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Before the Ever After
Meet ZJ—a 12-year-old poet and son of a pro football star—and witness as he navigates the confusion, fear, and tenderness that comes with his father’s brain injury and early retirement. We chose this book for its authentic exploration of the way kids experience change in the people they love most. This curriculum invites students to connect ZJ’s story to their own experiences with change—helping them build empathy, resilience, and understanding along the way.
Before the Ever After is a novel in verse about a 12-year-old boy named Zachariah “ZJ” Johnson, Jr. and his close relationship with his father, a famous professional football player. Told through a series of poems set in Maplewood, New Jersey, ZJ shares his experiences of family, friendship, music, and the everyday moments that make him feel safe and loved. When his father begins to change—forgetting things, struggling with headaches, and acting differently—ZJ must face fear and uncertainty that he doesn’t fully understand. As the story moves between the past and the present, ZJ relies on his friends, his music and his memories to cope, discovering that love and connection endure even when life changes.
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Our Reading with Relevance teacher’s guide breaks the novel into a series of thoughtful lesson plans. Each lesson is designed to support you to meaningfully explore the social and emotional themes of the day’s reading with your students, inspiring them to read deeply, think critically, talk openly, and write reflectively about topics that matter.
This teacher’s guide includes:
- A facilitator’s guide with tips and resources for implementing the curriculum.
- A map of Common Core Standards addressed through this program.
- 8 individual lesson plans, including vocabulary, discussion questions, journal prompts, extension activities, and all handouts.
- Two assessments to monitor student progress throughout the program.
- Regular checkpoints to help teachers assess their students’ progress on ELA standards.
- A culminating essay-building unit.
- An appendix with additional teaching resources and activities to continue exploring this novel.
Pages: 68
Dimensions: 8.5″ x 11″
$150.00
