Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Close Reading: Uncle Hammer’s Characterization”  

In this activity, students will engage in a close reading of a text excerpt to understand it more deeply and make connections throughout the story.

In a close reading, readers focus intently on a short selection of text to understand it on a deeper level. This activity requires reading the same passage several times and annotating it to show how the author’s different choices work together to make meaning. For this activity, you will need several different colored highlighters and a pencil.

• Read the included passage from Chapter 5 and look for ways that Uncle Hammer is characterized.
• Highlight language that characterizes Hammer in yellow, and in the margin, include notes on what that textual evidence tells the reader about him. Do this for the rest of the passage.
• Read the passage again. Change highlighters and repeat the annotation process, but this time, highlight textual evidence showing how other characters view Hammer and add your analysis to the margins.
• Finally, read the passage a third time. With a different highlighter, mark phrases that reveal the Logan siblings’ character traits that connect in some way to other pieces of characterization throughout the story. Note the connection in the margin.

Excerpt from Chapter 5:

When Uncle Hammer joined us, freshly shaven and in another suit, the boys and I put on our coats and headed for the door; Uncle Hammer stopped us. “Stacey, that the only coat you got, son?” he asked.

Stacey looked down at his faded cotton jacket. Everyone else did too. The jacket was too small for him, that was obvious, and compared to Little Man’s and Christopher-John’s and mine, it was admittedly in sadder shape. Yet we were all surprised that Uncle Hammer would ask about it, for he knew as well as anyone that Mama had to buy our clothes in shifts, which meant that we each had to wait our turn for new clothes. Stacey looked up at Mama, then back at Uncle Hammer. “Y-yessir,” he answered.

Uncle Hammer stared at him, then waving his hand ordered, “Take it off.” Before Stacey could question why, Uncle Hammer disappeared into the boys’ room.

Again Stacey looked at Mama. “You’d better do like he says,” she said.

Uncle Hammer returned with a long box, store wrapped in shiny red Christmas paper and a fancy green ribbon. He handed the package to Stacey. “It was supposed to be your Christmas present, but I think I’d better give it to you now. It’s cold out there.”

Gingerly, Stacey took the box and opened it.

“A coat!” cried Little Man joyously, clapping his hands.

“Wool,” Mama said reverently. “Go ahead, Stacey. Try it on.”

Stacey eagerly slipped on the coat; it was much too big for him, but Mama said that she could take up the sleeves and that he would grow into it in another year. Stacey beamed down at the coat, then up at Uncle Hammer. A year ago he would have shot into Uncle Hammer’s arms and hugged his thanks, but now at the manly age of twelve he held out his hand, and Uncle Hammer shook it.

“Come on, we’d better go,” said Mama.

When you are done, share your findings with your classmates. Did everyone agree on the choices the author made to characterize Hammer? How do their reactions help to characterize the Logan children? Discuss.

Teaching Suggestion: Annotation activities are useful in determining which students understand the material and which would benefit from support. For the first pass, for example, students should note that Uncle Hammer is described as “freshly shaven” and wearing “another suit.” Examples for notes in the margins might include “H=well-dressed” or “H=cares about his appearance.” They may also note his decisiveness (he “orders” Stacey to take off his coat), his wealth (the “fancy green ribbon” on the package), or any other combination of analysis from the text. Do the same with the subsequent steps of the activity.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who benefit from reading comprehension strategies, or for English learners, consider scaffolding this activity by providing textual evidence such as the examples listed in the Teaching Suggestion above, then asking students what that text tells the reader about the character.

Paired Text Extension:

The following scenes in Chapter 8 are strong choices for additional annotation exercises:

• David advises Cassie on how to respond (annotate for David’s character)
• Cassie responds with violence in the woods (annotate for Cassie’s character, or for conflict)

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can be replicated many times to build students’ foundational reading skills. Close readings and annotations offer the chance to analyze conflict, setting, and conflicting viewpoints.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is the story of Cassie’s coming of age.

• How does Cassie grow from childhood to young adulthood over the course of the story? (topic sentence)
• Provide 3 examples from the story that show growth in Cassie. Analyze and discuss these examples in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect Cassie’s growth to either Racism and Violence in the United States or Family and Loyalty.

2. While Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a serious novel, there are also many moments of humor.

• Why did the author choose to include humor in this story? (topic sentence)
• Choose 2-3 funny moments and explain what function the humor serves in the story.
• In your conclusion, imagine how the novel would have been different if it lacked these humorous moments.

3. Stacey and T.J. share a complicated friendship.

• How does the changing relationship between the two show a maturation in Stacey?  (topic sentence)
• Choose 3 interactions from the story that show Stacey’s maturation. Analyze and discuss these examples in support of your topic sentence.
• In your conclusion, contrast the situations each boy is in at the end of the novel and summarize how their respective situations signify their relative maturity.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by textual details, and a conclusion.

