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Grade Level:
6 - 9
Literary Form:
American Novel
Paired with:
The Watcher 10 Lessons/30 Handouts/60 Pages
ISBN:978-1-56077-700-7
Regular Price: $19.95
On Sale For: $14.95 |
Description:
Burning Up is a modern-day exploration of a hate crime committed in 1959. Macey and her classmates, who have grown up in an exclusive suburban enclave, visit the inner city, a place they have been taught to fear and avoid. Macey meets an impressive young woman named Venita and begins to see the gross inequities that separate the girls’ neighborhoods, schools, and houses of worship. On the same day, the students narrowly escape an arsonist’s fire, a reference to an incident that consumes Macey and leads her to discover her town’s racist past. Later in the novel Venita is killed by a street gang, and Macey’s commitment to the issue intensifies. As the novel closes, the reader sees the positive outcomes of Macey’s disturbing discoveries about her town as she and her friends are moved to action. Themes include racial prejudice, family issues, peer relationships, and social class. The civil rights movement and civil rights leaders are also discussed.
Activities:
Students research and report on local history and the civil rights era, think analytically about literature, and discuss the social issues at the center of the novel. Lessons include reading comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, and creative writing projects. The final lesson compares the themes of Burning Up with those of The Watcher and outlines an interdisciplinary project on a current social issue.
Ethical Values:
Citizenship
Courage
Diligence
Service
Truth
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