Alevel as and a2 english revision section looking at prose and studying a novel. You get to be the teacher and create a novel study for a younger student to complete. She sees the novel as an indictment of american culture, which is. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of push by sapphire. Using the nazi power during ww2 map, explain in a welldeveloped paragraph why it was so easy for hitler and nazis to invade and overthrow all of these countries in a matter of a few years. With all students sharing in the experience of reading the book over the summer, it built a. We hope they will aid your understanding of this vibrant and powerful first novel by one of americas most controversial poets. First, create a timeline of events that occur throughout the book, so that you have a clear record of how the story unfolds. The novel push emphasizes the positive impact that education can have on an individual in american society. Before you read vocabulary building comprehension questions language activities. A sixteenyear old girl struggles with being childhood sexual abuse from both parents that has spanned her entire life. We invite incisive, humorous, and intellectually speculative posts from the journals readers and contributors and from the novelloving community at large.
Push by sapphire is the story of 16yearold claireece precious jones, who goes by the nickname precious. The graphic novel trilogy is written by john lewis and andrew. We expect the blog to reflect the evolving and varied scholarly interests of studies in the novel readers. The story of my experiments with truth study guide nonviolent resistance to british rule in india. Opening the study when introducing holes to students, each table group will be given a discussion question that pertains to one of the themes in the novel. Thirteen years after its release, it was made into precious. This novel study can be used in a variety of waysas a whole class read aloud, as a whole class novel study, in book clubs, guided reading groups, and more.
A powerful and thoughtprovoking book of social science. For precious, as she is called, hope appears when a courageous teacher, a young black woman, bullies, cajoles and inspires her to learn to read. Through the book, he espouses a moral message to his. Read the latest posts and learn how you can contribute to this exciting new venture. One to be graded and returned with comments and the other for my files. In the novel precious is on her kitchen floor after her mom was beating and kicking her while she was in labor. Push is written in the firstperson narrative voice of precious. The questions, discussion topics, and author biography that follow are intended to enhance your groups reading of sapphires push. Study guide for push precious push also known as precious in its film version study guide contains a biography of sapphire, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and.
When her debut novel push came out 15 years ago, readers were enthralled and appalled by protagonist precious. Push by sapphire author chapter 2 summary and analysis. General book club questions for study and discussion. Hinton, to kill a mockingbird by harper lee, the giver by lois lowry, macbeth by william shakespeare. Based on the novel push by sapphire, or simply precious, is a 2009 american drama film, directed and coproduced by lee daniels. The only spark of light in this otherwise emotional midnight is the narrators own refusal to burn out. Push by sapphire share book recommendations with your. Each chapter of the novel study focuses on several chapters of holes and is comprised of five of the following different activities. Each of our novel studies are presented chapterbychapter and include many of the following activities. Shes popular, has a great group of friends and an amazing boyfriend. Push was named by the village voice and time out new york as one of the top ten books of 1996. Precious is a sixteenyear old teen who is abused psychologically and sexually by her parents.
Push, now known as the book that inspired last years muchrenowned hit film precious, is the firstperson account of the teenage life of claireece precious jones, a harlem teenager who as of writing this account has given birth to two children, a boy and a girl, both products of her rape at the hands of her biological father. Based on the novel push by sapphire, a film that won two academy awards and was directed by lee daniels. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. A complete novel study for the book matilda written by roald dahl. And yet, this remarkable book by sapphire is an uplifting revelation that will fascinate and surprise you. The table groups will discuss their questions and provide an explanation for their answer. The character, precious is 16 and the story takes place in harlem in. Push rips you from your safe little cozy life and drops you into a concrete jungle that forces you to feel and experience life alongside precious whose life, when we meet her, has been truly destroyed. Fletcher, adapted from the 1996 novel push by sapphire. Push book king county library system bibliocommons. This study guide consists of approximately 35 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of push. Creating your own literature study this is a novel study for teens with a twist. How will you push students thinking in a respectful but challenging way. Based on the novel push by sapphire is an ungainly title for a powerfully ungainly movie.
