? (Text-to-life connection)
Expected Response: Very scared and nervous about what is to come
in their future. Answers will vary

I will tell the students to think about some of the characters in Chapter
11. I will ask them to then think about a few character descriptions
that stood out to them while they were completing their Character
Map. I will then explain to the students that I would like them to
connect what they read about in Chapter 11 and completed on their
Character Map to someone they know in their own lives.
Applying I will ask them:
“Do any of these characters remind you of someone you know? Are
any of the characters we read about completely the opposite of
 someone you know? I want you all to think of four character
descriptions you have just read in Chapter 11 or take from what you
wrote down on your Character Map and write a “fifth grade level”
paragraph telling me why this character reminds you, in one way or
another, of someone you know in your own lives.”
Later in the day, I will tell students that we will be going back to
Chapter 11 in Elijah of Buxton and will be identifying some –ing
words that they may not be familiar with. I will explain to the class
that we will be learning about different ways to add –ing to base
words/
“Good afternoon class, today we will be looking at three different
Vocabulary/ rules for adding –ing onto root words. Do you all remember what a
Word Work verb means when it has –ing attached to it? (Expected answer:
Someone is in the process of doing something.) Adding –ing only
changes the tense of the word, not the meaning. So, the three rules we
will be studying today are: the doubling rule, the e-drop rule, and the
simple addition of –ing rule.”
Doubling Rule:
 I will explain to the class the doubling rule for adding –ing to a
base word. I will tell them they need to know this for their
next activity so they should write it down in their notebooks.
“Alright everyone. I want you to remember the “one-one-one” rule.
This means one syllable, one vowel, one consonant. When you see
this, you want to double the last consonant and add –ing. I will
provide a variety of examples both on the board and on a pocket
chart.”
- jog
- run
- win
- sob
- hug
E-Drop
 I will explain to the class that sometimes they will need to take
the –e off the end of a base word before adding –ing.
“There are certain words we might find that ask use to drop the silent
–e before adding the ending of –ing. When you see a word that has a
consonant befor eth –e and the consonant makes the –e silent, we are
going to drop that –e and then add the –ing.” I will again provide
examples on the board and pocket chart and ask the class if they
understand what they will be looking for and doing in the activity.
- rake
- bake
- cake
- ride
- bite
-Ing add only
  I will tell students that most verbs that end in a consonant
simply need –ing added to the base word. I will demonstrate
some examples on the board/ pocket chart
Vocabulary/ - break
Word Work - play
(con’t) - drink
- eat
- work

 I will tell the class that there are other rules and patterns for
adding –ing to base words but we will only be concentrating
today on the ones we just discussed.
 I will divide the students into pairs and give each pair index
cards. I will explain to the class that what they will be doing is
to go through Chapter 11 with their partner and pick out ten –
ing words that are examples of the patterns we previously
explored. They will write the words on index cards and sort
them according to pattern. Once they have their words sorted,
they will write them down in the appropriate columns
(Doubling, E-drop, -Ing add) and pass them in.
 I will tell the students that they will be evaluated on the
accuracy of the words they chose as well as the accuracy of
their sort by pattern.
 Examples of –ing words found in Chapter 11 that fit within
patterns used for word study.
Uprooting (pg. 154) Charging (156)
Whistling (155) Raising (156)
Studying (155) Smiling (156)
Wondering (156) Moving (159)
Crossing (158) Talking (159)
Churning (162) Making (162)
Blubbering (162) Gripping (167)
Unwrapping (163) Staring (167)
Embarrassing (165) Welcoming (168)
Chunking (167) Lollygagging (159)
Happening (168)
 For those students who have difficulty reading, I will provide
Elijah of Buxton on tape. The book on tape may also help
ELL students who are not at the level required to read the book
independently.
 Those students who lack proficiency in writing will orally
Engaging All complete the pre-reading activity, Character Map, and after
Learners reading response activity. Rather than writing down the –ing
words they sorted by pattern, I will assess their word sort
instead.
 I will provide extra time on assignments for those who need it.
  Less able students will be provided a word bank on their
Character Map
 Advanced students can benefit from an additional activity such
as writing one or more sentences about a character in the
chapter using the descriptive words and phrases they used on
their Character Map.
 For hearing impaired students, I will provide the before,
during, and after questions typed on a sheet of paper. Type-
written directions for all activities will also be provided.
I will evaluate the students using the attached rubric that assesses
their background knowledge, accuracy of Character Map,
Evaluation accuracy of their text-to-life paragraph, and accuracy of the –ing
word sort.