Synopsis: In this unit, students will read the novel If You Come Softly by Jacqueline
Woodson while focusing on the importance of memory and memorialization. Students will
complete anticipation activities that research African-American and Jewish history, the
racial groups that are represented by the protagonists of the novel. Students will explore
how each racial group’s history continues to have an impact on current events and the
characters in the novel. Students will be asked to consider how history is taught to them and
what they do and do not learn in a standard history class. The curriculum unit will include
anticipatory material to be used before starting the novel, materials to supplement a nuanced
discussion of the beginning of the novel, a project to enhance student understanding of
characterization at the end of the novel, and finally a project that asks students to reflect on
the historical implications of the racial groups that are represented in the novel. This unit
aligns with the North Carolina English Language Arts standards for grades 9 and 10.