The Sights and Sounds of New York City’s Chinatown SUMMARY This book describes New York City’s Chinatown. It describes the people who live there, as well as the sights, sounds, and traditions of this colorful and lively neighborhood. It discusses several important celebrations, like the Chinese New Year. It even gives a recipe for moon cakes. LESSON VOCABULARY bows foreign recipe chilly narrow foolish perches INTRODUCE THE BOOK INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR Introduce students to the title and the author of the book The Sights and Sounds of New York City’s Chinatown. Ask students what they think this book will be about, based on the title. Does the cover of the book offer any clues? Can they imagine what some of the sights and sounds of Chinatown might be? BUILD BACKGROUND Discuss with students what they know about Chinatown. Ask them whether they have ever visited Chinatown in New York or another city. What do they remember about their visit? What surprised them the most? What are their favorite types of Chinese food? Have they ever eaten with chopsticks? PREVIEW/USE PHOTOS AND CAPTIONS Invite students to look through the photographs, charts, and captions in the book. Ask the students what they think the text could be about now that they have taken a look at the pictures. 3.6.2 CAUSE AND EFFECT GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS READ THE BOOK SET PURPOSE Most students will be interested in reading this book so that they can learn about Chinatown, a special neighborhood in New York City. Remind students that interest in other cultures is an important attitude to have. STRATEGY SUPPORT: GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS We use this skill typically before, during, and after reading, and to assess what we’ve read. With this book, you may want to focus on the chart on page 8. Talk with students about how this kind of chart helps them organize the ideas they have read. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS PAGE 5 Are the streets of Chinatown wide and straight? (No, they are short, winding, and narrow