Climbing Lincoln's Steps: The African American Journey Book

Book Title: Climbing Mr. Lincoln's Steps: The African American Journey by William Joyce

Short Description of the Book: Slade travels through history as she describes slavery, the civil rights movement, and, finally, the election of Barack Obama.

FOCUS: Narrative Features I would Use in a Mini-Lesson:
• Use words that show, rather than tell, the story: Repeat a phrase over and over to showcase the connectivity of each of the events in the story. "Pitter-patter," "click, click, click," and "clomp, clomp" are all used multiple times within the tale.
• Logical sequence: Slade uses small moments in history as a vehicle to portray the change in American history over time.
TEACH: CCSS Connection: W.5.3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
1. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
2. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, description, and pacing, to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations.
3. Use a variety of transitional words, phrases, and clauses to manage the sequence of events.
4. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
5. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.