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© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Program Consultants: Kylene Beers Martha Hougen Tyrone C. Howard Elena Izquierdo Carol Jago Weston Kieschnick Erik Palmer Robert E. Probst GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Lester Laminack; (tr) ©Danny Moloshok/HMH; (bl) ©Abigail Bobo/HMH; (br) ©Andres Leighton/HMH Program Consultants Kylene Beers Nationally known lecturer and author on reading and literacy; coauthor with Robert Probst of Disrupting Thinking, Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading, and Reading Nonfiction; former president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Dr. Beers is the author of When Kids Can’t Read: What Teachers Can Do and coeditor of Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice, as well as articles in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. Former editor of Voices from the Middle, she is the 2001 recipient of NCTE’s Richard W. Halle Award, given for outstanding contributions to middle school literacy. Martha Hougen National consultant, presenter, researcher, and author. Areas of expertise include differentiating instruction for students with learning difficulties, including those with learning disabilities and dyslexia; and teacher and leader preparation improvement. Dr. Hougen has taught at the middle school through graduate levels. Dr. Hougen has supported Educator Preparation Program reforms while working at the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin and at the CEEDAR Center, University of Florida. Tyrone C. Howard Veteran teacher, author, and professor in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Dr. Howard is the inaugural director of the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families, a campus-wide consortium examining academic, mental health, and social and emotional experiences and challenges for the most vulnerable youth populations. Dr. Howard has published over 75 peer-reviewed journal articles and several bestselling books, including, Why Race & Culture Matters in Schools and Black Male(d): Peril and Promise in the Education of African American Males. He is considered one of the premier experts on educational equity and access in the country. Elena Izquierdo Nationally recognized teacher educator and advocate for English language learners. Dr. Izquierdo is a linguist by training, with a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics and Bilingual Education from Georgetown University. She has served on various state and national boards working to close the achievement gaps for bilingual students and English language learners. Dr. Izquierdo is a member of the Hispanic Leadership Council, which supports Hispanic students and educators at both the state and federal levels. FM4 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
New School Innovation = Blended Learning that Works and coauthor of The Learning Transformation: A Guide to Blended Learning for Administrators. Erik Palmer Veteran teacher and education consultant based in Denver, Colorado. Author of Well Spoken: Teaching Speaking to All Students and Digitally Speaking: How to Improve Student Presentations. His areas of focus include improving oral communication, promoting technology in classroom presentations, and updating instruction through the use of digital tools. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Colorado. Robert E. Probst Nationally respected authority on the teaching of literature; Professor Emeritus of English Education at Georgia State University. Dr. Probst’s publications include numerous articles in English Journal and Voices from the Middle, as well as professional texts including (as coeditor) Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice and (as coauthor with Kylene Beers) Disrupting Thinking, Notice & Note: Strategies for Close Reading, and Reading Nonfiction. He has served NCTE in various leadership roles, including the Conference on English Leadership Board of Directors, the Commission on Reading, and column editor of the NCTE journal Voices from the Middle. Program Consultants FM5 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT COMPARE VERSIONS COMPARE MOODS ANALYZE & APPLY Mirror Image 7 Short Story by Lena Coakley Not Everything It Seems mentor text 23 Article by Arnetta Carter Two Legs or One? 35 Folktale retold by Josepha Sherman COLLABORATE & COMPARE The Song of Wandering Aengus 46 Poem by W. B. Yeats Eldorado 50 Poem by Edgar Allan Poe from Monster 60 Screenplay by Walter Dean Myers from Monster: A Graphic Novel 69 Graphic Novel by Walter Dean Myers adapted by Guy A. Sims illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile Spark Your Learning 2 • Analyze plot • Analyze character traits • Analyze folktales • Analyze rhyme and rhyme scheme • Analyze sound devices and mood • Analyze narrator • Evaluate graphic novel KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not? Reality Check 1 Page 1 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM6 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing UNIT 1 TASKS WRITING Write an Informative Essay 86 REFLECT & EXTEND 95 Planet Middle School Novel by Nikki Grimes A Christmas Carol Novel by Charles Dickens My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich Novel by Ibi Zoboi LONG READS UNIT 1 READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 84 SHORT READS Way Too Cool Short Story by Brenda Woods Forever New Informational Text by Dan Risch He—y, Come on Ou—t! Short Story by Shinichi Hoshi A Priceless Lesson in Humility Personal Essay by Felipe Morales Recommendations Available online Contents FM7 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company• Image Credits: (l) ©Blend Images/Granger Wootz/Media Bakery; (c) ©Archivist/Adobe Stock; (r) ©Corbis DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT ANALYZE & APPLY Heartbeat 103 Short Story by David Yoo The Flight of Icarus 115 Myth retold by Sally Benson Icarus’s Flight 127 Poem by Stephen Dobyns Rogue Wave 135 Short Story by Theodore Taylor Women in Aviation mentor text 155 History Writing by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack Spark Your Learning 98 • Analyze character • Analyze myth • Determine theme • Analyze form in poetry • Determine author’s purpose • Analyze setting and conflict • Analyze structure KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do actions define us? Page 96 Take Control 2 COLLABORATE & COMPARE Thank You, M’am 170 Short Story by Langston Hughes A Police Stop Changed This Teenager’s Life 183 Article by Amy B Wang COMPARE CHARACTERS AND PEOPLE © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM8 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 194 SHORT READS from Young Arthur Legend retold by Robert D. San Souci Perseus and the Gorgon’s Head Myth retold by Ann Turnbull It Couldn’t Be Done Poem by Edgar Albert Guest Chemistry 101 Poem by Marilyn Nelson The Hobbit Novel by J. R. R. Tolkien The Hunger Games Novel by Suzanne Collins Buried Onions Novel by Gary Soto UNIT 2 TASKS WRITING Write an Informative Essay 196 SPEAKING & LISTENING Present a Film Critique 205 REFLECT & EXTEND 207 LONG READS UNIT 2 Available online Recommendations Contents FM9 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Quick Shot/Shutterstock; (c) ©RZ Images/Adobe Stock; (r) ©Alexander Oganezov/Shutterstock DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT ANALYZE & APPLY Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed 215 Science Fiction by Ray Bradbury Martian Metropolis 241 Science Writing by Meg Thacher Challenges for Space Exploration 253 Argument by Ann Leckie What If We Were Alone? 