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Above the Rim:How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball
By Jen Bryant
Illustrated by Frank Morrison
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Entry written by Amina Chaudri and Donna Sabis-Burns, on behalf of The Biography Clearinghouse.
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Research & Writing ProcessWho is Jen Bryant? Photo credit Amy Dragoo, 2008, Daily Local News
Jen Bryant writes picturebooks, novels and poems for readers of all ages. Her biography A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, illustrated by Melissa Sweet, received a Caldecott Honor. Their second collaboration, A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin, won an ALA Schneider Family Book Award, the NCTE Orbis Pictus award, and a Sibert Honor. The third Bryant/Sweet book, The Right Word: Peter Mark Roget and His Thesaurus, won the Sibert Medal and a Caldecott Honor. Jen’s novel in verse, Ringside 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial, is an Oprah Recommended Book for ages 12 and up. Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball has won numerous awards including the 2021 Orbis Pictus Award.
Other titles include Pieces of Georgia (IRA Young Adult Choices Pick); The Trial (1935 Lindbergh kidnapping trial, a Borders New Voices Pick); Kaleidoscope Eyes (a 1960’s–era novel, a Junior Library Guild Selection); The Fortune of Carmen Navarro (Paterson Prize for Young People); Georgia’s Bones, celebrating the life of artist Georgia O’Keeffe; and Music for the End of Time, based on a true WWII story. Jen’s poems appear frequently in anthologies for young readers and adults. |
Jen has a BA from Gettysburg College, an MA from Arcadia University, and an Honorary Doctorate from Gettysburg College. She has taught writing and children’s literature at West Chester University and Bryn Mawr College and gives school and public lectures throughout the year. She lives with her family in Chester County, PA. When she’s not writing or taming the piles on her desk, Jen enjoys visiting museums, swimming, cycling, listening to music, and cheering wildly for the Phillies. You can learn more about Jen Bryant on her website.
Jen's Process
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In this interview, Jen Bryant talks about how she came up with the idea of writing about Elgin Baylor and her immersive process of research. As a prolific biographer, she has developed some useful strategies, such as:
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Craft & Structure
Reading Closely for Literary and Figurative Language
Jen Bryant wrote Above the Rim in prose verse - a form of writing that does not use a rhyme scheme or rhythm but is formatted to look distinctive on the page, and makes use of word and line spacing to create an effect. Readers must carefully follow the punctuation in order to read prose verse fluently rather than pausing at the end of each line. This form also allows writers to isolate particular sentences, placing them on lines of their own, which can serve to call attention to them. Bryant does a beautiful job in capturing the rich emotion of Elgin Baylor through careful word choice and line spacing.
If you have 1-2 hours . . . |
If you have 1-2 days . . . |
If you have 1-2 weeks . . . |
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Introduce the difference between prose and poetry. Read and reread the stanza below, the line “Time was important” pertains to more than the moment being described.
“But things can change in time, The child knew. Time was important. That’s why his own name, Elgin, Came from his father’s favorite watch.” Students can discuss the nuances of the line “time was important” as they understand it in this biography, noting important moments of time in Elgin’s life, and how Jen Bryant’s placement of the line led them to pay close attention. |
The students can search for and analyze additional isolated sentences that are sprinkled strategically through the book and illustrate them, too. A discussion on the relationships between text and illustration would be appropriate here as well. Use Above the Rim as the mentor text for this project.
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Build on the previous activities by extending the exploration to other nonfiction books in verse, specifically those with a focus on social justice themes or #ownvoices, for example Hoops by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson. A project could involve annotating a book that features this writing strategy. Have students stick Post-It notes on the pages of picturebooks with explanations of their understanding of selected lines from the text. They can present their annotations in small groups and discuss similarities and differences in various authors’ craft.
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Teaching Refrain
A refrain is a poetic device that involves the repetition of a line or phrase at various intervals across a piece of text. Refrains signal to readers that the writer wants them to pay attention to that particular detail. The refrain “… people stopped what they were doing and watched” occurs in different contexts throughout Above the Rim. We asked Jen Bryant about her use of this refrain and she talks about how it emerged organically from all the footage she found in her research in which people commented that when they were watching Elgin play, they could not help but stop what they were doing and watch. (time stamp 20:21).
