Standards Correlations

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.7, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.5, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will use words and images to make inferences about a character in a graphic novel-style story.

Key Skills

inference, text features, vocabulary, plot, problem and solution, visual literacy, character, figurative language, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Levels of Meaning: The story is about a girl’s struggle to choose one of her two ethnic backgrounds to celebrate at school.

Structure: The story is chronological and is presented in the style of a graphic novel. 

Language: The text includes some challenging words, such as heritage and generations. 

Knowledge Demands: The story mentions foods from many cultures. Familiarity with burritos and wontons will be especially helpful.

Levels

Lexile Level: 500L-600L

Guided Reading Level: Q

DRA Level: 40

Lesson Plan: A Recipe for Disaster

Essential Questions

  • What does it mean to be creative?
  • How does our cultural heritage shape who we are?

Literature Connection

Graphic Novel: New Kid by Jerry Craft

1. Preparing to Read 

Activate Prior Knowledge (10 minutes) 

  • Have students take our fun interactive quiz “Test Your Food Knowledge!”. The quiz will increase their familiarity with the foods mentioned in the story.

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Guide students to read the story’s title and subtitle. Then ask the following questions: 

  • Study the expression on Elizabeth’s face in the illustration. Based on the question in the subtitle, why do you think she looks this way? Elizabeth looks worried or stressed. It seems like she has a big decision to make: She’s trying to choose a dish that will sum up who she is. 
  • Who is the author of this story? What is he known for? The author is Jerry Craft. He’s known for his graphic novel New Kid, which won the 2020 Newbery Medal.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Direct students’ attention to the vocabulary box. Go over the words (cultures, represents, heritage, generations) and their definitions together. 
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow.

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

  • Before students start to read, set a purpose for reading by telling them they will make inferences about “A Recipe for Disaster.” Explain that making an inference means using clues from the text to figure out something that isn’t directly stated. In a graphic novel, clues can be found in both words and pictures. (You may also consider showing our video “Skills in Action: What Is an Inference?”)

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text


Read the story aloud as a class, stopping to discuss how Elizabeth feels at appropriate points in the story. Afterward, discuss the close-reading and critical-thinking questions below. 

Close-Reading Questions (10 minutes)

  • What foods are the kids in Elizabeth’s class planning to bring? How does Elizabeth feel when she hears them talk about what they’re bringing? (inference) The kids in Elizabeth’s class are bringing foods that represent their heritage: kimchi and BBQ beef, soda bread, jerk chicken, corn bread, borscht, and yakitori. When Elizabeth hears them say what they’re bringing, she feels bad because she can’t decide what to bring herself.
  • Why is it so difficult for Elizabeth to pick a dish to bring? How does she solve her problem? (problem and solution) It’s difficult for Elizabeth to pick a dish to bring because she comes from a multicultural family. Her mom is Chinese American and her dad is Mexican American, and both of them have recipes that have been in their families for generations. Picking one dish would represent only half of who she is. She solves her problem by being creative: With help from her parents, she creates a new recipe that combines flavors from her two cultures. 
  • Look at the frames labeled “Friday night” through “Sunday afternoon.” What do they show? (visual literacy) They show that Elizabeth worries all weekend about what to do. She thinks about what dish to bring while she’s in bed, playing soccer, and sitting around the house. Finally, she has a great idea.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • Why is Elizabeth’s friend Naomi an important character? How does she help Elizabeth? (character) Naomi talks with Elizabeth after school and listens to her problem. She suggests that Elizabeth talk with her parents about her problem, which turns out to be helpful.
  • Why do you think the story is titled “A Recipe for Disaster”? What does this expression mean? How does it apply to the story? (figurative language) The expression “a recipe for disaster” means all the right ingredients, or elements, are present to create a disaster. In Elizabeth’s case, this is a bit of an exaggeration. Her situation isn’t likely to end in disaster, but it’s definitely tricky. The expression works because her problem has to do with choosing a recipe.

3. Skill Building

  • Have students work in pairs to complete the Making Inferences activity.
  • Next, guide the class through our Plot Pyramid Skill Builder. 
  • Writing prompt: If you were in Elizabeth’s class, what dish would you make for the back-to-school party? Choose a delicious food that you love and describe it in detail. Give information about the food’s flavors, its ingredients, how it’s made, and why you like it so much. If you know what part of the world the recipe comes from originally, include that information as well. 

Learn-Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

Make a Sign For a Food Truck

Imagine that you’re Elizabeth. Your invention, burri-tons, is so delicious that the whole neighborhood wants to try them. You decide to sell them from a food truck. The truck needs a sign so customers will know what they’re getting. Make a sign that answers the following questions:

  •  What is a burri-ton? (You can make this up based on what you know about burritos and wontons.)
  • Is there more than one kind? (for example, beef, chicken, vegetable, spicy, cheesy)
  • How many burri-tons are in a serving?
  • How much does a serving of burri-tons cost?
  • What other foods does the truck sell? (Think about foods from China, Mexico, or other places that might go well with burri-tons.)

Make your sign colorful and attractive so that plenty of customers will want to visit your food truck!  

ELL Springboard

Take a picture walk to preview this story.

Graphic novels (and short graphic stories) are a great way to reach ELLs at all levels of proficiency. Before reading the story, take a “picture walk” with students. Ignoring the words, view the panels and ask students what they see and what they can infer about the story. Use these questions to guide the walk:.

  • Page 14: Where does this scene take place? (in a classroom) How does Liz feel? (sad, worried)
  • Page 15: What’s Liz doing on this page? (talking to her teacher, then walking home from school with her friend)
  • Page 16: Who is Liz talking to on this page? How do they feel? (She’s talking to her parents. They seem cheerful.)
  • Page 17: What’s Liz doing on this page? (thinking, worrying)
  • Page 18: What’s Liz doing at the end of this page? (She’s cooking.)
  • Page 19: Does Liz’s friend like the food Liz gives her? (Yes, she’s smiling.)
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 4 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.

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