Kwame Alexander - Swing Educators Guide

Section 1:
Summary and Introduction

When America is not so beautiful, or right, or just, it can be hard to know what to do. Best friends Walt and Noah decide to use their voices to grow more good in the world, but first theyve got to find cool.

Walt is convinced junior year is their year, and he has a plan to help them find the girls of their dreams and become amazing athletes. Never mind that he and Noah failed to make the high school baseball team yet again, and Noahs love interest since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. Noah soon finds himself navigating the worlds of jazz, batting cages, the strange advice of Walts Dairy Queen-employed cousin, as well as Walts own perceptions of what is actually cool. Status quo seems inevitable until Noah stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each page contains the words hes always wanted to say to Sam, and he begins secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his private artwork becomes public, Noah has a decision to make: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and make his voice heard?

At the same time, numerous American flags are being left around town. While some think its a harmless prank and others see it as a form of peaceful protest, Noah cant shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realized.

As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really true when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate.

In Swing, New York Times bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo) tell a story about hope, courage, and love that will speak to anyone whos struggled to find their voice.

In this guide, educators find support in helping students explore the layers of meaning and writing craft in this powerful novel in verse. Many options are presented in each key area, so educators can choose which instructional activities will be most exciting and engaging for their students.

• Noah Wallace: the narrator
• Walt (Walt Disney Jones): also known as Swing; best friend of Noah
• Moses (Mo): Walts older brother, a soldier
• Sam (Samantha): Noahs friend and crush
• Divya: older teen, thrift store employee, and Walts love interest
• Cruz: Sams on-again, off-again boyfriend
• Floyd: Walts adult cousin and source of advice
• Noahs parents; Walts mom and stepdad
• Granny: Noahs grandmother
• Robert: the mysterious jazz musician

(Note: If students have read the novel Solo, ask if they recognize a crossover character from Solo who also appears in Swing.)

Many of the storys characters have nicknamesWalt gives himself his own nickname, Swing. Noah calls Walt the King of Swing, Sultan of Smooth, and Rambo of Rhythm and Romance. His new nickname could refer to the baseball swing, the swing dance, the swing vote, and more. Occasionally, Sam and Noah insult each other with creative labels like Sucknerd, Toadlip, Horsehead, and Big butt (p. 38). And when Noah gets a new car (his grandmothers old truck), he names it Granny after her. Talk about how names and nicknames affect our perception of people (and things) and how they may even have multiple meanings. Consider how these complex characters develop through the narrative. What surprises you? What seems to be inevitable? Which poems seem most pivotal in revealing each major character?

Just for fun, challenge students to find out the derivation and story behind their own names or nicknames. Possible sources for examining naming derivations and trends include:

• BabyNames.com
• Parents.com/baby-names/
• Babble.com/baby-names/

Section 2:
Characters and Characterization

A good place to begin in peeling away the layers of a good book is considering the characters whose lives and conflicts drive the story. It can be helpful to identify the main characters of the story and learn their names and nicknames, an important part of this story (and the title of the book). Talk about the names of each of the major characters and speculate about the significance of each, particularly as the story moves along and students learn more about each one.

As students read or listen to this verse novel, encourage them to visualize each of the main characters and talk about what they look like and how they talk and act. Work together to draw character sketches or find magazine or web-based images that students think depict these main characters. Some students may enjoy imagining casting their own movie version of Swing and deciding which actors might play which roles.

Noahs friendships are anchored in third grade. Invite students to reflect and share their own memories of third grade and young childhood.

• What were YOU like in third grade?
• What do you remember about that school year?
• What happened then that might have shaped who you are now?
• Do you still have some of the same friends from elementary school? How have those friendships changed or evolved with time?

The friendships and relationships are an essential part of this novel in verse and of the evolving plot. Noah and Walt have been longtime best friends. Noah thinks of Sam as a potential love interest, but she views him as a platonic friend. Invite students to think about their own friendships and how good friends share characteristics in common that unite them, but each is still a unique individual. Sometimes these similarities are bonding and sometimes boring. Sometimes conflicts unite us and sometimes they end relationships. How we respond can make the difference, as Noah and Sam reveal. Students can explore these dynamics with a simple Venn diagram showing Noah, Walt, and Sam and their points of connection and difference. Or students may want to explore their own selves and friendswhich attributes are unique to each person and which might be shared.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy RL.9-10.3; 11-12.3