What do you like to do?
What makes you special?
Jump up. Jump down.
Pat can not jump.
Look! Pat can jump!
A Fantasy is a made-up story that could not really happen.
As you read, use your Character Chart.
Pam and Sam like to play.
Pam ran up.
Sam ran up.
Pam and Sam ran down.
Pam can jump.
Sam can not jump.
Sam can not go with Pam.
Look at Sam!
Sam can fly.
Go, Pam! Go, Sam!
Nancy Tafuri says, "I live in the country and love telling stories about animals.
I especially like to tell stories about good friends like Pam and Sam.
I have fun drawing pictures to go with my stories."
Nancy Tafuri wanted to tell a story about friends.
Draw a picture of your friend. Write your friend's name.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What can Pam do? What can Sam do?
How are Sam and Pam like animals you have seen?
How do you know Pam and Sam are good friends?
How is Sam like Pat in "Can Pat Jump?
Nonfiction tells about real people and things.
Photographs give more information about the text.
What day is the best day?
I like Monday.
I ride my horse.
I like Tuesday.
My neighbor and I play.
I like Wednesday.
My family has pizza.
I like Thursday.
I help my mom plant.
My friends and I like Friday. What is your best day?
What might Pam and Sam do on their best day?
A sentence tells a complete thought.
Jen wrote a sentence about painting.
I like to paint.
What do you like to do?
Draw a picture. Use the sentence frame.
Did I tell what I like to do?
Does my sentence tell a complete thought?
Does my sentence begin with a capital letter?
How do you like to move? What can you do?
What will the pigs do?
Can you jump over it, Mac?
Yes, I can.
I can, too.
We can not!
In a Rhyming Story, some words end with the same sound.
As you read, use your Retelling Chart.
What will the girl and boy do together?
Can you do what I can do?
Yes! I can do it, too
Can you jump over a mat?
Can you jump over a hat?
Can you tag a tree?
Can you tag me?
Can you tap, tap, tap?
I can nap, nap, nap.
Can you do what I can do?
Yes! I can do it, too!
Lorinda Bryan Cauley says, "I enjoy drawing children jumping, running, and playing.
I always try to make each child look different from the others."
Lorinda Bryan Cauley wanted to draw children playing. Draw something you do outside. Label the picture.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What do the children do first? Next? Last?
What can the children do that you can do, too?
What other fun outdoor things can children do together?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Label gives information about a picture.
What helps animals move?
This kangaroo can jump high. Strong back legs help it jump.
This cheetah can run fast. Long legs help it run.
This shark can swim fast.
Its tail and fins push it through the water.
This seal is slow on land.
It is fast in the water.
It swims with wide flippers.
Kids can run, jump, and swim, too. What helps kids move?
How could animals join the fun in "I Can! Can You?"
I can skate.
The words in a sentence are in an order that makes sense.
Tom wrote a sentence about skating.
Think about what you can do. Draw a picture. Use the sentence frame.
Did I tell what I can do?
Does the order of the words make sense?
Does my sentence end with a special mark?
How have you changed since you were little?
I am a big kid. What can I do? I can run. I can ride.
What can I be? I can be me.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about a topic.
Look for things babies can do. Look for things kids can do as they get older.
How do kids change as they get older?
Once you were little.
You learned to talk. You could say "mama" and "puppy"."
You could sit. You could dig.
You could eat at the table. You could sing a song.
You learned to run and ride. You could go fast.
How big are you now? How big will you be?
Describe what kids learn to do as they get bigger.
What can kids learn to do as they grow older?
Name some things you learned before you started school.
Name two things babies learn that are not in the story.
How are the kids in "I Am a Big Kid" different from the kids in "How You Grew"? 
You can put your finger on the answer.
First, a mother bird lays eggs Baby birds grow inside.
Then they hatch.
The mother feeds them.
The babies grow big Then they fly away.
What happens after the birds hatch?
The birds lay eggs.
The mother feeds them.
The birds make a nest.
What happens when the babies are big?
Look for key words.
What happens first?
First Carly drew a picture.
Then she wrote a sentence.
Big kids can ride.
Think about something little kids can do. Write about it in a sentence.
Does my sentence tell an idea?
Does my sentence begin with a capital letter?
Does my sentence end with a period?
What pets do you know? What are they like?
Will Brad come down?
Come down, Brad!
Do not grab that!
Jump on me.
What a good cat you are!
Where do the pets do tricks?
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could really happen.
As you read, use your Setting Chart.
Come see the pets!
Come see the pet tricks.
Frizz has a good trick.
Frizz can jump over a bat.
Ham has a good trick.
Ham can run on the track.
Zig has a good trick.
Zig can grab the rope.
Can Kit do a trick?
Kit can not jump over a bat.
Kit will not grab that rope.
Kit can kiss!
That is a good trick.
Joe Cepeda says, "My family likes pets. My son has an iguana, a dog, and a frog. Gizzy, his iguana, goes for walks on a leash! We haven't been able to teach our dog any tricks. I think drawing animals is just like drawing people. They're just fuzzier!"
Joe Cepeda wanted to draw friendly pets. Draw a pet you like. Label the pet
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
Where does the story take place?
How are the animals in the story like pets you know?
What tricks have you seen other pets do?
What tricks might Brad from "Come Down, Brad!" do in a pet show?
What do pets need?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A List is a series of things written in order.
Like all living things, pets need food. Some pets eat seeds or plants.
Some pets eat meat or fish. 
All pets need fresh water.
Give it food.
Give it water.
Change the bedding.
Brush the fur.
Pets need a safe home. Pets need our love and care.
Which pet in Pet Tricks would you like? How would you care for it?
An exclamation is a sentence that shows strong feeling.
Robert wrote about a dog.
Boo is really smart!
Think about a pet you know.
Make a picture.
Write an exclamation about the pet.
Will the reader know how I feel?
Does my sentence show strong feeling?
How does a team work together?
How will Hank and the girl work together?
I like to help Hank.
I help him dig.
Now I use my hands.
It looks very good!
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
As you read, use your Author's Purpose Chart.
Why did the author write Soccer?
We play soccer.
Frank will help.
We like Frank.
We run and run.
I run and kick.
I run very fast.
I can not use my hands.
I kick the ball. I pass it to Jill.
Now I zig and zag. I am fast.
I can use my hands. I am very quick.
Now I grab the ball.
The ball lands in the grass. It was a very good grab.
Now the game is over. 
We like soccer!
Ken Cavanagh says, "Many photographers like to take pictures of one or two things, like sports or family events. I enjoy taking pictures of many things. Besides sports, I like to take pictures of people, places, and nature."
Ken Cavanagh wanted to show how soccer is played. Draw someone playing a sport. Label the picture.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the selection.
What did the author want you to learn from the selection?
What games do you like to play? Why do you like them? 
How do soccer players work as a team?
How does the soccer team use teamwork like Hank and the girl in "Help for Hank"? 
In a Poem, words often rhyme.
Baseball is the best sport.
A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a special mark.
Pat wrote about baseball.
I like to hit the ball.
Pick your favorite team sport. Draw a picture.
Write about why it is the best sport.
Did I tell why I like the sport?
Does each sentence tell a complete thought?
Does each sentence begin with a capital letter?
Jill is six.
She likes to dig.
She plays in the sand.
The answer is right there on the page.
Nat is six, too. He likes to ride.
He can go up the hill.
Answer the questions.
What does Jill like to do?
Look for key words.
What does Nat like to do?
Where can Nat ride?
Write about yourself. Tell what you like to do. Write two sentences.
A glossary can help you find the meanings of words. The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can look up a word and read it in a sentence. There is a picture to help you.
I wipe my feet on the mat.
I hit the ball with my bat.
We can dig in the sand.
I run fast.
Birds fly in the sky.
Grab the kitten before it gets away.
The boy has a red hat.
Amy gets help from her dad.
I wipe my feet on the mat.
Jill takes a nap on the couch.
I love my pet dog.
I go for a ride on my bike.
My truck can go on the track.
How are animal families like our families?
What do frogs like to do?
One little frog likes to jump Look at her hop!
Two little frogs like to sit. They sit on a rock.
One little frog likes to look. What does she see?
Two little frogs like to play. Will they play with me?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
As you read, use your Main Idea and Details Web.
What do animal moms and dads do?
What do animal moms do? This mom does a lot.
What do animal dads do? This dad does a lot, too.
This mom has food. Her baby can grab it.
This dad brings food for two. Dad and baby like it a lot!
This mom licks.
Now her baby is soft.
This baby sits with Dad.
Dad will pick off bugs.
This baby is in Mom's sack. They will hop, hop, hop.
This dad has a big back. His baby is on top.
See what this mom and dad did. It was a big job!
Can you see one baby? Can you see two?
What can animal moms and dads do?
They can play, too!
Jose Ramos says, "When I was young, my dad took me to the zoo. I wanted to take a photo of every monkey I saw! Today, I'm a dad. I take my kids to the zoo. We take pictures of our favorite animals."
Jose Ramos wanted the reader to learn about animals. Draw an animal with its mom and dad.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the selection.
How do animal moms and dads take care of their babies?
How do the grownups in your family take care of you?
How do other animals you know take care of their babies?
In a Poem, words are often put together so that they are fun to say.
Rhythmic Patterns are sounds and words that repeat. These give the poem a certain beat.
Over in the meadow, in the sand in the sun, lived an old mother turtle And her little turtle one. "Dig," said the mother. "I dig," said the one. So they dug all day in the sand in the sun.
Over in the meadow, where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish and her little fishes two.
"Swim," said the mother. "We swim," said the two.
So they swam all day where the stream runs blue.
Over in the meadow, in the wide oak tree, lived an old mother owl and her little owls three. "Whoo," said the mother. "Whoo, Whoo" said the three. So they whooed all night in the wide oak tree.
How are these moms and babies like the parents and babies in "Animal Moms and Dads"? How are they different?
A noun names a person, place, or thing.
Sam wrote about what some families do.
Families can help each other. Families can play together.
Think about how your family takes care of you.
Write about how families take care of each other.
Does my list have a title?
Do I write about my family?
Does each sentence have a noun?
How do you help? What jobs do you like to do?
Who will help clean up the mess?
"Look at this mess," said Ben. "Who will help?"
"We have no mops," said Jen. "We have no bags," said Tim.
"I will pick up," said Ben.
"I can get some of it," said Jen.
"I can help, too," said Tim. "I will eat some!"
A Folk Tale is a story that has been told for many years.
How does Little Red Hen make bread?
As you read, use your Retelling Chart.
Little Red Hen had a bit of wheat.
"Who will help plant?" said Hen.
"Not I," said Dog.
"Not I," said Pig.
"Not I," said Cat.
"I will go to the well," said Hen.
"Who will help me get some water?"
"Not I," said Cat.
"Not I," said Dog.
"Not I," said Pig.
"This is a big job," said Hen. "
"Who will help me?"
"I will mix and mix," said Hen.
"Who will help me do this?"
"Come quick!" said Hen.
"Look at this bread!"
"This is the best bread," she said.
"Who will help me eat some of it?"
"Let me," said Pig.
"Let me," said Cat.
"Let me," said Dog.
"No! No!" said Hen.
"This is a job for me!"
David Diaz says, "I remember drawing a face on a worksheet when I was in first grade. I knew then that drawing was what I wanted to do when I grew up."
David Diaz drew funny animals. Draw one of the animals. Write about it.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What does Little Red Hen do with the wheat?
What kind of help do you need when you make food?
Do you think Little Red Hen should have shared the bread? Tell why or why not.
How are Little Red Hen's friends like the bears in "Who Will Help?"
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Diagram is a picture that shows the parts of something.
How does wheat grow? How do we use it?
Wheat starts as a little seed. Farmers plant the seeds.
The little plants have to get sun. They have to get water.
They will grow to be big.
Now the wheat is tan. The farmer picks off the kernels.
The kernels are good to eat.
The kernels go to a factory.
Here they are crushed.
The little bits of wheat are flour.
We use flour to make bread. We use it in good things to eat. That is what we do with wheat!
Where does bread come from? Who helps Little Red Hen make bread? Who helps make bread in "From Wheat to Bread"?
Add "-s" to make some nouns name more than one.
Eva wrote about how to make a snack.
Get some nuts.
Get some grapes.
Mix and eat!
Think about a snack you like. Write a how-to list.
Are the steps in the right order?
Do the nouns that mean more than one end with "s"?
Does each sentence begin with a capital letter?
What makes a good home for an animal?
Look into this ant hill.
Many ants live here.
The ants go out. They get things to eat. Then they dash back into the hill.
Why is this a good home for prairie dogs?
Come meet some prairie dogs. See where they live.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about a topic.
Look for details that tell how prairie dogs live.
This prairie dog lives with many prairie dogs.
You can see some of a prairie dog's home.
The rest is under the land.
Prairie dogs dig with big claws. They dig long paths.
Come into a prairie dog home. Can you see where prairie dogs rest?
Can you see where prairie dogs have things to eat?
Can you see them caring for little prairie dogs?
Little prairie dogs come out to play. They eat fresh grass. One day they will dig new paths for the prairie dog home.
What is a prairie dog home like?
Give three details that show why a prairie dog home is a good home.
How is a prairie dog home like your home?
Why is underground a good place for some animals to live?
How is a prairie dog home like the home in "Ants Go In and Out"? 
The answer is right there on the page.
The koala lives in a tree. It sleeps all day.
It eats lots of leaves. When it rains, the leaves make an umbrella.
The koala stays dry.
Where do koalas live?
What do koalas eat?
They eat lots of fish.
They eat lots of leaves.
They eat lots of nuts.
What makes an umbrella?
Look for key words.
Jacob wrote a report about where chipmunks live.
Chipmunks live in holes.
They keep food in their holes.
Think about an animal and its home. Write a report about this animal's home.
Does my report have details?
Does each sentence begin with a capital letter?
Do my sentences make sense?
When do you sing or dance? What kind of music do you like?
What will the fun show be like?
"I want to have fun," said Bud.
"We can put on a show!" said Meg. "
"Ruff, ruff," said Pup.
"Come see a show under a tent!" said the kids.
"Ruff, ruff," said Pup.
Meg and Jan sing three songs. Bud plays the drum.
"Ruff, ruff!" sings Pup.
Jack can make Pup jump. It is a fun show!
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could really happen.
As you read, use your Retelling Chart.
Why is the band fun?
"Aunt Nell, look at that!" said Beth.
"What's the fuss?" asked Aunt Nell.
"It's a band for kids," said Ann.
"We want to play in the band!" said Beth, Bud, Ann, and Will.
"Can the kids play?" asked Aunt Nell.
"Yes!" said a man in a red hat. "I am Gus. Make some instruments, kids."
"Make instruments?" asked the kids.
"Yes. Use the things in the box. It is under the bandstand," said Gus.
"Look! I can hit this tub," said Bud. "
"It sounds just like a drum."
Rap! Tap! Tap!
"Look! I can play the jug," said Ann.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
"Look! I can play the lids!" said Will.
Crish! Crush! Crash!
"What do you want to make, Beth?" asked Aunt Nell.
"I just want to sing," said Beth.
"Can I sing in the show?" she asked. "That will be fun for me."
"That will be fun for us, too," said the kids.
"Come on," said Will. "Let's play!"
"Now Beth and the band will put on a show," said Gus.
"One, two, three! Play with me!"
"Jam! Jim! Jam! Sing with the band! This fun kids' band is the best in the land!"
Anne Miranda says, "When I was little, I sang in a group with my friend, Elizabeth, her mother, and my neighbor, Cathy, who was in high school. Once we were even on TV! We loved making music together, just like Beth and her friends."
Anne Miranda wanted to show that friends have fun making music. Draw your friends having fun. Write about it.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What do Beth, Ann, Will, and Bud do at the fair?
Would you like to join the Kids' Band? Tell why or why not.
What other instruments do people play in a band?
How is the show in this story like the show in "A Fun Show"?
A How-To Article tells how to do or make something.
Directions are the steps to follow to make something.
What instruments do you see here? Shaking rattles is a fun way to make music.
Rattles can be big or little. They can be made of many things. Some have sand in them. Some have beans.
Do you want to make a rattle? Here's how!
Put beans into the bottle.
Put fun stickers on.
Shake it and have fun!
Can you play the rattle loud? Can you play it soft? Can you make up a song?
How is a rattle like the instruments the kids made in "The Fun Kids' Band"?
Proper Nouns: Nouns for special names begin with a capital letter.
Leila wrote about a bear in a band.
Billy Bear plays the drum.
The drum goes boom!
Name an animal. Tell what instrument the animal plays. Tell what sound it makes.
Do special nouns begin with a capital letter?
Does my exclamation end with an exclamation mark?
Did I use a sound word?
What makes you laugh? How do you make other people laugh?
Why is Glen late?
Why is Glen late for school today?
He wants to see some frogs at play.
The frogs hop up and hop away. They make Glen very late today!
Why is Glen late on his way back?
He wants to see the ducks that quack.
The ducks are glad to see him, too.
They are quacking, "We like you!"
In a Rhyming Story, some words end with the same sound.
As you read, use your Sequence Chart.
What happens to the boy on his way to school?
On my way to school today, a pig asks me to come and play.
It's not just a pig. It's a pig in a wig! We run for the bus, just the two of us.
Pig and I run very fast.
We get on the bus at last.
Huff, puff! The bus zips away.
Pig makes me late for school today!
On my way to school, we pass a trash truck that ran out of gas. On top of that truck, sit two apes and a duck!
The apes and duck hop in the bus. They sit down with the rest of us.
Slip, flip! The bus zips away.
Apes make me late for school today!
On my way to school, we see frogs up in a gumdrop tree.
Plip, plop! The gumdrops drop. Two frogs clip. Two frogs mop.
The frogs hop in the bus.
They sit down with the rest of us. Hip! Hop! The bus zips away.
Frogs make me late for school today!
Here we go, just one last stop.
The frogs hop in the pond. Plip, plop!
Duck is off to get some gas.
The apes fish and nap in the grass.
Tick, tock! The bus zips away. It looks like I am late today!
Now, the bus drops me off at school. I see a crocodile slink out of a pool!
I think it slid under the gate.
And that, Miss Fox, is why I am late!
Wong Herbert Yee says, "No bus picked me up at the corner. I walked a mile to get to school! When I write, I use things that really happened. My imagination fills in the rest. Remember what you see, read, and hear. You may write a funny story, too!"
Wong Herbert Yee wanted to write a funny story about getting to school. Draw how you get to school. Write about it.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What makes the boy late first? What makes him late next?
Have you ever been late for school? Tell what happened.
Could this story really happen? Tell why or why not.
What makes both the boy in On My Way to School and Glen late?
A Riddle is a question with a clever, funny answer.
A Sign uses words or pictures to give information.
What do you say to a runaway traffic sign?
Why did the dog cross the road?
To get to the barking lot.
What's yellow outside, gray inside, and very crowded?
A school bus full of elephants.
What signs might the children see in "On My Way to School"?
The name of each day begins with a capital letter.
Callie wrote a rhyme about something silly.
On Monday, I saw a cat. It wore a blue hat!
Imagine something silly Write a rhyme about it.
Name the day of the week it happened.
Do some words rhyme?
Does the name of the day begin with a capital letter?
Does each statement end with a special mark?
"My frog is lost!" said Jack.
"Let's look for her," said Meg.
Jack looked under the bed.
Meg looked in her pack.
"What does she like to do?" asked Meg.
"She likes to get wet," said Jack. They ran to the sink.
There was Frog having a drink!
What did Jack lose?
Where did Jack look for his pet?
What was the pet doing in the sink?
What makes you laugh? Write a silly rhyme.
Use the name of a day of the week in your rhyme.
A glossary can help you find the meanings of words. The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can look up a word and read it in a sentence. There is a picture to help you.
We take the bus to school.
A prairie dog has long claws.
I play the drum in the band.
A hen lays eggs.
This instrument makes a pretty sound.
The jug has milk in it.
I wear a wig.
Sam got water from a well.
What do friends do together? How can you be a good friend?
Will Cat's game be good for all the pals?
"Let's walk over to see Cat," said Pig to Frog. "We could all play."
"Oh, yes," said Frog. "Let's go."
"Hello, Pig and Frog," said Cat. "I have a game for us. Let's pull on this and see who wins. Frog can pull with me."
Cat and Frog pulled and pulled. But then Pig gave a big pull, and down they went!
"This is not a good game for us," said Pig. "Let's play tag."
And that is what they did.
A fantasy is a made-up story that could not really happen.
Kate liked to make up games. Today, she had her red ball. She tossed it up. It landed on the tip of her trunk.
Tom came to see Kate.
"Hello, Kate," he said. "You make up the best games. Can I play, too?"
Kate tossed the ball to Tom.
PLOP!
"Oh, no!" said Kate. "The ball is in the mud!"
"I could get it," said Tom. "Cats are little and fast. We can run on top of mud. "
"You are brave," said Kate.
Tom ran to get the ball.
"Oh, no!" said Tom. "The ball is stuck and I am, too."
Jake came to see Kate.
"Hello, Kate," he said. "You make up the best games. Can I play, too?"
"It is not a game," said Kate. Tom is stuck in the mud.
"I could help," said Jake. "Look at my feet. Ducks can walk on mud."
"You are brave," said Kate.
Jake went to help Tom.
"Oh, no!" said Jake. "Tom is stuck and I am, too."
Jane came to see Kate.
"Hello, Kate," she said. "You make up the best games. Can I play, too?"
"It is not a game, said Kate. "Tom and Jake are stuck in the mud."
"I could help," said Jane. "Pigs like mud. I can wade in it."
"You are brave," said Kate.
Jane went to help Jake and Tom.
"Oh, no!" said Jane. "Jake and Tom are stuck and I am, too!"
"I can help," said Kate. "Jane can grab my trunk. Jake can get Jane's tail. Tom can take Jake's wing. Now let's all pull."
They all came out of the mud.
"That was not a very good game, Kate," said Tom and Jake and Jane.
"No," said Kate. "But I have a much better one."
"Oh, Kate!" said her friends. "You make up the best games!"
Janie Bynum says, "As a child, I was always playing in the mud and making messes. While making messes, I was usually making friends. At the end of the day, we'd spray ourselves with the water hose to get clean."
Janie Bynum wanted to write about playing in the mud. Write about an animal that gets stuck in the mud.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What did you think Kate's game would be? What really happened?
What games do you like to play with friends?
How do you know Kate cares about her friends?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Map is a drawing that shows where places are.
Liz wants to send a letter to her friend Meg.
In the letter, Liz tells Meg about her school.
Liz writes Meg's name and address. She adds the city and the state. She puts a stamp on it. Then she mails her letter.
A truck will pick it up and take it to a post office. At the post office, letters are put into bunches.
Letters going to the same city go into one bunch. Then a plane takes Liz's letter away.
Now the letter goes to a post office in Meg's city. A mail carrier gets the letter. She looks at Meg's address.
Then she brings Meg the letter from her friend!
A verb is an action word.
Ramon wrote a letter to a friend about a game.
Dear Greg, I like playing with you!
It is fun when we kick the ball.
Your friend, Ramon.
Write a letter to a friend.
Tell what you like to do together.
Did I use different kinds of sentences?
Does each sentence have a verb?
Did I use a comma after the greeting and the closing?
Write a letter to a friend.
Tell what you like to do together.
Did I use different kinds of sentences?
Does each sentence have a verb?
Did I use a comma after the greeting and the closing?
How are children from other places like you? How are they different?
How do kids around the world play?
Kids all over like to play! Look at this girl hop. Do you play this game, too?
Kids who live here sled a lot. This boy and girl go down the hill together.
When it's hot out, people here do not care. They can go for a swim. Kids can play in the water.
Kids all over like to play! Do you?
Nonfiction tells about real people and things.
How do different kids help their families?
Kids all over like to help. This boy helps his dad cook. Together they will make something good to eat.
This girl helps her mom bake bread. It smells good. It will taste good, too.
Kids can help wash. Where this girl lives, people go to the river to wash things. She takes a tub with her.
This boy is standing at his sink. He helps wash pots, plates, and cups. He uses water and lots of suds.
Where this girl lives, people get water at a well. She will help her mom bring it back home.
This boy helps his dad fish. They pick the big ones. Then they take them back home to eat.
This boy takes care of his little brother. He helps him to get dressed.
When this girl helps take care of her brother, she puts him on her back.
Here, animals pull big sleds. When they get back home, this girl helps. She takes them to be fed.
This boy helps take care of animals, too. He takes his llama for a walk.
This boy digs and digs. He makes a safe path. Now his mom and dad will not slip.
This girl helps take care of the grass. She likes to rake the leaves. Swish, swish, swish!
Kids can help in the neighborhood, too. This boy and girl stack used cans and glass. They will take them to be recycled.
This boy helps take care of plants. He brings them water to drink.
Kids all over like to help! Do you?
Minda Novek says, "In my books, I like to write about how people live all over the world. I use pictures of real people. I try to show how their lives are like yours and how they are different, too."
Minda Novek wanted to show how kids help. Show how you help. Write about your picture.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the selection.
What is the same about how the boy and girl are helping to wash things? What is different?
How do you help your family at home?
How do kids in different places help like you do?
Poems use words in imaginative ways.
Word Choice is important in a poem. Poets often choose interesting words to write about everyday things.
Kids everywhere write poetry. These kids found new ways to write about the sky, the sea, and the sun.
The lighthouse on that island is shining.
Helicopters in the sky are shining.
Boats are glittering, too. And with a bang Someone is shooting off fireworks.
Today the sky Is very busy.
Some verbs tell about actions that happen now.
Michael wrote about helping at home.
I like the book Kids Can Help. I like to cook.
The boy in the book cooks, too.
Write what you learned from Kids Can Help.
Tell how you help at home.
Did I write some short sentences and some long ones?
Did I use verbs that tell what happens now?
Did I underline the book title?
What is a shadow? What kind of shadows can you make?
We can play with light. Look at our hands. We can make shapes. It's such fun! We play when the sun is up.
Would you like to play? Use your hands. Use the sun. Make some shapes. You can play again and again.
A nonfiction article gives information about a topic.
Look for details that explain how shadows change.
What makes your shadow get big and little?
Our shadows walk with us. They jump with us. But they change in ways that we do not.
Light makes shadows. When light hits you, a shadow falls.
Your shadow can be long or short. What makes this happen?
When light changes, shadows do too. Light from the sun changes all day. When you wake up, the sun is low. It makes a long shadow.
When you eat lunch, the sun is way up in the sky. Now, the sun makes short shadows.
The sun looks like it moves. But it does not. Earth does.
All day and night, Earth spins. That makes the sun look like it is going up and down.
In the afternoon, the sun gets lower again. Look at these shadows. Which would you see in the late afternoon?
When would your shadow be very long? How could you get your shadow to be in back of you?
Go out in the sun and check!
What did you learn about shadows and the sun?
How do shadows change during the day?
How can you make shadows indoors?
Besides your own shadow, what shadows do you see?
What are they like?
Find the answer in more than one place.
Every morning, we see the sun come up. All day we see it up in the sky. It gives Earth light so people can see. It gives Earth heat.
Every afternoon, we see the sun go down. When the sun sets, it gets dark outside. Soon, it will be time to sleep.
Directions: Answer the questions.
What is the story MAINLY about?
What does the sun give Earth?
It gives Earth heat and light.
It gives Earth dark and light.
It gives Earth sleep and sky.
What is it time to do after the sun sets?
It's time to get warm. It's time to eat lunch. It's time to go to sleep.
Julie wrote about how the night looks.
Night is dark.
The moon and stars shine. They light up the dark sky.
What does daytime look like? What does it feel like?
Write three or more sentences that describe daytime.
Did I use details in my writing?
Will my readers understand my description?
Do all my sentences end with a punctuation mark?
What is a family? How are families alike and different?
Which dog will Ike pick?
Ike: How will we pick out the best dog for us? There are so many dogs here!
Dad: Let's take our time. We will see one that we like more than the rest.
Ike: I like this funny little dog! I think he likes me, too!
Mom: Then this must be the one!
Mom: He looks like a fine dog to me.
Ike: Let's call him Wags!
A play is a story that can be acted out.
As you read, use your Predictions Chart.
Who will make Mike smile?
Mom: Here we are, Baby Mike.
Dad: Did you call us? Are you hungry?
Mom: No, he just had a fine snack.
Ana: Why is Mike so sad?
Juan: Let's make him happy. Do you want this cat, Mike?
Mike: No! No! No cat!
Gram: Why is our little Mike so sad?
Pops: How can we make him smile?
Gram: Let's clap hands!
Pops: Clap with us, Mike.
Mike: Wa! Wa! Wa!
Gram: Clap hands with us.
Mike: No! No! No clap!
Ana: My funny duck will make Mike smile.
Mom: Do not whine, Mike. Quack with us. Quack! Quack!
Mike: No! No! No quack!
Dad: Look, Mike! I can make bubbles!
Mike: Wa! Wa! Wa!
Gram: And I can catch a little bubble.
Mike: No! No! No bubbles!
Ana: Mike, look at my funny duck.
Juan: And look at my little cat.
Gram: Look at me, Mike.
Mike: Wa! Wa! Wa!
Dad: Look! There are more bubbles!
Pops: Look, Mike! There is Spike.
Juan: Did you come to see Mike, Spike?
Ana: Spike wants to make Mike smile.
Gram: Look at Spike spin.
Ana: Spike is funny!
Gram: Look! Mike has a big smile.
Pops: Spike made Mike smile.
Juan: Good dog! This is for you, Spike.
Dad: Show us how you can jump.
Mike: Jump, Spike! Jump!
Spike: Ruff! Ruff!
At last, Mike is happy.
Now it is time for bed.
Mike will get some rest now.
And so will we!
Aida Marcuse says, "I wrote Smile, Mike! because mothers always try to make their children happy. I remember the day when my little boy wouldn't stop crying. At last we discovered what he wanted! I hope you enjoy reading this play. I enjoyed writing it!"
Aida Marcuse wanted to write about making a sad boy smile. What makes you smile? Write about it.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What do you think Mike's family will do the next time he cries?
How is Mike's family like your family?
Nonfiction tells about real people and things.
A Chart shows information in rows and columns.
Who lives with you? Who is in your family?
Come and meet two kids and their families!
My name is Matt. I live with my mom, my dad, and my brother, Rick. My aunt Kate and my grandfather live with us, too.
We all go to the park to play ball. I like to hit. Rick likes to catch. He is good!
My name is Carmen. I live with my mom and grandmother.
We have so much fun together. We like to make up funny songs. We act them out, too!
This chart shows Matt's family and Carmen's family. How are they the same? How are they different?
If you could add them to the chart, what would it look like?
"Is" tells about one. "Are" tells about more than one.
Amy made a poster about a play.
Pretend that your class will put on a play.
Make a poster about the show.
Is my poster easy to read?
Did I use the verbs is and are correctly?
Who is special to you in your family? What do you like to do together?
What will the girl and her sister do together?
In the spring, Liz comes back to live with us. Mom and Dad and I are so glad to see her.
Liz picks me up.
I give her a big kiss.
"You were away for so long!" I say.
Liz tells me all about her school.
She has to read a lot!
"Let's play now," Liz says. "Jump up."
I get on. Liz stretches and spins.
I am so glad Liz is back. I like spring!
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could really happen.
What do Gram and James do together?
I like my grandmother a lot. I call her Gram.
She is so much fun.
Gram takes me fishing.
We sit together on the dock. We wave at the boats. "Hello!" we call.
Gram helps me ride my bike.
She is strong.
"You can do it, James!" she says. "Look at me go!" I say.
Gram has a big, striped cat.
His name is Scruff.
"Scratch him under the chin," she says. "Scruff likes it!" I say.
Gram likes to play chess. She helps me when we play. "Think, James," she says.
"I win, Gram!" I say.
Gram has a lot of spring flowers.
She lets me give them a drink. "Flowers like a good drink," she says. "Look! They drank it all up," I say.
Gram has a big plum tree. We like to pick plums. Gram lifts me up.
"I got a ripe one!" I say.
Gram shows me how to make plum jam.
She adds salt to the pot.
"Just a bit," she says.
"Yum! This jam will taste good!" I say.
"Gram, did you cook when you were little?" I ask.
"I helped my mom," says Gram. "We made jam just like you and I do."
"Did you go to school?" I ask.
"Yes, I went to a little school," says Gram. "
"My school is very big," I say.
"Yes, it is," says Gram.
"I am learning how to read at school," I say.
"Reading is good," says Gram. "I liked to read when I was little."
"Gram, can you read me a story?"
"Yes," says Gram. "Do you like cats and dogs?"
"I like them a lot!" I say.
"This is a story about cats and dogs."
I like Gram's story a lot.
"Let's read more," I say.
"Can you read a story to me?" asks Gram. "I think I can."
"I will read you this story," I say.
"Is it about cats and dogs?" Gram asks. "No, it is a story about pigs."
"Pigs are good, too," says Gram.
"This is a story about three little pigs," I say.
I read on and on.
At the end, Gram claps and claps. "What a fine story," she says. "Gram, you are so much fun," I say. "So are you," says my Gram.
Miriam Cohen says, "I wrote this story about a grandma because I loved mine so much. She told me stories about when she was a girl."
Floyd Cooper says, "I loved my gram's gingerbread. I start my paintings by spreading gingerbread-colored paint on paper. So, I remember Gram every time I make a painting!"
Miriam Cohen wanted to write about a special grandma. Write about someone in your family.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What does James like to do with Gram?
What do you like to do with an older relative?
What can kids learn from older relatives?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Numerical List is a series of things written in 1, 2, 3 order.
Happy New Year! This is how people celebrate Chinese New Year.
To get set for the Chinese New Year, Ming Lee makes a list. She has a lot to do!
To celebrate, people go to see relatives. They give gifts. Kids get red packets with money in them. They have good things to eat like New Year's cake.
Chinese New Year ends in a big parade. People dress up. They wave big flags. What a great start to a new year!
A contraction is a short form of two words.
Joey wrote about his grandpa.
My grandpa doesn't like to drive. He likes to walk.
One time we walked two miles!
We weren't even tired.
Think about an older relative.
Write what you like to do together.
Did I use my best handwriting?
Did I form contractions correctly?
Did I use an apostrophe in my contractions?
I am your babysitter today.
What will we do?
I want to ride my bike.
I want to go to the park.
But I am the babysitter!
I have an idea. Let's ride bikes.
That is what I want to do!
Let's ride to the park.
Good thinking. Let's go!
Answer the questions.
What does Abby want to do?
What is Amy's idea?
What will Abby and Amy do?
What is your favorite thing to do with a family member or babysitter? Tell about it.
Write three or more sentences.
A glossary can help you find the meanings of words. The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can look up a word and read it in a sentence. There is a picture to help you.
I use my sled when it snows.
The baby has a toy.
The bubbles are colorful.
I catch the ball.
The boat is tied to the dock.
The flowers are pretty.
I mail a letter to my grandma.
This llama lives in the mountains.
We walk on the path.
I pull this wagon.
We rake the leaves.
This river is long.
I use my sled when it snows.
A zebra is striped.
This bath has suds.
Katie and Matt build together.
Ms. Clare tossed the ball to Rosa.
Pretend you are a bird. What would it be like?
Why is the lake a good place for the ducks?
Last spring, we drove to a lake close to home. The water sparkled in the sun.
We saw some ducks. One duck put its neck under the water. It opened its bill and ate a plant. Soon every duck on the lake was eating. They ate any plants and bugs they could get.
Then they stopped eating. They quacked to us. As we drove to our home, we saw the ducks floating to their homes.
An Informational Story gives facts about a topic.
What kind of food do you think Pelican wants?
Pelican was hungry. He opened his bill wide and then closed it fast.
That is how a pelican says, "I am hungry."
Pelican looked down at the water. He saw something shaped like a fin in the water. Quick! He dove down fast to eat it up.
It was a dolphin's fin. A dolphin is much too big for a pelican to eat. So Pelican flew back up to his branch.
Pelican sat on his branch. He opened his bill wide. Then he closed it fast. He was still hungry.
Suddenly, he saw a little head pop out of the waves. Quick! Pelican dove down fast to eat it up.
It was a turtle. The turtle was much too big for a pelican to eat. The turtle dove in the water and swam away. Pelican still did not have any food.
He flew up and away on the wind. He looked down. Every little wave sparkled. Soon he saw something floating on top of a wave. Quick! Pelican dove down fast to eat it up.
It was a coconut. A coconut is much too big for a pelican to eat. Pelican poked it away with his bill. He still did not have any food.
Pelican swam and rode on top of the waves. He opened his bill and closed it fast. He opened it and closed it again. He was very hungry.
He flew up on the wind and over the waves. He flew all the way back home to his branch.
Pelican looked down at the water.
He opened his bill wide and closed it fast. He was very, very hungry.
He saw something shine and flash under the water. He dove down fast.
It was a fish, and it was a good one!
It was not too big. It had no big bones and fins that he could choke on. Pelican flew back up to his branch with the fish in his bill.
He let the fish slide down his neck.
Then Pelican closed his bill and put it on his chest.
That is how a pelican says, "I am not hungry anymore."
Jim Arnosky has always loved looking at plants and animals. As a child, he drew cartoons of animals.
Today, his drawings show how plants and animals really look. He hopes that after reading his books, children will look carefully at nature and make their own discoveries.
Jim Arnosky wanted to tell some facts about pelicans. Write about a bird you've seen. Tell some facts about it.
Why can't Pelican eat some of the things he sees in the water?
A pelican opens and closes its bill when it is hungry. What do you do when you're hungry?
How is a pelican different from other birds you know?
How is what Pelican eats different from what the ducks eat in "Floating Home"? 
Repetition is the way some words or sentences in a poem are used again and again.
Poetry often helps readers imagine unusual things.
Seagull, seagull, change places with me.
I would fly and glide over the sea, strong and wild and free!
My father would buy you a popsicle.
You could have my bicycle and all my stuff -- everything.
Seagull, seagull,
Change places with me!
The verbs was and were tell about the past.
Jan wrote about why robins are special.
A robin is my favorite bird. I was in Pine Park.
A robin was singing.
We were happy to hear it.
Write about your favorite bird. Tell why it is special.
Did I tell why my bird is special?
Did I use the verbs was or were to tell about the past?
Do special names begin with capital letters?
Why do people recycle things?
Why do Luke and his friends recycle old things?
Luke and his pals do good work after school. Today they are putting old cans and glass into bins. They find them at home, at school, and all over.
"This old stuff can be used to make a new creation," says Luke. "Old things can be used over and over again."
"That's why we bring them here," says Jill.
When the kids are done, Luke's mom says, "You kids did a terrific job. Now it's time to play.
Why does June Robot like old things?
A fantasy is a made-up story that could not happen in real life.
June Robot liked to find old things. Every day after school, she looked for more old things.
"June, what will you do with all that junk?" asked her little brother, Rob.
"I am going to use it," said June.
Today, Luke and his dad were bringing things to the dump.
This is such good stuff! " said I can use your old things."
You can?" asked Luke.
Yes," said June. "I have a plan
June took Luke's old stuff home.
"June, is that more old stuff?" asked her mom.
"What will you do with that junk?" asked her dad.
I am going to use it," said June.
June went to her room.
"Come and help me, Rob," she said. "Hand me that tube of paste. I can make a new toy for you to jump in."
Soon June was done.
"Get in, Rob," she said.
"June! Look at me jump!" said Rob. "You make the best things."
"What is that noise?" asked Mom.
"What is going on up there?" asked Dad. "Let's go find out," they said.
"Rob! What are you doing?" asked Mom.
"June! Look at this mess," said Dad.
"That's it!" said Mom and Dad together. "There will be no more junk!"
"But this is all good stuff! " said June. "Look! I made this for reading in bed.
"And she made this for me to play a tune on!" said Rob.
"That is terrific," said Mom. "But this mess has to go!"
"Tomorrow, we bring the things you can't use to the dump," said Dad.
After Mom and Dad left, June looked at her old stuff.
"Rob, I have a plan," said June. "I can have a clean room and still keep my stuff."
"Can I help?" asked Rob.
June and Rob went to work.
"We can use so much of this stuff," said June.
"Mom and Dad are going to be so happy!" said Rob.
June and Rob worked and worked.
At last, they were done. June smiled. "This is my best creation yet," she said. "I'll get Mom and Dad," said Rob.
"Mom and Dad!" said Rob. "Look at what we made."
"What is it?" they asked.
"You'll see," said June. "I just have to pull down this switch."
"Your room is so clean!" said Mom.
"And you used so much old stuff," said Dad.
"Look!" said Rob. "This is the leftover stuff to bring to the dump."
"But June can make something new with it," said Mom and Dad.
"I can!" said June.
Mary Anderson says, "I am just like June Robot. I love to find old stuff. My home is filled with things that I have found and fixed up."
Michael Garland illustrates both his own and other people's stories. He paints and draws, and also uses the computer to make his pictures.
Mary Anderson wanted to tell a story about an unusual machine. Write about a machine you'd like to make.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What do you think June's mom and dad will do the next time she brings junk home?
Would you like to have a friend like June? Why or why not?
June uses old stuff to make new things. How is this good for the environment?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Floor Plan is a drawing that shows where things are in a room.
Ahh! You just drank some water. Now you toss the bottle in a blue bin for recycling. What will happen to that bottle?
A truck will come to pick your bottle up. It will go with many bottles to a recycling center.
When they get there, the bottles go down a big slide.
Look at this floor plan of a recycling center. What kinds of things do you see being recycled?
Your bottle is made of plastic. It will go to a factory. Here the bottles are cut up into small bits.
Next the plastic bits are melted until they are soft. The soft plastic can be used to make many new things.
The green rulers on this page were made from recycled plastic. Recycled plastic can also be made into yarn.
It can be used to make socks and sweaters and to fill sleeping bags.
All of the things this girl has were made out of recycled plastic. One of them could have come from your bottle!
Carlos wrote an ad about recycling.
Do you have glass or paper? Do you have plastic or cans? Our school has recycling bins, Use them! Save our Earth.
Think about why it is important to recycle.
Write an ad to tell others about recycling.
Does my first sentence get readers to pay attention?
Did I use the verbs has or have to tell about now?
Did I end questions with question marks?
What kinds of weather do you know about? What is your favorite kind of day?
What is this day like? It is warm and wet. The rain makes a good sound. Kids play in their homes.
This rain is extreme. But it will stop. Can you predict how the day will be then?
This day is cold. The kids know how to stay warm. They run and jump and have a lot of fun. What a great day to play!
A Nonfiction Article gives information about a topic.
Look for ways that storms are alike and ways they are different.
How many kinds of storms do you know about?
There are many kinds of storms.
Which do you see where you live?
On some days, the sky is gray. That could mean a storm is on the way.
A gray sky can mean rainstorms.
You may see great flashes of lightning. After that comes a loud sound. That is thunder. Time to go inside!
Thunderstorms may have strong winds. The winds can blow branches off trees. Balls of ice may come down. This is called hail. It can hail when it is warm or cold.
Some storms come when it is very cold. It can snow so much that you can't see. Strong winds can blow snow into big piles. This is called a blizzard.
Some storms have extreme winds. Tornadoes are made of very fast winds that spin. The winds can pick up trucks and homes.
Scientists have ways to predict when tornadoes will come. Then people can get out of their way.
Look outside today. Does it look like a storm is on its way? Or is it a great day to play?
What did you learn about storms?
How are a thunderstorm and a blizzard the same? How are they different?
Tell about a storm you have seen. How was it like the storms you just read about?
What would you do if you were caught in a blizzard, thunderstorm, or hailstorm?
Find the answer in more than one place.
Some storms can be dangerous. Thunderstorms may bring lightning. Lightning looks like a great flash in the sky. It can be dangerous.
You are not safe from lightning outside. You are not safe under a tree.
Where will you be safe from lightning? You will be safe inside. The best thing to do is get inside fast!
Directions: Answer the questions.
Which picture shows lightning?
Why are thunderstorms dangerous?
The rain will make you wet.
The thunder is very loud.
They bring lightning.
What should you do if you see lightning?
Go inside.
Stand under a tree.
Play on the playground.
Keep reading to find the answer.
Rudy made a plan. Then he wrote a report about a tornado.
A tornado is a very strong kind of storm. It looks like a spinning cloud, The top of a tornado is in the sky. The bottom touches the ground. Tornadoes are dangerous.
Choose a storm you've seen or heard about. Write a report about that storm.
Does my report have a main idea and details?
Will readers understand my report?
Did I check my report for mistakes?
What is a scientist? What kinds of questions do scientists ask?
What makes the seed look big?
Are you curious? Do you like to look at things that are little? Then this idea is for you and your friends.
Fill a deep dish with water. Then, put something very little in your hand. Any kind of little thing will do. Put your hand by the back of the dish. Don't put it far away. Does the little thing look big now? I bet you knew it would. Do this with more things at your house. They will look big, too!
A Biography is the true story of a person's life.
As you read, use your Inference Chart.
What makes Ben Franklin a great American?
"Ben! Ben!" his friends called.
"Here I am," said Benjamin Franklin.
Ben was sitting on the docks. He was looking at the big ships. He liked the way the wind filled the sails.
Ben Franklin lived long ago. He liked to do many things. He liked to read. He was good at telling jokes and playing games.
Ben was a curious boy. He liked to dream. And he liked to make things.
One day, Ben made a red kite.
"This kite will be like the sails on the big ships," Ben said.
Soon after, Ben and his friends went for a swim. He had his new kite with him.
"What will you do with that?" his friends asked.
"You will see," said Ben.
Ben ran with the kite. The wind lifted it. He jumped into the water and the kite pulled him.
"Look at Ben go!" said his friends.
"How did Ben think of that?" they asked.
Time went by. Ben grew up. He still liked to dream. He still liked to make things.
He made a new kind of stove. This new stove was little, but it gave off lots of heat.
Ben made a new kind of glasses. They helped people to see up close and far away.
"How did Ben think of that?" people asked.
When Ben lived, people did not know much about electricity.
Ben was curious about it. He knew it could make sparks. He sometimes saw the sparks when he put his key into a lock.
One day it was raining. Ben looked at a flash of lightning. It looked like a big spark. He wanted to know if that flash was electricity.
"How can I find out if lightning is electricity?" Ben asked. "I can not go up in the sky."
Ben had an idea. A kite had helped him long ago. A kite could help him again.
"I can not get up there," he said. "But a kite can."
The next time it looked like rain, Ben went out. He had a kite and an iron key. He sent the kite up.
Lightning flashed. Ben felt the kite string shake. He saw sparks of electricity jump off the key.
"This shows that lightning is electricity!" said Ben.
Ben had an idea. He knew that if lightning struck a house, it could catch on fire. He put an iron rod on top of his house.
"Lightning will strike the iron rod, but not my house," Ben said. "The rod will keep my house safe."
Ben's friends put up iron rods, too. Today we still put them on our houses so they will be safe.
Ben was glad that the lightning rods helped people. In his life, Ben Franklin did many things to help people. He had more things to dream about and more things to make.
Philip Dray says, "I write books about Americans who do brave things to make our country better. I wanted to tell the story of Ben Franklin and his kite because he had the courage to try something no one had ever tried before."
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the selection.
What kind of friend do you think Ben Franklin would be? Tell why.
What things in your home use electricity?
Why do you think Ben Franklin is a famous and honored American?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
Bold Print points out important words.
How do scientists see little things up close? They look through a microscope. That makes little things look big.
Look at the photograph in the circle. It was taken with a microscope.
It shows things you see every day. Can you tell what it is?
This is salt. Now you can see the shape of every grain.
What else would you like to see close up? What do you think it would look like?
The verb see tells about now. The verb saw tells about the past.
Kevin wrote about one of Ben Franklin's inventions.
Find out about one of Ben Franklin's inventions.
Write a report about it.
Did I tell what the invention was like?
Did I use the verb saw to tell about the past?
Does each statement end with a period?
Do you have a favorite story? What do you like about it?
What happens to the tree?
Have You Heard This Silly Tale?
One day, Hen saw a tree that wasn't there before. "How could this happen?" she asked.
Then the tree began to speak.
"Hello, Hen. I am a tree," it told her.
"I have not heard a tree speak before," said Hen. She glared at the tree.
The tree began to shake its branches with haste. One big branch falls. Now Hen could see that the tree was a big, hungry fox.
"Silly fox," said Hen. "You can't trick me!"
A Folk Tale is a story that has been told for many years in different ways.
As you read, use your Beginning, Middle, and End Chart.
One sunny day long ago, Little Rabbit was resting in the forest. He was feeling dreamy.
"I'm so happy" he said. "How good it is to be resting under this big, green tree.
Then he began to think. "What if the forest falls? What will happen to me?"
Just then, a banana fell from the tree.
The banana landed with a big thump. Little Rabbit jumped up. He was upset.
"Oh no! The forest is falling," said Little Rabbit. Then he ran away.
Little Rabbit ran as fast as he could. He ran on and on. Fox saw him running.
Fox asked, "Why are you running so fast Little Rabbit?"
"The forest is falling!" Little Rabbit called. "Let's go!"
When Fox heard that, he was very upset. He began to run as fast as he could. Little Rabbit and Fox ran on and on.
Deer saw them running.
"Why are you running so fast?" asked Deer.
"The forest is falling!" said Fox. "Hurry up!"
When Deer heard that, she ran as fast as she could.
Little Rabbit, Fox, and Deer ran on and on.
Ox saw them running.
"Why are you running so fast?" asked Ox.
"The forest is falling!" said Deer. "Make haste!"
When Ox heard that, he ran as fast as he could.
Little Rabbit, Fox, Deer, and Ox ran on and on.
Tiger saw them running.
"Why are you running so fast?" asked Tiger.
"The forest is falling!" said Ox. "Come on!"
When Tiger heard that, she ran as fast as she could.
Little Rabbit, Fox, Deer, Ox, and Tiger ran on and on.
Elephant saw them running.
"Why are you running so fast?" asked Elephant.
The forest is falling!" said Tiger. "Get going!
When Elephant heard that, she ran as fast as she could.
The whole forest could hear her.
Now Little Rabbit, Fox, Deer, Ox, Tiger, and Elephant ran.
As they ran they called out, "Run away! Run away! The forest is falling!"
As they ran past Lion, he called to them. "Stop! Why are you all running so fast?"
The forest is falling!" said Elephant.
Let's move!"
That is silly," said Lion. "Who said that? Tiger told me," said Elephant.
Ox told me," said Tiger.
Deer told me," said Ox.
Fox told me," said Deer.
Little Rabbit told me," said Fox.
Lion glared down at Little Rabbit.
"Well" said Little Rabbit, "I was sitting under a tree and heard a big thump."
"Take me to that tree," said Lion.
They all went back to see the tree.
"Look!" said Lion. "It was just a banana that made that big thump. Next time, look before you run!"
"Thank you, I will," said Little Rabbit.
They were all sleepy, so they rested under the big, green tree.
Little Rabbit stretched. "I'm so happy," he said.
Then he began to think.... 
Gerald McDermott retells and illustrates folk tales from countries around the world.
Many of his stories are about animals that play tricks. He began to study art when he was just four years old! He likes to fill his pictures with bright colors.
Gerald McDermott wanted to retell a folk tale. Write about one of your favorite stories. Tell the title. Explain who the main characters are and what they do.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What happens when Little Rabbit first rests under the tree?
Have you ever gotten a silly idea in your head like Little Rabbit did? What was it?
What lesson do Little Rabbit and the other animals learn? How can that lesson help people?
A Folk Tale often teaches a lesson.
Repetition is the way some words or sentences in a story are used again and again.
A Traditional Tole
One day, Henny Penny was looking for seeds. An acorn fell out of a tree and hit her on the head.
"Oh, my!" she said. "The sky is falling! I must tell the queen."
She ran down the lane. She passed Ducky Lucky.
"Where are you going, Henny Penny?" asked Ducky Lucky.
"The sky is falling! I must tell the queen," called Henny Penny.
"Oh, my! I'll go, too," said Ducky Lucky. The two passed Turkey Lurkey.
"Where are you going?" he asked them. "The sky is falling! We must tell the queen," they called.
"Oh, my! I'll go, too," said Turkey Lurkey
At last, the three saw the queen.
"The sky is falling!" said Henny Penny. The queen picked up the acorn.
"It was just a little acorn," she said.
"Only rain falls from the sky. Go home and do not be afraid."
And so the happy friends set out for home.
A contraction is a short form of two words.
Chloe wrote about what Little Rabbit might do next.
Little Rabbit closed his eyes, He didn't hear his friends.
He was scared so he opened his eyes. All his friends were asleep.
What do you think Little Rabbit might do next?
Write a story about it.
Did I use interesting words?
Did I form contractions correctly?
Look for the answer in more than one place.
Take one strip and tape the ends together to make a circle.
Take a new strip. Put it through the circle you made.
Tape the ends of that strip together.
Tape more strips to the chain. Now hang up your chain!
1. Which one will you NOT need to make a paper chain?
Look for the answer in more than one place.
What are the strips of paper used for?
Why does Step 4 tell you to tape the strips?
Writing Prompt
What kinds of things do you like to make?
Tell about something you made. Tell how you made it. Write four sentences.
A glossary can help you find the meanings of words. The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can look up a word and read it in a sentence. Sometimes there is a picture.
The ducks were floating on the pond.
After we ate, Scott washed the dishes.
Is there any more milk?
I wash my hands before I eat.
School began when the bell rang.
Ice is very cold.
June's best creation was made from old things.
I am curious about dinosaurs.
I put the cap on the glue when I am done.
I brush my teeth after every meal.
A snowstorm is one kind of extreme weather.
Rain falls from the sky.
We went on a trip far from home last summer.
I was late for school because I couldn't find my book.
The duck is floating on the pond.
My friends and I play soccer.
The cat glared at the dog.
We had a great time at the park.
What will happen if you only eat candy?
When Ms. Morgan saw the spider, she left the room in haste.
Have you heard the story about the three pigs?
I live in a red house.
It's a good idea to wear your seat belt.
What kind of pizza do you like?
I knew how to write my name when I was five.
Do you know how to whistle?
Matt can see things up close with this microscope.
I love my new shoes.
This radio is very old.
This crocodile opened his mouth wide.
Kit used her camera to take photographs of the flowers.
I have a plastic lunch box.
The weather person may predict snow.
Recycling helps save Earth.
I saw the sun set last night.
The scientists are working hard to discover new things.
We will be in second grade soon.
You can sort your crayons by color.
Thunder makes a loud sound.
The fireworks sparkled in the sky.
Cindy did a terrific job on her project.
My neighbors have their own swing set.
Ms. Dunne told us a story.
My new jacket is warm.
We work hard in school.
What kind of art do you like to make? How do you make it?
How is Joan's bedtime like your bedtime?
Joan always stays up late.
She likes to sing songs that she makes up. Her mother and father try to get her to sleep.
"We must be firm with her," they both say. "She is supposed to go to bed."
"Joan," says Mother, "No more songs. You must go to bed."
"We love you," say Mother and Father.
"I love you too," sings Joan.
Then she went to sleep.
A Fantasy is a made-up story that could not really happen.
As you read, use your Fantasy and Reality Chart.
What kind of pig is Olivia?
This is Olivia.
She is good at lots of things.
She is very good at wearing people out.
She even wears herself out.
Olivia has a little brother named Ian. He's always copying.
Sometimes Ian just won't leave her alone, so Olivia has to be firm.
Olivia lives with her mother, her father, her brother, her dog, Perry,
In the morning, after she gets up, and moves the cat, and brushes her teeth, and combs her ears, and moves the cat, Olivia gets dressed.
She has to try on everything.
On sunny days, Olivia likes to go to the beach.
Last summer when Olivia was little, her mother showed her how to make sand castles.
She got pretty good.
Sometimes Olivia likes to bask in the sun.
When her mother sees that she's had enough, they go home.
Every day Olivia is supposed to take a nap.
