Analyze Setting, Characters, and Plot: A Long Walk to Water, Chapters 1–2 | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G7:M1:U1:L3

Analyze Setting, Characters, and Plot: A Long Walk to Water, Chapters 1–2

In this Lesson

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • RL.7.3, RL.7.6, L.7.4, L.7.4a

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • RL.7.1, RL.7.4, RL.7.10, SL.7.1, L.7.6
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Daily Learning Targets

  • I can identify strategies to answer selected response questions.
  • I can analyze how the setting shapes the characters and plot in chapters 1 and 2 of A Long Walk to Water. (RL.7.1, RL.7.3)
  • I can explain how the author developed Salva's and Nya's points of view of life in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water. (RL.7.1, RL.7.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3 (L.7.4a)
  • Work Time B: Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (RL.7.3)
  • Work Time B: QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in A Long Walk to Water (RL.7.3)
  • Closing and Assessment A: Point of View anchor chart (RL.7.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - L.7.4a (5 minutes)

B. Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Read A Long Walk to Water, Chapter 2 (15 minutes)

B. Analyze Setting, Characters, and Plot - RL.7.3 (10 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Introduce Point of View - RL.7.6 (10 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Determine Meaning of Unfamiliar Vocabulary: Students use context and if necessary, a dictionary to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water. Then they record the words and their definitions in the correct section of their vocabulary log.

B. Preread Anchor Text: Students should preread chapter 3 of A Long Walk to Water in preparation for studying the chapter in the next lesson.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • Instruction of focus assessment standards occurs in the following:
    • L.7.4a – Opening A: The entrance ticket activity students complete as they arrive in the classroom is to use context to determine the meaning of unknown vocabulary in a learning target.
  • Opening B: Students work as a class to generate strategies to answer selected response questions, referring to their previous homework in which they considered these strategies. This review will assist students in answering selected response questions throughout the unit and on assessments.
  • Work Times A and B: Students read chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water, noting unfamiliar vocabulary and the gist of the chapter.
    • RL.7.3 – Work Time B: Students analyze how the setting affects the character and plot development by co-constructing an anchor chart and responding individually to a QuickWrite prompt.
    • RL.7.6 – Closing and Assessment A: Students are reminded of what point of view means and then co-create an anchor chart as they analyze how Linda Sue Park develops and contrasts the point of view of the two main characters: Nya and Salva. In these lessons, point of view is defined as “the narrative position in relation to the story which shows the characters’ opinions or feelings about situations in the story.” In other words, point of view encompasses both narrative position (e.g., first or third person) and the perspective of narrators or characters.
  • The Think-Pair-Share protocol is used in this lesson. Protocols are an important feature of our curriculum because they are one of the best ways we know to engage students in discussion, inquiry, critical thinking, and sophisticated communication. A protocol consists of agreed-upon, detailed guidelines for reading, recording, discussing, or reporting that ensure equal participation and accountability in learning.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Release more responsibility more quickly to students as they comprehend the tasks or concepts. Some examples follow below:
    • Opening B: Release some students to apply the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions sooner.
    • Work Time A: Allow some students to read the chapter independently and record a gist and take notes about setting, character, and plot in their reading notebooks.
    • QuickWrite: Students begin this if they have enough time after finishing the reading and taking notes.
    • Closing and Assessment A: Encourage these students to explain point of view, using evidence from the text.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In the previous lesson, students were introduced to A Long Walk to Water and read chapter 1, discussing the gist of the chapter, the main events, and how the plot is unfolding. In this lesson, students build on this work by continuing to read the novel for gist and by beginning to analyze setting, characters, plot, and point of view.

