“Something to Declare”

An autobiography by Julia Alvarez

C. Perez, Griffith MS

Last night, I watched a beauty _______________ on T.V. Each state had one _________________, and every girl was a real _______________ to look at. We looked for _______________ to predict the winner. All the contestants looked their best, and every ___________________ of every face was pretty. One contestant __________________ the judges and had to leave the stage. Another contestant sang a beautiful song and _________________ me to take singing lessons again. All the contestants had ______________ feelings of worry as they waited _________________ to see who would win.

Directions: Complete the paragraph by adding the missing words.

acute contestant pageant inspire anxiously defybeauty feature clue

pageantcontestant

beautyclues

featuredefied

inspiredacute

anxiously

acute

• Definition: very strong and sharp

• Sentence: The acute pain made me cry.

anxiously

• Definition: in a worried or nervous way, afraid about what may happen

• Sentence: He waited anxiously for news about the accident.

beauty

• Definition: quality that makes a person or thing pleasing to look at

• Sentence: She enjoyed the beauty of her lovely flower garden.

clue

• Definition: sign, suggestion, or hint that something will happen

• Sentence: I had no clue that there would be a surprise party for me.

contestant

• Definition: person in a contest

• Sentence: Each contestant wanted to be the winner.

defy

• Definition: refuse to obey

• Sentence: My sister always wants to defy me and mom never stops her.

feature

• Definition: part of the face or body

• Sentence: His eyes were his best feature.

inspire

• Definition: encourage to act or feel a certain way, encourage to be creative

• Sentence: Poetry and nature inspire me to paint.

pageant

• Definition: colorful kind of show or event

• Sentence: We clapped and cheered as we watched the beauty pageant.

How to Summarize“Something to Declare”

Reading Strategy #3

How to Summarize

1. Read the passage.

2. Record the details.

3. Check off the most important details.

4. Include them in the summary.

A beauty contest is a show.

Contestants are beautiful, talented women.

Contestants wear lots of make-up.

One woman wins the pageant.

Beautiful and talented women compete in a beauty contest that has only one winner.

Collected magazinesStudied their classmatesWatched T.V.Wanted to look AmericanWatched the beauty pageant each year

Julia and her sisters move to America and they want to look like they belong here. They collected magazines, studied their classmates and watched T.V. to find clues on how to look American.

Sisters try to change their look.They shave their legs.They straighten their hair.They buy new clothes.They wear make-up.

Julia and her sisters try to change their looks in order to look American. They buy new clothes, straighten their hair, shave their legs, and wear make-up.

Models shown on T.V were in college or heading thereGood girls could excel outside the home and still be a winner

Julia and her sisters discover from watching Miss. America that girls can also succeed by going to college and not just be housewives.

Figurative Language: Similes

Sometimes a writer uses adjectives to

describe someone or something.

Ex: The girl’s hair was dark.

To give the reader a better picture, a writer

might compare the color to something else.

Ex #1: The girl’s hair was as dark as night.

Ex #2: The girl’s hair was like night.

Figurative Language: Similes

These comparisons, which use the words

like or as, are called similes. Similes are one

type of figurative language that helps

readers see ordinary things in new ways.

Ex #1: The girl’s hair was as dark as night.

Ex #2: The girl’s hair was like night.

Figurative Language: Similes

Find Similes What two things does the

author compare in this sentence?

Every year, the queen came down the

runway in her long gown with a sash like an

old-world general’s belt of ammunition.

Figurative Language: Similes

Practice Now add a simile to complete

these sentences.

1. The girls thought the Miss America contestants were as ______ as _______.

2. The girls tried to make their curly hair as ________ as ________.

3. They wanted legs that were like _______.

4. The clothes Mami preferred were like _____________.

beautiful porcelain dolls

straight a road

silk

old-fashioned draperies

Complex SentencesComplex Sentences

Unit 2Unit 2

Theme 2Theme 2

Complex SentencesComplex Sentences

A A complex sentence complex sentence has one independent clause has one independent clause and one dependent clause. and one dependent clause.

Ex: Ex: I learned English I learned English when I came to Los Angeleswhen I came to Los Angeles..

Complete Sentence: Complete Sentence: I learned English.I learned English.Not a Complete Sentence: Not a Complete Sentence: when I came to Los Angeleswhen I came to Los Angeles

Independent clauses Independent clauses can stand alone as sentences.can stand alone as sentences.Dependent clauses Dependent clauses cannot stand alone as sentences. cannot stand alone as sentences.

independent clause dependent clause

Complex SentencesComplex Sentences

A word that connects the two clauses A word that connects the two clauses in a in a

complex sentence is called a complex sentence is called a subordinating subordinating

conjunction. It shows how two parts of conjunction. It shows how two parts of the the

sentence are related.sentence are related.

A few subordinating A few subordinating conjunctionsconjunctions

although sincealthough sincebecause whenbecause whenif whereif whereas untilas until

Complex SentencesComplex SentencesChoose a subordinating conjunction Choose a subordinating conjunction

from the box to complete each from the box to complete each complex complex

sentence.sentence.

becausebecause ifif until until wherewhere

1.1. Francisco travels to Texas ________ his Francisco travels to Texas ________ his father has a new job.father has a new job.

2.2. _____ Francisco makes a new friend, he _____ Francisco makes a new friend, he will be happy.will be happy.

3.3. The two friends look for a park _______ The two friends look for a park _______ they can play soccer.they can play soccer.

because

If

where