263 Poem by William Stafford Seven Minutes of Terror 269 Video by NASA Page 208 • Analyze science fiction • Analyze mood • Analyze central ideas • Analyze structure • Analyze form in poetry • Analyze media • Analyze argument KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES Spark Your Learning 210 ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Is space exploration a daring adventure or a dangerous risk? The Terror and Wonder of Space 3 COLLABORATE & COMPARE Humans Need to Explore Outer Space mentor text 276 Argument by Claudia Alarcón Let Robots Take to the Stars mentor text 286 Argument by Eiren Caffall COMPARE ARGUMENTS © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM10 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 298 SHORT READS Let’s Aim for Mars Argument by Buzz Aldrin An Optimistic View of the World Personal Essay by Dan Tani Your World Poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson Sally Ride from Headstrong Biography by Rachel Swaby A Wrinkle in Time Novel by Madeleine L’Engle Path to the Stars Memoir by Sylvia Acevedo Ender’s Game Novel by Orson Scott Card UNIT 3 TASKS WRITING Write an Argument 300 SPEAKING & LISTENING Create a Podcast 309 REFLECT & EXTEND 311 LONG READS Available online Recommendations UNIT 3 Contents FM11 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Antony Spencer/Vetta/Getty Images; (c) ©Bloomberg/Contributor/Getty Images; (r) ©Pavel Chagochkin/Shutterstock DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT COLLABORATE & COMPARE Ode to enchanted light/Oda a la luz encantada 364 Poem by Pablo Neruda translated by Ken Krabbenhoft Sleeping in the Forest 370 Poem by Mary Oliver from Trash Talk 379 Video by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration You’re Part of the Solution 381 Poster ANALYZE & APPLY Allied with Green 319 Short Story by Naomi Shihab Nye Never Retreat from Eyes Wide Open mentor text 331 Argument by Paul Fleischman from Mississippi Solo 343 Memoir by Eddy Harris The Drought 355 Poem by Amy Helfrich COMPARE FORMS AND ELEMENTS COMPARE PERSUASIVE MEDIA Spark Your Learning 314 • Analyze theme • Analyze argument • Analyze point of view • Analyze memoir • Analyze sonnet • Analyze ode • Analyze lyric poetry KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What does it mean to be in harmony with nature? Page 312 Inspired by Nature 4 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM12 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing Peak Novel by Roland Smith I Am Still Alive Novel by Kate Alice Marshall Seedfolks Novel by Paul Fleischman LONG READS Available online Recommendations READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 386 SHORT READS from Unbowed Memoir by Wangari Muta Maathai Problems with Hurricanes Poem by Victor Hernández Cruz Living Large Off the Grid Article by Kristen Mascia Haiku Poetry by Issa, Bashō, and Buson, translated by Richard Haas UNIT 4 UNIT 4 TASKS WRITING Write an Argument 388 REFLECT & EXTEND 397 Contents FM13 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Andrii Vergeles/Adobe Stock; (c) ©Daniel Toh/ Shutterstock; (r) ©Yuwarin Stockphoto/Shutterstock DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT COLLABORATE & COMPARE from The Crossover 446 Novel in Verse by Kwame Alexander Double Doubles 457 Poem by J. Patrick Lewis ANALYZE & APPLY Ball Hawk mentor text 405 Short Story by Joseph Bruchac Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video-Game Design 421 Informational Text by Aaron Millar It’s Not Just a Game! 433 Informational Text by Lori Calabrese Spark Your Learning 400 • Analyze point of view • Analyze perspective • Determine central ideas • Analyze novel in verse • Analyze figurative language • Analyze two-voice poetry • Make inferences KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES COMPARE THEMES ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do games impact our lives? Page 398 Game On! 5 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM14 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 464 SHORT READS Batting After Sophie Short Story by Sue Macy Amigo Brothers Short Story by Piri Thomas Bridging the Generational Divide Between a Football Father and Soccer Son Blog by John McCormick Arc of Triumph Science Writing by Nick D’Alto The Crossover Novel in Verse by Kwame Alexander Ghost Novel by Jason Reynolds Baseball in April and Other Stories Short Story Collection by Gary Soto LONG READS Available online Recommendations UNIT 5 UNIT 5 TASKS WRITING Write a Short Story 466 REFLECT & EXTEND 475 Contents FM15 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©moomsabuy/Shutterstock; (c) ©Sergey Mironov/ Shutterstock; (r) ©BrandyTaylor/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT COMPARE AUTHORS' PERSPECTIVES ANALYZE & APPLY Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push 483 Short Story by Walter Dean Myers Craig Kielburger Reflects on Working Toward Peace 497 Personal Essay by Craig Kielburger from It Takes a Child 507 Documentary by Judy Jackson A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long 513 Poem by Nikki Giovanni COLLABORATE & COMPARE Frances Perkins and the Triangle Factory Fire mentor text 522 History Writing by David Brooks from Ashes of Roses 535 Novel Excerpt by Mary Jane Auch • Analyze realistic fiction • Analyze point of view • Analyze a documentary • Analyze free-verse poetry • Analyze theme • Determine central ideas • Analyze setting and motivation KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES Spark Your Learning 478 ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How can changing the world change you? Page 476 Change Agents 6 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FM16 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Go online for Unit and Selection Videos Interactive Annotation and Text Analysis Selection Audio Recordings Collaborative Writing Bud, Not Buddy Novel by Christopher Paul Curtis Kira-Kira Novel by Cynthia Kadohata Gabe and Izzy: Standing Up for America’s Bullied Memoir by Gabrielle Ford LONG READS Available online Recommendations READER’S CHOICE Preview the Choices 550 SHORT READS from The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire History Writing by Zachary Kent Difference Maker: John Bergmann and Popcorn Park Article by David Karas from Walking with the Wind Autobiography by John Lewis Doris Is Coming Short Story by ZZ Packer Seeing Is Believing Informational Text by Mary Morton Cowan UNIT 6 UNIT 6 TASKS WRITING Write a Research Report 552 SPEAKING & LISTENING Participate in a Panel Discussion 561 REFLECT & EXTEND 563 Contents FM17 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (l) ©Linda Nguyen from Austin/Shutterstock; (c) ©Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images; (r) ©Willee Cole/Adobe Stock DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company FICTION Short Story Allied with Green ___________________ 319 Naomi Shihab Nye Amigo Brothers___________________ online Piri Thomas Ball Hawk_____________________________ 405 Joseph Bruchac Batting After Sophie_____________ online Sue Macy Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed _________________________ 215 Ray Bradbury science fiction Doris Is Coming __________________ online ZZ Packer Heartbeat ____________________________ 103 David Yoo He—y, Come On Ou—t!__________ online Shinichi Hoshi Mirror Image ___________________________ 7 Lena Coakley Rogue Wave __________________________ 135 Theodore Taylor Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push ________________________ 483 Walter Dean Myers Thank You, M’am ___________________ 170 Langston Hughes Way Too Cool______________________ online Brenda Woods Oral Tradition The Flight of Icarus ________________ 115 retold by Sally Benson myth Perseus and the Gorgon’s Head ____________________ online retold by Ann Turnbull myth Two Legs or One? ____________________ 35 retold by Josepha Sherman folktale from Young Arthur ______________ online Robert D. San Souci legend Novel from The Crossover _________________ 446 Kwame Alexander novel in verse from Monster: A Graphic Novel ____ 69 Walter Dean Myers graphic novel NONFICTION Informational Text Arc of Triumph ___________________ online Nick D’Alto science writing Difference Maker: John Bergmann and Popcorn Park ________________ online David Karas Forever New_______________________ online Dan Risch Frances Perkins and the Triangle Factory Fire __________________________ 522 David Brooks history writing Get in the Zone: The Psychology of Video-Game Design_________________ 421 Aaron Millar It’s Not Just a Game! _______________ 433 Lori Calabrese Living Large Off the Grid ______ online Kristen Mascia Martian Metropolis _________________ 241 Meg Thacher science writing A Police Stop Changed This Teenager’s Life ______________________ 183 Amy B Wang Seeing Is Believing_______________ online Mary Morton Cowan from The Story of the Triangle Factory Fire _______________________ online Zachary Kent history writing Women in Aviation__________________ 155 Patricia and Fredrick McKissack history writing Argument Challenges for Space Exploration __________________________ 253 Ann Leckie SELECTIONS BY GENRE FM18 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Let Robots Take to the Stars _____ 286 Eiren Caffall Let’s Aim for Mars________________ online Buzz Aldrin Never Retreat from Eyes Wide Open ___________________________ 331 Paul Fleischman Humans Need to Explore Outer Space __________________________ 276 Claudia Alarcón Narrative Nonfiction Bridging the Generational Divide Between a Football Father and Soccer Son _________________________ online John McCormick blog Craig Kielburger Reflects on Working Toward Peace _______________________ 497 Craig Kielburger personal essay An Optimistic View of the World online Dan Tani personal essay A Priceless