A Year Down Yonder

Humorous, Remarkable, Touching, Entertaining and Adventurous

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers

Copyright 2000

Winner of the 2001 Newbery Honor Medal

"A small masterpiece of storytelling.. the novel reveals a strong sense of place, a depth of characterization, and a rich sense of humor."  - The Horn Book

     In this novel written by Richard Peck, Alice was in for a surprise when she is forced to spend a whole year with her Grandma because of the Great Depression that has hit her family hard. She has to move to Chicago a hick town full of drama and an unfamiliar world. For this fifteen year old, she is now the new girl in town, at school and has to adapt to a whole different routine from the city where her parents lived. Her grandma who isn't the most popular lady around town teaches her how to survive in the country. Alice becomes a young adult and develops a strong bond with her grandma. This book is a touching story, with many entertaining adventures that will have readers on the edge of their seat wanting to know more.

Description: Children's Historical Fiction

Suggested Delivery: Small Group

Reading Level: Lexile Framework-610L, Grade 4

Electronic Resources:

Scholastic Study Guide:

This site provides a study guide that will assess the students reading comprehension, reading response, literary response and writing skills.

Literature Unit

This link provides different activities to provide to the students such as a daily journal worksheet, anthologies, word wall, and challenging vocabulary words.

Key Vocabulary: Scudding, Pleated, Cackle, Baling, Lolled, Meandering

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text to explore how times were during the Great Depression.

2. Use this text to have students explore a time when they were put in new situation or place.

3. Use this text to discuss extended families

Comprehension Strategies:

Pre-reading- 

Have the students write their own journal entry about a time when they were in a new place or situation. Make sure they explain how they felt, what occurred, and have them use a lot of describing words.

During Reading- 

Have the students write down all the vocabulary words they might not understand and the words they have never heard of before. After reading the story choose a few of the harder vocabulary words to define for the class.

Post- Reading- 

Have the students participate in an open discussion to discuss the characters and plot of the story. Some example questions can include,

1. Did you like the book? If yes, why? If no, why not?

2. Did you find the characters to be believable?

3. What characters did you like the most?

Writing Activity- 

Have students write an persuasive essay explaining their favorite event that Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel did together during that year. Students can get into small groups beforehand to discuss different events during the book to get their brains flowing. The students should include evidence from the text and details as to why this event was their favorite.

Peck, Richard. A year down yonder. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2000. Print.