Rain Reign

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Healing (Heeling)”

In this activity, students will create a project to help others heal in some way.

Healing is a central focus of the novel. Rose and those in her community work to rebuild physically and emotionally after the hurricane. Rose must also heal from her father’s abuse, the loss of her mother, and saying goodbye to Rain. Reflect on ways to help people heal; then, research and plan a way to take action to help others.

• Re-read and reflect to identify and list character choices, actions, and opportunities that help Rose and others heal in the novel.
• Conduct research into ways to help others recover from community trauma.
• Select and research an action to take to help others heal.
• Construct a plan for this action regarding a recent community-wide event or a potential future conflict.
• Prepare to share: What is your action, and how would it be carried out? What are the goals and intended outcomes of the action? How does this action directly and indirectly connect to the novel?

Utilize a slideshow or other visual aid in sharing your action plan the ways in which it connects to the novel. Reflect on healing and helping others in a journal entry, and discuss the ways in which you think this action would be beneficial.

Teaching Suggestion: It can be helpful when studying challenging topics like Personal and Communal Trauma’s Effects on Children for students to have an outlet to carry out or plan a positive task. This activity can also build classroom community, especially if students have multiple opportunities to share, discuss, and/or work together to make change happen. This activity can be structured as a brief in-class planning exercise, or it can be expanded to a larger service learning project, during which students conduct more extensive research and take action in the broader community.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Rose’s father makes many mistakes, yet at the end of the novel Rose calls him “brave.”

• What 3 adjectives best describe Wesley? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss the descriptions you chose for Wesley by connecting each adjective to plot points, character actions, and quotations in the text. Offer evidence to show the strong connections between Wesley’s character and your descriptors.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, speculate on Wesley’s future after he leaves Rose. What outcomes or consequences in his life would have the most positive effect on Rose?

2. Rose and her classmates face the trauma of a hurricane.

• What overall message does the story convey about Personal and Communal Trauma’s Effects on Children? (topic sentence)
• Explain how this message is revealed or developed in the story, incorporating at least 3 quotations and other text details from the novel to support your ideas.
• In your conclusion, summarize a connected lesson about healing the novel presents.

3. Early in the text, Rose directly addresses the reader: “I am going to tell you a story.” (Chapter 1)

• How does framing the story through Rose’s narration and direct address impact the novel? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss Rose’s voice as narrator and summarize what readers learn about her character that would not otherwise be revealed. Include text details from the novel to support your ideas.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, evaluate the overall effectiveness of Rose as a narrator for the story.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the role of homonyms in the novel. The title consists of two homonyms, and Rose’s appreciation of homonyms is central to her story. What is the overall significance of homonyms in the novel? Why are they important to Rose? How do they impact her habits and affect her relationships? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze the role of homonyms in the novel. In your discussion, evaluate the ways in which they contribute to the format of the novel and illuminate Rose’s character.

2. Reflect on Rain’s importance in the story. How does Rain impact Rose’s daily life? What is the effect of Rain’s disappearance? What are some ways Rain affects Rose in the long-term? Write a 3- or 5-paragraph essay analyzing and evaluating how Rain both reveals Rose’s character and causes her character to change. Include text details and quotations to support your ideas.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. How are homonyms important to Rose?

A) Rose used to share homonyms with her mother; she re-reads the list they created to feel close to her.

B) Homonyms are the only thing that help Rose go to sleep; she begins studying them each night.

C) Rose keeps a list of homonyms according to created rules; homonyms help her navigate the confusion of the world.

D) Rose and her father share a fascination with homonyms; they find new homonyms searching for Rain.

2. How does Rose’s uncle treat her differently than her father treats her?

A) Rose’s uncle listens and supports her. Her father frequently ignores her, lashes out, and asks her to change.

B) Rose’s uncle demands she work harder in school. Her father does not value school and encourages play instead.

C) Rose’s father attempts to build trust with Rose and help her feel safe. Her uncle was not present in her life until the hurricane.

D) Rose’s uncle is uncertain but kind toward Rose. Rose’s father is confident in his parenting, which instills pride in Rose.

3. Which of the following best describes the shifting relationship between Parvani and Rose?

A) Rose dislikes Parvani at first, but Parvani introduces Rose to the joy of painting, which leads quickly to a lasting friendship.

B) Rose and Parvani were friends since kindergarten until the hurricane leads to a huge fight between them.

C) Parvani initially sits with Rose because she is told to but becomes a supportive friend who appreciates homonyms.

D) Parvani and Rose become friends as they take care of Rain together, but when Rain returns to the Hendersons, they lose touch.

4. How does the hurricane affect Rose?

A) Rose’s house is washed away, so she must live with her uncle.

B) Rose and her father are injured when a tree crashes into their hallway.

C) Rose’s mother drowns in the flood during the storm.

D) Rose’s dog runs away, and Rose is stranded at home for days.

5. How is Mrs. Kushel important to Rose?

A) Mrs. Kushel becomes a confidante as Rose turns to her for help finding Rain’s previous owners.

B) Mrs. Kushel is a strong, effective teacher for Rose but offers little help regarding the hurricane.

C) Mrs. Kushel gives Rose her dog Rain as a reward for her grades, and Rain becomes Rose’s closest friend.

D) Mrs. Kushel intervenes when Rose tries to stop attending school, encouraging her to return.

6. Which of the following best illustrates the theme of Overcoming the Challenges Presented by Disability?

A) Rose’s father bringing home Rain

B) Rose finding Rain’s previous owners

C) Rose having lunch buddies assigned to her

D) Rose’s uncle offering to drive her to school

7. What does obedience to driving rules symbolize for Rose?

A) Humor

B) Kindness

C) Challenges

D) Trustworthiness

8. Which of the following conflicts most affects Rose?

A) The bus driver

B) Wesley

C) Anders

D) Parvani

9. Why does Rose work so hard to reunite Rain with her previous family?

A) Weldon convinces Rose that returning Rain to her previous family will be best, and he offers her a reward for doing so.

B) Rose believes finding the previous owners is the right thing to do, and following the rules is very important to her.

C) Rain seems forlorn since leaving her last owners, and Rose’s teacher helps her see that Rose can never be happy away from them.

D) After meeting Rain’s last owners and seeing their sadness over losing Rain, Rose knows she has to find Rain and return her to them.

10. What best describes the mood built in the final scene when Rose and her uncle make a deal?

A) Hopeful

B) Resigned

C) Angry

D) Friendly

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does the rapport between Rose and her classmates change when Rain comes to school?

2. How does finding out the truth about her mother affect Rose?