Brown Girl Dreaming Reading Journal

SAVE THIS DOCUMENT, so you can add to it each week!

Directions: As you read Jacqueline Woodson’s memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming, you will pause at
the end of each part (there 5 parts) to reflect and connect on:

 This Unit’s Focus Question: How does one’s identity inform their perspective?
 How Woodson uses connotative/emotional word choice, imagery, and figurative language to
represent a character’s sense of identity
 Writing Universal Questions that requires the reader to go beyond the text and connect to the bigger
world issues

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 Part I (Pages 1-41) i am born

Name of Poem (and Copy the Verse (line) or stanza that What is the impact of this poem?
page #) that best uses connotative/emotional word How does this poem give insight into
represents identity? choice, imagery, or figurative her identity?
language to represent a character’s (3+ sentences)
sense of identity

February 12, 1963 “I am born in Ohio but/The stories of The impact of this poem is that it shows
(Woodson 2) South Carolina already run/Like the reader how many African
rivers/Through my veins” (Woodson Americans remember the segregation
2). and racism in South Carolina that their
grandparents were victims of. It also
shows how even if they were born
generations after the times of slavery,
those times and stories are still a part
of them. This poem gives insight into
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 Jacqueline’s identity because her
identity consists of many identities
from different times and generations.
Hence, she has the times of slavery
etched in her memories, which were
the times of her ancestors.

Part I Universal Question(s): How might slavery and segregation alter how later newer generations of
African Americans treated white Americans? How does slavery back in the mid-1700s to 1800s affect
present-day white American mentalities toward present day African Americans?

Part II (Pages 45-138) the stories of south carolina run like rivers

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Name of Poem (and Copy the Verse (line) or stanza that What is the impact of this poem?
page #) that best uses connotative/emotional word How does this poem give insight into
represents identity? choice, imagery, or figurative her identity?
language to represent a character’s (3+ sentences)
sense of identity

How to listen #2 “In the stores downtown/We’re The impact of this poem is that it shows
(Woodson Pg. 82) always followed around/Just because the reader how Jacqueline and her
we’re brown”(Woodson 82) family are looked at peculiarly and
followed around everywhere
downtown. It also reveals how
Jacqueline’s neighborhood, most
residents are white Americans who
believe black Americans are inferior,
and so Jacqueline and her family who
identify as black are always followed
around and looked at. This poem gives
insight into Jacqueline’s identity
because it demonstrates how her
identity is something that is not the
norm. Because of this, it is something
that Jacqueline herself must own and
be proud of, even if many people who
are not like her feel that she is inferior
to the rest of the community.

Part II Universal Question(s): 1: How might have slavery toward Africans in the 1800s
affected how present-day African Americans feel about their identity?

2: How might have the personal identities of African Americans changed after slavery was
abolished in 1865?

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 Part III (Pages 143-203) followed the sky’s mirrored constellation
to freedom

Name of Poem (and Copy the Verse (line) or stanza that What is the impact of this poem?
page #) that best uses connotative/emotional word How does this poem give insight into
represents identity? choice, imagery, or figurative her identity?
language to represent a character’s (3+ sentences)
sense of identity

Mrs. Hughes’ House (Pg. “Our feet are beginning to belong/in This poem impacts the reader because
193 - 195) two different worlds – Greenville and it reveals how Woodson feels at home
New York. We don’t know how to in Greenville, but not New York. She
come/home/and leave/home/behind doesn’t get how to move from one
us” (Woodson 195). home to another and still feel at home
in both places. This poem gives insight
into her identity, because it
demonstrates how she is unsure of
which place to call home and how to
feel at home. This does not help her
recognize her identity and she doesn’t
know how to be flexible and
accommodate to either residence.

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Part III Universal Question(s): How might moving houses from a white-supremacist
community to a fully black American community impact a black-American’s sense of
identity? How might a Black-American’s sense of freedom change if they do not feel
comfortable in their residence?

Part IV (Pages 207-278) deep in my heart, i do believe

Name of Poem (and Copy the Verse (line) or stanza that What is the impact of this poem?
page #) that best uses connotative/emotional word How does this poem give insight into
represents identity? choice, imagery, or figurative her identity?
language to represent a character’s (3+ sentences)
sense of identity

Writing #2 “You can’t leave ‘cause your heart is This poem impacts the reader because
there, Sly sings./But you can’t stay it reveals the personal connection that
‘cause you been somewhere Jacqueline has to the song that Sly
else./The song makes me think of sings. She relates moving between
Greenville and Brooklyn/The two Brooklyn and Greenville to the lyrics
worlds my heart lives in now. I am which resonate with her as she
writing/the lyrics down, trying to struggles to feel at home in both
catch each word/before it’s gone.” places. This poem gives insight into her
identity, because it demonstrates her
insecurity of knowing her identity as
she feels split between her two
residences. She also doesn’t get how to
feel at home in both places, and she is
uncomfortable switching between them
frequently.

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Part IV Universal Question(s): How might the way people feel about their identities have
changed during and after slavery? How might a white American kid resonate with a book or
picture that a black American kid deeply resonates with?

Part V (Pages 283-320) ready to change the world

Name of Copy the Verse (line) or stanza that What is the impact of this poem?
Poem (and page #) that uses connotative/emotional word How does this poem give insight into
best represents identity? choice, imagery, or figurative her identity?
language to represent a character’s (3+ sentences)
sense of identity

How to Listen #10 “Write down what I think/ I know. This poem impacts the reader because
The knowing will come./Just keep it reveals how Woodson communicates
Pg. 310 listening…”(Woodson 310) her thoughts and also processes her
emotions and words through writing.
When she listens for all the stories and
perspectives she reads, she
understands them by writing them
down, because her mind can process
the information better that way. This
poem gives insight into Jacqueline’s

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 identity, because it demonstrates how
she understands text and stories. She
implies that if you keep listening, you
will uncover more, and when you think
you understand what you listened, you
should write it down. This way, you will
truly understand what the story tells.

Part V Universal Question(s): 1: How can telling stories help someone be more sure of or
uncover their identity? How might a black American story’s change based on who they are
surrounded by whether it be their own black/African race, or other races such as white
American?

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