The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller is an engaging book your students will love!
This is another free resource for teachers from The Curriculum Corner.
You will want to add The Quickest Kid in Clarksville by Pat Zietlow Miller to your classroom library if you don’t already have it!
This book takes place in Wilma Rudolph’s hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee. There are mentions of Wilma throughout the book and the book ends with a parade where she is the star.
The author’s voice makes this such a great story – along with the illustrations.
Before having your children dig into the text, first just read it aloud for enjoyment. Give children time to explore the illustrations and look at the small details like the girl frequently blowing a bubble.
Many children will relate to the feelings Alta has as a new girl with new shoes tries to take away her title of quickest kid in Clarksville.
Expand the reading of this book by learning more about Wilma Rudolph and the struggles she overcame. There is a short author’s note in the back of the book but it would be great to take the time to allow your students to learn more.
This literacy set focuses on exploring the text. Students will be encouraged to dig into the text along with thinking about the feelings of the girl. There will also be opportunities for visualizing and making connections.
Within our The Quickest Kid in Clarksville collection you will find the following resources:
Blank Anchor Chart
Print as a poster and use for any activity during this book study. Instead of printing, you might choose to display on your smartboard.
Task Cards
There are a set of 10 task cards you can use at your literacy centers. Some will go with graphic organizers found in this set and others can be used without extra papers.
Digging into the Text
Use the provided questions to help start discussions. This page is not designed to be used as a worksheet where students simply write out answers. Choose questions that fit your students and take time to discuss.
You will also find question cards containing each of the questions. You might provide a small group with a card to lead a discussion.
Visualizing the Text
Encourage students to work on visualizing while they read with these phrases. You can have students sketch what they see on a piece of blank paper or on one of our recording pages in this set.
You will also find the phrases on colorful cards. These can be a part of a literacy center. Or, have partners or small groups work together to create a group visualization response.
There are so many examples of great language in the this book – your students will find even more than are found on the cards!
Examining Feelings
Students will be able to connect with many feelings Alta and the other girls experience in the book. Students can explore these feelings using our set of emotions cards.
You can choose to give students an emotion card. They can then find a place in the book where the feeling fits.
Find the Spot Bookmarks
Students can use the skinny bookmarks to find specific spots in the book.
Recording Pages
Our recording pages can accompany the other resources in this set. Along with pages that contain prompts, there are also blank pages to fit the theme.
You can download your free The Quickest Kid in Clarksville set here:
If you are looking to purchase the book, you can find it below (contains affiliate link):
As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!
You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.