Standards Correlations

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will read about an inspiring teen and identify cause-and-effect relationships in the story.

Key Skills

cause and effect, making connections, text features, vocabulary, sequence of events, text evidence, critical thinking, inference, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article describes how Jalaiah created a viral dance and had to fight to get credit for it.

Structure: The article is chronological and contains cause-and-effect structures.

Language: The language is conversational. 

Knowledge Demands: Readers are assumed to know that TikTok and Instagram are social media platforms where videos are shared.

Levels

Lexile Level: 600L-700L

Guided Reading Level: R

DRA Level: 40

Lesson Plan: Her Dance Got Famous. Why Didn’t She?

Essential Questions

  • How can we be respectful and fair on social media?
  • How can young people influence pop culture?

Literature Connection

Novel: So Done by Paula Chase
Novel: Unfriended by Rachel Vail

1. Preparing to Read 

Make a Connection (5 minutes) 

As a class, view the video “My Story: Jalaiah Harmon.” Ask students, “What do you have in common with Jalaiah?”

Preview Text Features (5 minutes)

Have students open their magazines to page 20. Use the following questions to preview text features:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle. Do you know who the person in the photo is? Do you recognize her dance? Why do you think her dance didn’t make her famous? Students might know that the dancer is Jalaiah Harmon and the dance is the Renegade. Students might guess that Jalaiah didn’t become famous for the dance because people didn’t know that she was the one who created it.
  • Look at the photos on pages 22 and 23 and read the captions. Based on these photos, how do you think the story ends? Answers may vary. Students will likely guess that Jalaiah did eventually become somewhat famous because she performed for a large crowd and was photographed for a newspaper.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Direct students to the vocabulary box on page 21. Go over the words (frustrated, credit, assumed, influencer, choreographer) and their definitions together.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading (5 minutes)

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll identify cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity on page 23.
  • Have students pause at the end of each section so you can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to note words and sentences that they don’t understand or that seem especially  important.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text


• Have students read the story independently. Play the audio with text-to-speech while students follow along in their magazines.
• Discuss any notes that students made while reading. 
• Next, discuss the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. 

Close-Reading Questions (10 minutes)

  • How did Jalaiah feel when she saw that celebrities were performing her dance? (text evidence) She felt both excited and frustrated: excited to see her dance become popular among celebrities but frustrated that she wasn’t getting credit for it.
  • How did social media influencer Charli D’Amelio end up getting credit for the Renegade? (sequence of events) Jalaiah posted her dance on Instagram. Someone saw the post and brought the dance to TikTok. D’Amelio saw it on TikTok and tried it herself. She didn’t say that she’d created the dance, but people assumed she had.
  • What caused The New York Times to write about Jalaiah? What was the effect of the article? (cause and effect) The New York Times wrote about Jalaiah when someone saw her post and told a reporter at the newspaper that she was the real creator of the Renegade. The article caused many people to become angry that Jalaiah didn’t get credit for her work. She got shout-outs from Michelle Obama and Lizzo, and she was invited to perform at the NBA All-Star Game and to go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Jalaiah also gained more than 2 million followers on TikTok.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • Do you think it was wrong of D’Amelio to not give credit to Jalaiah for the Renegade? Why or why not? (critical thinking) Answers will vary. Students may say that Charli couldn’t have known that there was a creator behind the dance since many dances don’t have owners. Plus, she never claimed she created the dance. Others may say that she should have made the effort to learn who created the dance, especially once people started giving her credit for it.
  • Why do you think Jalaiah is glad she spoke up for herself? (inference) Jalaiah is happy because her actions got influencers like D’Amelio to give credit not just to her but to other dance creators too. Jalaiah is probably also glad that her story can inspire other young artists to demand credit for their work.

3. Skill Building

  • Separate students into small groups. Have them work together to complete the activity on page 23. 
  • Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder (available in a higher and lower level version) for this article
  • Writing Prompt: When it comes to social media, it’s not always obvious what’s right and wrong. In your opinion, what are the rules of social media? Write your own version of “The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media.” Try to list three rules in each column. Here’s one you could include under “Do’s”: Give credit to artists whose work you’re sharing.

Learn-Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Think Positive!

At the end of the story, the author notes that people sometimes leave mean comments on Jalaiah’s social media posts. It’s true that a certain amount of meanness happens on social media, but you can also give plenty of support and encouragement.

Write down three positive, supportive comments you could make to be kind to Jalaiah. For instance, you could say something positive about: 

  • her dance, the Renegade.
  • the time and energy she puts into dance.
  • the work she did to get the credit she deserves.
  • her goals for the future.

ELL Springboard

Make parts of speech fun with this quick review.

The words dance and post figure prominently in this article, and each is used as both a noun and a verb. Jalaiah saw a post on social media, and she posted  about creating the Renegade. Jalaiah created a dance, and she likes to dance. After reading, ask students to find and highlight the places where these words are used in the article.

Explain that many English nouns (names of people, places, or things) also exist as verbs (action words). Read aloud each sentence starter below, emphasizing the noun in italics. Then ask students to complete it, using the same word as a verb. Answers may vary.

  • I bought six cans of paint, so now we can . . . (paint the living room).
  • I’d like to go for a run with you, but only if you don’t . . . (run too fast).
  • I’m not sure what that smell is, but I can . . . (smell it from a block away).
  • I got into a fight last week, but I don’t . . . (usually fight).
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 4 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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