Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Other Side

Use The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

The Other Side is a story about a town with a long fence. The fence divides people according to the color of their skin. White people live on one side. Black people live on the other. While the main characters forge a friendship that does not see color, your students will have rich opportunities to connect with the text, practice retelling, identify the author's purpose, and to visualize.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Other Side in the drop down below.

The first page of Asking Questions with A Bad Case of Stripes

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Other Side

Helping students understand America's history is important. The Other Side provides readers with plenty of opportunity to engage with the story on a deeper level. Use this lesson plan and set of resources to help readers think about the author's purpose.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.2.2,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7D,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.10B,2.10A,2.9C,2.8C,2.7E,2.1A,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Making Connections with The Other Side

While it may be difficult for most children to make a connection with a book about segregation, it won't be hard for your students to connect with the deeper story within the pages of The Other Side. Use Jacqueline Woodson's description of new found friendship to help readers make connections between the text and their own experiences.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.2.2,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.1A,2.1C,2.1D,2.6A,2.6E,2.6I,2.7A,2.7B,2.7C,2.7D,2.7E,2.7F,2.8C,2.13C,2.13E,2.13G
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Retelling & Summarizing with The Other Side

The Other Side gives students an opportunity to retell and summarize simple stories with strong messages. Use this lesson plan and set of resources to focus on key story elements and to track how the story unfolds.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.2.2,RL.2.3,RL.2.5,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7D,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9C,2.8D,2.8C,2.8A,2.7F,2.7E,2.1A,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6G,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Synthesizing with The Other Side

The Other Side is the perfect anchor text for teaching readers how to synthesize. Teach students how to track the ways in which characters change across a text then spend some time comparing the past with the present.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.2.1,RL.2.2,RL.2.3,RL.2.4,RL.2.5,RL.2.6,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.9C,2.8C,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.6I,2.6H,2.6B,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Visualizing with The Other Side

The illustrations in The Other Side beautifully compliment the story. Use this visualizing lesson plan and set of resources to help readers compare their mental images to the illustrations. Then spend some time talking about the ways in which illustration can add to our comprehension of the text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.9C,2.8C,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6D,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C
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Syllables with The Other Side

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson as a springboard for instruction focused on syllables.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how stable final syllable and consonant -le combinations are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with syllables.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.2.3,RF.2.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with The Other Side

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Other Side highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
L.2.4a,L.2.5a,L.2.6
TEKS Alignment
2.7E,2.7F,2.3A,2.3B,2.3D
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Comprehension Assessment with The Other Side

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Other Side.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Running Record with The Other Side

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Other Side. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
The first page of Asking Questions with A Bad Case of Stripes

Writing with The Other Side

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Other Side (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Making Connections with The Other Side (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Retelling & Summarizing with The Other Side (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Synthesizing with The Other Side (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Visualizing with The Other Side (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Writing with The Other Side (Spanish)

Worksheet

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About the Book

The cover for the book The Other Side
Title: The Other Side
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: Black History Month, Friendship
ISBN: 9780399231162
Publisher's Summary:
Clover's mom says it isn't safe to cross the fence that segregates their African-American side of town from the white side where Anna lives. But the two girls strike up a friendship, and get around the grown-ups' rules by sitting on top of the fence together.
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