Lesson 20: The Last Cuentista, Narrative Writing, Part 4

Think-Pair-Share

Transition students into pairs. Instruct students to take out their copies of The Last Cuentista and their narrative drafts from Lessons 15 and 16.

Say these Directions: Review your narrative draft. Skim and identify one place where your scene shifts to:

• a new time,

• a character’s reflection or action, or

• a new setting.

Next, discuss with your partner where your scene shifts, and describe:

• when the shift happens,

• what kind of shift is it (time, reflection, or setting), and

• what language helps the reader follow that shift.

  • One place where my scene shifts is when the character hears the vent clicking and starts thinking about a memory. The shift happens right after the line “Click. Pause. Click,” but I don’t clearly show when the memory begins. I could add a clause like “When I heard the vent clicking, I remembered . . .” to signal the shift, and then a sentence like “A moment later, the corridor came back into focus” to show the return to the present.

After partners discuss, invite two or three students to share.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, we’re going to strengthen your writing in a new way by making sure the reader can follow your shifts across time and place. We will study how Higuera signals shifts in time and setting, and then you’ll revise your own writing so that experiences and events are well connected over the sequence of your writing.

Teach: Narrative Shifts

• Say: Narrative writers use transition words, phrases, and clauses to guide the reader through a scene. These techniques do three things in narrative writing:

  • Show sequence (what happens first, next, later)

  • Signal shifts in time or setting

  • Show how events are connected

• Say: Before we analyze Higuera’s writing, let’s review the different types of transition language writers use to guide the reader through a scene.

Transition Language:

• Transition words are single words like later or then.

• Transition phrases are short groups of words like “a moment later” or “back on Sagan.”

• Transition clauses are longer parts of a sentence, like “when Petra heard Lita’s voice” or “after she woke from the dream.”

Say these Directions: Let’s study two places in Chapter 19 where Higuera moves Petra from the present into a memory or dream and then back again. As we look closely, pay attention to the language that tells the reader when a shift is happening and why that shift matters.

Display and read the first excerpt, from pp. 154–155, which illustrates an internal shift from memory or internal voice to present action:

• A whisper of Lita’s voice fills my mind as I stare at a trembling Len. “People do the most terrible things when they live in fear,” Lita says. “But others are at their best.”

I’ve never seen a dying man, but I am sure Len won’t make it back to the ship if I do nothing. One tiny sliver of the leaves I collected could kill all four of us. I wonder if Len touched something. Maybe it’s still on him. Maybe it’s an organism that could transfer to me.

I learned from Lita to cross myself before doing anything dangerous. Len wheezes. No time for blessings. I remove my helmet and unlatch myself and hurry to his side, unlatching his helmet too. I flick the lid off my bottle and pour my water over his blisters. As the last of it drizzles over his head, his eyes find mine, begging for more.

• Say: In this excerpt, Petra briefly shifts into memory or an internal voice. The line “A whisper of Lita’s voice fills my mind” signals that the shift is happening inside her thoughts. Then, “I remove my helmet . . .” brings us back to the present. Higuera uses this shift to connect Petra’s thinking to her next action.

Emphasize that transitions guide the reader when a shift happens and help connect events, preparing students to apply these moves in their own revisions.

Turn-and-Talk

Display and read the second excerpt, from p. 163, which illustrates an internal shift from a dream to the present:

• “Lita! Come back!” I call out, sitting up in my cell. Even my awake mind knows maybe I’ve made a huge mistake and I won’t get back the chance to follow el Conejo. Rubio snores gently in the cell above. Now that I’m up, it all seems so silly. “It was just a dream,” I whisper, staring at the top of my cell.

Behind me, a clicking noise echoes. I roll over and sit up in time to see the door to our room slide shut.

Say these Directions: With your partner, identify:

• what type of shift is happening in this moment,

• what language signals that shift, and

• how the reader knows the scene has returned to the present.

Transition students into a brief class discussion of the excerpt.

