Guiding Comprehension

Author's Craft • Inferential

Question the Author Why do you think the author wrote, "…she felt like she'd swallowed a ball of thunder, and her whole insides quaked and quivered" instead of simply "she felt the drums beating inside her whole body"?

Possible response: As the author wrote it, the sentence has words that are more vivid and specific. The effect is to make the sentence more dramatic and interesting.

Vocabulary • Synonyms

On p. 155, the word clip-clopped sounds like the actual noise Suki's shoes make as she walks. What words could replace clip-clopped and still tell the story?

Possible responses: marched, trotted, and strutted.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on
p. 155.

If… students have difficulty thinking of synonyms for clipclopped,

Synonyms

Have students use the Internet to look up the Japanese words for several common objects. Suggest that they look up words for coat, hat, plate, spoon, door, window, and so on.

VOCABULARY SKILL

Synonyms

TEACH

Tell students that a synonym is a word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word. It can usually be substituted for the original word.
Explain to students that they can use context clues to think of a synonym for an unknown word. They should read the sentence with a word that completes it correctly. That word may be a synonym for the unknown word.

MODEL When I read the last sentence on p. 155, I think about how walking in wooden clogs would look, feel, and sound. I also notice that Suki is pleased and probably proud as she walks off to school in her kimono. I need to find a word that describes all these qualities. A word such as walked is not descriptive enough. It doesn't tell how she walked or how she felt when she walked. I consider the words marched, strutted, or trotted. All three of these words seem to describe the experience. They may be synonyms for clip-clopped.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students reread the last sentence on p. 155 to find the word pleased. Ask them to think of a synonym for pleased. (Possible responses: happy, content, delighted)

"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 Direct students' attention to the Japanese words taiko and obi on p. 154 and the word geta on p. 155. Explain that taiko refers to a kind of drum. Suki's obi is the wide and snug waistband around the middle of her kimono. Her geta are her shoes, which are traditional wooden clogs that increase a person's height with wooden platforms. Festivals Japan Two popular festivals in Japan celebrate children. The Doll Festival or Girls' Festival occurs every year on March 3. On this day, each family displays a collection of dolls representing the royal family. Girls invite friends over to admire them. On May 5, families celebrate their sons in a festival known as Boys' Day or Children's Day. On this day, boys take a bath in water in which iris leaves have been soaked, and families fly a fish-shaped streamer for each boy. Both traditions are supposed to bring the boy strength and courage. Ireland A festival known as Puck's Fair is popular in the town of Killorglin in County Kerry, Ireland. At this three-day livestock fair, a large billy goat is crowned "King of the Fair" and is placed on a three-story platform, where he watches over the fair, which includes lively music, dancing, and a parade.

"Suki's Kimono"by Chieri Uegaki

"Suki's Kimono"
by Chieri Uegaki