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Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, Lexile, and Reading
Recovery are provided in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling
Guide.
Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.1.1
ISBN 0-328-13503-8
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Reader Response1. How did the narrator change in a way that made
her able
to think about her classmates differently?
2. What did you know about Emily Dickinson before reading this
story? What did you learn as you read? What more would you still
like to know about her? Make a chart like the one below and list
what you now know about Emily Dickinson and what more you want to
know.
3. Four of the vocabulary words in this bookacquainted,
expanded, guaranteed, and worshippedare verbs that have been
changed to end in -ed. What are the base words of these verbs? Use
two of them in sentences.
4. If you were Ms. Liang, would you have felt comfortable
telling the class that you had once felt like a nobody? Why or why
not?
What We Know What We Want to Know
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Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois Parsippany, New Jersey New
York, New YorkSales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts Duluth, Georgia
Glenview, Illinois
Coppell, Texas Ontario, California Mesa, Arizona
by Juna Loch
Learning from
Ms. Liang
illustrated by K. E. Lewis
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Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide
appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply
regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its
attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property
of Scott Foresman, a division of Pearson Education.
Illustrations by K.E. Lewis
Photograph 24 Library of Congress
ISBN: 0-328-13503-8
Copyright Pearson Education, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should
be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited
reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any
form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or likewise. For information regarding permission(s), write to:
Permissions Department, Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue,
Glenview, Illinois 60025.
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3
On Tuesday, we found out that we were getting a new teacher. The
rumor was that our old teacher, Mr. Williams, had gotten sick.
Our new teacher was supposed to start Wednesday. Wednesday
arrived, but the new teacher was late. We didnt mind. The whole
class was sitting around and talking excitedly about the upcoming
fifth-grade chorus concert. The girls were getting new dresses. The
boys were going to wear suits.
Everyone was talking about it, except Lisa Linney. She just sat
at her desk, her long hair hiding her face. Everyone knew that she
didnt have enough money to buy a new dress. We would often talk
about Lisa in front of her. People didnt try to be mean. It was
just that it was easy to forget she was there. In a way, Lisa was
invisible.
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4The new teacher finally walked in. She wasnt all that
remarkable looking, and her clothes were kind of plain. But as soon
as she came in everyone stopped talking. With just a glance around
the room she made you want to pay attention. Even the noisy kids
who sat in the back fell silent as she walked up to the
blackboard.
Whats the first thing a new teacher does? She takes attendance,
or writes her name on the board, right? But this new teacher didnt
do that. Instead, she picked up the chalk and wrote out a poem.
Im nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then theres a pair of
usdont tell!Theyd banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your
name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog!
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5
Good morning, class. My name is Ms. Liang, the new teacher said.
She picked up a copy of the book we were reading. Can someone tell
me where you stopped last?
I looked around the classroom, wondering who was going to
answer. Then A.J., who always liked to challenge teachers, asked,
Arent you supposed to learn our names before you make us work?
Ms. Liang answered, Im sure well get plenty acquainted as time
goes by. And, as a way of getting to know my students, Ive always
preferred reading together instead of just going around memorizing
names. But since you were nice enough to speak up, maybe you could
start reading out loud from where you left off?
A.J. muttered, I knew this would happen, and began reading.
Ms. Liang stopped him after only a couple of sentences. No, no,
she said. Not like that. Youve got to place yourself in the story.
Youve got to make it come alive for you and everyone else. Read as
if youre telling your story.
A.J. looked puzzled. What do you mean, my story?
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6What I mean is, read as if the book were about you. Read as if
you knew everyone wanted to hear the story of your life. Imagine
that you would burst if you couldnt share your story with the
class.
None of us had any idea what she was talking about. Then, just
out of curiosity, I looked over at Lisa. It looked like she knew
exactly what Ms. Liang was talking about.
It is essential to read with feeling, Ms. Liang went on. If you
read with feeling, its guaranteed to be more interesting to the
people who are listening. And it will be more interesting to
you.
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7
Why? my friend Mary Alice asked.Because its a scientific fact
that your face affects
your emotions, Ms. Liang answered.Whats that supposed to mean?
