Just as he sought refuge with Mr. Charles the night his father “lost it,” Castle next stops in at the “country store.” Knowing he can trust Mr. Charles with at least the partial truth, Castle admits he isn’t in school because he was laughed out of class. Acting as a mentor figure, Mr. Charles relates his own story of adversity, explaining that his family shames him for being an underachiever, when in reality Mr. Charles is content to run his own store. In this exchange, Reynolds builds on the theme of camaraderie. Think about the consequences Ghost faces as a result of his decision to steal a pair of running shoes. Do you think that the way that Coach punishes him is fair? What would the consequences have been if Ghost had been stopped by the police instead? What would the consequences have been if his mother had discovered the theft? What would have happened if Ghost had never been caught? Why might it have been better for him to get caught? Bates, Karen Grigsby (November 25, 2015). " 'All American Boys': A Young Adult Book About A Police Beating And A Hard Choice". NPR. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018 . Retrieved April 8, 2018. Students can Predict what will happen in the next chapter and craft a chapter from a character’s perspective in first person point of view. Be prepared to share the chapter with your classmates.

I like to take connections with the book a step deeper because of the importance of engaging the students by connecting them with the material. I have students look up quotes of things that happen in the book that remind them of something from their own lives. They write the quote and begin a connection with something like, “This reminds me of a time that….” Students catalogue the quotes and connections as they read through the book. Teach Ghost by Jason Reynolds: Purpose of Reading Printz Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). January 28, 2019 . Retrieved January 4, 2022.

Tia is a salesperson at Everything Sports. Tia finds Castle a pair of silver running shoes in his size for him to try on. When she is busy with another customer, Castle steals the shoes. Later in the novel, Coach Brody makes Castle apologize to Tia for stealing the shoes and she forgives him. Patty But let me tell you, my dad was lying. Wasn’t no sunflowers growing in him. Couldn’t have been. I don’t know a whole lot about sunflowers, but I know they’re pretty and girls like them, and I know the word sunflower is made up of two good words, and that man ain’t got two good words in him, or anything that any girl would like, because girls don’t like men who try to shoot them and their son. And that’s the kind of man he was. Jason Reynolds Publishes Novel | English Department". www.english.umd.edu. University of Maryland. Archived from the original on April 1, 2018 . Retrieved April 1, 2018.

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. In addition to training the Defenders to be competitive runners, Coach also teaches them to work together as a team, helping them learn to be responsible and empathetic. What tactics does he use to teach these life lessons?Jason Reynolds (born December 6, 1983) is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds found inspiration in rap and had an early focus on poetry, publishing several poetry collections before his first novel in 2014, When I Was The Greatest, which won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.