Teaching Johnny Tremain

Instructions for You

Objective: A lot of times we read a story and label the characters "the good guy" or "the bad guy." Sometimes this labeling is really easy to do, and we do it, sometimes subconsciously, when watching movies, reading the news, and in relationships with people. But is it a wise move? What factors go into making these decisions? Are these kinds of judgments accurate? Are they reliable?

In this one-day activity, students will work in groups to discuss several characters from Johnny Tremain and make judgment calls on their goodness or badness. Then they'll wrap things up with a quick essay.

Materials Needed: pen and paper, white board

Step 1: So, who in this story are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Students will take a minute to make a list on paper.

Step 2: When finished, everyone will get into small groups of four, armed with paper and pen.

Step 3: Each group will go through a list of characters from the book. They'll read the passages about each character and, as a group, decide:

• if the character is bad or good (the passages are just to help you get started; use everything you've learned about the characters in the story)
• on a rating scale of one through ten (one being the lowest scum on the earth and ten being superhero awesome) just how bad or good the character is
• whether each character stays the same or changes throughout the story and why they think so

Step 3a: Here's an example for John Hancock—8.5.53–55.

• We think John H is a pretty good guy.
• We'd rate him a 7.
• We know Hancock is important in history, but he doesn't really show up in the story a whole lot. What we do see of him is the same from beginning to end.
• We're not sure how we feel about war, so we're not saying the Whigs or the Tories were bad or good (for now), but Hancock was one loyal dude and stuck by his team, even though he had to eventually flee to avoid getting arrested. He worked hard even when he had bad headaches and wasn't always feeling the greatest. In this particular passage, Otis is saying that people will have to give up their property in this fight, and Hancock says he'll do it (and he was really rich!).

Step 3b: Present this list of characters and passages about them to your students:

• Johnny Tremain—1.1.36
• Mr. Lyte—4.2.25–27; 11.4.63
• Sam Adams—6.3.11
• Doctor Warren—6.3.25–26
• Uncle Lorne—7.1.13
• General Gage—7.2.2
• Mrs. Lapham—7.4.1
• Mrs. Bessie—7.5.3
• Cilla—7.5.20-21
• Dove—9.2.1-3
• Lieutenant Stranger—9.2.43–46
• Rab—10.2.13
• Paul Revere—10.4.22–24
• Isannah—11.4.20–27
• Lavinia Lyte—11.4.20; 11.4.51–52; 11.4.59

Step 3c: While the students are working, write each of the characters from Step 3b on the board.

Step 4: As the groups finish, have a representative from each group come to the front and write the rating number they assigned to each character underneath that character's name.

Step 5: Students now synthesize their work by independently writing a reflection that pulls together their group's findings. Their reflection should be about 500 words in length and should answer these questions:

• How easy or difficult is it to label a character?
• How do you know if a character is good or bad? What things (actions, looks, relationships, characteristics, events) do you look at to make a decision?
• Is a character always the same or can they change?
• Were there any times when you disagreed with your group? What happened?
• Is labeling a character good or bad objective or subjective?
• Take a look at the board. Did every group agree on each of the characters?
  
  • If so, would that mean the character really is that way?
  • If not, how does someone know if a character is good or bad?
• What does "being bad" mean? What does "being good" mean?
• Is there really a way to tell if someone is good or bad?
• Is labeling a character something we should do? Why or not?
• Is labeling a real person something we should do? Why or not?
• In what way is this labeling activity applicable to real life?

Instructions for Your Students

A lot of times we read a story and label the characters "the good guy" or "the bad guy." Sometimes it's really easy to label people, and we do it, sometimes subconsciously, when watching movies, reading the news, and in relationships with people. Is labeling a wise move? What factors go into making these decisions? Are these kinds of judgments accurate? Are they reliable?

In this activity, you're going to work in groups to discuss several characters from Johnny Tremain and make judgment calls on their goodness or badness. Then you'll wrap things up with a reflection on how you felt about the whole judging experience.

Step 1: So, who in this story are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Take a minute to make a list on paper.

Step 2: When everyone's finished, your teacher will help you get into small groups of four. Bring your paper and pen.

Step 3: Your group will go through a list of characters from the book. Read the passages about each character and, as a group, decide:

• if the character is bad or good, (the passages are just to help you get started; use everything you've learned about the characters in the story)
• on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the lowest scum on the earth and 10 being superhero awesome) a rating of just how bad or good the character is
• whether this character stays the same or changes throughout the story and why you think he or she does or doesn't change

Step 3a: Here's an example for John Hancock—8.5.53–55.

• We think John H is a pretty good guy.
• We rate him a 7.
• We know Hancock is important in history, but he doesn't really show up in the story a whole lot. What we do see of him is the same from beginning to end.
• We're not sure how we feel about war, so we're not saying the Whigs or the Tories were bad or good (for now), but Hancock was one loyal dude and stuck by his team, even though he eventually had to flee to avoid getting arrested. He worked hard even when he had bad headaches and wasn't always feeling the greatest. In this particular passage, Otis is saying that people will have to give up their property in this fight, and Hancock says he'll do it (and he was really rich!).

Step 3b: Here are the characters and passages:

• Johnny Tremain—1.1.36
• Mr. Lyte—4.2.25–27; 11.4.63
• Sam Adams—6.3.11
• Doctor Warren—6.3.25–26
• Uncle Lorne—7.1.13
• General Gage—7.2.2
• Mrs. Lapham—7.4.1
• Mrs. Bessie—7.5.3
• Cilla—7.5.20–21
• Dove—9.2.1–3
• Lieutenant Stranger—9.2.43–46
• Rab—10.2.13
• Paul Revere—10.4.22–24
• Isannah—11.4.20–27
• Lavinia Lyte—11.4.20; 11.4.51–52; 11.4.59

Step 4: When your group is finished, have a representative for the group go to the front and write the number you assigned to each character underneath that character's name.

Step 5: Your last task is to reflect on your group's experience and what you learned from it. You'll work independently now and write a reflection of about 500 words that answers these questions:

• How easy or difficult is it to label a character?
• How do you know if a character is good or bad? What things (actions, looks, relationships, characteristics, events) do you look at to make a decision?
• Is a character always the same or can they change?
• Where there any times when you disagreed with your group? What happened?
• Is labeling a character good or bad objective or subjective?
• Take a look at the board. Did every group agree on each of the characters?
  
  • If so, would that mean the character really is that way?
  • If not, how does someone know if a character is good or bad?
• What does "being bad" mean? What does "being good" mean?
• Is there really a way to tell if someone is good or bad?
• Is labeling a character something we should do? Why or not?