Support All Students

  • Read aloud the first several chapters of A Long Walk to Water in these first lessons to ensure student comprehension, engagement, and enjoyment of the text. However, if all students are already engaged, determine how students will read chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water to best support their comprehension, or give students choice to build empowerment and engagement in learning. Alternatives to read-alouds include the following: another fluent reader (including students or an audiobook) reads aloud to the whole class, small groups, triads, or pairs; individuals read silently; or a combination of any of these.
  • The subject matter in this chapter includes abandonment of a child and descriptions of war. Continue to monitor students to determine if there are issues surfacing as a result of the content of this chapter that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually.
  • In Work Time B, students may need additional support determining how setting affects character and plot development. To activate prior knowledge, review setting, characters, and plot with a familiar and less complex text before the lesson. Doing so helps students to generalize these concepts in an unfamiliar text. Also, allow time for all students to think and discuss their ideas with a partner before sharing out as a class. Additionally, students may need to record the anchor chart in their notes or on a note-catcher to assist with focus, engagement, and ownership of the information in the chart.
  • Note there is a differentiated version of QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in A Long Walk to Water used in Work Time B in the supporting materials download. ▲
  • If students need additional support understanding the concept of point of view in Closing and Assessment A, find a video online that illustrates and explains point of view.

Assessment Guidance

  • During Work Time B, monitor what students discuss with their partners and the class to ensure they understand how setting affects character and plot development. After class, check students’ QuickWrites for comprehension of how setting affects character and plot development.
  • During Closing and Assessment A, monitor what students discuss with their partners and the class to ensure they understand that the novel is told from the differing points of view of Nya and Salva.

Down the Road

  • In the next lesson, students will read chapter 3 of A Long Walk to Water and continue their analysis of different points of view and how setting affects character and plot development.

In Advance

  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3 at each student's workspace.

  • Create anchor charts (and handout versions for students to complete to increase focus, ownership, and engagement) for Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions, Learning Targets, and Setting/Characters/Plot, and Point of View.
  • Post the learning targets and applicable anchor charts (see Materials list).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Opening A: Online or print dictionaries (including ELL and home language dictionaries) as necessary
  • Work Time A: Audiobook version of A Long Walk to Water as an option for fluent reading
  • Work Time B: Digital sticky notes for gist to support engagement and organization. Word processor for QuickWrite for engagement and support.

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 7.I.B.6, 7.I.B.7, 7.I.B.8, 7.II.B.3, and 7.II.B.4.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson introduces anchor charts for analyzing setting, character, plot, and point of view and provides a Think-Pair-Share protocol for discussing how setting shapes character.
  • ELLs may find the terms setting and point of view challenging if they have not heard them before in English, but the guided discussion of these terms in the lesson should help them to become more familiar with these terms.

Vocabulary

  • analyze, contrast, develop, identify, shapes, strategies (A)
  • point of view (DS)

Key

(A): Academic Vocabulary

(DS): Domain-Specific Vocabulary

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Equity sticks (from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Academic word wall (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Opening A)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening B)
  • Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart (example for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening B)
  • Text Guide: A Long Walk to Water (for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Questions about A Long Walk to Water anchor chart (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Questions about A Long Walk to Water anchor chart (example for teacher reference; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time A)
  • Gists: A Long Walk to Water (example for teacher reference) (from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Work Time B)
  • Domain-specific word wall (one for display; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Vocabulary logs (one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 2, Opening A)
  • A Long Walk to Water (text; one per student; from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time C)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3 (answers for teacher reference)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (one for display; co-created during Opening B)
  • Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (co-created during Work Time B)
  • QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in A Long Walk to Water (example for teacher reference)
  • Point of View anchor chart (example for teacher reference)
  • Point of View anchor chart (one for display; co-created during Closing and Assessment A)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3 (one per student)
  • Synopsis: A Long Walk to Water, Chapter 2 (one per student)
  • Sticky notes (one of each gist color per student)
  • QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in A Long Walk to Water (one per student and one for display)
  • QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in A Long Walk to Water ▲

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner – L.7.4a (5 minutes)

  • As students enter the classroom, invite them to respond to the questions on Entrance Ticket: Unit 1, Lesson 3.
  • Direct students’ attention to the posted learning targets, and select a volunteer to read them aloud:

“I can identify strategies to answer selected response questions.”

“I can analyze how the setting shapes the characters and plot in chapters 1 and 2 of A Long Walk to Water.”

“I can explain how the author developed Salva’s and Nya’s points of view in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water.”

