Interactive Read Aloud Planning Template
Text: The Keeping Quilt
Author: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Learning Goals: Language Arts or Content Area
 The students will understand the main idea of the story and be able to
support it with details from the text.
Before reading:
Build background knowledge: This is a story about a family that immigrated to
the United States many years ago from Russia. There will be some words as well
as character’s names that you will hear in the story that are from their culture.
These may be unfamiliar to you, but we will be able to use the context clues and
illustrations to figure them out.
Introduce story vocabulary: quilt; border
Set purpose: As I read this story I want you think about why the quilt is so
important to the family. I also want you to pay close attention to the illustrations
throughout the story.
During reading:
Teaching Points/Questions:
Page #4-Do you think it was easy for Anna to adapt to life in America? Why or
why not? (she didn’t speak English when she first arrived; in the picture, it looks
like some girls are possibly making fun or talking about her)
The author uses the word babushka that we will hear throughout the story.
Based on the illustration and the description, what can we infer Anna’s babushka
is? (the blanket)
Page #8-What was significant or special about the quilt Anna’s family made? (it
was made of items that belonged to family back in Russia)
How might this help them as they are adjusting to life in a new country? (it will
remind them of back home Russia, which might make it easier for them)
Page #16- How does the author show us that the quilt is important to the family?
(they use it for a tablecloth on the Sabbath, use it as a wedding huppa or canopy,
use it to wrap the baby in; they have passed it to other generations of the family
and they are using it in the same way)
Page #28- Even though the quilt remains the same, we see evidence that times
have changed through the story. What are some details that show us that times
are different now than at the beginning of the story? (the dress is different, now
there are friends at the wedding that are not Jewish, the women and men now
dance together instead of celebrating separately)
Page #29- Will the quilt continue to be passed down to future generations? Why
or why not? (yes, it says that the daughter will someday leave home and take the
quilt with her)
Why is The Keeping Quilt an appropriate title for this story? (because the quilt
remained or was kept in their family and will continue to be passed down) What
could be another possible title for this story? (accept reasonable answers- the
answers should reflect the main idea- this is another way to assess main ideapossibilities- The Family Treasure, The Memory Quilt, The Quilt of Tradition, etc…)
After reading:
Comprehension focus: What did you notice about the illustrations in the story?
Go back and show a few pages if you need to (the quilt is the only thing that is in
color)
Why do you think Patricia Polacco chose to illustrate the text in this way? (to
make sure the quilt was the most important thing on each page, to show its
significance in the story)
Written Response: Modeled_____Shared__X___Independent_____
The quilt made by Anna’s family played an important role throughout the story.
Use details from the text to explain why it was so important. (students are having
to use details from the text to support the main idea)
Sample Response:
The quilt made by Anna’s family after they arrived in America was important for
several reasons. To begin with, it served as a constant reminder of their family
and life back home in Russia. It also was used as a wedding huppa or canopy as
well as a table cloth for special events. It welcomed new life into the world and
comforted Great Grandma Anna as she passed away. It is a truly a family
treasure.