Grade 7
Resources:
  Week 3 My Perspectives pp. 33- 39
  “A Simple Act” PPT
Tyler Jackson

Objectives
- Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what
the text says as well as inferences drawn from the text.

- Determine the author’s point of view or purpose in the text and

analyze how the author distinguishes his position from that of others
Warm up

• How did you meet your closest friends?

• In what ways have these friends

influenced your life?
About the author
Tyler Jackson

• Tyler Jackson (b. 1981) was raised in England but has traveled extensively,
writing about many of the places he has lived.
• Jackson has survived a hurricane in North Carolina and a flood in Texas, and
says, “People pull together in a disaster, but it’s remarkable to see the small
acts of kindness that usually go unreported.”
Background

• In a big city like New York, thousands of

strangers from many different backgrounds
cross paths every day, but they rarely stop on
the street to get to know each other. When
people from very different places make the
effort to connect, unexpected friendships can
form.
As you read,

• Notice the key events in Laura and • Annotate passages that

Maurice’s friendship. describe how the two friends
learn from and help each other.
 Mark details in the
paragraph that
describe the
characters.

p. 33
 What can you infer
from what was
annotated?

Laura and the young

man come from very
different
socioeconomic
backgrounds. While
Laura is a successful
businesswoman,
Maurice is a scruffy
eleven-year old
beggar.

p. 33
 Why might the
author have
included these
details?

The descriptions show that their friendship is unusual for at least two reasons. Laura and
Maurice are from different generations, and they come from very different backgrounds. By
including these details, the author emphasizes the unlikelihood of any friendship developing
between these two characters. p. 33
 The relationships between people are key to many
nonfiction narratives. Instead of explaining the
similarities and differences, a good author will simply
present them and allow readers to draw their own
conclusions.
p. 34
 Mark the questions
included in
paragraph 4.

p. 34
 Why might the
author have
included these
questions?

These
questions help
me understand
the kinds of
issues that
Laura is facing
as she
considers her
own
motivations for
getting
involved in
Maurice’s life.

p. 34
 What effect do
these questions
have on Laura?

In paragraph 4, Laura and

Maurice are still forming their
friendship. In paragraph 5, the
friendship is more established.
The questions help Laura focus
on the potential problems that
might arise and they help her
decide whether to commit to
this friendship. The change in
the way Maurice is referred to
reflects their changed
relationship.

p. 34
 Why do you think the writer of the
article included information about
how long it took Laura to get down to
business?
p. 35
The writer wanted to show that her
act was one of kindness, not one to
get material for a book; someone
else suggested she writes a book
and it took her a while to actually
do it.
How do you know the
book was a success? It made number one on a respected
newspaper’s best-selling book list.

p. 35
p. 36
p. 36
p. 37
p. 37
p. 38
p. 38
The friendship is both unusual and inspirational. It is unusual
because Laura and Maurice come from such different
backgrounds, and it is inspirational because they help each
other.
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simple-act
 Plenary

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