Lesson 12: The Last Cuentista, Chapters 14–15

• Say: In Chapters 10–13, we saw how the Collective has taken over the ship and not only controls information but also enforces conformity and assimilation. In Chapters 14–15, we see what has transpired over the last 300 years aboard the ship.

Have students take out the annotations of Chapters 14–15 that they completed for homework. Students were asked to annotate using the following prompt:

• How does the Collective create conditions that threaten memory?

Turn and Talk

Have students use the Turn and Talk routine to discuss their annotations and answer the question below.

Say these Directions: Look at your annotations from Chapters 14–15. Find one place where you marked how the Collective creates conditions that threaten memory. Turn to a partner and discuss the following question.

• What feels different about the Collective’s rules and practices now compared to earlier chapters? Are they more protective, more controlling, or more threatening? Why?

  • The extreme level of control and the reality of the threat the Collective poses are made apparent in Chapter 15. Right after showing the video of Earth exploding, Nyla gives a speech, claiming, “We are a single unit now... for there is no past.” (p. 110) With this declaration, Nyla disregards individuality, history, and memory. After that, Petra sneaks away to find her parents, only to learn that their memory erasure failed and they were “purged.” (p. 115) Not only does Nyla use words to control, but she also uses force and does not hesitate to eliminate anyone who remembers Earth or does not want to assimilate into the Collective.

Annotation Spot Check

As partners discuss the prompt, use the Annotation Spot Check routine to quickly scan students' Chapters 14–15 annotations for evidence use and note quality.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: In Chapters 10–13, we saw systems begin to control information and curiosity. In Chapters 14–15, those systems of the Collective become more powerful—and more dangerous. Today, we'll look at how control works when people stop questioning it.

Using Context Clues

Use this routine to help students infer the meanings of unfamiliar words by reading the surrounding sentences, noticing nearby clues, testing a possible meaning, and then verifying it with a reference source.

Target Words: vices, origin

• Say: In this scene, Nyla gives a speech about the Collective’s future on the new planet. Today, we are going to use context clues to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. This means we read the words and ideas around an unfamiliar word, make a smart guess about its meaning, test that meaning in the sentence, and then verify it.

Display the following target sentences and instruct students to take out their copy of The Last Cuentista and turn to p. 110.

Target Sentences

• “We are a single unit now, without past vices. We will no longer need to create a new history, for there is no past. Today’s Collective and the new planet is our origin.” (p. 110)

Say these Directions: Read the surrounding sentences that come right before and after this part of Nyla’s speech, beginning with “‘Thanks to the Collective’” and ending with “‘To our new origin’” (p. 110). As you read, look for clues that help you figure out what the words vices and origin mean in this context.

• Ask: Which context clues help you infer the meaning of vices?

  • The nearby details “conflict,” “starvation,” and “war” help me infer that vices mean harmful actions or bad habits from the past because Nyla connects these “vices” to the former Earth.

• Ask: Which context clues help you infer the meaning of origin?

  • Origin means beginning or starting point because Nyla says the Collective and the new planet are their origin, which shows she wants everyone to see this moment as a new beginning. She also says, “There is no past,” so she wants everyone to know this is the beginning of their new civilization.

Prompt students to use a dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference material to verify their inferred definitions.

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

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: As we revisit Chapters 14–15, look for how the Collective is establishing a new origin, free from “vices” in the text.

Part A: Analyzing Point of View (RL.8.3, RL.8.6) (15 minutes)

Transition students to a whole-class discussion. Remind students of Chapter 14, quickly revisiting the fairy hunt and how it ends.

• Say: In Chapter 14, Petra remembers a time when she and her mom went on a "fairy hunt" in their backyard.

• Ask: What does Petra recall about her intentions and her mom's intentions?

  • Petra recalls wanting to use her imagination, to find fairies, and to tell stories about them. Her mom, however, intended to use the "fairy hunt" as a way to teach Petra about botany, pointing out plants and having Petra name them as they looked for fairies (p. 105). At the end, Petra’s mother abandons the fairy hunt stories and points out “creosote” rather than engaging with Petra's imaginative stories (p. 107). Petra sighs at the loss of her fun, but her mother doesn’t notice Petra’s disappointment. She says, “‘Isn’t botany great?” (p. 107)

• Ask: What effect do the different points of view of these characters have on the story?

