I can support my inferences with
evidence from text.
 I can participate in discussions about the
text with a partner, small group, and the
whole class.


What is home?

How do critical incidences reveal
character?
Look around the room at the pictures
posted.
 With your binder and a pen, walk from
picture to picture.
 At each picture describe what you’re
seeing, and write down one question
that arises.

You will be given two strips of paper.
Read them and try to figure out what
they could be about.
 Time to mix and mingle!

› Try to find 3 other people with different strips
from you.
› Between the four of you, put the strips in
order and infer what the strips are about.

Answer the essential questions to the
best of your ability.
What is a stanza? Where do you normally
see stanzas?
 What does the word gist mean? Where
have you heard it before?
 What are skills of good close readers?

I can make inferences to deepen my
understanding of Inside Out & Back Again.
 I can cite evidence from the novel to
explain how incidents reveal aspects of
Ha’s character.
 I can use context clues to figure out word
meanings.
 I can participate in discussions about the
text with a partner, small group, and the
whole class.


Based on what you saw and read
yesterday, what do you think might have
to happen to a little girl to make her say
that she would prefer war at home in
Saigon (Vietnam) to peace in Alabama
(the United States)
I am about to hand out brand new books to
you! You now have the responsibility to treat
this book the way you want to be treated!
Hold up your right hand and repeat after me!
I so solemnly swear to treat this book with the
kindness and love that I would my own child. I
will not return it with rips and tears. I will use a
book mark and not fold the pages. I will never
put a mark of any kind on the pages. I will do
my best to return the book in the condition in
which it was given to me in. I promise to hand
my book back in on time.


Briefly flip through the book.
› What do you notice about how this novel
is written?
› How is it like other novels you have read?
› How is it different?
Each entry is written in short, free verse
poetry.
 Free verse poetry is poetry that doesn’t
use a regular rhythm or rhyming pattern.
 It does, however, look like a poem with
the layout and line breaks.

While someone is reading out loud, be
sure to follow along in your head.
 While we are reading, think about the
gist of each poem.
 Have post-it notes and a pen handy!


What details really strike you about this
poem? Why?

In your notebook respond to:
› “What have you learned about Ha in this
very first poem?”
› Record the line numbers that help you to
characterize her.
› Write how you characterized her (actions,
thoughts, dialogue).





“Tet is a special day. When is Tet, and what two
events are celebrated on Tet?”
“How does the family celebrate Tet?”
“So, how does this special day affect the other
days?”
“What does the narrator (Ha) do that might
bring bad luck?”
“What can you infer about the narrator based
on this action? In other words, what can you
figure out about her, based on what you see in
the text, and what you already know?”

What can you infer about the narrator
based on this action? In other words,
what can you figure out about her,
based on what you see in the text, and
what you already know?

Turn and talk to a partner about what
last night’s reading was about.

Was your idea of the gist the same as
your partner’s? Did you remember
something else as you shared and
listened?”
“How do the events in this poem connect
to the first poem we read, ‘1975: Year of the
Cat,’ and the title of the novel, Inside Out &
Back Again?”
 “What specifically does the fortune-teller
predict about the family’s future?”
 “Ha lives in a war-torn country. How does
she hope her life will be turned inside out?”
 “Ha knows that ‘inside out’ probably means
something different. What will probably
happen?”


Based on what you have read so far in
the novel, what can you infer about
what will happen to Ha and her family?
Be sure to use details from the text to
support your answer.
Hold Up A Color


Reread pages 4–9 of Inside Out & Back Again
(from “Inside Out” through “Papaya Tree”).
QuickWrite 1:What kind of person is Ha? Use
specific evidence from the text to write a
paragraph in which you discuss one of Ha’s
personality traits. A complete paragraph will
include a focus statement, several pieces of
textual evidence, explanations about what
each piece of evidence shows us about Ha,
and a concluding sentence. Use the notes you
collected in your journal to help you write this
paragraph.
What is descriptive language?
 How does a writer incorporate
descriptive language into his/her work?
 What types of parts of speech show
description?


Reread the Papaya Tree on pages 8-9

What new or important details struck you
after hearing the poem read aloud
again?

Diction: Word Choice

Connotation: Word Association

Denotation: Dictionary Definition

Why might the author have chosen this
particular tree to focus on?




How did the papaya tree begin to grow? Was the
planting of the tree intentional or a careless act?
How do you know this?”
From youngest to oldest, Ha describes what each
brother sees on the tree. What is the pattern she
describes?
Ha vows to be the first to witness, or observe, the
ripening of the papaya fruit. What does the word
vows mean in this context? Where else did we read
that Ha wanted to be the first at something instead of
her oldest brother?
What can you infer or conclude about Ha’s
character based on these two poems or critical
incidents?
Read pages 10–21, from “TiTi Waves
Goodbye” through “Two More
Papayas,” and complete QuickWrite 2.
 How is Ha’s life affected by where and
when she is living? Write a complete
paragraph in which you support your
ideas with evidence from the text.