"It's time for your you-know-what," her mother says.
Of course Olivia's not at all sleepy.
On rainy days, Olivia likes to go to the museum.
She heads straight for her favorite picture.
Olivia looks at it for a long time. What could she be thinking?
But there is one painting Olivia just doesn't get.
"I could do that in about five minutes," she says to her mother.
As soon as she gets home, she gives it a try.
Time out.
After a nice bath, and a nice dinner, it's time for bed.
But of course Olivia's not at all sleepy.
"Only five books tonight, Mommy," she says.
"No, Olivia, just one."
"How about four?" "
"Two."
"Three."
"Oh, all right, three. But that's it!"
When they've finished reading, Olivia's mother gives her a kiss and says, "You know, you really wear me out. But I love you anyway."
And Olivia gives her a kiss back and says, "I love you anyway too."
Ian Falconer says the characters in his book are based on his sister's family. His niece, Olivia, is very busy and wears out her parents, just as Olivia in the story does. He decided to make Olivia a pig because he thinks pigs are very smart animals and that they're like humans in many ways.
Ian Falconer wanted to write about a smart pig. Write about another smart animal. Tell why you think it's smart.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
Could this story happen in real life? Why or why not?
Do you ever act like Olivia? In what way?
Olivia likes to do creative things. What creative things do you like to do?
Nonfiction tells about real people and things.
A Caption gives information about a picture.
Cats, cats, cats! Look at all the ways artists have shown cats.
This painting shows a cat at home. The artist used a lot of colors and shapes.
Orange Cat on Couch was painted by Malcah Zeldis. She taught herself how to paint.
What shape are the cat's ears?
What color is the cat?
Where else do you see that color?
This cat is not a painting. It's a sculpture. What shapes do you see? Why do you think this artist named this sculpture The Rattle Cat?
This sculpture of a cat and her kitten very old. It comes from Egypt.
How is this cat different from The Rattle Cat?
Cat and Her Kitten is more than 2,000 years old!
Cat and Butterfly was painted with watercolors.
This cat was painted a long time ago. It comes from China. The cat is looking up. Can you see what it is looking at?
How would you show a cat? Make your own cat painting or sculpture!
An adjective is a word that tells more about a person, place, or thing.
Adam wrote an invitation to his art show.
Please come to my Art Show. It is on Friday, May 5. The show is in the big room with the red rug.
Pretend your school is having an art show.
Write an invitation to your friends.
Will my friends know that I want them to come?
Did I use adjectives correctly?
Does each special name begin with a capital letter?
What makes things move?
What do you think helps Little Cub hit the ball?
Little Cub is up at bat. His mom and dad are calling to him.
"You can do it, Little Cub!" they shout.
Little Cub swings the bat, but he misses the ball. He hears some laughter and puts his head down.
Perhaps I should not be at bat, he thinks. Then he says, "I'll just do my best."
On his next try, Little Cub hits the ball. He sees it fly over the meadow.
"I've never done that before!" he says as he runs to each base.
A Fantasy is a made-up story that could not really happen.
As you read, use your Problem and Solution Chart.
How will Frog and Toad fly the Kite?
Frog and Toad went out to fly a kite.
They went to a large meadow where the wind was strong. "Our kite will fly up and up," said Frog.
"It will fly all the way up to the top of the sky."
"Toad," said Frog,
"I will hold the ball of string. You hold the kite and run."
Toad ran across the meadow.
He ran as fast as his short legs could carry him.
The kite went up in the air.
It fell to the ground with a bump. Toad heard laughter.
Three robins were sitting in a bush.
That kite will not fly," said the robins.
You may as well give up."
Toad ran back to Frog. "Frog," said Toad, "this kite will not fly. I give up."
"We must make a second try," said Frog.
"Wave the kite over your head. Perhaps that will make it fly."
Toad ran back across the meadow. He waved the kite over his head.
The kite went up in the air and then fell down with a thud. "What a joke!" said the robins. "That kite will never get off the ground."
Toad ran back to Frog.
"This kite is a joke," he said.
"It will never get off the ground." "We have to make a third try," said Frog.
"Wave the kite over your head and jump up and down.
Perhaps that will make it fly."
Toad ran across the meadow again.
He waved the kite over his head.
He jumped up and down.
The kite went up in the air and crashed down into the grass. "That kite is junk," said the robins.
"Throw it away and go home."
Toad ran back to Frog.
"This kite is junk," he said.
"I think we should throw it away and go home." "Toad," said Frog, "We need one more try. Wave the kite over your head. Jump up and down and shout UP KITE UP."
Toad ran across the meadow.
He waved the kite over his head. He jumped up and down.
He shouted, "UP KITE UP!"
The kite flew into the air.
It climbed higher and higher.
"We did it!" cried Toad.
"Yes," said Frog.
"If a running try did not work, and a running and waving try did not work, and a running, waving, and jumping try did not work, I knew that a running, waving, jumping, and shouting try just had to work."
The robins flew out of the bush. But they could not fly as high as the kite.
Frog and Toad sat and watched their kite.
It seemed to be flying way up at the top of the sky.
Arnold Lobel was often sick and missed many days of school when he was young. When he went back to school, he made friends by telling stories and drawing pictures. Many years later, Lobel's children liked to catch frogs and toads. Arnold Lobel loved the animals and wrote about them in his Frog and Toad stories.
Arnold Lobel wanted to write about good friends. Write about your friend. Tell how you help each other.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What problem do Frog and Toad have?
How do they solve it?
How do you feel when you try to do something hard? How does Toad feel?
How do Frog and Toad act like friends?
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
A Diagram is a picture that shows the parts of something.
What toys can fly?
Balls can fly far and fast. Balls are round. Round is a great shape for throwing. How can you make a ball go where you want it to go?
Round discs can go far, too. When you throw a disc, you give it a spin. It spins like a top as it flies. The spin helps it to fly straight.
Toy planes can fly far and fast. Some toy planes don't need motors. They are called gliders. Wings help them glide on air. The tail helps steer the plane.
Kites don't look the same. But they are all made to glide on air. To fly, a kite has to catch the wind. Then the wind will push the kite up into the sky.
There are a lot of toys that fly! Which toys do you like to fly?
How would Frog and Toad try to fly a glider?
Lucy wrote about learning to do something hard.
My brother can go across the longest bars. I am smaller than my brother. I tried many, many times. My hands kept slipping. But then I did it! 
Think about something that was hard to do.
How did you learn to do it?
Write about how you did not give up.
Will the reader know how I feel?
Do the adjectives that compare end with -er or -est?
Does each sentence begin with a capital letter?
What could you invent to make your day easier?
You don't have to be big to invent things. Children can invent things, too. Look at the parts here. Could you make something with them? Where would you start? Where would the round parts go?
Where can you get ideas for things to invent? Think about things you need to do. Then think about how you could do them better. Is it hard to take your stuff to school? You could make a new kind of cart to help. You could make a new machine or game. You could make a great discovery!
A Nonfiction Article tells about real people and things.
Why do the kids in this article invent things?
What great things can kids invent?
Jacob Dunnack liked to stay at his grandmother's house. One day, he wanted to play baseball there. He packed his bat. But he forgot his baseballs!
Three balls fit inside a "JD Batball."
Jacob asked a question. How could he keep from forgetting again? He made a discovery. There was a way to keep the balls inside the bat.
Jacob drew a bat with a hole inside. The round top came off. The balls fit inside. That way, the balls would go where the bat went.
Everyone liked Jacob's invention a lot! His mother and father found a company to make it. Now you can buy the "JD Batball" in stores.
Shannon drew these ideas for her clock.
Shannon Crabill always wanted to invent something. She thought about the clock that woke her up every day. She asked a question. What if you could pick the sound your alarm clock made?
These are real clocks made from Shannon's ideas.
Shannon got an idea. You could record sounds on your clock. Then that sound could wake you up. The sound could be you talking or singing. It could be your dog barking or a song that you like.
Shannon sent her invention to a contest.
She won the contest! Now, a company makes her clocks.
Spencer Whale's invention helps sick kids.
When Spencer Whale was six years old, he visited a hospital. He saw children who had to take a big machine around with them. The machine had medicine in it. This made it hard for them to play.
Spencer asked a question. How could he help these children play better? He had a smart idea.
The children liked to ride in toy cars. But someone had to pull the medicine while they rode.
Spencer invented a part for the car that could hold the medicine. He drew his invention. People helped him make it. They put it onto the cars. Now sick children can ride and play with no help.
Would you like to invent something, too? Would you like to invent a new toy? Or a machine that could help you? Try asking questions like these three kids did. Then see if you can find an answer!
Describe how the kids turned their ideas into real things.
What caused each of the kids in this article to invent something?
What would you like to invent? Why?
Think of an invention that helps people. Describe the invention and how it helps.
Think about what the author tells you. Think about what you know.
Mary Anderson was an inventor.
She lived about 100 years ago. Back then, when it rained or snowed, drivers had to get out of their cars to clean their windows.
Mary had a great idea. She invented a new way to clean car windows. It was a rubber blade that swung back and forth across the window. The blade scraped off water and snow.
This blade was the first windshield wiper. It worked like the wipers on cars do today. But it did not move by itself. Drivers made it move by turning a handle inside the car.
Directions: Answer the questions.
What is this story MAINLY about?
Think about what you know.
Why did Mary invent the windshield wiper?
How do wipers work today?
The driver gets out of the car to use them.
The wipers move by themselves.
Drivers turn a handle inside the car.
Alma thought of an invention that could carry her backpack. She wrote about how to make it.
How to Make a Backpack Cart.
Get a skateboard and a box.
Put your backpack in the box.
Now pull it.
Think of something you would like to invent. Draw a picture of your invention. Write directions that tell how to make it. Write down each step to take.
Are my steps easy to follow?
Did I include details?
Did I check my writing for mistakes?
What is something hard that you have learned to do? How did you learn?
How does Cory feel at the end of the story?
Cory woke up very early. Instead of going back to sleep, she got out of bed. "I'm going to swim today," she thought. "Nothing can stop me."
Mom had to do an errand. Then she drove Cory to her swim class. Suddenly, Cory was in the water along with her teacher, Shelly.
Shelly held Cory's hands. Then she let go. Cory was swimming! "This is the best sport for me," she thought.
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could really happen.
How does Peter feel about learning to whistle?
Oh, how Peter wished he could whistle!
He saw a boy playing with his dog. Whenever the boy whistled, the dog ran straight to him.
Peter tried to whistle, but he couldn't.
So instead he began to turn himself around -- around and around he whirled... faster and faster...
When he stopped everything turned down... and up... and up... and down.. and around and around.
Peter saw his dog, Willie, coming. Quick as a wink, he hid in an empty carton lying on the sidewalk.
"Wouldn't it be funny if I whistled?" Peter thought. "Willie would stop and look all around to see who it was."
Peter tried again to whistle -- but still he couldn't.
So Willie just walked on.
Peter got out of the carton and started home.
On the way he took some colored chalks out of his pocket and drew a long, long line right up to his door.
He stood there and tried to whistle again. He blew till his cheeks were tired.
But nothing happened.
He went into his house and put on his father's old hat to make himself feel more grown-up. He looked into the mirror to practice whistling.
Still no whistle!
When his mother saw what he was doing, Peter pretended that he was his father.
He said, "I've come home early today, dear. Is Peter here?"
His mother answered, "Why no, he's outside with Willie."
"Well, I'll go out and look for them," said Peter.
First he walked along a crack in the sidewalk. Then he tried to run away from his shadow.
He jumped off his shadow, but when he landed they were together again.
He came to the corner where the carton was, and who should he see but Willie!
Peter scrambled under the carton. He blew and blew and blew. Suddenly -- out came a real whistle!
Willie stopped and looked around to see who it was.
"It's me," Peter shouted, and stood up. Willie raced straight to him.
Peter ran home to show his father and mother what he could do. They loved Peter's whistling. So did Willie.
Peter's mother asked him and Willie to go on an errand to the grocery store.
He whistled all the way there, and he whistled all the way home.
Ezra Jack Keats wanted to write about a boy who wished he could whistle. Write about something you wish you could do. Tell why you want to do it.
Ezra Jack Keats sold his first painting when he was eight years old! When he grew up, he created many books for children. He used cut-out paper and a special type of paste to make the bright pictures. He won many awards for his work, but was most pleased by letters from children who had read his books.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
How do you think Peter feels about Willie?
Would you like to have Peter as your friend? Tell why or why not.
How is Willie a good pet?
A Biography gives information about a real person's life.
A Graph can compare different amounts of something.
Kate Pavlacka can swim fast. She can run fast. She likes to read and write. Kate is blind.
Kate with her college swim team.
Kate went blind when she was 14 years old. But that did not stop her. She swam on her school swim team. She became a very good athlete.
Kate's coach helped. Kate couldn't see how to do a stroke. So her coach moved her arms and legs. That way she could feel how to do it. At the end of a lap, water sprayed her. That told her to swim the other way.
Kate dreamed of swimming in the Paralympics. These are games for athletes like Kate who have disabilities.
She swam and swam to get fit. And soon her dream came true. At the Paralympics, Kate swam very fast. She set records. Kate is a champ both in and out of the water.
Athletes with disabilities compete in the Paralympics. The games are held every four years. They began in 1960. There were only a few athletes and a few kinds of games back then. Now many athletes from all over the world come together to compete in many kinds of games.
Tennis and running are both Paralympic events.
This graph names some Paralympic games. It shows which games kids in a first grade class liked best. Which game do most kids like best? Which game do you like best? What about the kids in your class?
Number words are adjectives that tell how many people, places, or things there are.
Ravi wrote about how to play a game.
Write a sentence that has six words.
Cut the words apart and mix them up.
Tell your friend to put the sentence back together.
What new thing have you learned to do this year?
Write how to do it.
Are my directions clear?
Are my sentences in the right order? Do I use number words correctly?
How do plants grow?
What parts of plants can you eat?
Do you want to grow plants?
There are many places to plant. Find a place that is sunny. First, place the tiny seeds in the ground. Don't plant the seeds close together. They will be too crowded as they grow. Water them so they won't be thirsty.
We eat some plants. We eat the top part of peas, beans, and corn. We eat the part of yams and beets that grows under the ground.
If you are growing these plants, put up a gate. It will keep animals from getting them. They like to dig up your beautiful plants so they can munch on them!
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
As you read, use your Classify and Categorize Chart.
What fruits have one seed? What fruits have many seeds?
Most plants have seeds. When you put a seed in the ground and water it, a new plant will grow from it. First, a seedling peeks out of the dirt. Then it grows into a plant.
Seeds often travel to faraway places. If seeds did not travel, too many plants would grow in one place. It would be very crowded!
Some seeds travel on the wind. Some seeds travel in the water. Many seeds travel inside fruits.
The fruit is like a suitcase for the seeds.
It protects them on their trip.
Fruits look beautiful and taste good, so animals and people eat them, and drop the seeds in different places.
Some fruits carry one big seed inside them. The seed is called a pit. A cherry is one of these fruits.
Some fruits have many small seeds inside them. An apple is one of these fruits.
Some fruits have many, many tiny seeds inside them. A kiwi is one of these fruits.
Many berries, such as strawberries and blackberries, carry their seeds on the outside! Raspberries do too.
Some vegetables we eat are really fruits. They carry seeds too. Peas are seeds.
Can you find the seeds on this ear of corn?
Hint: it's the part you eat.
I'll bet you didn't know that every time you eat a peach, a cherry, an avocado, a plum, a cucumber, a tomato, a grape, an apple, an orange, a pea, a pear, a melon, a banana, or a blueberry, you're really eating a suitcase.
Anca Hariton started drawing with colored pencils when she was a child. She likes to write and draw pictures for books about the miracles of nature.
Anca Hariton wanted to draw things in nature. Draw a fruit you like. Tell what it looks like on the outside and what its seed looks like.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
Which fruits have one big seed?
Which fruits have many smaller seeds?
Which fruits and vegetables in the story do you eat? Which do you like best?
How do seeds that travel help people and animals?
Poetry often describes the world around us in unexpected ways.
Many poems have a Rhyming Pattern.
In some poems, the second line in a verse rhymes with the fourth line.
Some flowers close their petals, blue and red and bright, and go to sleep all tucked away inside themselves at night.
Some flowers leave their petals like windows open wide so they can watch the goings-on of stars and things outside.
An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word.
Ruby wrote a poem about bananas.
I love bananas.
Some are big.
Some are little.
But they are all soft and yellow.
Write a poem about a fruit you like.
Tell what it looks like, like, or tastes like.
Do I write details about my favorite fruit?
Do I include describing words?
Do I use synonyms or antonyms in my poem?
Think about what the author tells you. Think about what you know.
What Can You See?
What can you see way up high, with your neck reaching the sky? Your feet look so small, But your legs make you tall!
Giraffes are the tallest mammals. They have very long necks and legs. A male giraffe is called a bull.
They can be as tall as 19 feet.
A female is called a cow.
They can be as tall as 16 feet.
A giraffe's long neck helps it eat leaves in trees. The leaves have water in them. So the giraffe can get a drink, too.
Think about what you know.
How is the giraffe in the poem like other giraffes?
It needs a lot of water.
It has long legs.
It has spots like a cow.
Why do giraffes live near trees?
They like shade.
They don't like the sky.
They eat leaves.
Where does a giraffe get water?
Write about your favorite wild animal. Tell why you think it is the best animal. Write four or more sentences.
What bugs do you know? What are they like?
How does Freddy's friend help him?
Where Has Freddy Gone Now?
Fern and Freddy have always been best friends. So Fern was sad when she couldn't find him.
"Where has he gone?" she said.
"I must start searching for him now."
Fern went from one end of the pond to the other. But she couldn't find any clues.
"He's not invisible," she said.
Then Fern heard Freddy shouting. He was trapped in a web. In a flash, Fern pulled him out.
"Let's get out of here!" said Freddy, and off they went.
In a Mystery, the characters use clues to figure something out.
Where do Dot and Jabber find bugs?
Dot and Jabber, the mouse detectives, were looking for a mystery to solve. They walked through the meadow and stopped to watch some bugs.
The mice thought they heard something. They turned to see, and when they turned back, the bugs had disappeared.
"Wow," said Jabber. "The bugs vanished. Poof!"
"They must be around here someplace," said Dot. "They couldn't have gone away so fast.
"Then they're invisible, said Jabber. "I can't see them at all, and I'm looking."
"Come on, Jabber," said Dot. "This is the mystery we've been looking for. Let's find those bugs! We need to look for clues."
"Dot, listen," Jabber whispered. "I think I hear one."
"One what?" said Dot.
"One clue. Shhh. Let's go check."
The mice crept over the hill.
"It's a sparrow," Jabber said. "No wonder the bugs disappeared. Sparrows eat bugs."
"Not me," the sparrow said. "I'm going to find some berries. They don't vanish when you want one."
And he hopped off.
"Now that the sparrow is gone," said Dot, "why don't the bugs come back?"
"They're hiding from the toad," said a rabbit. "Toads eat bugs, too."
"Where is the toad?" said Dot.
"Hiding from things that eat toads," said the rabbit.
"I don't get it," said Jabber. "Everybody's hiding, but I don't see anyplace to hide."
"Maybe we don't know how to look," said Dot. "Let's keep searching. The bugs can't be far away."
"They're watching us," said Jabber. "I can feel it."
"I can, too," said Dot.
"This gives me goose bumps," said Jabber. "They can see us, but we can't see them. I wonder what else is out there watching us?"
Dot caught her breath. "Jabber, quick. Something moved."
"I don't see it," said Jabber.
"Look," said Dot. "It's moving again."
Some butterflies rose from the meadow and flew away.
"Wow, butterflies!" said Jabber. "I think the butterflies are a clue. They were hiding in plain sight, and we didn't even see them. Maybe the other bugs are hiding in plain sight, too."
"Oh!" said Dot. "Do you mean they're pretending to look like something else? Let's see if you're right."
"Dot," said Jabber. "Do rocks breathe?"
"Of course not," said Dot. "Then I've found the toad."
"Jabber," said Dot. "I found the bugs!"
"Shhh," said a grasshopper.
"You're right, Dot. There are lots of bugs here!" said Jabber. "We just have to know how to look."
The grasshopper sighed. "Go ahead. Tell the toad where we are. Tell the whole world. What are a few bugs, more or less? I'm out of here.
Wait for us!" said the other bugs.
"Well," said Dot, "the bugs have really disappeared now. But not before the great mouse detectives solved another mystery!" Dot looked around. "Jabber, where are you?"
"Try to find me," said Jabber. "I'm hiding in plain sight!"
Ellen Stoll Walsh says, "We have always loved stories in my family." When she started reading stories to her son, she decided to write and make pictures for children's stories, too. She often makes the animals in her books out of cut paper. She uses colored ink for her drawings.
Ellen Stoll Walsh wanted to write a story about mice. Write about an animal you like. Tell about where it lives.
Why do the bugs in the story seem to disappear? Have you seen other animals disappear like that?
What part of the story did you like best? Tell why.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
How do the pictures help you understand the story?
An encyclopedia gives information about many topics. An Encyclopedia Entry tells about one topic.
A Head tells what information is in a section.
Insects are everywhere. There are more insects than any other kind of animal.
There are all kinds of insects. The ladybug, housefly, and ant are all insects.
Some insects can fly. Many insects can not. Some live in water. But most live on the land. Some kinds of insects live and work together, like bees or ants. But most insects do not.
All insects have six legs. All insects have three body parts. Insect bodies have no bones. The outside of an insect's body is hard. The hard outside protects its insides. Many insects have antennas.
Insect senses are not like people's senses. Many insects smell with their antennas. Bees taste with their antennas. Flies taste with their feet.
Insects do not see the same as people do. Some insects have more than two eyes.
A grasshopper has five eyes. It can see on all sides.
The subject of a sentence tells who or what the sentence is about.
Ryan wrote about a dragonfly that he saw.
I saw a dragonfly at the pond. It was a really big bug. Its wings were long and shiny. The dragonfly was very fast. I saw it catch a bee!
Think about a bug you have seen.
Tell what the bug looked like.
Tell what the bug did.
Do my sentences make sense when I read them aloud?
Does each sentence have a subject?
What do you think it is like to travel into space?
Does Kim really go into space?
Kim curled up with her teddy bear and went to sleep. In her dream, she put on a red helmet. Then, she took off. She waved to the birds. She waved to Earth and began her trip into space. Soon she landed on Mars and walked over to a table. It was filled with good things to eat. So she sat down and had a great meal.
Kim's mom was waking her up.
"Mom, you will never guess what happened!" said Kim. "I'm not fooling. I just had the best meal on Mars.
A Fantasy is a made-up story that could not really happen.
Where are Blue Jay and Elephant going?
Blue Jay wanted to fly to the moon. "Here I go!" said Blue Jay.
He flapped his wings and flew and flew.
But he did not reach the moon.
It was too far.
Blue Jay told his friend Elephant,
I want to go to the moon, but I cannot find a way.
I am feeling sad.
I am a blue Blue Jay."
"I can help you find a way," said Elephant.
"You can?" asked Blue Jay.
"I can!" said Elephant.
"I'll take you to the moon. Hop on!" Elephant began to run.
She flapped her ears like wings.
She ran to the end of the cliff and jumped.
But she did not reach the moon.
She rolled down the hill, down, down, down.
She made Blue Jay a slide. "Whee!" shouted Blue Jay.
"That was fun," laughed Blue Jay.
"But I still want to find a way to the moon!"
"I can help you find a way," said Elephant. "You can?" asked Blue Jay.
"I can!" said Elephant. "Let's go on this boat. Hop on!"
Elephant rowed the boat with her trunk.
She rowed and rowed.
But the boat just went around and around. Then it tipped right over.
SPLASH!
Elephant fell out of the boat! She sank into the mud.
Blue Jay got a cold shower.
"That was fun!" laughed Blue Jay.
"But I still want to find a way to the moon!" "We won't give up," said Elephant.
"Let's ride this bike into space. Hop on!"
Blue Jay put on a small helmet.
Elephant put on a HUGE one.
Elephant began to pedal.
They rode through the woods.
They passed squirrels and birds and a skunk. They even saw a bear.
"Look!" shouted Elephant. "We are in the stars! Blue Jay said, "Those are not stars.
They are fireflies!"
"I know what we can do," said Elephant. "One, two, three..." she counted.
"What are you doing?" asked Blue Jay. "Can you guess?" asked Elephant.
"Can I help?"
"You can!" said Elephant.
Elephant pointed with her trunk.
And Blue Jay counted.
"Four, five, six, seven."
"Elephant," said Blue Jay,
"I am having such a good time with you. Let's stay right here on Earth."
"It's getting late," said Elephant.
"I'm hungry," said Blue Jay.
"Dinner is waiting on our table," said Elephant.
"Let's go!" said Blue Jay.
"I'll take you. Hop on!" said Elephant.
Look!" Blue Jay shouted.
We are at the moon! No fooling!"
I see it," cried Elephant.
It is right here in this puddle!"
I did find a way to the moon!" laughed Blue Jay.
'Watch me fly over the moon!" called Blue Jay. 'Watch me jump over it!" shouted Elephant.
Blue Jay and Elephant followed the moon from puddle to puddle, jumping and flying all the way home.
Fran Manushkin loved to read as a child. As an adult she loves studying animals and often takes a lot of pictures of them. Recently she's been watching elephants on the Internet. This inspired her to write Blue Jay Finds a Way.
Fran Manushkin wanted to write about an animal adventure. Write a story about two animals having an adventure.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story in order.
Did you predict Blue Jay would go to the moon? What really happened?
Have you ever pretended you were in a very different place? What was it like?
How are Blue Jay and Elephant like real people?
In an Interview, one person asks questions and another person answers them.
Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic woman astronaut She has made many trips into space. Ellen lives in Houston, Texas.
The Question/ Answer Format uses the words question and answer to show who is speaking.
Question: Why did you want to be an astronaut?
Answer: It sounded exciting to be weightless! I wanted to look at our planet Earth from space.
Question: What should kids who want to be astronauts do?
Answer: They should study math and science and go to college. They should like learning new things and working in a team.
Question: What's it like to be in space?
Answer: It's a lot of fun! You're floating and so is everything else! It's easy to move heavy things. It's easy to reach things, too.
Question: How was the food in space?
Answer: The food was very good. We took freeze-dried food and powdered drinks with us. We added hot or cold water. We ate a lot of tortillas. It's easy to put stuff in them.
Question: What's the hardest thing about your job?
Answer: You have to learn a lot. And make sure you learn it before you leave Earth!
What might Blue Jay ask Ellen Ochoa?
The predicate of a sentence tells what the subject does or is.
Anna wrote about pretending to be an astronaut.
I like to pretend I'm an astronaut. I blast off. I peek outside. The sky looks like fireworks on the Fourth of July! My rocket zooms to the moon.
Tell what you do and imagine.
Think about something you like to pretend to be.
Write about it.
Will readers understand my story?
Does each sentence have a predicate?
Do special names like holidays begin with a capital letter?
What jobs do you know about? What jobs would you like to do?
Do you ever think about what you want to be? You could find an interesting job. You only need to think about what you like!
Do you like to help people? You could be a doctor or a teacher. Do you like to make people laugh? You could be a clown or an actor. Do you like to work with tools? You could make houses or fix cars.
You could work at home. Or you could be someone who goes to the moon. You could like a job that seems ordinary, or one that does not. Think about what you like to do. Then you can find your best job!
A Nonfiction Article tells about real people and things.
What different kinds of jobs do people have?
What would it be like to have these three jobs?
If you were a zoo dentist, you could fix and clean a tiger's teeth. You could fill a hole in an alligator's tooth. You might even pull out an elephant's tusk!
Zoo dentists fix teeth like ordinary dentists do. But they work on wild animals who might bite! So the dentist gives the animal medicine. Then it goes to sleep. Now the dentist can go to work.
Zoo dentists use big drills to clean out holes in teeth. Big metal tools can help them grip a bad tooth and pull it out. If it's a lion tooth, that can be a pretty big job!
Did you ever want to change the taste of a food? If you were a flavor maker, you could! You could make medicine taste like cherry or pizza. With only a few drops, you could make a hot dog taste like a banana.
Flavor makers work in a lab.
They use chemicals to make flavors. Their best tools are their noses and mouths. They do a lot of tasting and smelling!
Flavor makers help make a lot of tasty food! Can you think of a new flavor for a food that you like?
Bees make honey. A beekeeper helps the bees do their job.
If you were a beekeeper, you would build hives for bees to live in. These are not like the hives bees make themselves. Beekeepers make hives out of wood.
How do beekeepers get the honey with all of those stinging bees? They have special clothes to keep the bees from stinging them. There are gloves and a hood. There is a net that goes over the beekeeper's face.
Sometimes beekeepers put smoke into the hives. That makes the bees fly away. Then the beekeepers can take the honey out. It can take a lot of work to get honey. But the end is always sweet!
There are many interesting jobs in the world. This person's job is to dress up like a giant bird at sports events. It's fun to make people laugh.
What kinds of cool jobs can you think of? What cool job would you like to have?
Which jobs are about helping?
What makes a job a good job?
Do you want to work at a school? You could be a teacher. But there are lots of other jobs you could do at school, too.
You could be a school nurse. You would take care of sick kids. You would bandage cuts and scrapes.
Do you like to fix things? You could be a custodian. You would keep things clean. You would make sure that everything is working.
Do you like to cook? You could work in the lunchroom. You would make sure the kids at school have good food to eat.
There are lots of fun jobs at school. But the best part is being with so many kids!
Directions: Answer the questions.
What is this story MAINLY about?
Who can help you if your chair breaks?
You know from reading this story that O many people work in schools.
Edgar wrote about a job that he thinks is interesting. He made sure his sentences were clear.
Write a report about a job that you are interested in. Tell why you are interested in that job. Make sure your sentences are clear and organized.
How do baby animals change as they grow up?
How do bear cubs change as they get older?
When a bear cub is born, its eyes are closed. But it does not need to see to eat. The tiny bear cub drinks milk. He does not need to learn how because he just knows how. After a while, he is strong enough to go out into the fresh air.
Then, it is time to go out into the wild where he will learn to hunt. He will be grown-up soon. He will wade across streams to catch fish. His strong paws and jaws will help him eat the meat. He will also eat berries from plants.
Nonfiction gives information about a topic.
As you read, use your Compare and Contrast Chart.
How is a tiger cub different from a grown-up tiger?
Tara is a tiger cub.
She was born in a wild animal park. The cub is hungry.
She feels the tip of the bottle.
She drinks her warm milk.
When Tara is 9 days old, her eyes open.
Grown-up tigers like to swim. But little Tara does not like her first bath.
Mary feeds Tara.
She talks to the tiger cub. She gives her kisses.
At night, Mary takes the cub home with her.
Tara drinks her milk.
She falls asleep.
Then Tara wakes up. She is hungry!
She wants more milk.
Tara drinks until her belly is full.
She falls back to sleep.
As she sleeps, she grunts and squeals.
Tara is 3 weeks old.
Her baby teeth are coming in.
She has pointed teeth for tearing meat.
And she has rounded teeth for chewing.
Chewing feels good. But a plastic tray is hard to hold with chubby paws.
Each day, Mary shows the cub a piece of meat. Tara does not want to try it. Not yet!
Playtime is a time to learn.
Can Tara crawl over Mary's legs? How hard will Mary let her bite?
Tara is 3 months old. Mary takes Tara to the animal doctor. It is time for a checkup.
Tara is healthy. And she is old enough to play outside.
Grass and sky seem strange to Tara. The air is filled with new smells. The tiger cub follows her nose.
She runs across the grass.
Lynn takes care of Tara now.
Lynn hugs Tara. She plays with Tara. She shows her falling leaves.
Lynn plays with Tara every day.
She teaches Tara what she can do.
She teaches Tara what she cannot do.
Tara greets Lynn with a friendly chuffing sound. Lynn returns the greeting.
Climbing over Lynn is fun. Following Lynn is fun.
Tara creeps along the ground. Then she pounces!
Tara is 9 months old. She is big and strong. She can join the park's grown-up tigers.
Tara likes her new home. She can run across the grass. She can climb on logs. She can nap under leafy trees.
Tara watches the big tigers swim.
She walks around the pond. It is hot. So Tara jumps in. Tara is 1 year old. The tiger cub has grown up.
Joan Hewett wanted to give information about a baby animal. Write about a baby animal you know.
Tell how it changed as it grew.
Joan Hewett thinks research is the most difficult, interesting, and fun part of writing. Many of her books are about baby animals living in zoos or rescue centers.
Richard Hewett says, "I think children's books are the best." He often photographs pictures for books written by his wife, Joan Hewett.
Use the Retelling Cards to retell the story.
What is Tara like at three months old? What is she like at nine months old?
What was the most interesting thing you learned about tigers?
Can a one-year-old child take care of itself like a one-year-old tiger? Why or why not?
A Poem uses words that sound good together.
Poets often use words in fun and interesting ways. This is called Word Play.
How is the tiger in this poem different from the tiger in A Tiger Cub Grows Up?
A vet is an animal doctor. A vet helps sick animals get better.
Vets have to know about a lot of animals. My vet told me, "I have the best job in the world.
Use I in the subject of a sentence.
Use me in the predicate.
Chris wrote a report about a vet.
What does a vet do? Find out some facts. Write a report.
Did my report have facts?
Did I use the pronouns I and me correctly?
Did I use a capital letter for the pronoun I?
What kind of playhouse would you like? How would you build it?
How does the town grow?
Joy and Ron were making a town. Joy made a circle of shops. She put the houses toward one end of town. Ron added a school. "Let's not leave out a bike path," said Joy.
The town grew quickly. But then, Joy's dog ran into town. The houses toppled.
"Max, you can join us," said Joy. "Just don't wreck our town."
The kids fixed things up. Then they added a flag welcoming one and all to their joyful town.
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could really happen.
As you read, use your Cause and Effect Chart.
What will the children do to build a sand castle?
Jen dug the sand with her shovel.
A boy with a bucket watched.
"Can I help?" he asked.
"I am building a sand castle," said Jen.
"Your castle needs a moat," said the boy. He dug a circle around Jen's castle with his bucket.
The castle grew taller. The moat grew deeper.
Can I help? asked a girl with a spoon. I am making the moat," said the boy. This is my castle," said Jen.
"If I dig a path to the lake, the moat will fill up with water," the girl said.
She scooped a path in the sand. Water sloshed into the path and headed toward the moat.
The castle grew taller. The moat grew deeper. The path grew wider.
Can I help?" asked a boy with a cup. I am digging the path to the water," said the girl.
I am making the moat, said the boy. 'This is my castle" said Jen.
Hi
"You will need a wall to protect your castle," said the boy with the cup.
The boy filled the cup with wet sand.
Pat, pat. He turned it over.
Tap, tap. One sand block stood.
Pat, tap. Two sand blocks.
The castle grew taller. The moat grew deeper. The path grew wider. The wall grew longer.
Can I help?" asked a girl holding a rake.
"I am building the wall," said the boy with the cup.
"I am digging the path to the water," said the girl with the spoon.
"I am making the moat," said the boy with the bucket.
"This is my castle," said Jen.
"You need a road, so people can get to the castle," said the girl with the rake.
Dragging the rake in the sand, the girl traced a winding road. With the rake teeth, she swirled wavy shapes.
Hands patted and pushed the squishy sand. The castle rose high.
The moat dipped deep.
The path flowed long.
The wall stood strong.
The road lay wide and welcoming.
Shadows stretched across the sand.
"Angela! Time to go!" "Robert! We're leaving!" "Tanisha! It's late!" "Louis! Rinse your feet! "
Jen! Say good-bye!"
"But what about the castle?
We worked so hard," Tanisha said.
"As soon as we leave, someone will wreck it," said Louis.
I know what to do!" Jen said. Splat! She jumped on the castle.
In a flurry they all kicked the road, toppled the wall, flattened the path, filled the moat, and crushed the castle.
"Good-bye!" the beach friends shouted as they scattered across the cooling sand. "Let's do it again tomorrow!"
Brenda Shannon Yee says she got the idea for this story while building a sand castle with her children at the beach.
Thea Kliros says, "As a child, I was read to every night." She hopes her illustrations will help children enjoy and love books.
Brenda Shannon Yee wanted to tell a story about building a sand castle. Write about something you can build. Tell how you would build it.
What happens when the other kids help Jen build?
What do you like to do in the sand or at the beach?
Why do children sometimes wreck a sand castle they made?
Lots of people build with bricks and stones. But some build with sand and ice. How do they make these great structures?
Builders dig a deep hole and scoop out the wet sand to make a castle like this. Next, they make the wet sand into pancakes. They stack the pancakes to make towers.
Then, it's time to carve the sand! Knives and spoons are good tools for making windows, doors, and steps.
This ice castle in Minnesota was built for a winter festival.
Take a look at this castle! It's made of ice People use saws to cut blocks of ice from a frozen lake. A crane piles up the blocks. The castle gets higher and higher. Some ice castles are 20 stories tall!
In the Ice Hotel in Sweden, everything is made of ice.
In this hotel, the floors, walls, and beds are ice! Sleeping bags keep visitors warm when they sleep. The Ice Hotel melts every spring. So a new one must be built every year!
How are the castles in this story like the one the children made in Sand Castle?
You can use the word and to combine sentences that have the same subject.
Isabel wrote a story about making a clubhouse.
One day Erin and Devi found a huge cardboard box. "Let's make a clubhouse," said Erin. They painted it and made a sign. It said, "Best Friends, Club."
Two friends find a huge cardboard box.
What could they do with it?
Write about it.
Did I indent the first sentence?
Did I use and to combine sentences that have the same subject?
Did the special names begin with capital letters?
Think about what the author tells you. Think about what you know.
The little caterpillar doesn't seem like much. It hatches from a tiny egg and creeps and eats and creeps and eats. When it gets fat, the little caterpillar makes some changes.
The caterpillar makes itself a hard shell or case. It hangs upside down. Inside, the caterpillar changes. Now it is called a pupa.
In about ten days, it comes out. Now it is a butterfly. The butterfly tests its wings. Soon it is ready to fly away and begin a new life.
Think about what you know.
Which picture shows something that a caterpillar CANNOT do?
What happens to the caterpillar inside the shell?
It turns into a spider.
It turns into a butterfly.
It turns into an egg.
How does the hard shell help the caterpillar?
It looks pretty.
It holds the caterpillar's eggs.
It protects the caterpillar.
Did you ever see an interesting insect? Write about it. What did it look like? What did it do? Write four or more sentences.
A glossary can help you to find the meanings of words. The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can look up a word and read it in a sentence. Sometimes there is a picture.
This ride is only for children.
Mike walked across the bridge.
In the garden, the air smelled like flowers.
The boys hiked along a river.
Paul always arrives late.
An elephant is a big animal.
Artists are showing their paintings in the gym.
An astronaut may travel to the moon.
The athlete was practicing for the big game.
Alex hit the ball as far as she could.
A bear likes to eat berries.
Mary's painting is beautiful.
The boys were dirty because they had been playing in the mud.
Greg likes apples better than pears.
The bird sits on a branch.
We used bricks to build the house.
This ride is only for children.
Draw a circle to make the snowman's head.
The clues helped Jim solve the mystery.
My favorite color is yellow because it looks like the sun.
This playground is always crowded with kids.
A lion cub stays near its mother.
Her disabilities didn't stop Miko from trying anything.
The scientist hopes to make a great discovery.
The discs we threw flew through the air.
Pete wakes us early in the morning.
The earth has many oceans and lakes.
There was enough pizza for everyone.
Tom ran an errand for his mom.
Do not ever swim alone!
This cat has yellow eyes.
Jack and his father are cooking dinner.
The teacher is firm about the rules.
I was fooling when I said I had a pet lion.
I got a letter from my friend.
It was so cold that the lake had frozen.
A toy plane can glide on air.
A train goes fast.
The pickles are all gone.
The little plant grew.
Joe dug a hole in the ground.
I took a guess about what was in the box.
I bumped my head.
Keisha wears a helmet when she rides her bike.
All insects have six legs and three body parts.
I chose the red shirt instead of the blue one.
I read an interesting book!
The brown lizard is almost invisible on the sand.
My friends tell jokes that make me laugh.
There is a lot of laughter when we all play together.
I learn to play the piano.
Children leave the school at 3 o'clock.
I love my pet.
A machine can help sew clothes.
The meadow is full of flowers.
My mother always braids my hair.
Motors helped the boats go faster.
I never go to sleep without a story.
I bought nothing at the store.
The new babies are in the nursery.
There was only one pencil left.
Do you want the big doll or the small one?
On an ordinary day, Pam plays outside after school.
Sarah ran and the other kids walked.
Alex shared part of his sandwich.
Perhaps the sun will come out later.
The beach is a fun place!
Saturn is a planet with rings.
A helmet protects your head when you are on your bike.
Lenny broke all the school's records for attendance.
A wheel is round.
We are searching for bugs in the woods.
The artist used clay to make a sculpture.
You use your five senses to taste, smell, see, hear, and touch.
You should eat a good lunch.
I shout when I'm happy!
Rockets go into space.
We made some funny structures from sticks.
Suddenly the room got dark.
I am supposed to go to bed early.
We eat together at the table.
He thought hard when he took the test.
A kitten is tiny.
The blocks toppled over.
He ran toward the store.
Kids try hard to climb the rope.
It would be fun to be weightless for a day.
She opened the door with a welcoming smile.
A wild animal finds its own food.
This old car is a wreck.
Talk about it.
Change could be difficult. How do you feel about new people, places, and things?
Tina woke up to her buzzing alarm clock. She rubbed her eyes and wondered why she was up so early. Then she remembered: it was try-out day!
A few weeks ago, Tina decided she would try out for the Comets, her school's softball team. Tina ran downstairs to the kitchen. "Mom!" she shouted. "It's try-out day!"
"I know," answered Mom.
"I made you breakfast."
Tina rubbed her stomach.
"I think I'm too nervous to eat."
"You'll have more energy if you do," said Mom.
Tina still felt a bit sick, but she ate some breakfast anyway. Then she ran up to her room and fumbled into her clothes.
"Slow down!" Mom chuckled. "You'll use up all your energy before you get there."
Tina got to the field early, but it seemed like everyone else did, too.
"What am I doing here?"
Tina asked herself. "I'll never make the team."
Her mom gave her a hug. "That's nonsense," she said. "Get out there and do your best. You will be great!"
The girls had to run, field, bat, catch, and throw balls. Even though Tina stumbled while fielding, she thought she did well.
Afterward, Tina was really tired and trudged off the field. One of the coaches called her name. "What do you think, Tina?" she asked. "Would you like to join the Comets?"
Tina forgot how tired she was and jumped high into the air. "Oh, boy," she shouted. "Would I ever!"
Every story has characters, a setting, and a plot. They make up the story's structure. Characters are people in the story. The setting is when and where the story takes place. The plot tells all the events in the story. It has a beginning, middle, and end.
A Story Map helps you analyze the story structure. Reread the story to find the characters, setting, and what happened at the beginning, middle, and end.
Humorous Fiction is a made-up story written to make the reader laugh.
Why does Sarah try to avoid going to school?
"Sarah, dear, time to get out of bed," Mr. Hartwell said, poking his head through the bedroom doorway. "You don't want to miss the first day at your new school do you?"
"I'm not going," said Sarah, and pulled the covers over her head.
"Of course you're going, honey," said Mr. Hartwell, as he walked over to the window and snapped up the shade.
"No, I'm not. I don't want to start over again. I hate my new school," Sarah said.
She tunneled down to the end of her bed.
What events have taken place so far?
"How can you hate your new school, sweetheart?" Mr. Hartwell chuckled. "You've never been there before! Don't worry. You liked your other school, you'll like this one. Besides, just think of all the new friends you'll meet."
"That's just it. I don't know anybody, and it will be hard, and... I just hate it, that's all."
"What will everyone think if you aren't there? We told them you were coming!"
"They will think that I am lucky and they will wish that they were at home in bed like me."
Mr. Hartwell sighed. "Sarah Jane Hartwell, I'm not playing this silly game one second longer. I'll see you downstairs in five minutes."
Sarah tumbled out of bed.
She stumbled into the bathroom. She fumbled into her clothes.
"My head hurts," she moaned as she trudged into the kitchen.
Mr. Hartwell handed Sarah a piece of toast and her lunchbox.
They walked to the car. Sarah's hands were cold and clammy.
They drove down the street.
She couldn't breathe.
And then they were there.
"I feel sick," said Sarah weakly.
"Nonsense," said Mr. Hartwell. "You'll love your new school once you get started.
Oh, look. There's your principal, Mrs. Burton."
Sarah slumped down in her seat.
How does Mr. Hartwell feel about Sarah's attitude?
"Oh, Sarah," Mrs. Burton gushed, peeking into the car. "There you are. Come on. I'll show you where to go."
She led Sarah into the building and walked quickly through the crowded hallways. "Don't worry. Everyone is nervous the first day," she said over her shoulder as Sarah rushed to keep up.
When they got to the classroom, most of the children were already in their seats.
The class looked up as Mrs. Burton cleared her throat.
"Class. Class. Attention, please," said Mrs. Burton.
When the class was quiet she led Sarah to the front of the room and said, "Class, I would like you to meet your new teacher, Mrs. Sarah Jane Hartwell."
Did Julie Danneberg write to inform or entertain readers in First Day Jitters? What details help you figure out the author's purpose?
Use your Story Map to help you retell First Day Jitters. Tell about what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Why was Sarah so nervous about going to school? 
At the beginning of the story, why might most readers think Sarah was a child? Give details from the story in your answer. 
How would you feel if you were a teacher on the first day at a new school? Explain. 
Do you think that most people are nervous about facing new, unknown situations? Explain your answer. 
Read "Tina's Try-Out Day" on pages 12-13. How is Tina's situation similar to Sarah's? How do Tina and Sarah react differently to their situations? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Informational Essays tell about a subject from one point of view.
Bar Graphs use bars of different lengths to compare information.
It's tough being the new kid in a crowd. You want to be accepted. You want to be liked. What can you do to make friends? Be friendly! Here's how.
A smile attracts other people. When you look and feel comfortable, people will want to get to know you better.
Don't be afraid to introduce yourself to people you would like to meet. They may want to meet you, too!
Ask questions to find out people's interests. Listen carefully as they answer you. That shows that you're interested in getting to know them.
Maybe you like the same sports team or the same books. When it comes to making friends, you should always follow the easiest rule: Have fun! You may make some new friends before you know it.
This bar graph shows the answers to a survey. A survey asks what people think about something.
Survey Question: What is the most important thing to do to make new friends?
Look at the bar graph. How many people answered that the most important thing to do is to ask questions and listen? How do you know?
The next time you are around new people, what will you do to make friends? Explain your answer.
Sarah was nervous about meeting new students. After reading "Making New Friends," what advice could you give Sarah about getting to know her students?
With a partner, brainstorm four things you like to do with your friends. Survey your classmates and make a bar graph to compare their answers.
The topic sentence is usually at the beginning of a good paragraph. It tells the reader the main idea of the paragraph. The other sentences give supporting details.
First, I wrote a good topic sentence. It tells what my paragraph will be about.
Then, I wrote sentences with supporting details.
My first day of third grade didn't start well. First, my mom had to go to work early. She left right after rushing me to my classroom. Next, I waited inside for a while before the other kids started coming. They looked huge. I never saw them before in my life. Then, I was scared. Where was my friend Harry? Where was Jen? We were supposed to be in the same class. Finally, the teacher said, "Hello, Class 5-B." I was so happy. I was supposed to be in class 3-B. I was just sitting in the wrong room!
Write a paragraph about an experience you had on the first day of school. It may be about meeting a new friend or about something that happened. Be sure to begin your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells the main idea. Then include supporting details in the sentences that follow. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Are my story details interesting?
Does my good paragraph have a topic sentence and supporting details?
Does the writing sound like me?
Did I choose words that clearly tell how I felt?
Did I write in complete sentences?
Did I start sentences with capital letters? Did I spell and use end punctuation correctly?
How do you keep in touch with family and friends who are far away?
Sentence Clues can help you figure out what the word photograph means.
The photograph in the gold frame shows Dad when he was a boy.
Nana has been visiting for two weeks, but now it's time for her to go home. I wish she could stay.
"Why so sad, Matty? I'm going home, not to the moon!" joked Nana.
"Montana's so far away, it might as well be the moon," I answered. I tightened my hold on Nana's plane ticket until it began to crackle.
Nana laughed. "Oh, it's not that far! You'll see me soon," she said.
"I promise."
Just then a voice on the loudspeaker announced that Nana's flight was boarding.
"Time to go," said Nana.
"When I get home, I'll send you a surprise. Watch for it!" She hugged us good-bye. We waited until her plane soared up high into the dark but starry sky. I wondered what my surprise was.
When I got home, I kept checking the door and looking out the window for my surprise. Then Dad called, "Hey, Matty, come over here!"
Dad was at the computer. The screen showed a picture of an envelope. I had e-mail! The title of the e-mail said "Surprise!" It read:
Dear Matty, Uncle Pete set up my new computer while I was gone. Now we can send e-mails every day. Can you see the photograph I sent? It's a picture of me. I told you you'd see me soon! Write back. Hugs and kisses, Nana.
Nana did surprise me! I'm so excited that I can talk to her every day.
Every story has characters, a setting, and a plot. These elements make up the story's structure. The main character is the person who the story is about.
A Character Web helps you figure out a character's traits, or personality. Reread "Mail for Matty." What one thing can you tell about Matty's character based on what he does and thinks after Nana leaves?
Realistic Fiction is an invented story that could have happened in real life.
As you read, use your Character web.
How does Juno try to communicate with his grandmother?
Juno watched as the red and white blinking lights soared across the night sky like shooting stars, and waited as they disappeared into faraway places. Juno wondered where they came from. He wondered where they were going. And he wondered if any of the planes came from a little town near Seoul where his grandmother lived, and where she ate persimmons every evening before bed.
Juno looked at the letter that came that day. It was long and white and smudged. He saw the red and blue marks on the edges and knew the letter came from far away. His name and address were neatly printed on the front, so he knew the letter was for him. But best of all, the special stamp on the corner told Juno that the letter was from his grandmother.
What do Juno's thoughts and actions tell you about him?
Through the window Juno could see his parents. He saw bubbles growing in the sink. He saw dirty dishes waiting to be washed. He knew he would have to wait for the cleaning to be done before his parents could read the letter to him.
"Maybe I can read the inside, too," Juno said to his dog, Sam. Sam wagged his tail. Very carefully, Juno opened the envelope. Inside, he found a letter folded into a neat, small square.
He unfolded it. Tucked inside were a picture and a dried flower.
Juno looked at the letters and words he couldn't understand. He pulled out the photograph. It was a picture of his grandmother holding a cat. He pulled out the red and yellow flower. It felt light and gentle like a dried leaf. Juno smiled. "C'mon, Sam," Juno said. "Let's find Mom and Dad."
"Grandma has a new cat," Juno said as he handed the letter to his mother. "And she's growing red and yellow flowers in her garden"
"How do you know she has a new cat?" Juno's father asked.
"She wouldn't send me a picture of a strange cat" said Juno.
"I guess not" said Juno's father.
"How do you know the flower is from her garden?" asked Juno's mother.
"She wouldn't send me a flower from someone else's garden" Juno answered.
"No, she wouldn't" said Juno's mother.
Then Juno's mother read him the letter.
Dear Juno, How are you? I have a new cat to keep me company. I named him Juno after you. He can't help me weed, but the rabbits no longer come to eat my flowers. Grandma.
"Just like you read it yourself" Juno's father said.
"I did read it" Juno said.
"Yes, you did" said his mother.
At school, Juno showed his class his grandmother's picture and dried flower. His teacher even pinned the letter to the board. All day long, Juno kept peeking at the flower from his grandmother's garden. He didn't have a garden that grew flowers, but he had a swinging tree.
Juno looked at the letter pinned to the board. Did his grandmother like getting letters, too? Yes, Juno thought. She likes getting letters just like I do. So Juno decided to write one.
After school, Juno ran to his backyard. He picked a leaf from the swinging tree -- the biggest leaf he could find.
Juno found his mother, who was sitting at her desk. He showed her the leaf. "I'm going to write a letter," he told her.
"I'm sure it will be a very nice letter," she answered, and gave him a big yellow envelope.
"Yes it will" Juno said, and then he began to draw.
First, he drew a picture of his mom and dad standing outside the house. Second, he drew a picture of Sam playing underneath his big swinging tree. Then very carefully, Juno drew a picture of himself standing under an airplane in a starry, nighttime sky. After he was finished, he placed everything in the envelope.
"Here's my letter" Juno announced proudly. "You can read it if you want"
Juno's father looked in the envelope.
He pulled out the leaf. "Only a big swinging tree could grow a leaf this big" he said.
Juno's mother pulled out one of the drawings. "What a fine picture" she said. "It takes a good artist to say so much with a drawing."
Juno's father patted Juno on the head. "It's just like a real letter," he said.
"It is a real letter," Juno said.
"It certainly is," said his mother. Then they mailed the envelope and waited.
One day a big envelope came. It was from Juno's grandmother. This time, Juno didn't wait at all.
He opened the envelope right away.
Inside, Juno found a box of colored pencils.
He knew she wanted another letter.
Next, he pulled out a picture of his grandmother. He noticed she was sitting with a cat and two kittens. He thought for a moment and laughed. Now his grandmother would have to find a new name for her cat -- in Korea, Juno was a boy's name, not a girl's.
Then he pulled out a small toy plane.
Juno smiled. His grandmother was coming to visit.
"Maybe she'll bring her cat when she comes to visit" Juno said to Sam as he climbed into bed. "Maybe you two will be friends."
Soon Juno was fast asleep. And when he dreamed that night, he dreamed about a faraway place, a village just outside Seoul, where his grandmother, whose gray hair sat on top of her head like a powdered doughnut, was sipping her morning tea.
The cool air feels crisp against her cheek. Crisp enough to crackle, he dreams, like the golden leaves which cover the persimmon garden.
Soyung Pak was born in South Korea, but she does remember very much about it. She moved to the United States when she was just two years old. Like Juno, Soyung had a grandmother who lived in South Korea. Soyung remembers playing in her American backyard.
It was a lot like Juno's yard, with a nice, big tree. 
What clues can you use to figure out Soyung Pak's purpose for writing Dear Juno? Did the author want to entertain, explain, or inform?
Susan Kathleen Hartung says she's been drawing ever since she could hold a crayon. Unlike Juno, who used paper, Susan would draw on any surface she could find. Susan's parents were not too happy about that. But when they saw how much she loved to draw, they encouraged her to study art.
Use your Character Web to help you retell the story of Dear Juno. Describe the characters of Juno and his grandmother based on things they did in the story.
Use your Character Web to tell about Juno and his grandmother. How do Juno and his grandmother feel about each other? How can you tell? 
Why couldn't Juno read the letter his grandmother wrote? How was he able to understand her message anyway? Use story details in your answer. 
What items would you put in an envelope to send to a faraway relative in order to tell about your life? Explain your choices.
What are some problems that can happen when relatives live far from each other? Explain your answer.
Read "Mail for Matty" on pages 40-41. How are Matty and Juno alike? How are they both surprised at the end of each story? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Time Lines show when things have happened over the years.
When your great-grandparents were young, the world was very different. People did not have the kind that we have today to with each other. Things such as cell phones and computers were not yet invented. It took longer for people to get news about each other.
Today's technology makes it easier and faster to stay close to people.
Read the time line from left to right. Use the dates to find out when events took place.
Long ago, people wrote letters to stay in touch. From 1860-1861, some letters were carried by the Pony Express. Only the fastest horseback riders were hired to carry letters and packages across the country. Then trains began to carry the mail from city to city. By the early 1900s, airplanes were a faster way to carry mail across the country and around the world.
Sometimes a message had to reach someone almost immediately. Telegraphs were machines that could send signals in a special code over an electric line.
