Lesson 26: Look Both Ways, Collaborative Idea Board

Have students identify one character from Look Both Ways and a challenge they face, using text evidence and academic language.

Say these Directions: There are many characters in Look Both Ways. Choose one character, and identify a challenge they face. Find one piece of text evidence that shows the challenge. When you share, use complete sentences and academic language appropriate for class discussion.

Give students time to identify their chosen characters and write their evidence. Then have students share their chosen characters, highlighting any repeated characters and challenges.

• Ask: What makes a character noteworthy or a challenge memorable?

  • Characters are noteworthy when I feel something in common with them. Their challenges are memorable if they feel close to something I have experienced.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Part of what makes a character relatable is the way the author presents them to the reader. The narrative techniques the author uses to craft the character and convey their experience influence how the reader feels about the character. Today, we’ll investigate what makes a character notable.

Language Study

Display the target sentence from the opening paragraph of “Five Things More Complicated to Do Than Simeon’s and Kenzi’s Secret Handshake” where all students can see it. Read the sentence dramatically, and then have students read it with you. Optionally, have one confident reader read it with expression.

• “Simeon Cross was big for his age. Big, like two kids tall and two kids wide. A walking anvil with a happy gappy smile that lit every doorway he darkened.”

Identify the Gist of the Sentence:

• Ask: What is literally happening in this passage? Why is it included in the story?

  • It introduces a new character and describes him briefly.

• Say: Let’s break this passage down into chunks and do a close read of each part. Our goal is to understand both the passage and the character being described more clearly.

Determine Meaning:

Display the passage again, divided into chunks using varying font styles.

• “Simeon Cross was big for his age. Big, like two kids tall and two kids wide. A WALKING ANVIL with a happy gappy smile that lit every doorway he darkened.”

Go through each section, modeling how to interpret the meaning in each one. Using a piece of paper or their journal, students can create a Language Study chart to track meaning.

Say these Directions: Reread the passage in chunks and think about what each part means. Notice how the different phrases build a fuller picture of Simeon Cross. Record your thinking for each chunk, including whether it is literal or figurative and what it reveals about the character. As you work through each section, use a piece of paper or journal to create a Language Study chart.

As you discuss each chunk, review what type of figurative language is being used, and define any unfamiliar words.

• Ask: Why would the author not just write “Simeon was big and nice?” What do the metaphors add to our understanding of Simeon? What feeling do we get about Simeon?

  • The figurative language brings out emotion in the reader and paints a more vivid picture of Simeon. The metaphors especially help us understand how it feels to be in Simeon’s presence. He seems kind of like a big teddy bear, but I wouldn’t want to make him mad.

Synthesize Meaning:

• Ask: If you had to rewrite this passage in very simple language, what would you say?

  • Simeon Cross was very large and strong, but he was also kind and friendly.

Make Connections:

Tell students that they can use this strategy of “chunking” sentences to help them interpret the meaning of tricky passages.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Looking closely at character descriptions can help you gain insight into who the character is and why they make the choices they do.

Part A: Collaborative Idea Board Preparation and Modeling: Look Both Ways (SL.6.1, RL.6.1) (15 minutes)

Teach: Collaborative Idea Board Preparation

Review the Collaborative Idea Board protocol.

• Say: Today, you will participate in a Collaborative Idea Board discussion. I’ll divide you into groups, and each group will answer the same prompt. You will record your ideas on a chart. Then you’ll share your ideas with the whole group using academic language and refine them based on feedback from other groups. We’ll practice together.

Model how to express one idea that the group has agreed on.

• Say: My group has discussed our ideas and decided on a character and evidence. We will use a sentence frame to express our ideas:

  • “The author uses ____ to describe [character]. This makes the character noteworthy because it conveys/reveals ____. The text says ____.”

    • The author uses the text feature of a list to describe Fatima’s attention to detail in “How to Look (Both) Both Ways.” This makes the character noteworthy because it conveys her determination to note differences in everyday life and perhaps predict their outcomes. The text says Fatima lists things that are the same and different on her walk home, like “7. The combination to my lock is the same. 8. I get it wrong.”

