I N C LU D E S

COMMON
CORE

Teachers Guide S TAT E

S TA N D A R D S

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

Winner, National Book Award Spiegel & Grau | HC | 978-0-8129-9354-7 | 176pp. | $24.00

Winner, ALA Alex Award Also available on Audio and as an E-Book

Reading Level: 11

Ive been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is
Ta-Nehisi Coates. The language of Between the World and Me, like Coatess journey, is visceral, eloquent, and
beautifully redemptive. As profound as it is revelatory. Toni Morrison

Powerful and passionate . . . profoundly moving . . . a searing meditation on what it means to be black
in America today. Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

about the book

In a profound work that pivots from the most pressing questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate
concerns of an African American father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding
our nations painful racial history and our current civil rights crisis. Americans have built an entire society on the idea of
race, a false construct whose ramifications damage us, but fall most heavily on the bodies of black women and men
bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion
to their number in the population. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all
honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coatess attempt to answer these questions, in the form of a letter to his adolescent
son. Coates shares with his sonand readersthe story of his awakening to the truth about his place in American culture
through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago
to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose childrens lives were taken far too soon, as American
plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the
World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

about the author

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a national correspondent for The Atlantic. A MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow, Coates has received the
National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic

Random House Academic Resources, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019

HIGH SCHOOL: www.randomhouse.com/highschool www.rhimagazine.com
QUERIES: [email protected]
 cover story The Case for Reparations. He lives in New York with his wife and son. Between the
World and Me won the 2015 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

note to the teacher

Touching on a range of topics, Coatess letter to his adolescent son is a deeply ruminative and
moving meditation. The impetus for the book is Coatess attempt to situate himself within our
current fraught racial climate, while grappling with our nations history of slavery. As the book
progresses, he offers philosophical investigations into systems of slavery, police brutality, what
it means to parent a child, and other topics that are of critical import for understanding identity
in twenty-first-century America. However, there are ultimately no clear answers, making this text
an excellent resource for discussion, reflection, and re-reading.

Supporting the national Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Reading Informational Texts
for high school curriculums, Between the World and Me is an appropriate selection for grades
11 and 12 in Language Arts or US History classes. At the college level, the book is appropriate for
Composition and Literature classes, Race Studies, Gender Studies, and is also ideal for first-
year/common reading programs.

In the following Examining Content Using Common Core State Standards section of this
guide, the prompts provide for a critical analysis of Between the World and Me using the CCSS
for Informational Text for grades 11 and 12 and are organized according to the standards they
primarily support. In addition, at the end of each standard and the corresponding prompts, a
classroom activity is provided that will further enhance analysis of the text.

For a complete listing of the Standards, go to: www.corestandards.org/the-standards.

pre-reading activities
Reading Between the World and Me will be a richer and more meaningful experience for
students if they first have had opportunities to understand that individual experiences
determine ones perception of race and race relations in the US today. The personal exploration
and reflection the book invites requires that teachers and students first be aware of the
historical context of race, and the political, economic, and cultural outcomes that have been
produced by its role and influence in American society since the nations founding.

Talking about and reflecting on race and racism is difficult. However, a quick glance at any set
of headlines reveals what happens when we fail to acknowledge difference and do not attempt
to reach some type of cross-cultural understanding. Between the World and Me is situated in
the middle of this discomfort, as Coates is a black man relating his experiences of racism and
police brutality, among other contentious topics. Thus, it makes sense to prepare readers to
open themselves up to being able to truly hear and understand Coatess ideas, and to be ready
to share and examine their own personal reactions to the book.

If people feel uncomfortable discussing race, they shut down, thus eliminating opportunities for
growth and communication. Therefore, it is appropriate to have an initial conversation in which
guidelines are established to ensure participants comfort and safety, and to create an inviting
space for reading the text. Taking the time to have these discussions up front with students
encourages them to move beyond stereotypes and self-censorship, and to be able to grapple
with a more nuanced understanding of what it means to live in our current world. Although
the discussion may initially prove uncomfortable, setting mutually agreed upon parameters
first will go a long way toward setting a foundation that will encourage empathy and deeper
understanding. It might also be helpful to allow for time for thoughtful reflection and processing
throughout the reading of the book; this may also help to ease any discomfort that arises. For
example, allow students to spend some time journaling before transitioning into small group
discussions that encourage honest discourse. This, too, helps establish an environment where
listening to and respecting different viewpoints is valued.

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Additionally, reading some of Coatess columns for The Atlantic on the magazines website
introduces readers to his work and positions prior to reading the book. See the Resources
section of this guide for additional ideas for pre-reading work.

examining content using common core state standards

ELA standards: reading informational text: grades 11 & 12

key ideas and details

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including
determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.

