Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Ana’s Obituary”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of context and characterization by writing an obituary for Ana.

When Ana is grieving over her brother’s death, one of the ways she copes is through writing imagined obituaries—including her own. Now that you have finished the book, what do you imagine her real obituary might someday say?

Gather Information

• Make a T-chart.
• On one side, list evidence from the text that demonstrates what Ana’s hopes and dreams are and details that show what kind of a person Ana has matured into by the end of the story.
• On the other side, list any obstacles that might get in the way of Ana achieving her hopes and dreams.

Write the Obituary

• Look at some examples of obituaries so that you know what kind of information they usually contain, how they are structured, and what tone they generally use.
• Use the information in your T-chart to write an obituary for Ana. You can imagine any future for her that is logically consistent with the information in the text and what you know about the real world.