The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
“There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you until the day you begin to share your stories.”
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson considers the difficulty of entering a room where you don’t know anyone. In these situations, we become “an only” until we share our personal stories. We are all different, whether this is our accent so “no one understands the way words curl from your mouth.” Or it could be the food we eat that is “too strange or too unfamiliar for others to love as you do.”
Woodson reminds us that we are all outsiders and it takes courage to be ourselves. “There will be times when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you until the day you begin to share your stories.”
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator: Rafael López
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
ISBN: 9780399246531
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The Day You Begin Resources
These resources relate to the book, author and illustrator. The number of resources varies book to book. Please check they are appropriate for your specific needs before using them with children. If you have any suggestions please get in touch!
- Anti-Defamation League: The Day You Begin Extension Activities
- The Curriculum Corner: Activities and Discussion Prompts
- Oakland Literacy Coalition: Read-Aloud Guide
- Penguin Random House: A guide to the Work of Jacqueline Woodson
- Unleashing Readers: Discussion Guide
- WITS Programs Foundation: Lesson Plan
The Day You Begin Graphic Organisers
I have created a literacy pack for The Day You Begin which includes 350 NO PREP graphic organizers. There are many activities for each literacy area to differentiate depending on your student’s ability/age. The pack includes activities for:
- Asking Questions
- Author’s Purpose
- Cause & Effect
- Character Traits and Analysis
- Compare & Contrast
- Comprehension Questions and Writing Prompts
- Inferring and Predicting
- Main Idea and Theme
- Making Connections
- Point of View
- Problem and Solution
- Retelling, Sequencing and Summarizing
- Story Maps
- Visualizing
- Vocabulary
*Click on these links to discover book recommendations on these topics.
The Day You Begin Read-Aloud Questions
Read aloud sessions are a wonderful way for children to understand the connection between written text and spoken language. You can model reading habits and strategies, reading fluency, tone and eye contact. You can also introduce different genres, authors and illustrators.
- What do you think Jacqueline Woodson wants us to learn from reading The Day You Begin?
- Now you have finished the book, why do you think the book is called The Day You Begin?
- What is the message of the story?
- What did you learn from reading The Day You Begin?
- Why do you think the characters felt the way they did?
- How do the author and illustrator show the character’s emotions throughout the book?
- Have you ever been in a room of people who differ from you? How did it make you feel?
- What makes you unique and special?
- How can you help some ‘begin’ when they are new to our school/classroom?
- What were the differences between the students in The Day You Begin? Can you make any connections to them?
- Why do you think Jacqueline Woodson and Rafael López added so many rulers to the illustrations?
You can find a full set of 88 comprehension questions for The Day You Begin available in my TPT Store.
The Day You Begin Book Trailers & Videos
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Books by Jacqueline Woodson & Rafael López
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