Thinking About Your Thinking

Metacognitive Reading Worksheet

The Metamorphosis — Part Two: When Love Gets Complicated

Complete this worksheet as you read Part Two — not all at once at the end. The Before Reading section is for before you start. The During Reading section is for while you read. The After Reading section is for when you finish. Submit before the next class.

NAME

DATE

A DAY

B DAY

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BEFORE READING: Preparing My Mind

1. At the end of Part One, your teacher left you with a question: Is Gregor's transformation a tragedy — or a liberation?
Write your answer here before you read Part Two. One sentence is enough. There is no wrong answer — just be honest about where you are right now.

2. In Part Two, Grete — Gregor's younger sister — takes on the job of caring for him. Before you read: what is your prediction? Will she stay caring and attentive, or will she gradually pull away from him? What makes you think that?

3. Set yourself one specific thing to watch for as you read Part Two. It could be a character, a pattern, a feeling, a question — anything that feels worth tracking.
Example: "I'm going to track how Gregor thinks about himself when no one is watching."

DURING READING: Monitoring My Understanding

Comprehension Check-In: After each section, rate how well you followed what was happening (1 = confused, 5 = clear). You can come back and add notes later.

Section	1	2	3	4	5
Section 1: Grete begins caring for Gregor — she observes what he eats, how he moves, what he seems to want.
Section 2: The family discovers how bad their finances are; the father returns to work in uniform.
Section 3: Grete and the mother try to remove the furniture from Gregor's room; Gregor tries to protect a picture on the wall.
Section 4: The father attacks Gregor with apples; one lodges in Gregor's back and never heals. The mother pleads for Gregor.
Section 5: The aftermath — the family reaches an uneasy new normal. The father sleeps nightly in his uniform. Gregor grows weaker from his wound and watches the family from the darkness of his room.

Double-Entry Journal: Find two passages that made you stop — because they surprised you, confused you, or connected to something in your own life. Record them below.

Passage from the Text (with page number)	My Thinking: Why did this passage stop me?

Language Tracker: One of the most important things Kafka does in Part Two is show how the family's language toward Gregor slowly changes. Track what you notice for each character.

Look for: do they still use his name? Do they speak to him directly, or about him as if he isn't there? Does their tone shift? Do they start calling him "it"?

Character	What do they say or do in Part Two? (Quote or describe a specific moment.)	What does this tell you about how they now see Gregor?
Grete (Gregor's sister)
The Father
The Mother

AFTER READING: Reflecting on My Understanding

4. Name one moment in Part Two where a character did something you did not expect — where they surprised you. What happened? What do you think Kafka is showing through that moment?

5. In the furniture scene, Gregor throws himself against the wall to protect a picture — the one thing he refuses to let the family take. Why do you think this matters so much to him? What does it suggest about what he is still holding onto?

6. Go back to your prediction about Grete in Question 2. Were you right? How has she changed across Part Two? Try to use one specific moment from the text in your answer — not just a general impression.

7. Look back at what you wrote in Question 1 — your "tragedy or liberation" answer before reading. Has your thinking changed after Part Two? What specifically in the text shifted it, or kept it the same? (It is completely fine if your answer hasn't changed — explain why it held.)

8. Your Reading, Your Life: Part Two raises a difficult question — not just about Gregor, but about how the world treats people. In a world that values people for what they produce or provide, how does someone insist on their own worth when they can no longer produce anything?

This question is not just Gregor's. Where do you feel this tension in your own life — as a student, as a son or daughter, as a person trying to figure out what you are worth? You do not need a tidy answer. Write honestly about where this sits for you.

The Metamorphosis Unit — Metacognitive Reading Practice Part Two Monitor. Question. Clarify. Connect.