Lesson 5: Look Both Ways, Vignette 1, Water Booger Bears, Part 2

Turn and Talk

Have students review last night’s homework and refresh their memory of TJ and Jasmine.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk to a partner. Revisit the words you used to describe Jasmine and TJ in the Lesson 4 Launch. Explain to your partner if you want to keep, modify, or replace each word.

• Ask: Based on what the class discussed in the previous lesson, do you want to change the words you used to describe TJ and Jasmine? Why or why not?

  • In the last lesson, I described TJ as curious and Jasmine as tough. I feel the same way about TJ, but I want to change my description of Jasmine to thoughtful. I now understand that she cares for TJ in subtle ways. The way Jasmine speaks to him can seem kind of harsh at times, but she knows TJ really well and does things to help him and care for him, as he does for her.

As students reconsider their earlier character evaluations, remind them of what the class discussed in the Spark lessons: How do ordinary moments, like a walk home from school, show how a community is built?

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, you will reread descriptions of TJ’s house and explore cause- and-effect relationships within it. You’ll discuss how a character’s point of view or perspective, which we learned about in our last class, can reveal different kinds of details about characters.

Introduce New Words Using Morphemes

Target Words: explicit, implicit

Introduce the Word Parts: Write implicit and explicit on the board, and pronounce them. Underline the prefixes im- and ex-, and circle the suffix -plicit.

• Say: The words implicit and explicit are important when discussing literary texts. Both words have the ending -plicit. Look at the prefix of each word: im- and ex-. Knowing what each word part means can help us understand the words.

Identify Affixes: Identify and define word parts. Explain that the ending -plicit comes from a Latin word that means “to fold.” The ending -plicit functions as a suffix rather than a root or a base word because it cannot stand alone and still make sense. It is derived from a root but is not a root itself.

• Say: The prefixes im- and ex- both indicate direction. The prefix im- means “in” or “into.” The prefix ex- means “out” or “away from.” Can you think of other words that use these prefixes in the same way?

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we have learned about the word parts, what does each word seem to literally mean? ( fold into, fold away from) Now let’s look at how that meaning connects to their actual definitions—it’s pretty close. Implicit means something that is implied but not plainly expressed; it’s information that is folded into other information or details. Explicit means something that is stated clearly and in detail—something we could say is “unfolded” for a reader or listener.

Consult Reference Materials: implicit

• Say: Readers and writers do not rely only on context clues or word parts to understand vocabulary precisely. Strong readers also consult reference materials such as dictionaries, glossaries, and thesauruses to confirm pronunciation, determine precise meaning, and identify a word’s part of speech.

Dictionary

• Say: When I use a dictionary entry, I look for several things: the pronunciation of the word, its part of speech, its precise definition, and an example of how the word is used in a sentence.

• Ask: Why might a reader consult a dictionary even after using context clues or morphology?

  • Morphology gives me a clue, but the dictionary helps me know exactly what the word means and how to use it.

Glossary

• Say: A glossary usually gives a shorter, topic-specific definition, while a dictionary provides more detailed language information.

Thesaurus

• Say: A thesaurus shows us the synonyms and antonyms of a word.

• Ask: How can a thesaurus help readers and writers?

  • A thesaurus helps writers choose more precise words.

Say these Directions: Use a print or digital reference source to confirm the pronunciation, meaning, and part of speech for the word explicit. Record your findings in your Personal Dictionary.

Allow students to share their work. Once sharing is complete, affirm the connection.  

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Understanding the words implicit and explicit will help you close read, both for the details about TJ and Jasmine that are obvious and for those that are less easy to spot. In today’s lesson, you will be looking for what the author says explicitly about TJ and Jasmine, in addition to what is implicit in the text.

Transition students to small groups to work on their Reflect and Respond Dialogue. Some groups will focus on Jasmine and some on TJ.

Part A: Identify How Cause and Effect Reveal Character Interactions (RL.6.1, RL.6.6) (15 minutes)

Reread the description of TJ’s house, breaking down the cause-and-effect relationships within it that indicate how characters interact. Guide students to focus on how close examination of a character’s perspective, or point of view (in this example, Jasmine’s), can reveal details the author does not explicitly describe. Remind them that when authors do not state something directly, readers must make an inference, or a conclusion based on evidence in the text.

