Ninth Ward

Resilience, Haunting, Hope, Spiritual, Survivial

Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Published by Little, Brown and Company

Copyright 2010

Coretta Scott King Honor Book 2011

This story is about a 12 year-old girl named Lanesha. Lanesha lived in New Orleans' Ninth Ward before Hurricane Katrina. She lived with a woman named Mama Ya-Ya, who delivered Lanesha as her mother passed away during the childbirth. Lanesha can see ghosts and one of them is her mother. She is teased at school because she was born with a caul over her eyes but some believe that those born this way are destined for great things. Lanesha is inspired by one of her teachers and dreams of, one day, building bridges.Mama Ya-Ya could tell the future and as Katrina approached, she sensed that something more than a little storm was on its way to New Orleans. Lanesha prepared the house for the hurricane by boarding the windows and getting food ready. During this time, Lanesha tries to derive hope from her mother's spirit. Unfortunately, the storm takes Mama Ya-Ya's life. Lanesha escapes the floods in a small boat and rescues others.

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read
Grade Level (Lexile): HL470L, Ages 9-12

Key Vocabulary: heritage, caul, Hurrican Katrina, exasperated, unfathomable, anxious, evacuate, loitering, devastating, perpendicular

Teaching Strategies:

• Before Reading: Discuss with students what they know about Hurricane Katrina. How did it effect New Orleans? How bad was tha damage? How do you think the people living in New Orleans when the hurricane hit felt when they realized what was coming?
• During Reading: In small groups, students will discuss what they know about Lanesha's gift. Do you think this gift is beneficial? Why/Why not? Do you have something special about you that is unique in your family?
• After Reading: Discuss with students hurricane aftermaths. Students will research and take notes for the answers to questions like:
• How do hurricanes start?
• What is the most devastating hurrican in U.S. history?
• What should people do to prepare for a hurricane?
• What is the "eye" of a hurricane?
• How long to hurricanes last?

Writing activity: Students will use their research and notes about hurricane to make connections with the story. Students will write a response detailing how they think the people of New Orleans felt before, during, and after Hurricane Katrina. Do you think Mama Ya-Ya's prediction was helpful? What do you think about Lanesha's efforts to try to safe others after she found refuge in a small boat? What does this say about her character?

Electronic Resources:

• Discussion Guide: This site provides teachers with discussion questions for Ninth Ward. This site has recall questions as well as a vocabulary chart that students can fill in during reading or after reading. It also provides activities that connect to science, history, and math.
• Katrina: This site provides students with information about Hurricane Katrina. This site provides graphs and facts about the storm and the devastation it caused the people of New Orleans, Louisiana. Pictures of the floods and the wreckage are present. Students will be able to look at the pictures of the city that is almost completely submerged in the floods. 

Rhodes, J. P. (2010). Ninth Ward. Boston: Little, Brown And Co..