A boy holding a small dog. Both the boy and dog are wearing bow ties.
Courtesy of Brown family
You Write It Interview,

Helping Animals (One Bow Tie at a Time)

How Sir Darius Brown, 15, of Newark, New Jersey, helped countless shelter animals find homes

By Adee Braun
From the October 2021 Issue
Featured Skill: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics,
Common Core Standards
  • Anchor Standards
    R.1, W.5, L.3

  • Grade 6
    RI.6.1, W.6.5, L.6.3
  • Grade 7
    RI.7.1, W.7.5, L.7.3
  • Grade 8
    RI.8.1, W.8.5 , L.8.3
TEKS Standards
  • Grades 6, 7, 8
    10b, 10c, 10d

Presentation View
See Student View

Directions

1. Read the interview. 

2. Choose a central idea for your article. 

3. Write a three paragraph article about Sir Darius. Use quotes from the interview.

Adee Braun: How did you get into sewing?

Sir Darius Brown: My older sister was always sewing, and I wanted to try too. But when I was younger, I was diagnosed with a speech, comprehension, and fine-motor skills delay. So she was nervous that I might hurt myself using the sewing machine. One day, my mother had the idea that if I started off by cutting fabric with scissors, that could help improve my fine-motor skills. And she was right! After some time cutting fabric, I was able to use the sewing machine safely.

AB: What did you sew first?

SDB: A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bow tie! Bow ties are easy to make, and I loved TMNT. I made more bow ties after that, and I started wearing them. I got lots of compliments. People wanted to know how they could get my bow ties, so I started selling them.

AB: How did you get the idea to make bow ties for shelter animals?

SDB: When Hurricanes Harvey and Irma hit the South and the Gulf Coast in 2017, I saw on the news that people were getting help, but I wondered what would happen to all the pets left behind. Then I heard that some dogs rescued from Texas were being brought to New York City. So I said to my mom, “What if we go to the ASPCA [American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals] shelter in New York and donate my bow ties?” I thought that the animals would look more dapper and unique wearing my bow ties, and that would help them get adopted.

Courtesy of Brown family

AB: Did it work?

SDB: Yes! It worked so well that I started the Paw-Some Mission, which raises money to help me make bow ties to donate to shelters across the country. My sister sometimes helps me, and I travel with my mom to the shelters. Together we’ve made and donated more than 1,500 bow ties that have helped countless animals get adopted.

AB: What is the best thing about what you do?

SDB: The most rewarding part is knowing that there are lots of animals that now have homes. People send me amazing photos of their pets wearing one of my bow ties, and I hear so many great stories. And I’ll never forget the day I received a letter from President Barack Obama commending me for my community service work. I was in tears—I was just speechless. That letter gave me courage and motivation to do anything I want to do.

AB: What advice would you give to kids who want to get involved in a cause they care about?

SDB: If you have a craft or a passion for something, you can turn that into a business while also giving back to your community. You will find a lot of joy in that. You can become a changemaker and be a positive influence on others at any age.

What to Know

Courtesy of Brown family

Sir Darius visits an animal shelter.

What is an animal shelter?

Animal shelters give temporary homes to homeless pets. In the U.S., about 6.5 million animals enter shelters every year. The good news is that more than 3 million pets are adopted from shelters annually, and that number is on the rise. But tragically, about 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized—that is, killed—each year because of overcrowding in shelters or because the animal is sick or injured.

This article was originally published in the October 2021 issue.

video (1)
Activities (2)
Writing Support
video (1)
Activities (2)
Writing Support
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

Close Reading, Critical Thinking, Skill Building

Download the Lesson Plan

1. READING THE INTERVIEW

  • Give students a minute to preview the You Write It: Interview. Prompt students to use the headline, subhead, and central image to identify the topic of the interview.
  • Break students into groups to read each section of the interview and discuss what they find interesting, surprising, or convincing.
  • Reconvene as a class and ask volunteers to summarize the central idea and supporting details from the interview. Have a volunteer read aloud the writing prompt at the top of the page in the printed magazine or at the top of the digital story page. Brainstorm examples of central ideas (or central claims) that could be used.

2. MODELING THE TEXT

If your students need additional support, project the Annotated Model Text or the Non-Annotated Model Text and review together first.

3. WRITING

  • Distribute the guided-writing activity (available in your Resources tab). This activity guides students to choose a central idea for their articles, paraphrase each question-and-answer pair from the interview, and choose sentences from the interview that they will use as quotations in their articles.
  • Using their responses from the guided-writing activity, have students write a three-paragraph article about the inspiring student using these guidelines:
    •    Opening Paragraph:
      • Your first sentence should be a hook—that is, it should grab the reader’s attention. One option is to state something that is surprising, interesting, or moving. What detail from the interview did you find most interesting?
      • Let readers know what the article is going to be about. In other words, state the central idea of the article.
    •  Body Paragraph:
      • Explain to your readers what the inspiring student’s experience was like, using information from the question-and-answer pairs you summarized.
      • Summarize the most important ideas presented in the interview. Each idea you include should support the central idea that you wrote.
      • Don’t forget to include the direct quotes you chose.
    • Conclusion:
      • Wrap it all up. End your article with a strong sentence that will give your readers something to think about. One option is to end with a quote. Another is to refer to your hook from the opening paragraph.
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