Lesson 11: March: Book One, The Trip North

Turn-and-Talk

Have students respond to the question below by briefly sharing their ideas with a partner before engaging in a whole-class discussion. Remind students of where they left off in the graphic novel from Lesson 8, and instruct them to turn to page 35.

Say these Directions: Turn to page 35 in March where you left off in Lesson 8. Then turn and talk with a partner about the question below to help prepare for today’s lesson.

• Ask: How does school play a role in Lewis’ s life? What about in your life?

  • Lewis credits school as the “reason” (p. 35) he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He also says that “schoolwork” and “studying” begin to open his eyes to the “world around” him (p. 35). (Student personal connections will vary.)

As students talk in pairs, listen to evaluate whether students properly share their ideas and listen to their partners. Cold-call one student to share their partner’s ideas before moving into a whole-class discussion about the question.

Connection to Today’s Learning:

• Say: Today, you will read pages 36–46 and annotate with a partner, analyzing how Lewis’s trip to the North provides him with new insights about living in the South. Then, you’ll participate in a group activity to answer questions about the text. Finally, you’ll use what you learned to write a 3-2-1 Summary about these pages of the text.

Introduce New Words Using Morphology

Target Words: frantic, disappointed

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the words frantic and disappointed today.

Introduce the Word: Present the word frantic on the board and pronounce it.

• Ask: Have you seen this word before? Where?

Identify the Roots: Explain that frantic comes from the Greek “phrenitis,” meaning "inflammation of the brain." It describes a state of wild or hurried excitement, anxiety, or confusion.

• Ask: Do you know any other words connected to this feeling that might share this Greek root?

  • frenzy, frenetic

Identify Affixes: Identify that frantic often acts as a base adjective, but the -ic suffix turns the root into a word that describes a characteristic (like historic or poetic).

Determine Meanings:

• Ask: Using what you have learned so far, what do you think frantic means?

  • feeling or showing extreme fear, anxiety, or hurried activity

Language Connection: In English and other European languages, we often see Greek roots appear. These geographic areas were close enough to Greece to be influenced by the writing of Greek philosophers and scientists. For frantic, the Spanish “frenético” and French “frénétique” share the same "frenzy" root, showing that the Greek idea of brain inflammation causing wild behavior was picked up by others in the global region.

Verify Meaning:

• Use a dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference material to review and verify the meaning of the word constructed using morphemes.

Encoding Practice:

• Say: Now write two of the additional morpheme examples from memory. Use the spelling of the shared morpheme as your anchor — if you know how to spell the affix, that part of the word stays the same across all the examples.

Build Word Relationships: Write “frantically” (adverb) next to frantic (adjective).

• Ask: What is the relationship between frantic and frantically?

  • “Frantic” is an adjective, which we know is a word that modifies a noun. “Frantically” is an adverb that describes how an action described by a verb is done in a wild way.

Repeat the process with the word disappointed.

Introduce the Word: Present the word disappointed on the board and pronounce it.

• Ask: Have you seen this word before? Where?

Identify the Roots: We can break down this word into three parts: dis + appoint + ed.

• Ask: What does appoint mean?

  • to place someone in a position, to arrange or designate

• Ask: What other words do you know that have appoint as their base?

  • appointment, appointee

Identify Affixes: State that appoint acts as a base word here. The dis- prefix means not or away from, and the -ed suffix turns the word into the past tense.

Determine Meanings:

• Ask: Using what you have learned so far, what do you think disappointed means?

  • when something that was arranged is undone; when something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted

• Ask: How does it make you feel when something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted?

  • sad, let down–disappointed!

Verify Meaning:

• Use a dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference material to review and verify the meaning of the word constructed using morphemes.

Part A: Connecting Events to Central Ideas (RI.8.2, RI.8.3) (15 minutes)

Have students get out their copies of March: Book One, and provide them with sticky notes. Then transition the students into partners to engage with the text.

Say these Directions: Reread pages 36–46 with a partner. As you read, use sticky notes to annotate events or moments that show how Lewis has an “otherworldly experience” (p. 43) in this section of the text. As you discuss the text with your partner, use evidence from the text to support your ideas and explain your thinking.

• Lewis describes the busyness or “frantic” aspects of the city (p. 43).

• His uncle has “white people living next” to them (p. 43).

• He gets candy at a “department store” (p. 44).

➤

Part B: Refining Explanations Through Partner Exchange (RI.8.2, RI.8.3) (15 minutes)

Keep students in pairs. Remind them that they have closely read and discussed pp. 36–46 of March. Now, they will further engage with these pages of the text through the Give One, Get One protocol, rotating partners as they share one idea and record one new idea from each peer to answer questions about the text.

Give One, Get One

Say these Directions: Work with a partner to respond to the questions below. Use your annotations to support your thinking as you share one idea with your partner. Then record one new idea that your partner shares. After discussing each question, rotate to a new partner and repeat the process for the next question.

• How does Lewis’s parents’ warning about making “waves” and staying out of “white people’s way” (p. 36) contrast with his experience in Buffalo, New York?

  • Lewis does not experience having to stay out of “white people’s way” (p. 36) in Buffalo. Instead, he experiences visiting his uncle and finds that “white people” (p. 43) live next door. Lewis freely visits a department store and rides an “escalator” (p. 44) for the first time, not worrying about making “waves” (p. 36).

• How does the road trip to the North “open” (p. 36) Lewis’s eyes about his home in the South?

  • Lewis discovers on his trip to the North that Black Americans who live in places like Ohio and Buffalo do not have to worry about potential “danger” the way Southern Black Americans do. Lewis realizes this when he sees his uncle visibly “relax” when they enter “Ohio” (p. 41). Lewis also recounts how he can move freely in Buffalo, going to the “candy counter” (p. 44), whereas on the car trip in the Southern states, he and his uncle could not go to any “restaurants” and had to plan carefully to use the “bathroom” (p. 38).

• How does this section of text further develop a central idea?

  • This section of text further develops the central idea that segregation is harmful and oppressive to Black Americans. As John and his uncle drive to the North, they cannot stop at any “restaurants” along the way, and they can only use “colored bathrooms” (p. 38). These situations take a toll on John and his uncle, as they have to remain “careful” (p. 39) at all times, as evidenced by his Uncle Otis visibly relaxing once they entered “Ohio” (p. 41).

3-2-1 Summary

Transition students into the Lesson Look Back by providing them with the 3-Column Chart Graphic Organizer.

Say these Directions: Build a 3-2-1 Summary that focuses on the central idea and key details from pages 36–46 of March. Use the graphic organizer to record three important words or phrases, two key details from the text, and one sentence that explains the central idea of this section.

Use the graphic organizer to record:

• 3 important words/phrases (key ideas/events that matter)

• 2 key details or ideas

• 1 sentence explaining what the excerpt is mostly about (gist sentence)

Direct students to use specific evidence from the text in their responses.

Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

Reflection: Respond to the following prompt in your Journal:

• Why might an author organize events and reflections in a particular order?

  • Scan March pp. 36–46, and find one specific panel where the story “pauses” for a reflection (a thought bubble or a caption with no action).

  • Write down the page number, and explain why you think the author chose to slow down the story at this exact moment.