MAGGIE’S AMERIKAY
BARBARA TIMBERLAKE RUSSELL
LOUISIANA YOUNG READERS’ CHOICE NOMINEE 2009
GRADE 3-5
Submitted by Eileen Foret, Student, LSU School of Library and Information Science, Baton Rouge and Maria Landrum, SLIS Student, Jefferson Parish Library Associate, Metairie, LA.
Maggie’s Amerikay by Barbara Timberlake Russell. Illustrated by Jim Burke. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. 40 pages.
ANNOTATION: After her family emigrates from Ireland to New Orleans in 1898, Maggie learns to respect her parents’ wishes of completing her education. She discovers how to help out when her little sister contracts yellow fever from a little boy she never thought would be a friend.
CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS
· This book can be read aloud to the class because it is very short. The format of the book fits books used in story time. This book can be read aloud in a class when the class is discussing:
· U.S./Louisiana/New Orleans History
· Immigration
· Friends and Family
· Music and Music History
· Activities
· Related to U.S./Louisiana/New Orleans History: Prepare a timeline of major events in history, and then pinpoint what was happening in 1898 when Maggie arrives in New Orleans with her family. Each student can research and contribute one event with pictures or drawings, and a small explanation of the event. The time line can start with the Colonial Period of the United States, and end with modern times, or it can be started at any time before 1898.
· Have children research yellow fever and other plagues through history using the Internet and books.
§ Lesson Plans: For the instructor, there is a wealth of information on yellow fever, including a film, lesson plans for multiple subjects, a video, and a map of U.S. outbreaks: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/fever/ (lesson plans are under Teacher’s Guide)
§ Children Learn how germs spread http://www.teachervision.fen.com/health/lesson-plan/2551.html
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/health/germs041999.html
§ Students consider measure to prevent future epidemics through an activity:
· http://pbskids.org/bigapplehistory/parentsteachers/life_lesson4.html
§ Things to Do - Language Arts, Science (could be adapted) http://www.writerlady.com/fever1793_teachers.html
§ Informative Books:
· Outbreak: disease detectives at work by Mark P. Friedlander
· The plague by Holly Cefrey
· The black plague by Stephanie True Peters
· The American plague: the untold story of yellow fever, the epidemic that shaped our history by Molly Caldwell Crosby
· When plague strikes: the black death, smallpox, AIDS by James Cross Giblin
· Outbreak: plagues that changed history by Bryn Barnard
· Related to Friends: Have the students take a picture or draw a picture of themselves and their best friend(s). The students can write a short essay to submit with their picture/drawing of how they met their best friends, and why they are best friends.
· Related to Family: The students can prepare a family tree describing the different generations they are aware of. The family tree can be hand drawn or computer generated with pictures or drawings, depending on Resources.
· Related to Music/Music History:
§ Have children identify and sample music from various regions of the United States.
§ Discuss America as a melting pot and how that has helped to produce the various types of American music. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:USmusicmap.png
§ Contributions of African-Americans to American music.
§ Lesson Plans
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/classroom/indexk5.htm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/bhistory/history_of_jazz.htm
§ Related films
o American roots music narrated by Kris Kristofferson
o Jazz produced by Ken Burns
o Jazz: what it is produced by Potatoe Productions
o High lonesome: the story of Bluegrass music by Rachel Liebling
§ Informative Books:
o Hip Hop: a short history by Rosa Waters
o The Hip Hop series – chronicles the lives of prominent hip hop artists
o The history of rock music by Andrea Bergamini
o American legends of rock by Ron Knapp
WEB SITES
Topics Related to the Book:
· Louisiana
o edHelper.com – Louisiana Theme Unit http://www.edhelper.com/geography/Louisiana.htm
This website contains worksheets and activities with Louisiana as the theme. There are geographical facts, puzzles, printables, and reading selections.
o Louisiana.gov http://www.louisiana.gov/wps/wcm/connect/Louisiana.gov/Home/
This website is the government portal for all information pertaining to Louisiana. There are links to weather, events, and facts and figures for the state of Louisiana.
o Teaching Louisiana History
http://www.louisiana101.com/
This website contains information on Louisiana History, ideas for lesson
Plans, and computer games using Louisiana facts and geography.
· History of Music
o The Library of Congress Presents: History of Ragtime http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200035811/default.html
This is a short essay discussing and explaining ragtime music. This would be useful for the teacher to familiarize him/herself with the history of ragtime music.
o Jazz Bibliography
http://www.smithsonianjazz.org/bibliography/bib_start.asp
o Historical Overview of Jazz
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/historyofjazz.htm
o Historical Overview of Hip Hop music
http://hiphoptruth.com/new_page_5.htm
http://thehistoryofhiphop.com/
o Historical Overview of Jazz
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110142/jazz
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560708/Jazz.html
o Historical Overview of Rock Music
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9105870/rock-and-roll
· Useful websites on yellow fever:
o http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/yellowfever
o http://www.who.int/topics/yellow_fever/en
o http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9077901/yellow-fever
o http://www.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568804/Yellow_Fever.html
o http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/yellowfever.htm
· Useful websites on other plagues:
o http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague
o http://www.nps.gov/public_health/inter/info/factsheets/fs_plague.htm
o http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/science/medicine/plague.htm
o http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/infection/smallpox.html
o http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/basics/outbreak.asp
o http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/scarlet_fever.html
o http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761563948/Scarlet_Fever.html
o http://dohistory.org/diary/themes/epidemic/
o Interactive tutorial on smallpox
o http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/smallpox.html
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