A Story Frames Plot Analysis of UNBREAKABLE

 

In last week's BLOG, I recommended using the picture book Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp to bridge the gap between narrative and non-fiction by exploring its rich back matter.  This week, I'll give a brief summary of the book using Storyboard elements from my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. For more information about Story Frames, go HERE or visit Brookes Publishing.

Read the book to your students before discussing the plot and have them take notes or make quick sketches about what is happening in the story. Even older students enjoy listening to stories, and using sketches is a great way to introduce struggling writers to note-taking. In Chapter 6 of Story Frames, "From Speaking to Writing: Sentences, Paragraphs, and Stories," I share a Quick Draw strategy based upon Ukrainetz's 1998 method for "picture noting." Basically, students listen to a story and draw sketches of what is happening in the plot. For Story Frames, we then use those sketches to fill out a storyboard and discuss plot elements. The storyboard can then be used to retell the story orally or to write a summary. Ukrainetz later adapted her strategy to note-taking for non-fiction. 

Ukrainetz, T. (1998). Stickwriting stories: A quick and easy narrative representation strategy. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 29, 197-206. 

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2019). Sketch and speak: An expository intervention using note-taking and oral practice for children with language-related learning disabilities. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 50, 53-70.  

Unbreakable Plot Summary
BEGINNING:
1. Ordinary World - Min and his family live in San Pedro, California, where his father sells fruits and vegetables. Min enjoys collecting rocks as he walks home from school. 
2. Call and Response - FBI agents come to the home and accuse Mr. Tonai of being a spy because he gave money to family members in Japan.
3. Mentors, Guides, and Gifts - In December of 1941, agents return and take Mr. Tonai away. Before he leaves, he gives Min a smooth gray stone "for strength."
4. Crossing - People of Japanese descent are forced to leave their homes. Min, his mother, and siblings are taken to Santa Anita Park.
MIDDLE: 
5. New World - Their new home is a horse stall at the racetrack with straw mattresses.
6. Problems, Prizes, and Plans - Guards patrol the racetrack, and no one is able to leave. 
7. Midpoint Attempt - The family is hopeful when they are told they are being moved to Granada, Colorado, but Camp Amache turns out to be a dry desert. Min makes furniture from scrap wood to lift his mother's spirits. They receive letters from Mr. Tonai, who is imprisoned elsewhere. Min clutches the stone and thinks of his father.
8. Chase and Escape - In March of 1944, Min sees a man outside the barracks and runs to greet him. It's his father who has joined them at Amache. He has been released from prison.
END:
9. Downtime - Mr. Tonai has collected stones from every prison where he was incarcerated. He shows them to Min and talks about the strength and beauty he has found. 
10. Death and Transformation - They use the rock collection to create a beautiful design outside of their barracks. They have transformed something ugly into something beautiful.
11. Climax: The Final Test - In October of 1945, the Tonai family is finally released from the camp. At first, Min worries that they won't be accepted or that they could be incarcerated again. Min lets go of the stone and holds his parents' hands "for strength," knowing that they will make things better. 
12. Final Reward - (In the co-author's note) As an adult, Min founded the Amache Historical Society. In 2015, Emperor Akihito awarded Min with a medal for "promoting friendly relations and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States."

A Different Kind of Hero's Journey

My Story Frames analysis is based on The Hero's Journey, as described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In Western culture, we are accustomed to Hero stories where an underdog fights against extreme odds to emerge victorious over a bigger, stronger opponent, but that's not how real life works for most of us. Sometimes heroes make their mark by enduring extreme hardship through resourcefulness (making furniture from scraps) and by creating beauty in the midst of adversity (crafting art from stones). They try to create a better world in ways both big and small. That is the story of Min Tonai, and it is inspiring because these are things each of us can do every day - create beauty and hope wherever we find ourselves.

Next week, we will use Unbreakable to explore the difference between phrases and clauses.

