Book Detail

Here in Harlem

Publication Information
Author:  Myers, Walter Dean Illustrator:  
Title:  Here in Harlem Date:  2004
Publisher:  Holiday House City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:   ISBN, hardback:  

Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes ESOL:  
Family:   Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:  

General Information:
Book Type(s):    poetry, fiction

HSE Descriptor(s):   

Summary:
Walter Dean Myers recreates the Harlem of his youth in poetry and populates it with colorful characters through their voices.

Teaching Ideas:
A background look at Spoon River Anthology would help students see what Myers is doing. These poems offer innumberable opportunities to use Readers' Theater, whether reading characters individually or grouping several together in an imagined dialogue. Readers might find creating a matrix helpful to differentiate the many voices. After choosing a favorite character, students can examine the poem to see how the images, musical rhythms, and varied rhymes contribute to the portrait. Since the characters speak separately, a composite view of Harlem through its residents is left to the reader to articulate in discussion or writing. This overview of Harlem could be compared with several books in a text set on Harlem, obtained by a Eureka keyword search. Students might consider writing poetry in the voices of those in their community, suggesting the way place can shape experience.

Teaching Strategies:
bullet Bleich's Heuristic for Responding to Reading
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/bleichs_heuristic.pdf
bullet Helping Students in the Writing Process
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/help_writing_process.pdf
bullet Matrices or Charts
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/matrices_charts.pdf
bullet Reader's Theater
   http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/readers_theater.pdf

Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
bullet Ethnic Groups > African-American
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > hopes/dreams
bullet Geography > locations > U.S. states/regions > New York > Harlem
bullet Literature and Language > figurative language
bullet Communities > urban > city
bullet Literature and Language > rhythm
bullet Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > trust
bullet Science > scientist/inventors > Einstein, Albert


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