The Last Last

Ask students to look closely and analyze the cover illustration and title to make predictions about the story’s setting and emotions.

Discuss what a picture book is and how stories about moving or migration may follow personal narrative patterns. Tell students that this story is a personal narrative about a young girl that prepares to move from her island home in Jamaica to a new life in Canada.

Remind students of the features of the genre Personal Narrative.

Personal Narrative = My Story

• I’m the main character
• It really happened
• I remember how I felt
• I tell it in order
• I use “I” and “me”

Ask students to watch for those features as they read the story.

Locate Jamaica and Canada on a map. Discuss key cultural elements of weather, homes and languages, etc.

Pre-teach key vocabulary (emigrate, memory, treasure, shell, firsts). Ask students to write or draw each word in a mini booklet. Each page includes:

• Word
• Picture
• “My sentence”: a simple sentence using the word.

Ask students to respond to the prompt: “Have you ever moved or said goodbye to someone or something?” Students can share briefly in pairs or groups.

Pause periodically to ask students what the text is really saying. For example,

1.When Mum says, “Let’s go, lazybones.”

Text cue: “We’re really leaving our island home!”

Ask: “Why do you think she’s not packing? What do you think she’ll do before she leaves?”

2. When she says, “I don’t know what to take!”

Text cue: She’s overwhelmed and unsure about what to pack.

Ask: “What do you think she’ll decide to bring? Will it be something small or big?”

3. After the girl in the story visits her favorite places one last time.

Text cue: She chews sugarcane, smells roast corn and walks to the beach.

Ask: “Do you think she’ll find something special there? What might she do with it?”

4. When the girl spots the shell and decides what to pack.

Text cue: “Now I know what to pack.”

Ask: “Why do you think she picked the shell? What will she do with it?”

5. When the plane lands in Canada.

Text cue: “I can’t believe how enormous the city is.”

Ask: “How do you think she feels right now? What will she do when she gets to her new home?”

1. Choose a page when reading aloud. Say: “Let’s just look at the pictures before I read the words.” Ask: “What do you see in the picture? How does the girl look? What is her face or body doing? What do you think is happening? How do you feel when looking at the page?”
2. After reading the page aloud, Ask: What did the words tell us? What did the picture show us that the words didn’t? How do both work together to tell the full story?

Devices to Hunt For:

Simile – compares two things using “like” or “as”
ex: “My stomach quivers like it’s full of hummingbirds.”

Onomatopoeia – a word that sounds like the sound it makes
ex: “Tzee-tzee” (blackbird), “Kueu-kueu” (blue jay)

Repetition – the same word or phrase is used again and again
ex: “Last lick! Last swim, last last!”

Alliteration – words that begin with the same sound
ex: “Sweet smell of roast corn”

Explain the devices simply. Use examples from the book and say what each one means.

Make a “Fancy Word Finder” Chart.
Create four boxes labeled like below:

Read aloud slowly, and pause when you read a literary device. Tell students to raise their hand when they hear a “fancy word.”

Draw or write a few key words in the correct box. Ask students: “What was your favorite literary device? Which one helped you “see” or “hear” the story better?

Students use emojis or color swatches to track the main character’s feelings at different points.

Ask Students: “Why does she choose the shell?” and “What do the sugarcane and roast corn mean to her?’”

Students retell the story using key words and picture cards in sequence.

Ask students the following questions:

• Why do you think the girl brought a shell with her?
• What do you think she misses most about Jamaica?
• How do you think she will make new memories in Canada?
• Why is it hard to move to a new place? What can help her feel better?

Students create their own paper shells and write/draw on their shell one thing they would keep from their home.

Use a simple Venn diagram to compare Jamaican culture with Canadian culture in the story.

Students create short poems or sentences using alliteration or repetition.

Repetition example: I remember the sea, I remember the shell, I remember the sun.

Alliteration example: Soft sand, salty sea, sweet sugarcane

Students present their memory shell and explain why what they would keep matters. Encourage use of descriptive language.

Students design a paper suitcase. Inside, they draw or write three to five “memory treasures” they would bring if they had to move.

Prompt: “What would you pack to remember your home?”

Optional: Use a real small box and collect drawings of special things inside.

Create a flipbook with “snapshot” pages showing moments from the story (e.g., last walk, finding the shell, arriving in Canada).

Each page includes:

• A drawing
• One sentence: “This is when she …”

This helps students retell and sequence events visually.

Read a key page, then have students freeze their bodies and faces to show how the girl feels in that moment.

Ask the class:

• “What do you think she’s feeling?”
• “What might she be thinking?”
• This activity encourages empathy, expression and relating to different perspectives.

Read another story about moving or immigration

Use a Venn diagram to compare:

• What changes?
• What stays the same?
• How do the characters feel?

Students record a short video or audio clip:

• “My last ____ was …”
• “My first ____ was …”

They can hold a drawing or object while speaking. This can be done in class or at home with family participation.