• Make inferences about the expectations of African-American men compared to white men as soldiers during the time frame the book covers and cite evidence from the text that supports the inference.
• State the central idea of the book and explain how the changes that took place developed. Use key details to support your explanation as to why those changes came about so slowly.
• Provide an analysis of how the deeds and interactions of the men in the 555th changed events over the course of the war and why those changes occurred.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2 Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3 Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Craft and Structure
• Find examples of ways the author uses words and phrases to set the tone of the times in regard to black soldiers and the discrimination they faced. [Chapter Five has good examples.]
• What is the relationship the first and last chapters and how they are written compared to the interior chapters? Explain how the chapters relate as a whole to the book.
• From whose point of view is the story told and how did this shape the content and style of the book?
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4 Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.5 Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6 Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Stone (Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream) opens with an enticing question, “What is it like to jump out of an airplane?” The answer, which lets readers imagine doing just that as a paratrooper, will immediately draw them into this thorough story of the U.S. military’s first black paratroopers. More than just an account of their endeavors during WWII, the narrative takes on a broader perspective as it contextualizes the story of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. Set against the entrenched racism of the 1940s, the nine chapters include asides about media stereotypes regarding African-Americans and how photographs of black soldiers were often left out of the military record. Myriad quotations from personal interviews and more than 100 b&w photos reveal the heroism and perseverance of these groundbreaking men. While they didn’t see combat (they were instead sent out West to become smoke jumpers), Stone’s final chapters reveal how the Triple Nickles’ service helped integrate both the military and society at large. A captivating look at a small but significant piece of military and civil rights history. Ages 10–up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.