Lesson 32: Red, White and Whole, Part 14: “The Phone Call” to ”Always Something There to Remind Me”

Have students pair up and discuss their homework reading. Pairs can also share about whether anything Amma says is surprising.

Display the poem “Cells” on page 76 and direct students to read these lines:

"Words can hurt,

and words can heal."

Think-Pair-Share

• Say these Directions: In the previous lesson, we studied how the repeated title “The River” showed that Reha’s understanding had changed. Today, we are reading the final poems, where Amma’s voice reaches Reha directly through a letter. This matters because our Performance Task asks us to explain how a writer uses structure or symbolism to reveal an important connection.

Prompt students to turn and talk with a partner to discuss the questions:

• Ask: What in Amma’s words surprised you in your homework reading?

  • Amma’s words surprised me because she sounds more observant and gentle than Reha sometimes believed. In the ending poems, Amma seems to understand Reha’s feelings more deeply than Reha realized.

• Ask: What does it mean that Amma’s final act in the book is a letter, especially after we read the lines "Words can hurt, and words can heal"?

  • It means LaRocca ends the book with words doing healing work. The earlier line “...words can hurt and words can heal” becomes important because Alma's letter gives Reha one more way to hear her mother's love even after she has died.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: The title words in these final poems give us clues about how Amma’s voice travels to Reha and why those final words matter so much.

Introducing New Words Using Morphology

• Say these Directions: Before we closely read the final poems, we are going to unlock two titles that act like keys. If we understand what these words suggest, it will be easier to explain how the poems have thematic significance.

Direct students to the poems, “Aerogramme” (p. 202) and “Always Something There to Remind Me” (p. 208).

Teach: Using Word Parts and Titles to Predict Meaning

• Say: When I see aerogramme, I notice the part aero-, which has to do with air. I also notice -gramme, which points to writing or a message. That helps me make a smart guess that this poem will involve a message traveling across distance, which already fits the idea of connection.

• Say: When I see remind, I notice re-, which means again, and mind, which connects to memory or thought. So this word suggests that memory returns and keeps bringing someone back into your thoughts.

• Say: These title words matter today because Amma’s voice reaches Reha through a written message, and that message keeps working even after Amma is gone.

• Say these Directions: In your Personal Dictionary, write aerogramme and remind. Next to each word, write a smart-guess definition before we verify it.

Prompt students to discuss and respond to the questions with a partner:

• Ask: Based on the word parts, what is your smart guess for aerogramme?

  • My smart guess is that an aerogramme is a written message that travels by air, like a letter sent across a long distance.

• Ask: Based on the word parts, what is your smart guess for remind?

  • My smart guess is that remind means to make someone think of something again or bring a memory back.

Verify Meaning: Prompt students to use a dictionary, glossary, or other reference material to confirm the meaning of the word they have constructed or inferred.

• Say: Check your definition using a dictionary or other reference material. Does the definition match what we figured out? Revise as needed.

• Erase/Hide: Stop displaying the two words for a moment.

• Say:Write the word aerogramme from memory in your Personal Dictionary.

• Say: Write the word remind from memory in your Personal Dictionary.

• Say: Display the words and check your spelling. Correct anything that needs fixing.

• Say:Circle the prefix in remind, underline the base word, and for aerogramme, underline the part that means “written message.”

Prompt students to discuss the question with a partner:

• Ask: Which part of the word helped you remember how to spell it?

  • The part re- helped me remember remind because I know that prefix means “again.” In aerogramme, the gramme part helped because I connected it to a written message.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Now that we have unlocked the titles, we are ready to hear Amma’s voice and track what her letter reveals.

Part A: Hearing Amma Directly (RL.7.2) (14 minutes)

Place students in pairs. Have students read “The Phone Call” and “Savitri, Part 5,” and then closely reread “Aerogramme,” with most annotation time focused on “Aerogramme.”

Close Read & Annotate

• Say these Directions: Read the sequence from “The Phone Call” through “Aerogramme,” then briefly review “Family Ties” to consider how the final poems all work together. As you reread “Aerogramme,” star places where Amma shows that she knows Reha deeply and add a brief note about what Amma understands that Reha may not have realized.

Prompt students to use the questions to guide their annotation.

• Ask: In “Aerogramme,” what does Amma know about Reha that Reha never fully realized about herself?

  • In “Aerogramme,” Amma shows that she knows Reha’s inner fears and strengths more clearly than Reha expected. Amma seems to understand that Reha keeps going even when she feels split apart, which reveals a deep mother-daughter connection.

• Ask: What does hearing Amma’s voice directly, for the first time, add to your understanding of the whole novel?

