Lesson 7: The Last Cuentista, Narrative Writing, Part 1

Turn and Talk

Instruct students to think about how the author orients readers to a point of view in the novel. Then, transition students into partners to discuss the primary point of view in Chapters 1–9 of The Last Cuentista.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss the following prompts:

• When we talk about point of view in literature, what do we mean?

• Whose point of view does the reader mostly experience in The Last Cuentista?

  • Point of view means the perspective or voice in which the story is told. Chapters 1–9 are mostly told through Petra’s first-person point of view, so we learn about the ship, Earth’s destruction, her family, and the Collective through her thoughts, feelings, and memories.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: In the previous lesson, we traced how Petra’s memories help her hold on to who she is, even while the Collective threatens identity by potentially erasing people’s memories. Today, we are looking at how the author helps readers enter a scene and orient to the narrative point of view and context.

• Say: Writers do not just drop readers into a story and hope they figure it out. Strong narrative openings engage readers by introducing the situation, the conflict, and the voice of the person living through it. We are going to look closely at one moment from Chapter 7 to see how the author orients the reader to Petra’s situation and point of view.

Turn-and-Talk

Read aloud the opening of Chapter 7 to demonstrate how the author, Higuera, establishes context and point of view.

Briefly remind students of Petra’s situation as she is awake in suspended animation while the ship travels through space.

• Say: As we reread the opening of Chapter 7, pay attention to two things: how the author orients the reader to the situation and how Petra’s point of view is revealed through her thoughts and observations.

Display and read aloud the first paragraph of Chapter 7:

• “I spend what must be an entire day listening to Ben shuffle around the room. Mumble to himself. Cry. Fidget. Snore. And I am awake to hear it all. Will they open my pod hundreds of years later and find a babbling girl—green drool dripping from the side of my mouth? If I’m awake the whole time, does that mean my body keeps aging? Or will I just be so out of it I don’t even know who my parents are?” (p. 51)

• Say: Notice that the author is doing more than telling us Petra is scared. First, she provides context for Petra’s situation. She is in her pod, awake, and stuck inside a mission that is supposed to last for generations. Next, she lets us hear Petra’s exact thoughts, which helps us understand Petra’s point of view from the inside.

Say these Directions: Turn to a partner to discuss how the details in Petra’s point of view, especially the questions she is asking, help build the reader’s understanding of the conflict.

• Ask: How does the context established during the opening of Chapter 7, and the details from Petra’s point of view, help the reader understand the conflict?

  • During the opening of Chapter 7, the context is that Petra is awake in her pod and unable to escape the situation. Her point of view reveals the conflict because we hear her worrying through questions like “Does that mean my body keeps aging?” which shows her fear of being trapped for hundreds of years. The detail about “green drool dripping from the side of my mouth” shows how frightened she is of losing control of her body.

After partners discuss, facilitate a brief whole-group discussion. Invite students to share one detail that establishes context and one detail that reveals Petra’s point of view. Then guide students to explain how these details help the reader understand the conflict.

• Say: Notice that the author provides just enough context and then uses Petra’s thoughts and observations to show what she is afraid of and what is at stake rather than stating the conflict directly.

Connection to Today's Learning

• Say: Today, you will try this same narrative technique in your own writing. You will open a scene by giving your reader just enough context to understand the situation and then use your character’s point of view to show what they are thinking, noticing, and experiencing so the reader can understand the conflict.

Part A: Choosing a Voice and Setting the Scene (W.8.3.a) (10 minutes)

Modeled Writing

Explain that students will choose one scene from Chapters 1–9 and rewrite it from a character’s point of view other than Petra.

Say these Directions: Today, we are going to practice narrative writing by selecting one scene from Chapters 1–9 and rewriting it from a character’s point of view other than Petra.

• Say: We can reimagine a situation from the novel from another character’s point of view by rewriting a moment from Chapter 7 from Ben’s point of view. To make this work, I need to orient the reader to the scene by showing where Ben is, what is happening, and what problem is already unfolding. I also need to make Ben’s point of view clear by focusing on what he notices, how his body feels, and what he thinks or worries about. I am not retelling the whole chapter. I am zooming in on one moment and rewriting it so that the reader experiences the scene through Ben rather than Petra.

Display and present the writing model in parts. Conduct a think-aloud for each part to explain how it helps establish context and point of view.

• Say: As you listen, pay attention to how I orient the reader to the situation and how I make Ben’s point of view clear.

