Prereading Strategies

	Compare and contrast information to improve comprehension.
	Use information gained by comparing and contrasting to predict.

GENRE STUDY

Realistic Fiction

Suki's Kimono is realistic fiction. Explain that realistic fiction has characters and events that are like people and events in real life.

PREVIEW AND PREDICT

Have students preview the selection
title and illustrations and discuss
the topics or ideas they think this
selection will cover. Encourage
students to use lesson vocabulary
as they talk about what they expect
to learn.

Predict Have students predict what
will happen when Suki wears her
kimono to school. Students will check their predictions in the Strategy Response Log activity on p. 157.

SET PURPOSE

Read the first page of the selection aloud to students. Have them
consider their preview discussion
and tell what they hope to find out
as they read.

Remind students to read for things that are similar and things that are different to predict what will happen.

STRATEGY RECALL

Students have now used these
before-reading strategies:

preview the selection to be aware of its genre, features, and possible content;
activate prior knowledge about that content and what to expect of that genre;
make predictions;
set a purpose for reading.

Remind students to be aware of and
flexibly use the during-reading
strategies they have learned:

link prior knowledge to new information;
summarize text they have read so far;
ask clarifying questions;
answer questions they or others pose;
check their predictions and either refine them or make new predictions;
recognize the text structure the author is using, and use that knowledge to make predictions and increase comprehension;
visualize what the author is describing;
monitor their comprehension and use fix-up strategies.

After reading, students will use these
strategies:

summarize or retell the text;
answer questions they or others pose;
reflect to make new information become part of their prior knowledge.

AudioText

"Suki's Kimono"
by Chieri Uegaki

Student Edition
Unit 5, pp. 150–163

Realistic fiction has characters and events that are like people and events in real life. Does Suki remind you of anyone you know?

It was Suki's first day of school. She put on her very favorite outfit. It was a blue cotton kimono. A kimono is like a long robe with wide sleeves. It has an obi, or belt, tied around the waist. On her feet Suki wore shiny red wooden shoes called geta.
Her sisters were not happy with Suki. "You cannot wear that to school. You must wear something cool. Others will laugh at you. You need to look cool like us."
Suki did not listen. She wanted to wear the kimono.
Grandmother had given it to Suki in the summer. She wore it to the festival Grandmother took her to. There they danced a circle dance. Grandmother was a graceful dancer. She moved to the rhythm of the music. Suki tried to copy her. Grandmother bought Suki a pale pink handkerchief at the festival. Grandmother said it would help Suki remember their day together.
Now Suki tucked the handkerchief in her snug obi. She was ready for school. Her sisters, Mari and Yumi, would not walk with her. They kept many paces ahead of her. They did not want people to think they knew her.
Suki did not care. She lifted her arms up, and the wind filled her wide sleeves. She felt like a butterfly spreading its wings.
At school Suki's sisters rushed to see their friends. They left Suki alone. Some children stared at Suki as others pointed and laughed at her. Suki sat down on the swings where she waited for the bell to ring. A girl wearing overalls came to the swings. Her name was Penny. She asked about Suki's clothes.
When the bell rang, Suki and Penny went to class. Some students laughed at Suki, which made her feel sad. Then the teacher called the class to order. Her name was Mrs. Paggio, and she asked the children to tell what they did in the summer. When her turn came, Suki talked about her kimono and told about the festival. She showed the children how she and Grandmother danced there. She danced and twirled. When she was finished, Mrs. Paggio started to clap. Penny clapped too. Soon everyone was clapping.
After school, Yumi and Mari walked home ahead of her. They were upset that no one had noticed their new clothes. Suki smiled and danced all the way home because she had been noticed.



	Close
	Build Background Encourage students to discuss cultural festivals in their native countries. Ask them to share information about foods, costumes, music, and dance. Consider having students read the selection summary in English or in students' home languages. See the Multilingual Summaries in the ELL Teaching Guide, pp. 145–147.

"Suki's Kimono"by Chieri Uegaki

"Suki's Kimono"
by Chieri Uegaki