Throughout the novel, Zoe faces a number of challenges at her young age. She struggles with her friendship with Trevor, she has a hard time achieving her goal of getting on the baking TV show, and she lies and hides the fact that she's corresponding with her birth father who’s in jail. Perhaps her biggest challenge of all is proving her father’s innocence. For this activity, students will identify and illustrate at least three challenges Zoe faces throughout the course of the novel. They should use evidence from the text to describe how Zoe overcomes these challenges.
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Due Date:
Objective: Create a spider map that identifies challenges that Zoe faces in From the Desk of Zoe Washington. Illustrate instances of each challenge and write a short description below each cell.
Student Instructions:
Lead your students in a guided conversation about Zoe's challenges by preparing open-ended questions that prompt critical thinking and empathy. Encourage each student to share their ideas and back them up with evidence from the text.
Explain the importance of listening actively and valuing different perspectives. Remind students to use kind language and to avoid interrupting others during the discussion.
Develop questions that invite interpretation and exploration of characters' feelings, such as "What do you think Zoe was feeling when she faced this challenge?"
Ask students to find and share quotes or passages from the novel that illustrate Zoe's challenges. This helps them practice citing evidence and strengthens their understanding.
Invite students to relate Zoe's challenges to situations they've faced. This builds empathy and deepens engagement with the story.
Zoe Washington faces several major challenges, including struggling with her friendship with Trevor, trying to get on a baking TV show, keeping her secret correspondence with her birth father, and working to prove her father’s innocence. Each obstacle pushes her to grow and demonstrate resilience.
To make a spider map, students should identify at least three challenges Zoe faces in the novel, illustrate each with a related image or scene, and write a short description below each one. This helps organize ideas visually and deepen understanding of Zoe’s character.
One example is when Zoe works to prove her father’s innocence. She gathers evidence and seeks help, showing determination and courage despite obstacles and doubts from those around her.
Identifying Zoe's challenges encourages students to analyze character growth, practice evidence-based thinking, and connect emotionally with the story. It also builds critical reading and comprehension skills.
The spider map activity is designed for grades 4–6, making it suitable for upper elementary and early middle school students learning about character analysis.