89 pages • 2 hours read
Julius LesterDay of Tears
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Day of Tears
- Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical
- Originally Published: 2005
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile NP0L; grades 5-9
- Structure/Length: 13 chapters; approx. 192 pages; approx. 2 hours and 52 minutes on audio
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Emma, an enslaved person on the Butler plantation and the primary caretaker of the Butler children, is sold during the largest slave auction in American history.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Graphic violence; references to sexual assault; suicide ideation; offensive, outdated language. Linked outside resources in this Teaching Unit may include use of the term “slaves.”
Julius Lester, Author
- Bio: 1939-2018; born in St. Louis, Missouri; received a B.A. in English from Fisk University; worked as a musician, radio talk-show host, photographer, and political activist; was active in the civil rights movement; taught for 32 years at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- Other Works: Time’s Memory (2006); When Dad Killed Mom (2001); To Be a Slave (1969); John Henry (1994)
- Awards: Coretta Scott King Award (2006); Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (1995); Caldecott Honor (1995); Newbery Honor (1969)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- The Vulnerability of Black People and Enslaved People
- The Significance of Location in the United States Prior to the 13th Amendment
- Slavery as an Inhumane Practice Against Nature
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