As times changed, the tools we use to communicate have improved. New inventions have made it easy to contact friends and family within seconds!
Telephones came into use in the late 1800s. They were very different than the phones you use now. Early phones did not have dials. Many people shared phone lines with others. The shared lines were called party lines.
Modern phones can do so many things. Wireless phones can be carried with us wherever we travel. Some phones let you play games, get text messages, and even take pictures! These images can be sent to other wireless phones.
The fax machine was patented in 1843, but it came into regular use in the 1930s. A fax machine sends images on paper as electric signals. Then, another machine receives the signals and prints them. Many offices and homes have fax machines.
Computers have made some of the biggest changes in communication. The Internet sends e-mail messages around the world in seconds! Some families have their own Web sites. They can post pictures and family news so everyone can be kept up-to-date.
Although new technology helps us stay in touch with each other, many people still enjoy sending and getting letters. With so many ways to communicate, it's easy to find your favorite way to keep in touch.
Look at the time line on pages 68-69. What two inventions became popular between the years 1950 and 2000? Reading a Time Line
Why do you think so many people now use computers to stay in touch with each other?
Think about this article and Dear Juno. In what other ways could Juno and his grandmother have communicated with each other?
Do research and make a time line with important dates to show how the telephone has changed from the 1800s to the present day.
Be sure to begin your paragraph with a topic sentence that tells the main idea. A good topic sentence is clear and to the point.
My name is Keri. Here is a letter I wrote to my friend. The topic sentence tells about a soccer game I attended. I used complete sentences.
Dear Chris, My mom took me to a professional soccer game on Sunday. It was such a fine day! We ate hot dogs and popcorn. Our team made lots of goals. They won the game by a score of 5 to 2. The best thing happened after the game! I met my favorite player. Will you come with us next time?
Write a friendly letter to a family member or a friend. Describe a recent experience you have had. It may be about something that happened at school or at home. It may be about something you did with your friends. Be sure to use a topic sentence. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is my message clear?
Organization: Did I use a topic sentence? Did I include a greeting, closing, and signature in my letter?
Voice: Is the tone of my writing friendly?
Word Choice: Did I choose words that fit?
Sentence Fluency: Did I write complete sentences and avoid sentence fragments?
Conventions: Did I use commas after the greeting and closing? Did I use periods and exclamation points correctly?
What makes a group of people a community?
During the 1920s, Harlem became a famous center for African Americans. Thousands of African Americans moved from the South to this New York City neighborhood. Many artists, performers, and writers called Harlem their home.
In 1924, 7-year-old Jacob Lawrence moved to Harlem with his mother. When he moved there, he began to dream. That's when he decided to learn how to paint. African Americans weren't allowed to attend special art schools then. Lawrence had to be content to learn art at a class after school. After years of studying art in Harlem, Lawrence became a famous artist.
Many other famous artists, entertainers, musicians, and poets lived in Harlem, too. For the first time in U. S. history, the world of black artists was recognized. The people of Harlem worked together to make their dreams come true.
By teaching kids the Cherokee language, Lost City Elementary School in Oklahoma is addressing a problem. Not many people speak Cherokee anymore, so the school wants to save the language.
"If we don't learn Cherokee, our grandsons won't know it," says Crystal Braden, a 13-year-old student. At Lost City School, everyone works together to keep their language alive.
Students study Cherokee at Lost City School.
These Iraqi girls are now able to go to school. A few years ago that was impossible.
Did you know that 121 million children around the world do not go to school? About 54 percent, or more than half of those kids, are girls.
When schooling is not free, poor families can often afford to send only one child to school. They often resort to sending a boy.
UNICEF is the United Nations Children's Fund. It works to protect children's rights in communities all over the world. UNICEF is working on behalf of free education in 25 countries. That way, every girl and boy will be able to make the grade.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things. 
A main idea is the most important point of the article. Details support the main idea.
A black bear visits someone's backyard.
What happens when human communities expand into wildlife habitats?
They come out of the woods when darkness falls. They are hungry, and they are not picky eaters. Black bears are content munching on birdseed, chicken bones, or other food scraps.
"It's been going on for about three years," says Gregg Baker, 49. He lives in Margaretville, New York, at the edge of a forest. One night he woke to the sound of banging. "I went running downstairs," says Baker. "There was a bear on the picnic table attempting to get in the kitchen window."
Animals are making themselves at home in human neighborhoods. In Georgia, alligators have made a splash in neighborhood pools. One even strolled down a sidewalk in Savannah! In Big Pine Key, a Florida island, deer eat flowerbeds. In parts of New Jersey, black bears are getting too close for comfort. According to one resident, "Bears don't belong here.
People do."
Why is life in some U. S. neighborhoods getting wilder? New homes are popping up in places where wildlife lives. Each year, about two million acres of open space are turned into housing, roads, and buildings. This is called urban sprawl.
Elk graze peacefully outside a house near Yellowstone National Park.
In Florida, problem alligators are trapped and removed.
A snowman's carrot nose attracts a white-tailed deer.
A bear cub dashes across the street in downtown Durango, Colorado.
Urban sprawl upsets the plants and animals that live in an area. When humans move into a habitat, animals and plants lose some of the land and water they need to survive. This can cause animals and plants to become endangered, or even extinct.
When big highways or other structures are built on their land, animals may run out of food to eat. Some species must look for food to survive. Many animals, like the bears in New Jersey, resort to roaming through neighborhoods for tasty treats.
Scientists say we can protect animals by changing the way we build new communities. For example, in the Florida Everglades, builders are addressing the problem by making special bridges and tunnels so that alligators, panthers, and bobcats can cross roads safely. Deer and other animals have also been protected by nature-friendly building projects.
Michael Klemens works for the Wildlife Conservation Society. He helps city planners build a better future. "We know more than we did 20 years ago," he says. "We can take that knowledge and make better decisions."
In nearly every state, animals are threatened by development. This map shows states in which animals are threatened by urban sprawl.
One New Jersey resident said, "Bears don't belong here. People do." Do you agree or disagree with that statement? Explain your reasons.
What animals are mentioned in this article?
What is urban sprawl?
How are the people at Lost City School and wildlife experts around the country addressing their problems?
In the early 1950s, black students and white students went to separate schools in many states. That unfair practice changed in 1954.
The parents of Linda Brown, 7, wanted to send their daughter to an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas. The school was just a few blocks from where the Browns lived.
Instead, Linda had to travel two miles to a school for African Americans only.
In 1951, Linda's father went to court to tell Linda's story. On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation -- separating people because of their color -- in public schools was against the law. Schools across the country had to integrate -- allow black and white students to go to school together.
Many years later, Linda Brown talked about that famous day. "I remember seeing tears of joy in the eyes of my father as he hugged us," she said. That victory made it possible for all kids, no matter what their skin color is, to have an excellent education.
1944: Linda is born on May 14.
1948: The Brown family moves to Topeka, Kansas.
1951: Linda Brown cannot go to an all-white school.
1954: The Supreme Court listens to Linda's father and rules that all schools must be integrated.
1956: Linda Brown enters an integrated junior high school.
What did Linda Brown's parents want?
They wanted to send their daughter to an all-white school.
They wanted a new school to be built in their neighborhood.
They wanted the school district to buy more buses. D They wanted to leave Topeka, Kansas.
Which word means "separating people because of the color of their skin"?
Look at the time line. What year did the Brown family move to Kansas?
Why do you think it took three years to change the law? Use details from the article in your answer.
Summarize the main idea of the article. Use the time line and details from the article to help you.
In the selection "Whose Habitat Is It?" you read about what happens to wildlife when new highways are built. Suppose a highway were being built in your community. What might happen? What could you do to help? Use details from the article to support your answer.
I used details to support my main idea.
Highways help people travel from place to place more quickly. Sometimes highways hurt animals that live in neighborhoods where highways are built. If the new highway is built, many animals will lose their homes. Another problem is that animals could try to cross the highway. That is dangerous for the animals and for people in cars. I have an idea for solving this problem. The highway should have fences to keep animals off! It should also have bridges or tunnels so animals can go from one side to the other that way, the highway would be good for people, and it would not be so bad for animals.
How would you feel if new construction were taking place in your community? Would you agree with the builders or try to save the animals? Use information from "Whose Habitat Is It?" to support your answer.
Ask yourself, who is my audience?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your main idea.
Be sure your ideas are clear and organized
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Antarctica is a cold, icy place. What kinds of things do you think can live there?
Homographs are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings. Down is fine, soft feathers.
Use a dictionary to find another meaning of down.
The coldest and iciest place on Earth is Antarctica. There, the temperature hardly ever gets above freezing, even in the summer. Believe it or not, some things can live in such a frozen land.
In the coldest months, a fierce wind whips the air across Antarctica. Those strong, blowing winds make the air so chilly that there is little rain. Simple plants without leaves, such as mosses and lichens, are the only kinds that can live in Antarctica. These plants grow on rocks near the coast where it is a little warmer.
If you listen closely, you may hear a penguin's bark as it echoesbouncing off the icy land and softly repeating. Each penguin shuffles along the ice. Then they get together in a huddle, or tight group, to keep warm. New chicks have a layer of soft, fluffy feathers called down. As they grow into junior penguins, they begin to develop stiff, waterproof feathers. Now they can swim in cold water. 
Blue whales, humpback whales, and southern right whales spend their summers in Antarctica as well. They have plenty of fat to keep them warm. 
The main idea of an article or paragraph explains what the article or paragraph is about. The details tell about the main idea.
A Main Idea Chart can help you summarize an article or paragraph. Reread the selection to find the main idea and the details that tell about it.
How does the feather penguin take care of the penguin chick?
A fierce wind howls. It whips snow across the ice. Here, a female emperor penguin has just laid an egg. It is the only egg she will lay this year.
Most birds build nests for their eggs. But on the ice in Antarctica, there are no twigs or leaves. There is no grass or mud. Nothing to build a nest with. Nothing but snow and ice.
The new penguin father uses his beak to scoop the egg onto his webbed feet.
He tucks it under his feather-covered skin, into a special place called a brood patch. The egg will be as snug and warm there as if it were in a sleeping bag.
One of the penguin parents must stay with the egg to keep it warm. But where penguins lay their eggs, there is no food for them to eat.
The penguin father is bigger and fatter than the mother. He can live longer without food. So the father penguin stays with the egg while the mother travels to the sea to find food.
The two parents sing together before the mother penguin leaves.
Along with many other penguins, the mother penguin leaves the rookery, where she laid her egg.
The mother walks or slides on her belly. This is called tobogganing. She uses her flippers and webbed feet to push herself forward over ice and snow.
Why does the father stay with the egg?
Because it's winter in Antarctica, water near the shore is frozen for many miles. After three days the mother penguin comes to the end of the ice.
She dives into the water to hunt for fish, squid, and tiny shrimplike creatures called krill.
Back at the rookery, the penguin fathers form a group called a huddle. They stand close together for warmth. Each one keeps his own egg warm.
Why do the fathers form a huddle at the rookery?
For two months the penguin father always keeps his egg on his feet. When he walks, he shuffles his feet so the egg doesn't roll away. He sleeps standing up.
He has no food to eat, but the fat on his body keeps him alive.
Finally he feels the chick move inside the egg. The chick pecks and pecks and pecks. In about three days the egg cracks open.
The chick is wet. But soon his soft feathers, called down, dry and become fluffy and gray. The father still keeps the chick warm in the brood patch. Sometimes the chick pokes his head out. But while he's so little, he must stay covered. And he must stay on his father's feet. Otherwise the cold would kill him.
The father talks to the chick in his trumpet voice. The chick answers with a whistle.
The father's trumpet call echoes across the ice. The penguin mother is on her way back to the rookery, but she can't hear him. She's still too far away. If the mother doesn't come back soon with food, the chick will die.
Two days pass before the mother can hear the father penguin's call.
At last the mother arrives at the rookery. She cuddles close to her chick and trumpets to him. He whistles back. With her beak she brushes his soft gray down.
The mother swallowed many fish before she left the ocean. She brings some of this food back up from her stomach and feeds her chick. She has enough food to keep him fed for weeks. He stays on her feet and snuggles into her brood patch.
The father is very hungry, so he travels to open water. There he dives to hunt for food. Weeks later the father returns with more food for the chick.
Each day the parents preen, or brush, the chick's downy coat with their beaks. This keeps the down fluffy and keeps the chick warm.
As the chick gets bigger, he and the other chicks no longer need to stay on their parents' feet. Instead they stay together to keep warm.
The chick now spends most of his time here. But he still rushes to his mother or father to be fed when either one comes back from the ocean.
Sometimes the chick and the other young penguins dig their beaks into the ice to help them walk up a slippery hill. They toboggan down fast on their fluffy bellies.
The chick grows and grows. After five months, he has grown into a junior penguin. He is old enough to travel to the ocean.
Now he has a waterproof coat of feathers, instead of fluffy down. He can swim in the icy cold ocean because his feathers keep him dry and warm.
The young penguin spends most of his time in the water. He swims, flapping his flippers as if he were flying underwater. He uses his webbed feet to steer wherever he wants to go.
He catches a fish with his beak and swallows it headfirst.
Now the young penguin can catch his own food and take care of himself. In about five years he'll find a mate. Then he'll take care of his own egg until the chick can hatch.
Betty Tatham likes writing nonfiction books about animals for children. She became interested in writing after years of teaching children to enjoy nature and write their own stories. Betty works hard at being an author. She has taken writing classes and attended special conferences for writers.
Nonfiction authors often write to explain or inform. Why did Betty Tatham write Penguin Chick? What clues help you figure out her purpose?
Helen K. Davie has chilly memories of her work on this story. She went to Sea World in San Diego and spent time.
Use your Main Idea Chart to help you retell Penguin Chick. Include the most important ideas and supporting details about the life of an emperor penguin chick.
Describe Antarctica, the home of emperor penguins. What makes it hard for penguin chicks to survive in this fierce, cold place? 
What would happen if the mother and father penguins left the chick at the same time to get food?
Emperor penguins work as a team. Discuss the ways you work as a member of a team. 
In what ways are emperor penguins like other animals and their young? 
What is the common main idea in "Life in Antarctica" and Penguin Chick? Use details from both selections to support your answer.
Poetry uses elements such as rhyme, rhythm, and repetition to express feelings and ideas.
Rhythmic Patterns are series of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Imagery is the use of words to create a picture in the reader's mind.
At the bottom of the planet Lies a land of ice and granite:
It's the continent of our birth;
It's the coldest place on earth:
Or the brutal, blasting blizzards will freeze your beaks and gizzards.
We'll snuggle in the snow when it's thirty-five below.
Skyscraping icebergs roam all across the frosty foam in our sweet Antarctic home.
Which words in this poem help form an image of Antarctica?
An anthem is the official song of a country or place. How are the words of "Antarctic Anthem" like a song? 
Compare "Antarctic Anthem" to Penguin Chick. Which selection gives you more information about life in Antarctica?
A writer chooses words to create a clear and accurate picture for readers. Choose just the right precise words to describe your topic and to show how you feel about it.
Write an Acrostic Poem.
Peck to get out of eggs.
Eggs balance on father's feet.
Glide on bellies over snow.
Need waterproof feathers.
Write an acrostic poem about an animal. It may be an animal you have seen in a zoo. It may be an animal you have learned about in books or on television. Be sure to use precise words that create a "picture" of the animal. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I include details that are interesting?
Organization: Do the first words in each line begin with the correct letters?
Voice: Did I use language that shows how I feel about the topic?
Word Choice: Did I use precise words that describe the animal?
Sentence Fluency: Does the poem flow well and sound good when I read it out loud?
Conventions: Did I check my spelling?
Pets are fun. In what ways is owning a pet a big responsibility?
Multiple-Meaning Words are words that have two or more meanings. Read the selection and use your dictionary to find out each meaning of the word scratch.
Luis was excited because he was going to get a pet. He thought about all of the kinds of animals he liked. But which pet would be perfect for him and his family? Finding the right pet would be a challenge, but he was ready to try.
"How about getting a dog, Mom?"
Luis asked. "Look at how playful this one is. It would be a great pal!"
"It is lively and friendly," Mrs. Santiago laughed. "And look at its shiny fur! It looks very healthy. A dog would be fun and friendly. But could we satisfy a dog's needs? I work during the day and you're in school. No one would be home during the day to manage its care."
Mr. Stein, the store owner, tried to help. "Dogs like to spend time with their owners," said Mr. Stein. "Some dogs get upset when they're left alone."
Luis sighed. "We can't get a dog then. I guess we can scratch it off our list."
"How about a cat?" asked Mr. Stein.
"Ah-choo!" Mrs. Santiago sneezed. "Cats are very cute, but I have an allergy. Cats make me sneeze."
"What's left, Mom?" Luis asked.
"Cats and dogs are very popular pets," said Mr. Stein. "But there are other wonderful pets, such as rabbits, guinea pigs, and fish."
Luis petted a small, spotted rabbit. "Its fur is so soft. I like its wiggly, black nose!"
"Rabbits don't mind being alone. And they have a small appetite. Rabbits eat very little compared to big dogs," said Mr. Stein. "Plus, they don't scratch the furniture in order to sharpen their claws, as cats sometimes do."
"Luis," Mrs. Santiago said, "I think we found the right pet for both of us!"
A story's plot begins with a character who has a problem. The problem is what the character wants to do, find out, or change. The solution is how the problem is solved.
A Problem and Solution Chart can help you understand story structure. Reread the selection to find the problem, three ways they tried to solve it, and the solution.
Humorous Fiction is a made-up story written to make readers laugh.
How does Elizabeth solve her problem?
Elizabeth really, really, really wanted a pet. Her parents really, really, really did not.
They gave her a plant instead.
Mind you, it was a very good-looking plant, as cactus plants go. And it had quite a prickly sense of humor.
Elizabeth named it Carolyn, which seemed to suit it just fine. It was absolutely no trouble and it was a very good listener.
Snuggling was a bit of a challenge. However, Elizabeth did manage a quick hug now and then.
Elizabeth really, really did like the plant... but, she still really, really, really wanted a pet.
And she had a plan.
The Element of Surprise
"So, how about a horse?"
"Huh? What? Who?" said Father. "Who? What? Huh?" said Mother.
"I could ride it. Give it carrots. Lumps of sugar. A horse would be the perfect pet. Whaddya say?"
Father yawned. "A horse is too big."
Mother sighed. "Our yard is too small."
"Why, it would eat us out of house and home," said Father.
"A horse is not quite perfect, dear," said Mother, going back to sleep.
"Not quite perfect," said Father sleepily.
Scratch the horse.
Catch Them Off Guard.
"What about a dog?"
"Huh? What? Who?" said Father as he stood in front of the mirror shaving.
"Who? What? Huh?" said Mother, peeking from behind the shower curtain and dripping soapy water.
"I could take it for walks. Teach it tricks. Feed it treats. Play fetch. A dog would be the perfect pet. Whaddya think?"
Father spit shaving cream. "Dogs bark. They're much too loud."
Mother grabbed a towel. "They jump all over the furniture."
"A dog is not quite perfect, Elizabeth," said Father as he shaved.
"Not quite perfect," called Mother from the shower.
Forget Fido.
Burp.
"You know what would hit the spot right about now?" asked Elizabeth. "I'm thinking... a cat."
"Huh? What? Who?" said Father.
"Who? What? Huh?" said Mother.
"A cat could lick the plates. Curl up in my lap. Drink leftover milk. And we'd always know what to do with all that extra string. A cat would be the perfect pet. So... how about it?"
Father picked up the newspaper.
"Cats scratch."
Mother cleared the table. "Cats shed all over."
"A cat is definitely not the perfect pet," said Father.
"Achoo! I'm sneezing already," said Mother.
Cross off kitty.
How is Elizabeth trying to solve her problem?
"How about a bird? Bunny? Turtle? Fish? Guinea pig? Rat? Any? All? Take your pick!" said Elizabeth.
Her parents looked at each other. "Nope."
"Afraid not."
"Not quite."
"Too fishy."
"Uh-uh."
"Don't even go there."
"What's left?" moaned Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was thinking she would never ever find the really, really, really perfect pet, when... what do you know? She really, really did.
In fact, she almost stepped on it.
Right there on her rug. A bug.
Elizabeth picked him up.
She held him in her hand. Looked him in the eyes.
He wasn't too big. He most definitely was not too loud.
He couldn't jump on the furniture. Didn't scratch. Didn't shed. And how much food could he possibly eat?
He was the perfect pet.
Carolyn totally agreed.
Doug moved right in to the lovely house in the corner of Elizabeth's room. It had everything a bug could possibly want and more. Including his very own cactus plant, as Carolyn was only a hop, skip, and jump away. He truly enjoyed sunning himself in her sand.
Of course, Elizabeth provided him with enough crumbs to satisfy any growing bug's appetite.
As expected, their relationship was a tad different than the usual.
Doug could not give Elizabeth a pony ride. She not take him for a walk.
He could not catch a ball or fetch, no matter how many times they practiced.
And try as he might, Doug just couldn't get the hang of playing with string.
But he was very helpful with homework. (He always knew where to put a decimal or a period.)
And he loved snuggling up with Elizabeth each night for a story. What more could you ask? He was perfect.
How do you think Elizabeth's parents will feel about the pet she chose?
With all those crumbs and plenty of sun, Doug grew by leaps and bounds. He was one big, healthy bug... and then some.
The only trouble really, really, really came one Saturday morning, many weeks later. Elizabeth's mother came into her bedroom to get the laundry and...
"THERE'S A BUG IN THAT BED!" she screamed.
"A bug!" shouted Father, ready to swat.
"That's Doug," said Elizabeth very protectively. "He's my pet."
Her parents looked at each other. "Pet?"
"Pet," said Elizabeth. "Just like you wanted. He's not big like a horse. He isn't loud like a dog. He doesn't jump on furniture, scratch, or shed. And he hardly eats a thing."
"But, a bug?" asked Father.
"A bug?" repeated Mother.
"Doug," said Elizabeth. "And he's perfect."
"Think we should have said 'yes' to the dog?" whispered Father to Mother.
Mother shrugged. "I don't know. We have more room on the couch with the bug."
Elizabeth smiled and tossed Doug a piece of popcorn.
Margie Palatini got the idea for this story from the games she used to play when she was Elizabeth's age. Margie would pretend she was a horse, dog, or even a cat. Speaking of cats, Margie has her very own! His name is JD.
Bruce Whatley illustrated this story, but he writes stories, too. It's hard to believe that he didn't learn to read until he was 10 years old. Reading still isn't easy, but he always tries because he really loves a good story.
Pretend you are the author of The Perfect Pet. Explain your purpose for writing and how you achieved your goal.
Use your Problem and Solution Chart to help you retell The Perfect Pet. Tell about Elizabeth's problem and how she tried to solve it.
Describe one possible problem with having a pet bug. How would Elizabeth manage to solve that problem? 
Why did Elizabeth make a plan? How well did it work? Use story details in your answer. 
What would happen if you brought Doug home to be your pet? Explain.
Why do you think Elizabeth didn't tell her parents about Doug? Explain your answer.
Read "Choosing a Pet" on pages 118-119. How is Luis's experience similar to Elizabeth's? How is it different? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Diagrams are drawings that help you understand information in the text.
Most of us know the usual things about pets -- that dogs can bark and that cats can scratch. But sometimes we believe things without checking information. It is important to examine, or look closely at, facts. This is necessary when coming to a conclusion, or making a decision about something. For example, have you ever seen a snake at the zoo? Did it look as if it would feel cold and slimy? This is actually false. A snake's skin is dry and scaly!
Try to figure out if the statements on the next few pages are True or False.
A goldfish opens its mouth to drink water.
Goldfish may look as if they're drinking water, but they actually open their mouths to take in oxygen. Like people, fish need oxygen to live. Oxygen is a gas that is found in air and water. Fish use gills to get oxygen from water. The water enters the fish's mouth, then moves through the gills behind the fish's head. The gills remove oxygen from the water, and the water passes out of the gills.
This diagram has an inset, or larger picture of one section. The arrows show the direction water moves over the gills.
Fish gills take in oxygen.
A wagging tail always means a dog is friendly.
False You may know that dogs wag their tails when they feel friendly. You may not know that they also wag their tails when they are excited or angry. Always be careful with dogs you don't know. Do not go near a dog unless you already have a friendly relationship with it or the owner says it is all right.
Cats can see in total darkness.
False In the wild, cats often hunt for their food at night. They have special eyes that help them see when there is only a little light. For this reason, many people think that cats can see in total darkness. But this is not true. Cats cannot see when it is completely dark, although they need much less light to see than people need.
A guinea pig doesn't play in the morning.
True Like many small mammals, including gerbils and hamsters, guinea pigs are nocturnal.
That means they sleep during the day and are active at night, when they look for food. If you want to choose a guinea pig for a pet, it is better to visit a pet store in the late afternoon. That is when you can see a healthy guinea pig playing.
Look at the text and diagram of the fish on page 143. How does a fish get oxygen? Explain. Where are the gills found?
The next time you see a strange dog wag its tail, why should you think twice about petting it?
Think about this article and The Perfect Pet. What information could Elizabeth's parents have used to help convince Elizabeth that a hamster might not make a good pet?
Writers elaborate by adding important details that create a clear picture for the reader. They delete unimportant details.
I wanted to tell how my cat woke me up today. Here is what I wrote.
I included fun details that support my topic.
My cat Zoe is the best alarm clock in the world! This morning she woke me up again. First, she walked across my tummy. Next, she rubbed my face and started purring. Her soft whiskers tickled me. I opened my eyes, and Zoe was staring at me. I petted her for a while, and then I jumped out of bed. Waking up is a fun experience with Zoe!
Write a paragraph about what it may be like to take care of someone else's pet or about something that happened with your own pet. Be sure to use precise words in your paragraph. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I add important details?
Organization: Did I use words like first and next to explain the order that things happened?
Voice: Do the details tell how I feel? Do they make my writing more interesting?
Word Choice: Did I choose strong, precise words to tell what happened?
Sentence Fluency: Did I join related sentences to make compound sentences?
Conventions: Did I use commas in compound sentences? Did I check my spelling?
The answer is in more than one place. Keep reading to find the answer.
Mrs. Bordoni: Good morning! You need to go straight to your classrooms, children. (A shy boy walks up, looking nervous.) What is your name?
Evan: (Looking at the ground) My name is Evan.
Mrs. Bordoni: Welcome to Northside. I'm the principal, Mrs. Bordoni.
Evan: (Looks surprised) Oh! Good morning.
Mrs. Bordoni: I know you are new to our school, but you will like it here. I will take you to your classroom.
Evan: I didn't want to move... and leave my friends.
Mrs. Bordoni: You will have friends here. You'll see.
(They are passed by three people dressed as a doll, a cat, and a sailor.)
Mrs. Bordoni: Here's your room, 106.
Mr. Cortez: Welcome to our class! I'm Mr. Cortez.
Evan: (The class looks at him. He speaks softly.) Hello.
Mr. Cortez: We are talking about a story we just read. Who can tell Evan what it was about?
Rita: This family moves to a new state. Their story is both funny and sad.
Evan: (Cheering up) Did they like the new place?
Marco: Not at first. But they made lots of new friends.
Mr. Cortez: What happened to make them change their minds?
Tom: The girl from next door said she needed help. When they got to her house, a sign said, "Welcome."
Marco: It was a surprise party for them. The whole family was laughing.
Mr. Cortez: The neighbors made the family feel welcome.
Mrs. Bordoni: (Stands in doorway) Evan, it's time for lunch. (They enter lunchroom. A sign says, "Welcome Evan.") It is hard to change schools and leave old friends. Now, we are your friends.
Evan: (Smiles) I can't believe you did this for me.
(The doll, cat, and sailor carry a cake that says, "Welcome, Evan.")
Evan: Why are the kids dressed in costumes?
Mr. Cortez: They are characters in the class play.
I believe they still need another cat.
Evan: Could I be the cat?
Mrs. Bordoni: That's exactly what we were hoping. That way you'll fit right in!
Evan: That's great. (He laughs.) My biggest fear was that I wouldn't fit in. Thanks!
Mrs. Bordoni: You're welcome. Now, let's eat that cake!
Keep reading. The answer may be in more than one place.
How does the information in parentheses help the plot of the play?
It tells what action should be taking place.
It explains the author's point of view.
It describes what the actors are wearing.
It explains what the play is about.
How would you describe the way Evan feels?
He is afraid because he can't find the new school.
He is happy because he can wear a costume to class.
He is nervous because it is his first day in a new school.
He is angry because the others will not talk to him.
The story tells you about Evan's welcome. What does welcome mean here?
Why did the class want Evan to be part of the play?
What is Evan's problem? Use details from the play to describe his problem and how it is solved.
Write a letter to a friend telling about a problem you once faced. Explain what you did to solve your problem. Be sure to write your ideas in complete sentences.
Being in a show can be exciting. Describe a favorite show you have seen. What made it special?
Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings. The antonym of big is small. Use a thesaurus to find an antonym for weakest.
Narrator: Long ago, Wind and Sun argued about which of them was stronger. In the middle of the argument, they saw a man walking down the road. He wore a coat that was decorated with a picture of a gold axe on the front. The axe was the symbol of his trade. He was a woodcutter.
Sun: Let's try to get that coat off the woodcutter. Whoever can do that is stronger. You go first.
Narrator: Wind went first.
Sun hid behind a cloud to watch from the darkened sky.
Wind: I will blow on the woodcutter as hard as I can. I know I can blow off that coat!
Narrator: So Wind blew on the woodcutter as hard as he could.
Wind: Whoooosh... whooooshwhoooosh... WHOOOOOSH! 
Woodcutter: OhI How the cold wind gnaws at my bones. It is good that I have this warm coat to wrap around me.
Narrator: The woodcutter walked on, securing his coat even tighter around him. Wind gave up in despair.
Wind: That must have been the weakest wind I have ever made! It could not blow the coat off the woodcutter.
Narrator: It was now Sun's turn to try.
Sun: I will shine my rays on the woodcutter as hard as I can. I know that I will be able to remove that coat!
Narrator: So Sun shined on the woodcutter as hard as he could.
Woodcutter: OhI How hot the sun shines. It is far too warm for this coat! It is good that I can take it off.
Narrator: So the woodcutter took off his coat, which proved that Sun was indeed stronger than Wind.
Generating, or asking, questions as you read can help you understand and summarize a story. Ask yourself what happens at the beginning, middle, and end. Your summary should tell the most important parts of a story in just a few words.
Reread "The Wind and The Sun." Use the Story Map to help you answer questions about what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
A Play is a story that is intended to be performed on a stage.
As you read, use your Story Map.
How does Little Red Ant find out who is the strongest one?
THE Zunis are one of the people of the Southwest who dwell in pueblos, compact villages made up of multistoried buildings of adobe brick and beams. The Zunis' pueblo, which is also called Zuni, is located in present-day New Mexico. The Zunis and the other pueblo people developed means of growing their crops in the dry lands of the Southwest and are regarded as very sophisticated farmers.
The Zuni people are famous for their ceremonies, which are designed to give thanks and support to all living things, from the largest to the smallest. The Zunis are also very well-known as artists for their beautiful jewelry made of silver and turquoise.
Narrator wears long head scarf tied at the side.
The ants wear feelers suggested by securing red pipe cleaners around a headband.
Snow, Sun, Wind, Stick, Fire, Water, Big Rock all wear t-shirts decorated with their symbol.
House carries a large paper cutout depicting an adobe. Mouse, Cat, Deer can be suggested with felt tails, and felt ears secured to a headband.
Arrow carries a large cardboard arrow.
On a darkened stage, the ants crouch together.
Little Red Ant lived in a hole under the Big Rock with all of its relatives. It often wondered about the world outside: Who in the world was the strongest one of all? One day in late spring Little Red Ant decided to find out.
I am going to find out who is strongest. I am going to go outside and walk around.
Be careful! We ants are very small. Something might step on you.
Yes, we are the smallest and weakest ones of all.
What does Little Red Ant want to find out?
Ant walks back and forth onstage.
So Little Red Ant went outside and began to walk around. But as Little Red Ant walked, the snow began to fall.
Snow walks onstage.
Ah, my feet are cold. This snow makes everything freeze. Snow must be the strongest. I will ask. Snow, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Sun is stronger. When Sun shines on me, I melt away. Here it comes!
As Sun walks onstage, Snow hurries offstage.
Ah, Sun must be the strongest. I will ask. Sun, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Wind is stronger. Wind blows the clouds across the sky and covers my face. Here it comes!
As Wind comes onstage, Sun hurries offstage with face covered in hands.
Wind must be the strongest. I will ask. Wind, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
House is stronger. When I come to House, I cannot move it. I must go elsewhere. Here it comes!
As House walks onstage, Wind hurries offstage.
House must be the strongest. I will ask. House, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Mouse is stronger. Mouse comes and gnaws holes in me. Here it comes!
As Mouse walks onstage, House hurries offstage.
Mouse must be the strongest. I will ask. Mouse, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Cat is stronger. Cat chases me, and if Cat catches me, Cat will eat me. Here it comes!
As Cat walks onstage, Mouse hurries offstage, squeaking.
Cat must be the strongest. I will ask. Cat, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Stick is stronger. When Stick hits me, I run away.
Here it comes!
As Stick walks onstage, Cat hurries offstage, meowing.
Stick must be the strongest. I will ask. Stick, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Fire is stronger. When I am put into Fire, Fire burns me up! Here it comes!
As Fire walks onstage, Stick hurries offstage.
Fire must be the strongest. I will ask. Fire, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Water is stronger. When Water is poured on me it kills me. Here it comes! ,,
As Water walks onstage, Fire hurries offstage.
Water must be the strongest. I will ask. Water, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Deer is stronger. When Deer comes, Deer drinks me. Here it comes!
As Deer walks onstage, Water hurries offstage.
Deer must be the strongest. I will ask. Deer, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Arrow is stronger. When Arrow strikes me, it can kill me. Here it comes!
As Arrow walks onstage, Deer runs offstage with leaping bounds.
Arrow must be the strongest. I will ask. Arrow, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
Big Rock is stronger. When I am shot from the bow and I hit Big Rock, Big Rock breaks me.
Do you mean the same Big Rock where the Red Ants live?
Yes, that is Big Rock. Here it comes!
As Big Rock walks onstage, Arrow runs offstage.
Big Rock must be the strongest. I will ask. Big Rock, are you the strongest of all?
No, I am not the strongest.
Who is stronger than you?
You are stronger. Every day you and the other Red Ants come and carry little pieces of me away. Someday I will be all gone.
So Little Red Ant went back home and spoke to the ant people.
The ants crouch together on the darkened stage.
Little Red Ant has returned.
He has come back alive!
Tell us about what you have learned. Who is the strongest of all?
I have learned that everything is stronger than something else. And even though we ants are small, in some ways we are the strongest of all.
What has Little Red Ant discovered about who is strongest?
Joseph Bruchac was raised in the Adirondack Mountains by his Native American grandparents. As a child, Joseph wanted to share stories about his heritage. When he grew up, he began to write the traditional tales of his people. One day when Joseph was reading one of his books to an audience, he began to tell the tale from memory, just as Native American storytellers did a long time ago. Now Joseph writes and tells his tales.
Lucia Angela Perez was introduced to art at an early age. Her mother was a painter and had a pottery business. Lucia became a book illustrator when she finished a book that her mother began. Lucia has been working as an illustrator ever since. She now lives with her family in Texas.
Did Joseph Bruchac write to inform or entertain readers in The Strongest One? What are three details that give clues to the author's purpose?
Use your Story Map to help you summarize The Strongest One. Include only the most important information about the play in your summary.
What is the most important thing the different characters tell Little Red Ant?
What did Little Red Ant learn at the end of the play? Use story details to explain how he could feel strong and weak at the same time. 
Can you identify something bigger but weaker than you? Can you identify something smaller but stronger than you? 
Little Red Ant learns a lesson about being the strongest. Why is this an important lesson for people to learn? Explain.
Read "The Wind and the Sun" on pages 154-155. Describe the different ways Wind and Sun and Little Red Ant tried to solve their problems.
Photo Essays are nonfiction works that use photographs and captions to provide information about a topic.
Photos with Captions give you more facts about a topic.
The theater goes dark. The audience quiets down. The curtain opens. Actors step onto the stage, and the audience sits and waits for the play to begin.
Many people are needed to put on a play. It may take them months to prepare for a performance. Some of these people have made the setting, or set, that decorates the stage, and costumes for the actors to wear. Actors have auditioned, or tried out, for the parts. Then they have taken time to learn their lines. Even after the play is ready to be performed, the work doesn't end. A lot goes on that the audience does not see. Let's take a peek behind the scenes.
Stagehands change sets quickly and quietly during a performance.
To get ready for the play, actors put on costumes and makeup. These items will help the audience get to know the characters that the actors will play on the stage. Someone backstage may help with costume changes and repairs.
Photos help you better understand information in the text. Captions explain the photos.
Character makeup changes the way an actor looks.
Straight makeup helps the audience see an actor's face clearly from a distance.
A set is like a costume for the stage. It can look like a forest or a playground or anyplace else you can imagine. Sets may be made from wood, paper, and even fabric. They are usually light so they are easy to move on and off the stage.
The lights in a play are very important. Lighting shows the time of day. It can also set the feeling of a scene. For example, brightness may make the audience feel happy and get their attention. A lighting technician controls the lighting during the play. The technician often sits in a booth at the back of the theater.
This is just some of what's needed to put on a play. Next time you see a performance, imagine all of the people who worked hard to help the performers put on a good show.
1. Look at the photos and read the captions about stage makeup on page 173. Why would an actor use character makeup? 
2. If you put on a play that took place in a spooky forest, how would you create the right mood onstage?
3. Think about this article and The Strongest One. Which characters might have special lighting when they are onstage? 
To choose a good topic, first think about what interests you. Then narrow the focus so you can cover the topic completely.
I wanted to explain how I feel about music. Here is what I wrote.
I narrowed the focus to be about why I think music is important.
Music is important because it's something everyone can enjoy. It doesn't matter where you live or what language you speak. A song sounds the same in India as it does in the United States. Music can make people happy. People dance and sing along to songs they like. Also, music brings people together. Look around at a concert. You see kids, teens, and adults, because they all enjoy music.
Write a paragraph that persuades readers to agree with your opinion. Tell why you do or do not think that movies, plays, music, or art museums are important.
Be sure that your topic is focused and that you give facts and opinions to support the main idea.
Ideas and Content: Is my topic clear?
Organization: Does my topic sentence tell my opinion? Did I give supporting reasons?
Voice: Does my writing sound like I care about the subject?
Word Choice: Do my words tell how I feel?
Sentence Fluency: Did I write complete sentences?
Conventions: Did I capitalize proper nouns, such as the names of days, months, and places? Did I check my spelling?
Wolves are beautiful, wild creatures. Why do you think that they are not kept as pets?
Multiple-Meaning Words have more than one meaning. Use a dictionary to find the meanings of concentrate.
There was once a young shepherd who lived in a village. This boy loved looking after his sheep. He did his job with passion. The villagers always told him what a good job he was doing. His work was easy to admire.
One day the boy was bored. His mind wandered. He couldn't concentrate on watching the sheep. Then he thought of something wonderful to do. He thought it was a splendid idea.
He yelled, "Help! Wolf! A wolf is chasing the sheep!"
The villagers came running.
"Where is it?" one man asked.
"There's no wolf," the boy laughed. "I was just having fun."
"We are all busy working. You shouldn't be bothering us when there's no wolf!" he said.
Far away, a wolf looked at his watch and waited. He chuckled at his plot to fool the boy and the villagers.
The next day the boy was bored again. "Wolf!" he cried.
Once again the villagers ran up the hill but saw no wolf.
"Wolves are dangerous! They can harm you and the sheep!" they shouted angrily.
The next day the boy saw the wolf. He cried out, "Wolf! Wolf!"
"Time to run," said the wolf as he chased the sheep.
The villagers didn't come. When they saw the boy next, he was crying. His throat ached from crying for help.
"Why didn't you come when I called?" he asked. "A wolf chased all the sheep away."
"No one believes a liar, even if he is telling the truth," they said.
Generating, or asking, questions as you read can help you understand the story. Some stories include fantasy -- things that could not happen in real life. As you read, ask yourself which things can really happen and which can not.
Reread "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Use your Fantasy and Reality Chart to help you determine what is fantasy and what is reality.
A Fantasy is a story with characters, settings, or other elements that could not exist in real life.
As you read, use your Fantasy and Reality Chart.
Why does the wolf go to school?
After walking for many days, a wolf wandered into a quiet little town. He was tired and hungry, his feet ached, and he had only a little money that he kept for emergencies.
Then he remembered. There5s a farm outside this village, he thought. I'll find some food there....
Fantasy and Reality
Does the wolf act like a real wolf? How can you tell?
As he peered over the farm fence, he saw a pig, a duck, and a cow reading in the sun.
The wolf had never seen animals read before. "I'm so hungry that my eyes are playing tricks on me" he said to himself. But he really was very hungry and didn't stop to think about it for long.
The wolf stood up tall, took a deep breath and leaped at the animals with a howl.
Chickens and rabbits ran for their lives, but the duck, the pig, and the cow didn't budge.
"What is that awful noise?" complained the cow. "I can't concentrate on my book"
"Just ignore it," said the duck.
The wolf did not like to be ignored.
"What's wrong with you?" growled the wolf. "Can't you see I'm a big and dangerous wolf?"
"I'm sure you are," replied the pig. "But couldn't you be big and dangerous somewhere else? We're trying to read. This is a farm for educated animals. Now be a good wolf and go away," said the pig, giving him a push.
The wolf had never been treated like this before.
"Educated animals...educated animals!" the wolf repeated to himself. "This is something new. Well then! I'll learn how to read too" And off he went to school.
The children found it strange to have a wolf in their class, but since he didn't try to eat anyone, they soon got used to him. The wolf was serious and hardworking, and after much effort he learned to read and write. Soon he became the best in the class.
What is strange about the wolf's actions in the classroom?
Feeling quite satisfied, the wolf went back to the farm and jumped over the fence. I'll show them, he thought.
He opened his book and began to read: "Run, wolf! Run! See wolf run"
"You've got a long way to go," said the duck, without even bothering to look up. And the pig, the duck, and the cow went on reading their own books, not the least impressed.
The wolf jumped back over the fence and ran straight to the public library. He studied long and hard, reading lots of dusty old books, and he practiced and practiced until he could read without stopping.
"They'll be impressed with my reading now," he said to himself.
The wolf walked up to the farm gate and knocked.
He opened The Three Little Pigs and began to read:
"Once upon a time there were three little pigs. One day their mother called them and told them -- "
"Stop that racket," interrupted the duck.
"You have improved," remarked the pig, "but you still need to work on your style."
The wolf tucked his tail between his legs and slunk away.
But the wolf wasn't about to give up. He counted the little money he had left, went to the bookshop, and bought a splendid new storybook. His first very own book!
He was going to read it day and night, every letter and every line. He would read so well that the farm animals would admire him.
Ding-dong, rang the wolf at the farm gate.
He lay down on the grass, made himself comfortable, took out his new book, and began to read.
He read with confidence and passion, and the pig, the cow, and the duck all listened and said not one word.
Each time he finished a story, the pig, the duck, and the cow asked if he would please read them another.
So the wolf read on, story after story.
One minute he was Little Red Riding Hood, the next a genie emerging from a lamp, and then a swashbuckling pirate.
"This is so much fun!" said the duck.
"He's a master," said the pig.
"Why don't you join us on our picnic today?" offered the cow.
And so they all had a picnic -- the pig, the duck, the cow, and the wolf. They lay in the tall grass and told stories all the afternoon long.
"We should all become storytellers," said the cow suddenly.
"We could travel around the world," added the duck.
"We can start tomorrow morning," said the pig.
The wolf stretched in the grass. He was happy to have such wonderful friends.
Becky Bloom was born in Greece but has traveled to many countries to work and go to school. She studied architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and now lives in the south of France with her husband and children. She has many different animals around her home, but no wolf.
Pascal Biet has lived in France his whole life. He was born in Saint-Laurent, in the north of France. He studied visual communication and design in Blois, France, and now he lives in Paris.
Wolf mixes fantasy with reality. Did Becky Bloom want to inform or entertain her readers? What clues help you to understand the 
Use your Fantasy and Reality Chart to help you summarize Wolf! Use details from the story to clarify what is fantasy and reality.
1. What changes would you suggest to make the story more realistic?
What information supports the idea that the wolf wanted to make friends? Use story details in your answer.
Why would you admire the wolf if he was able to read you a story?
Why did the animals like the wolf after he learned to read well? Explain your answer.
Read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" on pages 180-181. Compare it to Wolf! In which story do the animal characters act more like real people? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Italics, headings, pronunciations, and bold or colored type help you understand important information in the text.
For years wolves have been feared and misunderstood. They are the villains in many folktales. How did these furry animals get such a bad reputation? It's because people think they're sneaky and always hunting for food.
The wolf's bad reputation is not truly deserved. It's time to set the record straight. Here is the truth about Canis lupus -- the gray wolf.
Wolves do not like to live near humans. They prefer the company of other wolves. They live in groups called packs. A pack is made up of two parents and their newest offspring, or young. Sometimes other wolves become part of a pack, too.
Most packs have six to eight wolves. Some packs can have as many as 30 members!
These text features help you make sense of what you read.
Wolves often help each other. They live, hunt, and raise pups together. In fact, members of a pack always work together to hunt deer or moose.
The wolves in a pack have a hierarchy order. The pack leaders are called the alpha male and female. Each of the other wolves has a role or job within the pack.
Pups are born in a well-hidden cave or dirt hole called a den. At first, the mother stays with the pups. She lets other members of the pack bring her food. After a few weeks, the mother goes off with the rest of the pack to hunt. Another adult may "babysit" the pups while she is gone. When the pack returns, they chew and spit up meat for the pups.
Young wolves learn how to hunt by playing. They also learn by watching other pack members.
Wolves communicate, or give information to each other in different ways. Sometimes they use body movements to let other wolves know how they feel. Different howls also have different meanings. One howl calls the pack together. Another howl warns other packs to stay away. Even though many pictures show wolves howling during a full moon, wolves never howl at the moon!
They are just communicating with the pack.
1. Look at the words "Talking Like a Wolf" on this page. Why are these words in a different size and color? What do we call this text feature? 
2. What is your opinion of wolves after reading this article? 
3. Use information in this article to tell how the main character in Wolf! is different from a real wolf.
Do more research about wolves. On the computer, write an article for younger students that tells what you learned. Use text features such as italics, headings, and bold or colored type to highlight important parts of your article.
A sentence that grabs a reader's attention makes a strong beginning. Use important supporting details in the middle. Sum up your thoughts with a strong ending.
After millions of years, sea turtles are becoming extinct. You can help!
Throw away ribbons, balloons, plastic bags, and fishing lines.
They can harm a turtle's habitat. Don't shine house or car lights onto the beach. Confused turtles follow the lights instead of heading to the sea. Talk to a conservation expert about how else you can help.
I sum up here.
I wrote a strong beginning and added important details in the middle.
Write a paragraph for a poster that persuades people to protect wildlife. It might encourage people to protect a certain animal or to take care of an area in which a certain animal lives. Be sure to use a good beginning, middle, and end.
Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Do I provide information to explain my message?
Organization: Did I get the reader's attention at the beginning, middle, and end of the poster?
Voice: Did I show that I have strong feelings?
Word Choice: Did I use specific nouns?
Sentence Fluency: Does my writing sound good when I read it out loud?
Conventions: Did I write complete sentences and use end marks? Did I form plural nouns correctly? Did I check my spelling?
What do you think the world and your life will be like in the future?
Where Did the First Americans Live?
An ancient campsite has been discovered in a cave in Brazil. Archaeologists, who study ancient people, call it the Cave of the Painted Rock. Paintings on the cave walls are clues that people lived here 11,000 years ago. They were probably the first Americans.
Archaeologist Anna Roosevelt and other scientists began exploring the Cave of the Painted Rock in 1990. The team found paintings of stick figures and animals, handprints, fish bones, and tools. They also found charred wood, palm seeds, and other objects. These show that people cooked, ate, and worked in the cave.
Early Americans used minerals to fingerpaint on the rock walls. This was probably for entertainment. It seems that they had an artistic, fun side.
Many scientists believe the first people to reach America came from Asia. They crossed a land bridge that once connected the areas that are now Russia and Alaska.
This yellow line shows the way the first Americans might have traveled into South America.
What did people long ago think life would be like today? Here's what some experts in the past said about the world we live in right now. How many of their predictions were right?
Everything that can be invented has been invented.
The radio craze will die out in time.
I think there is a world market for about five.
"There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home."
From 1900 to 1999, the world went through some major changes. We flew in airplanes. We went into space in rockets and shuttles. Computers were hooked up in homes and schools across the country. People fought for freedom and equality. The list goes on and on. Here are a few of the inventions and discoveries of the incredible twentieth century.
A fact is something that can be proven to be true. An opinion is a belief that may not be supported by facts.
How can new knowledge and inventions improve our daily lives in the future?
Modern inventions make our everyday lives easier, but many of these inventions use up natural resources. Cars burn gas to get us where we want to go. This pollutes the air. Electric heat and light make our homes warm and welcoming, but they also burn up coal and oil. We need factories, but factory waste pollutes our waterways.
Experts believe that changing the way we live in the future may actually improve our planet's health. We can use cleaner energy and fewer chemicals as we build the towns of tomorrow. Here are some ideas and predictions that many people think will make our planet a cleaner place to live.
More and more people will be working in their homes using computers and satellite receivers. Today, more electric trains are being built, and new hydrogen-powered and electric cars are being developed. In the future, most cars will probably use this technology. Shopping and entertainment may be as close as a ride on an Earth-friendly bicycle.
We'll grow fruits, grains, and vegetables close to home, either in our gardens or on nearby organic farms. The farms won't use chemicals to control pests. Instead, different kinds of insects will stop harmful bugs. That will help keep chemicals out of our food.
Online stores will be popular, but we'll still have malls. They will be small, with bike racks instead of a giant parking lot. They will use natural sunlight to cut down on energy use. They will also recycle the objects you buy there, when you are finished using them.
Energy from windmills and solar panels is available now to some homeowners. In the future, every home will probably use this kind of energy. Rooftop solar panels will help make hydrogen from sunlight.
Our appliances will run on this gas. At night hydrogen will be turned into electricity or light.
Plumbing lines will empty into enclosed marshes, where special plants, fish, snails, and bacteria will clean wastewater. Clean water will flow back into streams and reservoirs.
1. Which statements in this article are fact, and which are opinion? Explain your answer.
2. What problems do gas-powered cars create?
3. Which one of these predictions do you think would affect you the most? Why?
4. The "Predictions for the Present" did not come true. Which predictions in "What's in Store for the Future?" do you think will come true, and which won't come true? Give reasons for your answers.
The answer is not directly stated. Think about what you have read to figure out the best answer.
Do homework, chores, and the long school day make you wish you had more time to just "kid" around? That wish may come true for your grandchildren. Scientists are inventing things to make life easier and more fun in the year 2050.
By 2050, robots may be in every room in the home. Professor Eric Schwartz of the University of Florida predicts, "A robot could clean the child's room and play catch." Schwartz's team has already created a robot that vacuums and is now developing one that mows the lawn.
By 2050, kids will be able to call friends on a videophone, says Texas Instruments' Gene Frantz. They will surf the Internet, watch TV, and type up homework by talking into a wristwatch-sized gadget. People who are sick will wear electronic chips that deliver medicine to the bloodstream.
Marcia Kuszmaul of Microsoft Education Group says small computers will allow kids in the future to "learn any time, any place." Instead of textbooks, students will use an electronic reader that delivers their assignments.
1. How can computers give you more time for fun?
Computers will cost less in the future.
All learning will take place over a videophone. 
All kids will have robots that will go to school for them.
They help you do chores and homework more quickly.
2. According to the author, in the future, kids will learn in school and at home, teachers will not be necessary, kids will not learn to read, only grandchildren will have computers.
You have to think about the entire passage to choose the best answer.
4. What kinds of jobs do you think robots are suited to do? Why?
5. Explain how you think changes to computers will change your daily life in the future.
What if you could borrow the vacuuming robot for a day? Write a diary entry about this experience. Describe what happened and how you felt about it.
My topic sentence tells you what I am writing about.
My amazing day began when Professor Schwartz brought his robot, Bob, to my house. I was surprised that Bob didn't look like a person at all. He was just a small machine with wheels, but what a neat machine! I learned how to program Bob to turn and to go forward and backward. In a way, Bob worked like a remote-controlled car. The difference was he vacuumed while he rolled along. A robot doesn't really do all the work for you. I had to pick up everything from the floor of my room. Then Bob was able to work. He doesn't really think for himself either. I had to tell him how to move. It was still a lot of work, but it was fun to run a machine without having to touch it. Professor Schwartz and his team are working to make Bob "smarter." Then he won't need so much help "learning" about what he has to do. I hope I see him again someday.
Think back to an experience you had using something new like a toy or computer. Write a diary f entry about what happened and how you felt trying something for the first time. Be sure to choose your topic carefully, and include details in your story.
Ask yourself, who will read my story?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Definitions of words sometimes serve as context clues in sentences.
Astronomers are people who study the night sky.
Looking up at the night sky, you won't see the sun and all eight planets that belong to our solar system, but you can enjoy the light of the moon and the surrounding stars. Long ago, people tried to make sense of the stars that fill the night sky. They saw that the stars made patterns in the sky that looked like people, animals, and other things. These groups of stars were called constellations. Today there are 88 constellations in the sky.
Ursa Major or "Great Bear" is easily one of the best-known constellations. Some Native American legends say that "the giant bear has three warriors chasing it." Inside Ursa Major, you can find the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is a group of stars that looks like a cup with a long handle.
Orion is another constellation. In a famous Greek myth, Orion was a great hunter. He was killed when he stepped on a scorpion. The Greek gods felt sorry for him. They put him and his dogs in the sky as constellations. Then they put all the animals he hunted near him. They placed the scorpion farther away so Orion wouldn't be hurt by it again.
The main star of this constellation marks Orion's left shoulder and is called Betelgeuse.
Next to the brightness of this star, all the others appear dim.
How bright stars appear depend on their distance from Earth, how large they are, and their different temperatures, or how hot they burn. Scientists can use a powerful telescope to observe the stars closely and find out more about them.
Scientists know that Betelgeuse is 630 times larger than our sun and shines 60,000 times brighter. It is one of the largest stars anywhere in the night sky, and probably one of the most fascinating to study.
As you generate or ask questions to summarize an article, think about the important details. To determine which details are important, ask "Do these details support the main idea of the passage?"
A Main Idea Chart helps you decide which information is important enough to include in a summary. Reread the selection to summarize the main ideas and important details.
Informational Nonfiction uses facts to explain about real people, things, places, situations, or events.
What do you need to see other planets in the night sky?
We all live on a planet. Our planet is called Earth. It is one of eight planets that go around the sun.
You probably know the names of some of the planets. Maybe you know all of them. The eight planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
The eight planets are part of the solar system.
The most important part of the solar system is the sun. The word so/ means sun in Latin. So the solar system means "the sun system."
After the sun, the most important parts of the solar system are the eight planets.
What are the two most important parts of the solar system?
Have you ever tried to find the planets in the sky?
You don't need a telescope to see Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. They look like bright stars, but they don't twinkle. They glow. You may have seen them and thought they were stars.
You don't need a telescope to see Mercury, either. You can see it in early evening just after sunset. The sky is not very dark then, so you have to be a good sky watcher to find Mercury.
But there is another part of the solar system that you can see. It is the moon. The moon goes around Earth. It's called Earth's satellite. Most of the other planets also have satellites.
What objects in the sky can you see without a telescope?
Asteroids are also part of the solar system. So are comets and meteoroids. Asteroids are big chunks of rock that go around the sun. Many are as big as a house. Some are as big as a mountain, or even bigger.
Comets are collections of ice, gas, and dust. The center of a comet may be only a few miles across. The tail of gasses may be millions of miles long.
Meteoroids are bits of rock and metal. Some are as large as boulders, but most are as small as grains of sand. Have you ever seen a shooting star? It was not really a star. It was a meteoroid falling toward Earth.
The solar system has many parts -- the sun, the eight planets, the satellites of the planets, asteroids, comets, and meteoroids. The main parts are the sun and eight planets.
Six of the planets have one or more satellites. Four of them have rings.
The eight planets move around the sun. They move in paths called orbits. The drawing shows the orbits.
Mercury takes only 88 days to go around the sun.
Neptune takes much longer than that. It takes about 165 years.
Mercury is closer to the sun than any other planet, but even Mercury is millions of miles from the sun.
Suppose you could fly from Mercury to the sun in a rocket. And suppose the rocket went 50,000 miles an hour. It would take more than four weeks to get there.
It would take the same rocket over eight years to go from Pluto to the sun.
From 1979 to 1999, Pluto was closer to the sun than Neptune. In 1999, Pluto was once again farther from the sun than Neptune. It will stay that way until 2250.
Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun. That is why it is the coldest planet. Temperatures on Neptune are about 328F below zero.
That's much colder than any place on Earth.
Even the South Pole never gets that cold.
Mercury and Venus are the hottest planets. The temperature on Mercury reaches 600F. Sometimes it is much colder. On Venus the temperature stays around 860F.
Plants and animals cannot live on Mercury or Venus. They would burn up. They cannot live on Neptune either. They would freeze. Jupiter and Saturn are also very cold.
Of all the planets, Earth is the only one where people live. We think no other planet in our solar system has plants or animals of any kind. Earth is the "life planet."
Earth is a middle-sized planet. Three of the planets are smaller than Earth. They are Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Four of the planets are larger than Earth. They are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Jupiter is the biggest of all the planets.
It is much bigger than Earth.
Suppose Jupiter were a large, hollow ball. Over 1,000 Earths could fit inside it.
Mercury is the smallest planet. It is less than half the size of Earth.
Mercury is only a little larger than our moon.
Earth is the most important planet to you, and to all of us. That's because it's the planet where we live. It is not the biggest planet in the solar system, nor is it the smallest. It is not the hottest or the coldest. Earth is about in the middle. And it's just right for us.
Franklyn and Kevin Are Out of This World!
Franklyn M. Branley was an astronomer and a chairman of the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium. When he was not studying the solar system, he spent a lot of time writing books. He wrote more than 150 of them for children!
Kevin O'Malley loves to visit classrooms to talk about his books almost as much as he loves to illustrate them. Kevin has also written and illustrated his own books, including Carl Caught a Flying Fish.
Nonfiction authors may write to inform, persuade, or entertain. Why do you think Franklyn M. Branley wrote The Planets in Our Solar System?
1. What are the differences between asteroids and comets? Use details from the selection to support your answer.
2. Reread pages 234-235. How would you look for planets in the night sky? Use details from the selection to support your answer.
3. Why is the sun described as the most important part of the solar system?
4. Describe why you believe that Earth is the most important planet to us.
5. Reread "Constellations: Pictures in the Sky" on pages 226-227. How do the stars in the night sky compare to the planets?
I have read about stars and wanted to find out more about how scientists observe them. My teacher suggested I do research on the Internet. First, I typed in the URL that my teacher gave me. I put it in the address line at the top of the page. A URL is an address for where you want to go on the Internet. Each URL takes you to a Web site with one or more Web pages.
An article on the site talked about Chandra and Hubble. I used the sidebar, which is a column at the side of the Web page that has more information.
I found out that these are large telescopes out in space.
I saw a menu of hyperlinks on the side of the page. The menu lists all the articles and information that are on the Web site. You can click on a hyperlink to take you to another page with more information. I clicked on the word X-ray to learn what it means. Hyperlinks can be underlined, or in boldface. Some photos are also hyperlinks that take you to a larger image.
The home page usually has a site map. A site map is like the table of contents in a book. It tells you what's on the site. On the home page, I found links to more cool articles about stars. Some even had sound and video. Internet articles made it so easy for me to find out all about stars!
Internet articles, like the one below, provide information online. More information can be found by using the menu, sidebar, and hyperlinks.
Look at the Internet article on page 252. Where would you click to learn more about Hubble? Reading Internet Articles.
Compare an Internet article with an article from a textbook or magazine. How are they the same? How are they different? Analyze.
Pretend that page 239 from The Planets in Our Solar System is part of an Internet article. Which words could be used as hyperlinks to more information? 
With an adult, research another observatory on the Internet. Write a paragraph telling what you found.
Writers often use both formal and informal language. For example, colorful informal sentences can show excitement.
I wanted the kids in my class to know how much I like the planetarium.
I included this to show excitement.
Do you want to have a real space adventure? Then hurry over to the new Sky Dome at Bock Planetarium. It's out of this world! You can see planets, moons, stars, and constellations up close. It's like you are in a huge spaceship! And don't forget your umbrella. There are meteor showers, too. The planetarium's door is open seven days a week. It will give you a big thrill. Don't miss it!
Write a radio ad for a planetarium or a museum. You may focus on a special attraction, show, or exhibit. Be sure to use informal language to show excitement in your ad. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is my message clear?
Organization: Is the information well organized?
Voice: Does it sound like I care about my message? Did I include informal language?
Word Choice: Did I use persuasive words?
Sentence Fluency: Are my sentences easy to read aloud?
Conventions: Did I use apostrophes properly in possessive nouns? Did I check my spelling?
Word Clues can help you find the meaning of acceptance.
Ana worried about her acceptance to the team, but Coach said, "You're in."
Lulu Delacre has written and illustrated many books, including Golden Tales and The Bossy Gallito. Some of her books have won awards. I wanted to sit and talk with this successful writer.
What were you like at school? Were you talented?
I was a good student at school. Yes, I was talented. I could see things in a way that I could transfer them onto paper. I loved to draw and create.
Were books always special to you? What is your single favorite book?
In my house, books had their own special room -- my father's study. I loved being in that room.
If I have to choose, my favorite book is Voyage to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne.
Writing is difficult. Is there a proper, or correct, way to write?
I don't believe there's a proper way to write a book. I keep a journal. I draw in it. I also write ideas and things that I find interesting. I reread these journals. At times, a book is born out of these ideas.
Being a writer must be fun. What is the most excitement you have ever had as a writer?
It was when The Bossy Gallito won the Pura Belpre Honor for text and illustration.
What was the first story you sold to a publisher? Tell us about that acceptance.
Many years ago I created two characters -- an elephant named Nathan and his mouse friend named Nicholas Alexander. Out of the sketches I made of these characters, a story was born. Then it was accepted and published.
What is the most useful thing kids can do to help their writing?
Read, read, read. And keep a journal to write whatever comes into your mind.
An author writes to entertain, inform, or persuade. As you read, stop and summarize what you have read. Then ask yourself "Why did the author write this information?"
Reread "Talking to Lulu Delacre." As you read, summarize the author's purpose. Use the Author's Purpose Chart to help you.
An Autobiography is the story of a person's life written by that person.
Why does the author decide to write children's stories?
Long time ago there lived a three-year-old author. Me. I was the best grocery-list writer in the world and a huge help to my mother. When I wrote a word I knew exactly what it said.
And the fun part was that I could turn each list upside down and the words said the same thing. I think I made hundreds of these useful lists for my mother, and she never once said, "No thank you, dear, I have enough."
Then I went to school and learned to make what they called "real letters." My writing was the prettiest in the class, with straight straight lines and round round lines. It was perfect. And it was perfectly backwards.
I didn't just mix up b's and d's. That's easy to do because they look so much alike. My letters started at the right (well, wrong) side of the paper and marched across, pretty as could be -- and backwards.
There's a name for somebody with this problem.
I was a "mirror writer." My teachers had to hold my work up to a mirror to understand what I had written.
Thanks to a lot of help, I was finally able to write in the proper direction. But writing stories was so HARD for me!
Often I couldn't come up with a single idea, and my stories got stuck in the middle, and I couldn't think of a title, and I had trouble making the changes my teacher wanted me to make, and I lost my pencils, and I wondered why I was doing this, and I got very very VERY frustrated.
Why does the author explain how she used to write as a child?
So I spent a lot of time dreaming about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Since no one from the circus came looking for me, I became a teacher.
I learned that teachers do not live in schools, eating only crackers and milk and sleeping under their desks.
I also learned that teaching was fun and that children have fantastic imaginations. So my favorite subject to teach was -- writing!
One day a friend said, "You should write a children's book."
And I thought, "I spent ten years in second grade, so I know a child from a chicken. Maybe I should."
I went right home and wrote a book. It was the best book I had ever written. Of course, it was the only book I had ever written.
I illustrated it with my nicest drawings and proudly sent it to a publisher. "Lucky people," I thought.
The lucky people sent it back and said, "No thank you." That's called a rejection. I decided I'd never write again.
Until the next day, when I felt better. I wrote a second book and sent it to a different publisher. The second publisher sent the book back. "No thank you." I decided I'd never write again. Until the next day, when I felt better. I wrote another book.
Practice must have helped each story get a little better, for on my seventh try no book came back. Just a "Yes please." That's called an acceptance.
I was beside myself with joy and excitement. I was the first author I had ever met.
I drew the pictures for my first book. And I did the pictures for this book. But usually I work with an illustrator who has been to art school and who can draw bicycles and refrigerators and pigs. This talented person draws what I would if I could.
So here I am. An author! And every time I sit down to write, perfect words line up in perfect order and WHOOP -- a perfect book pops out of the computer.
Well, not exactly. Sometimes writing stories is so HARD for me! I can't come up with a single idea, and my stories get stuck in the middle, and I can't think of a title, and I have trouble making the changes my editor wants me to make, and I lose my pencils, and I wonder why I'm doing this, and I get very very VERY frustrated.
But that's sometimes. I love it best when ideas are hatching so fast I can barely write them down. I grab the nearest thing to write on and get so excited I forget what I was doing in the first place. The ideas that come in the middle of the night are hard to read the next day.
Not all of the ideas are useful. I keep a whole box full of fizzled thoughts and half-finished books. I call it my Fizzle Box. Whenever I need an idea, I can go to the box and find wonderful things
-- just the name I needed!
-- a funny word!
-- a wise lesson!
How does the author show that writing can be hard, but it can be fun as well?
Usually when I first think a book is finished, it really isn't. I keep going over the story again and again, looking for ways to make it better with little changes here and there. I do this until the book has to be printed. Then it's too late to do anything more!
I used to think that writing had to be done at a special time, while sitting at a desk. But slowly I discovered that I could write anytime. And anywhere. I especially like to write when I'm bored, because then I'm not anymore.
Of course, writing anytime anywhere sometimes means writing on anything.
Authors are lucky, for they get to meet hundreds of children through letters, school and library visits, and at autographing sessions. I didn't always like autographing books. The first time I autographed, my table was next to the table of a very famous author. I was not a very famous author.
Her line had no end. Mine had no beginning.
I'm glad I didn't join the circus. Even though writing is sometimes hard work, it's what I love to do. I never dreamed I'd become an author. So this is better than a dream come true.
Helen Lester first discovered how much fun writing can be when she was a girl and read her parents' interesting letters. Helen did not think about actually becoming an author until she was a grownup. When she became a mother, Helen read funny books to her children every night. Then she decided to make her own funny books. Helen says that she starts a book whenever a good idea pops into her head. Ideas pop up at really strange times, like when she is at the kitchen sink washing spinach!
Helen Lester wrote about her own life. Did she want to inform or entertain or both?
Use the Author's Purpose Chart to help you summarize Author: A True Story. In your summary include reasons why the author became a writer.
Why does the author tell us that writing is hard for her? Use your Author's Purpose Chart to explain. 
Why did the author's friend say that she should write children's books? Use story details in your answer.
How would you use the ideas and information in this story to become a successful author? 
What might have happened if the author's stories never gained acceptance from publishers?
Read "Talking to Lulu Delacre" on pages 258-259. How do you think the author of Author: A True Story would answer each of these interview questions? In what ways might the two authors' experiences be different? 
Poetry uses elements such as rhyme, rhythm, and repetition to express feelings and ideas.
Alliteration is the repetition of the same beginning sound in a series of words.
Repetition happens when words or phrases are repeated throughout a poem.
Departing and day both begin with "d". This is an example of alliteration.
Where I Sit writing I can see:
A page, a pen, a line or three of scribbled verse; a cup of tea.
A spider's web, a windowpane,
A garden blurred a bit with rain,
A low and leaden sky; a plane.
Where I sit writing I can see An evening sky, a sodden tree, A windowpane reflecting me.
Out in the garden's fading light, Departing day, approaching night, He copies every word I write.
Where I sit writing I can see A hand, a pen, a verse or three;
A distant road; a cup -- no tea.
A list of rhymes, some crossings out, Confusions, choices, doodles, doubt. No clue to what it's all about.
The phrase "Where I -- sit writing I can see" is repeated throughout the poem.
Where I sit writing I can see A glowing sky, a darkened tree, Some sticky tape, a saucer... me.
Besides "departing day," what other examples of alliteration can you find in this poem?
Why do you think the author repeats the phrase "Where I sit writing I can see"?
In Author, a True Story, the author describes some of the frustrations of being a writer. Does the author of this poem express any of the same frustrations?
Good writing should build from beginning to end. Base a strong conclusion on the details you have written. Also be sure to sum up your thoughts.
I wanted to tell about my favorite book. I included these details.
I summed up my thoughts here.
My favorite book is Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary. The book is about a nine-year-old girl named Beezus. She has a little sister named Ramona. Beezus tries to look out for her sister, but Ramona is always causing a lot of trouble. The craziest part is when Ramona secretly invites 15 of her four-year-old friends to their house for a party! You will love this book. It is a lot of fun, and it makes you think about how families get along.
Write a review of one of your favorite books. Persuade friends or classmates to read the book. Give the book's title and author. Briefly explain what the book is about and why you like it. End with a strong conclusion. Be sure to use short and long sentences. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Does my book review end with a strong conclusion?
Organization: Did I present details about the book in an order that makes sense?
Voice: Did I show how much I like this book?
Word Choice: Did I explain my feelings?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary the lengths of my sentences?
Conventions: Did I capitalize the title and underline it? Did I use and to combine sentences?
Imagine a plant that eats living things. What pops into your mind? Do you picture a huge jungle plant with open jaws or a plant that looks like it came from another planet? Think again! The United States is home to an amazing plant that eats live food, and the plant is not as strange as you might think.
You may have seen or heard of this carnivorous, or meat-eating, plant. It is called the Venus flytrap. It grows in very few places, such as wetlands near the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Venus flytrap is a carnivorous plant.
The Venus flytrap is not a large plant. It grows to be only about a foot tall. You might walk right past it if you weren't looking for it. The plant has white flowers in the spring, but it is the plant's leaves that make it so interesting. The ends of the leaves have folding parts with stiff, tiny hairs. These are the plant's "traps."
What does the Venus flytrap eat? As you might guess, the Venus flytrap eats flies. It also eats ants, spiders, caterpillars, and crickets. The Venus flytrap makes most of its food with sun, air, and water, just like other plants. Live food just gives it extra nutrition to grow well in damp soil.
Just how does this plant trap and eat living things?
The Venus flytrap uses a sweet liquid called nectar to attract its food. Bugs are drawn to the nectar. When one lands on one of the plant's open traps, hairs on the surface make the trap shut. Snap! The trap closes, and the bug is dinner!
The bristles along the edges of the trap lace together so the bug cannot get out. Then the trap digests the bug like a tiny stomach! Each trap lasts for a few meals before another takes its place.
If you want to have your own Venus flytrap at home, you have to buy the plant from a nursery. You can't take a Venus flytrap from where it grows! There are laws about taking it out of the wild.
If you are ever near the coast of North or South Carolina, you might spot a Venus flytrap. Maybe you will even see it bite down on a tasty bug. Yum!
1. Why would the author write an article about an unusual plant?
2. Why are there laws to stop you from taking plants that grow in the wild?
to make sure you buy them with money.
to keep you from getting hurt.
to protect the plants from extinction.
to prevent you from getting sick.
3. The author says that Venus flytraps are amazing plants. What word is an antonym, or the opposite, of amazing? Connect the clues from the passage to choose the best answer.
4. How does the Venus flytrap catch and digest its food?
5. How is the Venus flytrap different from other plants you have seen? In what ways is it the same? Use details from the selection to support your answer.
Some people want to stop laws that protect plants and animals found in the wild. Do you agree? Write a letter to a newspaper explaining how you feel. Include facts to support your ideas.
1. Why would the author write an article about an unusual plant?
2. Why are there laws to stop you from taking plants that grow in the wild?
to make sure you buy them with money.
to keep you from getting hurt.
to protect the plants from extinction.
to prevent you from getting sick.
3. The author says that Venus flytraps are amazing plants. What word is an antonym, or the opposite, of amazing? Connect the clues from the passage to choose the best answer.
4. How does the Venus flytrap catch and digest its food?
5. How is the Venus flytrap different from other plants you have seen? In what ways is it the same? Use details from the selection to support your answer.
Some people want to stop laws that protect plants and animals found in the wild. Do you agree? Write a letter to a newspaper explaining how you feel. Include facts to support your ideas.
What was the most interesting food from another culture that you have ever eaten?
A Synonym is a word that has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word. The words banquet and feast both mean "a large meal for many people."
It was time for our end-of-year class party, and everyone was having trouble coming up with good ideas, including me.
"How about a carnival with games and cotton candy?" said Penny.
"I know!" said Megan. "A talent show with prizes and pizza!"
"Those are great ideas," said Mr. Ortiz. "What do you think about inviting our families to be guests at a foods-of-the-world festival? We can each bring our family's favorite dish. All of that food will make a lovely banquet."
The class liked the idea and seemed agreeable to it. I couldn't wait to see what dishes would arrive on the day of our party!
"My family loves Italian food," said Sophia on the morning of the party. "I brought spaghetti and meatballs."
"This is our favorite," said Sam. "It's lamb curry from India."
"Wait until you taste my Mexican tamales," said Elena.
I looked at all the strange dishes with great curiosity. Mr. Ortiz watched me gaze at each dish. He thought I was untrusting. "I can't wait to try some of these foods, ^ Mr. Ortiz," I said.
I tried chicken stew from Kenya,
German sausages, Greek salad, and more. All of it was delicious!
Not only did I eat a world of food,
I met a world of families, too. We all did. What a day!
Authors don't always tell you exactly what the character in a story is thinking. You need to use story clues and what you already know to figure it out. This is called making inferences. Visualizing, or picturing, what the author tells you can help you make inferences.
Reread the selection to make inferences about the narrator's opinion of the class party. Use the Inference Map to help you.
A Folk Tale is a story based on the customs and traditions of a people or region, handed down orally from one generation to the next.
What lesson does making stone soup teach the people in the village?
THREE MONKS, Hok, Lok, and Siew, traveled along a mountain road. They talked about cat whiskers, the color of the sun, and giving.
"What makes one happy, Siew?" asked Hok, the youngest monk.
Old Siew, who was the wisest, said, "Let's find out."
What do you think makes the monks happy?
The sound of a bell brought their gaze to the rooftops of a village below. They could not see from so high above that the village had been through many hard times. Famine, floods, and war had made the villagers weary and untrusting of strangers. They had even become suspicious of their neighbors.
The villagers worked hard, but only for themselves.
A tea merchant.
A scholar.
A seamstress.
A doctor.
A carpenter...
... and many others.
But they had little to do with one another.
When the monks reached the foot of the mountain, the villagers disappeared into their houses. No one came to the gates to greet them.
And when the people saw them enter the village, they closed their windows tight.
The monks knocked on the door of the first house. There was no answer. Then the house went dark.
They knocked on a second door and the same thing happened.
It happened again and again, from one house to the next.
"These people do not know happiness," they all agreed.
"But today," said Siew, his face bright as the moon, "we will show them how to make stone soup."
Why do the monks say that the villagers are not happy?
They gathered twigs and branches and made a fire.
They placed a small tin pot on top and filled it with water from the village well.
A brave little girl who had been watching came to them. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"We are gathering twigs," said Lok.
"We are making a fire," said Hok.
"We are making stone soup and we need three round, smooth stones," said Siew.
The little girl helped the monks look around the courtyard until they found just the right ones. Then they put them in the water to cook.
"These stones will make excellent soup," said Siew. "But this very small pot won't make much I'm afraid."
"My mother has a bigger pot," said the girl.
The little girl ran home. As she started to take a pot, her mother asked what she was doing.
"The three strangers are making soup from stones," she said. "They need our biggest pot.'
"Hmm," said the girl's mother. "Stones are easy to come by. I'd like to learn how to do that!'
The monks poked the coals. As smoke drifted up, the neighbors peered out from their windows. The fire and the large pot in the middle of the village was a true curiosity!
One by one, the people of the village came out to see just what this stone soup was.
"Of course, old-style stone soup should be well seasoned with salt and pepper," said Hok.
"That is true," said Lok as he stirred the giant pot filled with water and stones. "But we have none..."
"I have some salt and pepper!" said the scholar, his eyes big with curiosity. He disappeared and came back with salt and pepper and even a few other spices.
Siew took a taste. "The last time we had soup stones of this size and color, carrots made the broth very sweet."
"Carrots?" said a woman from the back. "I may have a few carrots! But just a few." And off she ran. She returned with as many carrots as she could carry and dropped them into the pot.
"Do you think it would be better with onions?" asked Hok.
"Oh, yes, maybe an onion would taste good," said a farmer, and he hurried off. He returned in a moment with five big onions, and he dropped them into the bubbling soup.
"Now, that's a fine soup!" he said.
The villagers all nodded their heads, as the smell was very agreeable.
"But if only we had some mushrooms," said Siew, rubbing his chin.
Several villagers licked their lips. A few dashed away and returned with fresh mushrooms, noodles, pea pods, and cabbages.
Something magical began to happen among the villagers. As each person opened their heart to give, the next person gave even more. And as this happened, the soup grew richer and smelled more delicious.
"I imagine the Emperor would suggest we add dumplings!" said one villager.
"And bean curd!" said another.
"And taro root and winter melon and baby corn!" cried other villagers.
"Garlic!" "Ginger Root!" "Soy sauce!" "Lily buds!"
"I have some! I have some!" people cried out. And off they ran, returning with all they could carry.
The monks stirred and the pot bubbled. How good it smelled! How good it would taste! How giving the villagers had become!
At last, the soup was ready. The villagers gathered together. They brought rice and steamed buns. They brought lychee nuts and sweet cakes. They brought tea to drink, and they lit lanterns.
Everyone sat down to eat. They had not been together for a feast like this for as long as anyone could remember.
After the banquet, they told stories, sang songs, and celebrated long into the night.
Then they unlocked their doors and took the monks into their homes and gave them very comfortable places to sleep.
In the gentle spring morning, everyone gathered together near the willows to say farewell.
"Thank you for having us as your guests," said the monks. "You have been most generous."
"Thank you," said the villagers. "With the gifts you have given, we will always have plenty. You have shown us that sharing makes us all richer."
"And to think," said the monks, "to be happy is as simple as making stone soup."
Make Inferences
What will it take for this happiness to continue?
When Jon was a boy, his mother took him to museums all across the United States. Later, he studied art in Asia and Europe. As Jon illustrates a book, he imagines that he is a boy running around inside the story. Then he can see things the way a child does.
What clues can you use to figure out Jon J Muth's purpose for writing Stone Soup? Did he want to inform or entertain readers?
Jon J Muth can take old stories and turn them into new ones by setting them in different places. He took an old tale from Europe to write this Chinese story.
Summarize what the monks did in Stone Soup. Use your Inference Map to help you explain why they wanted to make the soup.
1. What details in the story show why the monks thought that making stone soup would bring happiness to the untrusting villagers? Use your Inference Map to gather clues.
2. Examine the pictures of the villagers on pages 290-291. What do you notice about their expressions? Why did Jon J Muth draw them this way?
3. What is your opinion about sharing something as part of a group? Explain your answer. 
4. What facts would you choose to show how the world might change if more people shared? Explain your answer. 
5. Read "Family Feast" on pages 284-285. Compare the class banquet to the village feast in Stone Soup. How are they alike? How are they different? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Charts organize related information into categories.
What will you eat for lunch today? In some countries, lunchtime often means soup time! There are many kinds of unique, or different, soups served around the world. Some are as thin and clear as water. Some are as thick as stews. Others are full of noodles!
Soup is just one thing that can be eaten for lunch. What you eat for lunch may be different from the lunch of someone who lives in another country. Let's take a look around the world to see what kids are eating for lunch.
Mexico: Tasting Tortillas.
Many children in Mexico eat tortillas or lunch. Most tortillas are made from ground corn, but sometimes wheat flour is used. Tortillas are usually flat and round, but they can also be made into other shapes. Taco shells are made from corn tortillas and filled with beans or meat. Tasty sauces, called salsas, are often added to tacos. These sauces are made from chopped tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, and spices. Salsas add flavor and vitamins.
Russia: Sipping Soup.
Winters in Russia are very cold. Maybe that's why many Russian children eat soup for lunch. Two of their favorites are cabbage soup and beet soup.
Many Russian soups also include potatoes. Potatoes are an important crop in Russia. They make soups thick and hearty. Eating thick soups can help keep people warm and can fill them up so hunger is no problem!
Charts organize ideas into columns and rows.
This chart has two headings in the first row: "Country" and "School Lunches." Down the first column, you can read the country names. The second column shows what is eaten in each place.
Meals in Korea are made up of many dishes. No matter what else is served, there is always rice.
Kimchi is also always on the table. Kimchi is pickled meat or vegetables. Korean children mix together many dishes and flavors at meals. It's common for their food to be hot and spicy.
Lunch in Thailand often includes noodles. There are many ways to serve noodles. One popular dish is made with thin rice noodles, tofu, and shrimp. Another favorite way to eat rice noodles is with meat, vegetables, and thick gravy.
Many children living in India eat chapatis for lunch. Chapatis are made from only two ingredients: wheat flour and water. The flour and water are mixed into dough. The dough is rolled flat and thin. It's cooked on a hot griddle until it puffs up. Then it's held over an open flame.
Some children like dal with their chapatis. Dal looks like a very thick soup. It is spicy and delicious!
1. Look at the chart on page 309. What kind of soups do children eat for school lunch in Russia? Reading a Chart.
2. Based on what you know, where in the world would you like to eat lunch? Explain your answer.
3. Think about this article and Stone Soup. What ingredients might people from Russia, Mexico, India, Thailand, and South Korea have brought to put in the soup? 
Learn what kids eat for lunch in a country not on the chart, such as Australia, Iran, or Greece. Copy the chart and add your new row of information to it.
You can use a thesaurus to strengthen and vary your word choice. Using the right words can help you show interest and excitement.
I strengthened and varied my word choices about a meal I had.
I used the same kind of action verbs that I use when I speak.
Today we went to a Chinese restaurant to have dim sum, or dumplings. I have never had dim sum before. A waiter brought out a plate with five little dumplings on it. I looked nervously at the pale dough, but I was starving. I grabbed a fork and tasted one. It was so good! I quickly reached for another, but Dad said we had to share. Just then, the waiter slid five more plates of dim sum onto the table. Whew! There was plenty of delicious food for all of us!
Write a journal entry about an experience you have had with food. It may be about the best meal you have ever eaten. It may be about a special meal that you helped prepare. Be sure to express your individual voice through your word choice in your paragraph. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I write about something that happened to me?
Organization: Did I tell the events in order?
Voice: When I read my writing aloud, does it sound the way I talk?
Word Choice: Did I vary my word choice?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary the lengths of my sentences?
Conventions: Did I use commas correctly in dates and place names? Did I check my spelling? 
Riddles are word puzzles. What was the last riddle you tried to solve?
Unfamiliar Words can be looked up in a dictionary to find their meanings.
Use a dictionary to find out what the word suitable means.
Detective Drake was napping with his feet up on his desk when the phone rang. He yawned and picked it up. "Hello?" he said wearily. "I'll take the case. I will depart at once." Drake grabbed his umbrella, which was suitable for the rain outside, and walked out into the noisy city.
Drake pulled up to the police station. "We've been getting unfinished math problems in the mail," the Chief said. "They're signed 'Guess Who?' Every day the number of letters increase. We keep getting more. They are clogging up the mail room."
Drake looked at the paper in the Chief's hand. He observed one letter's clue:
"The word guess isn't spelled right," Drake said thoughtfully. "Give me the clues, Chief," he said. "And if someone asks you, say that I've advised you not to discuss the case. If you do what I say, I'll get this problem solved quickly."
Drake took the clues and went back to his office. First, he filled in the missing numbers. Then, he wrote the numbers in a notebook:
"Is it a code?" he thought aloud. "Think, Drake, think!" "Maybe it's an alphabet code!" Drake shouted. When he matched the numbers to the letters of the alphabet, this is what he had:
"This doesn't add up," he said, disappointed and discouraged. He kept moving the letters around. Finally, he had it: JAKE THE SNAKE.
Drake called the Chief. "That snake, Jake, is your man."
"I knew I could count on you!" said the Chief.
Authors don't always give every detail of a story's plot or the exact setting. Analyze the story structure by using the clues the author does give, plus what you already know, to determine the plot and setting.
A Setting Web helps you identify clues that tell about the setting. Reread the story to find clues.
Fairy Tales take place long ago and have imaginary characters and settings.
Where in the world does Aziza live?
Long ago in Persia, there lived a powerful sultan. He had many sons, but only one daughter, named Aziza, and he wished for her a wise and happy life. The finest tutors in the land were brought to the palace, and Aziza learned all there was to know. But her favorite subject was numbers. And her favorite game was riddles.
When and where does this story take place?
The time came for Aziza to marry. The sultan began to seek a suitable husband for her.
"Who in the land is most worthy of her hand?" the sultan asked his advisors.
"My eldest son is very handsome, your honor," said one advisor.
"My youngest son is very clever," said another.
It seemed that all of the sultan's advisors had only their own sons to recommend. The sultan was angry.
"You have advised enough!" cried the sultan, and he sent his advisors away.
Then Aziza went to the sultan.
"Father," she said, "perhaps there is a better way to choose whom I should marry."
The sultan knew his daughter was wise and good, and above all he wished her to be happy. "Tell me your plan," he said.
"Let me pose a riddle," said Aziza. "The riddle has but one true answer. Whoever can answer the riddle will be the one I would be happiest to marry."
"A riddle?" asked the sultan.
Placed above, it makes great things small.
Placed beside, it makes small things greater.
In matters that count, it always comes first.
Where others increase, it keeps all things the same. What is it?
The sultan thought for a moment, and then he sighed. "This riddle is too difficult even for me. In all the land, there is no man who will solve this riddle."
"Perhaps there will be one," Aziza said. "And one is all that is needed."
So the sultan agreed to Aziza's plan.
The next day, Aziza set out with a caravan in search of the one who could solve the riddle. In every city, town, and village, a messenger spread the news of the sultan's daughter's riddle.
"One riddle, one answer! Let any number try!" cried the messenger. "Only one will win the hand of the sultan's daughter!"
Every place they stopped, men young and old tried to solve the riddle. But none had the answer,
Plot and Setting
Where does Aziza go on the caravan and why?
In one village, a scholar came before Aziza to announce his answer. He was an astronomer, who studied the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.
"I have observed that the answer is the sun," he said with much confidence. "For the riddle speaks of shadows. When the sun is high above us, even the greatest man seems small, as he has only a small shadow. Thus, the answer is the sun."
"A learned answer indeed," said Aziza. "But that is not the right answer to the riddle."
In another town, a soldier came before Aziza with his answer.
"A sword!" he cried, displaying his gleaming saber. "The answer must be a sword. For the riddle speaks of war. And in war, even the smallest man is great in strength with a sword by his side."
"You have given a strong answer," said Aziza. "But that is not the right answer to the riddle."
In another city, a merchant came before Aziza.
"Honored lady," he said sweetly, "your clever riddle has been solved. The riddle speaks of the ways of the world, and the answer, therefore, is money. For as everyone knows, in all matters that count, money always comes first." He smiled at Aziza, sure that he had won her hand.
"Your answer is more clever than my riddle," said Aziza wearily. "But your clever answer is wrong."
"May I try another riddle?" asked the merchant.
"No," Aziza said. "One riddle, one answer."
Aziza felt discouraged. Perhaps her father was right. Perhaps no one in the land would know the answer to the riddle. She ordered the caravan to return to her father's palace.
Just as the caravan was about to depart, a young man came forward. He was a farmer named Ahmed, and he too loved numbers.
"Will you hear one more answer?" Ahmed asked.
"Just one more," Aziza said, sighing.
"The riddle speaks of numbers," he said, "and the answer is the number one. For in a fraction, the number one placed above a large number makes a small number. One hundred is large, but one hundredth is small."
"Yes, it is," said Aziza. "Go on."
"And when the number one is placed beside another number," he said, "the number increases. One placed beside nine makes nineteen."
"Or ninety-one," said Aziza. She smiled.
"Or ninety-one," said Ahmed. He smiled back.
"And in counting," Ahmed went on, "the number one always comes first. That is as simple as one, two, three."
"Yes!" said Aziza, laughing.
Ahmed said, "And in multiplication, the number one keeps the value of another number, while other numbers increase the value. One times ten is ten, but two times ten is twenty, and three times ten is thirty. And this is why," said Ahmed, "the answer to your riddle is the number one."
"That is a wonderful answer," said Aziza. "And it is right! With this answer, you have won my hand."
"With this riddle, you have won my heart," said Ahmed.
Aziza and Ahmed returned to the sultan's palace. Before long, they were married.
The sultan made Ahmed his chief advisor in matters of farming.
And he made Aziza his chief advisor in matters of numbers.
Author Lauren Thompson is a lot like Aziza. She has loved words and numbers ever since she was a girl. Lauren put her two favorite things together to write this riddle story. She set her story in Persia (the country now called Iran) because that is where many important math ideas began.
Illustrator Linda S. Wingerter has illustrated many books for children. Besides being an artist, Linda has another talent: she is an excellent skater, and she enjoys doing it very much.
What clues can you use to determine Lauren Thompson's purpose for writing One Riddle, One Answer? Did she want to entertain or inform readers? Identify the details that helped you reach this conclusion.
Summarize Aziza's search for a husband in One Riddle, One Answer. Be sure to describe the setting and plot. Use your Setting Web to help you.
How does the setting influence the story and Aziza's search for a husband?
Why would the man who can answer her riddle be a suitable husband for Aziza? Use story details in your answer.
If you were to meet Ahmed, what questions would you ask him?
Based on what you know, why do people like to have friends with the same interests as theirs? Explain your answer. 
Read "Count on Detective Drake!" on pages 316-317. How is it similar to One Riddle, One Answer? In what ways is the main character's behavior different? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Haiku is a poem about nature that describes a moment or scene in three lines. The first and third lines have five syllables each; the second line has seven.
Consonance is the repetition of the same consonant sound at the end of two or more words.
A metaphor compares two different things so they seem to be alike.
Calling an umbrella a "tent" is an example of a metaphor.
Hops, prints, and sets all end with the same sound to create consonance.
1. In the haiku by Kazue Mizumura, what two things are being compared by metaphor?
2. How do you know what moment or scene is described in the haiku by Myra Cohn Livingston?
3. One Riddle, One Answer is about a riddle. How are these haiku like riddles?
Writers use figurative language to create a clear picture for the reader.
A simile compares two different things by using like or as.
I included a simile here to describe a clever fairy tale character named Elva.
I used this simile to show Elva's cleverness.
Elva the pink-haired elf is as sly as a fox, and she can solve any problem. Elftown would fall apart without her! She fixes all of the town's cars and computers. She even flies the town plane. Best of all, Elva got rid of creepy Walter Wolf. He wanted to eat the elves for dinner. When Walter Wolf came around, Elva blasted her radio as loud as thunder. It was so loud the wolf covered his ears and ran away for good. All the elves cheered for Elva.
Write a character sketch about a smart fairy tale character. In a paragraph, explain what makes the character so smart. Try to use figurative language to describe what the character does. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I use figurative language to create clear pictures for the reader?
Organization: Does the title I chose fit?
Voice: Will the reader know how I feel about the character?
Word Choice: Did I use precise, active verbs?
Sentence Fluency: Did I avoid using sentence fragments?
Conventions: Did I use present-tense verbs correctly and check for subject-verb agreement? Did I check my spelling?
Ecosystems are communities of plants and animals. How do people's activities affect these communities?
The Kern River Preserve keeps the environment safe for the plants and animals that live there, but some parts of the preserve are being destroyed or lost. The kids in Cassie Wingender's class at Woodrow Wallace Elementary School came up with a plan to help restore, or return part of the preserve to its natural state.
The mountain bluebird likes to move into empty woodpecker nests in trees. As trees get old, they fall or have to be cut down. The birds have suffered because their nests are destroyed or lost. The students built 21 birdhouses that are designed to attract bluebirds and keep out other animals.
Southwestern willow flycatchers had nowhere to lay their eggs and protect them, so the students planted 50 cottonwood trees.
The students plan to do more. They want to preserve the forest, or keep it safe, so that it will be there in the future, for their own children to enjoy.
The ground is hot and cracked. Nearly every plant has thorns or needles. Still, almost 1,000 species of animals live there.
The desert's increasing human population has become a problem. Some farmers and ranchers allow their cattle to graze at the wrong time of year, which harms desert grasses.
Jim Winder divided part of his land into small pastures. He moves cattle to a different grazing spot every few days. This keeps the grass healthy. Winder also restored a lake. Now more than 100 species of water-loving birds live there.
One rancher can't save a huge desert. Still, Jim Winder likes how his grass is growing. "It looks good for grazing," he says with a smile.
Some deserts are cold but still very dry, such as the Gobi Desert in Asia. Here is a list of the largest deserts in the world.
Deserts are the driest places on the planet. A desert may only get about 10 inches of rainfall a year.
Some deserts are hot, such as the Sahara Desert in Africa.
How can items be recycled to help the environment?
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
A cause is why something happens. An effect is what happens.
The mighty wind whirled. Waves crashed and pounded the beach. Sand was swept up into the air and blew away. Still nothing could topple the science project of Tony Pontari's fourth-grade class at Union Avenue School in New Jersey. Their hand-built sand dune held tough through winter storms, helping to protect Grandville Avenue Beach and the town of Margate, New Jersey.
In many beachfront towns, dunes work as a windbreaker. They help stop the wind from blowing beach sand away. They stop the ocean water from spilling past the beach.
However, big storms cause many dunes to disappear. For years, the dunes at Margate suffered from the effects of winter storms. People tried to strengthen them by laying trees sideways on the sand. Those trees were usually swept out to sea.
Christmas trees can protect the sand dunes.
One year, the fourth-grade class of Union Avenue School decided to try something new.
The students found a way to reuse dead trees that are usually thrown away after the Christmas season. They buried the trees standing up in three trenches, each 100 feet long.
The recycled trees kept the new dune in place through the winter. Big winter storms washed away other sand dunes, but the dunes at Margate held together because of the buried trees.
Since it worked so well, the following year's fourth-grade class decided to continue the project. By then they had partners. Teacher Kevin Burns from nearby Brigantine Middle School had heard about the kid-made dune in Margate. He wanted his students to build one, too.
Because of the success of their plan, the kids got help from town officials. After Christmas, workers for the towns of Margate and Brigantine collected used trees. The workers took the trees down to the two towns' beaches. They dug three-foot-deep trenches, then the students planted the trees.
"The trees were heavy, and some were bigger than me," says fourth-grader Jim Abbott. But the kids had fun, too. "Sometimes we found Christmas lights!" says Kara Weiner, another fourth-grader.
Because the kids buried only the lower half of each tree in the sand, the upper half acted as a sand catcher. It trapped windblown sand until the tree was completely buried. The students then tied red ribbons to the treetops.
Sand dunes help protect the shoreline ecosystem. Dunes provide habitats for marine species. 
Dunes also help protect the homes of nearby residents from flooding when storms bring heavy rainfall, high tides, and huge waves. Dunes also keep the sand where it belongs: on the beach!
Next, they checked the buildup of sand by measuring the distance between the end of each ribbon and the top of the growing dune. The two schools communicated by e-mail to compare results.
In the spring, when the dunes had collected enough sand, the classes planted dune grass on top of them. The roots of the grass grow down and anchor the dunes. Town workers then placed wooden fences around the sand to help pack the sand together so the dunes are protected.
Sand dunes are an important part of the beach ecosystem.
1. Why did students "plant" dead trees on the beach?
2. What effect did planting trees have on the beachfront towns?
3. Have you ever found a new use for an old object? Describe it.
When that sound echoes across the pond behind Nate Egan's house in Oregon, Illinois, he knows what's making it. Frogs. A lot of them. However, across the United States, there are fewer green jumpers than there once were. Worried scientists have seen the number of frogs dropping since the late 1980s. That's why Nate, 9, and more than 3,800 other kids and adults are volunteering for Frogwatch USA. They listen to frog calls during the spring and summer. Then they report their observations online to scientists.
Amy Goodstine is the coordinator of Frogwatch USA. She says that pollution, pesticides, global warming, and the loss of habitats are among the factors threatening the frog population.
The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) started Frogwatch USA in 1999. Its purpose was to try to find out why frogs are growing scarcer. In 2001, the USGS and the National Wildlife Federation started working together on this project.
Directions: Answer the questions.
1. Why are Frogwatch volunteers listening to frogs?
to help find out why the number of frogs is decreasing. 
to become experts at identifying kinds of frogs.
so they can repeat the sounds.
to earn money and be close to nature.
2. What effect have pollution and pesticides had on the frog population?
Frogs will soon become extinct.
The frogs have lost their habitats.
There are too many frogs in the spring.
There are fewer frogs now than before.
3. What is the purpose of Frogwatch USA?
to report frog calls during the spring and summer.
to learn more about using computers.
to get frogs to return to ponds.
to figure out how to protect the frog population.
4. How do scientists get information from Frogwatch volunteers?
5. What are the possible reasons why the number of frogs is dropping? What could be done to protect the frogs in the future? Use details from the article to support your answer.
In the selection "For the Birds!" you read about what one class is doing to try to restore a habitat and protect birds. Imagine you are in that class. Write a letter to your teacher to explain why more classes should get involved in the project.
I started my writing with a good topic sentence to persuade my reader.
I wrote sentences that support my argument.
We need to take care of Kern River Preserve because it is a home for birds, animals, and people, too. If we don't, the birds will die. The forest will not be as special. People will be sad. Old trees are falling down, and people cut down the good ones. There aren't enough trees for bluebirds to build their nests. We can build birdhouses for them. Southwestern willow flycatchers need help, too. If we plant more cottonwood trees for them, their eggs will be safe. Kern River Preserve is a special place. All our classes should help to keep it that way.
In the selection "Saving the Sand Dunes" you read about what's being done to protect beaches in towns near the shore. Imagine that you lived in a town near the seashore. Write a letter to a friend describing why "planting" used Christmas trees would be a good project for kids in your school and for the town. Use examples to support your argument.
Ask yourself, who is my audience?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Form an opinion about the topic.
Use reasons to support your opinion.
Be sure your ideas are logical and organized.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
What was the most interesting thing that ever happened to you while you were traveling?
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. 
We're leaving for Florida to visit Aunt Sue, Uncle Mike, and my cousins Tim and Laura. We go every year over the holidays. I guess you could call this our annual trip. The trip has the potential for being fun, but I'd rather celebrate at home. Dad's rushing me, so I'd better hurry.
We're almost there. Last night we stayed at a hotel. Dad said it was expensive, but Mom said she didn't care what it cost, she needed a break from being in the car. I got to swim in the hotel pool. It felt good after sitting in the car all day.
We have been at Aunt Sue's for two days. Yesterday she made lobsters for lunch. They looked terrible -- like big, red bugs! I politely said, "No, thank you. I'm sticking with tuna!"
Today I found a package covered in brown paper on my bed. It was from Grandma. I took off the wrapping paper. It's a wave board! Time to go to the beach and try it out. Yay!
I love the ocean, but the water is freezing! Laura dumped a pail of water on my dad. Boy, did he jump! She tried to look sweet and innocent, but Dad knew she had done it. She does it every year!
Last day at the beach. I wish we didn't have to go. Anyway, school starts in a few days, and Mom says we need to go grocery shopping. While I'm going up and down the food aisles, I'll think about the beach and look forward to using my wave board again.
Authors don't always tell you exactly how a character in a story is feeling. You need to use story clues and what you already know. This is called making inferences. Visualizing what the author tells you can help you make inferences.
Reread the selection to make inferences about whether the journal writer had fun at the beach.
Realistic Fiction is an invented story that could have happened in real life.
How will Steven get a gift for his aunt?
How does Aunt Carolyn feel about the narrator? How can you tell?
Every summer for as long as I can remember, my Aunt Carolyn has gone traveling. Sometimes she would go out of the country and other times, he just got on a train and visited different places.
She always had funny stories to tell when she returned.
I thought Aunt Carolyn's stories were so much fun that once, when I was three, I hid in her suitcase so she would take me with her. She was so tickled, she promised to send me a postcard from every Place she went until I was old enough to travel with her. Grandma had to read the Postcards to me at first, but as I got older, I read them myself.
Those postcards always made me feel special.
This summer Aunt Carolyn said she would be here for our annual block party. The block party was my favorite time of the year because the whole family visited us at Grandma's house. People came from everywhere, and there was a lot of food, music, and things to do.
Aunt Carolyn didn't come back oft en, so I wanted to get something special for her. I just didn't know what.
The night before the party, I barely got any sleep. My cousin Sean was staying over, and I had to share my bed with him. Sean was always asking questions.
"Why do dogs like dog biscuits?" he asked.
"I don't know," I answered, but I wasn't really listening. I just lay there thinking until I came up with an idea. Maybe I could find something for Aunt Carolyn on Nostrand Avenue! You can buy almost anything there.
The next morning I woke up to the smell of Grandma's pancakes.
"Get up, Sean," I said, poking him in his ribs. "It's time to get up!" We got dressed and ran downstairs.
"Good morning, Grandma," we sang as we sat down to heaping plates of her buttery-syrupy pancakes.
Uncle Charles walked in, grumpy as usual. Sean and I covered our plates with our arms because Uncle Charles liked to take bites of your food.
"Stop it, Charles," Grandma said just as he reached for one of my pancakes.
"I only do it out of love," Uncle Charles replied, acting all innocent. "I want to make sure it's not poisoned."
I looked at my watch. I had only about four and a half hours until Aunt Carolyn arrived!
Just then Aunt Marsha walked in carrying three big bags of potatoes.
I looked at Sean. "We better get out of here before they have us peeling potatoes" I whispered.
That could mean only one thing. Granddad! I didn't want to get trapped having to help Granddad make his secret barbecue sauce that everybody knew the secret to. Besides, Granddad liked to tell long stories.
Sean, I said. "Go talk to Granddad. I'll be minute."
As soon as Sean was gone, I ran up to my room, climbed out the window onto our neighbor's toolshed, and made my way past her garden to the street. Then I headed toward Nostrand Avenue.
The first place I went was Perkins Drugstore. The store had shelves and shelves of stuff. I wandered up and down the aisles, picking up things, until I heard someone come up behind me.
"How may I help you, young man?" I cringed. It was Mr. Perkins, the owner. He had the screechiest voice ever. It was like nails scratching on a chalkboard.
I told him I wanted to find a special gift for my favorite aunt.
"What about some cards?" Mr. Perkins said. "Or we have delicious chocolates. She might like some perfume."
I shook my head no, so he started suggesting other things. I listened politely until my head started to hurt. 
"Thank you," I said finally. "Let me think about it some more." Then I walked quickly out of the store, rubbing my ears.
Next I went to Ms. Ruby's shop. She's from Jamaica. She had lots of handmade things in her store, and I loved the way she talked.
"Hey, sweetie. How you do?" Ms. Ruby asked.
"I'm looking for a surprise for my Aunt Carolyn," I answered, looking around the shop. "I've saved up ten dollars and seventy-fi ve cents."
"Okay," Ms. Ruby said. "She must be really special. You see anything you might like?"
"What about that picture frame?" I said. "Aunt Carolyn loves elephants."
"That one kinda expensive," she said. "It cost twenty-seven dollars."
I put on my best smile and told her I was a little short.
"You short for true," she said, and chuckled. "If you did have a likkle more money, I woulda sell it to you. But sorry, m'love. The money too short. You see a next one that you like?"
I looked around but didn't see anything else.
"No, thank you," I said. I left Ms. Ruby's feeling a little down.
As I left the store, I saw Uncle Charles walking toward me. I tried to hide, but he had already spotted me. "Where have you been, Steven?" Uncle Charles asked.
"It's almost time for the block party."
Uncle Charles knew how to fix all sorts of things, but he wouldn't do anything unless you paid him. Not even for kids. He was my last chance, though.
"I've been looking for a present for Aunt Carolyn," I explained. "Ms. Ruby's shop is too expensive, and there's nothing special enough at Perkins's."
"Come with me," Uncle Charles said. "I've got just the thing. How much money do you have?"
"Ten dollars," I said. I kept the seventy-five cents for myself. I couldn't let him take all my money!
We went to Uncle Charles's house, which was pretty junky. He had some of everything there -- bike parts, old toys, magazines, radios, VCRs, you name it.
Uncle Charles started rummaging around his apartment, looking for things that might be useful. Every few minutes he would hold up something weird.
"What about this?" Uncle Charles would ask.
I would shake my head no.
"You've got to give me some help here," Uncle Charles complained after I said no to several things. So I started digging around. All of a sudden, there it was, the perfect thing.
"Look at this!" I said, holding up a big toy train. It needed a lot of fixing up -- the paint was peeling off and some of the windows were broken, but I could see it had potential. I got busy right away. I had to work fast if I was going to finish in time to meet Aunt Carolyn at the train station.
I arrived at the station just as the train was coming in. A big crowd of people rushed down the stairs toward me. After almost everybody had left the station, I spotted Aunt Carolyn.
"Hey, Steven!" Aunt Carolyn called. She bustled over and plopped down her bags. She gave me a big kiss, and I gave her a nice, big hug.
"How's my little man doing?" Aunt Carolyn said.
"Oh! You've gotten so big and handsome. I don't know who's more handsome now, you or Sean."
"Me of course!" I said, and we both just laughed.
"So what do you have there, Steven?" Aunt Carolyn asked, pointing to the package under my arm.
"It's a surprise for you," I said as I handed her the package.
Without saying a word, Aunt Carolyn opened her gift. As soon as she got the wrapping off, she put the train up to her face and turned it around and around.
"Steven," Aunt Carolyn said, and gave a big laugh. "This is the best present anyone has ever given me!"
When we got back to my block, everyone was so excited to see Aunt Carolyn that they didn't ask where I had been. They surrounded her as if she were a movie star, their voices shouting out from every direction.
"How have you been, Carolyn?" someone called.
"What did you bring me?" joked another.
"Were you really in Alaska?" asked Sean.
Instead of answering them, Aunt Carolyn held up the train. "Isn't this the most wonderful thing you've ever seen?" she said.
Eagerly they passed around the train, and everyone took real long, careful looks. Sometimes people laughed or made comments.
"Yeah" said Uncle Charles. "That sure is Grandma, always on the phone"
Look at the Afros on Uncle Charles and Aunt Marsha! Grandma said, rolling her eyes.
"The Jones Family Express, that sure is right!" said Granddad, chuckling.
The rest of the day flew by. Aunt Carolyn put her train on an old cake stand in the kitchen window where everyone could see it.
Granddad cooked his best batch of barbecue ever. There were so many greasy barbecue-stained little kids running around that it looked as if they had been in a mud fight. Sean actually won the rap contest. The band liked him so much, they let him be a special guest DJ until it was time to pack up the music. The most surprising thing of all was that Uncle Charles bought ice cream for everybody with my ten dollars and didn't try to eat anyone else's but his own.
"Steven, thank you for making me feel so special," Aunt Carolyn said. She gave me a little hug and handed me a postcard.
I turned over the postcard and read the message aloud. "Good for one trip with Aunt Carolyn."
I couldn't believe my eyes. I was finally old enough to travel with Aunt Carolyn! Who would have guessed that at the end of the day, I would get the best present of all.
Javaka Steptoe got the idea for this story from his grandmother. She had an operation and could not go out. Javaka asked a traveling friend to send her postcards from different places to make her feel better. Javaka often uses experiences from his own life in his books. He especially likes to write and illustrate stories about families. He wants readers to open his books and find something that reminds them of their own families.
Fiction authors often write to entertain and inform. Why did Javaka Steptoe write this story? What details from The Jones Family Express help you understand his purpose for writing?
Javaka Steptoe got the idea for this story from his grandmother. She had an operation and could not go out. Javaka asked a traveling friend to send her postcards from different places to make her feel better. Javaka often uses experiences from his own life in his books.
He especially likes to write and illustrate stories about families. He wants readers to open his books and find something that reminds them of their own families.
1. How do you think Steven and Aunt Carolyn feel about each other? How can you tell? Use your Inference Chart to gather clues.
2. Reread page 374 of The Jones Family Express. What makes Steven's train more special than an ordinary picture of a train? Use story details in your answer. 
3. Would you enjoy traveling with Aunt Carolyn? Explain your answer.
4. Why do you think some people would enjoy a personally handmade present more than an expensive store-bought present? 
5. Read "My Winter Vacation" on pages 354-355. How does the journal writer seem to feel about her family? How does it compare to the way Steven feels about his family? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Directions help you follow the steps in a process. For example, driving directions are numbered steps that help drivers find their way.
Do you want to take the best trip ever? Then you have to plan. Good trips become great trips when you remember one important rule: be prepared.
Start several days before you leave, so you have time to think of everything you'll need. Make a list of things you want to bring and check items off as you pack. Don't forget to bring directions as well as identification that shows your name and home address or phone number.
Read about where you are going.
Find library books on your destination or type the name of the place into an Internet search engine. Add words about your interests, such as "water park" or "whale watching," to find things you would like to do.
Read these numbered driving directions in order. The distances tell how long to stay on each road.
1. Turn RIGHT out of HAPPY HOTEL.
2. Turn LEFT onto KNOTT AVENUE.
3. Turn RIGHT onto LINCOLN AVENUE.
4. Turn RIGHT onto EAST WARDLOW ROAD.
5. End at FLYHIGH AIRPORT.
Read directions to the driver one step at a time. Include the distances. For example, say: "Go 0.6 miles. Then turn left onto Knott Avenue."
1 Look at the driving directions. What does the driver do first? How long should the trip take? 
2. What do you think is the best advice in this article? Explain your answer.
3. Think about this article and The Jones Family Express. How do you think Aunt Carolyn prepares for her trips?
Writers use dialogue to add details about characters. Quotation marks are used around dialogue. If there are more words in the sentence after the dialogue, the dialogue often ends with a comma.
I wrote realistic dialogue that adds details about my characters.
I punctuated my dialogue correctly. I used quotation marks around the characters' words.
Joseph and Francine were planning a surprise party for their mother. "She will be back in an hour," said Joseph, looking worried. "Relax," Francine replied. "The cake is on the table. The sign and balloons are up, and everyone will be here soon." Just then, they heard a knock. "Great. They are here!" Joseph shouted. He ran to the door. "Oh, no!" It was their mother. "I forgot my key," she said, looking around at the party scene. "Well, this is a surprise!"
Write a dialogue between characters in a family. Be sure to use quotation marks and commas correctly. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is the dialogue believable?
Organization: Does the order of the conversation make sense?
Voice: Are these characters interesting?
Word Choice: Did I choose words that these characters would really use?
Sentence Fluency: Do my characters speak the way real people do?
Conventions: Did I use quotation marks and commas correctly in my dialogue? Did I use the right tenses for verbs? Did I check my spelling?
Illustrations can tell a story without words. What are some things you have illustrated?
Sentence Clues are words that help you figure out the meaning of other words.
Make sketches with a pencil first, so your painting will look great in the end.
Artists draw on different types of materials. For instance, artists have used walls, paper and computer.
The first paintings of horses and other animals were found on cave walls. Scientists think they were made 30,000 years ago.
Why did people illustrate cave walls? Before there was paper, artists used what they had -- rock!
Paper was invented about 2,000 years ago. Depending on what it's made of, paper can have a unique style with different colors and textures. It can be plain white or a pattern of different colors, and smooth or bumpy. Plus, it's easier to carry than cave walls!
About 100 years ago, artists used flipbooks to make moving pictures. Flipbooks have sketches placed one on top of the other. Each sketch is a bit different. When the pages are flipped, the drawings seem to move. Next, a camera was used to take pictures of the drawings to make a film.
Today, some artists use computers to draw. They can even draw special effects for video games. Illustration has come a long way in 30,000 years!
Need suggestions on what to do in your free time? Make a flipbook. Then, record the pages being flipped on camera, so you can watch it like a movie.
Some articles are organized in time order. Clue words that show events in sequence, such as first, next, then, after that, finally, later, today, and at the same time, can help you analyze the text structure.
A Sequence Chart helps you identify sequence by placing events or actions in the order that they take place. Reread the selection to find the sequence of events.
Narrative Nonfiction is a story about actual events, living things, or people.
How do illustrators decide what art to create for a book?
What do illustrators do? They tell stories with pictures.
This picture shows where two illustrators live and work.
Suppose those two illustrators each decided to illustrate Jack and the Beanstalk. Would they tell the story the same way? Would they draw the same kind of pictures?
I'm going to retell and illustrate JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. Go lie down, Scooter! I'll take you for a walk later.
I've been asked to illustrate JACK AND THE BEANSTALK. Go away, Leonard!
There are so many scenes I want to illustrate! But I need to fit all of Jack and the Beanstalk into 32 pages. That's a tight fit!
Are all books 32 pages?
Most picture books are.
First, illustrators decide which scenes in the story they want to illustrate...
A plan shows which pictures go on which pages.
After illustrators make a plan for their book, they need to make a dummy. (A dummy is a model of the book.) First they decide what shape and size the book will be.
Then they make sketches of the pictures that will go on each page of the dummy.
The first sketches are often rough scribbles on tracing paper.
What do illustrators do first? What do they do next?
As they are sketching, illustrators need to decide how things will look: the characters, their clothes, the setting.
Illustrators can use their imaginations or they may have to do some research.
I'll make Jack look like me in fourth grade.
What is the shape of a beanstalk leaf?
I imagine Jack lives in a small country cottage surrounded by palm trees.
Why does this story have to be about Jack? It could be about Jacqueline. She could live in this building. The beanstalk could grow on our roof!
Hey, Mom! Jacqueline can look like me!
That will make her book different from his.
This is how we look when we are rough sketches.
Some illustrators are also authors. They can change their story as they work on the sketches.
Each illustration has a different problem. For instance: From what point of view do you draw the magic bean being planted?
Should I draw this picture from a bird's-eye view? Close up? Far away? A mouse's-eye view?
The close up, bird's-eye view shows the bean best.
The mouse can't see the bean at all.
How do you draw a beanstalk so it looks like it's growing?
Leonard! Stop scratching! 
You'll give the drawing scale.
What is scale?
Hey! That's me! The beanstalk is smaller than me, then taller and taller...
You are like a measuring stick or... a scale!
There is usually more than one way to solve the same problem.
Wow, Mom! The beanstalk must be enormous. Look at the roots!
Those roots are huge compared to Jacqueline!
Here is another problem: How do you make a beanstalk look really TALL?
I could draw Jacqueline looking down the beanstalk... or looking up at it.
If the giant doesn't look BIG enough or SCARY enough, the illustrator will draw that picture again.
Maybe the giant should bigger than the page... and what would Jack see when he looks up at the giant?
Which picture do you think he should use in the book?
Raised eyebrows? Eyes wide open? Mouth open?
How would it feel to run across a table right under the nose of a sleeping GIANT?
Illustrators need to draw how their characters feel. (Sometimes they make faces in a mirror to see how an expression would look.)
Sometimes illustrators need someone else to model for them.
Pretend you're running across the giant's table with the hen Good! I'll sketch quickly.
Mom! Hurry up! Leonard doesn't like being a hen!
Hi! Is Leonard, here?
Hi! He's modeling for me. Come on in!
Leonard was a golden-egg laying hen!
What are you working on?
My own version of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.
So am I! Oh no!
Oh good! Your dummy is different from mine. Different place, different people...
And remember, our illustration styles are very different.
I like both books!
What is style?
It's how they draw the illustrations.
Each illustrator has a different style of drawing, just as every person has a different style of handwriting.
We're trying a new style.
When illustrators have finished their dummies, they show them to the editor and the designer at the publishing company.
The editor decides whether the pictures tell the story.
I love your illustrations! But Jack looks too old at the end of the book. And on page 21 the giant doesn't look mean enough.
Okay, those things should be easy to fix.
If she loves his book, why does she want him to change it?
She's just suggesting ways to make it I better! 
The designer makes suggestions about the design of the book.
She chooses the typeface for the words and the cover.
What happens after the dummy is finished?
Illustrators need to decide how they want to do the finished illustrations.
They can draw different kinds of lines and textures with different kinds of tools.
They can color their illustrations with paint, pastels, pencils, or crayons.... 
They can do an illustration without any black line at all!
I'm trying different kinds of lines... pencil, pen, brush.
I'm experimenting. I've tried watercolors, watercolor crayons, and colored pencils.
They can color their illustrations with paint, pastels, pencils, or crayons ... 
They can do an illustration without any black line at all!
Illustrators need to choose the paper they want to use for their finished illustrations.
Some papers are good for watercolor, others for pastel, others for pencil... Some are smooth. Some are textured.
I want a smooth watercolor paper since I'm using pen and ink and watercolor.
I want paper with a little more texture. I'm using watercolors and colored pencils.
Sometimes illustrators throw away their pictures and start again.
Sometimes they change the colors.
Or they may change the composition.
It can take months to finish all the illustrations for a picture book.
At last! I've finished all 32 pages and the cover!
It looks great Mom.
Before they are sent to the publisher, they need to be checked to make sure nothing is left out.
Except here. You forgot the polka dots on Jacqueline's shirt.
Don't worry! Once they finish the books, they'll pay attention to us again.
She also forgot to feed me this morning.
I'm finished! 
Me too! Can I see your book?
Illustrators often do the cover of the book last. The cover tells a lot about a story:
What is it about? Does it look interesting?
I like the way your jacket wraps around the book.
That's me on the cover!
Your cover is terrific! Jack is escaping right out of the border.
The cover is a clue to how the illustrator will tell the story.
Would these covers make you want to read the books?
Yes! I'm going to read them.
Let's celebrate!.
She dreamed she could read! In first grade, she really did learn to read. From then on, Eileen's nose was almost always in a book.
As Eileen grew up, she discovered art and photography. She liked to look at children's books and thought about writing and illustrating her own. After a lot of hard work, Eileen's first book was published. Eileen gets her story ideas from newspapers, the radio, and even conversations.
What clues help you to determine why she wrote What Do Illustrators Do?
Use your Sequence Chart to help you summarize What Do Illustrators Do? Tell the steps of illustrating a book in the correct order.
1. What happens just before an illustrator makes dummy sketches? 
2. Reread page 393 of What Do Illustrators Do? What is the main difference between an illustrator and an illustrator who is also an author? 
3. Which illustrator's book would you enjoy more: the traditional story or the version that stars Jacqueline? Give reasons for your answer. 
4. How would you apply what you have learned to illustrate your own story? Explain your answer.
5. Read "Draw!" on pages 386-387. How is the way it's written similar to What Do Illustrators Do? How are the two stories different? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Interviews are questions and answers aimed at gathering information.
Animators are artists.
Their drawings seem to come to life because the characters move in their animation. Once upon a time, animators only worked on movies. They drew pictures on cards that were flipped in front of the camera to make the characters move. Then computers came along. This new technology helps animators draw, color, and move their creations better than ever before!
Today some animators still draw by hand. It takes thousands of drawings to make an animated film this way. There's a lot more to animating than just drawing. It takes a whole team to get the job done. There are people who write the story and people who draw. Others fill in color or add sound.
An interview is a written record of a conversation. Speaker tags show who is talking.
INTERVIEWER: Where do you get ideas for your characters?
BILL FRANCIS: That's the fun part! You get to make them up, unless the job already comes with some ideas.
INTERVIEWER: Where do you do your work?
BILL FRANCIS: I do all my work on the computer. Different programs help me create the drawings. Others help me see how they work together.
INTERVIEWER: Do you make games, too?
BILL FRANCIS: I do, but only the 2-D type. 3-D looks great, but it sure is work!
INTERVIEWER: What's the best part of your job?
BILL FRANCIS: Seeing the project get done. Seeing how the sound, FX, and animation all work together.
It all starts with a story. A director usually comes up with an idea. Then a writer writes a script. This tells how the characters, settings, and events take shape. Next comes the storyboard. An artist draws the story and puts the pictures up on large boards. Then the writer puts the words with the pictures.
Animators draw the characters. They also draw any important moving objects. Some animators have helpers who draw tiny details like snowflakes.
When animators draw on a computer, they use a tool called a wand. The animator points the wand at the screen and "draws."
Computers also allow animators to easily create 3-D, or three-dimensional, artwork.
In real life, we also see things in 3-D. That means we can see the length, width, and depth of things. When you see a drawing on paper, you are looking at only two dimensions: length and width. That's why drawings on paper don't seem real!
Some artists draw only the story's setting, or background art. Others work only on the colors. They review the colors animators have used, and they make sure the same shades of colors are used so each picture matches the others.
The sound team hires actors to be the voices for the characters. The actors read from the scripts. Their voices are recorded and replayed to match the animated pictures. Other members of the sound team add sound effects, such as ringing bells and music.
The drawings, color, story, voices, and music come together in the end to make an animated film. Whether it's a half-hour cartoon or a feature-length movie, you can be sure that a lot of people worked hard to get it to your screen.
1. Reread the interview on page 413. Name three things you learned about Bill Francis's job.
2. Based on what you read, what would you enjoy about being an animator? 
3. Think about What Do Illustrators Do? and this article. How are the jobs of illustrator and animator alike? How are they different? 
Think about an idea for a cartoon character. Draw it on paper or on a computer. Make sure to give your character a name.
To create the mood when you write a play scene, choose precise words your characters would really use. Think about what your characters are like and where and when they live.
I chose precise words that fairy tale characters from long ago would say.
Little Man: Why are you sitting and crying at your spinning wheel?
Girl: My father told the king I can spin straw into gold, but I do not know how.
Little Man: Goodness me! What did the king say, my dear?
Girl: I must do it by sunrise, or he will put my loyal father in jail.
Little Man: I can help.
What will you give me?
Girl: I'll give you my necklace.
Choose a fairy tale character with a career or talent, and write a play scene. Write one or two sentences that tell where the scene takes place. Then write the name of each speaker followed by the speaker's words. Be sure to choose words that fit your characters and set the right mood. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I choose an interesting part of the story for my scene?
Organization: Did I briefly set the scene?
Voice: Does my interest in this scene show?
Word Choice: Did I choose precise words that create the mood I want?
Sentence Fluency: Do the characters' words sound good when I read them out loud?
Conventions: Did I use colons after the speakers' names? Did I combine sentences that have the same subject? Did I check my spelling?
The answer is right there on the page. Skim for clues to find the answer.
Journal writing can be a lot of fun. You can write about your feelings and things that are important to you. You can describe interesting, happy, and even sad experiences. Your journal will be filled with memories that you can read again and again.
To make your journal special, design it yourself! Here are some directions for making your own journal and the covers that will protect it. Follow the steps in order. Soon, you'll have a journal that's made by you and tells all about you.
Place a sheet of paper on each piece of cardboard.
With a pencil, trace straight lines around the paper's edges.
Cut along the lines. These pieces of cardboard will become the covers of your journal.
Bind Your Journal With a pencil, draw a faint, vertical line along the left edge of the cover.
Stack the paper for the journal pages between the two cardboard covers.
Use binder clips to hold the papers together neatly.
Staple along the pencil line. This will hold your journal together.
Now it's time to be creative! Decorate the front and back covers of your journal. Use markers, crayons, paints, or colored pencils to add pictures or words to your covers. You could also glue on shells, yarn, stickers, or photos. Choose decorations that are special to you. Now your journal is ready.
1. The directions say to draw a faint line on the cover. What is the purpose of this line?
to show you where your name goes.
to show you where to glue.
to show you where to staple.
to show you where to decorate.
2. What is the first thing to do when making a journal?
Decorate the journal cover.
Paint the cardboard for the covers.
Make the journal covers.
Bind the journal pages and covers.
3. What is the BEST reason for making a cardboard cover?
4. Why do you think it is important to choose decorations that are special to you?
5. Why are there headings in the directions? Why are there pictures? Use examples to support your answers.
Think about something that happened this week. Write a oneor two-paragraph journal entry describing your experience. Include details to explain what happened and how it made you feel.
Glossary can help you find the meanings of words in this book that you may not know. The words in the Glossary are listed in alphabetical order. Guide words at the top of each page tell you the first and last words on the page.
Each word is divided into syllables. The way to pronounce the word is given next. You can understand the pronunciation respelling by using the pronunciation key. A shorter key appears at the bottom of every other page. When a word has more than one syllable, a dark accent mark (') shows which syllable is stressed. In some words, a light accent mark O shows which syllable has a less heavy stress. Sometimes an entry includes a second meaning for the word.
What is one meal you would love to learn how to make?
An idiom is a phrase with a meaning that is different from the meaning of each word in it.
A hen named Red lived in a city. Red and her pals did everything together. One day, Red and her feline friend Fiona went shopping. As they passed a trash-filled, weed-covered lot, Red smiled. "Wouldn't that lot be a magnificent spot for a garden?" she asked.
"Have you lost your marbles?" Fiona meowed, looking at Red like she was crazy. "It's a disaster!" "We'd have to clean it up, of course," said Red. She called Ricardo over and asked for help.
"Sorry. I have a dentist appointment," Ricardo barked and walked away wagging his tail.
Red was disappointed. Fiona stomped her paws angrily.
"I'll help you," said Fiona.
Red and Fiona cleaned the lot. Then it was time to plant seeds.
"I wish I could help," said Ricardo, "But I have bones to dig up."
"I'll help," said Fiona, shaking her head at the dog.
Red and Fiona planted beans, carrots, pumpkins, and squash. Soon the seeds grew and made the garden beautiful. It looked like a masterpiece! Red asked her friends to help weed and water. Only Fiona had time to help. When it was time to pick the vegetables, only Red and Fiona did the work.
"I'll make dinner," said Red. "Each vegetable will be an ingredient in my recipes for cooking vegetable stew and pumpkin pie." Red licked her lips. "Those are tasty dishes."
Ricardo happened to walk by just then.
"I'd be happy to come to dinner," he said.
"You didn't help clean, weed, water, or pick. What makes you think you're invited?" asked Fiona. Red nodded firmly.
Of course, Fiona was invited, and everything was delicious.
To compare and contrast ways that people, things or events are the same and different, you need to analyze information from the story.
A Venn Diagram helps you make inferences about the characters' actions and feelings so you can compare and contrast them. Reread the story to compare and contrast Fiona with Ricardo.
Humorous Fiction is a made-up story written to make the reader laugh.
"Always chicken feed! Day after day, year after year. I'm sick of it!" squawked Big Brown Rooster. "Can we get something new to eat around here? Please? Nobody's listening. What's a hungry rooster to do?"
"There's no hope. Wait a minute... " Rooster remembered a story his mama used to tell, a story handed down from chicken to chicken. The story of his famous great-grandmother, the Little Red Hen.
Rooster rushed into the chicken coop. "It has to be here," he said. He looked high and low, and there it was at last, hidden under a nest -- her cookbook.
Rooster carefully turned the pages. "So many recipes -- and I thought she just baked bread! Look at the strawberry shortcake!"
"That's it! I'll make the most wonderful, magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world. No more chicken feed for me!"
How is Rooster like Great-Granny? How is he different?
"Cook-a-doodle-doo?" said Dog.
"Have you lost your marbles, Rooster?" asked Cat.
"You've never cooked anything before!" said Goose.
"That doesn't matter," replied Rooster. "Cooking is in my blood -- it's a family tradition. Now, who will help me?"
"Not I," said Dog.
"Not I," said Cat.
"Not I," said Goose.
And away they went.
Rooster pushed open the kitchen door. "It looks like I'm on my own... just like Great-Granny." He sighed and put on his apron.
"We'll help you."
Rooster turned, and there stood Turtle, Iguana, and Potbellied Pig.
"Do you three know anything about cooking?" Rooster asked.
"I can read recipes!" said Turtle.
"I can get stuff!" said Iguana.
"I can taste!" said Pig. "I'm an expert at tasting."
"Then we're a team," declared Rooster. "Let's get ready and start cooking!"
Turtle read the cookbook. "Heat oven to 450 degrees." "I can do that!" said Iguana. "Look, I'll turn the knob. 150, 250, 350, 450. Hey, cooking is easy!"
Rooster put a big bowl on the table. "What's our first ingredient?" he asked.
"The recipe says we need flour," said Turtle.
"I can do that!" said Iguana. He dashed outside and picked a petunia. "How's this flower?"
A cookbook gives directions for making many different things to eat. Each type of food has its own recipe -- a list of everything that goes into it and step-by-step directions on how to make it.
One of the oven knobs controls the temperature of the oven. The higher the number on the knob, the hotter the oven. Temperature is measured in degrees Fahrenheit (F) or degrees Celsius (C). On a very hot day the temperature outside can be over 100F (38C). Can you imagine what 450F (232C) feels like?
Ingredients are the different things that go into a recipe. Each ingredient may not taste good by itself, but if you put them all together in the right way, the result tastes delicious.
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Not that kind of flower. We need flour for cooking. You know, the fluffy white stuff that's made from wheat."
"Can I taste the flour?" asked Pig.
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "The recipe says to sift it first."
"What does sift mean?" asked Iguana.
"Hmmm," said Turtle. "I think sift means to search through."
Make sure you use a big bowl that will hold all of the ingredients. It's best to set out everything before you start cooking, so you don't have to go looking for your ingredients one-by-one like Iguana!
Flour is made from wheat grains that are finely ground.
Long ago, the grinding was done by hand; now it is done by machines. Rooster's Great-Granny had to grind the grain into flour by hand, but you and Rooster can buy flour at the grocery store.
You will find many different kinds of flour at the storeincluding all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cake flour, and high-altitude flour. Rooster's recipe calls for all-purpose flour.
Sifting adds air to the flour so it can be measured accurately. Some sifters have cranks, some have spring-action handles, and some are battery powered.
Make sure you put waxed paper on the counter before you start sifting. It will make cleanup a lot easier!
"You mean like when I sift through the garbage looking for lunch?" asked Pig.
"I can do that!" said Iguana. And he dived into the flour, throwing it everywhere!
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Don't sift the flour like that. Put it through this sifter." Rooster turned the crank and sifted the flour into a big pile.
"Can I taste the pile?" asked Pig.
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Now we measure the flour."
"I can do that!" said Iguana. He grabbed a ruler. "The flour is four inches tall."
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "We don't want to know how tall it is. We want to know how much there is.
We measure the flour with this metal measuring cup." "We need two cups," added Turtle. "So fill it twice." Rooster dumped the two cups of flour into the bowl.
"Can I taste it now?" asked Pig.
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Next we add two tablespoons of sugar, one tablespoon of baking powder, and one-half teaspoon of salt."
How is Pig different from Rooster?
Measuring cups for dry ingredients are made of metal or plastic and usually come in sets of four -- 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, and 1/4 cup. Pick the measuring cup that holds the amount you need, then dip it into the dry ingredient, getting a heaping amount. Level it off with the straight edge of a knife and let the extra fall back into the container (although Pig would be very happy if just a little fell on the floor!)
Dry ingredients can be measured in cups or grams.
Some ingredients are included for flavor, but not baking powder. Even Pig thinks it tastes terrible! When baking powder is added to the shortcake, bubbles of gas form and get bigger while the cake bakes, which makes it rise.
Dry ingredients are all sifted together so they will be evenly mixed.
"I can do that!" said Iguana. He looked under the table. "But where are the tablespoons?" He looked in the teapot. "No teaspoons in here!"
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Don't look in the teapot or under the table! These spoons are for measuring.
Each holds a certain amount." Rooster measured the sugar, baking powder, and salt, poured them into the big bowl, then sifted all the dry ingredients together.
Iguana wasn't far off when he looked for tablespoons under the table and teaspoons in the teapot. Tablespoons were named after the large spoons used at the table to serve soup, and teaspoons after the smaller spoons used to stir tea.
Butter is made by churning cream, the fat in cow's milk. (This doesn't mean it comes from a fat cow!) Margarine can be used instead of butter. Butter and margarine come in sticks and are easy to measure because their wrappers are marked in tablespoons.
Butter and margarine are two types of solid shortening, or fat, used in cooking. The name "shortcake" doesn't mean the cake is short. It refers to the shortening in the recipe.
Cool butter is "cut in" to dry ingredients by using two table knives or a pastry blender. Cut the butter into tiny pieces.
"Looks awfully white in there," said Pig. "I better taste it."
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Now we add butter. We need one stick."
"I can do that!" cried Iguana. He raced outside and broke off a branch. "How's this stick?"
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Not that kind of stick. A stick of butter." Rooster unwrapped the butter and dropped it into the bowl.
"That butter is just sitting there like a log," said Pig. "Maybe I need to taste it."
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Next we cut in the butter." "I can do that!" said Iguana. "Uh-oh. Scissors don't cut butter very well."
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Don't cut the butter with scissors. Use these two table knives, like this." Rooster cut in the butter until the mixture was crumbly.
"Looks mighty dry in there," said Pig. "Perhaps I should taste it."
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Now the recipe says to beat one egg."
"I can do that!" cried Iguana.
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "Don't beat an egg with a baseball bat! We use an eggbeater." Rooster carefully broke the egg into a dish, beat it with the eggbeater, and poured it into the big bowl.
"That looks tasty," said Pig. "Please let me taste it."
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Now add milk. We need two-thirds of a cup."
Break an egg by hitting the shell gently on the edge of a countertop or bowl to make a small crack. Place both thumbs in the crack and pull the shell apart. Always crack an egg into a small bowl before you add it to the other ingredients in case the egg is bad or shell pieces fall in. Eggs add color and flavor and help hold the cake together.
You can beat eggs with a fork, a hand beater (like Rooster's), or an electric mixer. If you use an electric mixer, make sure to put the eggs in a big bowl and start off on a low speed. If you start with the mixer on high, you'll get egg on your face!
Liquid measuring cups are made of glass or plastic. Each measuring cup has a spout for pouring and extra room below the rim so you don't have to fill it to the top and worry about spilling. Always put the cup on a flat surface and measure at eye level.
Grease the pan with a solid shortening so the cake will not stick.
Rooster is mixing the batter by hand, which means to stir with a spoon instead of a mixer. (How would Iguana mix by hand?)
"I can do that!" said Iguana. "Here, hold that glass measuring cup and I'll saw off a third. We'll use the other two-thirds to measure the milk."
"Wait," said Pig. "Why don't we fill the measuring cup to the top and I'll drink down a third?"
"No, no, no," said Rooster. "The cup has marks on it -- 1/3 -- 2/3 -- 1 cup. We'll fill it to the 2/3 mark." Rooster poured the milk into the bowl.
"It surely needs tasting now!" said Pig.
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "Now we mix the dough and put it in a greased baking pan." Rooster stirred and spread as Turtle read, "Bake in the oven for fifteen to eighteen minutes."
"I can do that!" cried Iguana.
Iguana shoved the pan into the oven. "Let's see, fifteen minutes equals nine hundred seconds. I'll count them. One, two, three, four -- "
"No, no, no," said Rooster, and he set the timer so that Iguana would stop counting the seconds. Pig burned his tongue on the oven door trying to taste the shortcake. Turtle studied the cookbook to see what to do next.
"Let's cut up the strawberries and whip the cream," said Turtle.
Make sure you stay nearby, so you can hear the timer when your cake is ready! Cooking times are given in hours, minutes, or seconds.
Wash the strawberries first and cut off their tops. Use a cutting board and cut each strawberry in half, then cut each half in half. (How many pieces do you have now?) Watch out for your fingers!
Whipping cream comes from cow's milk. It contains more butterfat than regular cream. Iguana might think you use a whip to whip the cream, but you could use an eggbeater or electric mixer.
When you take something out of a hot oven, make sure you use a pot holder or oven mitt.
A trick to tell if your shortcake is done: Stick a toothpick or knife in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, without any cake sticking to it, the shortcake is ready.
Don't forget to turn off the oven when you're finished!
And they cut and cut and whipped and whipped, until... ding!
Rooster grabbed the oven mitt off Iguana's head and took the shortcake carefully out of the oven.
"Oh, it's beautiful, and it smells so good," said Pig. "I know I have to taste it now."
"Not yet, Pig," said Turtle. "We need to let it cool." Soon the shortcake was ready to cut. Rooster sliced it in half.
They stacked one layer of cake, one layer of whipped cream, one layer of strawberries.
Then again -- cake, cream, berries.
It looked just like the picture of the strawberry shortcake in the cookbook.
"This is the most wonderful, magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world," said Rooster.
"If Great-Granny could see me now! Let's take it to the table."
"I can do that!" cried Iguana.
Pig was ready. "Now it's my turn -- to taste it!" In a split second the strawberry shortcake was gone. Every last crumb had disappeared into the potbelly of the pig.
"Our shortcake!" Iguana cried. "You ate it!"
"I thought it was my turn," replied Pig. "I'm the taster, remember? And it tasted great!"
"But it was our masterpiece," moaned Turtle. "And a tasty one, too," said Pig. "Now we can make something else."
"Yeah..." Iguana glared. "How about a plump, juicy roast pig?"
Pig gasped. "Roast pig? How about iguana potpie -- or -- or -- turtle soup!"
"No, no, no!" cried Rooster. "Listen to me! We made this shortcake as a team, and teams work together." "But Pig ate it!" whined Turtle.
"Iguana dropped it," pouted Pig.
"Turtle should have caught it," grumbled Iguana.
"It doesn't matter," said Rooster. "The first shortcake was just for practice. It won't be as hard to make the second time!"
"Well," added Turtle, "we don't have to worry about messing up the kitchen. It's already a mess."
"So, who will help me make it again?" asked Rooster. Pig, Turtle, and Iguana looked at each other.
"I will!" said Pig.
"I will!" said Turtle.
"I will!" said Iguana.
"Cook-a-doodle-dooooo!" crowed Rooster. "Let's get cooking again!"
Together they made the second most wonderful, magnificent strawberry shortcake in the whole wide world. And it was a lot easier than the first time!
They are sisters who both like animals. Janet's favorite books as a child were about animals. She still reads animal stories today. Janet likes telling old tales in new ways, just as she did in this story. The sisters wrote this book together. Then Janet created the illustrations. She's been drawing ever since she was a child.
What was the authors' purpose for writing Cook-a-Doodle- Doo!? Did they want to inform or entertain? How did they achieve their goal?
Summarize what happens in Cook-a- Doodle-Doo! Use the Venn Diagram to help you compare Pig and Rooster. Compare and contrast the main characters using descriptions of their personalities and events in the story.
1. Look at the information cards in the story. How is this extra information different from the main text? How is it similar to the main text? 
2. What conclusion can you draw about Pig being a helpful member of the team? Use story details in your answer. 
3. How would you apply what you have learned about these characters if you had to work on a team with Turtle, Pig, and Iguana in the future? Explain. 
4. How important is teamwork when creating a masterpiece? Explain your answer. 
5. Read "Red and Her Friends" on pages 12-13.
How is it similar to Cook-a-Doodle-Doo!?
How are the two stories different?
Have you ever walked into a bakery and enjoyed the wonderful smells and tastes of freshly baked breads, pies, and cakes? Those baked goods are the results of truly hard work!
Most bakers get to work at three or four o'clock in the morning. They have to do that so the rolls, muffins, and breads will be ready to be sold before breakfast time.
When you think about all of the things sold at a bakery, the work of a baker seems amazing! Bread is just one of the things they make, and most bakeries make and sell many kinds. They bake white breads, whole wheat, rye breads, French breads, raisin breads, and pumpernickels.
The loaves are baked in a big oven.
Bread ingredients are mixed in a large mixer.
Bakers follow these steps to make bread.
The dough rests and rises in a big mixing bowl.
The loaves of dough rest and rise again.
The dough is cut into loaf-sized pieces.
The dough is kneaded, or pressed and stretched.
At the start of the day, bakers organize their work schedule. They plan times to bake, sell, and order supplies. They also plan the sequence of their baking, such as what they should bake first.
Bakers must create and mix their doughs. Every type of bread begins with a different dough. Each ingredient in the dough must be carefully weighed or measured.
Then, the ingredients must be mixed together. A bakery has huge mixing bowls and machines to do the mixing. After all the ingredients are mixed into a sticky dough, it must "rest" for several hours. Bread dough can't be rushed! Next, pieces of dough are cut by hand and weighed. Each piece will become one loaf of bread. But nothing is ready to be baked yet!
The dough still must be kneaded. That means that a baker must stretch it and press it over and over until it feels softer and all ingredients are completely mixed together. After kneading, the dough is shaped into loaves. Some loaves are round, some are long and thin, and others look like big braids.
It is not time to put those loaves in the oven yet! They need another "rest." Then they are finally ready to go in the oven.
A bakery oven can be as big as a room. The baker watches carefully as the breads bake. When they are crusty and golden brown, the loaves are taken out of the oven to cool. Then they are ready to be sold.
A bakery is a business, so a good baker must also be a good business person. Buying ingredients, setting prices, and figuring out profits, or how much money is made, are all part of the bakery business.
Running a bakery is hard work, but baking beautiful, delicious things can be fun and rewarding. After all, people are always happy to enjoy the tasty treats that bakers create!
Vary the length of your sentences to help your writing flow better. Too many short sentences make your writing choppy. Too many long sentences may make your writing tiring to read.
I wrote a topic sentence first. Then I briefly described all the steps in order.
Here I joined two short, related sentences to make a compound sentence.
My favorite thing to do is make blueberry pancakes. I am really good at making them big, blue, and round. First, I have to mix water into the pancake mix. Next, I put all of the blueberries in a bowl and mash them with a fork. Then, I mix the berries into the batter. It's fun to watch the batter turn blue. Finally, I pour the batter into the pan in perfect circles, and my dad cooks them. Of course, the best thing about blueberry pancakes is eating them!
Write a paragraph that explains something you like to do. It may be about a sport, a hobby, or anything else. Start with a topic sentence. Then explain the activity step-by-step. Along the way, be sure to explain why you like this activity. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is my explanation clear?
Organization: Did I write a topic sentence? Did I use words like first, next, then, and finally to show the order of steps?
Voice: Do I show that I like this activity?
Word Choice: Did I use descriptive words?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary sentence lengths?
Conventions: If I used the verbs be, do, and have, did I use the correct forms? Did I check my spelling?
People can have different ideas and still work together. What do you do when someone disagrees with you?
One bright day, as the sunlight beamed through the windows, Mr. Turner's class started to plan the third-grade community service project.
"OK," said Mr. Turner. "Let's share some ideas and listen to each other."
A few students raised their hands.
Mr. Turner called on Mark. "We could clean up the small park -- pick up trash and paint the benches," said Mark.
Rachel got annoyed. She argued with Mark. "You just want that park clean for yourself. Everyone else uses the big park across town. I think we should serve meals at the homeless shelter."
"Now, Rachel. Everyone should have a chance to share his or her ideas. It's okay to disagree, but we should still treat each other nicely."
"Sorry, Mr. Turner," Rachel said.
Jen cut in, "There are people who don't have many possessions, not even warm clothing. We could collect fabric for making nice, warm clothes for them!"
Cara added, "I read about a class that raised money and purchased notebooks and pencils for kids from a discount store."
"We could do crafts with people in nursing homes or hospitals," said Maria.
"Crafts?" groaned Sameer.
"I'm really bad at crafts. I'm all thumbs! But how about a walk-athon. I'm a fast walker, and we'd get exercise," he said. This made everyone laugh and stop their quarreling over who had the best idea.
Then Mr. Turner spoke. "All of your ideas are great. I'm going to write them on the board. Then we will take a class vote. This way we can choose a community service project that most people want to do."
The students agreed this was a good plan.
Authors don't tell you every detail in a story. You have to analyze clues the author does give and what you already know to draw conclusions.
Reread the story to draw conclusions about how one character feels about their community service suggestion. A Conclusion Map can help you draw conclusions based on the inferences you have made.
A Fable is a short story that teaches a moral.
How will the brothers get along at the end of the story?
In a small African village in the country of Ghana there lived an old man and his seven sons. After the death of his wife, the old man became both father and mother to the boys. The seven brothers were handsome young men. Their skin was as smooth and dark as the finest mahogany wood. Their limbs were as straight and strong as warriors' spears.
But they were a disappointment to their father. From morning until night, the family's small home was filled with the sound of the brothers' quarreling.
As soon as the sun brought forth a new day, the brothers began to argue. They argued all morning about how to tend the crops. They argued all afternoon about the weather.
"It is hot" said the middle son.
"No -- a cool breeze is blowing!" said the second son.
They argued all evening about when to return home.
"It will be dark soon" the youngest said. "Let's finish this row and begin anew tomorrow"
"No, it's too early to stop," called the third son.
"Can't you see the sun is setting?" shouted the sixth son.
And so it would continue until the moon beamed down and the stars twinkled in the sky.
At mealtime, the young men argued until the stew was cold and the fu fu was hard.
"You gave him more than you gave me" whined the third son.
"I divided the food equally" said their father.
"I will starve with only this small portion on my plate," complained the youngest.
"If you don't want it, I'll eat it!" said the oldest son. He grabbed a handful of meat from his brother's plate.
"Stop being so greedy!" said the youngest.
And so it went on every night. It was often morning before the seven brothers finished dinner.
One sad day, the old man died and was buried. At sunrise the next morning, the village Chief called the brothers before him.
"Your father has left an inheritance," said the Chief.
The brothers whispered excitedly among themselves.
"I know my father left me everything because I am the oldest son" said the oldest.
"I know my father left me everything because I am the youngest son," said the youngest.
"He left everything to me," said the middle son.
"I know I was his favorite."
"Eeeh!" said the second son. "Everything is mine!"
The brothers began shouting and shoving. Soon, all seven were rolling around on the ground, hitting and kicking each other.
"Stop that this instant!" the Chief shouted.
The brothers stopped fighting. They shook the dust off their clothes and sat before the Chief, eyeing each other suspiciously.
"Your father has decreed that all of his property and possessions will be divided among you equally," said the Chief. "But first, by the time the moon rises tonight, you must learn how to make gold out of these spools of silk thread. If you do not, you will be turned out of your home as beggars."
The oldest brother received blue thread. The next brother, red. The next, yellow. The middle son was given orange thread; the next, green; the next, black; and the youngest son received white thread. For once, the brothers were speechless.
The Chief spoke again. "From this moment forward, you must not argue among yourselves or raise your hands in anger towards one another. If you do, your father's property and all his possessions will be divided equally among the poorest of the villagers. Go quickly; you only have a little time."
The brothers bowed to the Chief and hurried away.
Why were the brothers speechless after listening to the Chief?
When the seven Ashanti brothers arrived at their farm, something unusual happened. They sat side by side, from the oldest to the youngest, without saying anything unkind to each other.
"My brothers," the oldest said after a while, "let us shake hands and make peace among ourselves."
"Let us never argue or fight again," said the youngest brother.
The brothers placed their hands together and held each other tightly.
For the first time in years, peace rested within the walls of their home.
"My brothers," said the third son quietly, "surely our father would not turn us into the world as beggars"
"I agree" said the middle son. "I do not believe our father would have given us the task of turning thread into gold if it were impossible"
"Could it be," said the oldest son, "that there might be small pieces of gold in this thread?"
The sun beamed hotly overhead. Yellow streams of light crept inside the hut. Each brother held up his spool of thread. The beautiful colors sparkled in the sunlight. But there were no nuggets of gold in these spools.
"I'm afraid not, my brother" said the sixth son. "But that was a good idea"
"Thank you, my brother" said the oldest.
"Could it be" said the youngest, "that by making something from this thread we could earn a fortune in gold?"
"Perhaps" said the oldest, "we could make cloth out of this thread and sell it. I believe we can do it."
"This is a good plan," said the middle son. "But we do not have enough of any one color to make a full bolt of cloth."
"What if" said the third son, "we weave the thread together to make a cloth of many colors?"
"But our people do not wear cloth like that," said the fifth son. "We wear only cloth of one color"
"Maybe," said the second, "we could make a cloth that is so special, everyone will want to wear it."
"My brothers," said the sixth son, "we could finish faster if we all worked together."
"I know we can succeed," said the middle son.
The seven Ashanti brothers went to work. Together they cut the wood to make a loom. The younger brothers held the pieces together while the older brothers assembled the loom.
They took turns weaving cloth out of their spools of thread. They made a pattern of stripes and shapes that looked like the wings of birds. They used all the colors -- blue, red, yellow, orange, green, black, and white. Soon the brothers had several pieces of beautiful multicolored cloth.
When the cloth was finished, the seven brothers took turns neatly folding the brightly colored fabric. Then they placed it into seven baskets and put the baskets on their heads.
The brothers formed a line from the oldest to the youngest and began the journey to the village. The sun slowly made a golden path across the sky. The brothers hurried down the long, dusty road as quickly as they could.
As soon as they entered the marketplace, the seven Ashanti brothers called out, "Come and buy the most wonderful cloth in the world! Come and buy the most wonderful cloth in the world!"
They unfolded a bolt and held it up for all to see.
The multicolored fabric glistened like a rainbow. A crowd gathered around the seven Ashanti brothers.
"Oh" said one villager. "I have never seen cloth so beautiful! Look at the unusual pattern!"
"Ah" said another. "This is the finest fabric in all the land! Feel the texture!"
What have the brothers learned?
The brothers smiled proudly. Suddenly, a man dressed in magnificent robes pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Everyone stepped back respectfully. It was the King's treasurer. He rubbed the cloth between the palms of his hands. Then he held it up to the sunlight.
"What a thing of beauty," he said, fingering the material. "This cloth will make a wonderful gift for the King! I must have all of it."
The seven brothers whispered together.
"Cloth fit for a king," said the oldest, "should be purchased at a price only a king can pay. It is yours for one bag of gold."
"Sold," said the King's treasurer. He untied his bag of gold and spilled out many pieces for the brothers.
The seven Ashanti brothers ran out of the marketplace and back down the road to their village.
A shining silver moon began to creep up in the sky. Panting and dripping with sweat, the brothers threw themselves before the Chief's hut.
"Oh, Chief," said the oldest, "we have turned the thread into gold!"
The Chief came out of his hut and sat upon a stool.
The oldest brother poured the gold out onto the ground.
"Have you argued or fought today?" asked the Chief.
"No, my Chief," said the youngest. "We have been too busy working together to argue or fight"
"Then you have learned the lesson your father sought to teach you," said the Chief. "All that he had is now yours."
The older brothers smiled happily, but the youngest son looked sad.
"What about the poor people in the village?" he asked. "We receive an inheritance, but what will they do?"
"Perhaps," said the oldest, "we can teach them how to turn thread into gold."
The Chief smiled. "You have learned your lesson very well."
The seven Ashanti brothers taught their people carefully. The village became famous for its beautiful, multicolored cloth, and the villagers prospered.
From that day until this, the seven Ashanti brothers have worked together, farming the land.
And they have worked peacefully, in honor of their father.
Did Angela Shelf Medearis write this story to explain, inform, or entertain? What clues show readers her purpose for writing?
Author Angela Shelf Medearis wrote this story to celebrate the African American holiday Kwanzaa. When Angela was growing up, there were no books for her to read about her African American heritage. Today she writes books about African Americans so readers can feel proud of who they are.
Illustrator Daniel Minter often carves and paints on wood, just as he did for this story. Woodcarving is an important part of traditional African art. Daniel's carvings help keep these traditional arts alive.
Summarize the plot of Seven Spools of Thread. Use your Conclusion Map to help you recall clues that tell how the brothers behave at the end.
Instead of ordering them to stop quarreling, the Chief ordered the brothers to make gold from thread. Why do you think he did that? Use your Conclusion Map to help you answer.
Look back at page 61. What lesson about teamwork are the brothers beginning to learn? Use story details in your answer. 
Think about a quarrel you had. What positive lesson did you learn? 
The brothers taught the villagers how to weave the special cloth. Why is that better than giving the villagers their money? 
Read "Community Works" on pages 48-49. How is the problem in this story similar to the problem in Seven Spools of Thread? How are the solutions to the problems different? Use details from both stories in your answer. 
Newsletters contain nonfiction writing that gives up-to-date information about real people and things.
Rules are a list of ways you should behave.
On Monday Mrs. Simon helped us settle an argument between Marcus and Nathan. We have been learning about conflict resolution in her class. A conflict is a problem between people.
To resolve something means to solve it. So conflict resolution is solving problems so we can get along better.
Here's what happened: Marcus couldn't find his homework. He thought that Nathan took it. Marcus was really mad.
First, Mrs. Simon told Marcus to cool off. Next, she asked him to calmly explain what was bothering him. Marcus said, "I'm mad at Nathan because I think he took my homework."
Mrs. Simon asked Nathan to understand how Marcus felt. Nathan said, "I'd be mad, too, if someone took my homework. That's why I would never do that."
The class made a list of possible solutions and discussed them. We thought it would be best for Nathan to help Marcus look for his homework. Guess what happened? When Nathan helped, Marcus found his paper. It was in his notebook all along. We learned that conflict resolution works!
Keep your hands to yourself.
Raise your hand to speak.
Follow the teacher's directions.
In our class we respect each other. These rules can help us stop problems before they start!
Look at the classroom rules. Why do you think the second rule is important? 
How can Mrs. Simon's tips help you in your own life? When might you need to use them? Apply
Think about Seven Spools of Thread. Which steps did the brothers use to solve their problem? How were their steps similar to Nathan's?
Sometimes precise words that show details are included to make writing smoother and clearer. This is especially important when writing instructions.
I used precise words to tell how to make a paper place mat.
I added some details to make my sentences smoother and clearer.
A rainbow-colored place mat is easy to make. You will need tape, scissors, and paper in several colors.
Fold a piece of paper in half.
Starting from the fold, make five cuts that end one inch from the paper's edge. Unfold.
Cut one-inch-wide strips from the other pieces of paper.
Weave the strips between the cuts you made. Then, tape the strips together.
Your place mat is ready to use!
Write a poster with directions for making something to use, eat, or wear. Be sure to add precise words that provide details and make sentences read clearly and flow smoothly. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I give enough information to make this project?
Organization: Are the directions in order?
Voice: Did I write directly to my readers?
Word Choice: Did I choose precise words that make my meaning clear?
Sentence Fluency: Did I add words to provide details and make sentences flow smoothly?
Conventions: Did I use linking verbs correctly? Did I use the correct punctuation at the end of complete sentences?
Why do people need the natural resources shown on these pages?
Egypt's vast Western Desert is 600 miles long and 900 miles wide -- and it's very hot. Temperatures in the summer can go up to 100 degrees.
The Western Desert used to be one of Earth's most private spots, but now its many visitors are making it a popular tourist attraction. New roads and buildings are threatening native plants and animals of the desert ecosystem. Some visitors even remove priceless fossils from the desert.
Amr Shannon is an expert on the Western Desert. He wants to protect it, especially an area known as the Valley of the Whales. It is full of ancient crocodile, shark, and whale fossils.
"Fossils are disappearing at a very fast rate" says Shannon. They shouldn't be removed.
Shannon thinks kids between the ages of 6 and 12 can learn to protect the desert. He takes groups of kids on a two-day desert adventure for hands-on research. "I find that children absorb more than adults" he says. "They are the future, the ones who are really going to make a difference."
A biome is a large community of plants and animals that live in a certain type of climate. Here's a look at the seven major biomes in the world.
A cold area in the far north around the Arctic Ocean. The frozen soil makes it impossible for trees to sprout, or grow, from seed. It is Earth's coldest biome.
A wet and humid forest that receives at least 70 inches of rain a year. Clumps -- groups growing close together -- of mosses and fungi grow on the forest floor.
A dry area that gets very little rainfall. There are two kinds of deserts: hot and dry, or cold and dry.
Very cold and windy environments that exist on every continent.
Found in mild-temperature zones. It is mostly made up of trees that lose their leaves.
Vast areas of grassy fields, perfect for growing food.
A biome of cone-bearing trees south of the Arctic tundra.
Kids who live on Sandy Island in South Carolina ride to their classes on a school boat! The island has rare trees, birds, plants, and only 120 people.
When some landowners wanted to build a bridge to the mainland, the islanders feared it would ruin the natural environment. Environmentalist Dana Beach and other islanders stopped the bridge. Then he helped turn the endangered longleaf-pine forest into a nature preserve to protect it forever.
When you look for similarities, you compare two or more things or ideas. When you look for differences, you contrast them.
Spartina is a perfectly good plant. It creates a habitat and food for many fish and wildlife. So why do the kids at Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon, Washington, want to get rid of it? It's because spartina shouldn't live on the West Coast. In Washington State's Puget Sound, spartina has turned into a life-choking weed.
The "weed whackers" of Lincoln Elementary, in Mount Vernon, Washington
Spartina is native to the East Coast. There, native plants and animals keep it from growing out of control. Besides providing a wetland habitat, spartina's roots stop soil from being washed away in the tide. However, in Washington these traits are not helpful. Spartina is an alien species because it does not grow there naturally.
Since no animals eat spartina in Puget Sound, it grows in thick clumps, crowding out native plants. Its roots hurt rather than help. "It clogs up all the mud and changes the shape of the mud flats," explains student Seth Morris. In the East it creates a good habitat, but in the West, it has caused crabs, snails, salmon, and shorebirds to leave because there is less food.
This photo shows how spartina is spreading in Puget Sound and has crowded out native plants.
When the kids at Lincoln Elementary School took on the spartina problem, they didn't know how the plant got to the Northwest. The kids contacted local experts and hit the books to do some research.
Students Seth Morris and Anna Hansen reported that spartina came to Puget Sound in a few ways. "Spartina goes back to the late 1800s, when it came here from the East Coast," Seth explains. Settlers wanted to raise oysters in the West. They packed them in wet spartina to keep them fresh. When the oysters were put in new beds in Puget Sound, it made spartina seeds sprout.
Spartina was also introduced when duck hunters planted it to attract more ducks. Engineers brought the plant in to keep soil from washing away, and farmers planted it to feed their cattle.
The classes worked in teams. One team researched Padilla Bay. Another team made drawings of spartina and its effects on the shore. The third team worked to get the word out about spartina. All the kids wrote letters to state lawmakers, urging them to help.
A student's drawing shows where spartina has invaded Padilla Bay.
Getting rid of spartina takes lots of hard work and money. That's why the students wanted to teach the community about the weed. First, they held town meetings to discuss spartina's impact on the environment. They also traveled to the state capitol in Olympia to talk about the problem. The kids even headed to Padilla Bay to snip off spartina seed heads to keep the weed from spreading.
"One of the big lessons we learned from this project," says their teacher, Teresa Vaughn, "was that we can't take care of the problem by just taking care of it in our bay. This is a problem for the entire Northwest coast."
The kids know that saving Padilla Bay will be hard work.
It took decades for the spartina problem to take root. It'll take many years to get rid of it.
Students from Lincoln's fifth and sixth grades became activists to fight the spartina invasion.
1. What is the difference between spartina growth in the East and in Washington?
2. Why is spartina described as an alien?
3. What do you think is the hardest part of what the kids at Lincoln Elementary School did? Explain.
4. How have people brought on the problems described in "Saving Egypt's Great Desert" and "Washington Weed Whackers"? 
The answer is in more than one place. Keep reading to find the answer.
Students work hard to keep sediment from clogging up the creek.
Students in Jean Mahoney's class worked all year to clean up Arana Creek. The creek winds around Santa Cruz, California. It is part of the Arana Gulch watershed. A watershed is an area where water from rivers, creeks, rain, or snow drains into a larger body of water.
Watersheds are ideal habitats for steelhead trout to lay eggs, but the Arana Gulch area is polluted. The creek is clogged with sediment, or loose dirt, that falls into the bay and smothers fish eggs.
After Mahoney's class learned about the area's plants and animals, they went to work. They picked up trash and removed weeds. Then they planted trees and grasses to help hold the soil together. That way the creek doesn't fill with sediment.
After they helped control soil erosion, the students looked for a way to help the steelhead make it safely to the bay. They changed how the water flowed, making it easier for the fish to get through.
The following spring they tested the water temperature and sediment levels. Conditions were just right for the trout!
1. How does pollution affect fish in a natural habitat?
It creates a watershed to protect them.
It makes it hard for fish to swim and for their eggs to hatch.
It decreases the average water temperature.
It reduces the amount of sediment, making it easier to swim.
2. How would you describe the students in Ms. Mahoney's class?
excited about trout fishing.
unhappy about working outside the classroom.
interested in protecting the environment.
tired of picking up trash and weeds.
3. What is the BEST way to protect steelhead trout eggs?
Prevent soil erosion.
Create man-made lakes.
Forbid fishing in the bay.
Drain the rivers and creeks.
4. In what ways was Arana Creek better off after Jean Mahoney's class worked on it?
5. Many students volunteer their time to help fight pollution and improve the environment. Would you be willing to give up your time? Why or why not?
"Washington Weed Whackers" is about kids working to solve the spartina problem. Imagine you are one of those kids. You are chosen to appear on TV to talk about the problem. While you are on TV, something unexpected happens. Write a story about it.
The beginning of my story explains the setting, or where the story takes place.
Today was the big day! I had volunteered to talk about spartina on TV. I walked into the studio ready for my big TV break.
Soon, we went on live. First I answered questions. Then I said, "We need to educate people about the spartina problem, but that takes lots of time and money."
Then the host said, "We have someone here who can help you with that."
Suddenly, the President of the United States walked onto the stage. "I think I can help," he said. The President handed me a check for two million dollars! "Do you think this will help your class tackle the spartina problem?" I just stood there nodding!
"I guess she's speechless," the host said.
Imagine that you and your class are trying to solve a problem in your community. It is the first day of the project and something unusual happens. Write a story about your unusual day.
Ask yourself, who will read my story?
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your story.
Be sure your story has a plot (beginning, middle, and ending), characters, and setting.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Examples can help you figure out the meaning of unknown words.
Use the example in the story to figure out the meaning of slogan.
Have you ever taken a tour of a zoo? If so, it's likely that the person who led you through the zoo helped you to learn a lot about the animals.
Amelia Rinas is a high school student who lives in Ohio. One day Amelia visited the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. She worried about the gorillas she saw there. She wondered if they were getting the right foods.
Amelia read all she could about gorillas and learned what they like to eat. Then she started a "gorilla garden." She grows the fruits and vegetables that gorillas love to eat. Some of those foods are tomatoes, carrots, and strawberries. Amelia works with other volunteers in her community who use their extra time to help Amelia and the gorillas. When they take the food to the zoo, the gorillas are thrilled. They look so excited!
Who is responsible for Amelia's interest in animals? Amelia is a member of Roots & Shoots. Its members are young people who care about animals and the environment. They helped Amelia understand that animals need our care, too. The slogan on the Roots & Shoots Web site is "Inspire, take action, make a difference." These words tell what the group is all about. The group urges kids and grownups, including parents and teachers, to do what they can to make a difference where they live.
Amelia believes that both people and animals deserve to be treated well.
When interviewed about her project, Amelia said, "I joined Roots & Shoots because I wanted to make a difference in the world."
There are many ways to make a difference in the world. Amelia Rinas's gorilla garden has helped make gorillas happier and healthier.
As you read, it is important to monitor your comprehension, or check your understanding. To monitor your understanding of an article, think about the author's purpose. An author writes to entertain, inform, or persuade.
Using an Author's Purpose Chart helps you figure out why an author wrote an article. Reread the article to find clues to the author's purpose.
What does the author want you to know about Angel?
Angel poses with her cat.
If you had ever met nine-year-old Angel Arellano, you'd know a hero is four feet two inches tall. Angel's story began on Thanksgiving Day. She was in the kitchen listening to her Great-Grandmother Sandy.
"The zoo has money problems," Great-Grandmother Sandy remarked.
Angel listened. She heard that Fresno's Chaffee Zoo didn't have enough money to take care of its animals. Angel wondered what would happen to the elephants, the hippo, and her favorite reptile, the boa constrictor.
Angel loved animals. She planned to study them and become a zoologist when she grew up. In their own apartment in Fresno, Angel's family had four cats -- Buster, Krystal, Rex, and Oreo. Angel took good care of them and made sure that they always had food and water.
Why does the author tell us about Angel's pets?
Angel felt sorry for the zoo animals. While the grownups were cooking Thanksgiving dinner, Angel was cooking up a way to help the animals. She decided to write a letter to show how she felt.
When she finished writing, Angel showed the letter to her mom and her aunt. They changed some of the words and fixed the spelling. Then Angel copied her letter onto fancy stationery and added a slogan at the bottom: "Give a dollar, save a life." She slipped a dollar into the envelope and addressed it to The Fresno Bee, the local newspaper.
Angel hoped that other people might send a dollar, too, after they had read her letter. She didn't know that the zoo needed three million dollars, but that wouldn't have stopped her anyhow. Angel was a girl on a mission!
A week later, a man from The Fresno Bee came to take a picture of Angel. A few days after that, Angel's letter was published in The Fresno Bee. Almost immediately, people began sending in checks and dollar bills. Angel's letter was working!
The little girl sent a letter to The Bee and enclosed a $1 donation for the zoo. She asked others to donate as well. "I just hope it will help, " Angel said. "I want the animals to be safe and warm and let them get fed like my letter said." Dozens have followed Angel's lead, sending donations ranging from $1 to a $1,000 check that arrived Thursday. After just two days' mail, the zoo has received $5,084.
At school, Angel went to each classroom to read the letter that appeared in the newspaper. She asked her schoolmates to give money to the zoo. An empty water jug was placed in each classroom and in the main office. Students -- and parents -- began to fill the jugs with coins and dollar bills.
Angel's letter had touched the community of Fresno -- and beyond. Donations for the Chaffee Zoo began to arrive from all over California. One donation came from as far away as England. It seemed as if the whole world wanted to help the zoo.
The people at the Chaffee Zoo were thrilled. They invited Angel and her family to the zoo. They wanted to thank Angel in person and give her a private tour.
At the zoo, Angel fed grapes to the chimpanzees. She fed the hippo and the buffalo, too. In a daring mood, Angel placed a slice of apple in her mouth. She stretched her neck toward Angolia, the giraffe, who leaned its long neck down and swiped the apple from her mouth!
Angel went on being a regular kid -- for a while. Before long, she was asked to make public appearances to talk about the zoo. The zoo still needed money, and Angel was happy to help. The principal of her school drove her to other schools in the area. He was just as concerned about the zoo animals as Angel.
"The zoo needs your help," Angel told the other children. "We can all make a difference."
During these appearances, Angel autographed pieces of paper, posters, and lots of shirts and caps. When reporters interviewed her, she tried to be herself. She spoke from her heart.
Angel prepares to make a public service announcement.
