How Tia Lola
Came to Stay
by Julia Alvarez
illustrated by Macky
Pamintuan
Compiled by:
Terry Sams PES
Melissa Guinn PES
Study Skills
• Genre: Realistic Fiction
• Comprehension Skill:
Character and Theme
• Comprehension Strategy:
Summarize
• Comprehension Review
Skill: Author’s Purpose
• Vocabulary: Context Clues
Summary
One day Miguel’s Tia Lola starts to
paint the family’s home purple and
their landlord, the Colonel, orders
them to paint it white or move out.
Tia Lola designs purple and white
uniforms for Miguel’s baseball team
and names the team after the
Colonel. The Colonel is so happy
that he forgets about the color of
the house.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Realistic fiction is made up, but
the characters and events are
so lifelike that the story
seems as if it must be true. As
you read, think about what
makes this story seem as if it
could happen in real life.
Comprehension Skill
Character and Theme
• What the characters in a story do
and say gives clues about what they
are like.
• The theme is the underlying meaning
of a story.
• The author may state the theme
directly, but often the reader must
think about the story in order to
figure out the theme.
• A reader must have proof from the
story to support a theme statement.
Practice Book 273
Character and Theme
1. Goal
Nana doesn’t want to
embarrass her granddaugther.
2. Plot Events
She wears different colors.
3. Plot Events
She changes her cooking.
Practice Book 273
Character and Theme
4. Theme
Always be yourself.
5. Support
Her granddaughter doesn’t
want Nana to change.
Comprehension Strategy
Summarize
• As you read a story, summarize
the characters’ goals and how
they try to reach them.
• Summarizing will help you figure
out the theme of the story.
• Questions to ask yourself:
–What are the characters like as
they try to reach their goals?
–Do they succeed?
Comprehension Review SkillAuthor’s Purpose
• Recall that author’s have different
purposes for writing particular
pieces.
• The most common purposes
include:
–To persuade
–To express feelings or ideas
–To entertain
–To give facts or details (to
inform)
Vocabulary Skill:
Word Structure—Context Clues
• Sometimes you can use
context clues-the words and
sentences around an
unknown word-to help you
figure out the meaning of
the word.
• The author may put a
definition of the word in
parentheses or between
commas or dashes.
Vocabulary Skill:
Word Structure—Context Clues
• If there are no clues
surrounding the unknown
word, predict the meaning of
the word and see if it makes
sense in the sentence.
• Another strategy to determine
the meaning of an unknown
word is to restate what you
believe the sentence means in
your own words.
Study Stills
Dictionary/Glossary
711L
• A dictionary is a collection of
words and their meaning,
listed in alphabetical order.
• A glossary is a short dictionary
found at the back of some
books that includes important
words from the book.
Study Stills
Dictionary/Glossary
711L
• Guide words at the top of pages
show the first and last words on the
page.
• Entry words are in dark type. They
show how a words is spelled and
how the word is divided into
syllables.
• The pronunciation is in parentheses.
It shows how the words is said and
which syllables are stressed.
Study Stills
Dictionary/Glossary
711L
• The part of speech tells how
each word may be used in
sentences, such as a noun or
verb. Sometimes a word can be
used in more than one way.
• Definitions tell words’ meaning,
beginning with the most
common usage.
Study Stills
Dictionary/Glossary
711L
• Some entries may include example
sentences or illustrations that help
you understand the words’
meanings. They may also include
irregular and other special forms of
the word, such as words with
endings added.
• A pronunciation key at the top or
bottom of the page helps you figure
out the pronunciations in
parentheses after entry words.
Study Skill
Dictionary/Glossary WB 279-280
1. What is one difference between a dictionary
and a glossary?
Dictionary entries have more information than
glossary entries.
2. What is the entry word before Cumberland?
Why does it come before?
Culture; Dictionaries and glossaries are in
alphabetical order.
3. What is the pronunciation of curb? What tells
you that this is the pronunciation?
(kerb); Pronunciations are in parentheses.
4. Where will you find out an entry word’s part of
speech? In a dictionary, how would you know
if a word is a noun?
Parts of speech are after the pronunciation;
Noun is abbreviated n.
Study Skill
Dictionary/Glossary WB 279-280
5. What part of speech is cumbersomely?
adverb
6. In a glossary, what do you think the page
numbers after the definitions mean?
They are probably where the word appears.
7. The dictionary show several definitions for the
word culture. Why do you think there is only
one in the glossary?
There is one definition because that is they
way the word is used in the book.
8. What do you think the words in a glossary have
in common?
They are probably all uncommon words used in
the book.
Study Skill
Dictionary/Glossary WB 279-280
9. In the dictionary, what is the purpose of the
sentences that are in italics? Write a sentence
that could be added to the definition
cumbersome to show how it is used.
Example: The heavy coat was cumbersome.
10. Describe when you would use a glossary rather
than a dictionary.
I would use a glossary when I need to find the
meaning of a word used in a book that I am
reading.
Weekly Fluency Check Emotion TE 686L
● Good readers read with
emotion.