As you model, point out to how you are using specific evidence from the text to support your ideas.

Give One, Get One

Read aloud from the end of Water Booger Bears from Look Both Ways: “They got to TJ’s house . . . ” and through “ . . . and decided that maybe they could be both”. Identify and explain a moment that demonstrates cause-and-effect relationships and what those relationships reveal about the characters.

• Say: Notice how Jasmine laughs at TJ’s non-jokes (the cause), which makes him feel better about his non-jokes (the effect)—and about how he had kicked a hole in the screen door. This simple interaction reveals how much Jasmine cares for TJ. This care is implicitly stated through how Jasmine reacts to TJ. If she didn’t care for him, she wouldn’t try to make him feel better. Jasmine’s behavior reveals her point of view on TJ’s life, and his reactions reveal his point of view on his life.

Say these Directions: Closely reread the rest of the section to find other cause-and-effect relationships that reveal information about the characters.

• Ask: For each relationship you identify, which is the cause and which is the effect?

  • When TJ says “the babiest form of babies!” Jasmine laughs. TJ’s ability to make Jasmine laugh (the cause) helps “chip some of the hard off” (the effect), the text says explicitly. This interaction implicitly reveals how close TJ and Jasmine are. TJ makes Jasmine feel safe enough to be vulnerable, to not be as tough as she feels like she has to be sometimes.

Part B:  Close Read to Identify Implicit Details (RL.6.1, RL.6.6) (15 minutes)

Briefly review the concept of point of view. Ask students to identify whose perspective 'Water Booger Bears' is told from and explain the evidence that supports their answer. Instruct students to closely read the descriptions and note any implicit details the author reveals through this point of view.

• Say: Remember that point of view is the perspective from which a story is told. It determines who narrates the story. Readers experience a story from a particular point of view, which affects the information they learn and how they experience it.

Retell & Paraphrase Partner Check

Say these Directions: Answer the following questions with a partner. For each question answered, you should orally paraphrase a section of “Water Booger Bears” that supports your answer. You may wish to use frames such as:

• “In this paragraph, this is what happens: ___”

• “[Character name] says/does ___; in other words, they ___.

• Ask: Why has each character been out of school? How has this absence affected the other character?

  • Jasmine has been out of school for a month because of a serious illness that has kept her in the hospital. The text says she could “barely move. It hurt to hold a pen.” Jasmine says she knows she can’t be a booger because she isn’t “gooey enough.” The implication is that the pain makes her feel stiff and inflexible.

• Ask: What is each character’s family like? Are they close to their family? How do you know?

  • Jasmine’s parents aren’t together, and Jasmine describes them as “cold.” Jasmine says her parents hover over her hospital bed “like aliens from movies cornier than teenage family dramas.” The text implicitly states that Jasmine is not close to her family. She feels more comfortable with TJ.

• Ask: How does each character acknowledge the challenges of the other?

  • TJ carries Jasmine’s backpack for her as they walk home from school. He questions why she would want to be a “space bear,” asking, “Why would you want to be that thing?” But he listens to her explanation and seeks to understand her perspective. Jasmine shows she cares about TJ by laughing at his jokes that aren’t jokes. Bringing humor into their interactions implicitly acknowledges the challenges TJ faces.

Transition students into the Look Back section by reviewing the major and minor characters from the story.

Quick Write

Display the Quick Write prompt and give students time to answer. Collect formative feedback.

Say these Directions: Identify one time Jasmine’s or TJ's point of view revealed something about a minor character in the vignette. Include text evidence in your answer.

• TJ’s perspective reveals that his “old mother” has harmed him in some way. The text says, “TJ let the thought trail off, shuddering like something shot through his body.” I associate shuddering with being cold or uncomfortable, as if something grosses me out. This implicitly tells me about TJ’s “old” mom and his relationship with her.

Instruct students:

Continue to update the Ordinary Moments 3-column chart graphic organizer you created in Lesson 3 for Jasmine and TJ as necessary. Then read “The Low Cuts Strike Again.” As you read, identify at least one character whose perspective gives you implicit details about their personality.