UNIT 2 READING 2 - "BECOMING NAOMI LEÓN


"BECOMING NAOMI LEON"



This story is about a girl named Naomi who lives with Gram, her greatgrandmother,


in California. Naomi’s mother left her and her younger brother with


Gram several years earlier and now wants the children back. Gram doesn’t want


this, so she takes the children to Mexico to find their father. When Naomi meets


her father, she discovers that he is good at carving things. When she shows him a soap carving of a dog that she is working on, she accidentally damages it. Her father tells her that some things are meant to happen. He tells her he is sorry for not trying harder to keep his children with him. He promises he will help them and be a part of their lives in the future. “Soap Carving” explains how to carve soap.

BECOMING NAOMI LEON
  










LITERARY WORDS




  • Dialogue:

the exact words spoken by two or
more characters




  • Setting:

the time and place where the narrative
occurs





Academic Words




  • assist: help someone do something
  • bond: a feeling or interest that unites two or more people or groups
  • conflict: disagreement
  • process: a series of actions that someone does in order to achieve a particular result

Highlighted 

Words


  • custody of: the right to legally care for

  • jacaranda: type of tropical American tree with purple flowers


  • canopy: cover attached above a bed or seat, used as decoration or as a shelter

  • transparent: clear and easy to see through

  • spectacle: public scene or show that is very impressive

  • raspy: rough sounding

  • dictate: influence or control

  • simbólico: Spanish for “symbolic”; standing for a particular event, process, or situation


  • tragedy: event that is extremely sad, especially one that involves death

  • machete: knife with a broad, heavy blade, used as a cutting tool

  • innards: inside parts

  • mediator: person who tries to help two groups to stop arguing and make an agreement



  • quivering: shaking slightly because of nervousness or worry

  • Puerto Escondido: Spanish for “Hidden Port,” a port city in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico



  • trembled: shook because of fear

  • self-prophecies: predictions about yourself that could come true

  • el zócalo: a public square/town square

  • el Mercado: the market

  • la basilica: the church

Linguistic Note


English suffixes and prefixes give clues to the meaning and the

function of words. For instance there are suffixes that are used only for nouns 
and others that are used for verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. For example, -ness, 

-tion and -ation are used to create nouns. A suffix can also help to give meaning 

to a word. For example, competition and competitor are both nouns from the verb 
compete. However, -or indicates that there is a person performing the action, 
whereas -tion indicates a condition or state of being.




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