English 10 ● C.P. Allen High School
THINK ● READ ● WRITE ● SPEAK
“The Treasure of Lemon Brown”
Complete on loose leaf. Write your name on all pages.
BEFORE you read:
A. Research the author, Walter Dean Myers. Provide five significant facts about his life.
B. Describe something you consider a treasure that likely wouldn’t have the same value to others.
C. What does it mean to take someone or something for granted? Describe a time in your life when you did this.
D. Recreate a visual organizer like the one below. On the left, draw a sketch of what you think a character named Lemon Brown might look like in your imagination. Beside your sketch, use descriptive words to suggest things you may have trouble drawing.
Sketch: / Descriptive words and phrases:WHILE you read:
As you read the story, use the unwritten rules of reading fiction – THE RULES OF NOTICE- to help you make annotations on the story.
AFTER you read:
E. List three character traits each for Greg and Lemon Brown .Provide a quote from the text to supports your claim of each trait.
Example: Mary is impatient. The author describes that she,” stomped her foot and huffed and puffed as she waited for her mother to finish her rant.” (Notice I inferred the trait based on the description.)
F. How does the author’s use of dialect and colloquialisms help develop an understanding of character in this story?
G. How does the setting impact on the development of the story?
H. Go back to what you learned from the article about the social and cultural history of Harlem. Explain how this knowledge impacts your understanding of these characters and their story.
Theme: The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his/her theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.
I. What is the central theme developed in The Treasure of Lemon Brown? Comment on how this theme is developed in this story?
J. Personal Response Assignment: Earlier, you were asked to identify a treasure that you possess in your life that would not have the same value to others. Introduce and tell the story of this item in 3-4 paragraphs. You might choose to begin with one of these prompts. Make sure you clearly identify the object.
· My fist memory of this personal treasure is….
· When another person looks at this item they would see……..From my perspective this item is……
· I imagine that even when I am old and grey I will keep this treasure close by me because……..
My Sample:
One of my most treasured items is my grandfather’s journal. He passed away in July of 2006 and to this day, I miss him. I have a collection of personal artifacts associated with my grandfather in a special “treasure” box in my room. The most significant item in it is a journal he wrote in at my request in the year to his death.
It was Christmas 2010 and I had the idea to make his gift a blank journal and ask him to capture some of the stories of his life….. ( to be continued
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