1. Story Title:
The Last Dragon

2. Author
Illustrator
Chris Soentpiet
Susan Miho Nunes

3. Genre: Realistic Fiction
Realistic characters and events come to life in a fictional plot.

4. Selection Summary
Peter is unhappy to spend a summer in Chinatown with Great Aunt-until he finds and decides to fix up a New Year’s dragon. Enlisting the aid of neighbors and shopkeepers, Peter makes many friends and brings the tattered dragon back to its former glory.

5. Dragon Dance: http://youtu.be/S09rX_0oXjo

6. Traditions that people use to celebrate the coming of a new year.
KEY CONCEPT
Traditions that people use to celebrate the coming of a new year.

7. characters
“A man stood on the sidewalk and painted a new sign on a restaurant window…the red characters looked strong and fierce, too.”

8. Characters: symbols or letters used in printing or writing.

9. “The red characters looked strong and fierce.”

10. Fierce: wild and mean; dangerous

11. homage
“She grumbled about how the dragons of her childhood were royal in appearance and received the homage of every living thing.”

12. Homage: special public honor

13. snaked
“First slowly, then with ever-quickening steps, he snaked among the tables and around the room.”

14. snaked: moved in a winding and twisting way.

15. teeming
“And so the Last Dragon paraded through the teeming streets of Chinatown.”

16. Teeming: full, crowded

17. companions
“His only companions were his severed tail, two empty shipping crates, and a jar of salted duck eggs.”

18. Companions: a group that keeps someone from being alone.

19. “The last dragon had a faded face, a scraggly crest, and no eyes.”

20. Scraggly: shabby or torn

21. typhoon

22. pliers

23. vial

24. Summarize
Peter finds a new challenge when he discovers a dusty dragon costume. As you read, stop and summarize the steps he uses to solve his problem.

25. Many different conclusions can be drawn from the same detail!
Drawing Conclusions
We are Active Readers!
Active Readers “read between the lines” and draw conclusions about characters and events based on story details.
Many different conclusions can be drawn from the same detail!

26. Final /j/ and /s/ village 10. carriage 19. cabbage
cottage 11. glance 20. dodge
bridge 12. ridge
fence 13. manage Challenge Words
strange 14. damage 21. fleece
chance 15. since 22. fragrance
twice 16. marriage 23. homage
cage 17. edge 24. fringe
change 18. lodge 25. excellence

27. Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Adjectives can tell what kind or how many.
The words a, an, and the are special adjectives called articles.
Use a before a word that begins with a consonant sound.
Use an before a word that begins with a vowel sound.
The articles a and an refer to any person, place, or thing. The article the refers to a particular person, place, or thing.