Lesson 9: Characters and Readers find meaning in the midst of struggle Have read to page 80 in Home of the Brave Chart” When we study character, WE can Think About” Mark: Night page 43-46 to read aloud in Home of the Brave Chart” Possible Themes in Home of the Brave” “Chart Drawing on all you know to read and interpret text. (sticky Notes) Interpretation Book Clubs

Connection Characters are important! You already know a lot about how to study characters! “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way she/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangles Christmas Tree lights” by Maya Angelou (poet) Possible ideas are: (Turn and Talk: Record some ideas and push them to add more) Their feelings and traits How they change What they want (motivation) How the respond t difficulty How they are complicated The ways they act with different people The ways they act in different places and situations How they are in the inside vs. the outside. Quote: This means you can learn themost about a person in times of trouble and how they deal with it. To add on, when a character deals with trouble, you also learn the big message a book is trying to teach. – These moments are windows into the character and also the larger meaning of the story.

Teaching Point Sometimes readers think thematically by first naming the problem that a character faces and then asking, “What might the author want me to know about that problem/issue?” Think about Kek. He does face a ton of problems. List some with your group. He is in a strange new place- the language is different The snow is cold. He lost his family He is worried about his mom. Kek is not just an immigrant. He is a survivor of war He is alone without his parents He is homesick I know that by how he stares longingly at the cow.

You Try! What lessons does the character learn about (the problem)? OR……. Are there larger lessons or messages or themes That Katherine Applegate is trying to teach us through Kek? The hard part is to apply your lesson to all people. Try starting Sometimes people…… Sometimes in life……. Reread Night: What does the author want us to learn through Kek? Write your ideas in your notebook. Plural s! Turn and talk Wtite ideas down on chart Some possible ideas are : Sometimes people need to hold onto hope. Sometimes other people want to take your hop away but you don’t have to let them. Somwtimes even when things are bad, you need to believe they will get better.

As You Read…… Hold onto your ideas from the day before. One way to develop interpretations is to name a problem a character is facing, then ask,” What might the author want me to know about this issue? You may begin saying Sometimes in life…. Or Sometimes people……

Pause I am noticing some of you have the problem but can’t see the big lesson. When you find a problem, then find a place where the character realizes something related to that problem. (an AH Ha!) Reread that part closely because you may find the lesson there. For example Ganwar keeps trying to get Kek to give up. But at the end of that passage, Kek begins to cry a bit. That is a shift because Kek is starting to crack. We learn if he does not hold onto his hope, he will fall apart. Sometimes hope is the only thing that keeps you moving forward in life. Keep reading.

Share Keep in mind your Constitution! Book Club Assignment Be positive today! Tell a partner you like their thinking Push them to add some evidence Don’t jump from idea to idea without taking time to develop your thinking. Begin with one person’s idea and talk – then move on. Do your ideas connect? Talk for 5-10 minutes Rank your meeting from 1-5. 5 is amazing and 1 is uh oh! Write about your Reading Read to your next sticky note tonight! Be ready to talk tomorrow. Well done. Hang up Drawing On all you know to read well and interpret texts. First two sticky notes.

HOmework TAKING THE LEAP: FROM A CHARACTER’S BIG PROBLEM TO A BIGGER TRUTH ABOUT LIFE Readers, tonight’s homework is due not tomorrow, but the day after that. For tonight and tomorrow, continue reading your book club novel. As you read, jot to answer the questions you learned to ask today. What are the challenges, the problems, that the main character is facing? Where in the story is the main character facing that problem or challenges? What life lessons can be learned from the way the character responds to those difficulties?

Homework Con’t. After you have found a few passages where the main character is facing a big problem, will you reread those passages three or four times, thinking about the decisions the author made. Ask, “Why does the author have the character doing . . . ?” “What do I notice about this passage . . . what stands out?” “How does this connect with earlier parts of the text?” “What message might the author be trying to communicate?” “What lesson about life is the author trying to teach?” Write a two-page entry about what you notice and think. What might the author be saying about not only that character, but about people, in life?