Article
Art by Tim Budgen
Fiction,

My Name is Zahara

No one can say her name right, so the kids call her Z. Will she be brave and tell them that she wants to be called Zahara?

By Gabriella DeGennaro
From the September 2022 Issue
Lexiles: 350L
Guided Reading Level: J
Featured Skill: Main Idea,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.1.1 Features of print RL.1.2 Retell stories RL.1.3 Describe character and settings using key details RL.1.4 Words that describe feelings RL.1.7 Use visuals RL.1.10 Grade-1 prose and poetry SL.1.1 Discuss grade-1 texts
TEKS Standards
  • Health
    (10) Personal/interpersonal skills. The student understands that bullying behaviors result in negative consequences throughout the life span. The student is expected to: (A) demonstrate how to get help from a teacher, parent, or trusted adult when made to feel bullied, uncomfortable, or unsafe by a peer or an adult.
  • English Language Arts
    (4) Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. (6) Comprehension skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts. The student is expected to: (A) establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts with adult assistance.

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Think and Read

As you read the story, think about how Zahara feels.

I have curly hair. I have red glasses. And I love my name.

It is Zahara. You say it like this: za-HA-ra.

Isn’t that cool?

Then I went to a new school. 

No one could say my name.

“My name is Zahara,” I said.

“Hi, Sara,” said one kid. 

“My name is Zahara,” I said.

“What?” said another kid.

“My name is Zahara,” I said.

“I’ll call you Z,” said another kid.

They all started to call me Z. 

I did not want to be Z. But I was scared to say so.

PAUSE AND THINK: Does Zahara want to be called Z?

In class, we got new notebooks. 

We had to write our names.

I didn’t write anything.

“What’s wrong, Zahara?” the teacher asked.

“No one can say my name,” I said. 

“Well,” he said, “let’s play a name game.”

PAUSE AND THINK: Why does Zahara feel upset?

Then he wrote his full name: Abebe Kassa.

“My first name is Abebe,” he told the class.

“You say it like this: ah-BEE-bee.”

“Sometimes people have trouble saying it.

So I tell them again.” He smiled at me.

“We should call people what they want.

That shows we care.”

PAUSE AND THINK: What did the teacher tell the class?

I looked at my notebook. 

I wrote my name: Zahara.

I liked how it looked. 

“Now let’s each say our name,” said Mr. Kassa.

I raised my hand just a little. I felt nervous. But I said it anyway.

“I want to be called Zahara.”

PAUSE AND THINK: What does Zahara do that is brave?

“Let’s all say Zahara’s name,” said Mr. Kassa.

And they did. Za-HA-ra. Zahara! 

My name is Zahara. That is what all my new friends call me. 

Isn’t that cool?

THINK AND WRITE

Check out this skill-building sheet about this article.

Activities (3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)
Activities (3) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities
Answer Key (1)

About the Story

Social and Emotional Learning Focus

Self-identity

Communicating effectively

Bravery

English Language Arts Focus

Elements of a story

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

The essential question of this issue is How Can We Be Brave?

  • Big Read-Aloud: “Dogs to the Rescue,” p. 10
  • Word Play: “Three Ways to Say Brave,” p. 16
  • Mini Graphic: “Sticky Situation: Who Will I Play With?,” p. 17 
  • Fiction: “My Name is Zahara,” p. 24
  • Poetry: “Brave Night,” p. 32

Through the above genres, students will discuss:

  • What do the people (and animals!) in these stories do that is brave?
  • When have you been brave?
  • What happens when we are brave?

1. IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTIONS

Read-Aloud

  • Storyworks 1 provides a variety of text levels and types. As a read-aloud, the fiction story will develop children’s listening and comprehension skills. Check comprehension as you read by using the “Pause and Think” prompts.

Technology Time

Online Read-Aloud

  • Click the Read-Aloud button at the top of the digital issue to hear the story read aloud by a professional voice actor. This online resource promotes fluency and increases comprehension.

1. BEFORE READING

Show a Video (10 minutes)

  • Tell your students they are going to watch a video about bravery (this video also goes with other stories in this issue of Storyworks 1). As they watch, ask, “What are brave things the people are doing in this video?”
  • After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Preview the First Pages and Set a Purpose for Reading (5-10 minutes)

  • Now tell students they are going to read a story. Tell them it is about a student like them, being brave in a classroom like theirs. Ask students for times they were nervous about doing something but did it anyway. Those were all times that they were brave!
  • Open your magazines to “My Name Is Zahara.” Let children look at the illustrations. Point out the “Read and Think” prompt, and remind them to think about what Zahara is feeling as they read.

2. READ THE STORY (10-20 MINUTES)

  • Read the story aloud as a whole class.
  • Check comprehension as you read together with the “Pause and Think” questions. You may want to have children turn and talk to a partner to discuss.

3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON SKILLS

SEL Focus: Self-awareness (20 minutes)

  • The Names and Feelings printable invites children to make connections to feelings and practice their fine-motor skills by writing their own names in different ways.

ELA Focus: Story Elements (10 minutes)

  • Using the Story Chalkboards skills page, children can demonstrate their comprehension of the story by identifying events, conflicts, and characters.

SEL Focus: Bravery (20 minutes)

  • With the My Bravery Story skills page, children share a time they were brave (this page also goes with other stories in the issue). Since it is a new school year, they might want to write about being in a brand-new class.

ELA Focus: Retelling (10 minutes)

  • The skills page Put the Story in Order provides an opportunity to assess students’ understanding of key events from the story.

Text-to-Speech