Skip to Main Content

Lesson 2

We will begin reading the novel The Book of Unknown Americans and will explore the narrative elements of setting, plot, and conflict.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I use a variety of strategies (e.g., context clues, word study, and vocabulary resources) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, phrases, and figurative expressions?

  • Can I gather and organize relevant and sufficient evidence to demonstrate an understanding of texts and topics, support claims, and develop ideas?

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among key details and ideas (characters, setting, tone, point of view, structure, development, etc.) within texts?

  • Can I work productively in various roles with other participants?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Book of Unknown Americans, Cristina Henríquez, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will engage in pre-reading for The Book of Unknown Americans.

As a whole class, discuss the title of the novel.

  1. Based on the title, what might this book be about?

Activity 2: Read – Discuss – Write

We will begin reading the novel and will work in small groups to discuss setting, conflict, and plot.

Step 1

Review the concepts of setting, conflict, and plot.

Follow along as your teacher reads aloud pages 3-6 of the first chapter of the novel, titled "Alma." Annotate the text for evidence of setting and conflict.

Step 2

Using your annotations, work in small groups to identify the setting, plot, and conflict in this section.

Step 3

Follow your teacher’s directions, and add an entry for each element to your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool for the novel.

Activity 3: Read

We will begin working with vocabulary and adding words to our Vocabulary Journals.

For this activity, you will use a Vocabulary Journal, which you will maintain for the entire unit. You might use a Vocabulary in Context Tool for words you can decipher from the text; for others, you might use morphology to decipher the meaning, or a reference resource to check if your meaning is accurate. For some words, your teacher might present you with definitions.

Your teacher will provide you with a list of words. Write down the words and definitions in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.

Activity 4: Read – Write – Discuss

We will interact with the words we defined to cement our understanding of their meaning.

Work with a partner or group to respond to the vocabulary exercises, as directed by your teacher.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read and annotate pages 6–23 of the novel. We will write down new words in our Vocabulary Journals and we will add entries to our literary elements and narrative techniques Note-Taking Tools.

For homework, read and annotate page 6 ("We woke…") to page 23 of the The Book of Unknown Americans.

Write down at least three entries in your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool.

Write new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal.