How can literature be taught to children who can't read textbooks well? An answer to this question is to make them more culturally literate. Needless to say, culture is composed of basic assumptions shared in a community. It is indispensable for the understanding and appreciation of any literary work. By learning cultural assumptions through literature, children can improve their literacy skills. It is also important to painstakingly read a story in context because it will improve children's reading comprehension. Moreover they may know the pleasure of reading when such contextual reading leads to an encounter with something beyond their imagination. This paper presents my classroom practice of the theory with Haruki Murakami's short story “Kagami” as teaching material.