Visit 1: May 24, 2011
Visit 2: June 7, 2011
Grade 8:
Author Torrey Maldonado did a Behind the Book program focused on his novel Secret Saturdays. During his first visit, Mr. Maldonado talked about growing up in Red Hook and aspects of his life that were similar to those of his characters. The class discussed the themes of the book, such as friendship, secrets, honesty, family, betrayal, courage, and peer pressure. The students asked questions about the book and then talked about how Mr. Maldonado’s writing was very realistic and honest, and how he achieved that effect. Mr. Maldonado described the class’s assignment: students had to write at least 2-3 paragraphs about a secret, using prompts (what the secret was, how they felt about it, why they had to keep it, if the secret was exposed, who it would affect, if they kept it for their own good or for other
peoples, and what life would be like if they didn’t have to keep the secret). Students then had to rap their writing, as the two main characters of Secret Saturdays did in the book (they shared their feelings through rapping).
By Mr. Maldonado’s second visit, the students had finished reading the book and had questions about the ending. Mr. Maldonado conducted a more in-depth question and answer session about the book and the characters. The students then performed their essays and poems that had come from the original writing prompt.
