When You Reach Me

 When You Reach Me

By Rebecca Stead 

Published By Wendy Lamb Books
Copyright 2009
2010 John Newbery Medal Winner


When You Reach Me is about a sixth grader, Miranda who lives in New York with her mother. Her best friend, Sal, and her are inseparable until the day he receives a blow to the stomach by a new student at school, and he pushes Miranda completely out of his life. Then Miranda starts to receive strange letters in weird places from someone who seems to know a lot about her life.
 http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/index.pperl

 
Intriguing, Interesting, puzzling, suspenseful, engaging

Reading Level/Lexile

4th Grade, 5th month; 750L 

Suggested Delivery

Independent Read

Electronic Resources

http://www.rebeccasteadbooks.com/ 
This is the author's website and may help the students with questions about the author or other books that she has written. On this website there is also a link to her blog, her contact information, and details on the various books this author has written that may be useful for some students.  

This is the link to the publisher's website. This has information on the book, When you Reach Me along with contests to win free books, games, and other interactive activities. This website also provides links to other books published by this company. 

 Teaching Suggestion

1. A teacher can use this text for a book report.
2. A teacher can use this book to discuss the mystery of time travel and the different beliefs.
3. A teacher can use this text to explore issues in school such as friendships and bullying.

Vocabulary

1. nags

2. omen
3. fundamental
4. scoured
5. obstruct
6. essential

Before Reading

The teacher will provide the students with the vocabulary they should know before reading. The teacher will also provide students with the definition and the synonyms for the words. The students will then have to answer questions regarding the word, such as "Do you have a friend that nags you often?" The students will then have to answer the question and explain why or how their friend nags them.

During Reading

 As the students read they will write down questions that they have regarding the story or characters. While they read they will see if they can answer their own questions.

After Reading

After reading the students will choose a character from the book to create a character profile. Using the details from the book they will create a picture of what they think the character looks like, they will come up with information about the character, such as their hobbies, favorite book, etc. 

Writing Activity

The students will be asked to come up with a time period they would like to travel to. They will then research that time period and write a short story of themselves in that time period. They will have to write about the type of school they went to, their house, their dress, their culture, and some of the hobbies they did in their spare time. They will also be able to add in illustrations to help show what the time period was like. 

Stead, R. (2009). When you reach me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.