Book Summary
Chinzaemon the Silent is a Japanese folktale. Chinzaemon is the best armorer in the kingdom, and his swords make no sound when drawn. He goes to court to serve a good prince and plays jokes that seem quite silly but are in fact very wise. Beautiful, historically accurate illustrations accompany the text.

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategies
Children should use a variety of strategies to determine word meaning and comprehend text. The targeted strategy for this lesson is: Going back and rereading

Children are likely to use various strategies to help them decode words in this story. Encourage them to go back and reread to make sure the sentence makes sense, to look for words within words, and to use the pictures in the book to help them with difficult words.

Once children are able to see the idea of the story, they may be able to predict and/or visualize the outcome of some of the situations Chinzaemon finds himself in throughout the story.

Word and Print Skills

Phonics
Vowel Digraphs

Word Work
Mechanics - Punctuation
Synonyms

Comprehension

You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as children work to understand the text. The targeted comprehension strategy for this lesson is: Problem/solution and cause/effect

• Use the different events in the story to show the life that Chinzaemon lived and how his life changed to talk with children about cause and effect. Also use events to show how Chinzaemon took an active roll in making his life change. You can also talk about the other characters in the story and how Chinzaemon affected them.

Visual Learning
Children will notice details in the illustrations to reinforce vocabulary and help them understand the text.

Targeted Vocabulary Words
Content words
The following words are words children may find difficult while reading: Chinzaemon, armorer, ministers, courtiers, scabbards, apprentice, fidgeted

You may want to review the story and see if there are any other words you would like to add to this list. You should review these words prior to reading and go over the meanings. This will help children when they beginning reading independently. You may wish to have them add words to the list.