Standards Correlations

R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, 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 dealing with grief after the loss of his brother.

Key Skills

problem and solution, text features, vocabulary, central idea and details, cause and effect, key details, critical thinking, informational writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The article chronicles Jacob's journey of coping with grief through artistic expression and the supportive environment of Camp Erin.

 

Structure: The article, written from the first-person point of view, includes narrative and chronological passages.

 

Language: The language is conversational.

 

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.

Levels

Lexile: 600L-700L 

Guided Reading Level: T 

DRA Level: 50

SEL Connection

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

Lesson Plan: Life After Loss

Essential Questions

  • How does losing a loved one change a person?
  • What role does community play in coping with grief?

Literature Connection

  • Novel: Many Points of Me by Caroline Gertler
  • Novel: The Distance to Home by Jenn Bishop
  • Novel: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). How do you think art helped Jacob heal after he lost his brother? Make a prediction.  Answers will vary. Students might guess that Jacob was able to express feelings through art that he had a hard time putting into words. 
  • Look at the photos included with the article and read their captions. What do they tell you about Jacob? The photos and their captions tell us that Jacob had a brother named Elijah; that Jacob sees a grief counselor; and that he loves his mom, art, and photography.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (grief, process, memorials, represent, grieving) 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

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

  • How did Jacob’s life change after his house caught on fire? (cause and effect) After the fire, Jacob’s life was completely changed. He lost his brother, his family lost the house they lived in, and they had to move to a new city. He has been coping with grief ever since.
  • How has Camp Erin helped Jacob cope with grief? (central idea) Before going to Camp Erin, Jacob felt embarrassed and alone because of his grief. Going to the camp helped him realize that many others share similar experiences and that he wasn't alone. The camp has allowed Jacob to share his feelings openly and find comfort in shared experiences.
  • What kind of art does Jacob make? How does art help him manage his grief? (key details) The article says that Jacob draws and takes photos on his own and that he has made masks and decorated small boats at camp. Art helps Jacob process his emotions, gives him a sense of calm, and lets him see things in a different way. 

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • How might Jacob's story inspire others who are dealing with grief? (critical thinking) Jacob's story shows the importance of seeking support, expressing feelings, and connecting with others. His story can help others cope with loss and feel less alone.
  • Why do you think being in a community with others who understand your pain helps heal the pain? (critical thinking) Sample answer: Being in a community with others who understand your pain helps you heal because it creates a sense of belonging. When people share similar experiences, they feel less alone and more understood. (Encourage students to share personal experiences if they feel comfortable doing so.)

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Problem and Solution activity.
  • Go further: Use our Central Idea and Details Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine that you are planning to start a camp with a special purpose. The purpose can be to teach a certain skill (like at a baseball or music camp), or to help campers deal with a challenge (like at Camp Erin). Write a paragraph describing your camp. Include details about the setting (the camp’s location and surroundings) and the types of activities that would take place at the camp.

Learn-Anywhere Activity

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

Project the task below on your whiteboard or share it with students in your LMS.

Make a Personal Connection

Jacob has learned that drawing helps him feel calmer when he’s feeling angry or sad. He says that when he’s drawing, it’s like nothing else matters. Because he knows this about himself, Jacob is ready to deal with big feelings when he needs to. 

What do you do when you need to deal with big emotions? Do you listen to music? Go for a run? Talk to a friend? Write a short essay about an activity that helps you feel calmer. In your essay, answer these questions:

  • When (at what times or in what situations) do you feel big, hard-to-manage emotions?
  • What is the activity that helps you manage these emotions?
  • How (if you remember) did you discover that this activity helps you?
  • What do you think makes the activity helpful?

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Have students write summary questions for self-assessment.

Before reading, point out that unlike some of the other articles in Action, the True Teen doesn’t have Pause and Think questions at the end of each section. Let students know that they’re going to come up with these questions after reading. Encourage them to try to think of suitable questions as they read.  

After reading, divide students into pairs. Have one student in each pair write a question about the section “Losing Elijah” and a question about the section “Not Alone.” Have the other student write a question about the section “Making Art” and one about the section “Talk and Share.” Then have the students in each pair try to answer each other’s questions.

Possible questions:

  • “Losing Elijah”: How old was Jacob when his house caught fire?
  • “Not Alone”: Who suggested that Jacob go to Camp Erin? 
  • “Making Art”: Why did Jacob and other campers make masks?
  • “Talk and Share”: What advice would Jacob give to other grieving kids?

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