Lesson in Humility online Felipe Morales personal essay Autobiography/Memoir from Mississippi Solo _______________ 343 Eddy Harris from Unbowed ____________________ online Wangari Muta Maathai from Walking with the Wind __ online John Lewis Biography Sally Ride from Headstrong ____ online Rachel Swaby POETRY Chemistry 101_____________________ online Marilyn Nelson Double Doubles ______________________ 457 J. Patrick Lewis The Drought__________________________ 355 Amy Helfrich Eldorado _______________________________ 50 Edgar Allan Poe Haiku _______________________________ online Issa, Bashō, and Buson, translated by Richard Haas Icarus’s Flight _______________________ 127 Stephen Dobyns It Couldn’t Be Done _____________ online Edgar Albert Guest Ode to enchanted light/Oda a la luz encantada ____________________________ 364 Pablo Neruda A Poem for My Librarian, Mrs. Long _____________________________ 513 Nikki Giovanni Problems with Hurricanes _____ online Victor Hernández Cruz Sleeping in the Forest ______________ 370 Mary Oliver The Song of Wandering Aengus __ 46 W. B. Yeats What If We Were Alone? ___________ 263 William Stafford Your World_________________________ online Georgia Douglas Johnson DRAMA from Monster __________________________ 60 Walter Dean Myers screenplay MEDIA STUDY from It Takes a Child________________ 507 Judy Jackson documentary Seven Minutes of Terror ___________ 269 NASA video from Trash Talk______________________ 379 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration video You’re Part of the Solution ________ 381 poster Selections by Genre FM19 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Tools for Today—All in One Place Whether you’re working alone or collaborating with others, it takes effort to analyze the complex texts and competing ideas that bombard us in this fast-paced world. What will help you succeed? Staying engaged and organized. The digital tools in this program will help you take charge of your learning. Quickly browse for texts and resources Find your units and lessons © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: hands ©Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, tablet ©Andrew Vernon/Dreamstime Experience the Power of HMH Into Literature FM20 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Engage! Spark Your Learning These activities kick-start the unit and help get you thinking about the unit theme. Engage Your Brain Before you read, take some time to do a fun activity designed to rev up your brain and connect to the text. Interact with the Texts • As you read, highlight and take notes to mark the text in your own customized way. • Use interactive graphic organizers to process, summarize, and track your thinking as you read. • Play the audio to listen to the text read aloud. You can also turn on read-along highlighting. Choices Choose from engaging activities, such as writing an advice column, creating a podcast, or participating in a debate, to demonstrate what you’ve learned. Stay Involved! Collaborate with and Learn from Your Peers • Watch brief Peer Coach Videos to learn more about a particular skill. • Flex your creative muscles by digging into Media Projects tied to each unit theme. • Bring your writing online with Writable, where you can share your work and give and receive valuable feedback. Read On! Find helpful Reader’s Choice suggestions with each unit, and access hundreds of texts online. No Wi-Fi? No Problem! With HMH Into Literature, you always have access; download when you’re online and access what you need when you’re offline. FM21 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©Lester Laminack; (b) ©Heinemann; (bg) ©Luria/ Shutterstock AN ABSOLUTELY, ABOUT READING Your Teacher Agrees! POSITIVELY, MUST-READ ESSAY by two people you have never heard of Dr. Kylene Beers I’ve been a teacher all my adult life. I’ve worked with students at all grades, and now I spend most of my time working with teachers—maybe even your teacher! I live in Texas and when I’m not on an airplane flying off to work in a school, I’m on my ranch, plowing a field. I like to read, cook, read, garden, read, spend time with my family and friends, and (did I mention?) read! Dr. Robert E. Probst I’ve also been a teacher all my adult life. When I first started teaching, I taught kids in middle school and high school, and then I spent most of my career teaching people how to be teachers. For many years now, Dr. Beers and I have written books together—books that are about teaching kids how to be better readers. I live in Florida, and when I’m not in schools working with teachers and kids, I enjoy watching my grandkids play soccer and baseball, and I love being out on the ocean. And, like Dr. Beers, I love reading a great book too. So, we’re teachers. And we’re writers. Specifically, we write books for teachers—books teachers read so that they can help their students become better readers. And we’re going to try to help you become a better reader this year. We think that’s important, because we both believe TWO things. FM22 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ji-eun Lee/Shutterstock First, we’ve never met a kid who didn’t want to get better at reading. Reading is important for almost everything you do, so doing it well is important. Second, we believe that reading opens doors. Reading something can open up your mind, your thinking, your ideas, your understanding of the world and all the people in it, so that you might choose to change yourself. Become a Better You Too often it’s easy to forget why reading is important. You can come to believe that you need to read better just so your grades will go up, or you need to read better so that you do well on a big test. Those things are important—you bet—but they aren’t as important as reading better so that you can become better. How would that happen—how can reading help you change yourself? Sometimes it is obvious. You read something about the importance of exercise and you start walking a little more. Or, you read something about energy and the environment and you decide to always turn off the lights when you leave any room. Other times, it might be less obvious. You might read Wonder and begin to think about what it means to be a good friend. Maybe you walk over to that person sitting alone in the cafeteria and sit with him or her. Perhaps you’ll read Stella by Starlight and that book helps you take a stand against racism. Or maybe it happens as you read Mexican Whiteboy and discover that who you are on the inside is more important than what anyone sees on the outside. And when you realize that, perhaps it will give you the courage you need to be truer to yourself. Reading gives us moments to think, and as we think we just might discover something about ourselves that we want to change. And that’s why we say reading can help us change ourselves. Find Important Messages It would be easy to find important messages in the things we read if the authors would just label them and then maybe send us a text. Can reading really make me a better person? Yes, true! Notice & Note FM23 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company But that would mean that every reader is supposed to find the same message. Not true! While the author has a message he or she wants to share, the reader—that’s you!—has at least three jobs to do: First, enjoy what you are reading. Second, figure out the message the author wanted to share. This year we’ll be showing you some ways to really focus in on that. Third, you need to decide what matters most to YOU. (Yes, we saved the best for last!!!) Sometimes the author’s message and what matters most to you will be the same; sometimes not. For instance, it’s obvious that J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series to show us all the sustaining power of love. From Dr. Beers: But when I read these books, what really touched my heart was the importance of standing up to our fears. From Dr. Probst: And what mattered most to me was the idea that one person, one small person, can make a huge difference in the world. I think that’s a critically important point. Understanding the author’s message requires you to do some work while you read—work that requires you to read the text closely. No, you don’t need a magnifying glass. But you do need to learn how to notice some things in the text we call SIGNPOSTS. A signpost is simply something the author says in the text that helps you understand how characters are changing, how conflicts are being resolved, and, ultimately, what theme—or lesson—the author is trying to convey. You can also use signposts to help you figure out the author’s purpose when you are reading nonfiction. If you can identify the author’s purpose—why she or he wrote that particular piece of nonfiction—then you’ll be better able to decide whether or not you agree, and whether you need more information. So as I read, I have to think about something called signposts? My Job 1 2 3 FM24 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
