Serious Topic

Stop Pretending:What happened when my big sister went crazy. Sones, Sonya. Harper Collins Publishing. New York, NY.  1999

Introduction:

Ask students to think about things that have happened in their lives, serious events that maybe they were embarrassed about, but had no control over.  Give them a few minutes to ponder that thought.  Then introduce the verse novel Stop Pretending: What happened when my big sister went crazy by Sonya Sones.    Explain that it is a poetry book and that each "chapter" is a verse in the poem.  Read the inside of the dust jacket to the class, giving them more information on the novel.

Next, tell the class you would like to read a few of the verses from the novel:

Molly, Kate         and Me

Last Thursday

I finally got the courage up

  to tell Molly and Kate

about my sister.

They were so nice about it.

So understanding.

At first.

But now they ignore me,

and every morning

when I walk to school

I can see them up ahead, 

shoulder to cold shoulder,

freezing me out.

Allow a few minutes for the class to let this poem sink in, then reread it. 

Ask "has anyone ever had a friend turn on you? or "dump" you when you really needed a friend?"   "Or, have you ever dropped a friend when things got rocky in their life?" (don't ask students to answer, just think about the questions)

Next read:

During History Class

I notice

Molly scribbling something

on a scrap of paper.

She passes it to Lindsey

when Mrs. Ray isn't looking.

Lindsey reads it and giggles,

peeking in my direction.

She passes it to Jessica

who stifles a laugh and passes it to Rachel

who grins and passes it to Megan.

Megan's sitting right next to me.

She reads it and snickers

but doesn't pass it to me.

Instead she crumples it up

and stuffs it into her desk.

When Megan gets called up

to read her report to the class,

I sneak my hand into her desk

and pull out 

the note.

It says:

COOKIE'S SISTER IS CUCKOO.

And underneath the words

is a drawing of a girl

with her eyes crossed

and her hair looking like she just

stuck her finger into an electric outlet.

I cram the note

into my pocket

and pray for the bell to ring

so I can escape

before anyone sees my face.

I hate them all.

These two verses could be used as a lesson on friendship or how to treat others, or how not to treat others.  An idea would be to have students write about a time they were treated badly by someone they thought was a friend, or how they treated a friend badly.  This could be used to build character and to open the door for discussions on keeping a friend's confidence when they share something private and personal with you.

I feel this would be a great activity for middle schooler and high schoolers. They are dealing with so many issues and so often are betrayed by someone they thought was a friend.

http://www.sonyasones.com/