Next, Angel was asked to appear on television. She was invited to be on a popular talk show. Angel flew from Fresno to Los Angeles. It was the first time she was ever on a plane!
At the television studio, Angel entered the stage to applause and her favorite rock music. She smiled and waved. The audience was rooting for her. They were rooting for the zoo animals back in Fresno, too.
More donations arrived after Angel's appearance on television. The Chaffee Zoo got larger and larger checks. One was for $10,000. Another was for $15,000. And one was for $50,000!
Of course, many donations were still just for one dollar. Children were sending in what they had, just as Angel had done on Thanksgiving Day.
Everyone was behind Angel and the zoo. High school teams held car washes to raise money. Volunteers showed up at the zoo to help paint and clean up. A local business made T-shirts with a picture of the zoo on the front.
The zookeepers were very happy. Ray Navarro is the person most responsible for the animals. He has hauled thousands of buckets of water for the animals. He has pushed wheelbarrows of hay for the elephants, the giraffes, and the zebras. "Angel opened the eyes of Fresno," said Ray. "She made us see that people can make a difference."
Why did the author choose to write about Angel?
Angel's fundraising efforts are displayed on a billboard at the zoo.
The campaign started with a single dollar from Angel. In six months, the Chaffee Zoo received more than $600,000. The zoo has used some of the money to fix the pathway to the reptile house where the boa constrictor lives. It has also put in cushioned floors in the giraffe barn, plastered the seal pool, and fixed the rain forest bridge. Buildings have been painted and repaired, too.
The campaign to save the Chaffee Zoo has been exciting. People from Fresno are proud that a young girl woke up their own community spirit. The zoo is looking better and better. And even though the zoo animals can't speak human languages, if they could, they might say, "You are a hero to us, Angel Arellano You deserve our thanks for saving our zoo."
The zoo's seals enjoy a swim in a newly plastered pool, thanks to Angel.
Suppose you were the author of Here's My Dollar. Describe why you wrote this article and how you achieved your goal. Did you want to inform readers about Angel Arellano, persuade readers to do something, or both?
Gary Soto was born and raised in Fresno, California, which is also the hometown of the Chaffee Zoo. He has written many poems and stories for children and adults.
In his spare time, Gary loves to read, play tennis and basketball, and travel. He still visits Fresno often, and there is a library named for him at Winchell Elementary School in Fresno.
Summarize "Here's My Dollar." Use your Author's Purpose Chart to help you.
1. Why do you think Gary Soto wrote "Here's My Dollar"? 
2. Reread page 98. Why do you think The Fresno Bee published Angel's letter and her photo?
3. Think of a good cause in your own community, such as a school, library, or park, that needs help. How would you encourage people to help?
4. What would happen if someone used a similar fund-raising idea and slogan to help another zoo in another part of the world? Use information from the story to support your ideas.
5. Reread "Gorilla Garden" on pages 92-93. How are Amelia and Angel alike? A Rhyme Scheme is the pattern of rhymes in the last words of lines.
Repetition happens when words or phrases are repeated throughout a poem. A line that is repeated throughout is called a refrain.
When I had the sniffles, Your mom sent me stew.
You needed a project.
My daddy helped you.
Your dad helps us paint from ceiling to floor. Neighbors are friends that live just next door.
I call you up
When I know you feel down.
When Fluffy was lost,
We looked all over town.
It's my turn to rake when your arms get too sore.
Neighbors are friends that live just next door. 
The last line of each stanza is the refrain.
Plants and ants rhyme, as do place and race. The rhyme scheme for this stanza is AA BB.
When we recycle, we help the plants?
We help the creatures, from eagles to ants? We help make the world a healthier place. For one and for all in the human race.
1. What are some other repetitions in "Recycling"?
2. What do you think the poet wants you to know about neighbors?
3. Compare these two poems about helping and Here's My Dollar. What is the common theme among these selections? How are they different?
Good writers include a strong opening to get their readers involved. They may use an interesting question, quotation, or description.
My opening question gets readers involved.
I wrote directly to kids who care about skateboarding.
Why don't the kids in my town have a skateboard park? I think it is a big problem. Dad said I should write to our mayor. I wrote and told him why a skateboard park would be safer for kids and better for everyone. Yesterday he wrote back and said that my idea was good. Now the town is going to build a special park for skateboarding. If you want a place to skateboard, write a letter to the mayor! Remember to tell why it's a good idea for everyone.
Write a personal essay in one paragraph. Explain how you would solve or have solved a problem. It may be a problem in your school or community. Write as if you are speaking directly to your audience and grab their attention with a strong opening. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I write a strong opening for my essay?
Organization: Do the beginning sentences tell my problem and get the reader's attention?
Voice: Did I address my audience directly?
Word Choice: Did I use the right words to tell what happened?
Sentence Fluency: Did I use different kinds of sentences for variety?
Conventions: Did I use the correct forms of irregular verbs? Did I check my spelling?
If you could have a place of your own, where would it be and what would it look like?
On Saturday I went to the lumberyard with Dad to order lumber for the new garage. I saw the wood and got an idea.
"Hey, Dad," I said. "Could we build a clubhouse?"
"Probably not," said Dad. "I'll be too busy with the garage."
"But Dad," I said, "you had a clubhouse when you were young."
Dad said, "I know, but first we have to build the garage."
I had to think of a way to get Dad to agree. "We can separate the clubhouse into two rooms," I said with determination. "One can be used as a storage room."
Dad thought about it for a moment. Then he said, "Let's wait to see if there is enough extra wood."
The garage supplies came the following weekend. There were huge piles of wood and a big box. It was a crate of nails and shingles for the roof. It looked like more than enough. When the truck left, Dad said, "Good news! We'll be able to build your clubhouse with the leftover wood when the garage is finished." After a few weeks, it was time to start. A bunch of neighborhood kids came to help.
Dad let us measure the wood. Measuring has to be exact or else the pieces won't fit together. If Dad cut the wood too long or too short, our plans could be ruined.
I knew we couldn't buy any extra wood.
When the clubhouse was finally finished, I was so thrilled.
I made a sign and nailed it on the door. It said, "Pond Street Clubhouse -- Welcome!" Now I have a great place to play. Am I the luckiest kid in town, or what?
You can monitor your comprehension of a story by making predictions about what characters might do or what events might take place. As you read on, check to see if your predictions were correct.
A Predictions Chart helps you monitor your understanding of what takes place in the story. Reread the story to make and confirm predictions.
Realistic Fiction is an invented story that could have happened in real life.
I woke up one morning on a crowded bed in a crowded room. Victor's elbow was jabbing me in the ribs. Mario had climbed out of his crib and crawled in with us. Now his leg lay across my face and I could hardly breathe. In the bed next to ours my three other brothers were sleeping.
I was getting too big for this. I was almost nine years old, and I was tired of sharing a room with my five little brothers. More than anything in the whole world I wanted a room of my own.
A little space was all I wanted, but there wasn't much of it. Our tiny house was shared by eight of us, and sometimes more when our friends and relatives came from Mexico and stayed with us until they found jobs and places to live.
Once a family with eight kids lived with us for two months. It was noisy and a lot of fun. There was always a long line to use the bathroom, but the toilet seat was always warm.
Sometimes very early in the morning while everyone was still sleeping, I would climb up the crooked ladder that leaned against the elm tree in our backyard. I would sit on a little board, pretending it was a bench, and just think. I could hear my father snoring. He worked all night at the factory and went to bed just before dawn.
I loved my brothers. It wasn't that I didn't want to be near them. I just needed a place of my own.
I tiptoed around our tiny, two bedroom house. I peeked behind the curtain my mother had made from flour sacks to separate our living room from the storage closet.
"Aha! This is it! This could be my room" I imagined it with my own bed, table, and lamp -- a place where I could read the books I loved, write in my diary, and dream.
I sat down among the boxes. My mother must have heard me because she came in from the kitchen.
"Mama, it's perfect" I said, and I told her my idea.
"Ay, mijita, you do not understand. We are storing my sister's sewing machine and your uncle's garden tools. Someday they will need their things to make a better living in this new country. And there's the furniture and old clothes" she said. Slowly she shook her head.
Then she saw the determination on my face and the tears forming in my eyes. "Wait," she said, seriously thinking. "Maybe we could put these things on the back porch and cover them with old blankets."
"And we could put a tarp on top so nothing would get ruined," I added.
"Yes, I think we can do it. Let's take everything out and see how much space there is"
I gave her a great big hug and she kissed me.
After breakfast we started pushing the old furniture out to the back porch. Everyone helped. We were like a mighty team of powerful ants.
We carried furniture, tools, and machines. We dragged bulging bags of old clothes and toys. We pulled boxes of treasures and overflowing junk. Finally, everything was out except for a few cans of leftover paint from the one time we had painted the house.
Each can had just a tiny bit of paint inside. There was pink and blue and white, but not nearly enough of any one color to paint the room.
"I have an idea," I said to my brothers. "Let's mix them!" Hector and Sergio helped me pour one can into another and we watched the colors swirl together. A new color began to appear, a little like purple and much stronger than pink. Magenta!
We painted and painted until we ran out of paint.
Mlamd showed me how to measure my new magenta wall with a piece of bright yellow yarn left over from the last baby blanket she had crocheted. Tio Pancho was going back to Mexico and said I could have his bed, but we had to let him know if it would fit.
We cut off the piece of yarn that showed us just how big the bed could be. We all ran to Tio Pancho's waving the piece of yarn. We measured his bed. Perfect! That yellow piece of yarn was magical.
A little later Tio Pancho arrived with my new bed tied to the roof of his car. I ran out and hugged him. Papa helped him carry the bed in and carefully ease it into place.
My brothers jumped up and down and everybody clapped. Then Raul moved an empty wooden over to my new bed and stood it on end to make a bedside table.
"All you need now is a little lamp," my mother said
She brought out a shoe box stuffed with Blue Chip stamps she had been collecting for years. Mama and Papa got them for free when they bought food or gas. They were like little prizes that could be used as money at special stores. But before we could spend them, we had to paste them into special stamp books.
We licked and licked and pasted and pasted. When we were done, Papa drove us to the stamp store.
What will the girl do with the Blue Chip stamps?
I saw the lamp I wanted right away. It was as dainty as a beautiful ballerina, made of white ceramic glass with a shade that had ruffles around the top and bottom.
I shut my eyes. I was so excited yet so afraid we wouldn't have enough stamps to get it. Then I heard my mother's voice. "Yes, mijita. We have enough"
When we got home, I carefully set the new lamp on my bedside table. Then I lay on my new bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking. Something was still missing, the most important thing...
The next day I went to our public library and rushed home with my arms full of books, six to be exact. It was my lucky number because there were six children in my family.
That evening, I turned on my new lamp and read and read. My two littlest brothers, Mario and Victor, stood in the doorway holding back the flour-sack curtain. I invited them in. They cuddled up on my new bed and I read them a story. Then we said goodnight and they went back to their room.
I felt like the luckiest, happiest little girl in the whole world. Everyone in our family had helped to make my wish come true. Before I could even turn out the light, I fell asleep peacefully under a blanket of books in my very own room.
What was the author's purpose for writing My Very Own Room? Did Amada Irma Perez want to entertain you or inform you? How do you know?
Author Amada Irma Perez grew up in a family just like the one in this story. Because her parents were unable to get the family a bigger house, there was not much room for Amada and her five brothers. But they did give Amada and her brothers lots of love and encouraged them to study and work hard.
Illustrator Maya Christina Gonzalez has always loved to draw and paint. She has also always been very proud of being Mexican. In fact, as a child, Maya would draw her face on the blank page in the back of books because she wanted someone in the books to look like her.
Summarize My Very Own Room. Use your Predictions Chart to help you tell about events in the story that you predicted and note what actually happens.
1. How could you predict that the main character's determination to have a room of her own would be successful? Use your Predictions Chart to help you answer.
2. Reread page 119 of My Very Own Room. What evidence can you find to show the relationship between the narrator's parents and their relatives? Use story details in your answer. 
3. What is your opinion of some people's need for a quiet space for themselves? 
4. Why is it good for a whole family to help one family member with a problem?
5. Reread "Pond Street Clubhouse" on pages 114-115. Explain why the characters in both stories wanted a place of their own. 
A Biography is the true story of a person's life written by another person.
Guide Words, Headings and Captions are features of an encyclopedia. They help you find and read encyclopedia articles.
Frrank Lloyd Wright was one of America's most famous architects. His building designs influenced, or had an effect on, many other architects. Wright's buildings include homes, office buildings, and one of the most famous museums in the world, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Frank Lloyd Wright believed that a building's form, or how it looks, should match its function, or how it is used.
Wright was born in Wisconsin in 1867. When he was young, his mother gave him a set of wooden blocks, which helped him learn about geometric shapes, such as cubes, spheres, and cylinders. He also noticed the same shapes in nature. Wright went to the University of Wisconsin and then moved to Chicago to find work as an architect.
The Johnson Wax Company Building has many geometric shapes.
Frank Lloyd Wright believed that buildings should fit the places where they are built. The prairie style homes he built in the 1800s and early 1900s had low, straight lines that blended in with the prairie land where they stood.
In the 1930s, Wright worked with architecture students who wanted to build the way he did. He designed one of his most famous houses, Fallingwater, in Pennsylvania. Fallingwater was built over a waterfall. During the 1930s, Wright also designed the Johnson Wax Company Building in Wisconsin.
Encyclopedia articles are arranged alphabetically in each volume, or book.
Architecture is the art of designing buildings. An architect is a person who designs buildings and checks to make sure they are built correctly. Architects build many different kinds of buildings, including homes, schools, office buildings, skyscrapers, and monuments.
Architecture began when people built the first homes. The architecture of the ancient Egyptians included giant pyramids that were built for kings. Ancient Greeks were known for the beautiful stone columns of their early temples and monuments.
The Guggenheim Museum was designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959).
This article is from Volume A of an encyclopedia.
Wright designed both the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and the Marin County Civic Center in California at the end of his career. He died in Arizona in 1959 before either of the buildings opened.
The ideas and work of Frank Lloyd Wright are preserved, or kept, by The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. The Foundation watches over his designs, drawings, writings, and his homes in Arizona and Wisconsin.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is located in Arizona.
Words such as first, next, then, and last tell the order in which things happen. Writers use these time-order words to show the sequence in which things should be done.
I used time-order words to show the sequence in which things should be done.
Studying for a test is easier when you have a quiet place of your own.
Next, get a healthful snack so you'll think about studying, not dinner. Then, gather the materials you'll need. The last thing to do is to tell everyone in the house that you need peace and quiet.
I completed my directions with the time-order word "last."
Write a paragraph that explains how to do something. Choose something you know how to do well. Maybe you know how to ride a bike safely, make a sandwich, or give a party. Be sure to use time-order words such as first, next, then, and last to show the correct sequence of steps. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I write about something I know?
Organization: Did I write the steps in order?
Voice: Does it sound like I know my topic well?
Word Choice: Did I use time-order words such as first, next, then, and last?
Sentence Fluency: Does my writing sound good when it's read aloud?
Conventions: Did I use contractions correctly? Did I check my spelling?
Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 to a Quaker family. Quakers believe that everyone should be treated fairly. In meetings, Quaker girls got up and spoke just as the boys did. Women could vote on church matters. Anthony's parents made sure that their daughters got a good education.
The freedoms Anthony had might not seem strange today. However, in the early 1800s, girls were not given an equal education and women could not own property.
In 1851 Anthony met Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They became close friends and leaders in the women's suffrage movement. The suffrage movement tried to get women the right to vote. They believed that "all men and women were created equal."
Anthony and Stanton were a great team. Anthony was a good speaker, and she never gave up a fight. Stanton was a great thinker and writer, and she knew the law.
Anthony and Stanton wanted to change the United States Constitution to give women the right to vote.
In 1872 Anthony brought 15 women to vote in a national election.
She was arrested. At her trial the courtroom was packed with reporters. The judge didn't let the jury decide Anthony's case. Instead, the judge said that Anthony did not have the right to vote. He charged her a $100 fine. She refused to pay.
Anthony continued to work for women's suffrage.
She made many trips across the country and spoke about why women's rights were important. At home Anthony organized suffrage campaigns. Volunteers would sleep on every bed, sofa, and floor in her house.
During her life Anthony published several newspapers. She also wrote a book with Elizabeth Stanton and Matilda Gage about the suffrage movement.
Susan B. Anthony died in 1906. In 1920 the 19th Amendment was finally passed. It gave women the right to vote. This law is sometimes called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment.
The women's suffrage movement helped give women the right to vote. Although women now have the same voting rights as men, they did not get those rights until the early 1900s and they had to fight hard to get them. Men and women who supported the movement to give women the right to vote were called suffragists.
The movement begins. A changing society during the early 1800s and the fight for equality among all people led to the start of the women's suffrage movement. It was at this time that women started to get more education and to take part in politics. Women soon began to question why the law would not let them vote.
How do you know Susan B. Anthony's parents were important in forming her character?
Her parents did not believe in educating girls.
She was only allowed to take an interest in her parents' causes.
She heard many speakers at her parents' house.
Her parents were Quakers who encouraged girls to speak out.
What does the word movement mean in this selection?
How is Susan B. Anthony described in history books?
as an uneducated, but talented, speaker.
as a famous criminal.
as a leader in getting women the right to vote.
as a woman who named an amendment after herself.
4. What information in the encyclopedia article is NOT included in Susan B. Anthony's biography?
5. Why was Susan B. Anthony's work important? Include examples from the selection in your answer.
How would you make money if you needed to buy something?
Elizabeth and Danny walked along newly paved sidewalks on a frosty winter morning. Elizabeth wore a hat and gloves but no scarf. Danny wore a hat and two scarves, but he didn't have any gloves. Both of them were freezing.
"I'm so cold," Elizabeth grumbled under her breath.
"Me too," Danny wailed.
Then Elizabeth had an idea! "What if I traded you one glove for one of your scarves?" Elizabeth said. "Then both of our necks would be warm, and we'd each have one warm hand. We could put the other hand in our pockets."
"Good idea!" said Danny.
After they shared the scarf and glove, they began to feel warmer.
A few minutes later Mrs. Baxter appeared. "Did I just see you barter?" she asked.
Elizabeth and Danny looked puzzled. "What's barter?" Elizabeth asked.
"Barter means trade," Mrs. Baxter explained. "You two traded a scarf and a glove so you could be warm. Did you know that traders bartered for thousands of years?"
"Really? How did it work?" Danny asked.
Mrs. Baxter said, "Well, traders who had too much of one thing, such as salt or cloth or pigs, would exchange them with other traders for other things that they needed. Trading grew and blossomed, but it had problems." "Like what?" Elizabeth asked. "Suppose you raised chickens. You could trade the chickens and eggs for what you needed. But if the chickens got away -- "
"I wouldn't have anything to trade!"
"Exactly!" said Mrs. Baxter.
"And you'd be so lonesome without your poultry friends!" Danny said with a grin.
"Now you see why people began to use money to trade," Mrs. Baxter said.
"Is it true that silver and gold coins were used before paper money?" Danny asked.
"Yes, but they were too heavy to carry." Mrs. Baxter said. "People then began to write promises on paper instead of trading coins. That was how paper money got its start."
"Wow!" said Elizabeth, "but I guess people still trade sometimes, the way Danny and I did today!"
The sequence of events in a story is the order in which things take place. You can summarize the sequence of events in a story by paying close attention to when events happen.
A Sequence Chart helps you summarize story events in time order. Reread the story to find the order in which things happened.
Historical Fiction is a story in which fictional characters take part in actual historical events.
How does Amanda help her town boom?
It took us twenty-one days on the stagecoach to get to California. When we got there, I thought we'd live with Pa in the gold fields. A whole tent city was built up. But Ma shook her head. "The gold fields are no place for children. We'll get a cabin and live in town."
What town? A stage stop, a pump house, a few log cabins -- that was all. It was so wide and lonesome out west, even my shadow ran off.
Ma found a cabin big enough for all of us: Baby Betsy, brothers Billy, Joe, Ted, and me -- Amanda.
Pa came in from the gold fields every Saturday night, singing:
"So I got me a mule and some mining tools, a shovel and a pick and a pan. But I work all day without no pay. I guess I'm a foolish man."
First Ma made him take a bath in a tin tub set out under the stars. Then Pa sang songs and told stories he'd heard from the miners -- stories about men finding big nuggets and striking it rich. But poor Pa, he had no luck at all. Still, every Monday morning he'd leave for the gold fields full of hope.
Days were long and lonely. The hills spread out as far as forever. Nights, me and Ma and my brothers and Baby Betsy would sit out and wait for a shooting star to sail across the sky. Once in a while a crow flew by. That's all the excitement there was.
My brothers worked up some furrows. They planted corn and potatoes and beans. Then they ran around climbing trees, skinning their knees. But after all the water was fetched and the wash was done, after the soap was made and the fire laid, after the beds were fixed and the floor was swept clean, I'd sit outside our cabin door with Baby Betsy, so bored I thought I'd die. Also, I hankered for some pie. I loved to bake pie.
I asked Ma and she said, "Pie would be good, but we have no pie pans and no real oven, just the wood stove. How would you bake a pie?"
I poked around in a big box of stuff and found an old iron skillet. I decided to make a pie crust and pick gooseberries to fill it.
Gooseberries grew on the bushes near town. I made a crust with flour, butter, a little water, and a pinch of salt, and then I rolled it out.
Ma came in and said, "Looks good, Amanda. I knew you could make it. But tell me, how will you bake it?"
I showed Ma the skillet. She shook her head. "I don't think it will work, but you can try."
"It will work," I said.
What steps does Amanda take to start baking her pie?
Brothers Billy and Joe and Ted stood there laughing. When the wood turned to coals, I pushed my pie inside the old stove. After a while I smelled a bad burning. I pulled out my pie, hard as a rock. Billy, Joe, and Ted whooped and slapped their sides. They snatched up my pie and tossed it high into the air. They ran outside and Billy whacked it hard with a stick. Pie pieces flew all over the place, and my brothers bent over, laughing.
I was so mad I went right back in to make another, and I swore none of them would get a bite. I rolled out my crust and filled it with berries, shoved the pie into the oven, and soon took it out.
I set the pie down to cool. I went off to do some mending. Next thing I knew, Baby Betsy, just learning to walk, sat there with pie goo all over her face. Too soft, the filling ran down on Betsy, and she wailed like a coyote in the night.
It took one more try, but I got it right. That night we ate my gooseberry pie, and it was delicious.
When Pa came home from the gold fields on Saturday night, there was a pie for him, too. "Amanda, you are the queen of the kitchen!" Pa scooped me up and whirled me around. I was proud.
The next week I made an extra pie for Pa to take with him to the gold fields.
Saturday night when he came home singing, coins jangled in his pocket.
We all ran out to ask, "Did you strike gold, Pa?"
"No," he said. "I sold Amanda's pie. The miners loved it. They paid me twenty-five cents a slice!"
After that, Pa took pies to the gold fields every week. And every week he came home with coins in his pockets. Some miners walked right to our door looking for pie. They told Ma, "You should open a bakery."
Ma said, "It's my girl Amanda who is the baker. If she wants to make pies, that's fine. But I have no time."
Ma had a new baby on the way. It was up to me. I figured I could sell pies to the miners and fill up our money jar.
But I needed help. I rounded up my brothers and told them, "If you want to eat pie, you've got to work."
They grumbled and groaned, but they knew I meant it. So Billy built me a shelf, Joe made a sign, AMANDA'S FINE PIES, and Ted helped pick berries and sour apples.
I needed more pans and another bucket. One day Peddler Pete came by, and with the money I'd made I bought them.
"You're a right smart little girl," said the peddler, "being in business like this."
I thought fast and told him, "Anybody can make money out here. Folks need things all the time, and there're no stores around. If you were to settle and start one, I'll bet you'd get rich."
Peddler Pete scratched his beard. "Not a bad idea," he said. "My feet are sore from roaming. I could use this cart and build my way up to having a store."
So pretty soon we had us a real store called PEDDLER PETE'S TRADING POST. Trappers and traders and travelers appeared. After shopping at Pete's, they were good and hungry.
They came to our cabin, looking for pie. Some liked it here so well they decided to stay. Soon we had a cooper, a tanner, a miller, a blacksmith. A town was starting to grow.
A prospector came in on the stage from St. Joe, his clothes covered with dirt. He looked around at the folks eating pie, and he asked, "Is there someone here who does washing?"
I stepped right up and I told him, "What we need is a laundry. Why don't you stay and start one? Why, the miners are sending their shirts clear to China. You'll make more money doing laundry than looking for gold."
The man thought a while, then said with a smile, "You're right, little lady. It's a dandy idea. I'll send for my wife to help."
Soon shirts and sheets fluttered on the line as people brought their washing in. A tailor came to make and mend clothes. A cobbler crafted shoes and boots. We heard the tap tap of his hammer and smelled the sweet leather. A barber moved in with shaving mugs, and an apothecary with herbs and healing drugs. So the town grew up all around us.
My pie business blossomed. Sometimes the line snaked clear around the house. Baby Betsy entertained the people while they waited. Billy added another shelf. Joe and Ted made a bench. We all picked berries and apples. Even Ma came to help. We had to get a bigger jar for all the money coming in.
One day our old friend Cowboy Charlie rode by. Like everyone else, he stopped for some pie. "I'd like to rest a spell," he said. "Where can I leave my horse for the night?'
"There's no livery stable," I said. "But why don't you start one? You'd rent out horses, and wagons too. That would be the perfect business for you."
"You're just full of great ideas, little lady," Cowboy Charlie said. He twirled his lariat. "I'd like to settle down. I'll stay here and do just that."
Soon a trail was worn right to Charlie's stable door. All day we heard the snorting of horses. Now Charlie needed hay. Farmers brought wagons and sacks full of feed. With all those people riding in, someone decided to build a hotel and a cafe. The town grew fast all around us.
The owner of the cafe bought pies from me, five or six at a time. I taught Billy how to roll the crust. Joe got wood for the stove. Ted washed the fruit, and Baby Betsy tried to stir in the sugar.
The money jar in our kitchen looked ready to bust. Where could we safely keep all that cash? Lucky us, one day Mr. Hooper, the banker, appeared.
"I'm building a bank," Mr. Hooper said to me. "This is getting to be a boom town."
"We'll use your bank," I told Mr. Hooper, "but the roads are so poor. In winter there's mud, and in summer there's dust. We need some sidewalks and better streets."
"You're a smart little lady," said Mr. Hooper, tipping his hat. "I'll see what I can do about that."
Before we knew it, the bank was built and wooden sidewalks were laid. One street was called Bank Street; the other was Main. Soon every lane and landmark had a name. Pa and my brothers built on a big room for our bakery.
Men sent for their families. New houses appeared everywhere. Babies and children filled up the town.
We needed a school, and a good schoolmarm.
We knew Miss Camilla from our stagecoach days. She was living up the coast a ways. Cowboy Charlie rode off to fetch her, and she was glad to come.
Miss Camilla, the teacher, had married a preacher, and he came too. We all got together to build a church and a school. Bells rang out every day of the week. Now this was a real boom town!
One day Pa said to me, "Amanda, I'm through panning for gold. Will you let me be in business with you?"
"Sure!" I said, happily. "I'd love to work with you, Pa, and I'd also like to go to school."
What sequence of events takes place to create this boom town?
So Pa turned to baking, and we all worked together. Pa sang while he rolled out the dough:
"Amanda found a skillet and berries to fill it, Made pies without a pan; Our pies are the best In all the West. I guess I'm a lucky man."
Now Pa is with us every day. There's excitement and bustle all around. Our house sits in the middle of a boom town!
And to think it all started with me, Amanda, baking pies!
Sonia Levitin wrote this story after reading about a woman who made more than $10,000 by baking pies in a skillet during the California Gold Rush. Sonia loves research, so it is not surprising that she found such an interesting fact. History is just one of the things that Sonia likes to write about. She also writes mysteries, adventures, and funny stories.
Cat Bowman Smith started out drawing magazine pictures. Her illustrations became very popular. Soon she was illustrating books. Today she has illustrated more than 40 of them.
Did Sonia Levitin write to inform or entertain readers? What clues help you figure out her purpose?
Use your Sequence Chart to help you summarize Boom Town. Retell the story's events in the order in which they happen.
1. Tell about two things that happened after Amanda's pie business blossomed. Use story details in your answer. 
2. Reread pages 162-163 of Boom Town. From those two pages, what conclusions can you draw about the kind of person Amanda is? Use story details to support your answer.
3. If you start your own business, what information from the story could help you to be successful? Explain.
4. Based on this story, do you think new businesses are important to the growth of a town or a city? Use examples from the story. Explain.
5. Read "Let's Trade" on pages 152-153. Compare how the characters in "Let's Trade!" and Boom Town got the things that they needed. 
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Would you like to do something new and exciting? Would you like to be looked up to and respected by kids and adults alike? Would you like to earn money in your free time? If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, then starting your own business might be right for you!
You Can Do It!
"My own business?" you might ask. "But I'm only a third-grader!" No problem! Even third-graders have plenty of talent and services to offer.
Do you enjoy cooking or baking? Then you may consider whipping up and selling a few batches of your fabulous blueberry muffins. Do you like arts and crafts? If so, why not make and sell artwork or jewelry? Do animals like you? Many busy families need responsible people to walk their dogs and feed their cats. The possibilities are endless! So, wash a car, plant a garden, or a lawn. If people want and need your special talents, you'll soon be in business!
Before starting a business, you need to make a plan. A calendar can help you organize and keep track of what you need to do.
1. Find out if there is a demand for your business. 
2. Advertise your business.
3. Gather materials and supplies.
4. Open your business.
1. Look at the calendar on page 180. How many days are scheduled for advertising? 
2. Suppose you live in a neighborhood where most people work all day. They aren't home to cook, work in the yard, or spend time with their pets. What businesses might there be a demand for?
3. What advice do you think Amanda could give kids who may want to start a business today?
Research a business that interests you. Create a calendar that shows your preparations for opening that business.
When writing multiple paragraphs, make sure the paragraphs go in a logical order. Each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that states the main idea.
The other sentences give supporting details.
The first topic sentence contrasts, and the second compares.
The details of each paragraph support the main idea of each topic sentence.
Amanda and I are different because she lived a long time ago and I live in modern times. Amanda and her family traveled on a wagon. We have a minivan. She wears dresses. I wear jeans. Amanda and I are also the same. We are girls who like to bake. Plus, Amanda started a pie business, and I walk dogs for the neighbors. Amanda and I are probably more alike than we are different. We are both active people interested in many different things.
Write three paragraphs to compare and contrast life now with life when your parents were young. Use a Venn diagram to sort things that are alike and different. In one paragraph, compare things that are alike. In another paragraph, contrast differences.
Sum up in a third paragraph. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is it clear from my writing how the people are alike and different?
Organization: Do my multiple paragraphs go in a logical order? Does each paragraph start with a topic sentence?
Voice: Does my writing sound like me?
Word Choice: Did I use comparison words such as same and different?
Sentence Fluency: Are my sentences too long?
Conventions: Did I use pronouns correctly? Did I check my spelling?
What person has made a difference in your life or in your community?
Word Families are groups of words that have the same base word.
In the 1930s, Dan West was farming in Spain. It was wartime, and people were starving. As he handed out cups of milk to children, an idea hit him. "These children don't need a cup. They need a cow." This was the start of Heifer International.
Do you think a nice gift is a bike or CD? Heifer International gives different kinds of presents. Its presents might say "quack" or "moo." Dan West asked friends in the United States to give gifts of heifers, or young cows. Since then, Heifer International has given animals to four million families. It gives people the chance to feed themselves.
Heifer International wants the people they help to help others.
For one project, the group sent chickens to some children in Asia. The children yearned for the day when they could help others.
Nine-year-old Julie said, "I want other girls like me to take care of chickens and their families. I want to share and give many away."
Julie knew she had to tend to her chickens well so they would produce new eggs and healthy chicks. She took good care of them, and they gave birth to strong, sturdy chicks. Julie then passed on the gift of chicks to other families.
Because of Heifer International, children can spend their days in a schoolhouse instead of working in the fields. They can use the money they earn from their animals to pay for school.
Heifer International has made a huge difference in people's lives for many years, thanks to a kindhearted farmer named Dan West.
This girl will care for her chicks so they grow up to be healthy.
Why something happens is the cause. What happens is the effect. Recognizing these two things can help you make inferences about what you are reading.
A Cause and Effect Chart helps you analyze what happened in a story and make inferences about why it happened. Reread the selection to find several effects and their causes.
Narrative Nonfiction is a story that gives facts about actual people or situations.
Does Beatrice ever get to go to school?
If you were to visit the small African village of Kisinga in the rolling hills of western Uganda, and if you were to take a left at the crossroads and follow a narrow dirt path between two tall banana groves, you would come to the home of a girl named Beatrice.
Beatrice lives here with her mother and five younger brothers and sisters in a sturdy mud house with a fine steel roof. The house is new. So is the shiny blue wooden furniture inside. In fact, many things are new to Beatrice and her family lately.
And it's all because of a goat named Mugisa.
Beatrice loves everything about Mugisa... the feel of her coarse brown-and-white coat, the way her chin hairs curl just so, and how Mugisa gently teases her by butting her knobby horns against Beatrice's hand -- tup, tup -- like a drumbeat waiting for a song.
But there is one reason why Beatrice loves Mugisa most of all.
In the time before Mugisa, Beatrice spent her days helping her mama hoe and plant in the fields, tend the chickens, watch the younger children, and grind the cassava flour that they would take to market to sell.
Once in a while, when she was tending baby Paskavia, Beatrice would stop by the schoolhouse. Often, the students had carried their long wooden benches outside to work under the cool shade of the jackfruit trees. Then Beatrice would stand quietly off to one side, pretending she was a student, too.
Oh, how she longed to be a schoolgirl! How she yearned to sit on one of the benches and figure sums on a small slate chalkboard. How she wished to turn the pages of a worn copybook and study each word over and over until it stuck in her mind like a burr.
"I'll never be able to go to school," she would sigh. "How could I ever save enough money to pay for books or a uniform?"
One day while Beatrice was busy pulling weeds, Mama came to her with dancing eyes. "Beatrice, some kindhearted people from far away have given us a lucky gift. We are one of twelve village families to receive a goat."
Beatrice was puzzled. A goat? What kind of gift was a goat? It couldn't get up each morning and start their charcoal fire for cooking. It couldn't hike down to the stream each week and scrub their dirty clothes clean. It couldn't keep an eye on Grace, Moses, Harriet, Joash, and Paskavia.
Her long fingers tugged patiently at the weeds. "That's very nice, Mama," she said politely.
Then Mama added, "It will be your job to take care of our goat. If you do, it can bring wonderful things."
Beatrice looked up at her mother. "Will this goat come soon?" she asked. "Because I would like to meet such a goat."
Mama laughed. "Good things take time. First I must plant pastures and build our goat a shed."
Beatrice nodded slowly. Surely Mama knew what she was doing. "I will help you," she declared.
For the next few months, Beatrice worked harder than ever. She helped Mama collect the posts for the shed walls, then lashed the posts together with banana fibers. She planted narrow bands of stiff elephant grass along the edges of their cassava field. She put in pigeon trees and lab lab vines between the banana trees.
Finally, one day Beatrice's goat arrived, fat and sleek as a ripe mango. Beatrice stood shyly with her brothers and sisters, then stepped forward and circled the goat once. She knelt close, inspecting its round belly, and ran her hand along its smooth back. "Mama says you are our lucky gift," she whispered. "So that is what I will name you. Mugisa... luck."
Two weeks later, Mugisa gave birth. It was Beatrice who discovered first one kid and then, to her surprise, another. "Twins!" she exclaimed, stooping down to examine them. "See that, my Mugisa? You have already brought us two wonderful things." Beatrice named the first kid Mulindwa, which means expected, and the second Kihembo, or surprise.
Each day Beatrice made sure Mugisa got extra elephant grass and water to help her produce lots of milk, even though it meant another long trip down to the stream and back.
When the kids no longer needed it, Beatrice took her own first taste of Mugisa's milk. "Mmm. Sweet," she said, mixing the rest into her cup of breakfast porridge. Beatrice knew Mugisa's milk would keep them all much healthier.
Now, each morning after breakfast, Beatrice would head off to the shed to sell whatever milk was left over. "Open for business," she would say, in case anyone was listening.
Often she would spy her friend Bunane coming through the banana groves.
"Good morning, Beatrice, Mugisa, Expected, and Surprise," Bunane would always say. Then he would hand Beatrice a tall pail that she would fill to the top with Mugisa's milk.
When Beatrice finished pouring, Bunane would hand her a shiny coin, and Beatrice would carefully tuck the money into the small woven purse at her side.
Day after day, week after week, Beatrice watched the purse get fuller. Soon there would be enough money for a new shirt for Moses and a warm blanket for the bed she shared with Grace.
How is Mugisa helping Beatrice and her family?
One day, Beatrice returned from collecting water and noticed Mama frowning and counting the money in her woven purse. Beatrice put down the water can and rushed to her mother's side. "Mama! What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"
As she looked up, Mama's frown turned to a small smile. "I think," she said, "you may just have saved enough to pay for school."
"School?" Beatrice gasped in disbelief. "But what about all the other things we need?"
"First things first," Mama said.
Beatrice threw her arms around her mother's neck. "Oh, Mama, thank you." Then she ran to where her goat stood chewing her cud and hugged her tight. "Oh, Mugisa!" she whispered. "Today I am the lucky one. You have given me the gift I wanted most."
The very next week Beatrice started school. On the first morning that she was to attend, she sat proudly waiting for milk customers in her new yellow blouse and blue jumper, Mugisa by her side.
Beatrice felt nervous and excited at the same time. Mugisa pressed close, letting her coarse coat brush softly against Beatrice's cheek. "Oh, Mugisa," Beatrice cried. "I'll miss you today!"
Then she thought again about all the good things Mugisa was bringing. Mama said that soon Surprise would be sold for a lot of money.
"It will be enough to tear down this old house," she had explained. "We will be able to put up a new one with a steel roof that won't leak during the rains."
Beatrice heard a rustle and noticed Bunane heading toward her with his empty milk pail. He eyed her new uniform and sighed. "You're so lucky. I wish I could go to school."
Beatrice reached out and touched Bunane's arm. "I've heard that your family is next in line to receive a goat."
A smile crossed Bunane's face. "Really?"
"Really."
Then Beatrice kissed Mugisa on the soft part of her nose, close to where her chin hairs curled just so, and started off to school.
Author's Purpose
Did Page McBrier want to entertain or persuade readers, or both? Identify the author's purpose (or purposes) and point to examples in the selection.
PAGE MCBHEI was lucky enough to go to Uganda to meet Beatrice. She and Lori Lohstoeter had a six-hour drive to reach Beatrice's little village. After Page finished this story, she visited Beatrice again. By then, Beatrice had finished high school and was getting ready for college.
LORI LOHSTOETER learned about Beatrice when she met someone from a special group that helps families. Lori wanted to draw the pictures for a book about Beatrice, but she needed to find someone to write the story. Lori asked Page, and they went to Africa to meet Beatrice and tell her story.
Use the Cause and Effect Chart to help you summarize Beatrice's Goat. Tell how and why Beatrice was finally able to go to school.
1. The gift of the goat caused many changes. Use your Cause and Effect Chart to show the effects of this gift on Beatrice and her family.
2. Reread the first paragraph on page 194. Why do you think people from far away gave goats to families in Beatrice's village?
3. Before you read the story, what would you have thought about receiving a goat as a gift? Did your opinion change after reading the story? Explain your answer.
4. What would have happened if the villagers had never been given goats? Explain.
5. Read "Helping People Help Themselves" on pages 186-187. How is this selection like Beatrice's Goat? How are the two selections different?
Newspaper Articles tell about important people and events and are part of daily or weekly newspapers.
Editorials are newspaper articles that present the opinions of the publisher or editors. They try to persuade the reader to do or believe something.
To Beatrice Biira, getting an education is the most important goal a person can have. Even when she was a little girl growing up in Uganda, she saw how important it is to get a good education. A goat named Mugisa helped her achieve, or reach, that goal.
After receiving Mugisa from the charity group Heifer International, Beatrice's family took care of the goat and the goat's young, which are called kids. With the money they made from selling milk and one of the kids, the Biiras were able to buy things they needed. Many people would have been satisfied with that, but Beatrice wanted more. She wanted to go to school.
Ten-year-old Beatrice had to start first grade with much younger students. This just made her more determined to work harder. Soon she caught up with her friends. Beatrice's good grades made it possible for her to go to school in the United States.
Even though it was hard for Beatrice to live so far away from her family, it has been worth it to her to get a good education.
Editorials contain facts, as well as the opinions of the publisher or editor.
The title of a newspaper article or editorial is called the headline.
How Important Is Education? Ask Beatrice!
This expresses an opinion.
Getting an education should be one of the most important goals a person has. Beatrice Biira knew this when she was a little girl growing up in Uganda. Beatrice's family could not afford to buy the uniform and books she needed for school. When Heifer International gave her family a goat, Beatrice worked hard to take care of it and sell its milk. She earned enough money to buy books and a uniform. She worked hard at school and eventually went to college in the United States. Beatrice plans to help others reach their goals of getting an education and a better life.
Education has changed Beatrice Biira's life. She has appeared on television to tell her story and has visited schools to talk about how Mugisa the goat changed her life.
Beatrice worked hard. She didn't give up. Today, she encourages, or urges, students to read and help make the world a better place.
Beatrice visits classrooms to talk about her experiences.
1. Which sentences in the editorial express opinions? 
2. Do you agree with the opinion in the editorial about the importance of education? Explain.
3. Think about Beatrice's Goat and this article. Which parts let you know how Beatrice feels about getting an education?
Find out about an organization, like Heifer International, that helps people. Write an editorial that tries to convince people to donate money or time to that organization.
Good writers use transition words to connect ideas. Words such as because and as a result help show cause and effect.
The words "as a result" explain what happened when Bert started to crawl.
I used the word "because" to explain why I understand Bert.
Bert, my new baby brother, changed my life. I used to have my own room. Now Bept sleeps in my room in his crib. He likes to throw his stuffed animals on the floor. If I don't give them back to him, he cries. Now Bert can crawl.
As a result, he knocks down my block castles and chews on my books! Because I know he is just a baby, I put my books on shelves and build new castles. Things change when you are a big sister!
Write a paragraph about someone or something that has changed your life. You can write about something you did. You can also tell about a person you know or have read about. Be sure to include transition words such as because.
Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I include vivid details that tell about the topic?
Organization: Did I write a good topic sentence?
Voice: Did I show how I feel about the topic?
Word Choice: Did I use transition words that help the reader connect my ideas?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary the kinds of sentences I used?
Conventions: Did I use subject and object pronouns correctly? Did I check my spelling?
What opinions did experts have about movement and transportation throughout history? Take a look.
Opinion: Airplanes would never fly.
Was he right? No. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled flight in a powered airplane.
Opinion: People would be able to travel under water in airtight vessels. 
Was he right? Yes. Though submarines already existed, it would be decades before they could stay submerged for long-distance travel.
Opinion: No person would ever reach the moon. 
Was he right? No. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and declared, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Leonardo da Vinci, artist, scientist, inventor, 1400s Opinion: People would fly in a machine with an overhead propeller.
Was he right? Yes. This artist's sketch, made about 1490, shows a helicopter 400 years before its invention.
This time line of inventions shows some real movement!
On January 31, 1961, Ham the chimpanzee blasted off into space... and history books.
Ham's flight took him 156.5 miles into space at a speed of 5,800 miles per hour. The trip lasted 16.5 minutes.
Then Ham's capsule splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean. Back on land, he gobbled up an apple and half an orange.
The U. S. space program took great in Ham. He paved the way for Alan Shepard to become the first American in space in May 1961.
After his space flight, Ham went on to live in a North Carolina zoo.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about a real person, place, or event.
A fact can be proved to be true. An opinion is a belief that does not have to be supported by facts.
The carousel at Riverbank State Park in New York City is probably the most fantastic carousel in the country. It doesn't hold the usual herd of painted ponies. Instead, giant spiders pull a chariot, and a plaid zebra prances beside a two-headed octopus. These creatures were invented by kids. Milo Mottola, 32, is the artist who turned the kids' drawings into carousel critters.
The creatures on the Children's Carousel at Riverbank State Park (above) were copied from kids' drawings, like the one below.
Mottola believed kids should be a big part of his carousel project, so he held drawing classes in Riverbank State Park. The kids created more than 1,000 drawings of creatures. It was tough to choose only 32 of them for the carousel. "They were all my favorites!" Mottola declared.
When 9-year-old Grover Austin heads to the carousel, he hops on the green lion. He thinks it's the best because he created it! The artist's signature is carved on the floor beneath each animal. The original drawing hangs above it.
The Children's Carousel at Riverbank State Park is one of only 200 major carousels that remain today. Amusement parks and fairs now have faster rides. People today seem to prefer rides that are scarier or more exciting than the gentle carousels. But during the early 1900s, carousels were very popular. About 6,000 of them existed in the United States.
At one time, carousels were considered rides for adults, not kids. Most carousels were created by craftspeople who came to the U. S. from other countries. They had a lot of pride in their designs of fancy horses and chariots. Chariots are the carousel seats that are like benches or little carriages. Most of these old-style carousels are gone. Some were destroyed by fires and other disasters. Many were simply not taken care of.
Some originals, however, are still standing and most likely are still making people happy. One of them is in San Diego, California. Another one is in Memphis, Tennessee.
The carousel that twirls in Seaport Village, San Diego, was built in 1895. The 41 hand-carved horses have natural horsehair tails. The 13 other animals include a giraffe, a dragon, a teddy bear, an elephant, a camel, a dog, and a lion. They were all made by hand, too. "This is one of the two best carousels in the entire nation" says Brad Perron. He's the owner of a company that fixes old carousels so they are like new again. "They don't make them this way anymore" says Perron. He's talking about animals carved by hand from wood. Newer carousel animals are usually made out of material that is mostly plastic. Some people think the old carousels were better than newer ones.
Riders of the Grand Carousel in Memphis, Tennessee, can choose to ride one of the 48 wooden horses or two hand-carved chariots. Built in 1909, the carousel spun its magic in Chicago, Illinois, for about ten years. Now it is a famous attraction in Tennessee's Libertyland Amusement Park. This carousel is one of a kind. It is so important that it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
These and other historic carousels are powered by a motor in the center of the ride. The motor is covered up by panels with pretty drawings and carvings on them. Older carousels even have mirrors and special music that blares from nearby speakers. Blinking, bright lights call riders to come take a spin.
The earliest known carousel in the U. S. appeared in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1799.
Some historic carousel horses were made with brass rings so that people could try to grab on for a free ride.
Usually, the fanciest and most decorated horses on a carousel are the ones facing the outside.
Many original carousel horses built in the early 1900s had real horsehair.
What's the difference between a carousel and a merry-go-round? Traditionally, carousels had only horses, but merry-go-rounds included other animals.
Original wooden carousel horses today cost between $200 and $80,000 each.
1. Brad Perron says that the carousel at Seaport Village in San Diego is "one of the two best carousels in the entire nation." Is that a fact or an opinion? How do you know?
2. How were the creatures on the carousel at Riverbank State Park created?
3. If you could choose to ride a carousel or a faster, scarier ride at an amusement park, which would you choose? Why?
4. Compare the motion of the space capsule that Ham the chimpanzee rode with the motion of a carousel.
The answer is not in the selection. Form an opinion about what you read.
Suppose you find a bright yellow bike on a street corner in the city. You hop on and pedal away. But wait -- isn't this stealing? No one yells, "Stop! Thief!" That's because this free ride is just fine with the city.
You can find hundreds of free yellow bikes in some U. S. cities. The idea began in Portland, Oregon, in 1994. People saw a need for free transportation, and they wanted to help control pollution. So, to get citizens out of their cars and onto pollution-free bikes, they started the Yellow Bike Project.
The public bikes are painted bright yellow and placed throughout the city. People can hop on a yellow bike and pedal to work, to school, or to run errands. They then leave the bike for the next rider. There have been times when bikes have been stolen, but most people obey the rules. What would be the point of stealing something that's already free?
Portland's idea quickly caught on. Within two years of its start, similar programs were set up in cities in six other states.
1. Why was the Yellow Bike Project started?
to teach people who don't have a bike how to ride.
to teach bike safety and rules in cities.
to help control pollution by reducing the use of cars.
to sell more bicycles in cities.
2. Which of the following is a FACT about the Yellow Bike Project?
The bikes cause pollution.
The idea began in Portland, Oregon.
People need low-cost transportation.
Yellow bikes are sold to the public.
3. The photo caption helps explain that yellow bike programs are found in many places.
the bikes are painted bright yellow.
the idea of free bikes caught on quickly.
the bikes are left for the next rider.
4. Why is stealing not a problem with the Yellow Bike Project?
5. Why should cities have programs to cut down on air pollution? Give your opinion and list several reasons why you feel this way.
In "A Carousel of Dreams" you read about old and new carousels. Rides such as carousels are entertaining and exciting. Tell about the first time you went on a carousel or another ride. Write a story in three paragraphs describing your experience.
I gave my blue ticket to the man and ran to the horse I had chosen. I climbed up and held the gold pole with both hands. Loud music started, and the carousel began to turn. My beautiful horse galloped up and down. The purple-gray mane looked like it was waving in the air. My saddle was painted bright red, blue, and yellow. The horse was grayish with smoky black spots. It was the best horse on the carousel! When the ride stopped, I looked at the other people. A little kid about 2 years old had started to cry. A grandma sat on a bench with a baby on her lap. The baby's eyes were really big! Some big kids looked disappointed that the ride was over. This was my first carousel ride. I rode that same horse three more times that day!
In "A Carousel of Dreams" you read that carousels used to be very popular rides. In three paragraphs, write about your favorite ride at an amusement park or a fair. Tell about a time you rode on it, what you liked about it, and why it is your favorite ride. Make sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
Ask yourself, who will read my story? 
Think about your purpose for writing. 
Plan your writing before beginning. 
Use details to support your story.
Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
A hero is any person who helps others. What qualities do all heroes have?
Figurative Language makes unexpected comparisons between people or things.
It was recess time. It was a perfect spring day, and Ms. Clark's class hurried outdoors.
Erica headed straight for the slide. There was nothing better than a climb and a slide. Especially on a day like this! She was just about to place her foot on the ladder when she stopped and screamed with fear. Everyone ran over to find out what had happened. Erica stood there, numb. She couldn't move an inch. Under the ladder's first rung was a turtle, a big turtle -- and it was stuck!
"Stand clear," warned Ms. Clark.
It's trying to escape, but it can't get out. Poor thing."
Several boys and girls fled across the yard. That turtle looked mean.
"That's a snapping turtle," said Jeff. "Snappers have really strong jaws. That thing can really bite! I wonder how it got here."
The turtle tried to dig with its feet but remained stuck.
"I'll call the police," said Ms. Clark. "They'll send over Animal Control. They'll know what to do." An Animal Control van pulled up and shuddered to a stop. The officer said, "That's a snapping turtle, all right. It must have come up from the marsh. We'd better get him back where he belongs."
She got a small shovel and carefully removed the sand beneath the turtle. Then the officer gently wrapped the turtle in a towel. She said, "You did the right thing by calling me. It's very dangerous to try to free a trapped animal yourselves." Ms. Clark took a picture. "This image will go on the front page of the school newspaper next week," she said. "It's not every day that we get a snapshot of a snapping turtle!"
When you make predictions, you are making an inference about what you think might happen in the story based on the story clues.
A Predictions Chart can help you analyze clues to make good predictions. Reread the story to confirm what you predicted.
Realistic Fiction is an invented story that could have happened in real life.
Read to Find Out
Will the printer become friends with everyone at the plant?
My father was a printer. He wore a printer's four-cornered newspaper hat. Every day after work, he brought home the next day's paper. After reading it, he always folded a page into a small hat and gently placed it on my head.
I would not take off my newspaper hat until bedtime.
My father was deaf. Though he could not hear, he felt through the soles of his shoes the pounding and rumbling of the giant printing presses that daily spat out the newspaper he helped create.
As a boy, my father learned how to speak with his hands. As a man, he learned how to turn lead-type letters into words and sentences. My father loved being a printer.
Sometimes my father felt sad about the way he was treated by his fellow workers who could hear. Because they couldn't talk to him with their hands, they seemed to ignore him. Years went by as my father and the hearing printers worked side by side. They never once exchanged a single thought.
But my father did not lack friends. There were other printers at the plant who were deaf. They had also learned to talk with their hands.
One day, while the giant presses ran, their noises shutting out all other sound, my father spotted a fire flickering in a far corner of the pressroom.
The fire was spreading quickly, silently. Suddenly, the wood floor burst into flames.
My father knew he had to tell everyone. He couldn't speak to shout a warning. Even if he could, no one would hear him over the loud roar of the presses.
But he could speak with his hands.
Make and Confirm Predictions
How will the printer tell people about the fire?
He did not hesitate. He jumped onto an ink drum and waved his arms excitedly until, clear across the room, he caught the attention of a fellow printer who also couldn't hear a sound.
My father's hands shouted through the terrible noise of the printing presses,
FIRE! FIRE!
TELL EVERYONE TO GET OUT!
TELL THE HEARING ONES!
His friend climbed onto a huge roll of newsprint. His fingers screamed to the other deaf workers,
FIRE! FIRE!
TELL THE HEARING ONES!
All the printers who couldn't hear ran to fellow workers who could. They pointed to the fire, which had now spread to the wall next to the only exit.
Not one of my father's friends left until everyone knew of the danger. My father was the last to escape.
By the time everyone had fled, the fire -- feeding on huge quantities of paper -- had engulfed the enormous plant. The giant presses, some still spewing out burning sheets of newspaper, had fallen partly through the floor. Great shafts of flame shot out of the bursting windows.
The printers stood in the street, broken glass at their feet. They embraced one another as the fire engines arrived. They were happy to be alive.
My father stood alone, struck numb by the last image of the burning presses.
The fi re destroyed the printing presses. The plant had to close for repairs. But not one printer had been hurt.
When the printing plant finally reopened, my father went back to the work he loved. The new presses were switched on and roared into life.
When the day's newspaper had been printed, the presses shuddered to a stop. Now there was silence.
In the midst of the stillness, my father's co-workers gathered around him. They presented him with a hat made of the freshly printed newspaper.
And as my father put the hat on his head, all the print: who could hear did something surprising.
They told him THANK YOU with their hands.
That night, my father picked up the newspaper hat that his fellow printers had given him. After adjusting the four corners, he placed it gently on my head. I didn't take off my hat, but wore it carefully to bed.
I imagined I was standing next to my father on a vast printing press floor, turning lead-type letters into words and sentences. We were wearing four-cornered newspaper hats.
Myron Uhlberg used memories of his father to write his story. Myron's father was born deaf. He worked as a newspaper printer just like the father in the story. When Myron was young, he would visit his father at work. Even today, Myron still remembers how noisy the pressroom was. He also remembers the hats his father made out of newspaper for him.
Henri Sorensen grew up in Denmark and spent much of his childhood in a quiet museum. Every week he visited the museum to look at paintings.
When Henri illustrates a story, he thinks about how the words make him feel. Then he tries to show the feeling in his pictures.
Did Myron Uhlberg write to persuade or entertain readers? Explain. Use details from The Printer to support your answer.
Use the Predictions Chart to help you summarize what happens in The Printer. Tell what you thought would happen and what really happened at the end of the story.
1. When the deaf printer noticed the fire in the newspaper plant, what did you predict would happen next? Were you right? Explain. 
2. Reread page 248. What is the importance of the hearing printers learning how to say "thank you" in sign language?
3. If you did not know sign language, how would you tell a friend who is deaf something important?
4. Before the fire, the hearing printers seemed to ignore the deaf printer.
5. Read "To the Rescue" on pages 232-233. How are the warning and rescue in this story different from the warning and rescue in The Printer? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
A Map is a drawing that shows the surface features of an area.