For more about the signposts, see the Notice & Note Handbook, pp. R7–R19. TURN AND TALK What message about reading did you take away from this essay? © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Knysh Ksenya/Shutterstock Use the Book, Your Head, and Your Heart We do want you thinking about signposts, but first, as you read, we want you to remember three letters: BHH. BOOK As you read, we want you to remember that you have to pay attention to what’s in the book (or article). Ask: What is the writer telling me? HEAD You also need to think about what’s in your head as you read. That means thinking not only about what you’re reading, but also the thoughts and feelings you brought with you to the text. Ask: What are my responses and why? HEART And sometimes, maybe as you finish what you’re reading, you’ll ask yourself what you have taken to heart. Ask: What matters to me? To think carefully about what’s in the book and what’s in your head, you need to become a reader who notices things. When a character starts acting in a way you don’t expect, basically the author has put up a blinking sign that says “Pay attention here!” Or, if you are reading nonfiction, and the author starts using a lot of numbers, that’s the same as the author waving a huge flag that says “Slow down! Pay attention! I’m trying to show you something!” Some of the things you’ll read this year, you might not like. (Just being honest!) But most of the things we bet you will. The important thing is to keep reading. • Read every day. • Read something hard. Read something easy. • Read something that makes you laugh. • And it’s OK if sometimes what you read makes you cry. Read joke books and how-to books and love stories and mysteries, and absolutely be sure you read about people who aren’t like you. That’s the best way to learn about the world—the best way to become a more open person who’s ready to change and grow. We hope you have a great year. Stay alert for signposts that you’ll be learning throughout this book. And remember . . . reading is something that can help you become the person you most want to be. Pay attention here! Notice & Note FM25 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Signposts NOTICE & NOTE CONTRASTS AND CONTRADICTIONS A sharp contrast between what we would expect and what we observe the character doing; behavior that contradicts previous behavior or wellestablished patterns When you notice this signpost, ask: Why would the character act (feel) this way? AHA MOMENT A sudden realization of something that shifts a character’s actions or understanding of self, others, or the world When you notice this signpost, ask: How might this change things? TOUGH QUESTIONS Questions characters raise that reveal their inner struggles When you notice this signpost, ask: What does this question make me wonder about? WORDS OF THE WISER The advice or insight about life that a wiser character, who is usually older, offers to the main character When you notice this signpost, ask: What’s the life lesson and how might this affect the character? AGAIN AND AGAIN Events, images, or particular words that recur over a portion of the story When you notice this signpost, ask: Why might the author bring this up again and again? MEMORY MOMENT A recollection by a character that interrupts the forward progress of the story When you notice this signpost, ask: Why might this memory be important? CC p. R8 AM p. R9 TQ p. R10 WW p. R11 AA p. R12 MM p. R13 LITERARY TEXTS When you notice a signpost in your reading, mark the text with its initials. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Maximova Evgeniya/Shutterstock; (tc) ©TonTonic/ Shutterstock; (tr) letter T ©Yaten Tau/Shutterstock, question mark ©Roman Sigaev/Shutterstock; (bl) ©art_of_sun/Adobe Stock; (bc) ©Olessia_Art/Shutterstock; (br) ©art_of_sun/Adobe Stock FM26 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Peer Coach Videos BIG QUESTIONS It’s important to take a Questioning Stance or attitude when you read nonfiction • What surprised me? • What did the author think I already knew? • What changed, challenged, or confirmed what I already knew? CONTRASTS AND CONTRADICTIONS A sharp contrast between what we would expect and what we observe happening; a difference between two or more elements in the text When you notice this signpost, ask: What is the difference, and why does it matter? EXTREME OR ABSOLUTE LANGUAGE Language that leaves no doubt about a situation or an event, allows no compromise, or seems to exaggerate or overstate a case When you notice this signpost, ask: Why did the author use this language? NUMBERS AND STATS Specific quantities or comparisons to depict the amount, size, or scale; or the writer is vague when we would expect more precision When you notice this signpost, ask: Why did the author use these numbers or amounts? QUOTED WORDS Opinions or conclusions of someone who is an expert on the subject or someone who might be a participant in or a witness to an event; or the author might cite other people to provide support for a point When you notice this signpost, ask: Why was this person quoted or cited and what did this add? WORD GAPS Vocabulary that is unfamiliar to the reader—for example, a word with multiple meanings, a rare or technical word, a disciplinespecific word, or one with a farremoved antecedent When you notice this signpost, ask: Do I know this word from someplace else? Does this seem like technical talk for experts on this topic? Can I find clues in the sentence to help me understand the word? BQ p. R14 CC p. R15 XL p. R16 NS p. R17 Q W p. R18 WG p. R19 INFORMATIONAL TEXTS © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©teploleta/Adobe Stock; (tc) ©Maximova Evgeniya/ Shutterstock; (tr) symbols ©teploleta/Adobe Stock, speech bubbles ©art_of_sun/Adobe Stock; (bl) ©Ginger Lemon/Adobe Stock; (bc) ©Annaartist/Shutterstock; (br) letter W ©Yaten Tau/Shutterstock, arrows ©Maximova Evgeniya/Shutterstock Notice & Note FM27 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Andrew Collings You have essays to turn in. You have quizzes to take. You have group projects to complete. Your success in those areas depends on more than your understanding of the academic skills they cover. It also depends on how well you understand yourself, and how well you’re able to extend that understanding to others. This might seem obvious, but there’s an actual term for that type of learning—it’s called Social and Emotional Learning. Why It Matters But doing well in school is not the only benefit to understanding yourself and others. When it comes to Social and Emotional Learning, the answer to the question, “When will I actually use this in my life?” is clear: every single day, forever. Whether you are with your family, your community, your friends, at a workplace, or by yourself on a deserted island, you will have a better chance of achieving satisfaction and making positive contributions if you’re able to do things like the following: The Most Important Subject Is You! by Carol Jago Social & Emotional Learning ✔ identify your emotions ✔ make smart choices ✔ set reasonable goals ✔ recognize your strengths ✔ have empathy ✔ manage your reactions ✔ evaluate problems and solutions ✔ show respect for others FM28 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Where Literature Comes In English Language Arts classes can provide some of the best opportunities to develop these skills. That’s because reading literature allows you to imagine yourself in different worlds and to understand what it’s like to be in a wide range of situations. You can think through your own feelings and values as you read about various characters, conflicts, historical figures, and ideas, and you can become more aware of why others might act and feel as they do. Throughout this book, you will find opportunities for Social and Emotional Learning in the Choices section of many lessons. But you don’t need to wait for a special activity to practice and learn. Reading widely and discussing thoughtfully is a natural way to gain empathy and selfknowledge. The chart below shows the five main areas of Social and Emotional Learning and tells how reading can help you strengthen them. Areas of Social and Emotional Learning How Reading Can Help If you have self-awareness, you’re conscious of your own emotions, thoughts, and values, and you understand how they affect your behavior. Understanding why characters act the way they do can increase your understanding of your own responses and motivations. If you’re good at self-management, you