HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
by Dixie Lee Petrokis PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS: Cover Getty Images. 1 Getty Images. 2 (l) Getty Images. (r) AFP/Getty Images. 3 Alan Schein Photography/CORBIS. 4 Mitch Aunger/Shutterstock. 5 Martin Puddy/Getty Images. 6 Neal Preston/CORBIS. 7 Neal Preston/CORBIS. 8 Neal Preston/CORBIS. 9 Getty Images. 10 Wally McNamee/CORBIS. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02051-8 ISBN-10: 0-547-02051-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Michelle s Olympic Dream When Michelle Kwan was seven years old, she watched the 1988 Winter Olympics on TV. She saw Brian Boitano win the men s figure skating contest. From that moment on, Michelle knew that she wanted to skate in the Olympics, too. Brian Boitano won the Olympic gold medal in 1988. 2 Brian Boitano Olympic gold medal
ice hockey Michelle fell in love with skating while watching ice hockey. Michelle had already been skating for a couple of years. When she was five, she started watching her older brother play hockey at an ice skating rink near their home. She fell in love with skating. 3
Family Support At first, Michelle s parents thought she was too young to learn to skate. But Michelle kept asking to learn until they finally agreed. Michelle was a quick learner and hard worker. Before long she was learning how to jump and spin. A very young skater learns to skate like Michelle did. 4
Figure skaters skate in an indoor skating rink. Michelle s parents had to work hard so Michelle could skate. They had moved to the United States from China a few years before. They didn t have a lot of money. Ice skating lessons were expensive, and you have to pay to skate at indoor skating rinks in southern California. 5
Preparing to Compete Michelle began skating almost every day. She worked hard, and it showed. As soon as she learned how to do one thing, she was ready to learn another. She was an amazing athlete. Michelle worked hard to learn how to skate well. 6
Frank Carroll Michelle s first teacher was Frank Carroll. Michelle s teacher taught Michelle everything he knew about skating. Then it was time to find a professional teacher one who could help her prepare to compete. But professional teachers were expensive. Michelle s parents sold their house to pay for the lessons. 7
The Road to the Olympics Michelle got good enough to start entering figure skating contests. She won lots of them. Then, when she was eleven, Michelle was invited to skate in the 1992 Junior U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Michelle didn t win the championship. But that only made her work harder. In 1994, Michelle won the World Junior Championships. 8
Michelle holds up her first-place medal at the 1996 U.S. National Championships. In 1996, Michelle won the U.S. National Championships. She was now the best skater in the country! Later that year, she won the World Championships. People thought she was the best skater in the entire world. 9
Michelle Michelle won second place in the 1998 Olympics. The Dream Comes True In 1998, Michelle finally got to skate in the Winter Olympics in Japan. She skated wonderfully, but she finished in second place. Still, Michelle had seen one of her Olympic dreams come true. After 1998, Michelle kept skating. She finished in third place in the 2002 Winter Olympics. She may even try for the next Winter Olympics. Michelle is still following her dream to be an Olympic champion. 10
Responding TARGET SKILL Fact and Opinion A fact can be proven. An opinion is what a person believes. Copy the chart below. Write one more fact and one more opinion about Michelle Kwan from this biography. Facts Michelle won the U.S. National Championships in 1996.? Opinions Michelle was an amazing athlete.? Write About It Text to Self Michelle Kwan learned to skate as a young girl. Write a paragraph that tells about something you have learned to do. Try to include facts and opinions in your paragraph. 11
TARGET VOCABULARY athlete championship competitor court entire power professional rooting TARGET SKILL Fact and Opinion Tell if an idea can be proved true or is a person s belief. TARGET STRATEGY Question Ask questions before you read, while you read, and after you read. GENRE A biography tells about events in a person s life, written by another person. 12
Level: M DRA: 28 Genre: Biography Strategy: Question Skill: Fact and Opinion Word Count: 499 3.3.11 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02051-8 ISBN-10: 0-547-02051-1 1031937