Under the Freedom Tree, pt. 5

Under the Freedom Tree
by Susan VanHecke, illus by London Ladd
Charlesbridge, 2014

Part 1 here?and Part 2 here?and Part 3 here?and Part 4 here. Today is the last post in this book set–perhaps I went a little overboard! But I really loved this book, both as a reader and as a writer.

Teachers, here are some possible writing activities related to the book itself.

• Write a postcard from Frank, James, or Shepard to his mother describing his trip across the river. CCRA.W.3
• Make a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the main characters? days in the Confederate camp and the Union camp. Then write an article comparing and contrasting them. CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.4
• Imagine that Frank, James, or Shepard meets up with General late in life. Write a scene describing what they might say about how their lives changed. CCRA.W.3
• Choose some words you didn’t understand the meaning of, like perhaps pewter, charred, and emancipation. Learn the meaning of the words. Pick your favorite one and write a new story or poem that includes that word. CCRA.W.7

In this blog feature, I share something about my writing process or thoughts I have about writing while reading a picture book I really like.?I’m hoping this will be useful for those of you who are?educators working with young writers.