Lyddie

Lyddie

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical
• Originally Published: 1991
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 860L; grades 5-8
• Structure/Length: 23 chapters; approx. 182 pages; approx. 6 hours, 44 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: In 1843, 13-year-old Lyddie faces abandonment and indentured servitude; she yearns for the freedom and self-reliance that might come with a textile factory job. Once in the role of a loom worker, however, Lyddie must work long hours in dangerous conditions; furthermore, her initiative to make enough in wages to regain the family farm threatens her moral and spiritual growth.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Child abandonment; mental health; attempted sexual assault; deaths of family members

Katherine Paterson, Author

• Bio: Born in 1932 to missionary parents in Huai’an, China; moved frequently as a child upon return to US; studied literature and Christian education in college and graduate school; worked as a missionary in Japan; after returning to the US, turned to writing as a young wife and mother in the 1960s; writer of over 40 works; winner of the Newbery Medal for Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved; honorary lifetime member of the International Board of Books for Young People; received the Hans Christian Andersen Award (1998) and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2006) for body of work; named a Library of Congress Living Legend (2000)
• Other Works: Bridge to Terabithia (1977); The Great Gilly Hopkins (1978); Jacob Have I Loved (1980); The Day of the Pelican (2009); My Brigadista Year (2017)
• Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults; ALA Notable Children’s Book; Honor Book of the International Board of Books for Young People (1994)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Children’s Role in the Family
• Slavery and the Pursuit of Liberty
• The Value of Education in Various Forms

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the historical context in which Lyddie takes place, including the social, cultural, and economic components of this time and place, and integrate this knowledge into their appreciation of and engagement with the text.
• Study paired texts, watch informational videos, and explore dedicated websites that will facilitate the discussion around questions designed to help them empathize with the characters in the novel; with these paired resources, compare their 21st-century experiences and the lives of Lyddie, her siblings, and her coworkers.
• Delve deeper into Lyddie by drawing inferences about the story, using their creative talents and text evidence to consider issues that are unresolved or unaddressed in the text itself.
• Identify the themes of Children’s Role in the Family, Slavery and the Pursuit of Liberty, and The Value of Education as they appear in the text, and find examples of these concepts that they can relate to discussion and use in written responses.