Hidden Pages Reading Worksheet
Memoir Study English Language Arts • Grade 7-8
Hidden Pages Reading Worksheet
Exploring Identity & Expectations in Bad Boy by Walter Dean Myers
Name:
Date:
Period:
Vocabulary Vault • Words in Context
cache noun
A hidden collection or reserve of items.
Mrs. Conway's books
vice noun
A bad habit or forbidden personal flaw.
Reading in secret
respected adj.
Admired or held in high regard by others.
Harlem athletes
uncomfortable adj.
Feeling uneasy, awkward, or out of place.
Rigid boy roles
1
Text-Dependent Quick Checks
Select the best response based on textual evidence
- Why did young Walter stop following the New York Rangers hockey team?
A His friends teased him for watching winter sports.
B He learned it was played on ice, and Harlem had no ice.
C He preferred playing basketball with Eric on Riverside Drive.
D The public library did not carry sports newspapers.
- Why did Walter transport his library books home in a brown paper bag?
A To protect the delicate library books from the rain.
B The librarian required all readers to wrap their materials.
C To conceal his reading from neighborhood boys who teased him.
D To prevent his neighbor Dorothy Dodson from seeing his books.
2
Graphic Organizer • The Two Worlds of Walter
Contrast Walter's public persona with his private passions
Public Persona: The Harlem Ballplayer
Social World
Community Expectations:
Activities & Behaviors Displayed:
Why Walter Maintained This Image:
Private Self: The Secret Reader & Poet
Inner World
Secret Passions & Safe Spaces:
Emotional Impact (How It Filled Spaces):
Why It Had to Remain a Secret:
Unit 1: Growing Up • Walter Dean Myers Memoir Excerpt Page 1 of 2 • Continue on next page →
Deep-Dive Analysis & Text Evidence
Student: Page 2 of 2
3
Close-Read Inference & Evidence Prompts
Cite Direct Evidence
A. The Symbolism of the Brown Paper Bag
Paragraph 4
“And though by now I was fighting older boys and didn’t mind that one bit, for some reason I didn’t want to fight about books. Books were special and said something about me that I didn’t want to reveal.”
Analysis Prompt: Why was Walter willing to fight over sports or street conflicts, but refused to fight to defend his books? What does this reveal about what reading meant to his inner self?
B. The Gym Challenge & Masked Enjoyment
Paragraphs 9–11
“I liked dancing, too, but I had to pretend that I didn’t like it. No big deal. I was already keeping reading and writing poems a secret; I would just add dancing.”
Analysis Prompt: What common thread connects reading, writing poems, and dancing in Walter's life? How does his casual phrase “No big deal” show the coping strategy he developed to survive peer expectations?
4
Thematic Synthesis • Challenges of Growing Up
Connect text themes to universal experiences
Essential Question: Walter felt trapped between the rigid definition of “what boys did” and his true creative passions. Do young people today still experience pressure to hide their authentic interests? Why or why not? Support your stance with a comparison to Myers's experience.
Student Self-Check & Rubric Alignment Check each box prior to turning in
Accurate textual citations included
Internal conflict clearly analyzed
Academic vocabulary integrated
Savvas MyPerspectives Alignment • RL.7.1, RL.7.3, W.7.2 End of Assessment • Total Points: ____ / 25