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Happy Book Birthday to UNBREAKABLE

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Happy Book Birthday to UNBREAKABLE

This month, I'm featuring the picture book Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp, written by Minoru Tonai with Jolene Gutierrez and illustrated by Chris Sasaki. The release date (book birthday) for Unbreakable is April 7. Order it now on Amazon! The story is based on Tonai's real-life experience as a Japanese American youth incarcerated with his family during World War II.

In my book, *Story Frames for Teaching Literacy*, Chapter 7 explores "From Story Writing to Expository Writing: Bridging the Gap With Narrative Nonfiction." The extensive back matter at the end of Unbreakable provides an engaging way to explore nonfiction features with students. These include: a timeline, bibliography, discussion of terms related to "incarceration," a Fact and Fiction section, a note from co-author Jolene Gutierrez about Minoru Tonai, and a note from Chris Sasaki about the illustrator's grandfather, who served in the 442nd Infantry during World War II. This was a special unit composed of second-generation Japanese Americans that was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service. 

These men bravely served their country even as many of their families were unjustly held in incarceration camps back home.

Next week, I will share a Story Frames Plot Analysis of the book and discuss a very different kind of Hero's Journey. Later this month, I will present an activity based on the narrative that explores the difference between phrases and clauses.

Last month, I explored several activities based on Phumirik's book, Happy Songkran Day, which will be celebrated from April 13-15. See last month's blog posts about the book HERE.

RELATED POSTS

A Story Frames plot analysis of Unbreakable

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COMPLEX SENTENCES MADE SIMPLE

In my last post, Simple Sentences Aren't So Simple, I talked about combining simple sentences to create compound sentences using FANBOYS, the words: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, (and) so. This week, I'm taking a look at complex sentences and how the concept can be made simple by using picture book illustrations as well as a diagram from my book on narrative intervention - Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. 

The diagram above is from Chapter 8, "Toward a Deeper Understanding: Questioning and Comprehension Skills." Icons have been paired with Wh Questions: Who, What (is happening), What (things), Where, Which One, When, How, and Why to help students visualize these abstract concepts. The icons help with both comprehension and sentence writing. 

From Happy Songkran Day  - Used with permission by the author/illustrator

This month, I've been discussing Dow Phumiruk's picture book, Happy Songkran Day! The Thai New Year Celebration, to explore how students of all ages can use the story to celebrate the Thai New Year from April 13-15. Last week, I talked about how this illustration could be used to explore simple sentences. This week, I'm using the same illustration to talk about complex sentences. For a plot summary, see my post on A Story Frames Analysis of Happy Songkran Day.

After reading the story with your students, ask the questions below. Introducing complex ideas in an oral language discussion levels the playing field for students with reading and writing challenges like dyslexia. It's then easier for students to write about something they have discussed in class because they are working on the ideas for writing, separate from the mechanics of writing. 

Who is the subject of this picture? Tida
What did she do? washed 
How did she wash? carefully, with her mother
What is she washing? the sash
Which sash? her sister's special sash
Where is it happening? in the bucket, in the backyard, on the grass
When? on Songkran Day
Why? because Tida spilled peanut sauce on the sash.

Explain to students that, for a sentence to be complete, all that is needed is the WHO and WHAT they are doing.

Most Basic Simple Sentence: Tida washed.

Each additional question adds more information to that basic idea. Each time new information is added, demonstrate how the sentence expands.

Expanded Sentences:

• Tida washed the sash.

• Tida washed her sister's special sash.

• Tida carefully washed her sister's special sash in the bucket with her mother.

• Tida carefully washed her sister's special sash in the bucket with her mother on Songkran day.

The addition of the WHY question is what turns this sentence into a complex one. After students have discussed the Wh-Questions and their answers, ask someone to volunteer to put all the information together into one long sentence. Ask the other students to listen to make sure every WH question has been answered.

Complex Sentence: Tida carefully washed her sister's special sash in the bucket with her mother on Songkran day because she had spilled peanut sauce on it.

