Brown Girl Dreaming Study Guide

Brown Girl Dreaming Study Guide

by Kelli Wingate

​How to Study

​In order to be successful when studying for the test, you need to access Brown Girl Reading from the Into Literature app on Clever.

​Why is the Brown Girl Dreaming told in verse, not prose?

​Brown Girl Dreaming is told in verse rather than prose because the author thinks that we don't remember everything in full detail. We remember small details which is more like verse than prose.

​Personification

​Personification is when we use human actions to describe animals/things.

​

​For more information on personification, please review the mini lesson on personification in Schoology.

​

​

Multiple Choice

Brown Girl Dreaming is what type of writing?

• A memoir written in poetry

• An informative essay

• An argument essay

Multiple Choice

A memoir is ...

• a story that has no real events

• an essay

• a memory of important events told by the author about his or her own life

Multiple Choice

True or False: Brown Girl Dreaming discusses Jacqueline Woodson's early childhood.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The book Stevie is important to the author because...

• it has people of color in it

• it is the first library book she checks out

• it has a character in it who is a writer

• it is the first book she can read

Multiple Choice

How does the sentence in lines 7-9 contribute to the poem "writing #1"?

• it sets the mood

• it adds imagery

• it describes the setting

• it establishes the conflict

Multiple Choice

In the poem "late autumn," the speaker goes from feeling --

• fascinated to bored

• frustrated to hopeful

• confident to discouraged

• misunderstood to beloved

Multiple Choice

In contrast to the poem "the other woodson," the poem "reading" shows how --

• the speaker struggles in school

• the speaker wants to be a writer

• the speaker behaves and thinks like her sister

• the speaker feels pride in being different from her sister

Multiple Choice

Read the dictionary entry.

fussing \fŭs-ing\ v 1. showing unnecessary concern about something 2. complaining about something unimportant 3. moving around or busying oneself restlessly 4. disturbing or bothering someone

Which definition best matches the meaning of fussing as it is used in line 93 of the poem “stevie and me”?

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

Multiple Choice

What makes Brown Girl Dreaming different from most other memoirs?

• It is written in prose.

• It is written in poetry.

• It is written like a journal.

• It is written like a text message.

Multiple Choice

Who is the Author of Brown Girl Dreaming?

• Jessica Woods

• Jacqueline Woodson

• Kevin Wilson

• None of the Above

​Personification in Brown Girl Dreaming

​Let's read writing #1

​

​It's easier to make up stories

​than it is to write them down. When I speak,

​the words come pouring out of me. The story

​wakes up and walks all over the room. Sits in a chair,

​crosses one leg over the other, says,

​Let me introduce myself. Then just starts going on and on.

​But as I bend over my composition notebook,

​only my name

​comes quickly. Each letter, neatly printed

​writing #1 continued...

​between the pale blue lines. Then white

​space and air and me wondering. How do I

​spell introduce? Trying again and again

​until there is nothing but pink

​bits of eraser and a hole now.

​where a story should be.

​

​When I speak,

​the words come pouring out of me. The story

​wakes up and walks all over the room.

​Conflict is

​Conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces in a work of literature.

Multiple Choice

Which line establishes the conflict?

• It's easier to make up stories when you write them down.

• Let me introduce myself.

• But as I bend over my composition notebook, only my name comes quickly.

• Each letter neatly printed between the pale blue lines.

Multiple Choice

When I speak,

​the words come pouring out of me. The story

​wakes up and walks all over the room.

Which idea does the personification best express?

• Telling made-up stories aloud comes easily to the speaker

• Sharing stories with others is enjoyable to the speaker

• Writing stories is part of the speaker's family traditions

• Making up stories often gets the speaker into trouble

Multiple Choice

The final three lines in the poem "when I tell my family" suggest that the speaker:

• Prefers writing stories over telling them

• Is thinking about becoming a teacher or a lawyer

• Is determined to be a writer, no matter what others think

• Has a desire to write stories about her school and family