A.J. suddenly
blurted out. I could tell that he was annoyed because Ms. Liang
hadnt gone over our names.
Ms. Liang explained, Scientists have discovered that facial
expressions influence peoples emotions. When you make an angry
face, your brain floods your body with chemicals that actually make
you feel angry. So if you read with feeling, you will have a better
chance of experiencing the characters own feelings. Does that make
better sense?
Ms. Liang then called on Lisa to continue reading. As soon as
Lisa began reading, I thought, shes
acquainted with these feelings for sure. But, as well as she
read, her quietness made it difficult to understand her. Ms. Liang
stopped her when she saw that people were having a hard time
hearing her.
Whats your name? Ms. Liang asked. Lisa Linney, was the mumbled
reply.All right, Lisa, said Ms. Liang. I want you to keep
reading as youve been doing, with all that great feeling. But
this time, read a little louder.
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8Lisa resumed her reading. Her words were full of feeling.
Still, she wasnt loud enough. I realized that Lisas quietness made
people forget about her more easily.
While Lisa read, Ms. Liang stood by her desk, listening
carefully. Lisa blushed in reaction to Ms. Liangs close
presence.
After a while, Ms. Liang stopped Lisa. Turning to face the
class, she asked, Did you get that? The character Lisa was reading
about said, You never understand someone until you walk around in
their skin. What did that character mean?
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9
Its funny. If Mr. Williams had said the words walk around in
their skin, someone would have said Eeew, thats gross, or made a
joke. But everyone was quiet. We could tell how much Ms. Liang
cared about her teaching, and nobody wanted to make trouble.
We talked about the meaning of those words for a couple of
minutes. Then Ms. Liang told us to take out a piece of paper.
Heres your assignment, she said. Youre going to find this
difficult, but its important that you understand this concept. I
want you to write down what people would understand about you if
they could walk around in your skin.
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10
What do you mean? asked A.J. Im sure theres been a time youve
felt
misunderstood, Ms. Liang explained. So heres the question. Would
the rest of the world understand you better if they knew what it
was like to be you? Thats what I mean. Does that make sense?
The class nodded together.Good! Ms. Liang said. Then go ahead
and start
writing. Oh, and make sure not to sign your names.I took out my
paper and stared at it. Then I looked
up at the poem on the chalkboard. I didnt know what to write.
What didnt people know about me? I thought. Everyone knows
everything there is to know. Im me. Im popular. I do okay. I have a
reputation for nice clothes. What else would anyone need to
know?
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11
Lisa was sitting in the desk to the right of me, writing
quickly. I tried to peek at what she had written, but it was
difficult. She had her whole body shielding the paper, as if her
words were top secret.
A few minutes went by. Still, I couldnt find anything to write
about. Then I heard A.J. in the back, making some mean remark about
Lisa. It made me think about the times hes said mean things to me.
Then I thought about the time Katie Lee Clinton and her friends had
stopped talking and laughed when I came into the classroom. That
had definitely made me feel like a nobody.
I looked back up at the words on the chalkboard: Im nobody! Who
are you? No doubt, I felt like that sometimes. There were many
times when I felt like my class was filled with people who had no
idea who I was. Usually that feeling disappeared after a couple of
moments. But still, I knew what it was like.
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12
My thoughts inspired me to start writing. I know that, at times,
Ive felt like the person talking in the poem. Does anyone else feel
that way? Do other people in the class ever feel like theyve been
forgotten? I wrote.
I wrote about how those feelings were worst on days when I felt
sad. Everyones had those days. Theyre the days when your mother
yells at you before school, or your best friend says something
really mean. Theyre the days when you do poorly on a test. Like I
said, everyones had those days.
I wrote, If people really knew me, if people could walk around
in my skin and feel lonely like I do sometimes, they wouldnt say I
was stuck up or standoffish. One day, Katie Lee Clinton told me
that I was both of those two things. It made me feel like a
nobody.
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13
After we wrote for ten minutes, Ms. Liang collected our papers.
A.J. had questions as usual.
Whats the deal with that poem? he asked. And why didnt you want
us to sign our names?
