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Lesson 4

We will explore the narrative, “The Wanderers,” by Guadalupe Nettel and make connections between this text and The Book of Unknown Americans.

Lesson Goals

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

  • Can I recognize points of connection among texts, textual elements, and perspectives to make logical, objective comparisons?

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

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • The Book of Unknown Americans, Cristina Henríquez, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2015
  • Unit Reader
    • “The Wanderers,” Guadalupe Nettel, Granta Publications, 2018

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss

We will engage in a jigsaw activity in order to discuss setting, plot, and conflict in the novel.

Step 1

In this jigsaw, you will first work with your expert group (e.g., Setting Expert Group, Plot Expert Group, or Conflict Expert Group) to focus on specific elements of the novel. As you discuss your element, you become an expert.

Later, you will form home groups made up of experts from each expert group. In your home group, you will have a jigsaw discussion to share your understanding of the text element you are an expert on.

Step 2

Form expert groups, as assigned by your teacher. Each expert group will focus on a specific element of the text, as follows:

  • Setting Expert Group: Discuss the settings expressed in pages 26-50. How does each character use setting to tell their story?

  • Plot Expert Group: Discuss the plot elements expressed in pages 26-50. How does each character fit into the overall plot of the narrative?

  • Conflict Expert Group: Discuss new conflicts that arise on pages 26-50. How do these new conflicts fit into the overall plot of the narrative?

Write down highlights of the discussion in your Learning Log. Be sure to include specific details from the text to support your interpretation. You will use these notes when you present your expertise to your home group.

Step 3

If your teacher has assigned home groups, form them now. If you are to form your own home group, find two students from the other two expert groups. Ensure that each expert group is represented in your home group.

In your home group, discuss the text element you analyzed. Take notes in your Learning Log for the elements you did not analyze as an expert. Be sure to ask clarifying questions and elaborate on your explanations, as needed.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will analyze a quote from The Book of Unknown Americans in order to further our analysis of narrative elements in the text.

Discuss the following quote. Why is it important?

"Say it again," I said. "She’ll be fine." And because I wanted to believe him—because I wanted more than anything for her to be fine and fine and eventually better than fine, for her to transform again into the girl she used to be, for this past year to have been nothing but a strange, cruel detour that we could move beyond and never venture down again—I nodded and watched the bus heave away. (p. 32)

Activity 3: Read – Discuss – Write

We will read and analyze the short story, “The Wanderers.”

Step 1

Read and annotate "The Wanderers." Pay attention to how the author uses setting and conflict to develop the plot in the story.

Step 2

In your small group, discuss the following questions. Write down your answers in your Learning Log:

  1. What are the settings of "The Wanderers"?

  2. What is the plot of "The Wanderers"?

  3. What are the key conflicts in "The Wanderers"?

  4. What similarities and differences do you see between The Book of Unknown Americans and "The Wanderers”? Be sure to cite evidence from both texts to support your answers.

Activity 4: Read – Write

We will determine the meaning of key vocabulary words in “The Wanderers.”

Your teacher will provide you with a list of key vocabulary words for “The Wanderers.” Determine the meaning of these words. 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.

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 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read and annotate pages 48–66 of The Book of Unknown Americans.

For homework, read and annotate pages 48-66 of The Book of Unknown Americans. Write down three entries in your Literary Elements and Narrative Techniques Note-Taking Tool.

Be sure to write down new or interesting words in your Vocabulary Journal.