The Evidence for the Wish — Ruby's Wish

Ready-to-teach lesson

Above: The grandfather gives Ruby the letter in front of the whole family, in a red packet, on New Year's Day. Explain why he might have chosen that moment.

Below: Fill the two columns, then write what he does when she gives a small answer.

Assessment

Look for:: Says Ruby does not really change.

Gives evidence that she was determined from the start.

Says her grandfather is the one who changes.

Says he asked questions instead of punishing her.

Says he was not satisfied with her first answer.

Ruby's Wish | Grade 3

3.The Evidence For The Wish

Full lesson

TIME

34 minutes

OBJECTIVE

Say what this book is about and support it from the pages, including the pages that prove it is true.

STUDENT PRODUCT

A written answer with two pieces of evidence

https://tumbleta.com/module-library/4135.html

2026-09-08, 7:49PM

Page 16 of 24

FOCUS

A theme supported from the words and the illustrations

Essential question

What had to happen before Ruby got her wish?

Materials

The book Pages 11, 12, 18, 22 and 24, found before the lesson One writing frame each

page 1

Text to mark before teaching Passage 11 — one lit window in a dark house Passage 12 — writing with a brush on a long scroll Passage 16 — the Lantern Festival, a plain lantern beside a glowing cockerel Passage 18 — the grandfather at his desk with the poem Passage 22 — New Year's Day, and a house full of family Passage 24 — a hinged red frame: a painted girl, and a photograph

Lesson sequence

1: Launch · 4 min

Focus:: Two lines, and the second one is worse
Teacher direction:: Read the poem again and ask the class which of its two lines is the sharper one. It is the second, and it is about her own family.
Prepared text:: Passage 12

2: Teacher model · 7 min
Teacher model:: I look for what the book puts in as proof rather than as decoration. The candle burning long after everyone else is in bed is proof that she paid for those lessons twice. The plain lantern beside a glowing red cockerel is proof about the difference she is describing. And the photograph at the end is proof that it happened. Each of those is doing a job.
Prepared text:: Passage 11, Passage 16

3 What the book is saying, with evidence · 13 min

Focus:: Say it, then prove it from a page
Teacher direction:: Using Passages 11, 12 and 18, write what you think this book is saying, and give two pieces of evidence.
Expected answer:: A fair answer is that somebody has to say plainly what is unfair before it can be put right, and that being listened to matters as much as asking. The evidence is the poem, which says out loud what nobody in the house had said - that only the boys are cared for - and the fact that Ruby had to be asked three times before she would repeat it to her grandfather's face.

page 2

Another good answer is about determination, and the evidence for that is the candle: she is the only girl left in the classes and she pays for it with her evenings. What the book does not say is that wanting something is enough.

Somebody with the power to act had to change his mind.

Student product:: A written answer with two pieces of evidence
Prepared text:: Passage 11, Passage 12, Passage 18

4 Proving it is true · 10 min

Focus:: A photograph, and a person telling you
Teacher direction:: Using Passages 22 and 24, write how the book shows you that this really happened.
Expected answer:: The last page says it is a true story and then gives two

Expected answer:: The last page says it is a true story and then gives two reasons to believe it. First the person telling it says how she knows: Ruby is her grandmother, so she has it from the person it happened to. Second the picture stops being a picture. The illustration on that page is a hinged red frame holding a painted portrait of the girl on one side and an actual photograph of an old woman on the other. And the last thing we are told is small and checkable: every day she still wears a little red, which is what she was doing on the first page.
Prepared text:: Passage 22, Passage 24

Teacher guidance

Why this text works: Insist on evidence for every claim and this lesson runs itself, because the book supplies unusually good evidence: a candle in one window, a plain lantern beside a red cockerel, a poem in a child's own words, and a photograph. Push back gently on wanting something enough - it is a comfortable answer and this book does not support it, because Ruby wants the same thing all the way through and nothing happens until somebody with the power to act changes his mind. That is a harder thought and a Grade 3 class can hold it. The last page is where to finish; the frame with a real photograph in it is the strongest evidence in the book.

page 3

Expected answer:: Ruby's poem says out loud what nobody in that house had said - that it is bad luck to be born a girl and worse luck to be born into a house where only boys are cared for. The book then shows what it cost her to keep learning: she is the only girl left in the classes and her candle burns long after everyone else is asleep, because she has her embroidery to catch up on as well. And it shows what she was describing: a plain paper lantern in her hand while a boy carries a glowing red cockerel. But the wish is only granted because her grandfather, who could act, asked her until she told him the truth and then acted. The last page offers proof that it happened: the storyteller says Ruby is her grandmother, and the picture is a frame holding a painted girl beside a real photograph.