Some wildfires start in places so remote that there are no roads or open spaces for a helicopter to land. When this happens, it is time to call in the smokejumpers. They are firefighters trained to parachute close to remote wildfires and put them out.
Smokejumpers need to move fast. They need to get to fires while they are still small.
There are nine smokejumper bases in the United States. One of these is in California. During the summer, the danger of fire in California can be very high. The map below shows the fire danger in different parts of the state. Let's take a look at what it's like to be a smokejumper in California.
It takes six and a half weeks of training to become a California smokejumper. Only those with experience fighting fires in the wild are chosen for this training.
This map uses different colors to show the fire danger levels in different parts of the state.
The map key shows what the colors mean.
The compass shows the directions.
It takes a great deal of physical, or body, strength to be a smokejumper. Much time is spent stretching, running, and carrying heavy gear. All smokejumpers must be able to parachute from a plane, steer around trees, and climb at least 150 feet up a tree with all their equipment.
As soon as a request for help comes in, the smokejumpers move quickly. They put on padded jump jackets and pants. They also wear a helmet with a wire-mesh face mask. Each jumper carries a small gear bag.
It contains water, fire shelter, a hard hat, and gloves. They need to be on the plane within 10 minutes.
After the jumpers have landed, firefighting gear is dropped from the plane. The crew leader decides on a safe spot where the smokejumpers can retreat, or move back to, if the fire comes too close. Once this spot is chosen, it's time to fight the fire!
First, the smokejumpers clear around the edge of the fire to keep it from spreading. Then they might radio for water or chemicals to be dropped onto the blaze. When the fire is under control, the smokejumpers put it out with water. Before they leave, smokejumpers make sure that the whole area is completely cool.
After they finish putting out a fire, smokejumpers are often picked up by a helicopter, but sometimes they must hike out to the nearest road while carrying all their tools and gear!
Once they return to their base, they rest until the next fire call comes in.
1. Look at the map on page 255. What is the fire danger level for most of California? How can you tell?
2. What are some personality traits that smokejumpers are likely to have?
3. How is the boy's father in The Printer like the smokejumpers you just read about? How is he different? 
Use the library to do research on firefighters. Find out what kind of special clothing and equipment they use. Draw a firefighter wearing the equipment. Label and explain what each piece is for.
One way writers express their voice is to share opinions, or how they feel about something. Introductory speeches often include the writers' opinions along with the facts.
I included personal opinions to tell how I feel about the best teacher in school.
Today we are giving the award for favorite teacher to Mrs. Adorno. She is the nicest, funniest teacher I have ever had. A lot of you must think so too, because you voted for her. Mrs. Adorno is the only person who can make science seem like fun. After school she meets with students who need extra help. Mrs. Adorno always makes us laugh, and she is our softball team's biggest fan. In addition, she designed our new softball uniforms. Now say hello to our favorite teacher, Mrs. Adorno!
I included facts about Mrs. Adorno's extra efforts.
Pretend that someone is getting an award and you have to give a speech to introduce that person. It might be a famous person or someone you know. Write your speech in one paragraph. Be sure to describe this person and include both facts and opinions. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Have I clearly explained why this person is receiving an award?
Organization: Did I include a topic sentence?
Voice: Do my opinions show enthusiasm?
Word Choice: Did I choose words that describe the person and show how I feel?
Sentence Fluency: Does my speech flow smoothly when I read it out loud?
Conventions: Did I make sure that pronouns and verbs agree? Did I check my spelling?
How are animals' homes similar to people's homes?
An analogy shows how two pairs of words are alike. The analogy below compares the homes of two animals.
Just as bees build hives to live in, spiders spin webs. Spiders are talented architects. They design and build structures to live in that are works of art. These structures are also traps for other insects.
Spider webs are made from silk. Spiders make silk in their bellies. Their silk-making gland has many tiny holes. The silk goes through the holes to get outside the spider's body. When it meets the air, the silk forms a thread. The thread is very thin but very strong.
Spiders can make different kinds of silk. Some contain a material that makes the silk sticky. Other silks do not have this material.
A spider spins a thread behind itself everywhere it goes. This thread is called a dragline. If an enemy comes near, the spider retreats on its dragline. Being able to go backwards on its own line is like having a self-made escape route!
Different spiders build different kinds of webs. The simplest web is called a tangled web. It is just a mess of threads that are attached to something. A cobweb is a dusty, old, tangled web.
Some spiders are called cellar spiders. This is because they usually build tangled webs in cellars or other dark places.
The most common webs are shaped like wheels. They are built by orb weavers. You can find these webs in open areas, such as the spaces between branches.
The water spider builds its web in tiny ponds and other places with shallow water. The web looks like a small air-filled balloon. The water spider feeds and raises its family inside this cozy shelter.
In an article an author will describe each part of a topic to organize information. Use the description of each part of the topic to summarize what you have read.
A Description Web helps you remember details so that you can summarize the topic. Reread "Web Spinners" and record the details of one description.
Informational Nonfiction is a detailed explanation of real things using facts.
How are some animal homes similar to your home?
Animals need homes for many of the same reasons that people do. What are some of those reasons? Start by thinking about your own home, and the kinds of things you do there.
Some kinds of penguins build nests to protect their chicks.
Eating is one very important thing you do every day. Your house has a kitchen where you store and prepare food. Some animals also keep food in their homes. Honeybees, for example, live in hives made up of waxy honeycombs. Each honeycomb has many six-sided cubbies, or cells, where the bees store their honey.
The cells of the honeycomb are also used as nurseries for young bees. And that may remind you of another reason people and animals need homes. They need a safe place to raise their young. Birds' nests, alligator mounds, and the dens of polar bears are other kinds of homes made for raising a family.
What are two ways honeybees use their hives?
Doesn't it feel good to come indoors on a cold winter day or turn up the air conditioner on a hot and humid summer night? That's another reason we need a home -- to protect us from bad weather.
The desert tortoise lives in dry parts of the southwestern United States, where summer temperatures often go above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius). To escape the heat, the tortoise digs a shallow burrow, or hole, where it can rest during the hottest part of the day.
In the winter, when temperatures fall below freezing, the tortoise digs a much deeper burrow. Then it climbs in and spends the winter there, hibernating with other tortoises.
Underground burrows also give animals a place to hide from their enemies. Prairie dogs, for example, dig long, winding burrows with many different rooms and tunnels.
Many people's homes have a front door, a back door and maybe even a side door. A prairie-dog burrow has several openings, too. If a hungry predator invades the burrow through the main entrance, the prairie dogs can escape out the back way.
A coyote trying to invade a prairie-dog burrow.
Some animals build homes for more tricky reasons. Many spiders spin webs mainly to trap unlucky insects.
Now that you know some of the reasons animals need homes, let's find out about some unusual animal homes.
Many animals build their own homes. These animal architects can be birds, mammals, insects, and even fish.
The African weaverbird's name is a clue to the way this bird builds its nest. The male weaverbird gathers long blades of grass, which he knots and weaves into a sturdy ring. Then he adds grass to the ring, making a hollow ball. To keep out tree snakes, the ball is open only at the bottom. When the nest is finished, the weaverbird calls to attract nearby females. If a female likes the nest, she moves in, and the two raise a family.
A spider trapping prey in its web.
Some insects build homes, too. One of the largest and most complicated structures in the animal world is created by tiny African termites.
A termite tower may be as tall as a giraffe and contain millions of termites. The walls of the tower are made of a rock-hard mixture of dirt and saliva. They contain air shafts that keep the inside of the tower cool, even in the blazing sun.
The tower has many special rooms. It has a royal chamber, where the termite king and queen live, nurseries for the young, rooms for storing food, and even an underground garden. Most termites live for only a few years, but a termite tower may last for close to a century.
Have you ever heard people say someone is as "busy as a beaver"? You'd know what they mean if you saw how much work goes into building a beaver lodge.
First, the beavers use sticks and mud to make a dam across a stream. Then water backs up behind the dam to form a pond. In the center of the pond, the beavers build their lodge. It looks like nothing more than a pile of sticks, but the lodge has a room inside that is reached by underwater tunnels. The beavers can come and go easily, but it's almost impossible for wolves and other predators to find a way in.
The hermit crab makes its home in an empty seashell.
Bees, weaverbirds, termites, and beavers all work long and hard to build their homes. But some animals take the easy way out. They look around for ready-made lodgings.
Unlike most other crabs, the hermit crab does not have a hard shell to protect it. It needs a safe place to live, so the hermit crab searches for an empty snail shell. When it finds a shell that fits, the hermit crab squeezes inside. It stays there until it grows too big for that shell. Then it must look for a larger shell.
The pea crab doesn't even wait until a shell is empty. This tiny crab moves in with the original owner! It squeezes into the shell of a mussel, clam, or oyster while that animal is still alive. The shellfish isn't even bothered by the pea crab sharing its home. As the shellfish filters food through its gills, the pea crab catches tiny bits of food as they float past.
A cowbird chick being raised by a yellow warbler.
The cowbird is even more daring. Instead of building its own nest, the female cowbird searches the forest for other nesting birds. When she sees a likely couple, she settles down to wait.
As soon as the unsuspecting birds leave their nest, the cowbird darts in and throws out one of their eggs. Then she quickly lays one of her own. The nesting birds never know the difference! They raise the cowbird chick as if it were one of their own.
A turtle can protect itself by retreating into its shell.
Most people and most animals live in homes that stay in one place. But if you've ever traveled in a camper, trailer or boat, you know that some kinds of homes can move around with you. Did you know that some animals also live in "mobile homes"? 
Tortoises and turtles move slowly. You might think they would be easy prey for any animal that wanted to eat them. But tortoises and turtles can escape into the safety of their homes in a flash, simply by pulling their head and feet inside their hard shell.
The snail is another animal that carries its house on its back. Snails need damp conditions in order to survive. In cold or dry weather, the snail retreats into its spiral shell to avoid drying out.
A kind of caterpillar called the bagworm makes its home out of twigs woven together with silk. The bagworm lives inside this silken case and drags its shelter along as it moves from branch to branch feeding on leaves.
Ann O. Squire is an expert on how animals behave. Before Ann began to write books for children, she studied many different kinds of animals. She has studied everything from rats to the African electric fish.
Nonfiction authors often write to inform or persuade. Why did Ann O. Squire write Animal Homes? What are some details that help you understand her purpose?
Use the Description Web to help you summarize facts about Animal Homes. Create a topic sentence about animal homes, and then describe important information about different kinds of animal homes.
1. Choose an animal that carries its shelter around. Using details from the text and your Description Web, describe that animal and its home.
2. Reread pages 278-279 of Animal Homes. What do you think is the most useful thing about having a mobile home? 
3. Which animal home in this story would you choose to see in person? Explain your answer. 
4. Is it important for people to learn about animal homes? Why or why not?
5. Read "Web Spinners" on pages 262-263. Look at the photographs in the two selections you have read. Compare the structures of the spider webs to the structure of another animal home. Use details from both selections in your answer. 
A Limerick is a short funny poem. It has five lines. Usually the last words in the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme. The third and fourth lines usually rhyme with each other.
A Simile compares two different things by using the words like or as.
A Rhythmic Pattern is a series of stressed and unstressed syllables that create a beat.
A flea on a pooch doesn't care which part it is crossing to where. 
Think of darkness. Then think of the mole In his tunnel: black, black as coal.
But the traffic is light, And the weather's all right, And the tunnel is free -- there's no toll.
This simile compares two unlike things; the darkness of the tunnel and coal.
1. In the second limerick, what picture comes to mind when you read the simile "black as coal"? 
2. Reread the first two lines of "Home Sweet Home." Do these two lines have the same rhythmic pattern?
3. Do the mole and the flea both like their homes? Explain your answer. 
Poetry paints pictures with words. Use figurative language, such as similes, in poems. Similes compare two things that are not alike. Similes use like or as.
I wrote a simile to compare lizards to rabbits.
I used descriptive words to describe how a turtle moves.
Turtles are reptiles, as everyone knows.
They're cold-blooded, and they have feet and tiny toes.
While lizards are quick, like rabbits with scales, turtles don't hurry.
They move slow like snails.
They'll never leap up, or jump out or attack.
You'd move slowly, too,
With a house on your back!
Write a descriptive poem that is about six to ten lines long. Your poem could be about any animal that makes its own home. Use figurative language that creates a "picture" for the reader. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I use figurative language that paints a picture?
Organization: Is my writing structured like a poem rather than a paragraph?
Voice: Does my personality come through?
Word Choice: Will the precise words of my poem interest my reader?
Sentence Fluency: Does my poem make sense?
Conventions: Did I use pronoun contractions such as I've and he's correctly? Did I check my spelling?
A tornado is a funnel of wind spinning very fast.
Its wind can blow as fast as 300 miles per hour, which is almost six times the speed limit on a highway! Tornadoes can be caused by powerful thunderstorms called supercells.
Cold, dry air mixing with warm, moist air makes a supercell. When the warm air in the supercell rises very quickly, it starts to spin into a tornado.
When a tornado reaches the ground, it begins to travel. The path of a tornado can be straight, zigzag, or circular.
Tornadoes come in different shapes and sizes. The damage along this path can be as wide as one or two miles and as long as 50 miles. Tornadoes typically touch down for only two or three minutes.
At first, a tornado's long cone shape is almost invisible. As it picks up dirt and other materials, the tornado becomes easier to see. A tornado can even pick up cars, trees, and parts of buildings.
Tornadoes can be very dangerous. The Fujita Pearson Tornado Scale rates the power of tornadoes. Here's how it rates them:
F-0: Wind speed of 40-72 miles per hour. It can break tree branches and damage chimneys.
F-1: Wind speed of 73-112 miles per hour. It can damage roofs and overturn mobile homes.
F-2: Wind speed of 113-157 miles per hour. It can pick up trees and damage houses.
F-3: Wind speed of 158-205 miles per hour. It can destroy house roofs and walls, move cars, and overturn trains.
F-4: Wind speed of 207-260 miles per hour. It can knock down even strong walls in big buildings
F-5: Wind speed of 261-318 miles per hour. It can lift up and carry houses. It can knock down anything in its path.
Tornadoes are hard to predict. The sky might appear slightly greenish just before a tornado.
Loud winds that sound like a train or an airplane might mean a tornado is very close.
The best place to take cover from a tornado is in a place without windows, such as a cellar, bathroom, hallway, or closet. People in cars should stop driving and get into a building as soon as possible.
Powerful tornadoes can turn sturdy homes to pieces.
1. According to the poem and the article, why is a tornado called a twister?
It twists things in its path.
The wind spins around.
It is like a puzzle.
It is unpredictable.
2. What is the relationship between wind speed and a tornado's power?
Wind speed doesn't matter.
The slowest wind speed does the most damage.
The greatest wind speed does the most damage.
The greatest wind speed does the least damage.
3. What do you think is the BEST thing to do if a tornado is nearby?
Get in a car and drive away from the tornado.
Go to the top floor of the building.
Go to a room that has no windows.
Decide which path the tornado is taking.
4. What causes a tornado to form?
5. The thunder is loud, and the sky looks green. What should you do? Use details from the selection in your answer.
Some people get close enough to tornadoes to take photos and videos. Do you think this is a good idea? Write a two-paragraph speech explaining your point of view.
1. According to the poem and the article, why is a tornado called a twister?
It twists things in its path.
The wind spins around.
It is like a puzzle.
It is unpredictable.
2. What is the relationship between wind speed and a tornado's power?
Wind speed doesn't matter.
The slowest wind speed does the most damage.
The greatest wind speed does the most damage.
The greatest wind speed does the least damage.
3. What do you think is the BEST thing to do if a tornado is nearby?
Get in a car and drive away from the tornado.
Go to the top floor of the building.
Go to a room that has no windows.
Decide which path the tornado is taking.
4. What causes a tornado to form?
5. The thunder is loud, and the sky looks green. What should you do? Use details from the selection in your answer.
We are all neighbors in our hometowns. Why is it good to help our neighbors?
Paragraph Clues can help you figure out the meaning of a word you don't know.
Use clues in the third paragraph to find out what the word appliances means.
When I walk around my neighborhood, I see people working to protect and help me and my family. Firefighters, letter carriers, and police officers are community workers. They make my neighborhood a better place to live. When I am older, I would like to be a community worker, but which job should I choose?
Letter carriers deliver our mail and drop off packages and magazines. They work in every town and city in the United States.
The letter carrier in my neighborhood is Mr. Vasquez. He works downtown, walking from block to block to deliver mail to each address along the route. He doesn't carry big boxes, like the ones that hold stoves and washing machines. Trucks deliver appliances like those! Maybe I will be a letter carrier.
Police officers, like Officer Morena, keep us safe. Home and business owners depend on the police to guard our families, our property, and our streets.
Police may also work at sites where the construction of new buildings takes place. They direct traffic to keep the workers and drivers safe. Officer Morena can find lost people and help if there is an accident. She has special equipment, such as a two-way radio, so she can talk to other officers. Being a police officer might be a good job.
Firefighters are brave, like Chief Cole. They risk their lives to save people caught in fires. They also check smoke alarms t in schools, as well as fire hydrants along the road to make sure they are tightly sealed.
Leaky hydrants may not have enough water when the time comes to fight a fire.
Chief Cole is a good firefighter.
Maybe I will be one too, someday.
When you analyze story structure, you think about how the story is organized. Every story is structured around a theme. The theme of a selection is the message the author wants to get across to the reader.
A Theme Map helps you identify clues to the story's theme using the characters, setting, and plot. Reread the selection to find the theme.
Realistic Fiction is an invented story that could have happened in real life.
In the old days, before I was ten, we rented an apartment on Emerald Street. It was a small place to live in for one whole family, but somehow we made the room.
There always seemed to be enough to go around, even with five people at our table.
Every morning my father would get up even before the sun. "Someday things will change around here," he would whisper to me. He usually said this during the winter when the house was beginning to feel chilly. Then he'd kiss us good-bye, tuck up our blankets, and leave for his job at the diner.
My mother worked part-time in the downtown bakery while my sisters and I were at school. After school she'd sit on the stoop and watch us play.
Sometimes my mother would flip through a magazine. She'd show me pictures of houses with gardens and porches. They all looked like castles to me. I'd puff out my cheeks when I looked at our place.
It was old and peeling and sorry.
That's when my mother would hug me and say, "Our family is rich in more ways than we can count."
Why does the mother look at pictures of houses?
On Saturday mornings my mother would weigh my pockets down with quarters for the Laundromat.
"Hold Andy's hand," she'd tell my sister.
Then my mother would slip two brown-bagged lunches in the wagon with a dollar for a treat. My sister and I would bump our cart to the Soap & Go on Viola Street.
Now, across the street from the Soap & Go were three boarded-up houses. My father said it was a shame. "Somebody should do something about that," he'd say whenever he saw them. So when a truck pulled up and workers unloaded equipment, I started to pay attention
"What's going on over there?" a lady at the Soap & Go asked.
Mr. Rivera pointed to a flier that was posted up front.
"I'll bet it has something to do with this," he told her. The flier had a picture of a house and said you too can own a home.
After our laundry was dried and folded, I took my sister by the hand and rushed our wagon back to Emerald Street.
At supper I told my parents all about what I had heard and seen. My father scrambled eggs with extra zest, and my mother put ice in our water.
"There's a meeting tonight," I said. "Seven o'clock at the school."
Later on, when my parents came home, they were just as excited as I was.
"This organization buys empty houses and fixes them up like new!" said my mother.
"And if you're interested in helping to fix up a house for other people," my father continued, "then one day other people will help fix up a house for you." That sounded like a good plan to me. It would be nice to live in a house that wasn't so chilly in winter.
"So we signed up," my father told me. "Can we count on you to help?"
I hugged them so tight I almost fell out of bed. I think they knew my answer.
Well, you know how sometimes, when you never believe that anything will ever be different, then one morning you just wake up and nothing is the same? That's what happened to our family that spring when the project on Viola Street began.
Clang! Bang! Bang! Smash! Those workers started early.
"Take a good look," my mother told us. "That's what we'll be doing soon."
"Are all those people getting a house?" I asked. "Some of them will," my mother said. "But anyone who wants to can help. It's called volunteering."
Piece by piece, the inside of the first house came apart -- one old bathtub, some cabinets, sinks. Slats of wood and piping piled up like a mountain full of junk in the Dumpster.
Most people on the block were happy about the project, but other people were not. The lady next door said, "No banging before nine o'clock!" Some people laughed and said out loud, "Who would want a house in a neighborhood like this?"
But my father would smile and whisper to me, "Sometimes new things are hard to get used to and people are slow to change."
On the weekends, when our family showed up, a leader called out the assignments.
"Everyone here will have a special job to do," she said.
My mother scraped wallpaper off crusty walls that crumbled like toast. My father and I worked together.
He lifted up old linoleum tiles by sliding a cat-hammer underneath. My job was to carefully hammer down nails on the floorboards when he was through.
Some volunteers, like us, hoped to have a house one day.
"We're looking forward to living in a place without broken windows and leaky pipes," Mr. and Mrs. Rivera said.
My father said he couldn't wait to have a house that would have heat all winter.
My sisters were still too young to help with all the
. But my mother told them, "Being little is no excuse not to pitch in." She had them squeeze juice from bags of lemons to make fresh lemonade. Then they took turns pouring and passing the cups all around.
At the end of the day there was always a lot of sweeping to do.
"I've never seen so much dust in my life," Mrs. Tran said, covering her nose.
My mother held a dustpan while I pushed the broom. My sisters giggled whenever they saw me wearing my safety mask.
Why is the family working so hard?
On Saturday nights I'd be so tired, I'd practically fall asleep right after supper.
"You're doing good work," my father would say.
And he'd thank me for helping our family. He'd say,
"Big dreams are built little by little, and we are making a start."
In those four months I learned a lot about putting things together. Once I even found a piece of wood that my father said I could keep. I thought that maybe I could use it to make something on my own.
One day Mr. Tran gave everyone some news. The new house would be theirs!
"Everything is beautiful," Mrs. Tran said. She stood smiling inside the framed front door. She watched her daughter paint the big front room. The kitchen had shiny linoleum floors and brand-new appliances. There even was a washing machine! Upstairs was a bathroom and three carpeted bedrooms. Out back there was a place for a garden.
When the Tran family moved in, they threw a potluck supper. My father and I took care to make something extra special that night.
"Since I've been promoted to cook, I like to whip up a storm," he said.
We not only celebrated the Tran family's being the owners of their new home, but we also celebrated because we knew we were one house closer to our dream.
Things were really changing on Viola Street now. "This neighborhood looks like it's shaping up," the lady at the Soap & Go said. Volunteers were working on two more empty houses. And of course the Trans next door didn't mind when we wanted to get to work early.
This fall our family was notified that we'd be working on our own house next spring -- number one-forty-six Viola Street. Whenever we pass it, my mother says, "I can imagine it finished already." I've already got my bedroom picked out. It's the one with the window by the yard.
During the winter, I made a birdhouse from my piece of wood and gave it to my mother. My mother was more than pleased about that. She said, thanks to me, now even the birds would have a nice little place to call home.
I used to dream that we had a million dollars to buy a house of our own. But in real life all it cost us was a lot of hard work. Anyway, it seems to me like all the money in the world couldn't buy us what we have now on Viola Street. It's just as my father says: Big dreams are built little by little, and we have made a start.
What was the author's purpose for writing? Did she want to entertain readers or inform them about something? How do you know?
DyAnne DiSalvo says that before she starts a book she can see the whole thing in her mind. Then she gets to work. Sometimes she does research and takes pictures. Other times she just draws a picture she has in her head. DyAnne often uses things she's done to write her books. Just like the characters in this story, DyAnne joined a special group that builds houses for people. She says that her stories are a little bit fiction and a little bit nonfiction.
A Castle on Viola Street. Tell about where the story is set, who the main characters are, and what happens to the main characters.
1. Use your Theme Map to identify the theme of A Castle on Viola Street. Describe the theme using story details.
2. Reread page 297 of A Castle on Viola Street. Do you agree with the mother when she says that the family is "rich"? Use story details in your answer.
3. Do you think you would enjoy helping to build or repair a home for someone? Explain your answer.
4. Is it important for families to help build homes for others before they can become owners of their own homes? Explain.
5. Read "What Should I Be?" on pages 292-293. What similar theme does that story share with A Castle on Viola Street? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Features in a Textbook, such as introductions, headings, boldface type, and captions, help you understand information in the text.
Everyone needs a home, but finding one can be difficult. The cost of buying a home is often very high, and so is the cost to rent a place to live by the month.
A group called Habitat for Humanity helps provide homes for needy families. Habitat for Humanity's work is true to its name: Habitat means "homes," and humanity means "people." This organization works with families to help them build comfortable, low-cost homes of their own.
Habitat for Humanity is made up mostly of volunteers who work for free because they like to help other people.
Families who need homes can contact the group. The group then chooses deserving families and helps them build a home. Before the families get help building their own homes, they must help build homes for other families.
Volunteers work on a Habitat for Humanity home in LaGrange, Georgia.
The hard work of many people is needed to build a home.
Former President Jimmy Carter helps build a Habitat for Humanity home.
Their work can also be seen in other countries such as Thailand, South Africa, and Guatemala. In each country, the houses are built from materials that are available nearby. That makes it easier for families to keep their homes in good shape and for the homes to look as if they fit into the neighborhood.
The following textbook features are used in this article to help you understand what you are reading.
An Introduction is a brief explanation of the text.
A Heading appears before a piece of writing.
Boldface Type calls attention to important words.
Different-sized Type shows a heading or important words.
A Caption explains the photo.
Read the caption for the photo on page 317. Where was the photo taken?
Suppose that you and your family are working with Habitat for Humanity. What jobs do you think you could or would like to do?
Think about this article and A Castle on Viola Street. What could you tell Andy about Habitat for Humanity that he might not have already learned?
Ask your family members and friends what kinds of volunteer work they do or know about. Use your research to write a paragraph about one interesting volunteer job.
In a business letter, use formal language and be very polite. Put a colon at the end of the greeting and a comma at the end of the closing. Add periods to abbreviations in addresses, dates, and titles.
Dear Mr. Garcia:
I saw your huge ad for Puppet Playhouse in the newspaper. I would like to get information about having your puppets perform at a birthday party. Please send me helpful information and photographs.
Sincerely yours, Adam L.
Since this is a business letter, I used formal and polite language.
I used a colon at the end of the greeting and a comma at the end of the closing.
Write a business letter to a company from which you would like to get more information. Your letter could be directed to the company itself or to a person who works there. Explain why you are writing and what you need. Write in a voice that is formal and polite. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Do I state what I want?
Organization: Did I use the correct form for a business letter?
Voice: Did I use formal language? Was I very polite?
Word Choice: Did I use precise nouns, adjectives, and verbs?
Sentence Fluency: Did I avoid run-on sentences?
Conventions: Did I put a colon after the greeting and a comma after the closing? Did I use abbreviations correctly and check my spelling?
Animals are amazing creatures. What is the most unusual thing you have ever seen an animal do?
Prefixes are word parts that come at the beginning of words and change their meaning. The prefix re-means "again."
Max is my pet hamster. He's really cool and fun. One day, my brother Marco came home and picked up Max.
"The science fair is next month," he said.
I have to come up with a great project." "That's easy," I said. "Build a volcano." "Everyone makes volcanoes," he answered.
I want to do something really different."
I could see that our conversation about volcanoes was over. I stopped talking, and so did Marco. Finally, I interrupted the silence and said, "What about Max? Maybe you could use him for a science project."
"Max!" Marco grinned and yelled with joy. "Yes!"
Marco did some research and then turned back to me.
"I'm not boasting, but I think Pm really smart. I have the best plan," he said. "I'll build a maze. I'll see if Max can go through it faster in the morning or at night. Hamsters are more active at night. I think Max will be faster then. Want to help?"
I did! We built a cardboard maze, and we put a food pellet at one end and Max at the other.
At first, Max started to sway back and forth on his little legs, as if rocking like that would help him figure out what was happening. Then, he smelled the food. Max scrambled quickly toward it. When he reached it, he seized the pellet in his teeth.
"Max did okay, but the maze fell apart," I said. "Let's rebuild it. I'll get some wood."
We made the maze again.
The next morning Marco started timing Max. He timed Max twice a day for two weeks -- every morning and every night. It turned out that Marco was right. Max was faster at night than in the morning. That little guy is one amazing hamster!
When you make judgments, you decide how you feel about something. You can monitor your understanding of a story or its characters when you use your own experiences to make judgments about them.
A Judgment Chart can help you judge a character's actions. Reread the selection to make judgments about the brothers' actions.
A Fantasy is a story about invented characters who could not exist in real life.
How would you describe Charlotte's personality?
A spider's web is stronger than it looks. Although it is made of thin, delicate strands, the web is not easily broken. However, a web gets torn every day by the insects that kick around in it, and a spider must rebuild it when it gets full of holes. Charlotte liked to do her weaving during the late afternoon, and Fern liked to sit nearby and watch. One afternoon she heard a most interesting conversation and witnessed a strange event.
"You have awfully hairy legs, Charlotte," said Wilbur, as the spider busily worked at her task.
"My legs are hairy for a good reason," replied Charlotte. "Furthermore, each leg of mine has seven sections -- the coxa, the trochanter, the femur, the patella, the tibia, the metatarsus, and the tarsus."
Wilbur sat bolt upright. "You're kidding," he said.
"No, I'm not, either."
"Say those names again, I didn't catch them the first time."
"Coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus."
"Goodness!" said Wilbur, looking down at his own chubby legs. "I don't think my legs have seven sections."
Does Wilbur's comment about Charlotte's legs show good manners?
"Well," said Charlotte, "you and I lead different lives. You don't have to spin a web. That takes real leg work."
"I could spin a web if I tried," said Wilbur, boasting. "I've just never tried."
"Let's see you do it," said Charlotte. Fern chuckled softly, and her eyes grew wide with love for the pig.
"O. K.," replied Wilbur. "You coach me and I'll spin one. It must be a lot of fun to spin a web. How do I start?" "Take a deep breath!" said Charlotte, smiling. Wilbur breathed deeply. "Now climb to the highest place you can get to, like this." Charlotte raced up to the top of the doorway. Wilbur scrambled to the top of the manure pile.
"Very good!" said Charlotte. "Now make an attachment with your spinnerets, hurl yourself into space, and let out a dragline as you go down!"
Wilbur hesitated a moment, then jumped out into the air. He glanced hastily behind to see if a piece of rope was following him to check his fall, but nothing seemed to be happening in his rear, and the next thing he knew he landed with a thump. "Ooomp!" he grunted.
Charlotte laughed so hard her web began to sway. "What did I do wrong?" asked the pig, when he recovered from his bump.
"Nothing," said Charlotte. "It was a nice try."
"I think I'll try again," said Wilbur, cheerfully. "I believe what I need is a little piece of string to hold me."
The pig walked out to his yard. "You there, Templeton?" he called. The rat poked his head out from under the trough.
"Got a little piece of string I could borrow?" asked Wilbur. "I need to spin a web."
"Yes, indeed," replied Templeton, who saved string. "No trouble at all. Anything to oblige." He crept down into his hole, pushed the goose egg out of the way, and returned with an old piece of dirty white string. Wilbur examined it.
"That's just the thing," he said. "Tie one end to my tail, will you, Templeton?"
Wilbur crouched low, with his thin, curly tail toward the rat. Templeton seized the string, passed it around the end of the pig's tail, and tied two half hitches. Charlotte watched in delight. Like Fern, she was truly fond of Wilbur, whose smelly pen and stale food attracted the flies that she needed, and she was proud to see that he was not a quitter and was willing to try again to spin a web.
While the rat and the spider and the little girl watched, Wilbur climbed again to the top of the manure pile, full of energy and hope.
"Everybody watch!" he cried. And summoning all his strength, he threw himself into the air, headfirst. The string trailed behind him. But as he had neglected to fasten the other end to anything, it didn't really do any good, and Wilbur landed with a thud, crushed and hurt. Tears came to his eyes. Templeton grinned.
Charlotte just sat quietly. After a bit she spoke.
"You can't spin a web, Wilbur, and I advise you to put the idea out of your mind. You lack two things needed for spinning a web."
"What are they?" asked Wilbur, sadly.
"You lack a set of spinnerets. But cheer up, you don't need a web. Zuckerman supplies you with three big meals a day. Why should you worry about trapping food?"
Wilbur sighed. "You're ever so much cleverer and brighter than I am, Charlotte. I guess I was just trying to show off. Serves me right."
Templeton untied his string and took it back to his home. Charlotte returned to her weaving.
"You needn't feel too badly, Wilbur," she said. "Not many creatures can spin webs. Even men aren't as good at it as spiders, although they think they're pretty good, and they'll try anything. Did you ever hear of the Queensborough Bridge?"
Wilbur shook his head. "Is it a web?"
"Sort of," replied Charlotte. "But do you know how long it took men to build it? Eight whole years. My goodness, I would have starved to death waiting that long. I can make a web in a single evening."
"What do people catch in the Queensborough Bridge -- bugs?" asked Wilbur.
"No," said Charlotte. "They don't catch anything.
They just keep trotting back and forth across the bridge thinking there is something better on the other side. If they'd hang head-down at the top of the thing and wait quietly, maybe something good would come along. But no -- with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider."
"What does sedentary mean?" asked Wilbur.
"Means I sit still a good part of the time and don't go wandering all over creation. I know a good thing when I see it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait for what comes. Gives me a chance to think."
"Well, I'm sort of sedentary myself, I guess," said the pig. "I have to hang around here whether I want to or not. You know where I'd really like to be this evening?"
"Where?"
"In a forest looking for beechnuts and truffles and delectable roots, pushing leaves aside with my wonderful strong nose, searching and sniffing along the ground, smelling, smelling, smelling... "
"You smell just the way you are," remarked a lamb who had just walked in. "I can smell you from here. You're the smelliest creature in the place."
Wilbur hung his head. His eyes grew wet with tears. Charlotte noticed his embarrassment and she spoke sharply to the lamb.
"Let Wilbur alone!" she said. "He has a perfect right to smell, considering his surroundings. You're no bundle of sweet peas yourself. Furthermore, you are interrupting a very pleasant conversation. What were we talking about, Wilbur, when we were so rudely interrupted?"
"Oh, I don't remember," said Wilbur. "It doesn't make any difference. Let's not talk any more for a while, Charlotte. I'm getting sleepy. You go ahead and finish fixing your web and I'll just lie here and watch you. It's a lovely evening." Wilbur stretched out on his side.
Twilight settled over Zuckerman's barn, and a feeling of peace.
Do you think Charlotte really wants to make Wilbur feel better? Why or why not?
E. B. White had a farm very much like the one in this story. One day when E. B. was going to feed his pig, he began to feel sad. He did not want his pig to be killed. E. B. thought about how to save him. While he was thinking, he saw a big spider spinning a web. Soon E. B. was spinning the novel Charlotte' Web.
What was E. B. White's main purpose for writing? Explain how you can tell.
Garth Williams has said that Charlotte' Web was one of his favorite books to illustrate. Garth did the pictures while he was living on a farm. He based his illustrations on what he saw around him. He drew the animals over and over again until they seemed to look like people.
Use your Judgment Chart to help you summarize Wilbur's Boast. Tell about an important event in the selection by showing evidence from the story, making inferences based on that information, and describing how the event ends.
1. Think about Wilbur's boasting and his attempts to spin a web. Were these attempts smart? Include story details in your answer.
2. Reread page 330. Why do you think Charlotte tells Wilbur how to spin a web? Use story details in your answer.
3. If you were to meet Charlotte, what questions would you ask her about the meaning of friendship?
4. Why do you think that Charlotte says humans rush around too much? Explain your answer.
5. Read "Max, the Amazing Hamster" on pages 324-325. Compare the way animals are shown in this story and in Wilbur's Boast. Which is realistic and which is fantasy? Use details from both selections to explain your answer.
Nonfiction Articles give information about real people, places, or things.
Everyone has a personality, or a unique way of acting and thinking. One person might love to run and jump. Another may prefer to sit and think. Your next-door neighbor could be very shy, but your cousin may be friendly to everyone. Each of these people has a different personality.
Animals also have personalities. Scientists study their behavior, or the way they act, in order to learn more about them. Here are three individual animals that have special personalities.
A cat named Phoenix doesn't need anyone to open doors for him. When he wants to go out, he just pushes a special doorbell.
The doorbell's inventor thought that many people would rush to buy cat doorbells, but few have been sold. That may be because not many cats have the same independent personality as Phoenix.
Here's an experiment to find out something interesting about a cat. It will tell you whether a cat is "right-pawed" or "left-pawed."
Is Your Cat Right-Pawed or Left-Pawed?
1. Use the spoon to put a little cat food in the bottle.
2. Put the bottle on its side near the cat.
3. When the cat uses its paw to get the food, write down whether the cat uses its right or left paw.
4. Repeat Steps 1-3 several times.
5. Count the number of times the cat uses its right paw and the number of times it uses its left paw.
6. Decide whether your cat is rightpawed, left-pawed, or both.
Scientists at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo gave carved pumpkins to their gorillas. They observed how their gorillas played with the pumpkins before eating them.
A gorilla called Zuri grabbed as many pumpkins as he could. Another gorilla, Jumoke, spent a lot of time picking out the biggest pumpkin. Alafia looked for a pumpkin she could fit over her head. Congo chose a pumpkin with a face he liked best. Each gorilla showed his or her personality while making choices.
Most parrots can only repeat words their owners say, but one parrot, named Alex, is a talker and a good listener! When his owner holds up a tray with different objects, Alex can pick out the yellow object, the biggest object, or even "the one under the square."
Alex also has a good memory.
If his owner asks, "Alex, what color is corn?"
Alex answers, "Yellow."
He can do this even if there is no corn in sight to give him a hint.
1. Look at the directions for the experiment on page 341. Explain the directions in Step 4.
2. Do you know any pets that seem to have interesting personalities? Explain.
3. Which animals in "Wilbur's Boast" remind you of animals in this selection? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Choose an animal you know. Observe the animal to learn more about it. Then write a paragraph that tells three new things you learned in your research.
Writers of news stories use transition words in sentences to show cause and effect and to order information. Words such as because and as a result will keep readers informed.
My first sentence tells who, what, when, where, and why.
My news story includes transition words such as "because."
Almost 22 years ago, two elephants named Jenny and Shirley met at a circus where they both performed. Then they were separated. Recently Jenny and Shirley met again because they were reunited at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee.
When Jenny and Shirley saw each other, they started roaring and tried to climb in each other's pens. The people at the sanctuary never saw elephants get so excited. As a result, they put them in the same pen. Now, Jenny and Shirley seem happier than ever because of the sanctuary staff's efforts.
Research and write a news story about an animal. You can use magazines and newspapers, or do research on the Internet with an adult's help.
In your first sentence, explain Who, What, When, Where, and Why. In the story, use transition words and at least one adjective that compares, such as happier. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Is my news story about a real event?
Organization: Does my news story have a topic sentence and supporting details?
Voice: Does my news story tell the facts without showing my feelings?
Word Choice: Did I use transition words?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary the lengths of my sentences?
Conventions: Did I use the correct forms of adjectives that compare? Did I check my spelling?
What does it mean to be a good citizen?
October 12, 1892. Do you know the historical importance of that date? It was Columbus Day, and on that day 12 million kids in the United States recited the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time.
The original pledge was published in the September 8, 1892, issue of a Boston magazine called The Youth's Companion. For years there was a dispute over who wrote the pledge. Both were members of the magazine's staff. Bellamy's son gathered documents and statements to prove that his father was the pledge's author. It paid off. In 1939 the United States Flag Association decided that Bellamy deserved the credit.
THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THE PLEDGE:
"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands -- one nation indivisible -- with liberty and justice for all."
In 1923, at the first National Flag Conference, the words "my Flag" were changed to "the Flag of the United States of America"
Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance in 1942.
On Flag Day in 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suggested adding the words "under God." Congress agreed, and the phrase was added.
Citizens of the United States have certain rights and responsibilities. When people move to the United States from other countries, they do automatically become American citizens. They must fill out an application with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. They must meet certain requirements, such as being able to read, write, and speak ordinary English. They must also pass a test on the history and government of the United States. After they become citizens, they have the right to vote and hold public office.
There are more than 30 million Hispanic people living in the United States. Every year Hispanic Heritage Month begins on September 15, which marks the date when five Latin American countries gained independence: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about real people, places, or things.
A problem is something that needs to be worked out. A solution is something that fixes a problem.
The idea of a person flying into space was a dream until the 1950s. That's when United States and Soviet Union scientists began a space race to make the dream a reality. The Soviet Union pulled ahead, launching two satellites, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, into space in 1957. The U. S. needed a plan to catch up. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was formed to put an astronaut into space. John Glenn would be that astronaut.
Ten months later, Glenn climbed aboard the 10-foot-long Friendship 7 and became the first American to circle Earth in a spacecraft. The U. S. had finally caught up with the Soviet Union in the space race.
Glenn's flight lasted only 4 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds from liftoff to touchdown back to Earth. During that time, Glenn orbited Earth three times. It was a historic mission. However, this was not the end of the space race. The next step was getting the first person on the moon. Glenn worked on the cockpit layout and control functions on the Apollo Project. His efforts helped get U. S. astronaut Neil Armstrong to the moon on July 20, 1969.
Glenn was already a hero when he served his country as a fighter pilot in World War II, but at NASA, he was a hero to science.
After leaving NASA, Glenn served his country as a U. S. senator. Then in 1998, at age 77, Senator Glenn would get his chance to help science again.
In 1962 an Atlas rocket carried John Glenn and Friendship 7 into space.
NASA scientists needed to find out the best way to study the effects of aging on the body. They needed a qualified older astronaut who was healthy enough to make the trip. That person would also launch a spacecraft to study the heat and winds surrounding the sun. Again, Glenn was chosen.
On board the STS-95 Discovery, Glenn wore monitors on his chest and head to measure changes in his heartbeat and brain waves. As people grow older, they experience physical problems, such as loss of balance and muscle tone. The conditions in space have similar effects on astronauts. Because John Glenn wore monitors, scientists today can study the historical data of his trip. This data helps scientists understand aging better.
Ready, Set, Blast Off!
Glenn wasn't automatically accepted for the 1998 mission. First, he had to pass physical tests to make sure he was healthy enough. Then he had months of preparation. One of the requirements was the ability to save himself in case of an emergency. Glenn admits that he was creakier than the rest of the crew. "I don't bend in the same directions they bend," he said.
As Glenn got ready to board Discovery, thousands of excited fans cheered him on. Among them were Daniel and Zach Glenn, the astronaut's grandsons. "It's a little scary," admitted Dan, 16, "but pretty neat that he went up so long ago and is going up again." Zach, 13, said,
"He is a great guy and a really nice grandpa. He's an American hero." There's no dispute about that.
1. What problem did the U. S. face with the space program in 1961?
2. In what three ways did John Glenn serve his country?
3. Why do you think John Glenn is described as a hero?
4. How does each of these selections relate to the theme of "good citizens"? 
The answer is in more than one place. Keep reading to find the answer.
Uncle Sam was already a well-known symbol of the United States when he appeared on this World War I recruiting poster.
He has a long white beard. He wears a tall hat and a red, white, and blue suit. He is Uncle Sam, and he is a symbol of the U. S.government. Is Uncle Sam a made-up cartoon character? Or is he based on a real person?
One idea is that Uncle Sam was named after a man named Samuel Wilson. During the War of 1812, Wilson sold meat to the U. S. Army. The meat was packed in barrels stamped with the letters U. S. Some people joked that U. S. stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson.
In 1838 Thomas Nast created a picture of Uncle Sam. Nast drew political cartoons. In these cartoons, Uncle Sam has a beard. Samuel Wilson, who didn't have a beard, was probably not Nast's model.
By 1916 the United States was at war again. James Flagg painted a poster to get people to join the Army. On it, a determined-looking Uncle Sam points and says, "I WANT YOU" To this day, Uncle Sam is a symbol for American strength and determination.
1. Why is Uncle Sam a symbol of the U. S.government?
Government leaders look like him.
He was created long ago.
He looks determined, and he wears red, white, and blue. 
His picture appears on the U. S. flag.
2. James Flagg created his Uncle Sam poster for meat-buyers for the U. S. Army.
people who did not live in the United States.
people who could help fight the war.
newspaper reporters.
3. Which statement BEST summarizes the main idea of the article?
Uncle Sam provided meat for the U. S. Army.
Uncle Sam was definitely a real person.
Uncle Sam is a famous United States symbol.
Government property is stamped with Uncle Sam's picture.
4. Why is it hard to prove that Uncle Sam was named after Samuel Wilson?
5. How do you think Thomas Nast chose Uncle Sam's costume? Explain why he chose the colors and design.
Imagine that you go to the playground and find someone making fun of a new kid. The new kid, Juan, speaks only Spanish. He looks sad and scared. Write a story of at least three paragraphs about what you do and say that shows good citizenship. Tell what happens next.
I put events in order to organize my writing.
Juan just came to our school. I can talk to him in Spanish, but he doesn't speak English very well yet. When I got to the playground, Grant was saying mean things to Juan. Grant see med mad. Juan looked scared.
I didn't like what Grant was doing. I said, "Grant! Knock it off! Why are you being so mean?" Grant stopped, but he still looked mean. "Juan is a really good guy, and he's great at soccer," I said. Grant stopped frowning. He knew that we needed another player for our team.
Juan smiled at me. "Gracias," he said.
"De nada," I said. Then I kicked the ball toward him. Juan got the ball and kicked it to Grant. We all had a great time after that.
Being a good citizen can mean a lot of different things. Think about what it means to you. Then write a story that tells how someone learned what being a good citizen means. Your story should have at least three paragraphs.
Ask yourself, who will read my story?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your story.
Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
How can animals help people at work and in their daily lives?
Suffixes are word parts at the end of words that change words' meanings.
Sleepy means in need of sleep.
When a fire alarm goes off, you know it! The sound alerts you to danger. What if you were deaf? How would you know if an alarm went off, or if someone knocked on your door? If you took a walk and strolled across a busy street, you wouldn't hear if a car beeped at you. A signal dog could help you with all of these things!
Signal dogs are also called hearing ear dogs. They help people who are deaf by acting as their owners' "ears."
They know what to do when they hear certain sounds. These dogs can learn up to eight sounds, including sounds from sirens, doorbells, and crying babies.
Babies cry at night for many reasons. They might be hungry, lonely, or wet. When they cry, the sound is pitiful! Even extremely sleepy parents will wake up quickly to help. But what if a mom and dad can't hear? That's when a signal dog can help.
The dog can quickly wake his owner. He might nudge him with his nose, or pull at his night clothes. When his owner wakes up, the dog runs to the baby. The dog may crouch down near the crib. If his owner doesn't follow, the dog does it again.
The dog will run back and forth until his owner takes action. A signal dog does different things for each sound it knows.
There is no official kind of hearing ear dog. Many sizes and breeds can be trained. Some dogs are short and fluffy. Others are tall, thin, and sleek. They may not all move with beauty and grace, but all signal dogs are smart!
Large dogs are better in public places because they won't get stepped on. Small dogs, however, can jump in your lap. Why is that important? Because signal dogs are more than just "ears." They are also friends.
As you read, remember to monitor your comprehension.
To help check your understanding of an article, think about the author's purpose.
An Author's Purpose Chart helps you identify clues to the author's purpose and helps you understand what you read. 
A Biography is the story of a person's life that is written by another person.
Why does the author call Helen Martini "mother to tigers"?
Suppose you were a lion cub -- abandoned.
Suppose you lay hungry and cold in the straw at the back of the den, and a man came in the cage and lifted you into a case and put you in a car to go home with him.
Suppose a woman bathed you.
Suppose she warmed milk on the stove and poured it in a bottle and put you on a pillow in her lap to drink till you were full and sleepy, then put you in a box that would be your bed in a kitchen that would be your home till you got big enough to roam the apartment, stalking the sofa, pouncing on the chairs, till you outgrew a human's house and went home to the Bronx Zoo.
Your name would be MacArthur, and the woman who saved you, Helen Frances Theresa Delaney Martini.
Why does the author tell about the lion cub?
Helen never planned to raise cubs.
She and her husband, Fred, wanted children.
But their first baby died, and doctors said she couldn't have more.
To ease their hurt hearts, they collected pets: a parrot, a dog, a starling, and twelve canaries.
Before long, their little apartment was full of song and feathers.
On weekends, when Fred was free from his job as a jeweler, they strolled through the Bronx Zoo, just down the street from their house.
Fred loved those times -- watching polar bears dive and elephants amble, studying the grace of giraffes.
Finally Helen said, "Why don't you follow your heart and work at the Zoo?"
So he did.
Each night he brought home questions about animals he cared for, and together he and Helen would read and learn when he brought MacArthur home to the apartment on Old Kingsbridge Road, the cub was a pitiful sight.
"Just do for him what you would do for a human baby," Fred told Helen.
And she did.
After MacArthur came Dacca, Rajpur, and Raniganj, a litter of Bengal tigers.
Rajpur was so cold and thin, Helen thought he might die, but she put him on a heating pad and sat by him for hours moistening his mouth with milk. 
At last he gave a weak cry.
Helen almost cried too.
Feeding three was a challenge!
Helen wished she were an octopus. 
But before long those scrawny babies were sleek, fat cubs, ready to romp.
Once, washing clothes in the bath, Helen heard Raniganj crying.
His head was caught behind a pipe. 
While she ran to the rescue, Rajpur and Dacca discovered the tub. Crouch... leap... splash!
Tigers love water.
When the striped trio had to go back to the Zoo, they still needed their bottles, so Helen brought a hot plate and set up a little kitchen in the sleeping room at the back of their cage.
The first night, she and Fred ate their dinner there too. 
Helen didn't want to leave till her cubs were fast asleep.
Come daybreak, she was back and she was thinking:
These tigers will grow up, but there will always be zoo babies who need special care.
She couldn't take all of them home, but she could bring home to them. 
She could start a nursery at the Zoo!
"Just give me a room," she said to Mr. Crandall, the man in charge. 
"I'll do all the work."
And she did.
She cleaned and plastered a storeroom, which she painted pink and blue.
Then she begged, borrowed, and bought everything she needed.
Why did the author write about Helen?
Starting out, she didn't get paid, but that wasn't what mattered. 
She was following her heart, and her nursery filled up quickly.
Soon it was official:
She was the first woman keeper in the history of the Bronx Zoo.
Before Helen arrived, no tiger born at the Zoo had ever survived. She raised twenty-seven, along with yapoks and marmosets, gorillas and chimpanzees, deer and ring-tailed lemurs.
She still took cubs home, too: lions, tigers, jaguars, and a black leopard.
Helen's cubs had cubs that were sent to zoos all around the world.
The idea of the nursery spread too.
So, wherever you live, when you go to the zoo, look hard at the mighty cats.
Their grandparents may have opened their eyes on Old Kingsbridge Road, may have learned to walk in that apartment kitchen, saved by Helen Frances Theresa Delaney Martini, mother to tigers.
George Ella Lyon first learned about Helen Martini when she was 10 years old. She read Helen's book and began to think about becoming a zookeeper. The next year, George Ella was lucky enough to take a trip to New York and visit the Bronx Zoo. She did not get to meet Helen, but she did see some of her cats.
Peter Catalanotto had a lot of practice to illustrate this book. When he was a boy, he spent most of his time down in his basement drawing animals. Today Peter illustrates books by other people and has written some of his own books.
Use your Author's Purpose Chart to help you summarize Mother to Tigers. Describe why the author thought Helen Martini was interesting enough to write a book about.
1. The author states that no tiger born at the zoo had ever survived before Helen Martini arrived. Why do you think the author included this information? 
2. Reread page 369. Why do you think Helen almost cried when Rajpur cried?
3. How would you apply what you have learned in caring for animals of your own? Explain your answer.
4. How important is it for zoos to have an official person to take care of baby animals and help them to survive? Explain.
5. Read "Dogs for the Deaf" on pages 360-361. Compare it with Mother to Tigers. Compare how animals and humans help each other in each story. Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Fables are stories that teach a lesson and often have animal characters that talk and act like people.
Personification means giving human characteristics to an animal or thing.
A Moral is the lesson a fable teaches. The reader can apply it to his or her own personal experiences.
Mouse is speaking and trying to solve a problem. These are both examples of personification.
More than anything else in the world, Lion liked being King of the Jungle. He strutted all around, showing off his impressive, shaggy mane.
Each day Lion took a long, lazy nap under the shade of his favorite tree. He always dreamed of weaker jungle creatures bowing before him.
One day Mouse scurried through the jungle and tripped over Lion's huge paws.
Lion woke up with a start. "How dare you wake me up!" he roared furiously.
Lion grabbed Mouse with one paw. "On second thought, I'm in the mood for a snack, and you'll make a delicious morsel," he said.
Mouse cried out, "King Lion, please spare me! If you let me live, I will always remember your kindness. And, some day, I might be able to help you."
"How could such a powerless little mouse ever help me?" That thought made Lion laugh so much that he decided to let Mouse go. A week later, Lion was strutting through the jungle on the way to his napping tree when he stepped onto a hunter's net. The net scooped him up. No matter how he twisted and turned, he couldn't escape.
When Mouse heard Lion's frightened roars, he raced to help. Mouse quickly chewed through the ropes to make a hole in the net. Soon, Lion crawled out and was free.
Lion looked down at the little mouse. "Thank you for saving my life," said Lion, smiling his widest smile. "I was mistaken. You are not a powerless little mouse. You are a great friend!"
1. What do you know about Lion from the way he is personified? 
2. How does Mouse's behavior at the end demonstrate the fable's moral? 
3. Compare the lion in this fable with the cubs in Mother to Tigers. How are their problems similar? How are their problems different?
George Chan, the Clifton Animal Shelter's director, says, "Many animals are at the shelter because some people buy a cute pet, but later they learn how much work it is to care for that pet." First, George's job is to find a new owner who can carefully care for the pet. Then, the pet and the person are both happy! Finally, George is happy, too.
An interview can be written as an informative article. Begin with a strong opening. You may use a description, a question, or a quote from the person who was interviewed.
I used a quote to create a strong opening.
I interviewed my neighbor George. I used my notes to write this article.
Interview someone about a topic that interests you. Start by preparing a list of questions. During the interview, ask your questions and write down the answers. Then use your notes to write one or two paragraphs about the interview. Begin with a strong opening. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Will the reader be drawn in by my strong opening? Did I include an interesting quotation?
Organization: Did I start with a topic sentence and follow it with supporting details?
Voice: Does my writing have interesting details?
Word Choice: Did I choose active verbs?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary my sentences?
Conventions: Did I use commas after introductory words? Did I use adverbs that tell when and where? Did I check my spelling?
Butterflies are born on their own in nature. How can people help them grow?
Multiple-Meaning Words have more than one meaning. Use a dictionary to find the correct meaning of the word enclosure in the last paragraph.
Scientists who study insects believe that something is happening to our butterflies. They say that 30 years ago, there were about twice as many butterflies as there are today. Where have all the butterflies gone?
No one hurts butterflies on purpose. Still, scientists think that people have caused the butterfly problem. Butterflies find their food in wildflowers. When people clear the land for roads and buildings, these flowers disappear.
Some insects eat and destroy farmers' crops. Farmers use pesticides, or poisons, to get rid of harmful insects. Pesticides protect crops, but sometimes end up harming helpful insects such as caterpillars. Caterpillars turn into butterflies. This is another reason there are fewer butterflies now than in the past.
Luckily, there are ways that kids and grownups can help. Do you want to get involved and help save our butterflies?
