Teachable Texts

80. Three Samurai Cats: A Story From Japan by Eric A. Kimmel

September 14, 2009 at 10:36 pm Leave a comment

Retell: Many years ago, in a castle in Ancient Japan, there lived a powerful lord with a terrible rat problem.  He tried everything in his power to chase the rat away, but the rat would not leave.  He asked the senior monk to send his strongest samurais to defeat the rat.  Both of them were thwarted.  Finally, the senior monk sent his oldest and wisest samurai to the castle.  He beat the rat with his ultimate weapon–patience.

Units of Study: Talking and Writing About Texts

Topics: Japan, rats, power, patience, samurais, monks, bullies

Habits of Mind: persisting, thinking flexibly, managing impulsivity

Reading Skills: monitoring for sense, interpretation

Writing Skills: incorporating the rule of three

Thoughts: When I read this book I immediately thought of those situations where we want to fight back.  When someone insults us we want to think of a better insult to ‘squash’ that person.  How often do we see students try and assert power over another with a put-down, a push, a punch?  This book is great for discussing how bullies are truly defeated.

Entry filed under: Male authors, Picture Books. Tags: bullies, interpretation, Japan, managing impulsivity, monitoring for sense, monks, patience, persisting, power, rats, rule of three, samurais, talking and writing about texts, thinking flexibly.