Model: I notice that the book gives Ruby's poem in her own words rather than

describing it. It would have been easy to write that Ruby wrote a sad poem

describing it. It would have been easy to write that Ruby wrote a sad poem about being a girl. Instead we get the two lines, and the second one - about her own family - is the one that gets her sent for.

Support and extension

Above: The book never says whether Ruby's grandfather was right or the rest of the house was wrong. Decide what the book thinks, and argue it from a page.

Below: Write what the book is saying with two pieces of evidence, then how it shows the story is true.

Assessment

Look for:: States what the book is about in a sentence.

Uses the poem as evidence.

Uses the candle at night as evidence.

Says the grandfather had to act for the wish to come true.

Says the last page shows a real photograph.

Short version

TIME

18 minutes

OBJECTIVE

Say what this book is about and support it from the pages, including the pages that prove it is true.

page 4

STUDENT PRODUCT

A written answer with two pieces of evidence

FOCUS

A theme supported from the words and the illustrations

Essential question

What had to happen before Ruby got her wish?

Materials

The book Pages 11, 12, 18, 22 and 24, found before the lesson One writing frame each

Lesson sequence

1: Launch · 3 min

Focus:: Two lines, and the second one is worse
Teacher direction:: Read the poem again and ask the class which of its two lines is the sharper one. It is the second, and it is about her own family.
Prepared text:: Passage 12

2: Teacher model · 5 min
Teacher model:: I look for what the book puts in as proof rather than as decoration. The candle burning long after everyone else is in bed is proof that she paid for those lessons twice. The plain lantern beside a glowing red cockerel is proof about the difference she is describing. And the photograph at the end is proof that it happened. Each of those is doing a job.
Prepared text:: Passage 11, Passage 16

3 What the book is saying, with evidence · 10 min

page 5

Focus:: Say it, then prove it from a page
Teacher direction:: Using Passages 11, 12 and 18, write what you think this book is saying, and give two pieces of evidence.
Expected answer:: A fair answer is that somebody has to say plainly what is unfair before it can be put right, and that being listened to matters as much as asking. The evidence is the poem, which says out loud what nobody in the house had said - that only the boys are cared for - and the fact that Ruby had to be asked three times before she would repeat it to her grandfather's face.

Somebody with the power to act had to change his mind.

Student product:: A written answer with two pieces of evidence
Prepared text:: Passage 11, Passage 12, Passage 18

Teacher guidance

comfortable answer and this book does not support it, because Ruby wants the same thing all the way through and nothing happens until somebody with the power to act changes his mind. That is a harder thought and a Grade 3 class can hold it. The last page is where to finish; the frame with a real photograph in it is the strongest evidence in the book.

page 6

Expected answer:: Ruby's poem says out loud what nobody in that house had said - that it is bad luck to be born a girl and worse luck to be born into a house where only boys are cared for. The book then shows what it cost her to keep learning: she is the only girl left in the classes and her candle burns long after everyone else is asleep, because she has her embroidery to catch up on as well. And it shows what she was describing: a plain paper lantern in her hand while a boy carries a glowing red cockerel. But the wish is only granted because her grandfather, who could act, asked her until she told him the truth and then acted. The last page offers proof that it happened: the storyteller says Ruby is her grandmother, and the picture is a frame holding a painted girl beside a real photograph.

Model: I notice that the book gives Ruby's poem in her own words rather than describing it. It would have been easy to write that Ruby wrote a sad poem about being a girl. Instead we get the two lines, and the second one - about her own family - is the one that gets her sent for.

Support and extension

Above: The book never says whether Ruby's grandfather was right or the rest of the house was wrong. Decide what the book thinks, and argue it from a page.

Below: Write what the book is saying with two pieces of evidence, then how it shows the story is true.

Assessment

Look for:

States what the book is about in a sentence.

Uses the poem as evidence.

Uses the candle at night as evidence.

Says the grandfather had to act for the wish to come true.

Says the last page shows a real photograph.

Ruby's Wish · 3 lessons · How to use TumbleTA (PDF)

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