I just thought you might find the poem interesting, Ms. Liang
told him. As for not signing your name, I use procedures like that
to protect students feelings. Some of the students might have felt
embarrassed if I knew who had written what.
The rest of the day went by slowly. Ms. Liang went over our math
and science homework. Finally, the bell rang for us to go home. As
I walked out of class, an incredible thought occurred to me: We had
shared more with Ms. Liang in one day than we had with Mr. Williams
in a whole year!
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14
The next day the poem was back on the chalkboard. I knew it
wasnt left over from the day before, because this time it was
written in a different color chalk.
Why do you keep writing that poem on the board? A.J. asked Ms.
Liang.
Ms. Liang answered, As I told you yesterday, I find it
interesting. She continued, Now take out your assigned reading,
please. Did everyone finish chapter five?
I raised my hand. This isnt about chapter five, but did you read
what we wrote yesterday? I asked.
Ms. Liang laid down her book.I did, she answered.And what did
you think? I was incredibly curious.
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15
After a long pause, Ms. Liang answered, What you wrote tells me
that you all have a lot to learn about each other. It tells me that
there are a lot of people in this class who feel like their
classmates dont understand them at all. Its important that you
learn more about how your classmates feel. Once you do, youll find
that youll be treating each other better.
What do you mean? Mary Alice asked defensively. Are you saying
that were mean? Are you saying that we dont treat each other well
enough in the first place?
Ms. Liang smiled. Im saying that all of us are mean sometimes,
without even realizing it.
Mary Alice made a face. You think that if we really knew each
other, we would like each other more? I know a lot of people. I
dont like them any better than other people just because I know
them.
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16
You might not like the person better, Ms. Liang answered, but
you might dislike the person less. Understanding people does not
excuse whatever poor actions they may take. But the more you
understand them, the more you might appreciate why they do what
they do. It might even make you see things from their point of
view, as if you were in their skin.
Ms. Liang then told us our homework assignment for that night.
This time, she wanted us to sign our names because she was going to
grade what we wrote. She wanted us to write a paragraph about
trying to get inside the skin of someone we didnt like. To protect
peoples feelings, she didnt want us to use anyones real name.
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17
I had a hard time with the assignment. I wanted to write about
A.J. because hed been mean to me. But I had no idea why hed been
mean, so I couldnt get inside his skin, like Ms. Liang wanted us
to. Then I remembered the time when I had been mean to someone,
like A.J. had been mean to me.
Mary Alice and I had been standing in the school hallway. We had
been talking about Lisas clothes and laughing at them. Right then,
Lisa came around the corner. She had heard everything we said. It
was awful. Lisa turned pale, and ran away.
Mary Alice and I just kept laughing. I dont know why I laughed
at Lisas clothes. I dont know why I didnt say anything to try to
make her feel better so she wouldnt have run away. The memory of
that time made me feel so bad that I couldnt make myself write
anything.
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18
The next day, everyone was talking about the fifth-grade chorus
concert again. Like last time, the girls were talking about the
fancy dresses their mothers were going to buy for them. Of course,
Lisa wasnt part of those conversations. But I noticed that she had
stopped hiding and pretending she wasnt there. Instead, she was
sitting up straight, with her homework on her desk, waiting for Ms.
Liang to arrive.
I was waiting too. I wanted Ms. Liang to come in and tell us
what the poem meant. When she came in, I asked.
Its a poem by Emily Dickinson, she answered.But what is it? I
mean, what does it mean?Ms. Liang thought for a minute before
answering.
Well, what do you think it means? she finally asked us.
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19
Nobody answered at first.Well, she prompted, which would you
rather
bea somebody or a nobody?A somebody, we all said. Who wants to
be a
nobody? A.J. added.Of course, said Ms. Liang. But how does the
poet
talk about somebodies?That was when Lisa raised her hand. In the
past she
had always been too shy, but now her hand was high in the
air.
The poem says that somebodies are like frogs, she said. Frogs
that sit around all day doing nothing but boasting.
Is she really talking about frogs? Ms. Liang asked.No, Lisa
continued. She means that people who
are full of themselves are as silly as frogs. Their talk is just
like ribbeting. Because of that, Emily Dickinson is proud to be a
nobody.
