When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Discussion Questions
1. By the end of the story, Miranda finally recognizes that her friendship with Sam had started to decline before that day Marcus punched him on the street. Why didn’t she see it before? Where there any clues throughout the text that lead you to predict why Sam acted the way he did. Have you ever been in a situation like Miranda’s and Sam’s? How did you deal with it?


2. What changes does Miranda go through from the beginning to the end of the text? How does she grow as a friend? A daughter? A student? Or as a person in general? What are some important turning points for her throughout the text? What have been a couple important turning points in your life in regards to friendship, family and/or school?

Activity
Create a class book on friendship, choices, and/or family.
Throughout the text, the author uses various categories for chapter titles just like in the game show The $20,000 Pyramid. Type out the category titles and put into a hat or container. Have each student pull out one category and brainstorm 3 to 5 clues that go along with the category.

Students will be writing a personal narrative with one of the following themes: friendship, choices and consequences, and/or family. Encourage students to think about Miranda and her challenges throughout When You Reach Me for ideas. Within their personal narrative, the student must include three to five clues to support their category. Compile all students’ narratives into a class book. Each piece of writing will have the title of the student’s category.

Students should have the chance to read others’ writing, give feedback, and discuss the various themes/lessons learned in small groups. For an extra challenge, students should try to identify the clues in the writing that go along with the category.

Have students write a letter to someone you cannot reach.
Miranda receives multiple letters from someone that is unknown to her throughout most of the book. Marcus was able to travel back to time to send his letters to Miranda, someone who, in the “real world” he would not have been able to reach.

Write a letter to anyone at any point in time that you may not be able to reach. This could include: someone who has died or lived at a different time, someone in your life you may not know, someone you don’t know where he/she is, someone you may know but are afraid to tell him/her your thoughts/feelings, etc…

When writing your letter, consider what you want him or her to know about you, your life or even their life. Would you give them advice? Seek advice? Express feelings? Ask questions? Try to fix a wrong or redeem yourself for a mistake you had made?