Peace, Locomotion

Peace, Locomotion

Jacqueline Woodson

Published by: Puffin Books, an Imprint of Penguin Group

Copyright 2009

176 Pages

War, Peace, Foster Child, Sibling Relationship, Family

This companion novel to the 2003 National Book Award finalist novel Locomotion uses a unique diary like format to explore the concept of family, war, and sibling relationships. Lonnie is a 12 year-old foster child who uses letters to stay close to his sister who is in a separate foster home. Lonnie learns first hand what peace is when his foster brother comes home from the war without his legs. This thought provoking novel guides the reader to ponder peace, war, and love while allowing for true engagement with the characters.

Reading Level

Ages 10+, Lexile Measure: 860L

Suggested Delivery

Read Aloud

Electronic Resources

Provide your students with the opportunity to learn more about the author by viewing this interview before reading the novel.

Have students create their very own electronic diary at with Penzu while reading Peace, Locomotion. This easy to use electronic resource can expand learning and allow students to explore the joys of journal writing.

Key Vocabulary

·      Aspiring - Directing ones hopes to become a certain type of person

·      Camouflage - Hide or disguise

·      Skeptical - Not easily convinced

Teaching Strategies

            Before – Use Peace, Locomotion to develop student’s ability to make predictions. Students can make predictions based on Lonnie’s letters and check for accuracy using evidence from the text. Pre-teaching the vocabulary above is important to aide in comprehension. Instruct students to define the above words and then create a sentence by using the word correctly. 

            During – This novel lends itself to a read aloud format. Teachers can also initiate a CLOSE reading strategy for the text by breaking down individual letters to look for important facts or ideas.

            After – Have students revisit the predictions they made before reading Peace, Locomotion and find evidence to support whether the prediction was correct. Allow students to work in small groups and discuss what they have found.

Writing

Use the penzu app to allow students to create a personalized journal. Students can use the journal to make connections to the text as well as to tell their own stories. A secondary writing activity can include creating their own letters that describe a particular event in their life.