1. Distributes copies of the selection and Before assigning the reading, invites participants to examine the title page, preview the selection and make predictions regarding the story content and
   
   
2. Directs participants and volunteers to read the selection using the "Say Something" technique, suggesting that they pay particular attention to the descriptions of the two major settings - focusing specifically on place.

1. Reinforces the use of the "Say Something" technique by inviting participants to respond to the story.
   
   
2. Focuses on the role that setting plays in the story by:
   
   a) Eliciting from participants, and at the same time recording in two columns, the words or phrases that describe the contrasting settings: Column 1 - in the old country and Column 2 - in the new country, as shown in Box 22.
   
   b) Developing insights into how the setting highlights the theme by going back over the list of setting descriptors and dividing that list into story episodes and
   
   c) Having participants identify what kind of feelings each episode evokes.
   
   (The family's hopes and expectations were high as the family anticipated their new life in Canada, reality set in, but spirits soared at the prospects of a new friend and the flowers seeding themselves.)
   
   A compare/contrast chart for reference is shown in Box 22.
   
   
3. Leads a discussion that encourages making connections between the experiences described in the story and the participants own experiences and feelings as immigrants: similarities/differences from Pettranella's in regard to dreams and expectations, and experience of reality. (Possibly they immigrated later in the twentieth century and settled in the city rather than in a rural area.)

NOTE: Studying historical and realistic fiction provides for stimulating discussion. As suggested by Dianne Monson (1987), characters in both types of books share the same universal feelings of hope and love, hate, fear and joy. Such stories often deal with personal, social or political conflicts. Hence they are ideal for piquing discussion among adult groups, even though they are created for children as the audience.

Connections may also be made with the stories participants are creating in Writing Workshop. Participants may want to re-read their own stories to discover whether or not they have included enough details in regard to setting, attending to both time and place.