1. Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara
Feature Menu
Introducing the Story
Literary Skills Focus: Style—Dialect
Literary Skills Focus: Style—Allusions
Reading Skills Focus: Analyzing Style—Literary Devices
Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Tech Focus

2. Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara
What does a person need to do to gain respect?

3. Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara
Click on the title to start the video.

4. Raymond’s Run Introducing the Story
Squeaky got her nickname because she’s small, with skinny arms and a squeaky voice.
Squeaky may be small, but she has won every track meet she ever entered.
For the first time, she faces a talented opponent. Will she keep her first-place status?
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5. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Dialect
Dialect is a way of speaking characteristic of a certain geographical area or certain group of people.
Hi, you guys. What’s up?
Howdy, partner.
Hey, sugar. How y’all doin’?
A dialect becomes accepted in a culture and is adapted and used in speaking and writing.

6. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Dialect
Everyone speaks a dialect of some kind. For example, in the American dialect of English, a car has a hood in front and a trunk in back, and it runs on gas.
petrol tank
gas tank
bonnet
hood
trunk
boot
hood
trunk
gas tank
bonnet
boot
petrol tank
A British speaker of English uses different words: He or she speaks in a British dialect.

7. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Dialect
Writers may use dialect to bring a character to life.
My character is thirsty. Would she ask for . . .
a soda?
a tonic?
some pop?

8. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Dialect
In “Raymond’s Run,” the main character speaks in a dialect used in New York City’s Harlem in the 1970s.
But a lot of people call him my little brother cause he needs looking after cause he’s not quite right. And a lot of smart mouths got lots to say about that too, especially when George was minding him. But now, if anybody has anything to say to Raymond, anything to say about his big head, they have to come by me.
“Raymond’s Run” from Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. Copyright © 1971 by Toni Cade Bambara. Reproduced by permission of Random House, Inc.,
How does Squeaky’s “voice” help you picture her?
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9. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Allusions
An allusion is a reference drawn from literature, popular culture, or current events.
For example, a writer might say, “He lied so much he had a nose like Pinocchio” or “She was as sweet as Snow White.”
In both cases, the writer is making an allusion to a familiar literary character.

10. Raymond’s Run Literary Skills Focus: Allusions
The writer assumes that the reader is familiar with an allusion through general knowledge.
Even though his name was Joe, his friends called him Honest Abe.
Writers use allusions to create comparisons that make characters come to life.
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11. Raymond’s Run Reading Skills Focus: Literary Devices
This story’s main character, Squeaky, speaks in dialect and uses allusions.
These and other details help create Squeaky’s voice.

12. Raymond’s Run Reading Skills Focus: Literary Devices
Into Action: Use a chart to record and analyze details from the text. Identify the types of literary devices (irony, figurative language, slang, dialect).
Story Details
Literary Device
“And a lot of smart mouths got lots to say about that too But now, if anybody has anything to say to Raymond, they have to come to me.”
dialect
“The big kids call me Mercury ”
“Raymond’s Run” from Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. Copyright © 1971 by Toni Cade Bambara. Reproduced by permission of Random House, Inc.,
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13. Raymond’s Run Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
The story’s main character, Squeaky, is quite memorable.
So I’m strolling down Broadway breathing out and breathing in on counts of seven, which is my lucky number, and here comes Gretchen and her sidekicks: Mary Louise, who used to be a friend of mine
“Raymond’s Run” from Gorilla, My Love by Toni Cade Bambara. Copyright © 1971 by Toni Cade Bambara. Reproduced by permission of Random House, Inc.,
As you read, make note of her funny observations: Write them down in a notebook.
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14. Raymond’s Run Writing Skills Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
TechFocus
As you read, think about how you might use video and digital technology to portray the story’s characters.
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15. Vocabulary

16. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
prodigy n.: child with exceptional talent.
reputation n.: the way others see a person.

17. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
Some children have an exceptional ability in a particular field or activity.
A highly talented child is sometimes called a prodigy.

18. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
Which photo shows the most likely prodigy?

19. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
Which photo shows the most likely prodigy?
Describe a prodigy that you’ve met or heard about. At what activity did he or she excel?

20. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
How others see you determines your reputation.
When you have a good reputation, other people hold you in high regard.

21. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
Most sports experts would agree that Tiger Woods, perhaps the #1 professional golfer in the world, has a reputation for
training and working hard.
being rude to golf officials.
quitting when he’s losing.

22. Raymond’s Run Vocabulary
Most sports experts would agree that Tiger Woods, perhaps the #1 professional golfer in the world, has a reputation for
training and working hard.
being rude to golf officials.
quitting when he’s losing.
How can a person’s reputation change?
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23. The End

24. QuickWrite

25. Raymond’s Run QuickWrite
Respecting a person means seeing him or her clearly and valuing what you see.
Write a paragraph about a time when you gained new respect for someone. What helped you see the person more clearly?
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26. Meet the Writer

27. Raymond’s Run Meet the Writer
Toni Cade Bambara grew up in New York City, where “Raymond’s Run” takes place. Her writing drew on the voices of her childhood—the street-corner speechmakers, barbershop storytellers, and performers at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater.
Her stories, however, came from Bambara’s imagination.
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28. Build Background

29. Raymond’s Run Build Background
“Raymond’s Run” is set in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. From about 1900 to 1925, many African Americans moved to Harlem from the South.

30. Raymond’s Run Build Background
During the 1920s, the neighborhood was the center of an outpouring of writing, music, and art that became know as the Harlem Renaissance. In later decades, economic conditions in Harlem deteriorated. More recently the area has enjoyed revitalization.
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31. Preview the Selection

32. Raymond’s Run Preview the Selection
The main character of this story, a girl called Squeaky, has never lost a race.
This year, however, she faces stiff competition when a newcomer, Gretchen, enters the May Day race.
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