See the diagrams below from my last post for a better understanding of the difference between compound and complex sentences. They're from The Raven Remix Activity Book and illustrate the difference between using coordinating conjunctions to create compound sentences and subordinating conjunctions to create complex ones. Sign up HERE to get these two PDF graphics for FREE in my March 30, 2026 Newsletter. 

Note: The Raven Remix Activity Book: 50+ Activities and Games for Decoding, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Speech includes 15 different activities to work on sentence structure.  

For Older Students

Asking "when" questions can also lead to the creation of a complex sentence by adding a dependent clause: before they went to the dance. It is a dependent clause because it contains both a subject (they) and a predicate (went). 

Note that before the dance would be a phrase because it doesn't include a subject and predicate.

Why it Matters

The further the subject (Lida) is from the predicate (washed), the harder it is for students to identify WHO is doing WHAT in the sentence. This confusion often leads to misinterpreting what is happening and poor comprehension. When students use illustrations to ground themselves in what is happening in a scene, they are better able to practice sentence elaboration, which supports both writing and comprehension. 

RELATED POSTS 
Celebrating Diversity and Thai Culture with Happy Songran Day
A Story Frames Analysis of Happy Songkran Day
Simple Sentences Aren't So Simple

A Statement from IDA Championing the Unique Strengths of People with Dyslexia

 I'm proud to share this statement from the International Dyslexia Association. The IDA has been committed to serving people with dyslexia for 75 years and dispelling myths about their abilities. Go HERE to see the full press release. 

SIMPLE SENTENCES AREN'T SO SIMPLE

From Happy Songkran Day  - Used with permission by the author/illustrator

This month, I've been discussing Dow Phumiruk's picture book, Happy Songkran Day! The Thai New Year Celebration, to explore how students of all ages can use the story to celebrate the Thai New Year from April 13-15. This week, I'm using one of the illustrations from the book, graciously provided by Dow, to show how picture books can be used to teach both simple and compound sentence structure.

If you've read my Story Frames PLOT ANALYSIS of this story, you will know that this illustration depicts the moment when Tida and her mother are washing the stain out of Tek's new sash, which Tek plans to wear at the dance celebration that evening. Tida accidentally spilled peanut sauce on her sister's sash and was afraid she had ruined it. Read the book with students first to provide the context. For students both young and old, check out the compound sentences activity that follows. 

"I think about the water washing away my mistakes, and my breathing slows."

The sentence from the text above is considered compound because it consists of two simple sentences (independent clauses) combined with the coordinating conjunction "and."  

An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a subject and a predicate (verb). See below how the two parts of the sentence could each be a sentence on their own. 

I think about the water washing away my mistakes.

My breathing slows.

Complex Sentences

While the example from the text is a compound sentence (Two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction and), the example below is a complex sentence. 

Example: Tida washed the sash because it was dirty.

A complex sentence contains an independent clause (Tida washed the sash) and a dependent clause (because it was dirty). The second part is dependent because it depends on the first part to make sense. A dependent clause is introduced by a word like because, although, so (that).

The diagrams below from The Raven Remix Activity Book illustrate the difference. Sign up HERE to get these two PDF graphics for FREE in my March 30, 2026 Newsletter. 

Note: The Raven Remix Activity Book: 50+ Activities and Games for Decoding, Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Speech includes 15 different activities to work on sentence structure.  

Compound Sentence Activity

The illustration and sentence example above from Happy Songkran Day can be used to introduce the process of creating compound sentences. 

Both parts of the sentence in the example could stand on their own. This is what makes them independent clauses. When independent clauses are combined with a coordinating conjunction, one of the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, (and) so), they create a compound sentence. 

Teaching sentence combining is one of the best ways to improve reading comprehension. It is often at the sentence level where comprehension falls apart, even for older students. Picture book illustrations provide an excellent opportunity to work on this concept, especially with struggling readers. The class can orally create two simple sentences based on the illustration and then use one of the FANBOYS to combine them. Consider how the sentences below, inspired by the illustration, could be combined. Which of the FANBOYS would you use? Which examples create compound sentences? Hint: Both parts of a compound sentence must have a subject and a predicate (verb).

