Here are five quick ideas for lesson plans you could use with Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.
If you want a full unit plan with detailed lesson plans, handouts, questions, quizzes and more, get an excellent one here.
1. Grief in Long Way Down
Discuss the theme of grief and how the main character, Will, deals with the loss of his brother. Have students brainstorm coping mechanisms and discuss the effectiveness of each. How should Will handle the loss of his brother? What could he do instead of following “the rules”?
2. Long Way Down Timeline
Have students create a timeline of the events leading up to Will’s decision to seek revenge in Long Way Down. This timeline should include the information we learn from the other passengers on the elevator, and should show the sequence of events from Uncle Mark and Will’s father, to Buck, to Dani, to Frick, to Shawn, and finally to Will.
3. Gun Violence Research
Explore the topic of gun violence and its impact on individuals and communities. Have students get research statistics on gun violence and discuss ways to prevent it.
This could be done individually or in groups. If the students have access to the internet, the research could be done individually, and then students could get into small groups to discuss what they learned and brainstorm possible ways to reduce gun violence.
Finally, discuss it all together as a class.
4. Character Map for Long Way Down
Have students create a character map of the book, identifying the relationships between the characters and how they change throughout the story.
The cycle of violence in Long Way Down means that every character in the novel is connected.
5. Letter to Will
Have students write a letter to Will, either as a friend offering support or as one of the other characters in Long Way Down sharing their own experiences and offering advice.
More Lesson Plans
For more lesson plans, check out these 10, and these 3.
And for a full unit plan with everything you need to teach Long Way Down, check out this one: englishunitplans.com/long-way-down/