Show students how to post their ideas for other groups to see. The exact method will depend on the materials you have available and the methods you’ve established for your classroom.

• Say: Post your idea for your classmates to see. As you review other groups’ ideas, respond using appropriate sentence frames:

  • “I agree/disagree with ____ because ____. I think ____. The text says ____.”

  • “I agree with ____ and would like to add ____.”

Invite a few students to practice responding to the model response with the sentence frames.

• I disagree with the assessment that the author uses text features to describe Fatima’s attention to detail. I don’t think the text feature is the important part of the author’s craft. I think how Fatima responds to her surroundings on her walk home, like Benni, shows more about her attention to detail.

Have students work in small groups to reach a consensus about their characters and narrative techniques. Remind them to use the sentence frames provided and to include evidence from the text.

Say these Directions: Work with your group to agree on the characters and narrative techniques you identified. Use the sentence frames to discuss your ideas, and include at least one piece of text evidence and an explanation of what it reveals about the character.

Part B: Collaborative Idea Board (SL.6.1, RL.6.1) (15 minutes)

Have students begin the Collaborative Idea Board activity.

Collaborative Idea Board

Have students display their ideas for the other groups.

Say these Directions: Begin the Collaborative Idea Board activity by sharing your group’s ideas so others can see them. One group member may present an idea to the class using the sentence frame provided. Be sure your response includes a claim, a piece of text evidence, and an explanation.

You may choose to have one member from each group share their idea using the following sentence frame:

• “The author uses ____ to describe [character]. This makes the character noteworthy because it conveys/reveals ____. The text says ____.”

  • The author uses flashbacks to describe Marcus. This makes the character noteworthy because it shows he has a history of being a bully; it isn’t new. The text says, “Another time when Stevie wasn’t paying attention . . .” and describes a case where Marcus bullied Stevie.

Prompt students to respond to their classmates’ ideas using the provided sentence frames.

• “I agree/disagree with ____ because ____. I think ____. The text says ____.”

• “I agree with ____ and would like to add ____.”

  • • I agree with this group because Marcus is a bully. I think the author’s use of flashbacks accurately conveys how much of a bully he is. The author also shows Marcus’s actions in the present. The text describes how Marcus bullies Pia too, saying he “shoved her to the ground.”

  • I disagree with the idea that flashbacks show how Marcus is a bully because they also show more than that. I think the author uses flashbacks to show how Marcus has been hurt and what he is going through in his life, like his dad giving his mom bruises. In the text, Pia’s mom asks Marcus’s mom, “Before this man kills you, when you gon’ leave?” This makes Marcus more complicated than just being a bully.

Class Debrief

Lead a discussion with the whole class, debriefing the Collaborative Idea Board activity, using the following prompt.

• Ask: How does talking about a character change your perspective of that character?

  • Talking about a character helps me understand better what they are going through. My classmates have different insights into why the author uses certain narrative techniques. My classmates’ perspectives help me understand the characters better.

Quick Write

Students reflect on how using academic language and discussion helped them better understand a character.

Have students complete a short self-reflection on how discussing the characters’ stories in academic language helped them see a moment differently. Collect these reflections to check students’ use of discourse routines and their understanding of the investigation’s essential question. Collect formative data.

• Ask: How does discussing a character’s story help you see a particular moment more clearly? What was one useful part of today’s activity that helped you revise your idea?

• Optional Sentence Starters:

  • “Discussing [character name] helped me understand why they ____. When my classmate said ____, it helped me revise my ideas.”

    • Discussing Bit helped me understand why he talks the way he does in the pool hall. When my classmate said, “He has to perform like that to help his mom,” it helped me rethink my opinion of Bit.

Instruct students to review their Ordinary Moments graphic organizers and take notes in their Journal on the following prompts:

• Choose one moment from the book in which a character changes their view of another character or situation. How did the academic discussion help further your understanding of the character or situation?

• What does this change show about the character?