1. Louis P. Ianniello
TAH Media and Literacy
“Maritcha” Lesson
plans/Thematic Unit
April 24, 2010

2. Maritcha Thematic Unit
1. Read p. 10-11. On these pages, Tonya Bolden recreates a photo
album. Some of the photos have a lot of information, and some
have a little information. You are going to create a similar photo
album of your family. Using actual family photos, compose
your own family album. Decorate the photo with an elaborate
frame as seen in the book. Create a caption for each photo
including the following information:
-Name of person
-Relation to you
-Date and place of birth
-Interests
-as child, hobbies, games, school performance, what
they would like to be “when they grow up”
-as adult, interests and/or hobbies adult had as a child,
current occupation and any hopes and dreams
-A personal memory you have of that relative
-Compile all of this into a photo album for classroom display
Louis P. Ianniello

3. 2. ELA selection. Read p. 14 of Maritcha and answer the
following questions using information from the article. Do not
include any personal information – just base your answers on
information form the article.
a. Maritcha recalls stories about early New York City from
listening to her grandmother. Name two details that Elizabeth
Hewlett Marshall retells that describe the winters in early
New York City
First detail________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Second Detail______________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Louis P. Ianniello

4. 3. Art Analysis Worksheet w/ quadrants. Look at the painting of
Broadway on p. 18. Using your quadrant frame, examine the
painting and all of its aspects. Important: Look for an
underlying tone in the painting.
4. Art Analysis Worksheet
Step 1. Observation
A. Study the painting for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the photograph and then
examine individual items. Next, divide the photo into quadrants and study each section to see
what new details become visible.
Quadrant LT Quadrant RT
Quadrant LB Quadrant RB

5. B. Use the chart below to list people, objects, and activities in the painting.
People Objects Activities
Step 2. Inference
C. Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this
photograph.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Step 3. Questions
D. What questions does this photograph raise in your mind?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
E. Where could you find answers to them?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

6. 4. Who was Maritcha Lyons? Create a character analysis of
Maritcha by engaging in an informational scavenger hunt
through the book. Read the following questions and locate the
answers in the book by referring to the page numbers in
parentheses.
A. When was Maritcha Lyons born? (6)
B. Where did Maritcha Lyons first live? (7)
C. What are some games she may have played as a child? (8)
D. Which of Maritcha’s sisters did not have a photograph in the
book? (11)
Why?_________________________________________________
E. Name two places that Maritcha was excited to visit. (12)
F. What happened to Seneca Village and why was that
significant to Maritcha? (14)

7. Louis P. Ianniello

8. 5. Look at the etching on page 25. Fill out the following art
analysis worksheet. Again, as in # 3, it is important that you look
for an underlying tone in the artwork.
5. Art Analysis Worksheet
Step 1. Observation
A. Study the painting for 2 minutes. Form an overall impression of the etching and then
examine individual items. Next, divide the etching into quadrants and study each section to
see what new details become visible.
Quadrant LT Quadrant RT
Quadrant LB Quadrant RB
B. Use the chart below to list people, objects, and activities in the etching.

9. People Objects Activities
Step 2. Inference
C. Based on what you have observed above, list three things you might infer from this etching.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Step 3. Questions
D. What questions does this etching raise in your mind?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
E. Where could you find answers to them?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Louis P. Ianniello

10. 6. Now, look back at the painting on page 19 and the etching on
page 25. Use the Venn diagram below to find similarities and
differences in these two works of art. When you are finished,
write the underlying differences in the tone of each piece of art.
Broadway Painting Etching of Draft Riots
Now write the underlying difference in tone of the two pieces of art.
Louis P. Ianniello

11. 7. Inference Question. During the New York City Draft Riots in 1863,
Maritcha’s home was violently attacked. Writing as if you were
Maritcha, compose a diary entry describing the feelings before, during,
and after the riots. As mentioned in the book, maritcha did not keep a
diary, so use a point of view reference by first referring to pages 23-33 to
become more familiar with her predicament.
Before the riots…
During the riots…
After the riots…
Louis P. Ianniello