Students can analyze the text and images that accompany each occurrence of the refrain, generating discussion about the big picture surrounding each situation.
Teachers can use Above the Rim as a mentor text to teach about refrain as a literary device. In order to expand students’ understanding of refrain, teachers can find examples of uses by other poets on the website for the Center for Literacy in Primary Education (for younger students) or The Poetry Foundation (for older students).
Students can analyze the text and images that accompany each occurrence of the refrain, generating discussion about the big picture surrounding each situation.
Teachers can use Above the Rim as a mentor text to teach about refrain as a literary device. In order to expand students’ understanding of refrain, teachers can find examples of uses by other poets on the website for the Center for Literacy in Primary Education (for younger students) or The Poetry Foundation (for older students).
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Content & Disciplinary ThinkingCritical Literacy and Historical ThinkingAbove the Rim provides a door through which we can walk into Elgin Baylor’s life and accompany him along his journey. The book begins in segregated Washington D.C. in 1945 when, for young Elgin and his peers, playing basketball was an act of resistance.
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Jen Bryant and Frank Morrison created Elgin’s world so that no matter how scant or rich the readers’ knowledge of basketball, they can relate to the fervor and passion of being immersed in a liberating pastime. As he grew up, Elgin’s opportunities were limited because of the racism that surrounded him. Between accounts of Elgin’s athletic prowess, Jen inserts descriptions of civil rights activism that were happening at the same time. Thus, we see that people’s personal and professional chances in life are closely linked to their environment - to social and public norms and laws that afford or withhold opportunities. Students may be surprised to read that Elgin could not attend college in Washington D.C because they only admitted white students. Teachers can use this example to teach critical literacy - developing students’ awareness of structural inequalities and interrupting the narrative that success in life is due to personal choices, talent and hard work alone. In this way, Above the Rim demonstrates historical thinking. Instructional experiences designed to make historical thinking visible can include some of the following strategies, which can also be integrated into the learning activities suggested in the Create section of this entry:
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Elgin Baylor
Credit: LA Times
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- Anticipation Guide: Teachers provide statements that elicit predictions based on text evidence.
- Webbing Tool: identify connections between events in Elgin Baylor’s life and the world around him.
- Compare and Contrast: Upper elementary or middle grade students can compare the information about Elgin’s life in Above the Rim with the information in his obituary. This can lead to rich, evidence-based discussions about authorial choices especially in the construction of history and legacies.
Activism in Sports
Athletes from marginalized communities have often used their positions as public figures to bring awareness to injustices in society. The biographies below feature contemporary and historical sports figures who succeeded in their fields despite racism and sexism, and in turn used their experiences to draw attention to prejudice in an effort to bring it to an end. In addition, the teaching ideas listed in the Create section can be tailored to focus on the topic of activism in sports.
Biographies for younger readers
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Biographies for middle grade readers
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Social & Emotional Learning
The Power of Art
Credit: Fuse 8 Production
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We know that art can help students develop empathy, expand their thinking and observation skills, make connections across time, place and experience, and explore their own creativity. Art provides a powerful means of communicating about emotions and experiences. Exploring illustrations in books for children can be a meaningful way to teach how emotions can be read through color, composition, and line. Frank Morrison used beautiful paintings to represent some dynamic topics in Above the Rim. For example, he used black and white paint to illustrate the heated resistance to school segregation.
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The colors might represent the binary racial divide, with Elizabeth Eckford’s red book symbolizing anger, passion, or even bloodshed. Students can be guided to reflect on the emotional impact of these artistic choices:
- Rosa Parks’ direct and steadfast gaze.
- Elgin Baylor’s position on the page, and his facial expression when he sat out the Lakers game.
- Learn about other Black artists and illustrators using The Art Class Curator.
- Engage in an in-depth illustrator study of Faith Ringgold using the suggestions described in the Create section.
Analyzing Character
In her interview, Jen Bryant frames her work as a writer with a quote from the poet Nikki Giovanni: "Writers don't write from experience, they write from empathy" (time stamp 26:10). She adds that she hopes her readers will empathize with Elgin Baylor and understand him in the context of his environment. Above the Rim characterizes Elgin as persistent, humble, brave, and more and as such, can be used to teach about character traits using text evidence. Teaching students about the character traits of notable figures such as Elgin Baylor allows them to develop an understanding about how layered and complex human beings are.
