1. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
By Mildred D. Taylor
A Webquest by Jennifer Coombe, Mary Harrison, Kate Lathrap, Mario Mattei, Lindsay Riggs, Sarah Salon

2. Author Bio
"I do not know how old I was when the daydreams became more than that, and I decided to write them down, but by the time I entered high school, I was confident that I would one day be a writer.“
~Mildred D. Taylor
Mildred Delois Taylor was born in Jackson, Mississippi on September 13, Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Toledo, Ohio because of racial discrimination, where she lived until she graduated from the University of Toledo. She joined the Peace Corp and taught English and history for two years in Africa. After returning from Africa, she worked and recruited for the Peace Corps. She got her Master's Degree in journalism at the University
of Colorado, where she joined the Black Student Alliance
and helped to make a black studies program. After graduating, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked during the day and wrote at night.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was the second book that was published by Mildred D. Taylor and the first in the Logan family series (Let the Circle Be Unbroken and The Land). The stories of the Logan family are loosely based on events in Mildred D. Taylor’s family history; though Mildred's family had moved to the North, her father missed the South, and would take his family back every so often. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry won the Newbery Medal, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, and was a National Book Award finalist.
Mildred D. Taylor has published nine books. She has won numerous awards, which includes winning the Coretta Scott King Award five times. She is currently writing the last book in the Logan family series, titled Logan.

3. Book Summary
The Logans are a black family in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The Logans own their own land, which has been in the family for years, but they are greatly in debt. In order to make payments on their land, Papa goes away to work on the railroad, leaving Mama and Big Ma to take care of Stacey, Cassie, Christopher John, and Little Man. The story begins with the four Logan children heading off for their first day of school where Mama teaches as well. The black children must walk to school, and every morning the white children’s bus deliberately tries to run the black children off the road and get them dirty. Little Man can’t understand why the white kids get a bus and they don’t, and also because he is very particular about keeping his clothes clean. Little Man is disappointed to receive his textbook for the year, which is terribly tattered. He looks inside the book and sees the reason the book is so beat up: it has been used by white students until the condition of the book became almost unusable. Mama uses her own teaching methods, which includes gluing paper over the front page that lists previous owners in Little Man’s book and the books for her class.
Stacey, the oldest Logan boy, has a best friend named T. J., who is a big-mouth and a trouble-maker. Stacey and T.J. are both in Mama’s class. One day Stacey catches T.J. cheating on a test and tries to stop him. T.J. manages to frame Stacey for it and Mama whips him in front of the class. After school T.J. runs to the Wallace store and Stacey goes after him (and the three younger Logans follow) even though the Logans have been forbidden to go there because the owners recently burned three black men, killing one, and received no consequences for their actions. Stacey and T.J. fight until Mr. Morrison, Papa’s friend who is staying with the Logans while Papa is gone, stops them and takes the Logans home. When Mama finds out, she goes around to several black sharecropping families trying to prevent them from shopping at the Wallace store. But they are forced to shop there because they must buy on credit and Mr. Granger, the man who owns all the farm land, will only back their signatures if they shop at the Wallace store (the only store in town). Mr. Jamison, a white lawyer and friend of the family, agrees to back people’s signatures if they shop in Vicksburg.
One day Stacey and Cassie get to accompany Big Ma into Strawberry. While they are there, Cassie is mortified at how she is treated. First the store owner ignores them while he helps all of his white customers. Then Lillian Jean Simms bumps into her and Mr. Simms forces Cassie to apologize and call her “Miss Lillian Jean.” Cassie is angry and ashamed. They return home to find Uncle Hammer and his big shiny car. Papa returns home within a few days and they have a wonderful Christmas together as a family. Papa, Mr. Morrison, and Stacey make a trip to Vicksburg to buy groceries and supplies for several of their neighbors. On their way home, they are attacked and Papa’s leg is broken. Mr. Morrison fights off the white men, and they return home in safety.
Mama is fired from her job on grounds that she has ruined school property (the textbooks) and that she is teaching material that is not in the curriculum (slavery). The Logans find out that the person who turned her in was T.J. Stacey will no longer be friends with T.J. and T.J. starts hanging out with two mean white boys, R.W. and Melvin Simms. He turns into their gopher and becomes a thief. One night, the Simms brothers take T.J. with them to a store where they kill two white people and frame T.J. for it. An angry mob drags T.J. from his house and threatens to lynch him. Papa and Mr. Morrison run to try to stop the lynching. A storm is on its way, and there is thunder and lightning. All of a sudden, the Logans’ crop is on fire and headed toward Mr. Granger’s land. All of the men in the mob are forced to fight the fire along with many black neighbors. The lynching does not occur. Mr. Jamison will ensure that T.J. will at least receive a trial before he is sentenced. Cassie eventually realizes that Papa started the fire in order to save T.J. 

