Amelia and Eleanor
On-Level Reader
Brave Bessie:
Queen of the Skies
Unit 5 Week 3
SEQUENCE
STORY STRUCTURE
LESSON VOCABULARY aviator, brisk, cockpit, daring, elegant, outspoken, solo
SUMMARY Aletta and Jamal listen to the story of Bessie Coleman as told by their parents. They learn of "Brave Bessie's" struggle with prejudice against African Americans as well as the difficulties of becoming a pilot in the early twentieth century. They hear of her barnstorming skills, the school she started, and her untimely death at age 34.
INTRODUCE THE BOOK
BUILD BACKGROUND Explain that students will be reading about the first African American woman to become a pilot and, at the same time, learn about some of the struggles African Americans endured at that time in the United States.
PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES As students look through the photographs and captions in the book, ask them to predict what some of the struggles will be in this book.
Ask volunteers to describe any form of prejudice that they know happens to others or even themselves.
TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY Suggest that students locate the words brisk, daring, and outspoken in the story and describe why they fit a story about Bessie Coleman. Ask students to make up one summarizing sentence in which they use these words or a few of the other vocabulary words.
TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
SEQUENCE Ask students to describe the order of events in Bessie's life the way Michael and Ruth told her story. As the students mention the events in Bessie's life, have students make a list to show the order.
STORY STRUCTURE Remind students that one element in
story structure involves conflict or problem. Ask students to look through the story to find a conflict that helps to shape this story. Students may speak of the difficulties Bessie had in growing up or the prejudice she experienced in becoming a pilot. Or, her main problems may center on having enough money to follow her dreams.
READ THE BOOK
Use the following questions to support comprehension.
PAGE 4 In the late 1800s, what did it mean for Bessie's family to be sharecroppers? (They had to work on someone else's farm at a time that was especially hard for African Americans.)
PAGE 9 What happened to Bessie after World War I ended and soldiers came home? (She heard pilots talking and she decided to be a pilot.)
PAGE 18 While Bessie did stunts in the air, how did she keep earning money? (She gave flying lessons and lectured.)
TALK ABOUT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE
| 1. |
Possible response: The sequence moves through Bessie learning to fly, being a barnstormer, owning a plane, and opening a beauty shop before dying. |
| 2. |
Possible response: nonfiction: Bessie's education, school in France, her death; fiction: Aletta wants to be pilot, Jamal wonders how Bessie became a pilot, the parents tell the story; Responses will vary. |
| 3. |
As a compound word, it combines share and crop, so has to do with sharing crops. |
| 4. |
Possible response: segregation, race riots, women's roles in society |
RESPONSE OPTIONS
SPEAKING Suggest that students make Brave Bessie's story into a radio play.
CONTENT CONNECTIONS
SOCIAL STUDIES/ART Make a photo and illustration collage of what the racial scene was in the United States at the time of Bessie Coleman.