  • Hearing Amma directly changes my understanding because I finally see Amma as more than the version filtered through Reha’s hurt and confusion. Her voice makes the whole book feel fuller and shows that Amma had been noticing and loving Reha all along.

Teach: Annotating for What Amma Knows About Reha

• Say: When I annotate this poem, I am not just underlining lines that sound emotional. I am looking for places where Amma names something true about Reha’s fears, habits, strengths, or needs. If Amma notices something Reha never fully understood about herself, I mark it and jot a short note in the margin. Then I ask, What does this show about Amma as a mother, and what does it add to the whole book? That question matters because this is the first time we hear Amma’s voice directly for an extended moment. By the end of the reread, my annotations should help me explain not only what Amma says, but how her words develop themes about love, family ties, and healing.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Once we understand what Amma’s voice adds, we can explain why LaRocca saves that voice for the very end.

Part B: Why Save Her Voice for the End? (RL.7.2, RL.7.5) (16 minutes)

Guide students in planning a RACE response that explains the author’s craft and structure.

RACE Strategy Response

• Say these Directions: Use the RACE Writing Strategy graphic organizer to plan your short response to this question: LaRocca spent the entire novel showing us Amma through Reha’s eyes. Why does she wait until the very end to let Amma speak for herself?

• Say: In your response, include a clear claim, at least two pieces of evidence from the final poems, and an explanation of how Amma’s direct voice develops a theme of the novel.

• Ask: What is one strong reason you can use in your claim?

  • One strong reason is that Amma’s direct voice changes how readers understand the whole mother-daughter relationship. Instead of only seeing Amma from Reha’s hurt point of view, readers hear Amma’s own love and knowledge.

• Ask: Which two ending-poem details best support that reason?

  • One detail is Amma’s letter in “Aerogramme,” where her voice shows that she understands Reha deeply. For example, Amma writes, “I know you,” which reveals that she has been paying attention to Reha's inner life even when Reha believed her mother didn't fully understand her. Another detail is the way the final poems keep returning to memory and reminder language, which shows that Amma’s words continue to stay with Reha.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

LaRocca waits until the very end to let Amma speak for herself because the ending changes the meaning of the whole book. For most of the novel, readers know Amma only through Reha’s point of view, so Amma can seem distant or hard to understand. In “Aerogramme,” Amma’s own words reveal how closely she has been watching Reha and how much love she has carried. For example, Amma writes to Reha in a voice that notices her daughter's inner life and reminds her that their connection continues even after loss. Amma's letter shows that she understands Reha’s fears and strengths, which reveals a deep bond between them. This shift helps develop the theme that family ties can remain powerful even through silence, illness, and loss. The ending also connects to the idea that “...words can hurt, and words can heal,” because the letter gives Reha a new way to hear Amma’s love after death. By saving Amma’s voice for the last pages, LaRocca turns the ending into both a goodbye and a final act of connection.

Teach: Explaining Author’s Structural Choices

• Say: First, I need a clear claim about author choice, so I ask myself what changes because Amma speaks here and not earlier.

• Say: Then I think about structure: for most of the book, Amma is filtered through Reha’s eyes, which means readers only get part of the picture.

• Say: Next, I choose evidence from “Aerogramme” and one nearby final poem to show how Amma’s direct voice reshapes the meaning of earlier moments. After that, I explain the effect on the theme by naming the larger ideas about family ties, memory, or healing through words.

• Say: When I connect Amma’s words to the line “words can hurt, and words can heal” (p. 76), I can show how the ending suggests that language becomes a final way for love to continue. When I do this, my response moves from summary to literary analysis.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: You have now done the same kind of thinking your Performance Task will ask you to do: connect a writer’s choice to a meaningful connection in the text.

Have students write a brief response using evidence from two poems to analyze how the theme develops.

Quick Write

• Say these Directions: Answer this question in 3–4 sentences. Use at least two specific details, one from each of the poems.

• Ask: How do “Aerogramme” and one other final poem develop a theme about connection that continues after loss?

• • In “Aerogramme,” Amma’s letter shows that she understands Reha more deeply than Reha knew, which develops the theme that family connection can continue through words. In “Family Ties,” the title itself points to bonds that do not disappear just because someone dies. Together, these final poems show that love and belonging can stay present through memory, language, and the ties between family members.

• Say: In the Performance Task, you will select one poem and explain how its imagery or symbolism reveals an important connection. Today’s work supports that goal because we practiced noticing where a voice appears, what it reveals, and how those choices shape the theme. When you can explain why a writer places a specific detail at a particular moment, your analysis becomes more precise and insightful.

Instruct students to read the “Author’s Note” at the end of Red, White, and Whole and answer the following question in their Journal:

• How is the voice of the author different from the voice of her narrator?