1. Several characters in this novel make sacrifices in the name of Family and Loyalty. Choose 3 characters who give up something important for the good of others. In a 3- or 5- paragraph essay, analyze and discuss their decisions. Explain why they make the sacrifice that they do. What results from self-sacrifice? Which sacrifice was greatest and why? Support your ideas with details and examples from the text.

2. Though this book includes shocking acts of racism, the author mentions several white characters whose actions are anti-racist. In a brief, structured essay, identify these characters and their anti-racist actions. How would the novel’s message about racism have been different if the author had not included these characters? Support your ideas with direct quotations and examples from the text.

3. Why did the author title the novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry? Complete a close reading of the poem at the beginning of Chapter 11. In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explain how the poem’s message connects to the events of the novel. Include in your discussion the ways in which at least one of the novels themes relates to the poem and the novel’s title. Use details and examples from the text to support your points.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. How does Mary Logan respond when Miss Crocker shows her the textbook the children refused?

A) She glues a new sheet into the book’s front cover.

B) She makes Cassie apologize for disrespecting Miss Crocker.

C) She asks the school board for new books.

D) She warns Miss Crocker that the books are the school’s property.

2. Which of the following best describes the relationship between Cassie and her father?

A) Cassie and her father are extremely close and spend a great deal of time together.

B) Cassie loves her father very much, but he is rarely home with the family.

C) Cassie and her father have a distant relationship and rarely make a personal connection.

D) Cassie and her father do not get along, and she avoids him whenever possible.

3. Which of the following is the best example of Family and Loyalty?

A) Mary organizes community members to shop in Vicksburg.

B) Cassie pretends to be friends with Lillian Jean just to trick her.

C) The Logans band together to protect T.J. in his time of need.

D) Miss Crocker shows Mary the books the Logan children refused.  

4. Which word best describes Cassie’s first trip to Strawberry? 

A) Wonderful

B) Pleasant

C) Boring

D) Upsetting

5. How does Big Ma respond after Lillian Jean calls Cassie “nasty”?

A) She pretends not to notice.

B) She punishes Lillian Jean for being rude.

C) She asks the girls to behave.   

D) She forces Cassie to apologize.

6. How does Cassie’s character develop over the course of the novel?

A) The effects of violence and racism lead her to organize a community boycott.

B) The conflict with Mr. Granger causes her to prove her physical strength.

C) The family’s struggles against injustice cause her to grow from a child to an adolescent.

D) The influence of friends prompts her to make poor decisions that change her life forever.

7. How does Mr. Granger get his revenge on Mary for helping others boycott the Wallace store?

A) He attacks her when her wagon is damaged.

B) He pushes her car out of the roadway.

C) He has her fired from her teaching job.

D) He calls her “nasty” and pushes her into the street.

8. What does Mr. Morrison mean when he refers to his parents as “breeded stock”?

A) They raised several types of mules on their property.

B) They were enslaved and forced to have children together.

C) They were strong folks from the Mississippi hills.

D) They had a special connection to the land.

9. What does the school bus symbolize?

A) Education

B) Inequality

C) Sacrifice

D) Destruction

10. What does Kaleb Wallace want to do when the police catch T.J.?

A) Hang him

B) Arrest him

C) Question him

D) Let him go

11. How is Jeremy Simms’s perspective different from the rest of his family’s?

A) He has hopes to leave Mississippi.

B) He tries to turn T.J. in to the police.

C) He stands up for the Logan family.

D) He picks fights with white children.

12. What is David’s advice to Cassie when she asks how she should handle the situation with Lillian Jean?  

A) That violence is not the right option

B) That she should not back down from a fight

C) That apologizing, then befriending Lillian is best

D) That she must choose her battles and respect herself

13. Which of the following is a way that Mr. Granger gets back at the Logans for their boycott of the Wallace store?

A) He has the bank call in their mortgage.

B) He sets fire to Mr. Logan’s cotton crop.

C) He steals Uncle Hammer’s Packard.

D) He ruins the children’s textbooks.

14. What does T.J.’s repeated theft of the test answers reveal about him?

A) He is interested in his education.

B) He feels pressure at home to be successful.

C) He repeats the same mistakes pointlessly.

D) He wants Mary Logan to get fired.  

15. Why did the author include the scene in which Mary redid Cassie’s hair for her?

A) To show that Mary’s biggest concerns deal with appearances

B) To be sure that Cassie looks her best for her trip into Strawberry

C) To give Cassie the grown-up haircut that she is finally old enough for

D) To show a close emotional bond between the two characters

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Other than Cassie, which character makes a great change during the story? Support your answer with textual evidence.

2. Is T.J. responsible for the crimes committed in the store in Strawberry? What impact does his course of action have on other characters like Cassie? Explain your answer with details from the text.