Part One: I don’t know how long I’ve been awake, only that the room smells like metal and stale air and every pod around me looks too still. My legs keep moving even when I tell myself to stop, so I pace between the rows and listen to my own footsteps bounce off the walls.

• Say: Here, I am orienting the reader to the setting and situation. We learn that Ben is awake in the pod room and that something feels off. The sensory details (e.g., stale air, footsteps bounce off the walls) and his pacing help place the reader inside the scene and begin to show how he is experiencing it.

Part Two: With Petra locked into her pod, all the children are now sealed away for the journey, and that makes the room feel even bigger and emptier. The quiet is overwhelming, and I can’t stop thinking about my brother.

• Say: In this part, I am showing Ben’s sadness about his brother being left behind, and I show what is happening with Petra. Ben’s thoughts help reveal his point of view.

Part Three: When my tears threaten to fall again, I decide that I need a story. I remember the wobble in Petra’s voice as she pleaded for the mythology elective and curl my hands into fists, angry again that the Lead Monitor denied her the elective. I select a holoscript and decide to read aloud. Maybe some part of Petra will know that I want her to have the stories. Maybe this will keep me from thinking too much of my brother, left behind.

• Say: Here, I make the conflict clearer. Ben thinks about his disagreement with the Lead Monitor over Petra’s elective. The reader sees that Ben, like Petra, believes in the power and importance of stories.

After modeling the writing, ask students the following question.

• Ask: How does the model establish context and make Ben’s point of view clear?

  • The model establishes context by showing where Ben is and what is happening, including that Petra is still in her pod and the room feels still and quiet. Ben’s point of view is clear because the reader experiences the scene through his thoughts, what he notices, and how his body reacts, like his pacing and shaking hands.

Say these Directions: Think about a moment in Chapters 1–9 that you would like to rewrite from the point of view of another character. Before you begin drafting, plan your scene by writing the following:

• Your character and scene

• Two or three details from the novel that you can use to establish context

• One or two thoughts, feelings, or observations that would make the character’s point of view clear

  • I am choosing Lita in Chapter 1 during a storytelling moment with Petra. I can use details about the moon, Halley’s comet, and Petra’s sadness about leaving Lita to establish context. I can include details like Lita looking away for a long time when Petra says she shouldn’t be forced to go, and Lita telling Petra that she is not afraid to help show that Lita is probably sad but trying to be brave for Petra.

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

Part B: Drafting the Narrative Moment (W.8.3.a, W.8.4) (20 minutes)

Transition students into drafting by reminding them that they will now apply the same narrative techniques from the model.

Say these Directions: Write a short narrative moment from your chosen character’s point of view. Make sure your opening orients the reader by describing the context and making the character’s point of view clear through description, thoughts, and voice.

As you draft, check your work for these narrative elements:

• Did I place the reader in a specific moment from Chapters 1–9?

• Did I clearly describe the situation and context?

• Did I make it clear who is narrating the scene?

• Did I include details that sound like this character’s experience, not just a summary of the plot?

Lesson 7 Writing Rubric: Narrative Scene — Orienting to Point of View

Writing prompt: Draft a short narrative scene from The Last Cuentista from another character’s point of view (Voxy, Feathers, Suma, or another). Clearly establish context and point of view to orient and engage the reader.

Turn and Talk

Transition students into partners to reflect on their narrative writing from the lesson.

Say these Directions: Turn to your partner and discuss the following prompt:

• How did you orient your reader to your scene from the novel, and how did you reflect that character’s point of view in your writing?

  • I oriented the reader by showing Ben in the pod room while Petra is still inside her pod, and the ship feels quiet and off. I used details like the metal smell, still pods, and an empty room to establish the setting and situation. I reflected Ben’s point of view by describing what he notices and how his body reacts, like pacing and almost crying, to show his sadness and the anxiety he feels about his brother.

Invite two or three students to share with the larger class after the partners discuss.

Instruct students to review Chapters 1–9 of The Last Cuentista to prepare for a Socratic Seminar.

Provide students with the following discussion questions and have them prepare claims and evidence in their Journal.

• How do Petra's memories help her maintain a sense of identity on the ship?

• What risks might the Collective pose to the ship and its inhabitants? What textual clues support your inference?

• How has the author, Donna Barba Higuera, oriented the reader to the setting and context of The Last Cuentista?

• How does Higuera’s choice to use first-person narration affect the presentation of the story?