  • Present the learning targets in writing, orally, and accompanied by symbols, and then check for understanding by giving students time both to write or sketch and to orally paraphrase these targets. ▲
  • Invite students to Turn and Talk about the most important words in the learning targets, and underline or circle those words.
  • Focus students on the word strategies. Use total participation techniques to select students to share what they think it means. If they don’t know the meaning, share the strategies they could use to determine the meaning (context, affixes and roots, dictionary).
  • Use a sentence frame to boost confidence and encourage participation (e.g., “Another word for or way of saying strategies is _____.”).
  • If productive, use a Goal 1 Conversation Cue to encourage students to expand their ideas about the word strategies by giving examples.

“Can you give an example?” (Possible response: One strategy for finding the meaning of an unknown word is to use context.)

  • With student support, record the meaning of the word on the academic word wall, with translations in students’ home languages (strategies – a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim). Write synonyms or sketch a visual above the term to scaffold students’ understanding. ▲
  • Invite students to record in their vocabulary logs. Prompt students to use the word in a new sentence by either writing that sentence down or thinking of that sentence silently, then sharing with a partner.
  • Invite students to share their responses from the entrance ticket, and confirm the correct responses. For question 2, explain that all of these definitions mean shapes, but in this context the correct definition is how the setting gives direction or character to the characters. In other words, the setting and characters’ responses to the setting help to reveal things about the characters. The setting and characters’ responses to the setting help to move the plot forward.
  • Turn and Talk:

“What do you think you will be doing in this lesson based on these learning targets?” (reading chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water and studying the setting, characters, plot, and point of view)

“Why are we doing this? How is it meaningful to you? How will it help you to be successful?” (Responses will vary. Possible response: Learning how to answer assessment questions will help me do well on future assessments. Studying this novel will help me understand other novels I read.)

For Lighter Support

  • Enlarge one question and response from the entrance ticket and label it "selected response question" before introducing the concept of selected response questions, so that students have a visual and written means of understanding the concept, as well as an aural one.

For Heavier Support

  • During pair work with the strategies, use a sentence frame to boost confidence and encourage participation (e.g., A strategy you could use to answer this question is _____.).

B. Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions (5 minutes)

  • Redirect students’ attention to the following posted learning target, and select a volunteer to read it aloud:

“I can identify strategies to answer selected response questions.”

  • Point to the term selected response. Remind students that the questions they answered with multiple options in the warm-up activity and in their Unit 1 Lesson 2 homework are called selected response, or multiple choice, questions. Select volunteers to share strategies they used to answer the selected response questions in the warm-up activity and in their homework.
  • As students share out, capture their responses on the Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart. Refer to Strategies to Answer Selected Response Questions anchor chart (example for teacher reference) as necessary.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique—for example, using Thumb-O-Meter or Red Light, Green Light. Scan student responses, and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.
  • N/A

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Read A Long Walk to Water, Chapter 2 (15 minutes)

  • Ask students to retrieve their copies of A Long Walk to Water and review their gists from chapter 1 to refresh themselves on the most recent events of the story. Then have students turn to page 8, chapter 2.
  • Begin by pointing out the subtitle, symbol, and font color and style of this section.
  • Invite volunteers to share:

“What do this subtitle, symbol, and font show?” (that this is Nya’s part of the chapter, which takes place in 2008)

  • Read aloud chapter 2, pages 8–13, as students read along silently. If students are able to read independently or in small groups, group students accordingly, and set the time for them to read chapter 2. As some students read independently, read aloud to students who need additional support, using the Text Guide: A Long Walk to Water for sample vocabulary and comprehension questions. If students do not finish reading the chapter within the allotted time, use the Synopsis: A Long Walk to Water, Chapter 2 document to review the key details from chapter 2.
  • Ask students to record any new vocabulary words in their vocabulary logs.
  • After reading, invite students to reflect on the following question by thinking, writing, or drawing. Students must be silent when they do this:

“What did this part of the story make you think about?” (Responses will vary.)

