Essential and guiding questions:
Text-Dependent Questions:
- Comprehension: Vocabulary – The author states, “that oak and walnut, they’re a lot bigger and they take up more room and
- give so much shade they almost overshadow that little ole fig.” Overshadow means to be more important or significant by
- comparison. How does the author use this as a comparison to life for the family?
- Significance: How does the example of the fig tree emphasize the story’s theme of never giving up?
- Interpretive: In the first paragraph, what is Papa saying to Stacey? Discuss your answers using evidence from the text.
- Analytic: The author changes the dialogue in the last two paragraphs by changing the character to which Papa is speaking. What evidence does the author provide that shows a change in dialogue?
- Analytic: How does the author let you know that life for this family must be difficult? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
- Analytic: How could the author have said things more clearly to Cassie? How would that have changed the way that Cassie viewed Papa’s lesson of never giving up?
