The River Between Us

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A Letter in War”

In this activity, students will embody a character to write to understand their challenges in war.

Throughout the text, many of the characters are split up from one another. Your task is to pick one of the characters and embody them. To whom would they write a letter? What would they say?

• First, decide the character from whose perspective you are going to write.
• Once you have chosen your character, decide who they are writing to. Remember, they need to be writing to someone who is not in their scenes.

o For example, Tilly might write home to Cass to tell her how Noah is doing.

• In your letter, provide details about what that character is experiencing. Who are they meeting? What are they feeling? How is the war affecting them personally?

After all the letters are written, “send” them to someone else in the class to read. Then, as a class, discuss what insights your “received” letter had about the characters and their experiences that may not have explicitly been shown in the book.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity is intended to help students move away from plot-based recall and instead consider each character’s internal experience. Consider completing this activity multiple times throughout the novel so that students can track the development and growth of their chosen character.

Differentiation Suggestion: This activity may be challenging for students who struggle with inferencing or social-emotional connections. Consider having them focus on a single event. A graphic organizer that explains internal versus external characterization may also be helpful.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The tignon becomes a very important symbol throughout the novel.

• What does the tignon represent? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, explore what this article of clothing represents to one of the characters in the novel. Please note that your answer will change based on the character you choose. Use at least three pieces of evidence to support your answer.
• Then, in your concluding sentence or sentences, connect the tignon back to the theme of Pride in Identity and Heritage.

2. Consider the structure of the novel.

• What is gained through Howard’s frame narrative? (topic sentence)
• Throughout your essay, comment on what is gained by telling the story of the family in this way. What has Howard learned? What, in turn, is the audience supposed to learn? Be sure to cite at least three pieces of evidence in your essay.
• As a conclusion, connect Howard’s experience back to the theme of The Perception of Time.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In the final chapters of the book, Grandma Tilly notes that “time [is] like the Mississippi River. It only flows in one direction” (Chapter 15). In what ways does this book prove that is not true? Which characters perceive time differently? How do books like this—historical fiction novels—change the perception of time? Use at least two pieces of evidence from the novel to support your answer.

2. Although the story takes place in a free state, race is at the center of the conflict for Delphine and Calinda. How does race impact their decisions throughout the novel? For each character, analyze a specific moment where race motivates their decision. Then, decide how that decision is related to the theme of Pride in Identity and Heritage.

3. There are three characters who have the gift of prophetic sight. How do Cass, Calinda, and Mama differ in their use of their gift? What do they share, and with whom? Does this change how they are perceived? In your compare-and-contrast essay, be sure to reference at least three pieces of evidence to support your analysis.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. How many narrators does the book have in total?

A) One

B) Two

C) Three

D) None

2. What is unique about the first vision readers see Cass have?

A) It’s the first she’s had about the future.

B) It’s the only one she’s ever had about men.

C) It’s about more people than usual.

D) It’s about her sister specifically.

3. What literary device is used in the following quote from Chapter 6: “In the long run, she was never to wear [Delphine’s dress gift] at all. Nobody did. It’s up there in the death drawer yet”?

A) Metaphor

B) Foreshadowing

C) Alliteration

D) Imagery

4. Why is it helpful that Delphine goes with Tilly to find Noah?

A) Delphine is in love with Noah.

B) Delphine has experience as a nurse.

C) Delphine is assertive enough to get things done.

D) Delphine is pretty enough to distract the sick men.

5. Why is Delphine so invested in the outcome of the Civil War?

A) She is worried her family might lose land.

B) She is afraid Calinda will run away.

C) She is a woman of color who is worried about her status.

D) She wants Noah to be safe.

6. What part of Delphine’s identity does she work hardest to hide?

A) Her mixed-race blood

B) Her poor parents

C) Her southern heritage

D) Her divorced parents

7. Why do Calinda and Cass have such a strong bond?

A) They both love to cook.

B) They are both younger sisters.

C) They both have visions of death.

D) They have both lost brothers in the war.

8. Which theme best explains why Noah and Delphine never got married?

A) The Effects of War

B) Pride in Identity and Heritage

C) The Perception of Time

D) Heartbreak Versus Love

9. Which character is best known to “put starch” in the spine of others?

A) Cass

B) Calinda

C) Mama

D) Delphine

10. Which moment from the story best represents the theme The Perception of Time?

A) Noah only fighting in one battle

B) Delphine refusing to ride the boat back

C) Howard thinking his grandparents are inconceivably old

D) Tilly not being her mother’s favorite

11. Why does the ghost story told in Chapter 1 hit “too close to home” for Tilly?

A) It fits the description of how her mother died.

B) Cass is the one who started the ghost story.

C) Tilly never believed in any ghosts.

D) She has seen the ghost herself too many times.

12. Why does Mama feel as though she cannot spare Noah?

A) She can’t have any more children.

B) He is the only “man” of the household left.

C) He is the only child who is actually hers.

D) She can’t handle Delphine on her own.

13. What does Calinda mean when she says Delphine is “meant for men”?

A) Delphine is prettier than Calinda.

B) Delphine is Calinda’s sister.

C) Delphine was raised specifically to find a male supporter.

D) Delphine is by far the better dance partner.

14. What is the implied reason that fewer officers than soldiers are sick?

A) Officers have tents that are dry and out of the mud.

B) Officers are allowed to meet with women from town.

C) Soldiers have fought in more battles than officers.

D) Soldiers are allowed to stay in the boardinghouse.

15. Why didn’t Tilly realize Delphine is a woman of color?

A) Delphine’s family is extremely wealthy.

B) Delphine was traveling with an enslaved person.

C) Delphine’s skin is almost as white as Tilly’s.

D) Delphine never shows any skin in her outfits.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Does Tilly mourn the loss of her father? Why or why not?

2. Why does Tilly feel guilty for calling the spring Delphine arrives “a golden time”?