Revolution by Deborah Wiles
Book design by Phil Falco
Element 4: Social Movements and Social Change
Link to teacher resource: https://www.scholastic.com/content/dam/teachers/lesson-plans/19-20/anthem-discussion-guide.pdf
Book purchase link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/revolution-the-sixties-trilogy-2-deborah-wiles/0dca073810e54f5f?ean=9780545106085&next=t&c
Summary: It is 1964 in Missouri. Sunny a 12 year old white girl is the main narrator who is navigating the challenging and confusing time of the Freedom Summer. She has lived a sheltered life living in Greenwood her whole life. She knows and understands very little of the racial disparity and strife that is growing around the country. When she hears that there are invaders coming to her town she is astounded and assumes they are hostile. Sunny is unaware that these people coming to Greenwood are here to help fight to get voting rights for the black citizens of Greenwood. Her father had remarried and she has to adapt to having a new stepmother, a new brother, and a new sister. Sunny and her brother get caught by the police for sneaking into a local swimming pool when suddenly out of nowhere they notice a stranger whose life is going to get intertwined with theirs.
Connection to element 4: This novel connects to element 4, social movements and social change, because the novel highlights how everyday people, such as students, volunteers, and local black residents who live in Greenwood unite together challenging the systematic racism of Jim Crow laws while fighting for voting rights. It emphasizes the very important theme of coming together a community to work together to transform unjust systems. Wiles also incorporates a variety of different voices and historical figures like Lyndon B. Johnson, Bob Moses, and Cassius Clay. This signifies that social movements are made up of a myriad of individuals with different vital roles and backgrounds who gathered together to support a common cause. The novel showcases specific tactics used during the Civil Rights Movement such as voter registration drives, build freedom schools in the south, and nonviolent protests. These acts were met with suspicion, discrimination, and brutality from white segregationists. Deborah Wiles also wanted to show how individual choices made by characters helped spark and contribute to the larger picture of change in national history. It helps and supports the readers in understanding that history is shaped by individuals acting together to initiate change. The novel also includes real photographs, quotes, and news experts from the time period. It helps readers be reminded that this movement was real and the struggle for social change was dangerous and evident effort.
Classroom lesson idea: My lesson idea that incorporates Revolution by Deborah Wiles is having my students research more on specific events that were mentioned in the novel. For example, what specifically the Freedom Summer initiative is and how did that effect southern states in the time period. How did Freedom Summer help southern communities realize the injustices that were occurring in their state governments? This allows my students to develop more critical thinking and seeing the bigger picture of how Freedom Summer contributed to the larger Civil Rights Movement. After researching about the issue, I would ask the students to form groups and share what they learned about the Freedom Summer initiative. I would use this in 6th grade social studies class because it focuses on a part of history that has often been overlooked in the education system.
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