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Where the Steps Were

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Where the Steps Were
by Andrea Cheng
143 pages
age 9-12
Honesdale, Pa. : Wordsong, c2008

Pleasant Hill School is scheduled for demolition at the end of this school year. Miss D.'s 3rd grade class writes in verse what happens during that final year. They learn about Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln and Rosa Parks. The lives of these historical figures gives them strength to deal with the trials of their daily lives as well as the impending change to a new school.
It was fascinating to me how much you can learn about characters from such short verses. The characters were well developed as were their families and friendships. Every novel I have read by this author has been thought-provoking but accessible to upper elementary age children.
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