Description
This resource for “Sol Painting, Inc.” by Meg Medina includes thoughtfully structured before-reading, during-reading, and after-reading activities designed to support reading comprehension and literary analysis.
Told from the perspective of Merci, a seventh-grade girl who hopes to one day take over her father’s painting business, “Sol Painting, Inc.” explores how family expectations, culture, and personal identity shape a young person’s worldview. Meg Medina, a Cuban American author, is known for centering stories on the ways heritage, family, and culture influence individual experiences. This text is especially effective for teaching point of view, as students examine how different characters interpret the same situation in different ways.
Because of its focus on cultural identity and perspective, this story is a meaningful way to incorporate Hispanic voices into your curriculum and works particularly well during Hispanic Heritage Month, though it is valuable at any point in the school year.
In this lesson, students follow a suggested lesson procedure that guides instruction from start to finish. Before reading, students complete an anticipation guide to activate prior knowledge and generate interest. As they read, students work with academic vocabulary using definitions and a graphic organizer, then respond to during-reading literary analysis questions that require close reading and textual evidence. After reading, students participate in discussion questions and complete a focused point of view activity that reinforces the story’s central ideas.
The resource includes teacher guides and answer keys in PDF format, student activity pages available in both PDF and editable Word document formats, and a PowerPoint presentation that provides vocabulary instruction and background information on the author. This lesson is well suited for middle school ELA and supports instruction in point of view, characterization, theme, and cultural perspective.