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20
How could you be proud to be a nobody? We didnt understand. But
Lisa Linney, our own sort of nobody, did understand. She looked at
Ms. Liang like she worshipped her. Ms. Liang smiled back. It was
just like the poem. Ms. Liangs face seemed to say, Hey, Lisa, do
you want to be a nobody with me?
You know, Ms. Liang said, looking right at Lisa, we are all
somebodies, though too often the world forgets it. She sighed. When
we treat other people like they are nobodies, we hurt them.
The room became very quiet after Ms. Liang said that. I bet no
one ever treated you like a nobody, Mary Alice said, breaking the
silence.
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21
Ms. Liang sighed and looked sad. When I was your age, I was a
nobody, she told us. Theres no way I could have been anything but a
nobody. I didnt fit in. Because my family was poor, I didnt have
any of the toys or clothes that the other children cared about. My
clothes were old, and I didnt have the money to go places with the
other kids. Of course, it didnt really matter, because I was a
nobody in the first place. So no one ever asked me to go anywhere
with them.
Ms. Liang looked directly at Lisa. I know what its like to be
around people who act like those proud frogs. The other students
would talk about parties I hadnt been invited to. Theyd talk as if
I werent there. So by the time I got to high school, I decided not
to be there. I dropped out. What did I need school for? In my mind,
all I needed was money. If I had money, I thought it would hide the
fact that I was a nobody. The worst part was, I was so invisible
that no one even noticed I had dropped out.
Ms. Liang stared out the window. No one said a word.
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22
It was the dumbest thing Ive ever done, Ms. Liang said. After
dropping out, I worked ten years. Still, I was treated like a
nobody. I would look at my future, and all I could see was more of
the same.
Ms. Liangs tone suddenly brightened. But then I started working
for a nice lady. To my shock, she liked me. She refused to let me
throw my life away. Go back to school, she told me. I never would
have gone back without her encouragement.
She went on, I had to work two jobs to make enough money to live
on. I studied whenever I could find the time. It wasnt easy. I
often found myself behind in my studies. All I could think about
was how much easier it would have been if Id stayed in school.
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23
Ms. Liangs tone was now triumphant. But that woman believed in
me and encouraged me. She forced me to see myself as a somebody.
She taught me that Dickinson poem. As soon as I heard the poem, I
knew I didnt need money to be somebody. I knew then that I wanted
to be a teacher, and a good one. I knew I would run into students
who thought they were nobodies. When I met them I could be a good
teacher and tell them, I thought I was nobody too! Tell me about
yourself, and Ill prove that youre not a nobody.
Everyone in the room was looking at Lisa, remembering times they
had been mean to her. We all felt like nobodies for the way we had
treated her. Now, because of Ms. Liang, we knew that Lisa was a
somebody.
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24
Many people like to spend time by themselves. But there are some
people who withdraw entirely from society. One such person was
Emily Dickinson.
Emily, the daughter of a Massachusetts politician, came from a
wealthy family. In 1848, at age eighteen, she came home from what
is now Mount Holyoke College, complaining of homesickness. From
that point on, she seldom left her parents home. Emily rarely saw
visitors. Instead, she read, wrote letters, and composed over two
thousand poems.
You might think that someone who never left home would have
nothing to write about. But Emily did. Looking at only the things
in her house, she gained new insight into lifes great themes. Tell
all the truth, but tell it slant, she wrote. And that is what she
did. In her private world, Emily Dickinson managed to see more than
some of the most adventurous world travelers.
Emily Dickinson
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Reader Response1. How did the narrator change in a way that made
her able
to think about her classmates differently?
2. What did you know about Emily Dickinson before reading this
story? What did you learn as you read? What more would you still
like to know about her? Make a chart like the one below and list
what you now know about Emily Dickinson and what more you want to
know.
3. Four of the vocabulary words in this bookacquainted,
expanded, guaranteed, and worshippedare verbs that have been
changed to end in -ed. What are the base words of these verbs? Use
two of them in sentences.
4. If you were Ms. Liang, would you have felt comfortable
telling the class that you had once felt like a nobody? Why or why
not?
What We Know What We Want to Know
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