The Color of Water

3 levels of questions - discussion

The Big Question:

• How does POINT OF VIEW reveal the speaker or the narrator?

Rules for Whole Class Discussion

Students • address each other• use analytical verbs• consult teacher only when they are stuck• respect each other• pay attention to Ms. Teref’s grading profile

rubric

Intro Steps

• Assign student facilitators• Facilitators: ensure smooth transitioning from

one student to another, summarize discussion to move it forward, monitor student engagement; redirect student off-task behavior

Foreword – Level 1 Questions – 4 minRead the paragraph first.1. Lines 1-2: How many things didn’t McBride know about his

mother? What are they?2. What did she say about where she was from?3. How does Ruth describe her skin color?4. What does she do after she describes her skin tone?5. Who never knew her maiden name until later?6. Which 2 facts does McBride unearth after 14 years? 7. Why did Ruth reveal the 2 facts?8. What is the memoir about?9. What will we find “betwixt and between the pages of her

life?”10. How many dashes are there in the passage?

Level 21. What is revealed about the narrator and his mother based

on the first two lines?2. What is revealed about Ruth when she says that God made

her?3. What is revealed about Ruth when she identifies herself as

being “light skinned?”4. What is the function of the first dash? Why is it placed

where it is? 5. What is revealed about Ruth based on lines 4-6?6. What is the function of the second dash + conjunction

“yet?”7. Analyze the placement of the other 2 dashes and their

meaning?8. What is implied by the last sentence?

Level 3

• Why would parents keep secrets from their children?

“Dead” – p. 2, “My family mourned me… to He was hard as a rock”

Level 1 Questions:1. When did Ruth’s family mourn her?2. How many lines does Ruth spend describing her family mourning

her?3. What are “kaddish and sat shiva?”4. What are 4 actions Jews perform when saying “sat shiva?”5. What didn’t Ruth’s family ever say?6. What “things” did they say to each other?7. What was Ruth’s father’s profession?8. What ability did he have?9. What was he a “fox” about?10. What was his “uniform?”11. What 3 adjectives describe his pants?

Level 2 Questions:1. What is implied by Ruth’s family mourning her?2. Why does Ruth spend a few lines describing her

family mourning her?3. What is implied by Ruth’s family never saying “I

love you” to each other?4. What is implied by Ruth’s father being a rabbi who

got married in an arranged marriage?5. What does his ability to” slick himself out of

anything” imply about him?6. What was he a “fox” about?7. What is implied by the description of his clothes,

esp. by his pants?

Level 3

• Why do people get converted to other religions?

Facilitation Schedule –look up new words• Group 1: The Bicycle: p.12: from “One afternoon as we walked…” to “End of discussion” on

p. 13.• Group 2: Kosher: p. 16: from “I enjoyed my grandparents” + 20 lines.• Group 3: Black Power:p.35 from “’Look at that white bitch”+20 lines.• Group 4: The Old Testament: p. 42 from “Of course I had something to run from.” + 20 lines• Group 5: The New Testament: p.50 from “It was the only time I ever saw her cry” + 25 lines• Group 6: Sam: p.62 from “He got bar mitzvahed when he was thirteen” to the end of

chapter.• Group 7: Shul: p. 81 from “When I was in the fourth grade…” + 20 lines.• Group 8: School: p.94 from “The question of race was like the power of the moon…” + 20

lines.• Group 9: Boys: p.111 from “I loved that boy to death and he loved me.” + 20 lines• Group 10: Daddy: p.124 from “I thought my stepfather was odd.” + 20 lines• Group 11: New York: p.129 from “My mother knew I was pregnant…” + 20 lines.• Group 12: Chicken Man: p. 139 from “My grades plummeted …”+ 20 lines.• Group 13: Graduation: p. 157 from “On graduation day Dee-Dee…” + 20 lines.• Group 14: Lost in Delaware: p.188 from “Ma wanted me out of Delaware…” + 20 lines.• Group 15: Finding Ruthie: p. 261 from “Most of my friends and the women I dated…” + 20

lines.• Group 16: Finding Ruthie: p.266 from “There were two worlds bursting inside me…” + 20

lines