1a. What was Sarah Breedlove doing by the age of six?
2a. What inspired Sarah to create her first hair-care product? What did she gain from her second husband?
3a. In what area was Madam Walker lacking?
4a. Identify difficulties Madam Walker faced as an African-American woman living in the nineteenth century.
5a. "Madam C. J. Walker ... succeeded beyond everyone's expectations but her own." Explain why you think Walker was successful.
1b. What effect did sharecropping have on her life?
2b. Why did Madam Walker continue to build her business?
3b. How did she minimize the effect of this shortcoming?
4b. How did Walker help others who faced similar difficulties? In what ways did she make a difference so that others might not face such a struggle?
5b. What advice do you think Madam Walker would give to a young person struggling to achieve a goal today?
Biography. Why do you think the author chose to write a biography of Madam C. J. Walker? What ideas does he convey about her?
Introduction and Conclusion. How does the author capture the reader's attention in the introduction? What main idea is presented? How are the ideas in the conclusion related to the ideas in the introduction?
1. Make a list of personal goals. Choose one goal, cite possible barriers to reaching that goal, and indicate ways you might get around those barriers.
2. Write a jingle for one of Madam C. J. Walker's hair-care products. Use concise but catchy language.
3. Write a brief biography of a person you admire. It can be a famous figure or somebody you know personally. Research your subject and identify the main idea you want to convey about this person.
Writing Sentences. Write a sentence for each of the following Words for Everyday Use found in "Madam C. J. Walker."
1. affectation
2. ambition
3. astute
4. bequest
5. hygiene
6. lavish
7. provision
8. recruit
9. renovate
10. reveal
11. segregate
12. shortcoming
Correcting Wordy Sentences. As you write, use only words necessary to make your meaning clear to a reader. In the space provided, re-write the following sentences so that they are not wordy and complicated. Replace complicated or general words with simple and specific words.
1. I really am truly thankful that you were able to pick up the books from the library I needed so desperately in order to write my term paper for next week.
2. At what time during the day should I arrive in my car to take you away?
3. I just absolutely adore my new tiny twelve-week-and-three-day-old brown puppy.
4. The weather outside is definitely too hot to be out and about in the heat when we could be cool and comfortable indoors.
5. My stomach is grumbling and completely on empty because I've eaten nothing in hours and what really sounds good to me right now is a cheeseburger.
6. My mom and my mom's mom went to all the trouble of taking me out to this cute little place on the corner for lunch where we all ate salads.
7. I've been going back and forth, but I've finally decided I'm going to take a two-hour-a-week art class for fifty dollars, which I'll pay my mom back for later.
8. Did you think that the test we took on Thursday for Mrs. Peters was totally and utterly hard?
9. Now I really don't want you to worry and fret that I'm not coming, because—like I said yesterday—I'm most certainly coming to see you perform your recital at twelve o'clock on Saturday at the community theater.
10. I can't believe it—over Saturday and Sunday I actually gained a grand total of three pounds because I ate way too much with all the snack foods and whatnot that were out.
Analyzing Advertisements. Review advertisements for several beauty products. What do you learn about each product from the advertisement? What—if any—important information is missing? What methods does the advertisement use to sell the product? Use the following chart to document the advertisements you analyze.
Researching an Inventor: Research the life and works of another inventor. Look for biographical information and for information on what the person invented. Search for pictures of those inventions. Then give a short presentation to your class. Use graphs, posters, or other visual media to show the inventions the person created, where he or she lived, and what he or she looked like. Research Log. Use this log to keep track of the sources you use, the information you find, and your reactions to what you learn.
Internet sources:
Books and other print sources:
Notes:
