Jabari Jumps

by Gaia Cornwall

Jabari has finished swimming lessons and passed his swim test, so he is ready to jump off the diving board. At first, he feels confident. But when he climbs up and sees how high the board is, his courage wobbles. With gentle support from his dad and encouragement from his little sister, Jabari learns that bravery does not mean never feeling scared. Bravery means noticing fear, taking a breath, and trying when you are ready.

Big Idea

Courage grows when we name our fears, take small steps, and trust ourselves.

Discussion Questions

1.Why does Jabari want to jump from the diving board?
2.How does Jabari act at the beginning of the story? What changes?
3.What clues show that Jabari is nervous?
4.How does Jabari's dad help him without pushing him too hard?
5.Why is taking a deep breath important in the story?
6.What does Jabari learn about being brave?
7.Have you ever wanted to do something but felt nervous? What helped you?
8.How do the illustrations show Jabari's feelings?
9.Why do you think the author includes Jabari's little sister?
10.What is the lesson of the story?

Classroom Activity

Feelings Dive Chart

Students draw or write Jabari's feelings at three points: before climbing, on the board, and after jumping. Add evidence from the words or pictures.

Lesson Plan

⏱ 45 minutes📦 Jabari Jumps, chart paper, sticky notes, pencils.

Learning Goals

Students will identify character feelings and explain how a character changes across a story using text and illustration evidence.
Students will understand that bravery means noticing fear and trying when ready.
Students will practice breaking a challenge into small, manageable steps.

Activity Steps

1.Before Reading: Show the cover. Ask: What do you think Jabari is about to do? How might he feel?
2.Read Aloud: Pause when Jabari climbs the ladder. Ask students to notice words and pictures that show nervousness.
3.Model Thinking: Say: 'Jabari says he is ready, but his actions show he may feel unsure.'
4.Guided Practice: Students place sticky notes on moments where Jabari's feelings change.
5.Discussion: Make a class chart: Feeling, Evidence, What Changed.
6.Independent Response: Students write: 'Jabari is brave because…' and include one detail from the story.
7.Closure: Ask: What can we do when something feels scary but important?

Standards Connections

ELA: RL.K.1, RL.K.3, RL.K.4, RL.1.1, RL.1.3, RL.1.7, RL.2.1, RL.2.3, RL.2.7
SEL: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Responsible Decision-Making
Writing: W.K.3, W.1.3, W.2.3

Pace-Write-Read Study with Pace-Write It!

"Jabari Jumps" is a masterclass in emotional pacing for young readers—its quiet power comes from how author Gaia Cornwall slows time at the moment of fear and speeds it up at the moment of courage. This guide breaks down 33 craft elements so students can see how a simple story about a diving board becomes a rich study in tension, structure, and heart. Use these observations and tasks to help writers notice how small choices—word placement, page turns, repeated phrases—shape big emotional experiences.

Element	How to notice or teach it in the novel
Pace	Read: Notice how the pace slows dramatically as Jabari climbs the ladder, with short sentences and stalling actions, then speeds up in the quick moment of the jump itself. Classroom Activity: Have students write a paragraph where they slow down time during a scary moment using short sentences, then speed it up in one quick sentence for the resolution.
Plot	Read: Notice the simple, universal plot arc—confidence, fear, stalling, support, courage, triumph—that mirrors a real emotional journey without extra subplots. Classroom Activity: Ask students to map their own six-step plot arc for a small brave moment in their life (excited, scared, stalling, help, action, pride).
Prosody	Read: Notice the natural, conversational rhythm of Dad's speech and Jabari's self-talk, which sounds like real spoken encouragement rather than formal narration. Classroom Activity: Have students write a piece of dialogue between a worried character and a calm supporter, reading it aloud to check that it sounds natural.
Word pause	Read: Notice how Cornwall uses short standalone sentences like "Jabari took a deep breath." to create a pause that mirrors the character's own breathing. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write one moment of nervousness using a single short sentence that acts as a breath-pause in their story.
Concept	Read: Notice the book's central concept—that bravery isn't the absence of fear but the choice to try anyway—delivered through action rather than explanation. Classroom Activity: Have students write a personal definition of bravery, then illustrate it with a small story moment instead of stating it directly.
Voice & World View	Read: Notice the warm, close third-person voice that stays inside Jabari's feelings while still including the loving perspective of his family. Classroom Activity: Have students rewrite a scene from the book in first person as Jabari to explore how voice changes intimacy.
Setting & Place	Read: Notice how the pool setting—the sun, the blue water, the tall diving board—becomes almost a character, looming larger as Jabari's fear grows. Classroom Activity: Ask students to describe a real place from two different emotional states (confident and scared) using only sensory details.
Point of View	Read: Notice that the story is told in third-person limited, letting readers feel Jabari's fear without losing the reassuring presence of Dad's perspective nearby. Classroom Activity: Have students rewrite one page from Dad's point of view to explore how perspective shifts change tone.
Original Characters	Read: Notice how Jabari is defined by small specific traits—stalling tactics, self-talk, love of swimming—that make him feel like a real child rather than a generic hero. Classroom Activity: Ask students to list five specific quirks or habits for an original character before writing a scene featuring them.
Dialogue	Read: Notice how Dad's dialogue is gentle and open-ended ("You know...") rather than commanding, modeling supportive communication. Classroom Activity: Have students write a short dialogue where one character encourages another without telling them what to do.
Details	Read: Notice the small sensory details—goggles, a towel, wet footprints—that ground the story in a believable, everyday world. Classroom Activity: Ask students to add three sensory details to a scene they've already written to increase realism.
Descriptions	Read: Notice how the diving board is described as growing taller and taller through Jabari's eyes, showing subjective description tied to emotion. Classroom Activity: Have students describe an object or place twice—once as it looks when calm, once as it looks when scared.
Strong First Lines	Read: Notice the confident, punchy opening that establishes Jabari's swimming success before introducing the challenge ahead. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write three different first lines for their own story and choose the one with the strongest hook.
Immediacy & Engagement	Read: Notice how present-tense feeling verbs and close narration make readers feel like they are standing on the ladder with Jabari. Classroom Activity: Have students revise a past-tense paragraph to increase immediacy using sensory and emotional immediacy techniques.
Story Scenes & Summaries & Unique Structures	Read: Notice how quick summary (finishing swim lessons) contrasts with a lingering full scene (climbing the ladder), showing how pacing shifts with structure. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write one summarized event and one fully-scened event in the same story to feel the difference.
Flashback & Flash Forward & Cliffhangers	Read: Notice the brief mention of past swim lessons functioning as a compressed flashback, and the page-turn cliffhanger just before the jump. Classroom Activity: Have students insert a one-sentence flashback into a scene, then end a page with a cliffhanger question.
Tension & Suspense & Surprise	Read: Notice how tension builds through physical stalling actions (tying shoes, getting a drink) before the surprising rush of triumphant emotion after the jump. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write a build-up scene using three stalling actions before the character finally acts.
Page Turns and Chapter Breaks	Read: Notice how the page turn right before Jabari jumps is used to create suspense, hiding the outcome until the reader turns the page. Classroom Activity: Have students design a page-turn moment in their own story that hides a big reveal until the next page.
Performance	Read: Notice how the read-aloud rhythm invites a hushed, slow reading voice during the fear scenes and an excited, faster voice during the jump. Classroom Activity: Ask students to mark up their own story with performance notes—where to whisper, where to speed up, where to pause.
Personality	Read: Notice how Jabari's personality shines through small actions like adjusting his goggles or talking to himself, rather than through direct description. Classroom Activity: Have students show a character's personality through one small physical action instead of stating a trait.
Humor	Read: Notice the gentle humor in Jabari's stalling excuses, like needing a drink of water or stretching, which children will recognize from their own delay tactics. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write a humorous list of three stalling excuses their character might use before doing something scary.
Pause	Read: Notice the literal pause built into the story when Jabari stops at the edge of the board, breathing, before deciding to jump. Classroom Activity: Have students write a moment where their character physically pauses before a big decision, describing what they notice in that pause.
Poetry and Poetic Devices	Read: Notice the poetic repetition of the phrase "I'm a great jumper," which works almost like a chant or mantra. Classroom Activity: Ask students to create a short repeated phrase or mantra for their character to say when facing fear.
Repetition	Read: Notice how the repeated affirmation "I'm a great jumper" reinforces Jabari's building confidence each time it appears. Classroom Activity: Have students use a repeated line three times in a short piece to build emotional momentum.
Rhythm	Read: Notice the rhythmic cadence of the stalling list (stretch, take a drink, adjust goggles), which reads almost like a song of delay. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write a rhythmic list of three or four small actions using parallel sentence structure.
Punctuation	Read: Notice how ellipses and exclamation points are used sparingly but powerfully to show hesitation and eventual excitement. Classroom Activity: Have students revise a paragraph using ellipses for hesitation and an exclamation point for triumph.
Questions	Read: Notice how Dad asks Jabari gentle open questions rather than giving orders, inviting Jabari to find his own courage. Classroom Activity: Ask students to write a supportive character who asks questions instead of giving commands to help another character.
Compare-Contrast	Read: Notice the contrast between Jabari's confidence after finishing swim lessons and his fear at the top of the diving board, showing that courage isn't constant. Classroom Activity: Have students compare-contrast how their character feels about the same challenge at two different moments in the story.
Objects	Read: Notice how objects like goggles, a towel, and the diving board itself carry emotional weight beyond their physical function. Classroom Activity: Ask students to choose one object in their story and give it symbolic meaning tied to the character's emotions.
Threes	Read: Notice the rule of three at work in Jabari's stalling tactics, giving the delay a satisfying rhythmic shape before the jump finally happens. Classroom Activity: Have students structure a build-up scene using exactly three attempts, excuses, or actions before the climax.
Whitespace & Negative Space	Read: Notice how the illustrations use open white or blue space around Jabari at the top of the board to visually emphasize his smallness and isolation. Classroom Activity: Ask students to describe how they would use blank space on a page to show a character feeling small or alone.
Art & Graphics	Read: Notice Cornwall's warm, textured illustrations and her use of high-angle perspective to make the diving board look tall and intimidating from Jabari's viewpoint. Classroom Activity: Have students sketch or describe an illustration choice (angle, color, size) that would show a character's fear without using words.
Interactives & Gamification	Read: Notice how the repeated phrase and breathing pause invite young readers to say the line aloud and take a breath along with Jabari, turning reading into participation. Classroom Activity: Ask students to design one interactive moment in their own story—a line readers say aloud or an action readers do—to increase engagement.

Pace-Write It!

Workshop Wrap-Up: After exploring these 33 elements, invite students to choose one small, true moment of their own courage—big or small—and write it as a picture book page. Challenge them to include at least five craft techniques from this guide: a strong first line, a rule-of-three build-up, a repeated phrase, a pause before the big moment, and a page-turn cliffhanger. Pair students to read their pieces aloud, performing the pacing with their voices—slow for fear, quick for triumph—just as Gaia Cornwall does in "Jabari Jumps."