Standards Correlations

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

Learning Objective

Students will identify cause-and-effect relationships in a text about a teen who is Mexican American.

Key Skills

cause and effect, text features, vocabulary, sequence of events, interpreting text, author’s craft, compare and contrast, drawing conclusions, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text describes a Mexican American teen’s life in the U.S. 

 

Structure: The story is mainly chronological and is told from the first-person perspective.

 

Language: The language is conversational.

 

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: S 

DRA Level: 40

SEL Connection

This article and lesson promote self-awareness and social awareness skills.

Lesson Plan: My Life in Two Languages

Essential Questions

  • What does it mean to belong to a culture?
  • Why are family traditions important?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: Darrius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
  • Novel: Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). What does it mean to “fit in” to a place? Have you ever thought about how you fit in to your community? Answers will vary. Sample answer: To fit in to a place means to belong to a place; to share the same values and customs as those around you. Encourage students to share whether they feel like they fit in perfectly with their communities or if they feel like they stand out in one way or another.
  • Look at the photos of Betiana that are included in the article and read their captions. What do they tell you about her? The photos and captions tell you that Betiana has an older sister and a younger brother, that her aunt helped her love herself, and that she is close with her grandmother.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (peers, suburban, culture, immigrants, burdens) aloud and discuss their definitions.
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll analyze cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity at the end of the story. 
  • Encourage students to pause at the end of each section so they can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to take note of sentences they think tell them important ideas in each section, as well as any words or sentences they don’t understand.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Question (15 minutes)

  • Betiana says that she often feels “out of place.” What does she mean?  (interpreting text) Betiana means that she feels like she doesn’t belong, like she is different from everyone around her. She states that most of the families in her neighborhood are White and that her friends’ parents grew up in the U.S. She also mentions that her parents don’t always understand her because they grew up differently than she did. This also makes her feel like she doesn’t quite fit in at home.
  • What do tamales represent to Betiana? Why do you think she mentions tamales in this story about her two cultures? (author’s craft) Tamales represent family to Betiana. She cooks them with her grandmother, using her grandmother’s special recipe. This makes her feel proud. She probably mentions tamales to show how her Mexican culture is an important part of who she is and what sets her apart from the rest of her community.
  • How is Betiana’s experience as a teenager different from that of her parents’? (compare and contrast) For Betiana’s parents, the teen years were not for having fun. They had big responsibilities like taking care of their families. Betiana doesn’t have the same burdens. Her main responsibility is to do well in school and “stay out of trouble.” She feels that her parents can be stricter than her friends’ parents because they want so badly for her to succeed.

Critical-Thinking Questions (5 minutes)

  • Betiana discusses the difficult parts of being of two cultures. In what ways might it be useful to be of two cultures? (drawing conclusions) Having two cultures often means growing up speaking two languages. That’s useful, considering that many people struggle to learn a second language later in life. Having two cultures might also mean being able to see things differently from those around you. You might also have the chance to introduce parts of your culture (such as making tamales) to those not familiar with it. 

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Cause and Effect activity.
  • Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: In the article, Betiana describes making tamales with her grandmother and explains why this activity is important to her. Think of a family tradition that’s special to you. Describe it in detail, explaining what the activity is and what it means to you.

Learn Anywhere Activity

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

Share a Recipe

For many people, special memories and traditions are connected to food. Sharing a favorite food is a great way to spread joy!

Think of a homemade food you like to make or eat at home. (If possible, pick one that isn’t very hard to make.) If you know exactly how to make it, you’re ready. If you don’t, get help from someone who does.

  • First, write down all the ingredients (and how much of each one).
  • Next, write down what a person has to do to make this dish. Number the steps 1, 2, 3, and so on, so a person following your instructions will know exactly what to do in the right order.
  • Finally, test your recipe. Follow your own instructions, exactly as you’ve written them, to make sure everything you wrote is correct.

Once you have your recipe just right, bring it to school. Your teacher can help you and your classmates copy all the recipes and put them online so you’ll have a class collection!

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Make personal connections to boost comprehension.

After reading the article, ask students to think about how their lives are similar to Betiana’s. Many multilingual learners can probably relate to some of the experiences that Betiana describes: having to remember which language to speak, feeling that her home life is different from the lives of her classmates, and wondering how well her parents can understand the life of an American teen.

Ask students to rewrite the article’s title and its section headings, leaving some space beneath each one, in the language they speak at home. Then, in whatever language they choose, have them write a brief (one or two sentences) answer to each question below.

  • Under the title: What is one way that speaking two languages can be challenging?
  • Under the section heading “Family Traditions”: What is a family tradition or food that is special to you?
  • Under the section heading “A Different World”: How is your life different from that of a typical American teen? How is your life different from what your parents experienced as teens?
  • Under the section heading “Wise Words”: What or who has helped you deal with feelings of sadness or loneliness?
  • Under the section heading “More Understanding”: What do you think teens can do to be better friends and classmates? 

If your students speak a variety of languages, give them a chance to teach each other different words for life, family, world, and words. Have fun!

Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.


Print This Lesson Plan

Text-to-Speech