Summary
This lesson serves as an introduction to the novel "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor. The lesson addresses the theme of persistence in the novel by making predictions about what struggles the main character will come across and continually addressing these predictions while reading the book. The lesson's writing assessments will show how well students are able to analyze character conflict and the perspective of characters, especially if they are different from their own.
Essential Question(s)
How do a character's choices affect the development of that character?
Snapshot
Engage
Students view a clip from Star Wars to introduce discussion of conflict between family members.
Explore
Students are introduced to the novel Tangerine via a virtual field trip to Tangerine, Florida.
Explain
Students share what they learned about Tangerine, Florida. They then read and annotate an introduction to the novel.
Extend
Students respond to a novel prediction handout.
Evaluate
Students read and evaluate each other's prediction responses, and use the predictions for an Anchor Chart.
Materials
Lesson slides (attached)
Trip to Florida handout (attached; one per student)
Introduction to Tangerine (attached; one per student)
Prediction Handout (attached; one per student)
Notebook paper or notebooks (one per student)
Laptop or tablet (one per student)
Highlighters (one per student)
Chart paper (poster paper, butcher paper, or similar)
Markers
Tangerine by Edward Bloor (optional)
Sticky notes (optional; one per student)
Engage
To begin, display slide 3. Invite students to engage in the I Notice, I Wonder strategy while watching the next clip. What observations can they make about the characters' choices? What questions do they have? Show the clip, ”Star Wars ‘I am your father’ Scene Full” on slide 4.
After briefly discussing the clip, display slide 5. Pose the following questions as writing prompts:
Has one of your family members ever done something bad or something you thought was wrong?
How did it make you feel? How did you react?
How did other members of your family react?
Did they tell them they were wrong, or did they try to help?
These prompts should prime students to begin thinking about the theme of family conflict, the choices that particular characters make, and the consequences of those choices. Have students individually reflect on these prompts by writing in their notebooks for five minutes. Start the five-minute timer on the slide and have students begin writing.
After hearing responses from a few volunteers, display the essential question for this lesson on slide 6, “How do a character’s choices affect the development of that character?” and the learning objectives on slide 7.
Explore
Tell students that they will soon begin reading Tangerine by Edward Bloor.
Begin by previewing with students that some of the characters in the family of the main character, Paul, do bad things throughout the book. These things can (and do) cause conflict. Because of this, a focus of this lesson is character development. Display slide 8 and ask the following questions:
What does it mean when a character develops in a story?
Do characters always develop in a story?
What can affect character development?
Use student answers here to gauge their prior knowledge.
After these questions have either been discussed out loud and/or used as a writing prompt, segue into how moving to a new place would affect character development. This will help frame the next activity for students: taking a virtual field trip to where the story in Tangerine takes place.
Display slide 9. Have students use their laptops or tablets, and direct them to Google Maps. Have them find Tangerine, Florida in the search bar. Pass out a copy of the attached Trip to Florida handout to each student. Once students have the map pulled up, answer the following questions as a class:
What shape is the town of Tangerine?
What landmark features do you notice?
What makes up the majority of the land?
Have students compare this to their own experiences. They may not have been to a lake as large as Lake Ola, but they might connect it to going to the beach.
Then have students work independently to answer the rest of the questions on the handout. Direct students to zoom in and pick a street, move to the street view, and virtually “walk” down the street. They should answer the remaining questions on the handout individually.
After students complete the handout, have them turn to a partner and discuss their findings for questions 1–5. Direct them to take notice of similarities and differences in their partner's answers to their own.
Explain
In a whole class discussion, display slide 10. Ask the questions on the slide:
What did you find out about the city of Tangerine?
How would you feel if you had to move there?
Briefly explain character markers and how authors are often subtle with showing who the characters are. Explain that this is why we use textual evidence to support the conclusions we come to about characters. Brainstorm some things that might serve as a character marker (for instance, things that characters say or do, how other characters feel about them, or when they appear in the story).
Next, display slide 11.
Pass out a copy of the attached Introduction to Tangerine handout to each student along with a highlighter. Have students read and annotate the handout. If needed, you can also have students access the page online: Shmoop’s Introduction to Tangerine. Students should specifically annotate information that gives clues to the character development in the story.
Extend
Display slide 12. Pass out a copy of the attached Prediction Handout to each student. Invite students to respond to the following questions:
What do you predict the main problem in the novel Tangerine will be?
What makes you think this? Refer to the introduction we read for support.
Students should work individually to draft a one to two paragraph response on the handout.
Evaluate
After students have written their prediction responses, display slide 13 and have students read and evaluate each other's responses. Have each student swap handouts with a partner. Each student should read their partner’s prediction, flip the handout over, add their own name in the partner spot, and answer the following questions:
Was your partner able to justify their prediction with any evidence from the introduction we read?
Do you agree with your partner's prediction? Or was there evidence that the conflict in the story might be something else? Explain.
On a scale from 1 to 10, how interested are you in reading Tangerine?
As a class, begin to compile predictions. Display slide 14. Use a large sheet of butcher paper or chart paper to create a class Anchor Chart. Students can write their answers and predictions either on the paper directly or on sticky notes, which they can then stick onto the Anchor Chart.
End the lesson by having students read Tangerine by Edward Bloor. Students should reference the class Anchor Chart throughout the novel to consider their predictions and compare how the story turns out.
Resources
Bloor, E. (1997). Tangerine. Harcourt Children’s Books.
Google. (n.d.). Google maps. https://www.google.com/maps
K20 Center. (n.d.). Anchor charts. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/58
K20 Center. (n.d.). I notice, I wonder. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/180
K20 Center. (n.d.). Instructional strategies for comprehension. Collection. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/collection/2837
K20 Center. (n.d.). Say something! Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/778
K20 Center. (n.d.). Sociograms. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/134
K20 Center. (n.d.). Spend a buck. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/154
K20 Center. (n.d.). Three sticky notes. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/153
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/128
K20 Center. (2021, September 21). K20 Center 5 minute timer [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVS_yYQoLJg
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). Tangerine Introduction | Shmoop. https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/tangerine-bloor/
YouTube. (n.d.-c). Star Wars “I am your father” Scene Full - UNEDITED 2000 vhs. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbjru5CQIW4