The dragonfly box appears in different parts of the story. How does Mr. Mac’s dragonfly box affect Nick, and what can readers learn about Nick’s character from his reactions in scenes in which the box appears? You may want to think about these points before addressing the prompt.

• Where does the box first appear?
• How does Mr. Mac respond to Nick’s questions about the box?
• What happens to the box?
• When Nick looks inside the box, what is his reaction?
• What happens after he opens the box?
• What is the effect of not revealing completely to the reader what is in the box?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be beneficial to re-read sections of the book together like the poem “Inside the Bag Is, Get This, FREEDOM.” Some students might want to theorize what was in the bag, and asking for details from the novel to support their ideas can lead to close re-reading and analysis. Another way to approach the discussion would be to start with specific details, identify connections between the details, and form arguments from there.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with attentional and executive function differences might benefit from a graphic organizer such as a 3-column chart that lists details from the text in the first column; inference, explanation, and connections from these details in the middle column; and additional questions for discussion in the third column.