Heavy

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY 1: “Debate: Nonviolent Direct Action and the Fight for Racial Justice”

In this activity, students will engage in a structured debate about nonviolent direct action as well as other strategies and philosophies regarding activism and the fight for racial justice.

Much of Kiese Laymon’s Heavy deals with racism and Laymon’s own relationship to activism. Additionally, other characters in the memoir (Kiese’s mom, Nzola, Malachi Hunter, LaThon, and Kiese’s teachers) offer varying perspectives on what it means to fight for racial justice. Your challenge is to engage in a debate with your peers about the merits of a significant philosophy in the fight for racial justice: nonviolent direct action.

• After breaking up into teams of two and assigning sides, select the characters and plot points from Heavy that best connect to and support your chosen side of the argument. Highlight specific quotes and identify relevant passages.
• As you review the outside sources provided and/or conduct your own research, consider the following questions: How is the philosophy and strategy of nonviolent direct action connected to Heavy? What from the memoir supports and/or is critical of the use of this philosophy? What other strategies does the memoir offer for racial justice?

o “What is Nonviolent Direct Action?”

o “Eyes on the Prize: Ain’t Scared of Your Jails”

o “Malcolm X interview 1963 with Kenneth Clark”

o “The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program”

o “How Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers Changed the Civil Rights Movement”

o “The First Rainbow Coalition”

o “Black Woman’s Manifesto”

o “Poetry is Not a Luxury”

• With your team, plan your arguments. What are your main points? What evidence supports them? What counterarguments will you use to address the other team’s points? Remember that you must connect the philosophy of nonviolent direct action (or alternative philosophies) to distinct examples from Heavy.
• Decide who will take on what role for your team:

o Each team will provide an opening statement and present three points.

o The opposing team will have an opportunity to cross-examine the three points and ask questions.

o After various rounds are completed, each group will provide a closing statement in which they summarize their ideas and further address any counter arguments presented by the opposing team.

After the debate, reflect individually and engage in a class discussion on how the debate impacted your understanding of racism and the fight for racial justice. Did it change (or reinforce) your perspective of the characters in Heavy? 

Teaching Suggestion: You may consider assigning time limits to the various rounds in the debate to ensure the Activity is completed within an allotted time frame. It might also be helpful to review your expectations of student behavior (i.e., eye contact, respectful language, listening without interrupting) prior to beginning the Activity. You may also choose to moderate the debate to ensure respectful dialogue and adherence to the guidelines and process.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with learning differences and/or for students who struggle with organization, consider adding additional steps to the research process to help you monitor their progress. For example, you might assign 1-2 articles at a time for students to read and summarize, or you might have individual groups assign the readings and come together to share their findings. Alternatively, if you would like to add an additional writing component, you might consider asking students to draft a group research report prior to the debate. If time allows, you could review and approve this content to ensure students have a successful foundation before the class reconvenes to complete the Activity.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Kiese’s relationship with his mother is often marked by a stark contrast between affection and violence.

• How does this contradiction inform how Kiese relates not only to his mother, but also to himself? (topic sentence)
• Refer to three places in the book where this contrast exists. Analyze how Kiese responds or reacts in each situation, and discuss how it impacts his relationship to his mother and himself.
• In your concluding sentences, connect your thoughts to one of the text’s themes: Weight, Racism and Language, or Truth and Lies.

2. Kiese and Nzola’s relationship is complicated but significant.

• How does Kiese’s relationship with Nzola impact his personal growth? (topic sentence)
• Refer to three places in Section 3 in which Kiese and Nzola’s interactions impact Kiese’s understanding of himself and his place in his world.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate how Nzola’s presence ultimately harms or helps Kiese.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The theme of Weight is developed throughout the memoir, as Laymon explores  both literal and figurative meanings of this word. Analyze the ways in which weight becomes relevant from the beginning to the end of the story. What kinds of weight does Kiese carry, and how does he navigate this? How does weight represent both burden (heaviness) and possibility (abundance)?

2. Laymon structures his memoir into sections and chapters. Each section title is composed of two words, and each chapter title is composed of one word. Analyze the significance of each title as it exists in the memoir. How does each title hold multiple meanings? How do these labels support and reinforce the memoir’s themes? Use at least three section and chapter titles along with direct evidence from the text to support your thoughts.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Laymon’s grandmother’s response to his story about raking in quarters in the casino show about her, as seen in the introduction?

A) She shares his excitement for their gambling winnings.

B) She disapproves of her daughter’s gambling.

C) She doesn’t think Laymon should be at the casino.

D) She wishes that she had been included.

2. Which of the following literary devices applies to the fact that Kiese’s mom is a prominent teacher and political commentator yet her photo is posted in the grocery store for writing bad checks?

A) Imagery

B) Metaphor

C) Irony

D) Allusion

3. What best describes Kiese’s response to struggle and trauma in Section 1 of the memoir?

A) He runs away.

B) He reacts violently.

C) He does drugs.

D) He binge eats.

4. What best describes Kiese’s response to finding out the Mumfords have a new washer and dryer in their garage?

A) Jealousy

B) Anger

C) Sadness

D) Confusion

5. What best describes the mood of the Black students after viewing Roots at Saint Richard’s?

A) Disturbed

B) Sullen

C Angry

D) Confused

6. What best describes Kiese’s mom’s reaction to finding out Kiese was having sex with a white girl?

A) Sad and confused

B) Indifferent and bored

C) Angry and scared

D) Supportive and curious

7. What best describes Kiese’s thoughts about The Cosby Show?

A) He thinks it’s entertaining.

B) He dislikes it because it’s fake.

C) He has never watched it.

D) He looks up to Bill Cosby.

8. How does Kiese feel when his mom moves to Harvard after he graduates high school?

A) Anxious

B) Sad

C) Relieved

D) Rejected

9. What is the one thing Kiese says that he loves more than losing weight?

A) Provoking white people with his writing

B) Reading James Baldwin novels

C) Spending time with Nzola after classes

D) Driving around the surrounding town

10. What does the repetition of “I will not be back soon” emphasize in Chapter 12?

A) Kiese’s regret

B) Kiese’s hesitation

C) Kiese’s hopelessness

D) Kiese’s certainty

11. What literary device is used in the following passage from Chapter 13: “If he gets even a little stressed, he’ll start drinking like a dolphin.”

A) Personification

B) Hyperbole

C) Simile

D) Alliteration

12. Why didn’t the doctor provide Grandmama with pain medicine before cutting into her scalp?

A) The doctor didn’t expect the infection to be that deep.

B) There is an assumption that Black women will always recover.

C) The doctor was careless and wasn’t paying close enough attention.

D) There was a miscommunication between the nurse and the doctor.

13. Who does Kiese say he has most in common with as an adjunct professor at Vassar?

A) His fellow professors

B) His students

C) The support staff

D) The administration

14. What is revealed about Kiese when he considers how he failed his students at Vassar in Chapter 14?

A) He recognizes his own biases.

B) He is not a good teacher.

C) He cares deeply about his students.

D) He wishes he weren’t a teacher.

15. Which of the following passages from Chapter 15 is the best example of irony?

A) “Anyway, that was the only time my father mentioned you.”

B) “That red, white, green, blue, and brown picture was the last picture we’d ever take together.”

C) “Somebody stole my checkbook, my credit cards, the little money I had in my closet, too.”

D) “You look great, Kie. I’m really proud of how you’re taking care of yourself.”

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What book does Margaret Walker give Kiese, and how does this change his relationship to education?

2. Nzola resents Kiese during their time at Millsaps as they both struggle to fight against racism. Why does she feel this resentment, and what does that show about race and gender?