MY NAME IS YOON by Helen Recorvits. This story is realistic fiction. That means it is a made-up...
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Transcript of MY NAME IS YOON by Helen Recorvits. This story is realistic fiction. That means it is a made-up...
MY NAME IS YOON
by Helen Recorvits
This story is realistic fiction. That means it
is a made-up story that could really happen.
real fiction = real fake
VOCABULARYfor
My Name is Yoon
Cuddle:
to hold close in your arms
Favorite:
the person or thing you like best
Patient:
able to wait or to put up with a problem until it
gets better
Practiced:
do something over and over again until you get
good at it
Settled:
to get used to a new home
Wrinkled:
to make folds or lines
on a smooth surface
MY NAME IS YOON
My name is Yoon.
I came here to America
from Korea.
Korea is a country that
is far far away.
It was not long after
we settled into our new
home that my father
called me to his side.
“Soon you will go to a
new school. You must
learn to write your
name in English.
This is how it looks,”
he said.
I wrinkled up my nose.
I did not like YOON.
Lines. Circles. Each
standing alone.
My name did not look happy.
My name looks happy when I use Korean
symbols.
The symbols dance together.
And in Korean my name means
“Shining Wisdom”.
I like the Korean way better.
But father told me I must learn to write my
name in English.
“Remember, even when
you write your name in
English, it still means
“Shining Wisdom.”
I did not want to learn
the new way.
I wanted to go back to
Korea.
I did not like America.
Everything was
different here.
My father handed me a
pencil.
His eyes told me to try.
“Do as I do.”
He showed me how to
print every letter in the
English alphabet,
all 26 of them.
So I practiced and
practiced.
My father was proud.
“Look, he called to my
mother. See how well
our little Yoon does.”
“Yes,” said mother.
“She will be a
wonderful student.”
I wrinkled up my nose.
My first day at school I sat quietly at my desk
while the teacher
talked about C A T.
She wrote CAT on the
chalkboard. She read
stories about CAT.
I did not know what her
words meant.
But I did know what the
pictures were.
She sang a song about
CAT.
It was a pretty song.
I tried to sing the words,
too.
“Name YOON,” said my
teacher.
“Write your name on
the lines.”
I did not want to write Yoon, so I wrote the
word C A T.
I wrote C A T on every
line.
I wanted to be a cat.I wanted to hide in the corner
so my mother would find me
and cuddle up close to me
and I would mew softly.
The teacher looked at
my paper. She shook
her head and frowned.
“So you are CAT?”
The ponytail girl sitting
behind me giggled.
After school I said to
my father, “We should
go back to Korea. It is
better there.”
“Do not talk like that,”
he said.
“America is your home
now.”
I sat by the window and
watched a little robin
hop, hop in the yard.
“He is all alone, too.
He has no friends. No
one likes him either.”
Then I got an idea. If I draw a picture for the
teacher maybe she
will like me.
It was the best bird I had ever drawn.
“Look Father,” I said proudly.
“Oh, this makes me
very happy,” he said.
“Now do this.”
He showed me how to
write B I R D under
the picture.
The next day the teacher
handed me another
YOON paper to print.
But I did not want to
write YOON. So I wrote
BIRD on every line.
I wanted to be a BIRD. I wanted to fly, fly back
to Korea.
I would fly to my nest
and tuck my head
under my little brown
wing.
The teacher looked at my paper.
“So you are BIRD?”
Then I showed her my
special bird drawing.
She smiled at me.
“How was school today,
my daughter?” asked my
mother.
“I think my teacher likes
me a little,” I said.
“Well, that is good!”
my mother said.
“Yes, but at my school in Korea, I was the
teacher’s favorite. I had many friends. Here I am
all alone.”
“You must be patient with everyone,” said
my mother.
“You will be a fine student and you will have many friends.”
The next day at recess I stood by the fence by myself. I watched the ponytail girl sitting on
the swing. She watched me, too.
Suddenly she jumped off the swing and ran
over to me.
She had a package in her hand.
It said CUPCAKE.
She opened it and gave one to me.
She giggled.
I giggled, too.
When we went back into school, the teacher
gave us more printing papers. I did not want
to write YOON.
I wrote C U P C A K E.
I wanted to be a CUPCAKE.
The children would clap their hands when they
saw me. They would be excited.
“CUPCAKE!”
The teacher looked at
my paper.
“And today you are
CUPCAKE!” she said.
She smiled a very big smile. Her eyes said,
“I like this girl YOON.”
After school I told my mother about my
ponytail friend. I sang a new song for my
father.
I sang the song in
English.
“You make us so
proud,” they said.
“Maybe America will be
a good home,”
I thought.
“Maybe different is
good, too.”
The next day at school,
I could hardly wait to
print. This time I wrote
YOON
on every line.
When my teacher looked
at my paper, she gave
me a big hug.
“AHA! You are YOON!”
“Yes, I am YOON.”
I write my name in
English now.
It still means
“Shining Wisdom”.
What do you think?1. At the beginning of the story, did
you think Yoon would like school?
2. How does she feel at the end of the story?
3. Why do you think Yoon wrote, CAT, BIRD, and CUPCAKE on her paper instead of Yoon?