Sentences:        Tida spilled peanut sauce on her sister's special sash.

                            Tida washed out the stain.

Combined A:  Tida spilled peanut sauce on her sister's special sash, but she washed out the stain.

Combined B:  Tida spilled peanut sauce on her sister's special sash but washed out the stain.

 A is a compound sentence because both parts contain a subject and a predicate. There is a comma separating the two independent clauses. B is still a simple sentence because the subject, she, has been removed. 

Deeper Dive for Older Students - Or Stop Here if it's TMI

But wait! Isn't breathing a verb? What about washing? 

Although washing could be considered a verb, in this context, it is part of the noun phrase, "the water washing away my mistakes." 

A noun phrase is defined as a group of words that functions like a noun, including any words that describe the head noun, such as adjectives. A noun or noun phrase may be replaced by a pronoun (it, he, she, they, you, etc) without changing the meaning of the sentence.

Washing helps to describe which water we are talking about. It's not the sewer water, the ocean water, or even the water in my glass. It's "the water washing away my mistakes." How do we know this is a noun phrase and not an independent clause? The whole phrase could be replaced by the pronoun "it." 

I think about it.

Also, note that the phrase "the water washing away my mistakes" is NOT an independent clause because it cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Those Tricky Verbs

In my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy, the late William Van Cleave wrote an excellent chapter on "Function Trumps Form: Sentence Level Instruction." He discusses how, rather than categorizing specific words into parts of speech, we need to look at the function of the word in a sentence. 

For the example of washing, observe how the word can represent different parts of speech:

1) Tida is washing out the stain. (verb - present participle with the helping verb is)

2) Bob put the pants in the washing machine. (adjective - to describe the type of machine)

3) Washing is hard work. (noun - gerund) 

The Never-Ending Sentence Game

Note that a simple sentence can be quite long. The example in Combined B above contains the verb phrase "washed out the stain." Without the subject, it is just a phrase. With the subject, it would be a clause: "She washed out the stain." 

This sentence also contains the prepositional phrase "on her sister's special sash." A simple sentence may contain any number of phrases (noun, prepositional, verbal) as long as it only has one independent clause (subject + predicate combination). 

For fun, use the illustration above and add as many prepositional phrases as possible to create a ridiculously long sentence.

Example: Tida washed the sash with the water in the bucket on the grass next to her mother in the backyard during the Thai New Year in April...

Complex Sentences

In my next blog post, I will share a truly "simple" activity for creating complex sentences. But wait! Can a complex sentence writing activity actually be less complex than our exploration of simple sentences above? Yes, and I will show you how. 

Remember the complex sentence - Tida washed the sash because it was dirty.

Compare that sentence to our never-ending sentence above, and stay tuned for my next activity.

RELATED POSTS

Celebrating Thai Culture and Diversity with Happy Songkran Day

A Story Frames Analysis of Happy Songkran Day

Complex Sentences Made Simple

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A STORY FRAMES ANALYSIS OF HAPPY SONGKRAN DAY

 

In last week's BLOG, I recommended using Dow Phumiruk's picture book, Happy Songkran Day! The Thai New Year Celebration to celebrate culture and diversity. It may be used for all ages to explore the Thai New Year celebrated from April 13-15. Read last week's blog post to learn more about how to use the book in the classroom. This week, I'll give a brief summary of the book using Storyboard elements from my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy. For more information about Story Frames, go HERE or visit Brookes Publishing.

BEGINNING:

1. Ordinary World - Tida is a sweet young girl who lives with her parents and her sister, Lek. She gets a little clumsy when she is excited.

