1. The Jacket
Gary Soto

2. Who is Gary Soto? Read the biography of the author
Answer the comprehension questions on the back- be prepared to discuss
Write a 2 sentence summary about the central idea of the text.

3. What is a memoir?
Although this story reads like a short story, it is actually a memoir.
A memoir is a piece of non-fiction writing that tells a story from the author’s life.
Memoirs are about a person’s experiences and reactions to something in their history

4. Figurative language review:
Simile:
Comparison of 2 unlike things using like or as
Metaphor:
Comparison of 2 unlike things using a form of be
Personification:
Gives a human quality to a non- human thing
The tropical storm slept for two days. She made little sounds like a kitten meowing. The hurricane was a huge beast trying to devour us.

5. Let’s take a look at Soto’s word choice… underline all the figurative language and descriptive words in your text.
My clothes have failed me. I remember the green coat that I wore in fifth and sixth grades when you either danced like a champ or pressed yourself against a greasy wall, bitter as a penny toward the happy couples.

6. Annotations and Close-reading
We will chunk text and annotate to better understand the development of the plot and what those events reveal about the main character.

7. Annotation 1: Read paragraphs 1- 5
With darker hair- tell your partner what point of view this story is told in. How do you know?
With lighter color hair- tell your partner the words the narrator uses to describe the jacket to the reader.
Put a bracket around paragraph 4- answer the question: How does this paragraph contribute to the conflict for the narrator?

8. Annotation 2: Read paragraphs 6-9
Older tell younger a summary of paragraph 6
Younger tell older- what does paragraph 6 tell us about the narrator?
Underline the line: “my teeth chattered like a cup of crooked dice”- what is this an example of? Describe what the narrator means by this?
Explain how paragraph 9 adds to the conflict for our character.

9. Annotation 3: Read paragraphs 10-12
Taller tell shorter: What does the following mean? “that jacket that became my ugly brother who tagged along wherever I went”
Shorter tell taller: Why would the narrator being thinking bad thoughts? What would he be thinking bad thoughts about?
What does paragraph 12 help to reveal about the narrator and his family?

10. What words help the reader know the narrator’s feelings about the topic?
Tone
Day-old guacamole ?

11. Reflection:
By the end of the story, the narrator has a slight feeling change about the jacket. In at least two complete sentences, answer both of the following questions:
How has the narrator’s feelings changed about the jacket from the beginning of the story?
What causes his feelings to change?

12. Figurative language and descriptive language in “The Jacket”
“my guacamole jacket”– Gary Soto

13. Complete the handout for “The Jacket” figurative language as follows:
1. For each simile you find in the text, underline the two things being compared, and put a triangle around the word like or as.
**Example: She made little sounds like a kitten mewing.
2. For each metaphor you find in the text, put a rectangle around the two things being compared.
**Example: The hurricane was a huge beast trying to devour us.
3. For each example of personification you find in the text, underline the animal,
object, or idea that is being personified, and circle the human-like characteristic or quality that is being given to it.
**Example: The tropical storm slept for two days.

14. Symbolism in “The Jacket”

15. What is symbolism? Insecurity Poverty Evidence Evidence
The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
The jacket is a symbol for different things in the memoir.
Create a chart that shows 2 ideas/qualities the jacket represents in the text…
Add details from the text to support that symbolism
Insecurity
Evidence
Poverty
Evidence