• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
    Background Research
    Scavenger Hunt
    Mrs. Meizanis
    The novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry takes place in the Mississippi in approximately 1933. It is important to understand the way life was for those who lived then and how the world has changed since.
    Follow the directions for each question and go to the corresponding links to answer the questions. Record your answers on the  data collection sheet provided. (Note: You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, to open this document.)

    Segregation

    The main characters of the novel are an African- American family. They lived in a time and place of segregation. Click on the website to find the definition of segregation.

    		 

    http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=segregation

    Plessy v. Ferguson

    http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/progress/jb_progress_plessy_1.html - Use "next" button to visit all three parts of this section.

    What was this court ruling? How did segregation affect the African American people? Choose 1 of the 3 pictures in this website and enlarge it. Write a caption in your own words as to what is taking place.

    Sharecropping in the South
    Watch the video of “sharecropping” and answer questions on the data collection sheet.
    For use in school only.

     Jim Crow Laws

    What were the Jim Crow Laws?

     http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/jim-crow-laws.html
     

    Examples of Jim Crow Laws

    http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/links/misclink/examples/homepage.htm

    Paraphrase an example of a Jim Crow Law?

    What do you think life was like for an African American during this time?

    		 Jim Cro 

    History of Jim Crow

    Racism

    The white characters in the novel think they are supreme to the African- American characters because they are racist. Click on the site and write the definition of racism.

    http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=racism

    Mildred D. Taylor

    The author of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is Mildred D. Taylor. Sometimes studying an author’s life helps us understand why they wrote a novel. Read about Mildred D. Taylor at the website below. Find her birth date and place, education, career background and 2 book titles she has written. DO NOT USE Roll of Thunder as a book title!!!!!
     
    http://www.mswritersandmusicians.com/writers/mildred-taylor.html

    Conclusion

    Compare and contrast this time period with what life is like today. How have times changed and how have they remained the same?