2. Call and Response - Tida wakes up her sister, Lek, on April 13, to celebrate the beginning of the Thai New Year. 

3. Mentors, Guides, and Gifts - Tida's mother teaches her the true meaning of the Thai cleaning rituals as the story progresses.

4. Crossing - The family cleans their hands in jasmine water to wash away the sins of the old year in preparation for the new one. 

MIDDLE:

5. New World - They go to the temple to pour water on the Buddha statue.

6. Problems, Prizes, and Plans - The family prepares special foods like satay with peanut sauce for the celebration. The prize is the big dance that evening, where Lek will perform with other children. Tida makes a lot of mistakes while cooking because she gets excited and rushes through things. 

7. Midpoint Attempt - Tek returns from dance rehearsal and shows the family her special dress made for the occasion. Tida wants to show off her work and accidentally spills peanut sauce on Tek's sash. 

8. Chase and Escape - Tida runs to her room in shame.

END:

9. Downtime - Her mother sits with Tida and explains that everyone makes mistakes. The point of the cleansing celebration is to wash away mistakes and start each year anew.

10. Death and Transformation - Tida and her mother wash the sash and make it good as new.

11. Climax: The Final Test - Tida apologizes to Tek for having so many accidents. Her sister tells her that the New Year is a time for forgiveness.

12. Final Reward - Family and friends celebrate the new year with water balloons, squirt guns, and buckets of water, all symbols of cleansing. Tek's dance performance is a great success, and at a big dinner that night, Tida is proud that she does not spill anything.

RELATED POSTS

Celebrating Thai Culture and Diversity with Happy Songkran Day

Simple Sentences Aren't So Simple

Complex Sentences Made Simple

Read more about Story Frames for Teaching Literacy HERE. Sign up HERE to receive my newsletter with FREE activities based on Story Frames and my decodable books. This month, newsletter recipients will receive my FREE activity Story Ad Lib #2: A Special Celebration.

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND THAI CULTURE WITH HAPPY SONGKRAN DAY

Get ready for the Thai New Year April, 13-15, by checking out this delightful picture book -  Happy Songkran Day! The Thai New Year Celebration, written and illustrated by Dow Phumiruk. It's available at Amazon or Bookshop.org (Where proceeds go to the bookstore of your choice).

One of the most enjoyable ways to introduce students to other cultures is to showcase their celebrations. This story explores the themes of forgiveness and washing away "sins" to start the new year, which are central to the Thai celebration. Rather than the heavy-handed notion of wrongdoing, the message is that we all make mistakes (both big and small) and have the chance to start over. The symbolism is conveyed through squirt guns, water balloons, and children pouring buckets of water on each other, reminding us not to take our blunders so seriously.

If you happen to be sharing this story in a location where it's still snowing in April, you might explore how your climate differs from Thailand's and how geography shapes culture.

Children's books often provide a quick and engaging way to share ideas, regardless of your students' ages. Happy Songkran Day is for ages 3-5, but the ensuing conversations can be adapted for any level. In addition, the author provides a list of resources, including children's books for older students, that may be used for comparison and further knowledge.

In my book, Story Frames for Teaching Literacy, Chapter 7 explores "From Story Writing to Expository Writing: Bridging the Gap With Narrative Nonfiction." Although Dow's book is a work of fiction, it explores a real-life celebration and includes many nonfiction elements that teachers can use to bridge the gap. There is a glossary, a list of resources for learning more about Thailand and Songkran, and an Author's Note with additional information. I had no idea the Thai calendar was 543 years ahead of the Gregorian Calendar. This April 13, 2026, Thailand is celebrating the year 2569.

Picture books also provide engaging ways to teach sentence structure, which I will discuss next week using an illustration from Happy Songkran Day.

RELATED POSTS 

A Story Frames Analysis of Happy Songkran Day

Simple Sentences Aren't So Simple

Complex Sentences Made Simple

Read more about Story Frames for Teaching Literacy HERE. Sign up HERE to receive my newsletter with FREE activities based on Story Frames and my decodable books.