HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Rubí Borgiaillustrated by Kathie Kelleher

Dear Diary

1253782

3.2.8

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: M

DRA: 28

Genre:Realistic Fiction

Strategy:Infer/Predict

Skill:Conclusions

Word Count: 712

by Rubí Borgiaillustrated by Kathie Kelleher

Dear Diary

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777.

Printed in China

ISBN-10: 0-547-25357-5ISBN-13: 978-0-547-25357-2

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If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

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Dear Diary:

Today was my fi rst day at my new school. It’s very big and there are lots of students. I think they all know each other. I am new. I also stutter. When I speak, especially when I am nervous, my tongue gets all twisted up. So I don’t like to talk to anyone.

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Dear Diary:

I think that my teacher knows why I don’t like talking in class. The fi rst day of school she asked me my name in front of everybody.

“M-M-M-My name is M-M-M-Marisela,” I stammered. I heard giggles all around me. Will I ever have any friends?

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Dear Diary:

My teacher said that we are going to put on skits about our favorite stories. Just thinking about speaking on a stage scares me. But then I think about my favorite story, The Harvest Birds. The main character, Juan Zanate, tries so hard to have a good harvest. I can try hard, too. I can learn how to talk to people without being afraid.

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Dear Diary:

This afternoon I went to my favorite tree to think. I love going there when the weather is beautiful. In The Harvest Birds, Juan Zanate always went to his favorite tree to think. Today I did a lot of thinking about my skit.

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Dear Diary:

This morning I talked to my teacher.I told her my idea for my skit. My teacher reminded me that Juan asked an old wise man for help. My grandma is the wisest person I know. I will ask her for advice about my costume.

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Dear Diary:

I told Grandma that I am going to play the role of Grajo, the bird who is Juan’s friend. My skit will show how the bird helped Juan plant seeds on his small patch of land.

Grandma has lots of cloth. She is going to make me a dress with colorful scarves that will look like feathers.

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Dear Diary:

I know that I will get nervous speaking in front of people. Grandma said that each time I have to say a hard word, I should spin around. When I spin, I will pull off one of the scarves. It will fall on the fl oor. The audience will be so surprised, they won’t notice how I am speaking.

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Dear Diary:

The big day is coming up soon! Today I told my teacher that my skit is getting better.

The other good news is that I have been practicing in front of the mirror. Most of the time, I don’t stutter at all when I am saying my lines.

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Dear Diary:

Tonight was the big show, and I have so much to tell you! I was nervous behind the curtain. But when I got on stage, I felt better.

I told the audience that I was Grajo the bird and that Juan was my friend. When I got to the word friend, which is hard for me to say, I spun around and let a scarf fall. Everyone was amazed!

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I continued with the story, and every time I had trouble with a word, I pulled off a scarf and went on. At the end of my skit, I picked up a harvest basket full of corn, beans, and pumpkins.

Everyone clapped. My teacher had a big smile on her face.

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When I left the stage, my classmates all wanted to talk to me. One girl asked me to promise that next year we could do a skit together. The other girls wanted to see my beautiful dress. Someone even asked if she could borrow it someday.

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My teacher came over and said, “You did a great job, Marisela. I am so proud of you. Now go fi nd your grandma and your parents.”

My parents and grandma had huge smiles on their faces. I gave them all kisses.

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Dear Diary:

Today when I got to school, everything was different. My classmates talked to me as though we had always been friends. They included me in everything, even lunch! I feel so different now. I still sometimes stutter, but nobody cares. I don’t care either. I am too busy having fun!

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DetailShe practiced the words many times.

ConclusionMarisela worked hard to perform her skit.

Detail?

Detail?

Responding TARGET SKILL Conclusions Copy the

chart below. Fill in two story details that show how Marisela got ready for her skit.

Text to Text Think of another story you know with a character who has a problem at school. Write a paragraph that tells what happens in the story. Tell the author’s ideas in your own words.

Write About It

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adviceashamedbordersborrow

harvestpatchseparateserious

TARGET VOCABULARY

TARGET SKILL Conclusions Use details to figure out ideas that the author doesn’t state.

TARGET STRATEGY Infer/Predict Use clues to figure out more about the selection.

GENRE Realistic fiction is a story with events that could happen in real life.

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HOUGHTON MIFFLIN HARCOURT

by Rubí Borgiaillustrated by Kathie Kelleher

Dear Diary

1253782

3.2.8

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

Online Leveled Books

Level: M

DRA: 28

Genre:Realistic Fiction

Strategy:Infer/Predict

Skill:Conclusions

Word Count: 712