The Body: What does Coates say about the precarious nature of his specifically African
American body? What dangers does he cite that threaten the safety of his body? Examine
the specific instances in which Coates describes his body, the violence enacted upon it, and
his attempts to preserve his body and the bodies of loved ones. What explicit ideas about the
perceived value of black life do these examples support?

The Dream: What, exactly, is the Dream as Coates describes it? Who is able to experience the
Dream? What prevents Coates and his loved ones from realizing that same Dream? How does
Coatess version of the Dream differ from other, idealized versions of the Dream favored by
popular media, literature, and other outlets? Why might Coatess aversion to the Dream as it is
traditionally conceived be difficult for Americans to accept?

Education: Coates repeatedly finds himself at odds with the American system of formal
education. I was made for the library, not the classroom, he writes (48). Despite his discomfort
with traditional education, however, he expresses a nearly insatiable desire to learn. What
complications and questions do his literacy experiences raise, particularly for a young black
man? Note: For a deeper exploration of the issues surrounding race and education, consult the
ACLUs School to Prison Pipeline website.

Prince Jones: Examine Coatess description of Prince Jones as a vessel that held his familys
hopes and dreams (8182). Evaluate how this description underscores the notion that Black
people love their children with a kind of obsession (82).

classroom activity
Create a visual representation that compares and contrasts Coatess reality to The Dream. Then,
in a written exploration, trace the significance of the differences between dream and reality, and
explain how the visual representation helps articulate and extend Coatess main points.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze

their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on
one another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.

Coates explores several broad themes, including race, racism, and systemic oppression; fear;
father-son relationships; the search for identity; education; and justice, among others. Trace the
development of one or more of these themes throughout the text. How does Coates develop
this theme? What events or details are most central to his development of this theme?

The title of the book is taken from Richard Wrights poem of the same name. The poem and the
book make a fitting text pairing. Read Wrights poem (available here: www.tiny.cc/qaud8x), and
then analyze the connections between the two texts, and the patterns they may share.

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 Coates writes the book to his adolescent son, Samori. Throughout, he describes moments of
paralyzing fear, often accompanied by imminent or potential threats of violence. In the first
section of the book, Coates reacts to the murder of Michael Brown, and how to address it with
Samori, writing, I did not tell you that it would be okay, because I never believed it would be
okay (11). How does Coatess reaction here help us think about the relationship between fear
and violence? How is the perceived relationship between fear and violence further developed
after his friend, Prince Jones, is killed? Readers might also want to consider Coatess admiration
of Malcolm X, and how this admiration adds another layer of complexity to the fraught
relationship between fear and violence.

classroom activity
Literacy for Freedom is a belief deeply rooted in African American liberation tradition.
Essentially, it is necessary for African Americans to be able to read and write, if they are ever
to achieve freedom and equality. In many respects, Between the World and Me can be read as
a literacy narrative. Examine Coatess description of the types of literacy he pursued, and the
types of literacy promoted by his father and other family members. Create a timeline of Coatess
significant experiences of reading and writing, including people who influenced him in his
explorations of literature and literacy. Conduct a Structured Academic Conversation (explained
here: www.tiny.cc/5bud8x) to determine which experience was the most liberating for Coates,
and the overall impact of that key experience.

craft and structure

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are

used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an
author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g.,
how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).

I was admitted to Howard University, but formed and shaped by The Mecca, (40) Coates
explains. When Coates arrives at Howard in his narrative, his tone changes. At this crossroads
of the black diaspora, he is enveloped in a multilayered history. Analyze Coatess description
of Howards Yard (4042), thinking in particular about how his word choices help to reflect
the magnitude of his educational and racial awakening, as well as to distinguish between the
Mecca and Howard University. How did each place contribute to the growth of Coatess self-
awareness and his path toward maturity? What is the relationship between institutions and the
culture that institutions create, as well as the culture that is created by students or individuals
within these institutions?

When Coates travels to Paris, he has another learning experience that challenges his fears
and assumptions. After an outing with a friend, he describes a particular type of loneliness
that deeply disturbs him and leads him to realize that Some of us make it out. But the game
is played with loaded dice (124). How does this statement characterize Coatess conflicting
emotions and concerns about the legacy he hopes to share with his son?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5 Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an

author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes
points clear, convincing, and engaging.

Coates structures his book as a letter to his son. Does the epistolary format make his overall
argument more or less effective? Is the letter the best format for conveying such a powerful
argument? If no, then what form might be more effective? If yes, name the aspects of the format
that are most successful and that best support the argument in favor of the epistolary form.

