This lesson is intended to help students experience both “efferent” (reading for information) and “aesthetic” (reading as a personal, emotional experience) responses to the story A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer. Students work as a whole class and with partners to explore the main character Nhamo as she struggles to survive in her extended family and on her many travels alone. Students can make geographic, economic, cultural, religious, ethnic, and personal connections. Suggestions are given for a wide array of interactions and activities to help your students develop a rich transaction with this text.