COMMON CORE CLASSROOM READY GUIDE

Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women

by Cornelia Meigs
COMMON CORE CONNECTIONSSIXTH GRADE FOCUS

PB 978-0-316-56594-3

Every book can meet most if not all Common Core State Standards.
However, we have found that some books address certain standards with
particular strength. These activities seek to make the connections between
a given text and the Common Core College and Career Readiness Anchor
Standardsleaning on this texts literary strengths. Teachers can find
specific ELA standards for their grade within each Anchor Standard at
corestandards.org.

RI 6.3
This comprehensive biography of Louisa May Alcott describes pivotal events in the writers
life and traces how she became a beloved American author. Encourage students to use
reading journals or notebooks to keep track of major events from the book. Students may
create timelines, webs or visual representations of these key events to show when they
occurred and how they are connected. How did these pivotal events have an impact
(positive or negative) on Alcotts career and later life?
Examples of important events: relocated to new homes multiple times, created plays with her
sisters, worked as a nurse in during the Civil War, contracted typhoid, traveled to Europe, and
published Hospital Sketches
RI 6.2
This reading standard focuses on identifying the central idea of an informational text. There
are many lessons readers can take away from Invincible Louisa. Ask students to identify the
theme or central idea of the biography. What can readers learn from Alcotts life? Students
should provide examples from the text to support their thinking.
Possible Themes: perseverance, loyalty, sacrifice, compassion, and sense of self
SL.6.1
This standard focuses on speaking and listening in a variety of settings. Divide students into
small groups to discuss the text. Students should come to the group prepared to contribute
to the discussion, and they should use details and evidence from the text to support their
answers. (RI.6.1) Encourage students to listen, reflect upon and respond to the multiple
perspectives of their classmates during the discussions.
Possible Discussion Questions
Why is the book titled Invincible Louisa? Do you think the title aptly describes Alcott?
Why or why not?
In addition to invincible, what other adjectives would you use to describe Louisas
personality? Provide examples from the text to support your thinking.

COMMON CORE CLASSROOM READY GUIDE

Some people may describe Alcotts childhood and education as unconventional.
How was Alcotts early life unique? How did Louisa May Alcotts unconventional
upbringing and education have an effect on her adult life?
Which events and characters from her own life does Alcott include in Little Women?
Why do you think Alcott didnt model the father in Little Women after her own father?
Which character in Little Women represents Bronson Alcott? How are they similar?
When Alcott sent Little Women to Thomas Niles, he did not find the story as absorbing
as he had hoped, and he almost did not publish it (p. 164). How did the public react to
Little Women when it was published? Why did the book strike a chord with young girls
at the time?
How did the success of Little Women serve as a turning point in Alcotts life?
RI 6.7
The Common Core Standards encourage students to view and read a variety of media and
formats to better understand a topic or issue. After reading Invincible Louisa, show students
the American Masters documentary, The Woman Behind Little Women. Have students take
notes as they view the film. They should keep track of new information they learn about
Alcotts life. How do the events and ideas in the film compare to Invincible Louisa? Discuss
how the film helped to reinforce or clarify ideas and events from the text.
RI 6.9
This literature standard asks students to compare and contrast different texts that have
similar themes. Emily Dickinson was publishing poetry during the same time that Alcott was
publishing short stories and novels. Read the poems Luck is not chance and Look back on
Time, with kindly eyes by Dickinson. Identify the themes of the poems then compare and
contrast them to themes in Invincible Louisa.
W.6.7 & W.6.8
These writing standards require sixth grade students to complete short research projects.
Invincible Louisa describes important historical events and introduces readers to a number of
well-known American writers and thinkers from the 1800s. Allow students to select a topic or
person mentioned in the biography or from the time period. Students should generate several
thick or substantial questions about the topic then use a variety of print or online sources to
answer the questions. Have students cite their sources in a bibliography.
SL.6.4 & SL.6.5
Once the students have completed their notes, they will synthesize the information and
present what they have learned in the form of an oral presentation in a small-group setting.
Students should focus on making appropriate eye contact and speaking clearly using an
adequate volume. Students may also share what they have learned in the form of visual or
multimedia presentations.
Possible Research Topics:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Charlotte
Bronte, John Audubon, the Underground Railroad, Quakers, typhoid, Harpers Ferry, Fort
Sumter, U.S. schools in the 1800s, the Emancipation Proclamation, the assassination of
President Lincoln, womens suffrage
Guide prepared by Cathy Potter, school librarian at Falmouth Elementary School in Falmouth, ME