4. Links Mildred D. Taylor: Teaching Resources for Mildred D. Taylor:
Teaching Resources for Mildred D. Taylor:
The Freedom Writers Foundation:
Internet Hunt on Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry:
Mildred D. Taylor’s Books :
Song of the Trees:
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry:
Let the Circle Be Unbroken:
The Gold Cadillac:
The Friendship:
Mississippi Bridge:
The Road to Memphis:
The Well:
The Land:
The Great Depression:
Racism:
Say No to Racism:
Racism in the Military:
Racism in Pop Culture:
The Fight Against Racism Today:
Teen Ink:
Sharecropping:
Civil Rights Images:
Related Video Links:
Lynching (note: images may be graphic and not suitable for younger children):

5. Quiz
Is the Civil Rights Movement still active today? Is racism still an issue that kids and teens have to face every day? Use research from current news to support your argument.
Pick a scene from the book and rewrite it from a different character’s perspective. For example, write the fire scene from Papa’s or Stacey’s perspective. How does this change the story? What details are added to or taken away from the story from a different perspective?
T. J. starts to hang around with R. W. and Melvin Simms. He does many things to betray his community. Write an essay defending T. J.’s decision to be “friends” with R. W. and Melvin. Why would he do such a thing?
Cassie can’t understand why some people don’t like her just because she is black. On page 95, Mama tries to explain why white people feel justified in being racist. Imagine that you are a black parent. How would you explain racism to your child?
The Logans owned the land they lived on and farmed. This ownership gave them a sense of pride and independence. The land is symbolic of their family’s strength. Does your family have a symbol or representation of its history or special legacy? How does it give you a sense of pride?
How did the Great Depression affect the Logan Family? Explain why the Great Depression was harder on African Americans during that time.
What are some things that African Americans used to provide temporary relief during their hardships at the time of the Great Depression? Research and write about one thing that African Americans used to bring hope and happiness, such as music. How did these things bring people together as a community?

6. Rubric Ideas (up to 4 points): Organization (up to 2.5 points):
clearly stated main idea that makes sense (what is proved?)
details that prove the main idea (two quotations)
sub-points stand out (Internet links used)
no sidetracking (stick to the point)
Organization (up to 2.5 points):
an attention grabbing opening,
a sequence that's easy to follow
developed paragraphs
transition words (because, on the other hand, furthermore, in fact, and, but, not only-but also)
a conclusion that doesn't leave unanswered question
Voice (up to 0.5 points):
appropriate to topic, purpose and audience
writer is committed to topic (sounds like he/she cares about it)
writer attempts to connect to audience (as appropriate)
writer reveals the person behind the words (as appropriate)
Word Choice (up to 0.5 points):
words evoke strong images (appeal to senses)
precise, accurate vocabulary
interesting but natural sounding
Sentence Fluency (up to 0.5 points):
graceful flow of sentences one into the next
variation of sentence type, length and opening
cadence used to enhance meaning
Conventions (up to 2 points):
correct punctuation
correct spelling
correct grammar/usage that doesn’t interfere with reading the paper.