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classroom activity
James Baldwin also wrote a letter (to his nephew, not his son) that discussed issues including
race, equality, and love (available here: www.tiny.cc/ceud8x). Many consider this letter to be
among Baldwins best writing; and Baldwin is regarded by many as one of Americas most
important writers. Analyze and evaluate Baldwins main ideas in his letter, then compare his
arguments with those of Coates. How are the letters similar in their messages and themes, and
where do they diverge? Consider content, style, and overall message in your comparison. What
connections can you draw between Coates and Baldwin?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.6 Determine an authors point of view or purpose in a text in

which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to
the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

Between the World and Me can be divided into three sections, each focused on a different era in
Coatess life: his early life, before attending Howard University; his time at Howard; and his life
after Howard. What is Coatess primary claim throughout the book? What is his key purpose in
writing this book? As he narrates his experiences, what techniques (rhetorical, literary, etc.) does
Coates use to make his ideas coherent and to organize his information?

I wanted you to claim the whole world as it is . . . The Struggle is in your name, Samori (68).
Evaluate the power of Coatess direct addressing of his son, and of his refusal to portray the
world to his child in idealized terms. What is the value of the Struggle, even if the result is
death? How, too, does Coates encourage readers to consider the complexity of parenting,
particularly for black fathers and black sons?

Coates writes powerfully about the legacy of slavery and the haziness of memory, particularly as
that haziness allows for the denial and erasure of the brutal institutions role in American history.
Interpret Coatess meaning when he writes, In America, it is traditional to destroy the black
bodyit is heritage (103). Then, compare that statement to this one: There is no them without
you, and without the right to break you they must necessarily fall from the mountain, lose their
divinity, and tumble out of the Dream (105). Why is the burden of truth so difficult to bear? Why
must the truth be faced, regardless of the resistance to that truth?

classroom activity
Explore the resources available from the National Humanities Center (www.tiny.cc/zjud8x) on
enslaved Africans in the United States. Then:

a. Find images that correspond to Coatess description of an enslaved woman (6970).

Combine the visual and written texts in a way that illustrates his assertion that slavery is
not an indefinable mass of flesh (69). Or,

b. Create a dialogue poem between Coates and one of the images that helps to illustrate and
support his assertion.

research to present and build knowledge

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.11-12.8 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative

print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths
and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and
overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation.

Coates reminds the reader of the seemingly unrelenting threat of violence perpetuated on black
bodies throughout American history, from slavery, to redlining, to police brutality. He names

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 numerous black men killed at the hands of police, including his friend Prince Jones. Select one
or more of the men mentioned in the book and conduct research about his death, drawing on a
variety of resources to ensure a balance of viewpoints. Then, decide how your research should
be presented and determine an appropriate audience. Finally, your research should make clear
how it can be used to strengthen claims Coates makes and, most importantly, how it either
supports or refutes Coatess contention.

resources
Lets Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics With Students
(www.tiny.cc/nizy9x): A Teaching Tolerance webinar with accompanying free materials
including a self-evaluation and teaching strategies.

Ed Change (www.tiny.cc/gjzy9x): Resources for multicultural and social justice education.

Systemic Racism YouTube Video Playlist (www.tiny.cc/ikzy9x): This series of videos created
by Race Forward features Jay Smooth, who explains the various systems that contribute to
perpetuating racial inequality in the United States.

Moving the Race Conversation Forward (www.tiny.cc/ilzy9x): This video featuring Jay Smooth
aims to explain the complications of discussing race without considering the various levels of
racism (internalized, interpersonal, systemic/institutional, structural) that are interrelated and
affect and influence one another.

Working Toward Whiteness: How Americas Immigrants Became White: The Strange Journey from
Ellis Island to the Suburbs by David Roediger: This book helps situate Coatess discussions of
whiteness and those Americans who believe that they are white (6), providing a foundation for
discussion of Coatess ideas.

Richard Wright, Between the World and Me (www.tiny.cc/qaud8x)

other works of interest

The Thing Around Your Neck, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander
The Fire Next Time, James Baldwin
In Case of Emergency: Letter to my Nephew, Joshua Bennett (a spoken-word poem, available
at www.tiny.cc/dlud8x)
Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Charles M. Blow
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Cuz Hes Black, Javon Johnson (a spoken word poem, available at www.tiny.cc/tmud8x)
Citizen: An American Lyric, Claudia Rankine
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson
Native Son, Richard Wright

about this guides writer

DR. KIMBERLY N. PARKER teaches English at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in
Cambridge, MA. She is the current president of the New England Association of Teachers of
English and the former Secondary Representative at-Large for the National Council of Teachers
of English. Dr. Parker holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign.

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notes

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 notes

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