Essential Questions
- What do we have to consider when making difficult decisions?
- How do we deal with the loss of loved ones?
Literature Connection
- Novel: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
- Novel: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
Standards Correlations
R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.6, R.7, W.3, SL.1, SL.2, L.4, L.6
Learning Objective
Students will analyze how a character changes as she faces a decision with major consequences.
Key Skills
inference, text features, vocabulary, setting, critical thinking, key details, compare and contrast, character, interpreting text, author’s craft, plot, making connections, narrative writing
Complexity Factors
Levels of Meaning: The story explores themes of loss and personal growth.
Structure: The story is chronological and is told from the first-person perspective.
Language: The language is conversational. Some figurative language is used.
Knowledge Demands: Some familiarity with science fiction as a genre will aid comprehension. Also, Albert Einstein is a theme throughout the story.
Levels
Lexile: 500L-600L
Guided Reading Level: V
DRA Level: 50
Lesson Plan: The Message
Essential Questions
Literature Connection
1. Preparing to Read
Preview Text Features (5 minutes)
Guide students to locate the story. Then preview text features with the following prompts:
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Make a Plan for Reading
2. Reading and Unpacking the Text
Answers to the Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)
Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)
3. Skill Building and Writing
Learn Anywhere Activity
An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom
Send Yourself a Message
Put yourself in older Astra’s shoes by making a video for your younger self.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were younger? Think of one thing you’d tell your younger self if you could travel back in time. Then make a video for your younger self. In the video, explain:
Language-Acquisition Springboard
Unpack figurative language to make the text more accessible.
The story contains some phrases that might be unfamiliar to multilingual learners. After the first read, go over the meanings of the expressions in these sentences below. Explain that the meanings aren’t literal and might need to be figured out.
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.
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