Before the lesson is taught, the teacher should be up-front about the use of racial slurs in the book. Most students will know, but it needs to be reinforced that these are not acceptable words to use today. Students should be told the differences in dialect between generations, and that the only appropriate words available for them to use today to refer to the African characters in the book are African and black. If they need to quote text, the "n-word" is an appropriate substitute for the language in the novel, or just saying "a racial slur."
The thought questions in this lesson plan provide material and ideas that students can use to write short original essays and to develop their...
