Allusions, while important to helping readers understand themes and characters on a deeper level, can sometimes be hard for students to grasp. Engage and challenge students with activities from Storyboard That!
Kira-Kira is about a Japanese American family living in Georgia in the 1950s. The story is told through the eyes of young Katie, full of wonder and mischief, who adores her older sister Lynn. Their parents work in a poultry processing plant and the reader is given a glimpse into the unjust working conditions of the time as well as the racism Katie and her family faced as one of only a few Japanese American families in town.
There are many vocabulary terms and allusions present in the novel Kira-Kira that would be helpful for students to preview. These will aid in overall comprehension of the book and an understanding of the time periods. This storyboard features key terms along with definitions and illustrations.
Storyboard Text
HATSU-YUME
KIRA-KIRA
LABOR UNION
(noun) "Hatsu-Yume” is Japanese for the first prophetic dream in the new year.
(adj.) The Japanese word for "glittery, shiny".
(noun) an organized association of workers, often in a trade or profession, formed to protect and further their rights and interests.
SODE BOSHI
KIRA KIRA Vocabulary
CHICKEN SEXER
THUG
"Make sure none of my workers get any crazy ideas about unionizing and asking for better conditions!"
(noun) the “kimono sleeve in the sky” is the constellation also called Orion.
(noun) A chicken sexer distinguishes the sex of chicks and other hatchlings. Chicken sexing is practiced mostly by large commercial hatcheries to separate female chicks or "pullets" from the males or "cockerels".
MALE
FEMALE
(noun) Thug is a term for a violent person that intimidates others. In the story, the owners of the poultry plant hire thugs to intimidate workers into not organizing a union.