Any Small Goodness

Lessons for Improving Comprehension Through Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston

This set of plans is to be used with the novel Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston. Any Small Goodness is a work of fiction about an adolescent boy, Arturo, who moves to Los Angeles from Mexico with his family. The story describes the family adapting to their new neighborhood. Although life in the new neighborhood presents challenges, Arturo learns about acts of “small goodness” that come to define his experience.

All of the activities in the lesson plans are research based, and references to this research can be found throughout. They are appropriate for use with struggling readers in middle school and focus on improving reading comprehension.

During these lessons, students will do the following (corresponding English Language Arts and Reading standards from the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills [TEKS] for grades 6–8 are listed with each student objective):

• Learn important vocabulary (Texas Administrative Code [TAC] §110.18–110.20(b)(2)(A), and (B))
• Make predictions prior to reading and verify predictions after reading (19 TAC §110.17(b)(D))
• Access background knowledge prior to reading (19 TAC §110.17(b)(A))
• Read text through various formats (e.g., partner reading, choral reading) to learn and practice various reading comprehension strategies (e.g., main idea, summarization; detailed below)
• Learn how to “get the gist” of a passage and entire chapter (19 TAC §110.17(b)(C), and (E))
• Learn how to generate Level 1, Right There and Level 2, Putting It Together questions (19 TAC §110.17(b)(B), and (C))

Preferred Citation

The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk. (2012). Reading instruction for middle school students: Lessons for improving comprehension through “Any Small Goodness” by Tony Johnston. Austin, TX: Author.

Professional Development

Teachers can learn more about implementing the instructional practices and strategies in these lesson plans by accessing the Professional Development page (also available through the link on the left of this page). We also encourage you to explore the other helpful resources elsewhere on this site.