  • The different points of view show what is important and engaging to Petra compared to her mother. These differences create a sense of tension for Petra because she doesn’t necessarily care about “botany” the way her mother does. (p. 107)

Instruct students to turn to the beginning of Chapter 15. Reread the first two pages of the chapter through the paragraph that ends with “‘To our new origin’” (p. 110) to activate students' memory of this part of the story.

• Say: In Chapter 15, Petra observes as the Collective watches a holographic reenactment of Halley's comet colliding with Earth.

• Ask: How does Petra's perspective of this event differ from that of the Collective, especially Nyla?

  • Petra feels a devastating personal loss as she watches the explosion and knows that this event had a catastrophic effect on humankind; it led to the destruction of Earth, its peoples, and their knowledge and cultures. In contrast, the Collective views this event as "an opportunity to leave [humankind's] past behind" (p. 110), celebrating what Petra sees as a devastating loss.

• Ask: How does Petra’s father’s point of view differ from that of the Collective?

  • Petra explains, “My parents wanted a better future too. But Dad said exactly the opposite of how people needed to get there.” (p. 110) He believed that people needed to embrace differences to create peace, whereas the Collective aimed to erase differences in order to achieve peace.

• Ask: What effect do these different points of view have on the story?

  • They create tension for the reader as Petra secretly searches for her family and tries to keep the memory of the past alive. Additionally, the different points of view create empathy for Petra as she lost loved ones as a part of Earth’s destruction, and the Collective sees it more as a spectacle or celebrating a “hard tackle at a football game.” (p. 109)

Part B: Determine How Plot Develops a Theme (RL.8.2, RL.8.3) (15 minutes)

Write-Pair-Share

Transition students into partnerships. Explain that students will use the Think-Write-Pair-Share routine to respond to a question about the text. Prompt students to use the Write-Pair-Share graphic organizer to record their responses.

Say these Directions: Read the question that follows and write your response in the first box on your organizer. Then talk with a partner about your response and jot some of their ideas in the second box. Decide on the ideas you want to share with the class and record them in the box at the bottom.

• In Chapter 15, how does the Collective enforce conformity, and what role does erasure of memory play in maintaining control?

After partners have shared their responses with the class, lead a brief whole-class discussion to answer the question.

• In Chapter 15, the Collective enforces conformity by shaping people’s emotions, thoughts, and values. The Chancellor uses the hologram to rewrite history, calling Earth's destruction "an opportunity" (p. 110), and members of the Collective accept this without question. Nyla declares, “There is no past,” ensuring that forgetting the past or destroying memory is the only way to move forward to a new “origin” (p. 110). This forgetting plays a critical role in maintaining control: when people no longer remember what was lost, they have no reason to resist or think differently from the group. Additionally, the Collective enforces conformity and erases individual identity by eliminating those whose memories fail “erasure,” such as Petra’s mother. By using “[m]emory erasure,” Nyla and the Collective can ensure they have total conformity, and if they do not, they can purge people (p. 115).

After partners have shared their responses and decided on an idea to share, reconvene the whole class. Invite volunteers to share their responses and respond to other students’ ideas.

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

Quick Write

Have students reflect on their learning by responding to the following Quick Write prompt in one to two sentences.

Say these Directions: Complete the following sentence. Then, use at least two examples from the text to support your response.

• In Chapter 15, forgetting and conformity are encouraged because __________.

  • In Chapter 15, forgetting is encouraged because it helps the Collective maintain control. The Chancellor shows members a hologram of Earth's destruction and tells them it was "not a tragedy" but "an opportunity to leave [humankind's] past behind" (p. 110). By reframing a devastating event as something positive, the Chancellor convinces people to accept forgetting as necessary and to embrace the Collective's way of life without question.

Have students read Chapter 16 of The Last Cuentista. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, respond to the following prompt in your Journal:

• What are the causes and effects of Petra's decision to share a cuento with Zeta-4?