I hope that the following resources and ideas are helpful to you in teaching and
discussing my books:

• Random House Teacher's Guide for Trouble Don't Last (PDF)
• Teacher's Guide for Crooked River (PDF)
• Little, Brown & Co. Teacher's Guide for All of the Above (PDF)

• Ideas for using Trouble Don't Last in the classroom
• Ideas for using Crooked River in the classroom
• Ideas for using All of the Above in the classroom
• Reader's Gallery of artwork and writing

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	Interested in Author Workshops or Presentations for your school? Click here.

1. 
   Read aloud to your class
   (4th grade and up)
   
   The short chapters and their "cliffhanger" endings will keep your students wanting to hear more!
2. Create a figurative language display
   
   Trouble Don't Last is filled with many examples of figurative language. Have students select and illustrate their favorite figurative language phrases from the story in a poster format or join their illustrations together to form a large "figurative language quilt!"
3. Explore the characters
   (5th grade and up)
   
   The major and minor characters in Trouble Don't Last are complex--with positive and negative qualities. Use characters such as the River Man, Widow Taylor, or Reverend Pry as models for discussion or writing activities. Chapter 16, The Widow Taylor, is a chapter with many possibilities for discussion questions and dialogue.

   Or divide students into small groups. Have groups prepare a 3 - 5 minute debate with note cards, defending or refuting the abandonment of runaway slave, Hetty Scott, in Chapter 13.

4. Feature Trouble Don't Last in an Underground Railroad unit of study
   (3rd grade and up)
   
   An on-line collection of Underground Railroad-related artifacts and documents to share with your students can be found on the Ohio Memory site. Click on the following link and it will take you to a wonderful collection of Underground Railroad historical materials: http://worlddmc.ohiolink.edu/OMP/YourScrapbook?user=UGRR

   Give your students a glimpse at what "freedom (manumission) papers" really look like, by checking out the freedom papers for America and Sam Barnett on this site.

5. Explore myths and truths about the Underground Railroad
   (4th grade and up)
   
   Before reading the book, explore your students' beliefs and knowledge about the Underground Railroad. List what they know or believe about the Underground Railroad. After reading the book, review their initial beliefs--and discuss what they've learned. The Author's Note and bibliography can provide additional information and resources if needed.

Many more ideas and internet resources are available in the
Trouble Don't Last teacher's guide (PDF)!

1. 
   Reader's Theater
   
   Use material in chapters 22 through 28 and have students write their own Reader's Theater scripts. Follow up Reader's Theater presentations with a discussion or writing activity reflecting on the language, attitudes, and prejudices demonstrated by the characters in the trial scenes.
2. Visual interpretation
   
   Crooked River has a story structure which is intended to resemble weaving--intertwining two voices, poetry and prose, an oral story and a written one. After reading Crooked River, create a visual interpretation of the novel's structure by having students complete their own weaving using cloth, yarn, paper or other materials.
3. Cultural understanding
   
   Before reading Crooked River, ask students to share what they know about Native American cultures. While reading Crooked River, create a classroom list of Chippewa/Ojibwe cultural traditions learned from John Amik's passages--vocabulary, food, stories, games, art, spiritual beliefs, and other details.
4. Justice
   
   Compare and contrast the different views of justice expressed in Crooked River using pages 100-101, 106-107. Read about other trials in history. Discuss: What makes a fair trial?
5. Poetic interpretation
   
   After completing the novel, have students write a poetic response to the characters or events. Or have them add John Amik's perspective to a particular chapter or scene--where it is missing--by adding a new poem in his voice. For instance, what might he have said about the visitors on page 58-61? Write a poem giving his perspective on the visitors. Or write additional poems about his family or life before/after the trial.

Many more ideas and internet resources are available in the
Crooked River teacher's guide (PDF)!

1. 
   What's a tetrahedron?
   
   Provide six toothpicks and four mini-marshmallows to your students. Challenge them to make four equilateral triangles (exactly the same size) with the supplies. Tell them they cannot break or bend any toothpicks. The winner is the first to figure out the puzzle. Hint: They must think in three dimensions and use the marshmallows as connectors to make a free-standing tetrahedron pyramid.
2. Making connections
   
   How do the qualities of the tetrahedron relate to certain characters or events in the story? For instance, on page 99, Mr. Collins says that, although the tetrahedron is attached at certain points, "the edges and faces [of the tetrahedron] remain largely separate and unconnected." Which characters fit this description? How? Give examples from the story. Other possibilities for writing or discussion can be found on pages 3, 99, and 199.
3. Build your own tetrahedron
   
   Purchase a tetrahedron die for your school's Ellison machine. You can find more information at www.ellison.com/creativeideas/?p=detail&idea=9660. Or trace and cut out your own shapes! Remember that tetrahedrons quadruple in size as they grow. Four tetrahedrons make a Stage 1. Four Stage 1s make a Stage 2 (16 tetrahedrons). Four Stage 2s are connected together to make a Stage 3 (64 tetrahedrons)...and so on. Scotch tape works best for assembling tetrahedrons made of lightweight paper. Craft glue guns can be used for heavier paper -- just be careful not to burn your fingers!
4. 

   
   Challenge your students to think BIG
   
   What could your school do to set a record? Read a thousand books in a week? Fill a bus with soup cans and donate them to a soup kitchen or food pantry? After reading about the inspirational kids of Washington Boulevard, discuss what your school or
   classroom could try to do.

Many more ideas and internet resources are available in the All of the Above teacher's guide (PDF)!