Boxers like to say that a punch hurts less if you see it coming. Prereading task cards miniset for novel study ee set of 12 task cards to use as you prepare for your next novel study. The protagonist, precious jones, is an illiterate sixteenyearold girl who lives in. Push, told almost entirely in the first person, is brutally frank. Ill push you a multiple awardwinning documentary film. Susannah cahalans the great pretender seeks the truth about famous psychiatry study journalist and brain on fire author susannah cahalan writes in. If you are waiting for the happy ending, dont bother even picking the book up. A selfportrait of a black teenage girl, big, fat, unloved, with a father who rapes her and a jealous mother who screams abuse. With these 5 worksheets 1 for each part of the novel, allow students to study, use, and analyze words in context and push their understanding of authors diction. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Book study unit minnesota state university moorhead. Claireece precious jones is an obese, illiterate 16yearold girl who lives in harlem with her abusive mother mary. Those things shouldnt be happening in a postindustrial society bomb, fall 1996. The american fiction writer and poet sapphire was born ramona lofton in 1950. The significance of the word push is to help precious through more than just labor pains, but to push through the pain of bringing her fathers child into the world. At this scene, a spanish man is coaching and assisting precious. This lesson will focus on the summary and important quotes from the novel push. March, book one reading guide university of michigan. Combined with the many suggestions she offers throughout the book for creating healthier learning environments for black girls, morris book offers both educators and those interested in social justice issues an excellent starting point for muchneeded change. Choose a novel that is wellwritten and is suitable for someone younger than you, probably in the 812 age range. Analysis and discussion of characters in sapphires push. Laurence yeps dragonwings all the books in this list could be used to teach any novel study, including dragonwings action strategies for deepening comprehension by jeffrey wilhelm these strategies help students implement a structure to the reading process in order to make the reading experience a less intimidating one. Holes by louis sachar suggestions and expectations this curriculum unit can be used in a variety of ways. Push is the 1996 debut novel of american author sapphire.
This book is packed with a heavy message that sapphire drives home superbly. With this much anticipated first novel, told from the point of view of an illiterate, brutalized harlem teenager, sapphire american dreams, a writer affiliated with the nuyorican poets, charts the p. Use these readytoprint vocabulary worksheets that go alongside the young readers edition of i am malala. No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion.
Her 1996 novel push, for which she was best known, tells the harrowing story of claireece jones, called precious, an obese, illiterate african american teenager living in harlem who, having been raped by her father, is both hivpositive and the mother of two children. Topics covered include understanding ways of thinking about a novel, understanding some different aspects of study and having some ideas of ways of studying your text. Her first novel, push, was published in 1996 and a little over a decade later became the academy award winning film precious. Includes vocabulary work, comprehension and written response activities, dozens of minilessons, assessment hints.
The multiplechoice quiz can be accessed online at any time. Push is realistic fiction but not a biographical story. Push, her novel, won the bookofthemonth club stephen crane award for first fiction, the black caucus of the american library associations first novelist award, and, in great britain, the mind book of the year award. In his lifetime, ghandi succeeded in helping india to push itself towards independence from the british empire. The author sapphire encountered several girls in similar situations during her time teaching literacy in harlem and the bronx ny. An inspiring, real, and fresh young adult novel about how life can change in an instant by chelsie hill, one of the stars sundance channels series push girls. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will. The novel study is compiled by joel reed, and contains a total of forty six pages of content. Push, her novel, won the book ofthemonth club stephen crane award for first fiction, the black caucus of the american library associations first novelist award, and, in great britain, the mind book of the year award. Test your knowledge of the novel push by sapphire with this multiplechoice quiz.
Keep a box of kleenex handy and be aware this whole book is one big trigger warning. Use websites like or for additional information and textual evidence. Push has been called a dickensian novel, to which sapphire has responded, part of whats so wrong in this story is that were not in a dickensian era. Study guide for push precious push also known as precious in its film version study guide contains a biography of sapphire, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. The film stars gabourey sidibe, monique, paula patton, and mariah carey. Prepare the book study unit for any grade from the third through sixth grade. Push is an emotionally powerful, disturbing novel written from the perspective of a young and poor black woman whose life. In 2011, sapphire published a followup to push with the novel the kid, which focuses on the life of abdul jones, the son of precious.
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