are able to control your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations. Paying attention to why characters explode in tumultuous ways or how they keep calm under pressure can help you recognize what to do and not to do when faced with stressful situations in your own life. If you have social awareness, you can empathize with others, including people who are different from you. Reading about people with different life experiences can help you understand the perspectives of others. If you have well-developed relationship skills, you can get along with different kinds of people and function well in groups. Reflecting on the conflicts between characters can help you gain insight into what causes the conflicts in your life and how to reach mutual satisfaction. If you are good at responsible decisionmaking, you make good choices that keep you and others safe and keep you moving toward your goals. Evaluating the choices characters make and thinking about what you would do in their place can help you understand the consequences of your decisions. Social & Emotional Learning FM29 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Torgado/Shutterstock; (tr) ©Daniel Ernst/Adobe Stock; (b) ©2xSamara.com/Adobe Stock The reason I think so is because I've So what I hear you noticed that I . . . saying is . . . Did I get that right? Having the Hard Conversations The more widely and deeply you read, the more you’ll strengthen your social and emotional skills, and the more likely you are to encounter ideas that are different from your own. Some texts might bring up strong reactions from you, and you’ll need to take a step back to understand how you’re feeling. Or, your classmates might have responses that are dramatically different from yours, and you’ll need to take a breath and decide how to engage with them. Remember: it’s okay to disagree with a text or with a peer. In fact, discussing a difference of opinion can be one of the most powerful ways to learn. Tips for Talking About Controversial Issues Listen actively. Try your best to understand what the other person is saying, and why they might think or feel that way. If you don’t understand, ask questions or rephrase what you thought you heard and ask them if you’re getting it right. Take a stand against name-calling, belittling, stereotyping, and bias. Always try exploring ideas further rather than making personal attacks. If someone feels hurt by something you said, listen to them with an open mind. Perhaps you expressed bias without realizing it. Apologize sincerely if that happens. And if you are hurt by a comment or hear something that could be interpreted as hurtful, calmly let the person who said it know why you feel that way. Communicate clearly. Speak honestly and carefully, rather than for dramatic effect. Notice if the person listening seems confused and give them room to ask questions. When you use that word I have a negative reaction because it sounds like you are saying you think that person isn't smart. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. FM30 GRADE 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (t) ©sirtravelalot/Shutterstock; (c) ©Krakenimages.com/Adobe Stock; (b) ©Ranta Images/Adobe Stock Agree to disagree. Even after listening carefully and being listened to, you still might not agree. That’s okay. You can acknowledge your differences, remain respectful, and exit the conversation. I need to take a break from this conversation now. We see this really differently, so let's move on for now. Learning, growing, and working with others isn’t always easy. If you read widely and deeply and try your best to speak honestly, you’re likely to gain the understanding and compassion that can help you manage the stresses, challenges, and opportunities that life brings your way. Pay attention to your feelings. Recognize the topics or situations that make it hard for you to stay calm. Try to separate your strong feelings from what the person is saying. If you need to, excuse yourself from the conversation and find a place where you can help yourself relax. Consider the relationship. It’s likely that the people you’re in class with are people you will be seeing regularly for years. You don’t have to be friends with them or agree with their point of view, but you do have to get an education alongside each other. Speaking respectfully even if you're on opposite sides of an issue will make it easier to work together if you ever have to collaborate. Try to assume the best about them rather than the worst. Acknowledge that our experiences affect our points of view. I don’t agree with you, but I understand why it looks that way from your perspective. Social & Emotional Learning FM31 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through "File info" CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
UNIT 1 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Get hooked by the unit topic. Stream to Start Video DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Analyze the Image What does this image say about the nature of reality? “Always remember: Your focus determines your reality.” —George Lucas ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not? Reality Check © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 1 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company I can use it! I understand it. I’ll look it up. abnormal feature focus perceive task Prove It! Turn to a partner and use one of the words in a sentence about what it’s like when your reality shifts. As you read, you can use the Response Log (page R1) to track your thinking about the Essential Question. Make the Connection Think about the quote by George Lucas on page 1. • Have you ever confused reality and perception? • What happened? Sketch or write a few lines about a time when you or someone you know needed a reality check. Sound Like an Expert You can use these Academic Vocabulary words to write and talk about the topics and themes in the unit. Which of these words do you already feel comfortable using when speaking or writing? Think About the Essential Question What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not? What comes to mind when you think about this question? Here’s a chance to spark your learning about ideas in Unit 1: Reality Check. Spark Your Learning 2 UNIT 1 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tl) ©Ingram/Ingram Micro/Media Bakery; (tc) ©Yakobchuk Viacheslav/Shutterstock; (tr) ©Reza/Getty Images News/Getty Images; (cl) ©thefurnaceroom/Getty Images; (c) ©Gilles Gaonach/Shutterstock; (cr) ©James Steidl/Shutterstock; (bl) ©LightField Studios/Shutterstock from Monster: A Graphic Novel Graphic Novel by Walter Dean Myers Adapted by Guy A. Sims Illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile A sixteen-year old is accused of helping with a murder. Who will believe his side of the story? from Monster Screenplay by Walter Dean Myers When Steve Harmon finds himself in jail, he turns his life into a running screenplay. Eldorado Poem by Edgar Allan Poe The quest for the city of gold leads into eerie territory. The Song of Wandering Aengus Poem by W. B. Yeats A mysterious vision sets a lifelong search in motion. Two Legs or One? Folktale retold by Josepha Sherman A couple has a meaty disagreement. Not Everything It Seems Article by Arnetta Carter What’s the reality behind Instagrammers and the instafamous? Mirror Image Short Story by Lena Coakley Being yourself is hard when you’re a stranger. I Wonder . . . Why or when do some people need a reality check? Jot down your answer. Preview the Texts Look over the images, titles, and descriptions of the texts in the unit. Mark the title of the text that interests you most. 3 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Get Ready © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images “The eyes are the mirror(s) of the soul.” This proverb has been traced back to ancient times. It means that people’s eyes reveal their true personality. Do you agree? Write down your thoughts. Me, Myself, and I What makes you uniquely “you”? Complete one these sentences. I’m happiest when ____________________ . Three key words that describe me are ___________ , __________ , and ________ . My favorite place to be is ______________ . One thing I know for sure about myself is _____________. Engage Your Brain Choose one or more of these activities to start connecting with the short story you’re about to read. ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can blur the lines between what’s Mirror Image real and what’s not? Short Story by Lena Coakley Myth or Reality? Briefly research these statements about identical twins. Then, mark each as myth or reality. Share your findings with a partner. • Identical twins always have identical fingerprints. Myth Reality • Identical twins can read each other’s minds. Myth Reality • Identical twins don’t always look identical. Myth Reality 4 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Get Ready © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Focus on Genre Short Story • has a single idea and can be read in one sitting • develops one or more characters • presents a plot with one main conflict • the setting often affects the plot • may be realistic or imaginary • often conveys a theme or lesson Analyze Plot and Flashback Most stories unfold in a series of events, known as a plot. Important elements of the plot include setting—the time and place of a story’s action, and conflict—the struggle between opposing forces. Most plots unfold in five stages: • The exposition introduces characters, setting, and conflict. • The rising action presents complications. • The climax is the moment of greatest interest. • The falling action brings the story to a close. • The resolution is the conflict’s final outcome. Some plots include a device called a flashback that can interrupt a story’s chronological order by describing what took place at an earlier time. The details of flashbacks help readers better understand the story’s current plot developments. Analyze Character Traits The characters in a short story are the people, animals, or imaginary creatures that take part in the action. Characters have personal qualities known as character traits. An author often describes characters’ qualities and appearance directly, but just as often, a reader must figure out characters’ traits based on their actions and behaviors. As you read “Mirror Image,” use the chart to note details about the main character’s traits. Think about how her traits influence events and affect the story’s resolution. CHARACTER TRAITS HOW TRAITS AFFECT PLOT • physical appearance • speech, thoughts, and actions • others’ impressions of the character and their interactions Mirror Image 5 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Get Ready Background Born in Milford, Connecticut, Lena Coakley (b. 1967) credits her “larger-than-life” grandmother with providing the stability she needed as she grew up. Although she had little success with creative writing in high school, she studied writing while attending Sarah Lawrence College. Her first book was Witchlanders, a fantasy novel, followed by the adventure novel Wicked Nix and the historicalfiction fantasy Worlds of Ink and Shadow: A Novel of the Brontës. Now living in Toronto, Canada, Coakley has twice won second prize in the Toronto Star’s short-story contest. Turn to a partner and talk about the vocabulary words you already know. Then, use as many of the words as you can in a 140-character post sharing your thoughts about being caught in a peculiar situation, one in which you may have had to check your reality. As you read “Mirror Image,” use the definitions in the side column to learn the vocabulary words you don’t already know. disquiet prickly mesmerize adaptable grimace Expand Your Vocabulary Put a check mark next to the vocabulary words that you feel comfortable using when speaking or writing. Alice had to re-learn how to move in the hospital, and to speak. At first the world was nothing but a mush of dark images, disconnected voices and prickly feelings all over her skin. What has happened to Alice in the hospital? Annotation in Action Here is a note a student made about a section of “Mirror Image.” As you read the selection, mark words related to character and setting, and note details that help you understand how characters respond to their situation. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Lena Coakley 6 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Ingram/Ingram Micro/Media Bakery NOTICE & NOTE As you read, use the side margins to make notes about the text. Being yourself is hard when you’re a stranger. Mirror Image Short Story by Lena Coakley I f only there were no mirrors, Alice sometimes thought, although she carried one in her backpack wherever she went. It was a silver-plated mirror her father had given her with the initials ACS on the back. Just you, Alice, she would say to herself, looking the way you’ve always looked. Then she’d pull out the mirror. The surprise and disbelief at seeing the reflection was a joke she played on herself over and over. It was disquieting, however, to come upon a mirror without warning. She would say “excuse me” to her own reflection in shop windows. Mirrors in unexpected places would make her start and lose her nerve. She avoided the girls’ bathroom altogether. Alice took to wearing sunglasses all the time, to remind herself, to keep something constantly in front of her eyes that would remind her that she looked different. Her teachers let her wear them. Maybe the word had come down from the top that she wasn’t to be hassled for a while, but Alice 1 2 disquiet (dis-kwi´-it) tr.v. Something that disquiets deprives someone of peace or rest. Mirror Image 7 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Close Read Screencast Listen to a modeled close read of this text. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company thought it was more than that. She thought they were all a little afraid of her. Of course, her mind learned to ignore the glasses. The human mind is incredibly adaptable. Her mother was always telling her that. “Do you think I move differently?” she asked her twin, Jenny, once identical. “Look how my feet kind of roll when I walk. And my hips, my hips feel totally different.” Alice walked across the bedroom like a fashion model, wearing nothing but black bikini underwear. “Actually, as bodies go, this one is a lot better. I mean, check it out,” Alice grabbed a chunk of her thigh, “no cellulite.” Jenny watched from inside her own body. “You looked okay before.” “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. You’re pretty. I can see that now. But I never used to think that I was. You know, my old body used to weigh much less than this body weighs, but I still wouldn’t have been able to walk around naked in it. No one has ever told me that this body is ugly. For all I know it’s never had zits. I haven’t had one yet. I feel like I could do anything in this body. Hey, did I show you, I can almost touch my foot to the back of my head.” *** Alice had to re-learn how to move in the hospital, and to speak. At first the world was nothing but a mush of dark images, disconnected voices and prickly feelings all over her skin. If someone touched her arm she wasn’t sure from which part of her body the sensation came. Colors seemed different. People’s voices were pitched a tone higher. When she tried to speak, she bit her tongue, which seemed enormous in her mouth and tasted funny. When she finally learned, the tone was different, but the inflections1 and the slight Maritime accent were the same. She’d had an accident, they said. But long before the psychiatrist told her, she knew. These weren’t her hands. This wasn’t her breath. *** “Let me read your diary.” Alice and Jenny lay on top of their beds supposedly doing homework. Above each bed hung a charcoal portrait their father had drawn. He had finished them just before he died. Now, only Jenny’s was a good likeness. “Not now,” said Jenny, closing the book and capping her ball point pen. “You can read mine.” 1 inflection: a change in pitch or tone in the voice. 3 4 5 6 prickly (pr∆k´lπ) adj. A prickly feeling is a tingling sensation. 7 8 9 10 ANALYZE PLOT AND FLASHBACK Annotate: Review paragraph 6 and underline details that describe what Alice is experiencing. Summarize: What do you learn about Alice’s situation through the flashback? 8 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: ©Photodisc/Getty Images Don’t forget to Notice & Note as you read the text. “I know what your diary says—Ooh, I found a new mole today on my new body. Ooh, don’t my new armpits smell divine?” “Come on. What do you have, some big secret in there? We’ve always read each other’s diaries.” “I have to get to know you better.” Jenny slipped her diary between her mattress and box spring. “Yeah, right,” Alice laughed. Then she realized her sister wasn’t joking. “What, fourteen years wasn’t enough?” “You were in the hospital a long time, that’s all I mean.” Alice swung her legs over the side of her bed and looked at Jenny. At one time looking at her was like looking in the mirror, and Alice still found her sister’s coppery red hair and masses of freckles more familiar than her own reflection. “Jenny, we’re still twins. I have the same memories: Camp Wasaga, moving to Toronto, Dad. You know, when I draw, I can still make the shadows, just the way he showed us. Isn’t that amazing? Even though I have a different hand. And my signature is the same too. This is me in here, Jenny. My brain is me.” Jenny rolled over on her bed. “Whatever. You still can’t readit.” *** Alice was in the hospital for months. She saw doctors, interns, psychiatrists, physical therapists, speech therapists. Once a reporter, who had actually scaled the building, poked his head through the window to ask, “Hey, Alice, how do you feel?” and snapped a few photos. All the mirrors had been removed, of course, from her room and bathroom, but Jenny and her mother brought the hand mirror with her initials when the doctors thought Alice was ready. