Connect Reading and Writing

Vocabulary
  • angry
  • change
  • curious
  • immigrants
  • learn
  • leave
  • ordinary
  • strange

Critical Thinking

  • 1. SUM IT UP Draw the main events in the personal narrative. Show the change in Carmen’s feelings. Then use the pictures to summarize the story.

    Illustration of a drawing of two girls struggling over a bicycle.

  • 2. Interpret What does the author mean when she says “A moment like this comes for every immigrant child”? Do you agree? Explain your answer.

  • 3. Compare Compare the messages of “Growing Together” and “When I Grow Up.” What does each one say about how people learn to fit in after leaving their home country?

  • 4. Opinion Carmen Agra Deedy says, “I don’t have to stop eating the fruit to smell the flowers.” What does she mean by this? Do you agree? Explain.

Reading Fluency

Intonation Read the passage on page 568 to a partner. Assess your fluency.

  • 1. I read
    • a. great
    • b. OK
    • c. not very well
  • 2. What I did best in my reading was __________________.

Reading Strategy

Plan Your Reading

Review your Prediction Chart. Tell a partner how you made two of the predictions.

Vocabulary Review

Oral Review Read the paragraph aloud. Add the vocabulary words.

My parents and I are ________________ from a small country. There, we lived in a quiet, ________________ town like any other. Our new home is ________________ and different to me. Living here is a big ________________. Everyone is busy all the time. I am ________________ about why people hurry so much. I would like to ________________ the reasons. My parents ________________ early every morning for work and come home late, too. It makes me ________________ that they are always busy. It is hard to compare my old life to my new life.

Written Review Write a journal entry from Carmen’s point of view as an immigrant. Explain how she defines home. Use four vocabulary words.

Illustration of the pen icon. Write About the Guiding Question

Explore Finding Your Own Place

What do you think Papi means when he says the mango and the magnolia grow together? Reread the text to find support for your ideas.