  • After 2 minutes, ask students to note any new questions the chapter raised for them.
  • Focus students on the Work to Become Ethical People anchor chart, and remind them of the habit of character recorded—respect—as some students may be sharing out things that are very personal and meaningful to them.
  • Invite volunteers to share out what this part of the story made them think about. Do not force anyone to share their ideas with the group.
  • As students share out, capture any questions on the Questions about  A Long Walk to Water anchor chart. If a student has raised a more research-aligned question, note it and explain why it lends itself better to research (it is more open-ended and has more than one possible answer). If students have not raised open-ended questions but seem ready for this challenge, model a few, such as What parts of this story are based on reality or history? Which places and events are real? What is happening in this area of Sudan today? How are people helping improve this situation? Also, note that students should continue to raise specific questions about the text as well because doing so helps with engagement and comprehension. Once students have generated new questions, ask them to reread the questions from previous chapters to see if their reading in the novel has answered any previous questions. Record student responses on the anchor chart.
  • Remind students that in the previous lesson, they learned about gist (what the text is mostly about). Challenge students to work in pairs to determine and record the gists of Nya’s section and Salva’s section of chapter 2 on different-colored sticky notes (ideally the same colors that they used in the previous lesson). Remind students to write the chapter number and their initials on each sticky note. As necessary for support, prompt with questions such as What is this chapter mostly about? Who is in this chapter? Briefly, what happens to them?
  • Gists:
    • Nya: takes thorn out of foot
    • Salva: walking with a group; not his family; soldiers take men; groups leaves him behind
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique—for example, using Thumb-O-Meter or Red Light, Green Light. Scan student responses, and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.

For Lighter Support

  • Before providing any sentence frames or modeling during Work Time B, observe student interaction and allow them to grapple. Provide supportive frames and demonstrations only after students have grappled with the task. Observe the areas in which they need additional support.

For Heavier Support

  • During Work Time A, display, repeat, and rephrase the two discussion questions. Tell students they will have some time to think and write or sketch before responding. Cold call one or two students, and display their responses. Speak slowly, without increasing natural volume or intonation.
  • Use the Conversation Cues for restating and paraphrasing responses to confirm meaning, and ask others to restate in their own words:
    • Who can repeat what your classmate said?
    • She said _____.
    • Who can tell us what your classmate said in your own words?
    • He said that _____.

B. Analyze Setting, Characters, and Plot – RL.7.3 (10 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can analyze how the setting shapes the characters and plot in chapters 1 and 2 of A Long Walk to Water.”

  • Display the Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart. Review what setting, character, and plot mean. Refer to the Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for answers.
  • Remind students that in this context, shapes means the how the setting gives direction or character to the characters. In other words, the setting and characters’ responses to the setting help to reveal things about the characters. The setting and characters’ responses to the setting help to move the plot forward.
  • Use equity sticks to have students report out on the gist of chapter 2. Record their correct responses in the first column of the anchor chart (under “What happened?”). To support students, read the gist while recording it. Encourage students to add to or modify their own gist based on this sharing. Refer to the Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for answers.
  • Display and distribute QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in  A Long Walk to Water and QuickWrite: Setting Shapes Character and Plot in  A Long Walk to Water ▲ for students who need extra support. The differentiated material supports students’ analysis with sketches and sentence starters. ▲ Read the prompt aloud, explaining that students will write for 5 minutes to fully respond to one of the prompts. Tell students that this is just their initial thinking at this stage and they will refine their thinking later on. Remind students to include evidence to support their response.

“How does the setting shape the characters and plot in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water? Use text evidence to support your response.”

  • Differentiated prompt options for students who need more support with writing: “How does the setting shape the characters OR the plot in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water? Use text evidence to support your response.” ▲
  • As necessary, help students think through their QuickWrite response by asking the following:

“How would the story be different if this happened in a city? So how does it being in a small town change what the characters do and what happens in the story?”

  • Encourage students to complete this QuickWrite independently to get a baseline of their abilities to write sentences and paragraphs, cite evidence, and analyze text. However, if students are frozen, give them the option to analyze how setting shapes characters or how setting shapes plot. Or, have students work in pairs or small groups and/or provide sentence frames: The setting in chapter 2 is . . . ; The setting shapes the characters by . . . ; For example, the text states, . . . ; This shows that . . . ; The setting shapes the plot by . . . ; As the text states, . . . ; This shows that . . . . ▲
  • Invite students to share what they wrote in their QuickWrites, and record appropriate responses on the anchor chart. Refer to the Setting/Characters/Plot anchor chart (example for teacher reference) for answers.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique—for example, using Thumb-O-Meter or Red Light, Green Light. Scan student responses, and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.
  • N/A

Closing & Assessments

ClosingLevels of Support

A. Introduce Point of View – RL.7.6 (10 minutes)

  • Review the appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

“I can explain how the author developed Salva’s and Nya’s points of view in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water.”