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 ANALYZE CHARACTER TRAITS Annotate: Review the exchange between the sisters in paragraphs 12–16. Mark details that show each girl’s attitude. Analyze: What character traits is Alice displaying in this conversation with her sister? Mirror Image 9 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company “They couldn’t have saved your old body,” her mother said. “This was the only way to keep you alive.” “No one knows what it will be like,” said Jenny. “You’re the only one who’s ever survived before.” “I know all that,” Alice slurred. The doctors had taken the precaution of giving her a mild sedative.2 It made her feel like everything was happening to someone else, far away. She held the silver mirror in one hand. With the other, she pulled at her face, squeezed it as if it were clay. Alice was mesmerized by the unfamiliar eyes, big and brown and dark. Whenever her father painted her, he’d spend most of his time on the eyes. The eyes are the mirror of the soul, he used to say. Whose soul is that? Alice wondered. For a moment she considered screaming, but it was too much trouble. Besides, it wouldn’t be her scream. “It’s okay, Mom,” she said. “Maybe I’ll start looking like myself again. If I try hard enough. If I concentrate hard enough. Very slowly, over the course of years, my eyes will change color .. . my face. It might . . .” Alice’s mother stroked her hair. “We’ll get through this,” she said, “The human mind is incredibly adaptable.” “Mrs. Jarred’s on TV again,” Alice called. “Tum it off,” her mother said, “It’s time for birthday cake,” but Alice and Jenny kept watching. Above the television, the faces of the family portrait Alice’s father had painted smiled out into the room. “A new development in the story of Girl X,” said the newscaster, “first surviving recipient of a brain transplant . . .” Alice’s mother stood in the doorway wiping her hands on a tea towel. She had fewer freckles than Jenny, and the long braid which hung down her back wasn’t quite so bright a red, but the family resemblance was unmistakable. “I don’t want you to worry about the Jarreds, girls. My lawyer says they don’t have a legal leg to stand on.” Mrs. Jarred, a middle-aged woman in a red checked coat, stood on a suburban lawn. She had dark hair just beginning to gray and Alice’s large, dark eyes. A short man with a pot belly smiled self-consciously beside her. “Is that your family?” Jenny asked. “I don’t even know them.” “Mrs. Jarred,” said a female reporter with a microphone, “has science gone too far?” “She’s our daughter,” the woman replied with emotion. “When we signed the release form donating her body, we 2 sedative: a drug having a soothing, calming, or tranquilizing effect. 20 21 22 mesmerize (m∏z´m∂-rπz´) v. To mesmerize someone is to spellbind them. 23 24 adaptable (∂-d√p´t∂-b∂l) adj. Something that is adaptable can change or adjust to meet new conditions. 25 26 27 28 VOCABULARY Suffixes: A suffix is a word part that appears at the end of a root or base word to form a new word. One meaning of the suffix -able is “inclined to a certain action.” The word unmistakable also has the prefix un-, which means “not.” The word unmistakable means “impossible to mistake or misinterpret.” Analyze: Why do you think the author notes that Alice’s mother bears an unmistakable resemblance to Jenny? 29 30 31 32 33 NOTICE & NOTE TOUGH QUESTIONS When you notice characters asking questions that reveal their internal struggles, you’ve found a Tough Questions signpost. Notice & Note: In paragraph 22 underline the question Alice wonders about. Analyze: What does this question make you wonder about? 10 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
Close Read Screencast Listen to a modeled close read of this text. © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company didn’t know they were going to bring her back to life with some new brain. Our Gail is alive and living somewhere in Toronto and I’m not even allowed to see her.” Mrs. Jarred began to cry and the camera cut away to Alice and her mother leaving the hospital amid crowds of journalists. Since she was under eighteen, Alice’s face was covered with a round, black dot. The girls had both seen this footage many times before. “Gail. Wow. That’s so weird.” “That’s not my name.” The TV flashed pictures of the Jarreds before the accident. A girl with a dog. A smiling teenager wearing a party dress. “Ooh, nice outfit, Gail.” “Darn those TV people,” said Alice’s mother. “They protect our privacy by not showing what you look like, and then they show pictures of your body before the accident. That makes a lot of sense.” “The Jarreds probably gave permission,” said Alice. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Everyone at school knows. The whole world knows.” Alice’s mother continued as if she was talking to herself. “Those Jarreds . . . If we start having reporters all over the lawn again . . .” She twisted her face in disgust, strode across the room, and turned off the television with a sharp flick of her wrist. “Hey.” “Come on, cake time. I made it from scratch. Alice’s favorite, chocolate with mocha cream.” In the dining room a huge and elaborate cake was waiting on the table. Rich, white chocolate piping swirled over dark mocha. Ornate candy violets decorated the cake’s tall sides. “Awesome, Mom,” said Alice. She couldn’t remember her mother ever making a homemade cake before. “You blow first,” she said to Jenny as she sat down. “You’re the oldest.” “By two minutes,” said Jenny, “and anyway, maybe I’m not the oldest anymore.” “What do you mean?” “You might be older than me now with your new body. You might be old enough to drive for all we know.” Alice’s brown eyes widened. “Mom, if my body is sixteen, does that mean I can get my license?” “Forget it,” her mother said as she lit the cake. “You could barely walk six months ago.” She switched out the lights. In the yellow glow of the candles, Alice and Jenny followed a tradition that their father had started long ago. First Alice and her mother sang Happy Birthday to Jenny. Then, after Jenny had blown them out, the candles were lit again for Alice, and the song was sung a second time. 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 NOTICE & NOTE MEMORY MOMENT When you notice the narrator has interrupted the forward progress of a story by bringing up something from the past, you’ve found a Memory Moment signpost. Notice & Note: Review what happens in paragraphs 49–52, and mark any details about what happened in the past. Compare: Why might this memory be important? 50 Mirror Image 11 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Alice blinked and squinted when the lights came on again. “I forgot to make a wish,” she said. Her mother smiled and handed a slice of the beautiful cake to each of the girls. “I guess you have to share your wish with Jenny.” Alice and Jenny laughed. One year, when they were little girls, the suggestion that they would have to share a wish sent them into fits of crying which their parents could only resolve by filling the cake slices back into the cake and lighting the candles for a third and fourth time. Alice cut the cake with the edge of her fork, happy that the tension brought on by the newscast had begun to melt away. She put a large bite into her mouth. Bitter. Alice tried hard to swallow, tried hard not to let her face show any reaction to the cake, but the taste of the mocha forced her mouth into a grimace. Jenny didn’t miss it. “I guess Gail doesn’t like chocolate with mocha cream.” “No, it’s good,” said Alice, forcing it down. Jenny pushed her own piece away. “I’m not hungry.” “Jeez, Jenny, why are you angry at me for not liking a piece of cake? I can’t help it.” “Who’s angry?” “I have different taste buds now, and they’re sending different messages to my brain. They’re saying, this cake tastes gross. Sorry, Mom.” “Okay,” said Jenny. “You’re always saying that you are still you because you have the same brain, but who is to say that your whole personality is in your head?” “Where else would it be?” “I don’t know; maybe there was some other part of your body where part of yourself lived. Maybe it was your big toe.” Alice’s mother set down her fork. “Jenny, people have their big toes cut off and they’re still themselves. People have heart transplants and they’re still themselves.” “Right,” said Alice. She smiled at her mother, but her mother looked away. “Maybe not,” Jenny said, “maybe they’re a little bit different but they just don’t notice. You’re a lot different. You’re a morning person. You never see your old friends. You hang out with Imogen Smith and those snobs. Now you’re going out for cheerleading, for goodness sake. And what is with those sunglasses? Sometimes . . . I don’t know . . . Sometimes I think my sister is dead.” Jenny pushed her chair back and ran out of the room. Alice sat where she was, poking at her cake with her fork, trying not to cry. 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 ANALYZE CHARACTER TRAITS Annotate: Review Jenny’s description of Alice in paragraph 65. Mark any details that show Alice’s current traits. Analyze: What does Jenny’s description reveal about her relationship with Alice at this point? 66 grimace (gr∆m´ ∆s) n. A grimace is a sharp twisting of the face, indicating disgust or distaste. 12 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
