Guiding Comprehension

If you are teaching the selection in
two days, discuss the story so far, including comparisons and contrasts, and review the vocabulary.

Compare and Contrast
• Inferential

Compare and contrast the relationship Suki has with Penny with the relationship she has with the other students.

Possible response: Suki and Penny are best friends. They enjoy being together and accept each other no matter what. The other students judge Suki by her clothes. They don't bother getting to know her as a person. Suki ignores what they say.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on
p. 159.

If… students are unable to compare and contrast the two relationships,

Compare and Contrast

Draw Conclusions
• Inferential

How do you think Suki felt when she was teased about looking like a bat? What clues tell you this?

Possible response: She felt embarrassed or angry or both; her cheeks burn.

Whole Group Discuss the Question of the Day.

Suki’s Kimono. See
pp. 146f–146g for the small group lesson plan.

Reading

Group Time
Differentiated Instruction

Use pp. 169e–169h and
169k–169m.

Whole Group Discuss the Reader Response questions
on p. 164. Then use p. 169a.

Language Arts

Grouping Options

SKILLS
STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Compare/Contrast Predict

TEACH

Tell students to use a compare and contrast chart to help them organize the information. At the top, have them write Suki's Relationship with Penny and below it Suki's Relationship with Other Students. Explain that the Alike box should list ways the relationships are alike and that the Different box should list ways the relationships are different. Use this information to model how to predict what might happen later.

MODEL Now that I know how the two relationships are alike and different, I can use this information to predict what might happen later in the story. Suki and Penny have a good relationship because they enjoy being together and they accept each other no matter what. My prediction is that Suki and Penny will teach the other students a lesson about being nice to people.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students work in pairs to compare and contrast Mrs. Paggio's treatment of Suki with several students' treatment of Suki. Then have them write a prediction of what might happen later in the story. To assess, make sure that predictions include the roles of Mrs. Paggio and the other students later in the story.

"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
	Extend Language Help students use context clues to determine the meaning of the word snickered in the last paragraph on p. 158. Then have them brainstorm a list of synonyms for snickered. Ask them which word works best in the sentence and why. Footwear Shoes probably seem like a pretty essential part of your wardrobe. You probably have more than one pair, and you wear them every day. But people didn't always wear shoes. The earliest shoes were probably animal skins. Later, some people, like the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, wore sandals, but only people with power and status had them. In Japan, people wore geta shoes for practical reasons. Kimonos were very long, so people took to wearing elevated shoes to keep the hem from getting muddy. People in Japan still wear geta shoes today, and there are many different styles to choose from, from fairly low to several inches high.

"Suki's Kimono" by Chieri Uegaki

"Suki's Kimono"
by Chieri Uegaki