Text Type:
Fiction / Narrative

Word Count:
2,852

Page Count:
22 

Text Summary
Leaving Home is a fictional narrative about a boy who has moved from Jamaica to the United States. The story details how it would feel to leave everything familiar behind to begin a new life. Students will personally relate to this story if they have ever moved to a new country, state, or even neighborhood.

Vocabulary
adorned
detachment
gloss
incessantly
laden
mayhem
patois
quirks
reprieve
savory
stupefied
vigil     

Reproducibles
Worksheets
Worksheet 1-Character Map
Worksheet 2-Verb Tense  

Lesson Objectives

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as students work to understand the text, for example, identifying character traits and evaluating character actions.

The targeted comprehension strategy for this lesson is: Identify mood and determine the language the author has used to develop the mood

Word Work

Verb Tense
Understanding verb tense 

Action Verbs
Identify strong action verbs in the text 

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Introduce the book by showing students the front cover.
Ask: What do you see on the cover? What do you think the title means? What do you think the book will be about?
Turn the book over to the back cover.
Ask: What other information does this give us about the book? What ideas do you have about the story now? 

Elicit Prior Knowledge and Build Background
Initiate a discussion with students about moving to new places. Ask if they have ever moved to a new place, or if they know someone who has. Talk about the experiences they have had. Ask how they felt when they first found out they had to move, when they first moved, and how they feel about moving now. 

Introduce words from the vocabulary list during the discussion. You can bring the words into the discussion in an informal way. Alternatively, you might list the following words on the chalkboard and have students predict how these words might be related to the situations in the countries you have been discussing: adorned, detachment, gloss, incessantly, laden, mayhem, patois, quirks, reprieve, savory, stupefied, vigil 

Skim and Scan
Hand out the book and have students skim through it, looking at the illustrations. Ask them what they think might be happening. Suggest that they might want to revise or add to their predictions now that they have looked at the illustrations. 

Note any words in bold-faced type and discuss any words that you feel students might have difficulty with. Remind them to use context clues to understand unfamiliar words. Encourage them to jot down any words they have trouble with and discuss them after reading. 

During Reading

Set the Purpose
Introduce Worksheet 1. Review what is meant by mood and provide examples, if necessary, by referring to familiar books or movies that most students will recognize. 

Model for students how to decide on the mood of the first chapter. Explain that writers use language to create the mood in a text. Point out phrases such as "I sat at an empty table in the back of the room and tried to convince myself that it was better to eat alone, that everyone wasn't ignoring me." 

Explain that the sentence helps create a feeling of loneliness. Work with them on the second chapter to ensure they understand how to interpret the mood, then give them the worksheet and have them find the mood for the remaining chapters independently. 

Explain to students what they are to do on the worksheet.

Say: I want you to read the rest of the book silently at your own pace. As you read, I want you to think about the mood of each chapter and how the author has created that mood. When you finish a chapter, write the mood in the appropriate place on the Character Map, and provide some examples of words the author has used to create that character's mood. 

After Reading

Building Comprehension
Discuss any words that students had difficulty with, and model how to use the context to work out the meanings. Discuss the characters. Encourage students to make inferences about them and to evaluate character actions.

Ask: How would you describe the narrator? Show me places in the book that support your ideas. How do you think Desmond's feelings changed from the beginning to the end of the story? How would you feel in the same situation? What would you do if you met a person from another country? Would you want to make friends with him or her?

Discuss the Character Map, and have students compare their ideas about mood. Students may have different ideas about the mood. This is appropriate as long as they can justify their ideas with reference to the book. 

Word Work
Verb Tense
Remind students that verbs carry the tense in a sentence. That means that we know when something happened in a story by the tense of the verb. 

Read the following sentences and have children call out what tense the sentence is in. Is it past, present, or future? 

Jason is going to the game.

Amy sat on the chair.

Laina has eaten dinner.

Gus will run a mile in the race.

Angela decided to come. 

Point out that the sentence "Laina has eaten dinner" can be tricky. This is because the sentence is in the present tense (as of now, Laina is full of her dinner), but the tense sounds like it is in the past. Explain that these are the types of sentences that can confuse readers and writers alike. Point out that strong writing sticks to one tense. Otherwise, it is difficult to figure out when the story's events are happening. 

Action Verbs
Explain that writers use strong action verbs to make their writing more interesting and to help build tension and excitement in their writing. Call students' attention to the verbs forced and demanded in the first two chapters. Point out that these words create a stronger visual image than if the writer had used the words made or asked. Have students work in pairs to find and list other strong verbs in the story. Have the pairs share their lists when they are finished. 

Writing Link
Have students write a short descriptive piece that creates a particular mood. Encourage them to use strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to help build the mood in their writing. They should begin by:

• Deciding on a topic for their writing
• Deciding on the mood they wish to convey
• Brainstorming a list of words they can use to develop the mood 

Assessment

• Review students' completed comprehension worksheets to assess whether they can identify the mood of a chapter and explain how the author has created the mood.
• Have students write sentences or paragraphs using selected words from the vocabulary list, or word work examples from the lesson, to demonstrate their understanding of word meaning.
• Review students' completed worksheets to assess whether they can identify adverbs and explain what words the adverbs describe. Note whether they can create their own adverbs by adding -ly and using them correctly in a sentence.