ANALYZE CHARACTER TRAITS Annotate: Review Alice’s conversation with Mr. Jarred in paragraphs 70–86. Mark any details that show what the two characters come to realize. Analyze: What does Alice understand about Mr. Jarred? © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Don’t forget to Notice & Note as you read the text. Her mother got up and began to gather the plates. “I think,” she began, her voice wavering3 , “I think cheerleading would be very good for your coordination.” Alice stared at her mother, but again her mother avoided her eyes. Suddenly Alice thought she understood the elaborate cake. She made it because she felt guilty, Alice thought, guilty for thinking, way down deep, that I’m not really the same daughter she knew before. *** The first thing Alice saw when her eyes could focus was the white hospital ceiling, but the white had a slightly unnatural blueness to it, the way white looks on TV. Sometimes things were exquisitely clear and sharp, although she wasn’t wearing her contacts, and she hadn’t yet learned to ignore her eyelashes which seemed longer and darker than they had been before. When Alice saw her mother for the first time she cried and cried. Her skin had a different texture. Her hair hardly seemed red at all. She even had a different smell. And Jenny. Why was everyone she knew so different? Why wasn’t her father there? Would he be different too? *** When Alice met Mr. Jarred, it was in the middle of the street. A new sidewalk had just been poured on Bedford Avenue, so Alice had to walk in the street to go around the construction on the way home from school. A light rain was falling, preventing the concrete from setting. Mr. Jarred held an oversized umbrella, striped red and yellow, above his head. He might have walked right by her, but Alice was staring hard at him trying to remember something—anything—about him besides the newscast. “Gail,” he said in a soft mumble and then, “I’m sorry . . . I mean Alice . . . Do you know me?” “I saw you on TV.” “Ah, yes.” The two stood in silence for a moment. “You should have an umbrella,” he said. “This one’s a ridiculous thing, my wife’s. Here.” “No, no, it’s just sprinkling, really,” but Alice took the umbrella Mr. Jarred offered her, holding it upside down, its point in the road. “This is very strange for me, very strange,” he said, staring at her. “We knew you were in Toronto, but, well, to be honest, it was my wife who wanted to contact you. I . . . I thought it would 3 waver: to become unsteady or unsure. 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 Mirror Image 13 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company be better not to see you. It’s very strange,” he repeated, then added, “You look so different.” “I do?” “Your hair. The way you stand, even. Our Gail, she was an early bloomer, always slouched. Your accent is different too.” He paused. “I understand, you know. My wife, she thinks our daughter is still alive, but I. . . . I know.” A car turned onto the street and honked at them. “I’d better go.” On impulse, Alice grabbed Mr. Jarred’s hand. It was warm and big and rough, and Alice knew she had never felt it before. “I knew I wouldn’t remember you,” she said, “but I was hoping, when you walked by, that I’d know you somehow.” Mr. Jarred took his hand away. “But you don’t.” “No.” Alice slid her dark glasses to the top of her head. “My dad—I guess you know he died in the accident.” “Yes.” “Sometimes I think if he were alive, he would just look into my eyes and know who was in here.” The two stood in silence. Then Alice said, “What will you tell your wife?” “I’ll tell her,” Mr. Jarred’s voice began to falter, but he looked at her straight on, “I’ll tell her I looked into your eyes and that I didn’t see my daughter.” “I’m sorry,” said Alice. She didn’t ask the question that immediately came to her, but the words rang in her mind: who did you see? Alice gripped the umbrella as she watched Mr. Jarred hurry around the corner. She stepped up to the curb and pressed her waist to the wooden barrier that protected the sidewalk. Then she folded the umbrella and secured the strap. In a small corner of the sidewalk she wrote her initials, ACS, with the tip of the umbrella. Alice was here, she thought. And then she walked towards home. 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 TURN AND TALK What is significant about the moment when Alice writes her initials in the cement? Discuss this moment with a partner. Review your notes and add your thoughts to your Response Log. ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What can blur the lines between what’s real and what’s not? 14 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Test-Taking Strategies Assessment Practice Answer these questions before moving on to the Analyze the Text section on the following page. 1. Read the excerpt from the story. “She put a large bite into her mouth. Bitter. Alice tried hard to swallow, tried hard not to let her face show any reaction to the cake, but the taste of the mocha forced her mouth into a grimace.” (paragraph 53) What does the word grimace suggest about Alice? A She is desperate to amuse her mother and sister. B She is struggling to appear the same as always. C She is upset that her reaction shows she’s not good at acting. D She is sorry she took a such a big bite of the cake. 2. This question has two parts. First answer Part A, then Part B. Part A How has Alice changed since her accident? A Her looks, tastes, and habits are no longer the same. B Her sense of right and wrong are very confused. C Her physical balance is less steady than it once was. D Her self-confidence is much stronger than before. Part B What is Alice trying to persuade her family to believe? A She is a better person than she was before the transplant. B She is aware her full recovery will take time. C She is not worried about the changes she is experiencing. D She is the same person she was before the transplant. Mirror Image 15 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Respond NOTICE & NOTE Review what you noticed and noted as you read the text. Your annotations can help you answer these questions. Analyze the Text Support your responses with evidence from the text. 1 INTERPRET Consider the character traits of Alice’s sister, Jenny, and their mother, whom you get to know primarily through their speech and actions. What do they seem to be feeling, based on their interactions with Alice? To check details, refer to the Character Traits chart you filled out as you read. 2 SUMMARIZE How does the author use flashback to convey what happened to Alice? 3 ANALYZE Use this chart to record characters’ descriptions of Alice at different points in the story. CHARACTER REFERS TO ALICE AS . . . (include paragraph number) POSSIBLE REASON Jenny Newscaster Mrs. Jarred Mr. Jarred 4 INFER Alice and Jenny’s father doesn’t appear in the story; however, you learn many things about him. Describe what you understand about him based on story details. 5 DRAW CONCLUSIONS Recall that the climax of a story is its moment of greatest interest. What is the climax of “Mirror Image”? What details help you draw this conclusion? 6 EVALUATE How might the story be different if the author hadn’t included Memory Moments through flashbacks? 7 ANALYZE Alice faces a lot of Tough Questions in the story. At one point her sister asks, “Who is to say that your whole personality is in your head?” After Alice’s encounter with Mr. Jarred, how do you think she would respond to this question? Explain. 16 UNIT 1 ANALYZE & APPLY DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=NL-A;FL-A
