Claiming Our Place: LGBTQ+ Experiences in the United States (2021)

Lesson 17
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ELA

Unit 6

7th Grade

Lesson 17 of 20

Objective


Describe how The 57 Bus is organized and how Slater's structural choices develop the reader’s understanding of characters and ideas.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater  pp. 255 – 295

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

Describe the overall structure of this text. What is the impact of the structure that Slater chose to tell the story of the incident on the 57 bus? Carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • Reread the chapters "Nerd Fraternity" and "How it Ended Up." What do these two chapters reveal about Sasha's life and the lives of Richard and his friends? Provide evidence from these chapters (pp. 265–268)  to support your answer.

  • Why did Slater most likely include the chapters "Opportunity" and "Then and Now"? What is the significance of the title "Opportunity"? Carefully explain your thinking and provide evidence from these chapters (pp. 271–278) to support your answer.

  • What is significant about the chapter, "Progress Report"? How does it fit into the overall story of Sasha and Richard’s relationship? Provide evidence from pages 283 through 286 to support your answer.

Discussion Questions

  • How do you feel about the way this book ended? What did you learn from reading this book? What questions do  you still have?

Vocabulary


Text-based

eccentric

adj.

unusual or unconventional

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Common Core Standards


  • RI.7.5 — Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Supporting Standards

L.7.6
RI.7.1
RI.7.2
RI.7.4
RI.7.10
SL.7.1
SL.7.6
W.7.1
W.7.1.a
W.7.1.b
W.7.4
W.7.9
W.7.9.b
W.7.10

Next

Identify central ideas in The 57 Bus and explain how Slater develops ideas over the course of the text.

Lesson 18
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Lesson Map

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