Ruby Lost and Found

By Christina Li.

Published in 2023 by Harper Collins.

Adventure, Grief, Loss, Community, Self-discovery.

Summary

Ruby Chu is spending the summer with her Nai Nai, but not by choice; her parents sent her because she was getting in trouble during the school year and cannot be trusted to stay at home alone. At first, Ruby is miserable because she spends all her weekdays in a senior center and is quietly grieving the loss of her Ye Ye, who recently died of a stroke. What's more, Ruby is drifting away from her best friends, her sister is never home, and her favorite local bakery is on the brink of closing. But when Ruby notices how her grandmother keeps forgetting names and places, she finds herself in a unique position to help keep Nai Nai safe.

CCSS Standard

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.5

Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.

Recommended Delivery

Read Aloud

Why read this book aloud to the class?

While reading the book aloud to the whole class, instruction can still be differentiated as students work in small groups to complete pre-reading and post-reading activities.
Reading aloud models proper accuracy, rate, and prosody. The book's expressive thoughts and dialogue allow for the reader's intonation to communicate richer meaning.

Comprehension Strategies

Before

Make predictions and pre-teach vocabulary.

First, read the title, summary, and jacket flap. Then, listen to a recorded read-aloud of Chapter 1. Pause the recording at 7:14. Students will make predictions related to key story elements: Who are the characters so far? Where is the setting? What is happening in the first scene?

Next, the teacher will deliver a concise overview of the key vocabulary words (in the drop-down box below). Each word is defined in student friendly language.

Then, students will participate in a small group, open concept sort of key vocabulary words, as described on the Reading Rockets website. Students will write their own categories and then sort the words into their chosen categories. After sorting, students will complete a gallery walk to observe and analyze each group's categories.

During

Note-taking/graphic organizer and answering questions.

While reading, students will complete a chain of events graphic organizer with teacher support. After reading each chapter, students will brainstorm what the most important event(s) were from that chapter, and the teacher will guide students in selecting important events to include in the organizer. Students may use multiple copies of the organizer as needed.

While reading, students will reflect on, discuss, and answer the following questions to help them understand the author's reasoning for writing the story out of chronological order.

What have you learned about Ruby's last summer with Ye-ye?
How is this summer different from last summer?
How does knowing about Ruby's past help you understand her current thoughts and actions?

After

Sequence of events: utilizing text structure.

After finishing the novel, students will work in small groups to create a poster that portrays the sequence of events in the novel.

Students will select 10-15 key events from the story and write each event on a notecard. Then, students will organize their notecards to portray the sequence of events. Students have two options:

Portray the sequence of events as told in the novel.
Alter the sequence of events, re-telling the story in chronological order.

Students will present their posters to the class. They will explain how they identified the important events and why they chose to display the sequence of events as told in the novel or in chronological order.

Key Vocabulary

Ye Ye: in Mandarin, this is what you call your paternal grandfather, or your dad’s father.
Nai Nai: in Mandarin, this is what you call your paternal grandmother, or your dad’s mother.
Mandarin: a dialect of Chinese, the official language of China.
Cantonese: a dialect of Chinese, mainly spoken in Southeastern China.
Dementia: a medical condition that causes a loss in memory and reasoning.
Senior center: a community building that provides activities and services for elderly residents.
Scavenger hunt: a type of game that is traditionally played to find a set of objects, but in the book, is designed to find different places in the city.
Anxiety: a feeling of fear, dread, uneasiness, or worry that may be caused by stressful events.
Grief: deep sorrow or sadness, especially caused by someone's death.

Writing Prompt

Write a letter to Ruby Chu as she enters her eighth grade school year. Ask her 5-10 questions about her life, family, friendships, attitudes towards school, or any other relevant topic. Offer a piece of advice, a positive affirmation, or a thoughtful quote to help Ruby through the school year. Students must use proper letter formatting, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

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