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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Name Jar

The cover for The Name Jar Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources

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Use The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Going to a new school can be hard. But when you're going to a new school in a new country, it's especially challenging. In The Name Jar, Unhei worries that none of her new classmates will be able to pronounce her Korean name. That's when she decides to choose a new name. Soon, all of her American classmates are eager to give Unhei an American name. Make connections with the text, ask questions about Unhei's experience, and summarize this warm and engaging story about diversity and the importance of being true to yourself.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Name Jar in the drop down below.

Asking Questions with The Name Jar

For most children, the idea of starting school in a new country is not something to worry about. Use The Name Jar to help readers explore what it might be like to be a new student from a foreign country.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

SL.3.2SL.3.3W.3.8RL.3.1L.3.6RL.3.3RL.3.4RL.3.10RF.3.3RF.3.4SL.3.1cSL.3.1d

TEKS Alignment

3.7B3.7C3.7D3.7E3.1A3.7F3.1C3.7G3.1D3.8C3.1E3.9C3.6A3.13A3.6B3.13E3.6I3.13H

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Making Connections with The Name Jar

Help readers understand Unhei's struggle by making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections while reading this book. The subject matter will challenge students and give more sophisticated readers an opportunity to practice this strategy.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

SL.3.3W.3.8L.3.6RL.3.1RL.3.3RL.3.10RF.3.3RF.3.4SL.3.1dSL.3.2

TEKS Alignment

3.7B3.7C3.7D3.1A3.7E3.1C3.7F3.1D3.7G3.1E3.8C3.6A3.13C3.6E3.13E3.6I3.13H3.7A

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Making Predictions with The Name Jar

The Name Jar provides readers with lots of opportunities to make predictions about Unhei's experiences at her new school and in her new country. Help readers to qualify their predictions by determining whether or not their predictions make sense when compared to what they know about the story.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

SL.3.3W.3.8L.3.6RL.3.1RL.3.2RL.3.3RL.3.10RF.3.3RF.3.4SL.3.1dSL.3.2

TEKS Alignment

3.7A3.7B3.7C3.1A3.7D3.1C3.7E3.1D3.7F3.1E3.7G3.6A3.8C3.6B3.13C3.6C3.13E3.6I3.13H

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Retelling & Summarizing with The Name Jar

The Name Jar is a long picture book with a varied cast of characters, several settings, and a detailed plot. As a result, it is the perfect solution for more advanced readers who need some practice retelling and summarizing.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

SL.3.1dSL.3.2SL.3.3W.3.8RL.3.1L.3.6RL.3.2RL.3.4RL.3.7RL.3.10RF.3.3RF.3.4

TEKS Alignment

3.6I3.13E3.7B3.13H3.7C3.7D3.7E3.1A3.7F3.1C3.7G3.1D3.8B3.1E3.8C3.6A3.8D3.6G3.13C

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Synthesizing with The Name Jar

This synthesizing lesson plan requires readers to track their thinking about what it might be like to start a new school in a new country across the pages of a longer picture book. By asking readers to track how and why Unhei changes throughout the story, students will gain a deeper understanding of the character and the story's message.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.3.6RL.3.7RL.3.10RF.3.3RF.3.4SL.3.1cRL.3.1SL.3.1dRL.3.2SL.3.2RL.3.3SL.3.3RL.3.4W.3.8RL.3.5L.3.6

TEKS Alignment

3.1A3.7E3.1C3.7F3.1D3.7G3.1E3.8C3.6A3.8D3.6G3.13C3.6H3.13E3.6I3.13H3.7B3.7C3.7D

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Comprehension Assessment with The Name Jar

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Name Jar.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Running Record with The Name Jar

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Name Jar. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Asking Questions with The Name Jar (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Making Connections with The Name Jar (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Making Predictions with The Name Jar (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Retelling & Summarizing with The Name Jar (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

Synthesizing with The Name Jar (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

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About the Book

Title: The Name Jar

Author: Yangsook Choi

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Themes: Back to School, Cultural Diversity, Social Awareness, Friendship

ISBN: 9780307793447

Publisher's Summary:

The new kid in school needs a new name! Or does she? Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it--"Yoon-Hey."

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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Name Jar