Lesson 11: Red, White, and Whole, Part 5: “MTV” to “Hot and Cold”

Students explore a personal example where they experienced duality and generation gap, and share their ideas using a Think-Pair-Share routine. Pair students with a trusted partner to support the discussion of personal experience.

Think-Pair-Share

• Say these Directions: Think about a time you had to explain something to someone older. What made that moment feel like you were “in-between” two different perspectives? Turn and talk with your partner. After you and your partner share, write one sentence that defines what it means to be “in-between.” Be prepared to share your examples with the class.

Allow students time to discuss their example with a partner. Then reconvene the class for a brief whole-group discussion.

• Ask: What is an example of a situation where you felt “in-between?”

  • I once had to explain to my grandpa how to use a school app and also what my teacher expected us to turn in. I felt in-between because I understood both sides, but I also felt pressure to get everything exactly right.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: When you are “in-between,” you often understand more than one world, but that can come with both responsibility and pressure. Today, we will track how Reha experienced that same tension across the poem set, and analyze how the “in-between” feeling is conveyed through specific details, tone, and structure.

Guide students in close reading by deconstructing key lines from “Accents” to analyze how language and structure convey power and distance.

Language Study

• Say these Directions: We are going to use one short part of the poem “Accents,” as a key for the rest of today’s reading. As you read, use context clues to help you determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Look for how LaRocca builds meaning and power in these lines, so that we can track how language and structure show power and distance across the poem set.

Display and read aloud the following lines from “Accents” (p. 67). Read each chunk aloud. After each line, have students chorally repeat it.

So I am elected translator,

even though all I do

is repeat the exact things

my parents just said.

Teach: Deconstruct the Lines

Model how to deconstruct these four lines by breaking down the different components of the text noted in the table below.

• Say: Recreate this table in your journal. Then jot notes to explain the meaning and function of the phrase.

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Analyze the Deconstructed Sentence

• Ask: When I read these lines, I notice that Reha does not change the words she uses to communicate with the listener. She repeats the exact things her parents said. If the message does not change, what does?

  • The listener’s response changes because people understand the words only when Reha says them.

• Ask: The line break before “even though” slows the moment and highlights the contrast. It helps the reader notice that something unfair is happening. Listeners understand Reha, even though she uses the same words. This shows that the poem is not just about language; it is about power, bias, and who gets heard. What does the passage teach us about power?

  • LaRocca is showing that people respond differently based on who is speaking. Power is connected to how someone sounds or is perceived, not just what they say.

• Ask: What do the four lines mean as a whole? Take a moment to think about the question, then write a one-to-two sentence explanation in your notes.

  • Even though Reha does not change the message, people only understand it when she says it, which shows that the listener’s response changes.

Connection to Today's Learning:

• Say: Next, you will track how LaRocca uses language, structure, and details to show that being in-between gives Reha both power and pressure. In your explanations, describe how poem structure emphasizes shifts.

Form expert groups and assign each group one poem: “Aerogrammes,” “Here and There,” or “On the Threshold.” Students identify one physical detail that carries emotional weight and share it as part of the Jigsaw Reading routine. Students then analyze the poems “MTV” and “Hot to Cold” using a Venn Diagram graphic organizer.

Part A: Objects That Carry Distance (RL.7.3) (14 minutes)

Guide students in identifying how physical details in poems carry emotional meaning. Support students in connecting literal details to themes of distance and connection, and in explaining how these details reveal Reha’s developing identity.

Jigsaw Reading

• Say these Directions: Read your assigned poem aloud with your group. Find one physical detail in the poem that carries emotional weight. Copy the table below into your notes, and use it to record evidence.

• Say: Once you complete your chart, write 2–3 sentences explaining how your example shows Reha’s experience of distance and/or connection. Use at least one specific detail from the poem in your . If you’d like, use the following sentence stem to frame your response:explanation

The detail _______ shows ______, which reveals that Reha feels _______ because ______.

SAMPLE RESPONSE

When students have completed their tables, reconvene the class for a whole-group discussion. Ask at least one group of students for each poem to share, so that everyone can hear analysis of all three poems.

• Ask: What physical detail in your poem do you think carries the most emotional weight?

  • • In “Aerogrammes,” the aerogramme sealed like a kiss carries the most weight because the letter becomes a substitute for physical closeness.

  • In “Here and There,” the relatives who are always a flight away carry the most weight because travel turns family closeness into something distant and hard to reach.

    • In “On the Threshold,” the doorway carries the most weight because it is a real place and also a symbol of being between two worlds.

• Ask: How does that detail affect Reha’s feelings or others’ responses to show distance?

  • • The letter in “Aerogrammes” shows that love is present but it has to travel through paper instead of touch, so Reha feels connection and distance together but the closeness changes.

  • The flight image in “Here and There” makes family feel emotionally near but physically unreachable, which turns distance into a constant fact of life and makes connection harder.

    • The doorway in “On the Threshold” shows that Reha is not fully inside one world or the other, so distance becomes part of her identity.

• Ask: Does Reha experience these distances as loss, or as a mix of loss and connection—and what does that reveal about the character she is becoming?

  • Reha experiences these distances as both loss and connection. The distance separates her from people and places she cares about, but it also helps her understand both worlds more deeply. This shows she is becoming someone who can hold both identities, even when it feels difficult.

Part B: From Wanting to Silence (RL.7.5) (16 minutes)

Guide students in close reading to track how tone, structure, and shifts in response reveal Reha’s movement from observation to participation.

Close Read & Annotation

• Say these Directions: Tone is the feeling or attitude a poem carries, created by the words the poet chooses. A poem's tone might feel excited, tense, hopeful, or isolated. You figure out tone by asking: What feeling do these word choices create in me as a reader?

Earlier, we saw Reha standing at a threshold between worlds. As you read “MTV” and “Hot and Cold,” track what happens when she actually steps across that boundary. Underline words that show tone and use the Venn diagram to make comparisons.

• Say: Now read "MTV" and "Hot and Cold." As you read, underline words and phrases that show how Reha relates to the people around her — especially her family. Ask yourself: Is she close to them or far? Does that distance feel good or painful?

• Say: When you finish reading, open your Venn diagram. Here is exactly how to use it:

• The left circle is labeled "MTV." Write tone words and details that are only true in that poem. What does distance from her parents feel like there?

• The right circle is labeled "Hot and Cold." Write tone words and details that are only true in that poem. What does distance from her parents feel like there?

• The middle is for anything that is true in both poems — what do the two poems share about how Reha relates to her family?

• Ask yourself before placing anything: Does this feeling or detail show up in one poem, or in both? That is how you decide where it goes.

• Say these Directions: When your diagram is complete, write 2–3 sentences explaining how Reha's relationship to distance changes between "MTV" and "Hot and Cold," and what that shift tells us about what the dance represents to her. Use at least one word or phrase from each poem as evidence, and use at least one of these ideas: tone change, line break, or shift in voice.

SAMPLE RESPONSE

Allow students time to read each poem, complete their diagrams, and write their response. Reconvene the class and lead a brief, whole-group discussion.

• Ask: In “MTV,” what does Reha seem to want, and how does the tone reveal that desire?

  • In “MTV,” Reha wants to enter a new world that feels exciting. The curious tone shows she is drawn to it, even though she is still on the edge.

• Ask: How does the mood in “Hot and Cold” shift after Reha asks one question, and what does that shift reveal?

  • The tone shifts to tense and exposed. The silence shows that speaking changes how others respond to her, which makes the moment feel risky.

• Ask: How does placing “MTV” first and “Hot and Cold” later show what happens when Reha moves from observing a world to stepping into it?

  • Placing “MTV” first and “Hot and Cold” last creates movement from wanting to consequence. The structure shows that entering another world may seem exciting at first, but by the end Reha has to face the risk of being seen differently.

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

Students write a short paragraph based on the work from this lesson.

Quick Write

• Say these Directions: Today we tracked how LaRocca uses one line, one object, and one poem’s place in a set to show the pressure of living between worlds. That is the same kind of close reading you will need for your Performance Task when you explain how imagery or symbolism reveals an important connection. The more specific you are about a writer’s choices, the stronger your analysis becomes.

• Say: Bring together this work on power, physical distance, tone, and structure in a 3-4 sentence analysis that answers the following prompt. Use at least two specific details from “MTV” and “Hot and Cold.”

• Ask: What did it cost Reha to shift from observer to participant?

  • It cost Reha some emotional safety. In “MTV,” she can stay on the edge of that world and just watch, so the poem feels full of wanting and possibility. In “Hot and Cold,” she asks one question and the room goes silent, which makes her feel exposed instead of hidden. Because LaRocca places those poems at the beginning and end of the set, the reader sees that crossing the boundary means risking embarrassment and losing the protection of just observing.

Instruct students to read the poem set that includes “Amar Chitra Kathas,” “Savitri Part 1,” “Cells,” “My Aerogramme,” and “Savitri Part 2” (pp. 72–83).

Ask students to respond to the following question in their Journal:

• Reha says she learns where she’s from through stories. By the end of this poem set, she writes her own story in a letter she never sends. Why do you think Reha needs stories? Use at least one specific detail from the poems in your response.