• This is a shift from a dream back to the present. The phrase “sitting up in my cell” shows Petra is physically back in the real setting. The sentence “It was just a dream” clearly explains the shift, and the detail “a clicking noise echoes” helps ground the reader in the present because it’s a real sound in the room.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Now you have named and identified the transition tools you will use to revise your own drafts so the reader can follow every shift clearly.

Part A: Narrative Shifts (W.8.3.c, W.8.4) (20 minutes)

Transition students into applying narrative shifts to their own draft writing. Emphasize that before adding transitions, strong writers first identify where the reader may lose track of time, setting, or connections between events.

• Say: Before they revise and expand their narrative scenes, strong writers first reread their drafts to identify where the reader might need more guidance in following the shifts in time or events. Today, you’ll focus on finding places where your writing shifts:

  • in time,

  • to a memory or internal thought, or

  • to a new setting or related event.

Say these Directions: Take out your narrative draft from Lessons 15 and 16. Read your draft from beginning to end. As you read, mark a T in the margin anywhere:

• the scene shifts in time or setting,

• the narrator moves into a memory or reflection, or

• the reader might need a clearer connection between events.

Then, anywhere you marked a “T” in the text, explain to a partner what kind of shift is happening and why a transition might help.

• Where in your draft does the scene shift, and where might the reader need a clearer signal to follow that shift?

  • I marked a T where my character hears a sound and starts thinking about a memory, because I didn’t clearly show when the memory begins. I also marked a T where the scene returns to the present because it feels a little sudden.

• Say: Review your narrative draft and the places you marked. Revise your draft to add transition language (word, phrase, or clause) to clearly signal each shift in your writing.

Provide time for students to independently write. Then reconvene the class for a brief reflection.

• Ask: Which transition did you add, and what does it help the reader understand?

  • I added the clause “When I heard the footsteps in the hall, I remembered my father telling me to stay calm.” It helps the reader understand exactly when the memory starts and why the character makes a careful choice in the next sentence.

Part B: Peer Feedback (W.8.3.b-c, W.8.5) (10 minutes)

Have students use the Unit 4 Performance Task Rubric to focus peer feedback on specific criteria. Prioritize Sequence, Pacing, and Transitions (W.8.3.c) and Narrative Techniques (W.8.3.b) so students receive targeted, actionable feedback they can immediately apply. Pair students strategically so each partner can read the other’s draft and give specific, actionable feedback.

• Say: Today, you’ll use the Unit 4 Performance Task Rubric to give your partner focused feedback on two areas:

  • Sequence, Pacing, and Transitions (W.8.3.c)

  • Narrative Techniques (W.8.3.b)

Say these Directions: Trade narrative drafts with your partner. Read your partner’s draft once to understand the gist of the scene. Then read it again with the Performance Task Rubric, and give feedback on:

• How clearly the writer shows shifts in time, setting, or events

• How effectively the writer uses pacing, dialogue, description, and reflection

Your feedback should include one strength (glow) and one specific revision step (grow) connected to the use of transitions and narrative techniques. Point to the exact sentence or paragraph where you see the strength or where a revision could improve the narrative. You may use the following frames for your feedback:

• One strength in your transitions is ___ because ___.

• To strengthen your transitions, you could ___.

• One strength in your narrative techniques is ___.

• To improve your use of pacing, dialogue, description, or reflection, you could ___.

Reconvene students, and quickly have them reflect on the feedback process by identifying one actionable revision. Keep this part tight and focused so students leave the lesson with a clear next step for their narrative writing.

• Ask: What is one revision you will make based on your partner’s feedback, and what will it help improve?

  • I’m going to add a transition clause when my character starts remembering so the reader knows when the shift happens. This will make the sequence clearer.

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

Turn and Talk

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

Say these Directions: Look back at your draft and the feedback you received. Turn and talk to your partner about the following:

• What is one strength in your writing? What is one revision you will make?

  • One strength in my writing is that the scene has strong detail and tension. Based on feedback, I am going to add a clearer transition into my memory using a clause like “When I heard the sound . . .” This strengthens transitions because it helps the reader follow when the shift happens and how the moment connects to what comes next.

Instruct students to read Chapters 21–22 of The Last Cuentista and take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

• As you read, annotate how stories and storytelling impact the characters and their future plans.