“The Crossover” by Kwame Alexander 
Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover. New York: HMH Books For Young Readers, 2014.
Summary: This is a story told completely in poetic verse about twelve year old twins Josh and Jordan who are kings on the basketball court. Josh develops a hobby that is more than basketball- it is his rap and beats too. Things begin to change when the twins’ winning season ends. Jordan meets a girl, and the relationship between brothers starts to diminish. They start growing apart and realize that when they start breaking the rules, consequences soon follow. The novel is told in poetic verse that adds an element of depth to this family.
Selling Tool: Infographic
Lexile:750 Grades: 3-5
Curricular Uses: ELA Activity on Identity and Character Development
This book could be used to teach identity and character development with a 5th grade class. Students read and visualize what each of the characters (JB, Filthy McNasty, Mom, Dad) look like and act based on the evidence from the story of what they read.
As students read this verse novel I would have them encourage them to visualize each of the main characters and talk about what they look like and how they talk and act. Students would be encouraged to draw character sketches or find magazines or web images that look like these characters: Students will fill out a Snapshot on each character. They will then scan and upload their Snapshots to a class blog where they will read and debate each of their peers’ snapshots based on their own analysis of the story.
Standards:
Standards:
Common Core: Key Idea and Details
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
AASL:
2.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to analyze and organize information.
2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems.
4.1.3 Respond to literature
Information Literacy:
5.6 Uses various note taking strategies (e.g., outlining, underlining, bulleted lists, highlighting, graphic organizers).
Learning Outcomes: Students will analyze how different characters developed from beginning to end in this novel by using examples from the text. They will then create a class blog to debate and respond to other character analysis of their peers for deeper understanding and application of what they read.
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
- Students will analyze character development of 3 or more characters by completing a Snapshot using text evidence. (Cognitive)
- Students will create a class blog in which they will respond to two or more peers on their character analysis and give reasons to support their answers. (Psychomotor, Cognitive)
*This book would also be AWESOME to use as part of a poetry unit and use this novel to have students create their own rap poetry just like Alexander did.
Work Cited:
