Lesson 28: The Last Cuentista, Chapter 27

Turn-and-Talk

Have students take out their Homework Journals and copies of The Last Cuentista. Instruct students to discuss the following question with a partner.

Say these Directions: For homework, you read Chapter 27 and responded to the following question. Share your response with a partner. Be sure to provide specific text evidence and an explanation of your reasoning.

Display the question.

• How does Petra’s dream further develop her identity?

  • Petra’s dream shows that she is not only a storyteller but the person chosen to protect Earth’s stories. “You will need to keep what is left safe now” (p. 266), the Librarian tells Petra.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: You’ve considered how Higuera uses Petra’s dreams to further develop her character and her connection to stories. In this lesson, you will further analyze Petra’s dream and write about Higuera’s choices.

Language Study

Teach: Using an Ellipsis to Indicate a Pause or Break

Display the following sentence from the text:

• “Think of me as . . . Earth’s last librarian, made to look like . . . someone you trust.” (p. 266)

Model reading the sentence fluently, clearly pausing for each of the ellipses.

• Say: The “three dots” in this sentence are an ellipsis and indicate a pause. An ellipsis is often used in dialogue when the speaker’s voice trails off.

Tell students that an ellipsis can also indicate that text has been omitted in a quotation. Explain that when they write responses to literature, they can use ellipses to focus their writing and capture specific ideas when quoting from the text.

Teach: Using an Ellipsis to Quote Precisely

• Say: When you write about a particular idea, you don’t always need the whole line from the text. An ellipsis is three dots that show words were purposely left out of the original quotation. You use an ellipsis when the missing words are not necessary to support your point, but you want to keep the author’s exact language. By using the ellipsis, you focus the quotation and at the same time remain true to the original text.

Display the following sentences:

• “I know in this instant who I am. I am not a scientist. I am not what my parents hoped I’d be. I am what Lita knew I was. I am a storyteller.” (p. 268)

• The trip to the library solidifies Petra’s knowledge of herself. She thinks, “I know in this instant . . . I am a storyteller.” (p. 268)

• Ask: Why do you think the author of the second sentence chose to eliminate the words from the original text?

  • The words the author took out are not focused on the point that Petra now truly understands who she is. By omitting the words, the quote becomes easy to read, and it directly supports the sentence before it.

Say these Directions: In your journal, copy the full quotation from the text. Then write a claim about Petra’s connection to her family using part of the quotation as support. Use an ellipsis in place of the words you omit.

• Petra understands how deeply the connection to Lita runs when she realizes, “I know in this instant who I am . . . I am what Lita knew I was” (p. 268).

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Now that you know how to use ellipses to focus quotations, you are ready to use precise quotations in your own writing later in the lesson.

Part A: Analyzing Allusion and Adaptation (RL.8.4, RL.8.9) (15 minutes)

Prepare students to analyze Higuera’s references and allusions to important texts in Petra’s dream sequence in Chapter 27. Explain that they will not only identify the references and allusions, but they will also analyze how Higuera adapts and uses them within her story.

Say these Directions: We are going to reread key scenes from Chapter 27 to analyze Higuera’s references and allusions to important texts in Petra’s dream sequence. Open your copies of the novel to p. 261 to follow along with our reading and analysis.

Read aloud on p. 261 from “El Conejo sits just ahead of us, wriggling his nose at me. I glance at the moon. His shadowed form is still not there.” (p. 261) to “Go, Petra, she says. “Follow el Conejo.”

• Ask: What does Higuera allude to in this paragraph? How has she adapted and used a traditional tale as part of her narrative here?

  • Higuera again alludes to the tale of Quetzalcoatl and el Conejo in which the rabbit selflessly offers to sacrifice his life and is rewarded by his outline being placed on the moon. She turns the hero of that tale, el Conejo, into Petra’s guide. When she sprints after him, he takes her to the red mountain where she hears “guitars and fiddles twang like a distant fiesta” (p. 262), which then turns into another scene that leads her to the collection of librex.

Close Read and Annotation Protocol

Instruct students to reread a key scene from Chapter 27 to annotate for the references and allusions that Higuera makes to other literary works.

• Say: An allusion is a brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance. As we read Petra’s dream sequence, we are going to look for the allusions that Higuera makes to other literary works.

Say these Directions: Next, turn to p. 264 in Chapter 27 and reread the scene that begins with “Lita was right to tell me to follow the rabbit” and ends with “I’ll work on this one later” on p. 267. Annotate each direct reference or allusion to a literary work. If you are not sure, just write down what you think is a reference or allusion.

Allow students a few minutes to reread the scene and write their annotations.

• Ask: What is the first reference or allusion you annotated?

  • “The jittery holographic scene of an old man in a turban speaks to a young boy with tattered clothing. ‘Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.’” (p. 264)

Explain to students that this quote and description come from a novel called The Alchemist by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho about a young shepherd boy who journeys from Spain to the Egyptian pyramids in search of treasure. His quest becomes a spiritual journey of self-discovery.

• Ask: How is Higuera’s allusion to The Alchemist connected to Petra right at this moment in the novel?

  • Higuera chooses a quote from the novel that directly relates to Petra’s situation; she has to face her own “suffering” as the Collective works to reprogram her and erase her own memories. Also, the self-discovery of the young shepherd boy can be compared to Petra’s own self-discovery throughout the novel.

Continue guiding the student through the allusions and references that are made throughout this scene in Chapter 27. Explain the following allusions:

• A Wizard of Earthsea by Le Guin is a fantasy novel that is a coming-of-age story.

• The Aboriginal Custodian represents storytelling traditions from Aboriginal Australia.

• The “tattoo-faced man holding a harpoon” on p. 267 is a character from Moby Dick.

When finished, pose several synthesis questions to support students’ understanding of why Higuera includes all these allusions in Petra’s dream.

• Ask: Why might Higuera include stories from so many cultures in this one scene? What central idea does that choice develop?

  • Higuera includes many traditions to show that storytelling is not limited to one place, time, or group of people. The choice to include all these varied voices conveys the idea that saving stories means saving a shared human inheritance in all of its diversity. It supports the central idea of the importance of storytelling, which conveys wisdom, creates identity, and contains cultural knowledge and memory. When Ben notes, “With these . . . you are bringing stories to a new world. . . . Priceless,” readers understand the value that he, Petra, Lita, and others place on these storytelling traditions (p. 267).

Part B: Analyzing Themes in the Novel (RL.8.2, W.8.4, W.8.9.a) (15 minutes)

RACE Strategy Response

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Review the RACE strategy with students. Students learned how to use this writing strategy in Unit 8.1. Explain to students that they will use this strategy as they respond in writing to a question about Chapter 27.

Say these Directions: Write one well-organized paragraph in response to the prompt below. Remember to Restate the core idea of the question, Answer the question, Cite specific evidence, and Explain how that evidence connects to your answer.

• Writing Prompt: How does Petra’s dream further develop a theme about storytelling in the novel?

  • When Petra meets the Librarian in Chapter 27, he explains, “‘Ben’s download patch worked . . . You will need to keep what is left safe’” (p. 266). This moment is important because the Librarian essentially tells Petra she was chosen to be responsible for all the stories and traditions that still reside in the “program.” Essentially, Petra is “a storyteller” and the one who will remain to spread the “new stories to a new world” (pp. 267–268). The theme that is developed is that storytelling and stories themselves, even if they are a little “broken” or “cracked,” deserve to be saved and to be shared with others (p. 264) because they are “priceless” (p. 267).

Check for Understanding

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

Turn and Talk

Transition students into partners to reflect on their writing.

Say these Directions: Look back at your paragraph and circle one word or phrase you used that most precisely captures the significance of the scene. Then, with your partner, explain why that word or phrase strikes you as important.

• I circled the word priceless because it expresses the significance of stories and storytelling. There is no amount of money or resources that can replace the wisdom, history, and culture represented through stories.

Instruct students to read Chapters 28 and 29 of The Last Cuentista. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, annotate the text for the following:

• What major events happen in Chapters 28–29?