English
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander Book Discussion Group: Flexible Schedule
In this 5-week course, students will read and discuss the Newberry Award-winning novel in verse by poet Kwame Alexander #academic
11-16
year olds
1-6
learners per class
$45
Charged upfront
$9 per week
Flexible schedule
Over 5 weeks
No live meetings
There are no open spots for this class, but you can request another time or scroll down to find more classes like this.
Description
Class Experience
There are five sections in The Crossover: Warm Up, 1st Quarter, 2nd Quarter, 3rd Quarter, 4th Quarter (and Overtime). Students will read one section (approximately 20-30 poems) a week on their own time. Week 1 Warm Up Week 2 1st Quarter Week 3 2nd Quarter Week 4 3rd Quarter Week 5 4th Quarter and Overtime Each week a new video will discuss the pages that the students have previously read. This class does not meet live. The prerecorded sessions will emphasize characters, their motivations,...
Week 1 Warm Up Week 2 1st Quarter Week 3 2nd Quarter Week 4 3rd Quarter Week 5 4th Quarter and Overtime
I have an MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults. I was a substitute teacher for three years before teaching full-time on Outschool. I also teach English Composition as an adjunct university professor. I have been blessed to discuss The Crossover in the classroom. I've also had the privilege of hearing Kwame Alexander speak multiple times. He is an excellent performer. Listening to him rap these poems was awesome! His simple writing makes his poems easy to read, especially for reluctant readers. This book in particular leads to good discussion about jealousy, sibling rivalry, physical and mental health and wellness, and family bonds. My goal is to pass on his enthusiasm for poetry to my students. I hope that they will come away with respect, if not outright love, for this story, this author, and poetry.
Students will read approximately 20-30 short poems a week on their own time. Each Sunday, students will have access to the new video and a corresponding one page worksheet with discussion questions and places for fill-in-the blank answers. Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's discussion questions and ask the students to share their responses in the classroom. There are also daily activities each day like vocabulary words, an I Spy game, and a Kahoot! quiz to test their comprehension from the weekly chapters.
The students will need their own copy of The Crossover to read on their own. It can be borrowed from the library or even listened to as an audio book. The students will not need a physical copy of the story in class, although they may find it helpful to have while filling out their worksheets or working on their writing assignment.
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
The more questions, comments, and posts that students share in the classroom, the more I can understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.
No live meetings, and an estimated 1 - 2 hours per week outside of class.
According to Commonsensemedia.org: Parents need to know that author and poet Kwame Alexander's The Crossover is a poignant novel in verse that mixes basketball, family, and coming-of-age themes and includes serious issues regarding adult health and a parent's life-threatening condition. It won the 2015 Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Book Honor, and may inspire a discussion about healthy lifestyle choices and the impact of those choices on people and their loved ones. There's mild name-calling when characters are in the throes of sports-related trash-talking, and sexual content is limited to middle-school crushes and a kiss. The novel offers a positive example of a loving, intact family with active, involved parents and uses adult characters to provide a guiding influence. There's an audiobook version narrated by Corey Allen.
Teacher
About Me
I currently teach English Composition at the collegiate level. I have a Master's degree in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults, so I teach reading and writing classes. I worked as a substitute teacher for 3 years, in all age ranges and...
