Kira-Kira

Uplifting, Tender, Compassionate, Poignant, Admirable

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers Copyright 2004

2005 Newbery Medal Award Winner

Katie Takeshima understands hardship.  Growing up in the midst of the 1950s and 60s, racial tensions are still tight, especially when her Asian American family unexpectedly has to uproot from the cornfields of Iowa and relocate to Georgia.  Her parents can barely make ends meet and must work long, hard days earning minimum wage to support their three children, Lynn, Katie, and Sammy.  But, life does not get any easier when the Takeshima’s soon discover that Lynn has been diagnosed with lymphoma.  Stricken by this disease, the family soon begins to crumble.  It is Katie’s responsibility to remind her family that Lynn describes the world as Kira-Kira or glittering.  In this eloquently written tale by Cynthia Kadohata, Katie finds the courage to keep her family together, to accomplish Lynn’s dreams and aspirations, and to remember that the world around her is glittering.     

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 740, Grade 5
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read
Description: Historical Fiction, Diversity

Electronic Resources:
Simon & Shuster
This site gives students an overview of the text, background information about the author, pre-reading strategies, discussion questions, and activities to enhance comprehension after reading. 

Video Summary
This is a brief video complete with illustrations and commentary that summarizes the plot.  The video provides support for both visual and auditory learners.  

Key Vocabulary: Anemia, Chronicle, Dormitory, Fatigue, Femininity, Hatchery, Hemoglobin, Incubator, Legendary, Union

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text in social studies to examine cultural diversity in the United States.
2. Use this text in social studies to support a lesson on discrimination.
3. Use this text in social studies to conduct a conversation about labor unions and worker's rights.

Comprehension Strategies
Pre-Reading- Introduce the reader to the text and explain that the title, Kira-Kira, means glittering. Have students write about something they believe represents Kira-Kira in a reader response log and support it with details.

During Reading- Katie, Lynn, and the rest of the Takeshima's encounter discrimination because of their Japanese background, their financial circumstances, and the kind of work the Takeshima's do.  Have students make text-to-self connections in their reader response logs about a time when they felt they were discriminated against.  Examples could include: race/ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, etc.

Post-Reading- Using a Venn diagram, have students compare and contrast Katie at the beginning of the story to the end of the story, focusing on how she has changed.

Writing Activity: Have students write a Poem for Two Voices.  Students can explore several different voices such as Katie and Lynn, Caucasian Americans and Japanese Americans, or businessmen like Mr. Takeshima's boss and poor workers.  The focus of this poem is to compare and contrast the lives of these opposite figures.

Kadohata, C. (2004). Kira-kira. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Bud, Not Buddy

Touching, Unforgettable, Cleverly Comical, Authentic, Sensational

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Published by Delacorte Press Copyright 1999

2000 Newbery Medal Award Winner

2000 Coretta Scott King Award Winner 

Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell is growing up in the midst of the Great Depression.  Without a father in his life and the recent death of his mother, he is forced into the care of an orphanage and numerous foster homes.  After being sent to the Amoses, yet another foster home where Bud is mistreated, he decides he has had enough and runs away in search of the man he believes is his father.  Flyers, left behind by his mother, point to Herman E. Calloway, a famous musician in the Dusky Devastators.  Without any money or means of transportation, Bud is determined to travel to the Grand Rapids where he is certain Herman E. Calloway lives.  He can only hope that his father is just as excited to meet Bud as he is.  Along the way, Bud encounters the hardships of the Depression and living in a racist society.  He discovers that in order to get what he wants and abide by his Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself, he has to rely on some key resources.  Christopher Paul Curtis shows through this riveting tale that Bud is on an adventure of a lifetime!

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 950L, Grade 5/6
Suggested Delivery: Small Group Read
Description: Historical Fiction, Diversity

Electronic Resources:
Scholastic
This website provides students with a brief synopsis of the plot as well as strategies that can be applied prior to reading and after reading to improve comprehension and engagement with the text.  The discussion questions which address post-reading extension of the text will help students make personal connections with Bud and the time period that the book was set in.

Webquest 

This is a link to a Webquest that includes additional teaching strategies such as how to prep students for reading, what kinds of resources should be collected to aid in the instruction of this text, how to include technology, classroom management guidelines, and finally ten brief descriptions of activities that can be used.  This Webquest also has a link devoted to students which emphasizes the expectations and directions of the ten learning activities.

Teaching Guide

This is a link to a PDF file that offers teaching suggestions and a complete list of additional website, book, article, and newspaper resources that can be helpful in teaching the content of this text.

Key Vocabulary: Britches, Icebox, Hooverville, Kin, Labor organizers, Loathsome, Matrimonial, Pullman, Union 

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text in social studies to examine the impact of the Great Depression on America.
2. Use this text in social studies to evaluate the culture, specifically the music, during the 1930s.  By listening to and researching music from this era, students can make connections to Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators.
3. Use this text in social studies to discuss the racial tensions during this time and how people were treated differently based on the color of their skin.

Comprehension Strategies
Pre-Reading- Begin with a brief social studies introduction to the Great Depression.  To help students process and internalize what life was like, have students conduct a personal interview with a grandparent, family friend, or neighbor who grew up or can recall experiences of the Great Depression.  This will help students make text-to-self connections once they begin reading.

During Reading- Provide students with discussion questions.  Also, encourage students to record and be prepared to share their own questions.  This will not only provide students with opportunities to clarify their own concerns or confusion regarding the plot, characters, or themes, but will also help students stay actively involved in the text.

Post-Reading- Have students make their own WebQuest that provides readers a summary of the text, character analysis for each significant character, an overview of the setting, and chapter discussion questions.  This activity will help students demonstrate their full understanding and comprehension of the text.  

Writing Activity: Have students write letters to Bud asking him about his journey and how he feels now that he has figured out who he is.  To make the writing assignment more authentic and inclusive of the era, have students also address their questions about the Great Depression and consider providing students with "aged paper" (regular copy paper that is distressed and dyed with tea or coffee).

Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.