Daiva Berzinskas

YOED 6020 Anticipatory Guide

Title: The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and
Short Essays
Chapter: The Jacket
Author: Gary Soto
Publication Date: 2000
Publisher: Persea Books

Age/Grade/Proficiency Level: High school or adult language learners/ Upper Intermediate and
Advanced Proficiency

Skills:
• Pre-reading
• Cognitive Analysis
• Reading Comprehension
• Vocabulary
• Simile, personification, & metaphor

Materials:
• Literature Book
• Graphic Organizer
• Anticipatory Guide

Pre-Reading

Have you ever had an article of clothing that

took on a special significance for you as you
were growing up?

It could have been a dress that made you feel

like a beautiful princess or a pair of shoes that
you could not live without. What was this
clothing? What emotions did you feel when you
wore this special piece of clothing?

In your opinion, what relationship do clothes

have on one’s identity?
 Daiva Berzinskas

YOED 6020 Anticipatory Guide

During Reading – Highlight the similes and metaphors as you read.

What is the relationship between the boy and his

jacket?

How is the jacket that the boy’s mother buys

him different from the one that he wants? Was
she trying to embarrass him? What other reason
might she have had not to buy the other jacket?

What does the tree symbolize?

Was the jacket the actual reason the boy’s

grades suffered and that he was an unpopular
student in class?

After Reading
 Daiva Berzinskas

YOED 6020 Anticipatory Guide

What type of feelings do you have towards the

boy?

Were you surprised that the author associated

the piece of clothing with such a sense of
negativity?

Do you think that had the author’s mother

bought him the leather jacket that he had
wanted that his sense of embarrassment would
have been relieved? Why or why not?

The author uses figurative language to describe

the jacket in the reading. Choose an article of
your own clothing and briefly write 5-10
sentences choosing a variety of figures of speech
to personify it. Refer to the sentences that you
highlighted during reading as a guide.

Reference:
 Daiva Berzinskas

YOED 6020 Anticipatory Guide

Soto, G. (2000). The Effects of Knut Hamsun on a Fresno Boy: Recollections and Short Essays.
New York, NY: Persea Books.

MTSU Honor Statement:

This assignment/assessment was solely written by me. In no way have I
plagiarized (represented the work of another as my own) or otherwise violated
the copyright laws and academic conventions of fair use. I know that violations
of this policy may result in my being dismissed from Middle Tennessee State
University and/or appropriate legal action being taken against me.
Signed (submitting this statement to Teaching Faculty with student's name typed
below constitutes signing):

Daiva Berzinskas
Date: July 2, 2010