Long Way Down Symbolism Analysis Station Activity

Jason Reynolds’ novel Long Way Down is packed with rich and meaningful symbolism. Engaging your students in a symbolism station activity is the perfect way to go back and closely read key passages while analyzing the book on a deeper level.

There are six different stations included in this activity, and each station focuses on a different symbol within the book. 

As students complete this station activity, they will read selected passages, discuss the potential meanings of the symbols with the members of their group, find and cite quotations that represent the symbols, and write about how the symbol connects to the theme or message of the novel.

Please Note: This resource has been updated to include two versions: page numbers and poem titles. If you own the book that is pictured in the images, please use the page number version. If you have a different version, I’ve created a separate page that lists the poem titles.