If you have 1-2 hours . . . |
If you have 1-2 days . . . |
If you have 1-2 weeks . . . |
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Using the Think-Pair-Share model, write the quote from the Above the Rim, “Sometimes you have to sit down to stand up. And that’s what Elgin did” on a slide or board.
In pairs, have children take turns by asking each other questions like, “What do you think the author meant when she wrote this quote?” “Why is this important to the story?” “Have you ever wanted to take a stand when you felt something wasn’t right?” |
Jen Bryant depicted Elgin as displaying courage, empathy, and so much more. Students can learn about the importance of good character and express desired character traits through a personalized art activity using butcher paper and drawing their body outline and discovering their own sense of empathy and courage within themselves. Click here to see the lesson in its entirety.
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Using the lesson plan previously mentioned, try some of the listed extension activities to have students dive deeper into identifying their own character traits inspired by these ideas:
Create a display. Students can post their cut-outs in the school hallway outside the classroom. Or, let students create flowers with their names on the stem and their chosen qualities on the petals. Discuss. Ask students what they know about the emotional/mental/physical benefits of exercise. How might this affect developing strong qualities of character? Make a book. Make a special “I AM…” book. Create a cover with fabric, felt, or pictures from magazines. All about me. Have each student complete an All About Me worksheet, incorporating positive character traits into the “What I do best” and “I wish” sections. Write and illustrate. Have each student choose a quality and illustrate it, or create a comic strip or storyboard showing the qualities. Older students can write a short paragraph explaining each quality. Or, have students choose their top three qualities and write a poem including them. |
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New Texts & ArtifactsVisual Literacy and Artistic CreativityFrank Morrison states on his website that he “strives to capture people as they are, translating emotions through his paintings and leaving a memoir of our life and times today. His work depicts African-American livelihood in a way that is both familiar and comforting to those who often feel histories have been forgotten and culture has been usurped.” Elgin Baylor was a tall man, and Frank Morrison exaggerates his height in the illustrations, stretching his limbs as they reach for the ball or fly across the basketball court. Guide students to analyze the impact of the artists’ creative decision on their understanding of the story and the extent to which he captures Elgin Baylor “as he was.” They can also compare other artistic renderings of athletes’ bodies in some of the picturebooks included in the Explore section. Critical thinking questions to guide your discussions could be:
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If you have 1-2 hours . . . |
If you have 1-2 days . . . |
If you have 1-2 weeks . . . |
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Do an illustrator study on Faith Ringgold and her use of quilt making and storytelling. Teach about what inspired her to be an artist and an author. Using a popular title from her book collection, look at how she uses art, story, culture, and sometimes history to teach social and emotional learning. Discuss the meaning of the text writing on the quilts and the symbolism of quilts in history. Have students identify how art helped Faith Ringgold tell her stories.
Teachers can lead small group discussions of text sets curated around the theme of sports, inviting students to critically examine the illustrators’ rendering of subjects’ bodies. Groups can present their observations to the whole class using a document camera to project examples of their findings. |
Building upon the illustrator study of Faith Ringgold, have students think of an emotional time in their life (happy, sad, scary). Using a medium of choice, have students create their own quilt square to represent this memory. They will need to plan and draft their quilt square and think about which medium would best represent their story. Students might emulate the style of Frank Morrison or another artist in order to pay homage as well as demonstrate a new skill.
After exploring illustrations in multiple biographies, students can use cell phones or classroom cameras to take photographs of each other with a focus on highlighting a trait or quality. Images can be manipulated using iPhone, iMovie or iPhoto editing tools. |
Once quilt pieces have been created, the teacher can have the students blindly share their quilt squares with each other without showing the student names. In pairs, have the students try and guess the emotion the student artist tries to recreate until each has a chance to share. Next, have the students take turns and share the true meaning behind their quilts, explaining why they chose the particular medium, and why they chose the art technique they used to create it. The teacher could then connect all the squares together to make a class quilt.
After creating various media to highlight certain traits of a character, students could incorporate their photography, movie, or video into a curated art exhibit either in person or digitally where they explain their process and connect it with the illustrators' they have been studying. |
Chaudri, A., & Sabis-Burns D. (2021). Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball. The Biography Clearinghouse.
