This lesson explores two common issues that students face, feeling different and finding acceptance. In Rules, Catherine tells about her brother, David who has autism. She has always taken care of him and uses rules to teach him what to do. She makes up rules for herself, too. Her rules are challenged when she meets new friends, Jason and Kristi. This lesson addresses the following language arts skills: quoting accurately from text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when making inferences; determining a theme of a story from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges in her life; and writing opinion pieces in response to a text-based question, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.