● They are able to express the
emotion of the character they
are reading about.
● If a character is sad, your
voice should convey that
emotion.
Fun Stuff and Practice
•
•
•
•
Other Books by Julia Alvarez
Summary
Meet Julia Alvarez
Metaphors
– More metaphors
• Comma Usage
Question of the Week
TE 638m
• How can one
person’s view of
the world affect
others?
Day 2 - Question of the Day
•Why does the
Colonel get upset
with Miguel’s
family?
Day 3 - Question of the Day
•How does Tia Lola
get the Colonel to
change his “hard
heart”?
Day 4 - Question of the
Day - Review
• Why do you think Mr.
Arakawa decides to
speak with young
Sadaharu Oh?
Review Questions
1. Where does most of the story take
place?
2. How did the photo of Colonel Charlebois
help Tia Lola determine how to make
him happy?
3. Why did the author describe the old
photos?
4. Why did the children have to write
Colonel Charlebois a letter?
5. How are Tia Lola and Colonel Charlebois
alike?
Review Questions
6. Why do the children like Tia Lola?
7. What is the theme of the story?
8. What was Tia Lola’s plan to “change
a hard heart”?
9. What kind of person is Tia Lola?
10. What did Tia Lola do to change the
Colonel’s mind about the color of the
house?
11. What did Tia Lola determine when
the Colonel decided to play pall with
the boys?
Vocabulary - Say It
•
•
•
•
affords
colonel
glint
lurking
• palettes
• quaint
• resemblance
More Words to Know
embarrassment
landlord
confused
recognize
wandered
affords
• gives as an effect or a
result; provides; yields
colonel
•a
military rank
below general
glint
•
a gleam; flash
lurking
• hiding or
moving about in
a secret and sly
manner
palettes
• thin boards, usually
oval or oblong, with a
thumb hole at one end,
used by painters to lay
and mix colors on
quaint
• strange or odd in
an interesting,
pleasing, or
amusing way
resemblance
• similar appearance;
likeness
embarrassment
• shame; an
uneasy feeling
landlord
• person who owns
buildings or land that is
rented to others
confused
• thrown into disorder;
mixed up, bewildered
recognize
• realize that something or
someone has been seen or
known before
wandered
• moved here and there
without any special
purpose
He seemed to
recognize them,
like old friends.
He seemed to
recognize them,
like old friends.
He knows just
when the sun
should produce a
glint, or shine, on
a pond or a barn
roof.
He knows just
when the sun
should produce a
glint, or shine, on
a pond or a barn
roof.
Miguel feels a flash
of embarrassment
about his crazy
aunt.
Miguel feels a flash
of embarrassment
about his crazy
aunt.
The large window
affords a view of the
surrounding farms
and the quaint New
England town
beyond.
The large window
affords a view of the
surrounding farms
and the quaint New
England town
beyond.
In the military, Joe
was ranked a
colonel.
In the military, Joe
was ranked a
colonel.
One flower
contains enough
colors to fill two
palettes.
One flower
contains enough
colors to fill two
palettes.
He wandered around
the apartment all day,
in and out of rooms,
talking to himself,
just like a kid in
diapers.
He wandered around
the apartment all day,
in and out of rooms,
talking to himself,
just like a kid in
diapers.
They were focused,
not faraway or
confused.
They were focused,
not faraway or
confused.
You may see him
lurking and
waiting, as though
to surprise an
enemy.
You may see him
lurking and
waiting, as though
to surprise an
enemy.
Miguel could not
see even a faint
resemblance of
Colonel Charlebois
when looking at the
baseball pictures.
Miguel could not
see even a faint
resemblance of
Colonel Charlebois
when looking at the
baseball pictures.
Miguel was afraid
that their landlord
would make them
move.
Miguel was afraid
that their landlord
would make them
move.
Writing Assignment
Write a Character Sketch
• A character sketch is a written
description of a character in a story.
• To write a character sketch, you
must observe what the character is
like throughout the story.
Writing Assignment
Write a Character Sketch
Here are some things to think about
before beginning your character
sketch:
– Physical description
– What the character says
– What the character does
– What the character thinks
– What the other characters say to or
about the character
– What the character is like
Spelling Words
Suffixed less, ment, ness
• countless
• payment
• goodness
• fairness
• hopeless
• treatment
• statement
• breathless
• restless
• enjoyment
Spelling Words
Multisyllabic Words
• pavement • greatness
• flawless
• punishment
• tireless
• timeless
• amazement • needless
• amusement • painless
CHALLENGE
•announcement
•appointment
•requirement
•awkwardness
•expressionless
This Week’s Word Wall Words
Click and type your own
words for this week:
Let’s review our Spelling
words. Watch carefully
because they will flash on the
screen for just a moment. We
can clap as we spell the word,
or we might just practice
reading the words.
countless
payment
goodness
fairness
hopeless
treatment
statement
breathless
restless
enjoyment
pavement
flawless
tireless
timeline
amazement
amusement
greatness
punishment
needless
painless
announcement
appointment
expressionless
requirement
awkwardness