  • Turn and Talk:

“What do you already know about the term point of view?” (Student responses will vary, but may include the narrator’s position in relation to the story being told. It shows the opinion or feelings of the characters involved in a situation. Point of view is the way the author allows the reader to “hear” and “see” what is happening.)

  • With student support, record the meaning of the phrase point of view on the domain-specific word wall (point of view – The point of view in narrative texts is the narrator’s position in relation to the story being told. It shows the opinions or feelings of the characters involved in a situation and is the way the author allows the reader to “hear” and “see” what is happening). 
  • Draw students’ attention to the posted Point of View anchor chart, and invite students to choral read the definition together.
  • Allow students to share any previous knowledge or familiarity with the point of view. Update correct definitions or examples on the anchor chart. Use misconceptions to guide further instruction.
  • Turn to page 1, and read aloud the text in brown—Nya’s story—as students read along silently.
  • Turn and Talk:

“From what point of view is this part of the novel written? How do you know?” (third person, because the narrator is talking about the character using “she” instead of “I”)

“The narrator speaks as though he or she is in Nya’s head and knows her point of view. From this excerpt, what do you think that Nya’s point of view of the thorn in her foot is?” (It is painful, but she wants to be brave.)

“How do you know? How does the author develop this point of view in Nya’s section of the text?” (The narrator describes the event, which helps us to infer and understand the pain that Nya might be feeling, and the narrator’s description of her pressing her lips together against the pain tells us that she knows she has to be brave about it and carry on.)

  • Tell students that in this chapter, Character 1 is Nya and Character 2 is Salva (see columns on anchor chart). Update the Character 1 column with appropriate student responses. See Point of View anchor chart (example for teacher reference).
  • Invite students to turn to page 11. Read aloud from “Salva hesitated for a moment” to “. . . get a better look at his face” as they read along silently.
  • Turn and Talk:

“From what point of view is this part of the novel written? How do you know?” (third person, because the narrator is talking about the character using “he” instead of “I”)

“From this excerpt, what do you think Salva’s point of view of how he should behave is?” (He wants to be brave and “act like a man” as his father told him to.)

“How do you know? How does the author develop this point of view across the excerpt we just read?” (The narrator describes what Salva is thinking and feeling and describes his actions as he stepped forward toward the men and said, “Hey!” The narrator also describes how Salva strengthened himself by thinking about his family when approached with the gun.)

  • Remind students that in this chapter, Character 1 is Nya and Character 2 is Salva (see columns on anchor chart). Update the Character 2 column with appropriate student responses. See Point of View anchor chart (example for teacher reference).
  • Tell students they will begin to compare and contrast the points of view in the next lesson.
  • Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning target, using a checking for understanding technique—for example, using Thumb-O-Meter or Red Light, Green Light. Scan student responses, and make a note of students who might need support. Check in with them moving forward.

For Lighter Support

  • During the discussion of third-person point of view, quickly demonstrate the scene with the thorn by acting it out silently as Nya while a student volunteer narrates what you are likely thinking or feeling. Then explain that the student volunteer narrator is using third-person point of view. If necessary, contrast this scene to one where you demonstrate first-person point of view by having Nya narrate her own thoughts and feelings.

For Heavier Support

  • Use sentence frames to support the Turn and Talk discussion of point of view.

Include the following:

    • This part of the novel is written from the point of view of _____.
    • Nya's point of view of the thorn in her foot is _____.
    • The narrator develops this point of view by ______.

Homework

Homework

A. Determine Meaning of Unfamiliar Vocabulary

  • Students use context and if necessary, a dictionary to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in chapter 2 of A Long Walk to Water. Then they record the words and their definitions in the correct section of their vocabulary log.

B. Preread Anchor Text

  • Students should preread chapter 3 of A Long Walk to Water in preparation for studying the chapter in the next lesson.

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