About This Lesson
This is a teacher's guide to the book It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate. Growing up as an enslaved boy on an Alabama cotton farm, Bill Traylor worked all day in the hot fields. When slavery ended, Bill’s family stayed on the farm as sharecroppers. The educator's guide includes a book summary, background, pre-reading focus questions, during-reading questions and vocabulary, and post-reading discussion questions, literature circle roles, reader-response and other writing prompts, ELL support, and interdisciplinary activities.
