Walter Dean Myers 
"Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. ..Walter has been writing since childhood and publishing since 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. Since then he has published over seventy books for children and young adults. He has received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He has been awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he has received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists." Walter Dean Myers - Official Website
"Myers is arguably one of the most important writers of children's books of our age..." -Kirkus Review
Green Library Catalog search - Walter Dean Myers
Multimedia and Reading Tools
Biography and Background
A Video Interview with Walter Dean Myers
Biography, bibliography, video clips, and transcripts.
Autobiography of My Dead Brother
Thirteen discussion questions. Access requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible application.
Fallen Angels
Anticipation guide, vocabulary mapping, and other activities, including support for the video Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam.
Fallen Angels Anticipation Guide
Students respond to statements before and after reading. Access requires MS-Word or compatible application.
Fallen Angels: Multimedia Project on the Vietnam War
Students use a combination of music, images, carefully chosen quotations from the novel Fallen Angels and excerpts from research to make readers care about the Vietnam War from a particular perspective. An excellent project. Rubric included.
Fallen Angels Teaching Guide
This site offers theme openers, crosscurricular activities, research assignments, and suggestions for related reading.
Fallen Angels WebQuest
Five postreading activities.
The Glory Field Teaching Guide
Theme openers, crosscurricular activities, research assignments.
Study Guide for The Glory Field
Background information, prereading, vocabulary, graphic organizers, and writing prompts. This guide requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for access.
Harlem Connections: Teaching Walter Dean Myers's Scorpions in conjunction with Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods
A classroom teacher reports on this pairing of works.
Harlem
Listen and watch an adaptation of the poem, which runs just under 7 minutes.
The Legend of Tarik
Chapter-by-chapter comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and enrichment. Note the statement at the top and bottom of the page.
A Guide to Teaching Walter Dean Myers's Monster and Scorpion
This page includes suggestions for reading skills and strategies, thematic connections, and crosscurricular activities.
Monster
Students assume the role of a juror, journal their perceptions as they read, and write their assessment of the verdict. Two rubrics are available, one for the essay and one for a role-playing activity. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader for access.
Monster Anticipation Guide
This printable handout requires MS-Word or compatible application for access.
A Question of Truth
Students compare and contrast Monster with Avi's Nothing But the Truth.
Monster and Scorpions Teaching Guides
Reading skills, thematic connections, and crosscurricular activities.
Walter Dean Myers: Monster
A brief biography of Myers and three approaches to the novel.
The Righteous Revenge of Artemis Bonner
Summary, vocabulary, journal writing, and chapter projects. An excellent set of activities. This page is a PDF file; it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or compatible software for access.
A Guide to Teaching Walter Dean Myers's Monster and Scorpion
This page includes suggestions for reading skills and strategies, thematic connections, and crosscurricular activities.
Somewhere in the Darkness
Summary, themes, extension activities, and sources of additional information.
The Treasure of Lemon Brown: The Birth of the Blues
Students complete a treasure hunt on the origins of blues music.
The Treasure of Lemon Brown: An Extension Lesson on the Blues
As a post-reading activity, students investigate jazz and blues music. They pretend they have attended one of Lemon Brown's performances and write a short music review.
(from ReadingRockets and WebEnglishTeacher)
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