12. 8. Essay question. Maritcha had a happy, but at times, turbulent
life in New York City. It was not until she moved to
Providence, Rhode Island, that she “made history.” Explain how
Maritcha made history at this time. Refer to pages 34-39 and be
sure to include the following bulleted items in your answer:
• Why did Maritcha and her family move from New York
City?
• Why did Maritcha have to attend a white high school?
• What were the difficulties involved in getting into
Providence High School?
• Was her educational experience a positive or negative
occurrence? Why?
• Give details to support your answer.
Louis P. Ianniello

13. 8A. Maritcha eventually became a teacher. Do you think all of her
life experience makes her a better teacher or a worse teacher?
Explain.
Louis P. Ianniello
9. Inference question. At times, Maritcha’s teacher questioned the
truthfulness of her essays in school. Maritcha responded to her

14. teacher with the following statement: “The half has never been
told.” What do you think she means by this? Be specific-use
details for the book to support your answer. The full text can be
found on page 39.
Louis P. Ianniello

15. Word Search and Crossword Puzzle (Culminating activities)
V A L H R A I L R O A D V A H
I E M H B Q G S U V V N H K C
N O I T A G E R G E S C N R T
D Y W K F W K A S D T I Y P O
Y N S E N E C A R I C S R T C
X E U T Z E O A R K T H A K S
G P H O C X F A E A O Y M W P
E I A A R T M R L S T O I R O
W G L U O G B T Z N A Z W N H
L A A N L O R H R E H C A E T
P Y O L C I I E O L F E O D O
U M O K L Y N R D R V L H L N
K V E N L I J E B N B K J O Y
W R A L S Q V S J C U L A B A
S A E U T Q X E X O X E A F M
ALBRO KNICKERBOCKERS PAULINE TEACHER
BOLDEN LYONS RAILROAD THERESE
CRYSTAL MARITCHA RIOTS TONYA
DRAFT MARY SEGREGATION UNDERGROUND
HOPSCOTCH PALACE SENECA VILLAGE
Louis P. Ianniello

16. Maritcha
Across
4. Draft Riots took place in this month
6. Maritcha's high school
9. field of the first baseball game
11. Albro Lyons worked at a ______factory
12. Maritcha's great-uncle
13. Maritcha's "guiding star"
14. ___________troops ended the Draft Riots
Down
1. Maritcha lived at 144_________Street
2. Big Dipper was called the Drinking___
3. He was born February 10, 1814
5. _____________Railroad
7. Maritcha's occupation
8. World's Fair held at this "Palace"
10. ____________village
Louis P. Ianniello

17. Word Search and Crossword Puzzle solutions
+ + + + R A I L R O A D + A H
+ + + + + + + + + + + + H K C
N O I T A G E R G E S C N R T
D + + + + + + + + D T I Y + O
+ N S E N E C A R I C S R + C
+ + U + + E + A R K T + A + S
+ P + O C + F A E A + + M + P
E + A A R T M R L S T O I R O
+ G L U + G B T + + + + + N H
L A A + L O R H R E H C A E T
P Y + L C I + E O + + + + D O
+ + O K L + N R D R + + + L N
+ + E N + I + E + N B + + O Y
+ R + + S + V S + + U L + B A
S + + + + + + E + + + + A + +
(Over,Down,Direction) (Over,Down,Direction)
ALBRO(13,15,NW) PAULINE(2,7,SE)
BOLDEN(14,14,N) RAILROAD(5,1,E)
CRYSTAL(15,2,SW) RIOTS(14,8,W)
DRAFT(10,4,SW) SEGREGATION(11,3,W)
HOPSCOTCH(15,9,N) SENECA(3,5,E)
KNICKERBOCKERS(14,2,SW) TEACHER(15,10,W)
LYONS(1,10,SE) THERESE(8,9,S)
MARITCHA(7,8,NE) TONYA(15,10,S)
MARY(13,7,N) UNDERGROUND(11,14,NW)
PALACE(1,11,NE) VILLAGE(7,14,NW)
Across Down
4. July 1. Centre
6. Providence 2. gourd
9. Elysian 3. Albro
11. cigar 4. Underground
12. Hewlett 5. teacher
13. Doyle 6. Crystal
14 union 7. Seneca
Louis P. Ianniello