One thing you can do is plant a garden. Make sure the garden has a good supply of the food butterflies eat when they are caterpillars. Different kinds of caterpillars eat different plants. Monarch butterfly caterpillars eat milkweed. Black swallowtail caterpillars eat parsley, dill, or carrot leaves. Find out what kind of butterflies live in your area and plant the kinds of food they eat as caterpillars. Make sure that pesticides are not used nearby.
Some kids like to capture butterflies with nets. Then they put them in a jar or other enclosure. Unfortunately, it is easy to hurt a butterfly when you catch it. Its wings are torn easily. Instead, enjoy these beautiful insects from a distance.
Authors don't always tell readers everything. Good readers use clues from an article and what they already know to better understand what they read.
A Conclusion Map helps you find clues to information that is not stated and helps you monitor your understanding. Reread the selection to draw a conclusion about why planting a garden can save butterflies.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about real people, places or things.
How has growing butterflies helped the community?
School children in Barra del Colorado are now experts at spotting caterpillars.
Brent Davies and local students admire a sign that notes -- in Spanish and English -- they are raising insects.
For many years, the villagers had caught fish for a living. But then, because of pollution and overfishing, the fish began to disappear. Soon it became hard for the people to catch enough fish to feed to their families and sell for money. What could they do?
The village is on the edge of a beautiful rainforest. One thing the villagers could have done was chop down the trees. Then they could have sold the wood and farmed the land. They would have made money but destroyed the rainforest.
A scientist named Brent Davies had another idea about how the villagers could use the rainforest. And it would keep the forest alive. The villagers could raise and sell butterflies.
Many colorful butterflies flit around in the forest near Barra del Colorado. It would be easy to capture a few and use them to raise many more.
Brent knew that butterfly zoos around the world would pay for farm-raised butterflies. If the villagers could make money by selling them, they'd have a good reason to protect the insects' rainforest home. After all, without the forest, there would be no wild butterflies to capture. And without a steady supply of wild butterflies, the farm would fail.
Brent wanted to show villagers how to raise butterflies to sell. And she knew just who could help: the school kids! If adults saw kids making money with butterflies, they might want to start their own farm -- and protect the forest.
What kind of person is Brent Davies? How do you know?
Butterflies drink nectar from certain flowers, and they lay their eggs on other plants. When the eggs hatch, caterpillars come out and eat those plants. They eat and grow, and grow and eat. When they've grown enough, the caterpillars turn into pupae. And those are what butterfly zoos buy.
Brent knew that villagers could find some pupae in the rainforest to sell. But if the people could get butterflies to lay eggs in one place, they could raise caterpillars -- and get many more pupae.
They could even let some of the extra butterflies they raised go free in the rainforest. That would make sure the forest would always have plenty.
So, how to get started? To attract butterflies, Brent figured the villagers needed a garden full of nectar plants. They also needed an enclosure full of plants for caterpillars to eat. She talked to people at the school. Together they decided on a good spot in the schoolyard.
Inside an enclosed area, visitors can see plants grown for hungry caterpillars.
First they had to clear a lot of trash out of the schoolyard. The kids pitched in and stuffed more than 100 sacks with trash. Soon people were stopping by to admire their work.
Then everyone helped dig up the soil so that plants could grow. That turned up lots of worms -- which attracted lots of chickens. So the kids went on "chicken patrol," chasing the birds away. Their butterfly garden needed those worms!
Next, they planted flowers to attract the butterflies. Beside the flower garden, they built the enclosure for raising caterpillars. Then they put the right kinds of plants inside it.
Butterflies from the forest flew to the garden to feed on the flowers. Brent taught the children how to capture the butterflies and take them into the enclosure. There, the butterflies laid tiny eggs on the special plants.
Brent also taught the children how to find caterpillars and eggs. (Some eggs are no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence.)
The kids learned to lift up leaves and look around the plants. They put the eggs and caterpillars they found into special feeding boxes. That way they could make sure the insects got plenty to eat.
Why is it important for the kids to find as many eggs and caterpillars as possible?
Two handfuls of owl butterfly caterpillars are moved to a feeding box.
After caterpillars turn into pupae, they are packed into boxes and shipped to zoos.
Their wings have "eyespots" on the underside, but the topside is bright blue.
In the boxes, the caterpillars fattened up on leaves. Then they turned into pupae. The kids picked the pupae just as if they were picking a crop. They let some of the pupae turn into butterflies, and they put those back into the rainforest. But they sold the other pupae.
Today, the farm sells about 250 pupae every month. The money that's earned goes to the school for materials and equipment. The first thing the kids bought was a ceiling fan so their schoolroom wouldn't be so hot!
The best news is that some adults in the village have started doing what the kids have done -- making farms for butterflies. They've learned from the kids how
The top one has been out for half an hour.
Kids in San Pasqual, California, gather eggs from plants outside their butterfly farm's enclosure.
People at the San Diego Wild Animal Park helped start the butterfly farm in Costa Rica. Then they had another wild idea. Why not start this kind of farm at home in California?
They asked students at San Pasqual Union Elementary School if they wanted to get involved. People at the school agreed to do the same thing as the villagers in Costa Rica.
Kids and adults set up a butterfly garden and an enclosed area. Some of the money they earn pays for special things for their school, such as science equipment.
Students from California have started writing to the students in Costa Rica about their butterfly businesses. Both groups of kids feel great about what they're doing
Charlie Hanscom is just one of the kids raising money for San Pasqual Union Elementary School by helping with the butterfly farm.
DEBORAH CHURCHMAN grew up next to a creek in the suburbs near Washington D. C. Now she grows butterfly bushes and other wildlife-attracting plants in her yard for the enjoyment of her four kids and granddaughter. Deborah is a senior editor at Ranger Rick, where she writes articles about nature every day.
What was Deborah Churchman's purpose for writing Home-Grown Butterflies? Did she want to entertain, inform, or persuade readers with this nonfiction article? How do you know?
Use the Conclusion Map to help you summarize "Home-Grown Butterflies." Explain whether or not the children were able to help their community by growing butterflies.
1. Was Brent Davies's plan a success? Use your Conclusion Map and story details to answer. 
2. Reread the last paragraph of "Home-Grown Butterflies" on page 396. Why do you think the California students started writing to the students in Costa Rica? 
3. What would you change to make Brent Davies's butterfly plan even more successful?
4. The people of Barra del Colorado learned how to earn money without harming the rain forest. What is the importance of this lesson? Explain your answer. 
5. Read "Save Our Butterflies" on pages 386-387. How is this selection similar to "Home-Grown Butterflies"? How are the two selections different? Use details from both selections in your answer.
Free Verse Poems do not have any regular pattern of line length, rhyme, meter, or stanzas.
Rhyming Poems use elements such as rhyme and rhythm to express feelings and ideas.
Personification means human characteristics are given to an animal or thing.
Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds in a series of words.
The phrase "I have waited much longer before" shows the butterfly thinking as a person would.
1. Find an example of assonance in "Monarch Butterfly." What changes would you make in "The Caterpillar" to include personification? 
2. What changes would you have to make in order to make "Monarch Butterfly" a rhyming poem? How could you make "The Caterpillar" a free verse poem?
3. Which stage in "Home-Grown Butterflies" does "Monarch Butterfly" relate to? 
Writers often use a serious tone for scientific topics. Their word choice -- for example, using scientific terms and precise adjectives -- helps set the tone. A reference book called a thesaurus helps writers find the right words.
I used a serious tone to report my research about earthworms.
I used the science word "aerate" to describe what an earthworm does.
Earthworms keep the soil in gardens healthy. How do they do it? One way is by eating dirt. They also eat dead plants, leaves, stems, and even animals. When the worms get rid of their digested food, they add good nutrients to the soil that help plants grow. 
The second thing that earthworms do is dig horizontal tunnels in the soil. As they dig, they aerate the soil by turning it over and adding fresh air to it. When the soil is loose, it holds rainwater, and plants can spread their roots and grow.
Write a short magazine article of two paragraphs about a science topic. Choose a topic that interests you. Then, do research in magazines, books, or the Internet, with an adult's help. When you write your article, consider using a serious tone. A thesaurus can help you find the right describing words. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Did I make my topic clear? Organization: Did I organize my information?
Voice: Did I use a serious tone in the article so it tells the facts without showing my feelings?
Word Choice: Did I use precise adjectives that help the reader understand my topic?
Sentence Fluency: Did I avoid writing a lot of short and choppy sentences?
Conventions: Did I use commas correctly? Did I use adjectives and adverbs correctly? Did I check my spelling?
The answer is not in the selection. Form an opinion about what you read to answer questions 4 and 5.
Parents hope to replace this old jungle gym with a new one when Wilson School's new playground is built.
The playground at Wilson School has been around for many years. It was just the right size when the school was built. Now the school has many more students, so the playground just isn't big enough anymore.
In October of last year, the Smithville City Council made a promise to build a bigger playground this summer. It will have more swings, slides, and basketball hoops, as well as a modern jungle gym.
On Monday night, the Wilson School Parents Group learned that the playground will not be finished this summer.
City Council President John Tang told the parents that work will start this summer, but it will take a year for the playground to be built. In the meantime, students will have no playground.
Many parents were upset. They said that students, parents, and school staff have been looking forward to the new playground for a long time.
John Tang explains why the playground will not be built on time.
During the meeting, one parent spoke up. "Why will it take a whole year to build a simple playground?" she asked.
Mr. Tang said that construction workers are currently working on many projects. They will tear up the old playground over the summer. Then throughout the year they will work on the new playground.
The Wilson School Parents Group met again on Tuesday night to talk about the problem. After a few hours, they came up with a solution.
Parents asked the city council to wait until the fall to begin the project. Builders could do the work during the school year. In the meantime, the old playground would still be there for students to use this summer. In addition, parent volunteers would donate their time during the year to help keep the project on schedule.
What is the theme of this selection?
Playgrounds are a waste of time.
Building a playground is not very important.
Parents should take charge of school playgrounds.
If people work together, they can solve problems.
Why are "Why the Plan Changed" and "Parents Propose a Solution" set apart and in blue letters?
so the reader will stop reading.
so the reader will know what the next section is about.
so the reader doesn't have to read the rest of the text.
so the reader will understand the title.
What might the city council have done differently?
spoken to parents as soon as there was a problem.
ignored parents' wishes.
asked students to help build the playground.
cancelled the project.
Do you agree with the solution that the parents group presented? Why or why not?
Write a three-paragraph news story about a school event. Answer who, what, where, when, and why. Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence and supporting details.
More than 200 million years ago, dinosaurs roamed freely over the Earth. Have you ever wondered what the land was like or what kind of trees there were then? You can see some of these trees today in Arizona! Throughout 28 miles of desert in Petrified Forest National Park, you can see 225-million-year-old fossil trees. Visitors are amazed to see these trees that have turned to stone.
How did it happen? Millions of years ago, water filled with minerals flowed into the area. Over time, the minerals seeped into fallen trees and turned them into rock-hard logs.
Some of these logs are 100 feet long! Today, they create a colorful and amazing sight in Arizona's desert.
The petrified logs look like wooden rainbows. The colors range from red, to yellow, to green, to blue, and black and white.
Petrified Forest National Park is one of the world's biggest displays of petrified wood. Nearly one million people visit the park every year to get an up-close look at these fossils of prehistoric trees.
Logs from prehistoric trees have turned to stone in the Petrified National Forest.
By the time Scott Cory was 13 years old, he had already scaled two major peaks in California's Yosemite National Park. One was the 2,900-foot "Nose" of El Capitan. The other was the 2,000-foot face of Half Dome. The first time Scott climbed the Nose, it took him three days and two nights. One month later, he completed that climb in one day! Later, Scott became the youngest person to climb Half Dome in only one day. The journey to the top usually takes three days!
Scott started climbing when he was seven years old. What's next for this peak pro? Scott wants to climb to the top of the Nose and Half Dome together in just 24 hours. You could say this kid really sets a goal and then climbs for it!
In 1872, Yellowstone National Park became the first national park in the United States. Since then, more than 383 parks have been added to the list. More than three million people visit these natural, unspoiled places every year. They take thousands of photos of the wildlife. Which parks recently brought in the most visitors in a year? Here's how they ranked.
A Nonfiction Article tells facts about a person, place, or event.
The main idea of an article is what it is mostly about. Details give more information about the main idea.
National parks protect wildlife, history, and culture.
Still, hundreds of plants and animals have disappeared from our national parks. That's because their environment has changed, mostly because of human activities.
Today park rangers work to restore the balance of each park ecosystem. They are bringing plants and animals back into their natural environments. So far, the programs are working -- especially for elk and wolves.
It was a cold morning in January when 28 elk had finally completed a long journey. They had traveled 2,500 miles by truck from Elk Island National Park in Canada to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. They were the first of 52 elk to be reintroduced into the park.
Ten million elk once roamed all over North America. Now there are only about one million. Elk disappeared from North Carolina more than 150 years ago. Many were killed by hunters. Others died as people built farms, towns, and roads where elk used to graze.
Elk munch on trees and bushes, allowing more sunlight into the park so ground-level plants can grow. Smaller animals, like chipmunks, can then flourish. Chipmunks are food for larger animals, like wolves. Without the elk, the park's ecosystem didn't function as well. "We are trying to restore the ecosystem to what it was 200 years ago," said Lawrence Hartman of the National Park Service.
Park workers watch as relocated elk dash for freedom.
Have they achieved their goal? So far, so good. Researchers have been studying the elks' progress. Jennifer Murrow is leading the research. She tracks the elk using special radio collars that are placed around the elks' necks. The collars send signals that show researchers where the elk are and how they are doing.
Researchers also keep track of the number of elk calves that are born each year. In the first year, 11 calves were born in the park. Eight survived, but some were preyed upon by bears. It's all part of the natural balance -- and that's exactly what wildlife researchers like to see.
For centuries, packs of wolves lived in the West. When settlers came in the 1800s, they hunted these wild animals. By the 1970s, the wolves had completely disappeared from Yellowstone National Park. They had also become endangered in much of the United States.
In 1995, 31 gray wolves were released into the park. Now, more than a decade later, there are more than five times as many wolves roaming through Yellowstone.
1. What animal was returned to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and what animal was brought back into Yellowstone National Park?
2. How does the disappearance of one animal affect the other animals and plants in an ecosystem?
3. If you could visit any national park in the United States, which one would you choose, and why?
4. Compare the problems a park ranger at Yellowstone might face with those of a ranger in Yosemite or Petrified Forest National Park.
You can put your finger on the answer. Look for key words in the question. Then find those key words in the selection.
Early settlers declared Florida's Everglades a worthless swamp. In fact it is a unique paradise for thousands of species of plants and animals, forming a delicate food chain. All they need to survive is each other -- and a steady supply of precious water.
But humans wanted dry land for homes and crops. They drained water from the Everglades. This started a chain reaction that upset the ecosystem. The Everglades wetlands are now only half their original size. The number of wading birds decreased by 90 percent from 1900 to 2000. All this has made Everglades National Park one of the top ten most endangered parks in the United States.
Now there is a plan to save the Everglades. Engineers will build wells to capture water before it flows out of the Everglades. Then they will pump the water back. Many canals will be removed, allowing water to follow its natural path. The plan may take 50 years to complete. Saving this unique ecosystem is an important goal, no matter how long it takes.
An endangered species in the Everglades, this tall bird hunts for fish with its long, curved bill.
This slow-moving mammal lives in both fresh water and salt water.
In the selection "Animals Come Home to Our National Parks" you read about wolves that have been reintroduced to Yellowstone Park. What effect will this have on the future of the wolves? Do you think they will remain endangered? Use details from the article to support your answer.
I included specific details.
Giving Wolves a Chance:
Wolves were once common in this country, especially in Yellowstone National Park. When large numbers of settlers began to move to the West, they hunted and killed wolves. The wolves disappeared from Yellowstone and became an endangered species.
Wolves were returned to Yellowstone beginning in the 1990s. That means the wolves have a chance to live in their natural habitat. There is food for wolves in Yellowstone, and it has everything they need to survive.
If people leave the wolves alone, they have a chance to survive. Eventually, there will be enough wolves that they will no longer be endangered. That will be good news for the wolves, for Yellowstone, and for people, too.
In the selection "Animals Come Home to Our National Parks" you read about elk that were reintroduced to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Do you think it was a good idea to bring elk back? How will this affect the park? Use details from the article to support your answer.
Ask yourself, who is my audience?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your main idea.
Be sure your ideas are clear and organized.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Ana Gomez spotted Larry Waters looking for a table in the cafeteria. "Hi, Larry!" she called out.
Larry smiled and brought his tray over.
"Hi, Ana. You're looking especially cheerful this morning," he remarked as he sat.
Ana smiled broadly.
"You got your launch date, didn't you?" Larry exclaimed.
"Yes, I did," Ana replied. "Finally! The wait seemed endless. I have been curious about that planet since I was ten and now I'll be on our first mission to Venus. We're leaving ten months from now on April 17, 2016."
"That's realistic. You'll have plenty of time to train your crew and they'll have time to review the virtual trip before the actual flight. Congratulations, Ana. It sounds like you would have picked this mission if you had your choice of any planet in the whole universe."
"Well," replied Ana, "if I could go anywhere in the solar system, I'd pick Pluto. But that wouldn't be a wise choice for a middle-aged astronaut. By the time we're able to go there, I'll be out of the space program! I'll be sensible and stick to Venus. What about you, Larry? You applied for the next trip to Mars. It's time you went as the commander." Larry protested. "I wish that were true, but Sergio Casinelli has been ahead of me since we left the academy, and the remote control for his new leg attachment is ready. Sergio's been paralyzed since he was a child. He's really looking forward to his walk on Mars. If I'm not mistaken, though, the next trip to Mars is planned for April."
"Wouldn't it be great if we were headed for Earth's nearest neighbors at the same time?"
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could have happened in real life.
How does a trip to the supermarket change Gloria?
My MOTHER was making spaghetti sauce. She said, "Gloria, honey, would you go buy me an onion?"
"Sure," I said. She gave me some money, and I went.
The store was crowded with old people holding tightly to their shopping carts, little kids hollering to their parents for candy, and lots of people staring at shopping lists and blocking the aisles.
I ducked around all the carts and went to the back where the vegetables are. From all the onions in the bin, I took the prettiest -- a big round one, light tan and shiny, with a silvery glow to its skin.
I carried it to the express checkout and stood at the end of a very long line.
Next to me there was a giant Berkbee's Baby Food display. It was like a wall of glass, and taller than I am. All the little jars were stacked up to look like a castle, with pennants that said "Baby Power" sticking out above the castle doorways and windows. At the top there was a high tower with a red-and-white flag that said "Berkbee's Builds Better Babies!" I started counting the jars, but when I got to 346, I gave up. There must have been at least a thousand.
The checkout line didn't move. To pass the time, I started tossing my onion from hand to hand. I tried to improve and make my throws harder to catch.
A woman wearing a sky-blue jogging suit got in line behind me. She was holding a cereal box. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.
I decided to show her what a really good catcher I am. I made a wild and daring onion throw.
I missed the catch. The onion kept going, straight for the middle of the baby food castle. The castle was going to fall!
My folks would have to pay for every broken jar! The store manager would kill me. After that, my folks would bring me back to life to tell me things that would be much worse than death.
I was paralyzed. I shut my eyes.
I didn't hear a crash. Maybe I had gone deaf from fright. Or maybe I was in a time warp because of my fear. In fifty years the onion would land, and that would be the end of me.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. If I opened my eyes, I would see the store manager and all the broken jars.
I didn't want to see him. I didn't want to know how bad it was.
There came a tap again, right on the top of my head.
I heard a woman's voice. "I have your onion."
I opened my eyes. The woman in the jogging suit handed the onion to me.
"Lucky I used to play baseball," she said.
"O-o-o-h," I said. I clutched the onion.
"O-o-o-h," I moaned again.
"You're welcome," was all she said.
She had brown eyes with a sparkle in them, and her hair was in shiny black ringlets. She wore blue-green earrings that hung on tiny gold chains. When she tilted her head, her earrings spun around, and I saw they were the Earth -- I mean, made to look like the Earth, jeweled with green continents and blue oceans.
"Your earrings are beautiful," I said.
She smiled. "Some friends got them for me," she said, "to remind me of a trip we made."
When she said "trip," her face started to look familiar, but I didn't know why. Then I remembered.
"I've seen you!" I said. "I saw you on TV!"
She smiled. "Could be."
"And you come from right here in town, but you don't live here anymore," I said.
"That's right," she said.
"And you are -- aren't you? -- Dr. Grace Street, the astronaut!"
She tilted her head, and the little Earths on both her ears spun round. "That's me," she said.
I was amazed, because I never thought I would meet a famous person in my life, and yet one was right beside me in the supermarket, and I myself, Gloria Jones, was talking to her, all because of my onion throw.
"We learned about the space station in school last year," I said. "You were up there, orbiting the Earth."
"My team and I were there," Dr. Street said.
"What is space like?"
"You know," she said.
"How could I know?" I said.
"We're always in space," Dr. Street said. "We're in space right now."
"Yes," I said, "but what was it like out there, where you went? Out there it must seem different."
"Do you really want to know?" she asked, and I said yes.
"The most awesome part was when we had to fix things on the outside of the station. We got our jobs done and floated in our space suits, staring out into the universe. There were zillions of stars -- and space, deep and black, but it didn't seem exactly empty. It seemed to be calling to us, calling us to go on an endless journey. And that was very scary.
"So we turned and looked at Earth. We were two hundred miles above it. We saw enormous swirls of clouds and the glow of snowfields at the poles. We saw water like a giant blue cradle for the land. One big ocean, not 'oceans.' The Earth isn't really chopped up into countries, either. Up there you see it is one great big powerful living being that knows a lot, lot more than we do."
"What does it know?" I said.
"It knows how to be Earth," Dr. Street said. "And that's a lot."
I tried to imagine everything she had seen. It gave me a shiver.
"I wish I could see what you saw," I said. "I'd like to be an astronaut. Of course, probably I couldn't."
Dr. Street frowned. "Why do you say 'Probably I couldn't?' "
"Practically nobody gets to do that," I said.
"You might be one of the people who do," she said. "But you'll never do anything you want to do if you keep saying 'Probably I couldn't'."
"But maybe I can't!" I protested. I looked down at my onion. I didn't think a very poor onion thrower had a chance to be an astronaut.
Dr. Street looked at my onion, too. "It was a good throw -- just a bad catch," she said. "Anyhow -- saying 'Maybe I can't' is different. It's okay.
It's realistic.
"Even 'I can't' can be a good, sensible thing to say.
It makes life simpler. When you really know you can't do one thing, that leaves you time to try some of the rest. But when you don't even know what you can do, telling yourself 'Probably I couldn't' will stop you before you even start. It's paralyzing. You don't want to be paralyzed, do you?"
"I just was paralyzed," I said. "A minute ago, when I threw my onion. I didn't enjoy it one bit."
"If you don't want to be paralyzed," Dr. Street said, "be careful what you tell yourself -- because whatever you tell yourself you're very likely to believe."
I thought about what she said. "If maybe I could be an astronaut," I asked, "how would I get to be one?"
The line moved forward suddenly, and we moved up. Maybe the people in line behind us thought Dr. Street and I were mother and daughter having a serious conversation, because they left some space around us.
"So how does a person tame fears?"
"By doing things that are difficult, and succeeding," Dr. Street said. "That's how you learn you can count on yourself. That's how you get confidence. But even then, you keep a little bit of fear inside -- a fear that keeps you careful."
How do you think Dr. Street felt when she was out in space? How do you know?
The checkout line moved again, and we moved with it.
"Big things are really little," Dr. Street said. "That's a great secret of life."
"How -- " I began. But I never got to ask how big things are really little, because I was the first person in line.
The checkout man looked at my onion.
"Young lady, didn't you weigh that?" he asked.
"No, sir," I said.
"Go back to Produce and have it weighed."
So I had to go.
"Goodbye," Dr. Street said.
"Goodbye," I said. On the way to Produce, I looked back at her.
She was walking toward the exit with her cereal box. I waved, but she didn't notice.
And I could see how little things are really big. Just on account of an onion, I had met an astronaut, and on account of that same onion, I had to stop talking to her.
But how big things are really little I couldn't understand at all.
Ann Cameron is a well-known writer. When she was a young girl, like Gloria, she was always outside exploring and wondering about the world around her. Ann did not have a TV until she was nine years old. She spent time listening to stories on the radio and reading books. Today Ann still loves nature and books. She lives in Guatemala, near a waterfall and volcanoes.
Anna Rich has always loved to draw. From an early age, her mother saw her talent and encouraged Anna to follow her dream. Her passion for illustration eventually became a full-time job.
Good thing, too, because Anna has never considered doing anything else as a career. Anna, a native New Yorker, still lives there with her family.
Think about Ann Cameron's purpose for writing this story.
Did she mainly write to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain something to the reader? How do you know?
Summarize the plot of The Astronaut and the Onion. In your summary include details about Gloria's character.
Think and Compare:
1. How might Gloria's character traits help her become an astronaut? Use the Character Web and story details to support your answer.
2. Reread page 97. Dr. Grace Street tells Gloria that she still keeps some fear inside of her. What character traits might have helped her overcome that fear? Analyze
3. Suppose you meet someone who has a career that interests you. What kind of questions would you ask that person? 
4. Why does Dr. Street tell Gloria not to be paralyzed by her fears? Explain your answer. 
5. Read "Astronauts in Training" on pages 84-85. Compare Ana's character to Dr. Street's character. In what ways are they alike? How are they different? 
Nonfiction Articles explain a topic by presenting facts about it in text, photos, and graphic aids.
Diagrams are graphic aids that show how things relate to each other.
Solar system is made up of the Sun, Earth, our moon, seven other planets and their moons, meteors, asteroids, and all the space around them. All eight planets move in orbits around the Sun, which is the center of our solar system.
The Sun is a medium-size star made up of very hot gases. The temperature of the Sun is almost 10,000F! The closer a planet is to the Sun, the higher the temperatures are on its surface. The farther away a planet is from the Sun, the lower the temperatures are on its surface.
That makes Venus the hottest planet in the solar system. With temperatures of 900F, Venus is even hotter than Mercury!
Earth is the third planet from the Sun. In addition to having the most comfortable temperatures, Earth has water and oxygen. As far as we know, Earth is the only planet able to sustain life.
Besides heat, we also get light from the Sun. It takes about 24 hours for Earth to spin, or rotate, all the way around. For half of that time, a side of Earth faces the Sun and it is day. At the same time, the other side faces away from the Sun and it is night.
It takes Earth about 365 days to move around the Sun. We call this time period a year.
The inner planets are those closest to the Sun. They are made of solid rock.
Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. It is about one-third the size of Earth. Covered with craters, it looks a lot like the moon. Mercury has no water and very little air.
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is veiled in thick, swirling clouds. About the same size as Earth, Venus is sometimes called a sister planet.
Venus, though, is very different from Earth. It has no oceans and no life. The air is made up of carbon dioxide. This layer traps in heat.
This diagram shows the distance from the Sun to each of the eight planets in miles and kilometers.
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the second largest planet.
It has thousands of beautiful shiny rings. These rings are made up of chunks of ice, rock, and dust. Saturn is also very windy. Near the equator, the wind blows at speeds of up to 1,100 miles an hour!
Uranus, the third largest planet, has at least 22 moons. Like Saturn, Uranus has faint gray rings that might be made out of graphite, the black material inside a pencil.
Mars, the planet next farthest from the Sun, is often called the Red Planet. The rocks, soil, and sky are red in color. Before space, people thought there might be life on Mars. They thought the lines on Mars's surface were canals made by intelligent life forms. Now we know that Mars has no surface water and no life. Traces of shorelines, riverbeds, and islands may suggest that there was water on Mars at one time. Craters and inactive volcanoes cover most of its surface today.
In addition to being farther away from the Sun, these planets are not made of rock. Although they may have solid centers, these planets are made up of gases. They are dark and cold.
Jupiter is the largest planet.
If Jupiter were hollow, more than one thousand Earths could fit inside. It is the fifth planet from the Sun and is famous for its great red spot. Scientists believe this spot to be a storm.
Neptune has a great dark spot, about the size of Earth. Neptune's spot, like the one on Jupiter, is thought to be a storm. The winds there are the strongest on any planet. They have been found to reach speeds of 1,200 miles per hour. Neptune has faint rings and eight moons.
Pluto was discovered in 1930 and was called the ninth planet. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union said planets must orbit the Sun, have a nearly round shape, and clear other objects in their orbital neighborhood. Because Pluto's orbit intersects Neptune's, it was renamed a dwarf planet.
Look at the diagram. Which planet is farther away from the Sun -- Mars or Neptune? How do you know?
Using information from the article and the latest findings about the solar system, make three observations about the planets.
Think about Gloria from "The Astronaut and the Onion." What do you know about her that tells you Gloria would probably like to visit the solar system?
Research the reasons why the International Astronomical Union calls Pluto a "dwarf planet." Draw a diagram of Pluto and its nearest neighbors.
Your first sentence, the topic sentence, lets the reader know what you are writing about.
While I was at Space Camp, I felt what it's like to walk on the moon. At first, I just hopped a bit. Then I bounced high in the air! It was awesome. I hope you and I can leap across the moon together some day for real. Write soon!
Write an e-mail telling about an experience. You may write to a friend or a family member.
Be sure to include a topic sentence.
Your e-mail should include to whom it is addressed, who is writing, and what it is about. 
Ideas and Content: Did my e-mail clearly describe my experience and include interesting details?
Voice: Did the writing show my excitement about the experience?
Word Choice: Did I use strong verbs?
Sentence Fluency: Did I join related sentences to make complex sentences?
Conventions: Did I use commas in the greeting and closing? Did I check my spelling?
Paragraph Clues are clues within the same paragraph to the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Look for clues within the paragraph where cluttered appears to figure out its meaning.
Dear Diary,
What an amazing day! I never thought rafting could be so much fun. Wait... I should probably back up and explain what I was doing on a raft in the first place.
Today, my family and I started our vacation. We're taking a rafting trip down the Colorado River. I have to admit, it didn't sound like my idea of fun. The thought of getting drenched by the river and sleeping in tents with creepy bugs and spiders kind of disgusted me. But, unless I wanted to be left behind, I had to put on my lifejacket and join in.
Lisa, our guide, helped us get our big, rubber raft into the river. We joined the others, scattered here and there along the river. There were so many, it felt like we were playing bumper boats! Lisa had told us that the river would narrow and we would be a bit cluttered. Then the river widened, and the rafts spread out as we were carried in the water's flow downstream. At first, I just sat in the raft and listened to my music. But when we picked up speed, I realized my help was needed.
Before long, I was paddling away and enjoying the amazing wildlife overhead and along the shore. We spotted a great blue heron and a coyote. Then we watched a mother beaver nuzzle her young gently with her snout. Lisa said that if we looked carefully, we might even see a mountain lion!
I have to admit that when it was time to get off the river and set up disappointed. But it gave us a chance to appreciate the beauty of the Grand Canyon. The sunset was amazing. It made the red and gold colors of the canyon walls positively glow.
We'll be back on the river early tomorrow, so I'd better zip up my sleeping bag and get to sleep.
Dad grinned. "Well, she's not your normal kind of grandma, I guess," he said. "Calls herself a river rat" He chuckled. "But I promise, she'll find plenty for you to do. And you know I can't take you with me this summer, Nicky. There'll be no kids there, and I'll be spending all my time at the plant"
I felt tears starting again, but I blinked hard and looked out the window.
That afternoon, I stood in Grandma's yard and watched my dad drive away. Dust rose up behind our car as it disappeared into the pines.
"Well, we can't stand here all summer," said Grandma. "C'mon, Nicky, it's time for supper"
"Honey or maple syrup on your cornbread?" Grandma asked.
"I don't like cornbread," I mumbled, poking my finger into the syrup pitcher when she wasn't looking.
"If you're going to do that, you'd better wash up first," she said. She had eyes in the back of her head. "Bathroom's through there"
How do you think Nicky feels about spending the summer with his grandmother?
I pushed the doorway curtain aside and walked into what would have been a living room in anyone else's house. Books were scattered everywhere -- on the tables, on the chairs, even on the floor. Three of the walls were cluttered with sketches and stuffed fish and charts of the river. Several fishing poles hung from the fourth with a tackle box, a snorkel, and a mask on the floor beneath them. It looked like a river rat's workroom, all right, except that in the middle of everything was a half-finished carving of a bear.
"Been carving that old fellow for years," Grandma called from the kitchen.
"The real one hangs out at the dump. Now come get your supper, before I feed it to him"
Dad was right -- Grandma found plenty for me to do. In the morning, I stacked firewood, then helped her clean out the rain gutters and change the spark plugs on her truck. The afternoon was almost over when she handed me a cane pole, a bobber, and some red worms.
"Fish fry tonight!" she said, showing me how to bait the hook. "That river's full of fat bluegills. Drop your line near the lily pads and you'll find 'em."
Down at the dock, I looked things over. The lily pads were too close to shore. There couldn't be fish there. I walked to the end of the dock and threw my line out as far as I could. Then I sat down to wait. And wait. And wait. My bobber never moved.
"There's no fish in this stupid river," I said out loud, disgusted.
We had hamburgers for supper.
"Give it another try," said Grandma the next evening. "I'll bet you catch something."
Don't count on it, I thought, as I headed back to the dock. I threw my line in the water. Then I stretched out on the dock to wait. I must have fallen asleep, because I was awakened by loud chirping and chattering. I sat up and looked around. A flock of birds was moving toward me along the river, hovering over something floating on the water. It drifted downstream, closer and closer, until finally it bumped up against the dock.
Though it was covered with leaves and branches, now I could tell that it was a raft. What was it doing floating down the river all by itself, I wondered. I reached down and pushed some of the leaves aside. Beneath them was a drawing of a rabbit. It looked like those ancient cave paintings I'd seen in books -- just outlines, but wild and fast and free.
I cleaned away more leaves and it was like finding presents under the Christmas tree. A bear, a fox, a raccoon -- all with the wild look of the rabbit. Who had drawn them, I wondered. Where had the raft come from?
I ran up to the cottage. Grandma was on the porch, reading.
"Do you have some rope I can use?" I asked.
She didn't ask me what I needed it for, and I decided not to tell her yet.
I pushed the raft into the reeds along the river's edge, then tied it to the dock so it wouldn't drift away. All the while, birds flew over my head, every now and then swooping down to the raft as if it were a friend. A crane waded through the reeds to it. A turtle swam up from the bottom of the river.
The moon had risen yellow over the river by the time I went up to the cottage to go to bed.
I was already down at the dock the next morning when Grandma appeared with a life jacket and a long pole. She didn't seem surprised by the raft at all, or by the animal pictures all over it.
"How did you know...?" I started.
"Let's go," Grandma interrupted, tossing me the life jacket and stepping onto the raft. She pushed the pole hard into the river bottom and we moved smoothly into the current.
"Your turn," she said after a few minutes. She showed me how to hold the pole and push, and I poled us to the middle of the river. Even there, the water wasn't over my head.
We poled the raft up the river, then let it slowly drift back down. ^e birds kept us company the whole time, soaring, swooping, singing. Some even landed on the raft and rode with us for a while. Hitchhikers, Grandma called them.
After that, I had little time for anything but the raft. I raced through whatever chores there were, then ran down to the dock, wondering what animals I'd see that day.
It wasn't just birds that the raft attracted. One morning three raccoons followed me along the shore. Another time a turtle climbed on board and spent the morning sunning itself. And one afternoon I saw a family of foxes slip through the trees along the river.
When the weather turned too hot and sticky to sleep indoors, Grandma helped me put up a small tent on the raft. I lay on top of the cool sheets and read comic books by flashlight until I fell asleep.
One night, a noise woke me up. There in the moonlight stood a huge buck. He looked right at me, then lowered his head to drink, as if I wasn't there at all.
I found Grandma the next morning working on her bear carving.
"Do you have some extra paper I could draw on?" I asked her.
She brought out a big sketchpad and a pouch filled with thick pencils and crayons. "I've been saving these just for you," she said. "Better take these, too"
She held out the snorkel and mask.
"Never know when they might come in handy on a raft"
The sun was hot that afternoon, so I poled into the shade of a willow, then waited to see what animals the raft would bring.
It wasn't long before a great blue heron whooshed down with a crayfish in its bill.
I grabbed a pencil and began to sketch.
I felt invisible as the bird calmly ate its lunch right in front of me. Then it preened its feathers, looked back up the river, and flew off.
That night I showed my drawing to Grandma.
"Not bad" she said. "Not bad at all!"
And she tacked it on the wall on top of one of her own sketches.
Describe the ways in which Nicky is beginning to enjoy the place where his grandmother lives.
One day I poled upriver farther than I'd ever been. Near a clump of tall cattails, I startled an otter family. They dove underwater, but, as with the other animals, the raft seemed to calm them down. Soon they were playing all around me.
Grandma had been right about the mask and snorkel coming in handy. I slipped them on, then hung my head over the raft and watched the otters play -- chasing fish, chasing each other, sometimes just chasing their own tails. I kept very still, but they didn't seem to mind me watching. They played keep away with a small stone, then tug-of-war with a piece of rope. It was like they were showing off for me. They even let me feed them right out of my hand.
Some mornings, Grandma would make a bagful of sandwiches and a thermos of icy lemonade. "I've come swimming here since I was a girl," she told me as we tied the raft to an old dock. "The Marshalls used to live here -- all ten of them. What a herd of wild animals we were!"
While Grandma watched from the inner tube, I practiced my flying cannonballs. Then wed eat our lunch, and she'd tell me stories about growing up on the river. My favorite was of the time she'd found a small black pearl inside a river clam. "I still have it," she said.
Somehow, on the river, it seemed like summer would never end. But of course it did.
On my last day, I got up extra early and crept down to the dock. The air was cool and a low pearly fog hung over the river. I untied the raft and quietly drifted downstream.
Ahead of me, through the fog, I saw two deer moving across the river, a doe and her fawn. When they reached the shore, the doe leaped easily up the steep bank, then turned to wait for her baby. But the fawn was in trouble. It kept slipping down the muddy bank. The doe returned to the water to help, but the more the fawn struggled, the deeper it got stuck in the mud.
I pushed off the river bottom and drove the raft hard onto the muddy bank, startling the doe. Then I dropped into the water. I was ankle-deep in mud.
"You're okay," I whispered to the fawn, praying that the raft would calm it. "I won't hurt you."
Gradually the fawn stopped struggling, as if it understood that I was there to help. I put my arms around it and pulled. It barely moved.
I pulled again, then again. Slowly the fawn eased out of the mud, and finally it was free. Carefully I carried the fawn up the bank to its mother.
Then, quietly, I returned to the raft. From there, I watched the doe nuzzle and clean her baby, and I knew what I had to do.
I pulled the stub of a crayon from my pocket, and drew the fawn, in all its wildness, onto the old gray boards of the raft. When I had finished, I knew it was just right.
After supper, I showed Grandma my drawing of the fawn and told her my story.
"It's perfect," she said, "but we need to do one more thing" She hurried up to the cottage. When she came back, she had tubes of oil paint and two brushes.
Grandma helped me trace my drawing with the oil paint, which soaked deep into the wood. "Cat'll keep it," she said. "Now you'll always be part of the river"
"Just like you, Grandma," I told her. "A river rat"
Grandma laughed. "Just like me," she agreed.
How might Jim LaMarche's own childhood experiences have influenced his purpose for writing The Raft? What clues in the story help you to know?
Jim spent his summers rafting on a river when he was a child. He grew up near the Milwaukee River in Wisconsin. All year round, the river was a special place to play. Jim also liked drawing and crafting things. Once he made a whole zoo out of clay that he dug up from a field. Even though Jim liked art, he didn't think about becoming an artist when he grew up. Back then, he really wanted to be a magician.
How does the story's setting change Nicky? What could Nicky have done for the summer if the setting had been his own home? 
Reread page 113 of The Raft. What does Nicky expect his vacation with his grandmother to be like? Use story details in your answer.
What would it be like if you were able to make use of a raft for the summer? 
What information would you use to support the view that the raft was a gift from Nicky's grandmother?
Read "Rafting -- Ready or Not" on pages 110-111. How is the narrator's experience on a raft similar to Nicky's? What do the characters discover? Use details from both stories in your answer. 
Magazine Articles give facts and information about interesting topics.
Maps are drawings of all or part of an area.
This map has a compass rose that shows directions. The key helps you measure the distance from one place to the other.
This map shows the location of the Atchafalaya Swamp.
The kids met up at the boat dock before sunrise. They couldn't wait to push off and start their adventure! They were especially excited about camping out that night. Before getting in their canoes, they crowded around a map of the Atchafalaya.
"Here's where we are now," said Anthony, pointing to the map. He, Adam, and Edward were trying to figure out where they would be heading. But in fact, they didn't really have to worry about a thing. Their guide for the trip, photographer C. C. Lockwood, knew every bend and bayou in the Atchafalaya. There was no way he was going to get them lost! C. C. gave the group some canoeing pointers, and then they paddled into the morning mist.
As the canoes followed C. C.'s, someone yelled "Alligator!" The kids paddled over to check it out. The 'gator swam around the canoes. One of the kids said, "It was so close, we could almost touch it!"
Nearby, the kids spied a super-sized female golden silk spider. It was waiting to snag a buggy meal in its golden web.
Edward and Stephen poked around near an ancient bald cypress stump. Long ago, loggers had chopped down lots of trees here, leaving behind eerie-looking stumps like this one.
"Wanna go fishing?" Ryan asked Stephen during lunch. "Sure," came the reply. Soon Ryan was excitedly catching one bass after another and grinning from ear to ear. Stephen steadied the canoe and laughed as Ryan reeled in a big one.
No telling who -- or what -- might be watching you on a dark swampy night! A barred owl was perched quietly in a tree not far from the group's tents. It was waiting to swoop down on any meal that might walk, wriggle, or swim by.
Anthony giggled when C. C. put a green tree frog on his nose. "It kind of tickled," he said. Frog calls were just some of the sounds that kept the kids awake that night. Scary campfire ghost stories didn't help them go to sleep either.
So Long, Swamp!
Before leaving the swamp, the kids hung out at the water's edge. They'd had to put up with some heavy rain and tons of mosquitoes, but Anthony said, "I'll never forget the fun I had on this camping trip." And the other kids nodded, You got that right!
Adding important details helps to make your writing more informative. Delete unimportant details that do not support the topic.
My journal entry has details about nature and wildlife.
I included fun details that support my topic.
Today Dad and I went on a fantastic hike in the foothills. After about ten minutes I saw some hoof prints in the soft dirt of the trail. Then I looked up, and I saw a doe and her tiny spotted fawn. Dad and I stood there very quietly. Then they turned and walked into some thick brush.
Wow! I had never been so close to a wild animal.
Dad patted me on the shoulder and told me there's a first time for everything.
Spend some time being a nature watcher. Safely observe birds, insects, or other animals that live in your area. Write a journal entry about your experience. Choose details that express your feelings about the experience. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Did I include important details and delete unimportant details about my experience?
Organization: Did I tell the events in the order that they happened?
Voice: Does my writing show how I feel?
Word Choice: Did I use strong, colorful words to tell what happened?
Sentence Fluency: Did I vary the length of my sentences?
Conventions: Did I fix any run-on sentences by dividing them into separate sentences? Did I fix any sentence fragments by making them into complete sentences? Did I check my spelling?
The answer is in more than one place. Keep reading to find the answer.
Setting: The kitchen of Jenny's house
JENNY: You've never been to the beach? You've never seen the ocean? Are you kidding me, Derek?
DEREK: No, I've never seen it.
JENNY'S DAD: Derek lives in New Mexico, Jen. Look it up on the map. It's nowhere near the ocean. That's one of the reasons your cousin's visiting. Right, Derek? You came to see the Pacific?
DEREK: Right. Hey, when was the last time you saw a desert?
JENNY: I've never seen a desert.
DEREK: (Imitating Jenny) What? You've never seen a desert?
Are you kidding me?
JENNY'S DAD: (Smiling) Okay, you two. Finish your juice, then put your sneakers on. Mom's taking you on a beach walk.
(On the beach, near the dunes)
DEREK: Wow! The ocean really is huge! The waves are amazing!
JENNY'S MOM: Beautiful, isn't it?
JENNY: Check out the dunes. They're beautiful, too.
DEREK: How can all those plants grow in the sand?
JENNY'S MOM: They have their ways. Some have leaves with a waxy coating or little hairs to keep the water inside.
DEREK: Desert plants do that, too!
JENNY: Hey, it's low tide. We can look in the tide pools.
There's lots of fun stuff living in the tide pools. C'mon.
JENNY'S MOM: Tide pools are fragile.
Walk carefully so you don't harm anything.
DEREK: What's that weird plant near the rock?
JENNY: That's not a plant. It's an anemone.
DEREK: An enemy?
JENNY: An A-NEM-A-NEE. It's an animal.
(Suddenly, a loud barking noise is heard. Derek, Jenny, and Jenny's mom look out toward some rocks offshore.)
DEREK: Wow! Those are seals out there! They're pretty loud.
JENNY'S MOM: Those are sea lions actually.
DEREK: Hey, what's that thing on the sand? Is that seaweed?
JENNY: Yep. It's kelp. These round things are called gas bladders.
JENNY'S MOM: There's a big kelp forest out there.
DEREK: Are these the roots?
JENNY'S MOM: Not roots, exactly -- that's the kelp's holdfast.
DEREK: (Laughing and waving the kelp around) Not any more!
So what other fun stuff is out there?
JENNY: Ummm... there are white shrimp that look like ghosts. There are shovelnose guitarfish -- 
DEREK: Cool! What songs do they play?
JENNY'S MOM: (Laughing) We'll go to the aquarium on Saturday to see all these things. Now let's go back and get some lunch.
What is Derek's problem in this play? What does he do to help solve his problem?
Think of a place you love to visit. Why is it special? Write a letter home, about three paragraphs long, describing this place.
Lucy wasn't thrilled to be there. "Who cares about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League?" Lucy muttered quietly to herself.
The guide explained that in 1942, most young men were being drafted to fight World War II. Some feared that major league baseball parks would close. But Philip Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs, decided to start a girls' league. Some may have gaped at the idea, but it soon caught on.
Lucy wondered what it was like for those girls. If people laughed in a mean way, did they notice the baseball fans snickering?
Woman baseball player makes a leaping catch.
Girls as young as 15 tried out for the league. The $45 to $85 a week salaries were a big draw. That might seem like an insult today, but back then it was a lot of money.
Players had to follow strict rules of behavior and take classes. They were taught how to dress, act, and take care of themselves.
Walking with blocks on their heads for balance and posture
The success of the league was no fluke. During the war, many women worked in factories. This changed the image of what women could do.
After the war ended, interest lessened and the league fell apart. One reason was that many people got TVs in the early 1950s. They could watch major league games without buying a ticket or leaving the house!
Lucy flinched when her teacher called the class together. She wasn't ready to leave. She wanted to learn more. But Lucy would have to wait until her next visit to learn more about this interesting time in baseball history.
An author's purpose is the reason he or she wrote a selection. To learn an author's purpose, you usually must make inferences and analyze information.
Map can help you decide if the author's purpose is to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. Reread the selection to find clues to the author's purpose.
Historical Fiction is set in a real time and place in the past. It may include real people and events that actually happened, along with fictional characters and events.
It was April 2, 1931, and something amazing was about to happen. In Chattanooga, Tennessee two teams were about to play an exhibition game of baseball.
One was the New York Yankees, a legendary team with famous players -- Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Tony Lazzeri.
The other was the Chattanooga Lookouts, a small team, a nothing team, except for the pitcher, Jackie Mitchell.
Jackie was young, only seventeen years old, but that's not what made people sit up and take notice. Jackie was a girl, and everyone knew that girls didn't play major-league baseball.
The New York Daily News sneered that she would swing "a mean lipstick" instead of a bat. A reporter wrote that you might as well have "a trained seal behind the plate" as have a woman standing there. But Jackie was no trained seal. She was a pitcher, a mighty good one. The question was, was she good enough to play against the New York Yankees?
As long as she could remember, Jackie had played ball with her father. She knew girls weren't supposed to. All the kids at school, all the boys in her neighborhood told her that. When one boy yelled at another one, "You throw like a girl!" it was an insult -- everyone knew girls couldn't throw. Or that's what they thought.
Day after day, in the neighborhood sandlot, Jackie's father told her differently. He said she could throw balls, and she did. She ran bases, she swung the bat. By the time she was eight years old, Dazzy Vance, the star pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, had taught her how to pitch. A real pitcher talking to a little girl was all Jackie needed to start dreaming of playing in the World Series. Her father saw her talent and so did Dazzy. He told her she could be good at whatever she wanted, as long as she worked at it. And Jackie worked at baseball. She worked hard.
She practiced pitching till it was too cold and dark to stay outside. She threw balls until her shoulder ached and her fingers were callused. She pitched until her eyes blurred over and she couldn't see where she was throwing. But it didn't matter, her arm knew.
Why do you think the author is providing so much information about Jackie's childhood?
And now she was finally going to have her chance to play on a real baseball team, to pitch to real players. The stands were packed. A crowd of four thousand had come to see the strange sight of a woman on the pitcher's mound.
She stood tall on the field and looked back at the crowd in the bleachers. They were waiting for her to make a mistake, and she knew it. They were waiting for her to prove that baseball was a man's game, not her game.
"It is my game," she muttered to herself and bit her lip. The Yankees were up, top of the first, and the batter was walking up to the plate. Jackie was ready for him, the ball tight in her left hand.
Except the batter was Babe Ruth -- Babe Ruth, the "Home Run King," a big mountain of a man -- and Babe didn't like the idea of a woman pitcher at all. He thought women were "too delicate" for baseball. "They'll never make good," he said. "It would kill them to play ball every day." He walked to the plate and tipped his cap at Jackie. But if she thought he was going to go easy on her, she could forget it! He gripped the bat and got ready to slam the ball out of the ballpark.
Jackie held that ball like it was part of her arm, and when she threw it, she knew exactly where it would go. 
Babe Ruth gaped -- he couldn't believe it! The crowd roared. Jackie tried to block them out, to see only the ball, to feel only the ball. But Babe Ruth was facing her down now, determined not to let a girl make a fool out of him. She flinched right before the next pitch, and the umpire called a ball.
"You can do it!" Jackie told herself. "Girls can throw -- show them!"
But the next pitch was another ball.
Now the crowd was hooting and jeering. The Babe was snickering with them.
Jackie closed her eyes. She felt her fingers tingling around the ball, she felt its heft in her palm, she felt the force of her shoulder muscles as she wound up for the pitch. She remembered what her father had told her:
"Go out there and pitch just like you pitch to anybody else."
Now the Babe was mad.
This was serious. The Babe was striking out, and the pitcher was a girl!
Jackie wasn't mad, but she wasn't scared either. She was pitching, really pitching, and it felt like something was happening the way it had always been meant to. She knew the batter would expect the same pitch, close and high, even if the batter was Babe Ruth. So this time she threw the ball straight down the middle with all the speed she could put on it.
Babe Ruth glared at the umpire and threw the bat down in disgust. He told reporters that that would be the last time he'd bat against a woman! The crowd was stunned. A girl had struck out the "Sultan of Swat"! It couldn't be! It was a mistake, a fluke! What would the papers say tomorrow? But wait, here came Lou Gehrig, the "Iron Horse," up to the plate. He'd show her. She couldn't strike him out too.
Lou Gehrig swung with a mighty grunt, but his bat hit nothing but air.
He looked stunned, then dug in his heels and glared at Jackie.
Jackie grinned. She was doing what she'd worked so hard and long to do, and nothing could stop her.
She pitched the ball the way she knew best, a lefty pitch with a low dip in it. No one could touch a ball like that when it was thrown right.
The crowd, so ready to boo her before, rose with a roar, clapping and cheering like crazy. Back to back, Jackie had struck out two of baseball's best batters,
She'd proven herself and now the fans loved her for it.
But Jackie didn't hear them. She was too proud and too happy. She'd done what she'd always known she could do. She'd shown the world how a girl could throw -- as hard and as fast and as far as she wanted.
What was Marissa Moss's purpose in writing this story?
Marissa Moss likes to write about real women like Jackie who have done unusual things. She has also written about a female train engineer and the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Marissa hopes that when kids read her books they will discover things about the past that remind them of their own lives.
C. F. Payne has stepped up to the plate to illustrate other baseball stories. C. F. often does caricatures, a kind of art that exaggerates the way people look or act, making them seem larger than life.
Marissa Moss based this story on the life of Jackie Mitchell. Does the fact that the main character was a real woman have an effect on the author's purpose? How do you know?
1. The author stresses the fact that Ruth and Gehrig were legendary baseball players. What is the author's purpose in doing that? 
2. Read the third paragraph on page 154. What were people's attitudes toward female athletes? 
3. Have you ever reached a goal that you or other people may have thought was impossible to achieve? 
4. Why was proving her pitching talent so important to Jackie? Explain your opinion. 
5. Read "Women Pick Up the Ball" on pages 150-151. How did women's role in professional baseball change from the 1930s to the 1940s? What caused this change? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Almanacs have brief information, facts, and figures about many different subjects.
A Table presents a large amount of information, such as names and numbers, in a compact way.
Babe Ruth is one of the most famous baseball players of all time. People called him "The Sultan of Swat" and "The Home Run King" because he hit a record 714 home runs in his career. That record has since been broken, but Babe Ruth is still the only baseball player who has hit three home runs in a World Series game twice.
Babe Ruth learned to play baseball in the orphanage and reform school where he spent his childhood. He grew up to pitch and play outfield for the Boston Red Sox, and was an outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth was one of the first five players elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. 
Lou Gehrig's batting accomplishments earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Fans loved him because he was so dedicated.
Lou Gehrig played first base for the New York Yankees from 1923 until 1939. Gehrig set a record by playing in 2,130 straight games, even when he was sick or hurt. His record wasn't broken until 1995. He also set records for the number of runs batted in and grand slam home runs.
When Gehrig quit baseball because of a rare disease, thousands of fans came to honor him. He thanked them, saying he was "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
1. Look at the table of Top 10 Home Run Hitters from the almanac. Which baseball player hit more home runs than Babe Ruth? How many home runs did he hit? 
2. What are some words you would use to describe Lou Gehrig? Explain your answer. 
3. How was Jackie Mitchell from Mighty Jackie like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig? How was she different from them? 
Research another baseball player. Write a short paragraph about his or her life, and create a list or table of facts and statistics.
To choose a good topic, first think about what interests you. Then narrow the focus so you can cover the topic completely.
I narrowed my topic to persuade my friend to come with me to baseball camp.
I gave good reasons to support my topic.
I really hope you will come to baseball camp. It's going to be at Wilson Field in June. Professional ballplayers will teach us how to play every position, and we can improve our batting averages. You can work on pitching. So let's go! Call me!
Write a letter to convince a friend or family member to do something. Narrow the focus of your topic. Be sure to include good reasons.
Did I narrow the focus of my topic? Did I present good reasons?
Organization: Did I save my strongest reason for last?
Voice: Does it sound as if I really care?
Word Choice: Did I use strong words that will help convince my reader to do something?
Sentence Fluency: Did my writing sound smooth when I read it out loud?
Conventions: Did I capitalize proper nouns? Did I check my spelling?
Dear Grandpa,
Remember when Mom and Dad thought I was asleep and I overheard them talking about moving to Mexico? You said that it would be an adventure. You were right!
I was a little scared when we left Maine. All my friends were there. Living in Mexico is very different, but I'm starting to like it a lot.
Guess what? I ate my first tamale. Do you know what that is? When I saw it, I wasn't sure I wanted to find out. But it was good! It's cornmeal wrapped in corn husks and steamed.
I have had many opportunities to try new foods. But sometimes I go to my favorite fast food place.
So it's not a totally different world. We actually live less than 100 miles from the U. S.-Mexico border.
The farmers here work very hard but don't make much money to support their families. Some farmers join unions, organizations just for them, to protect their rights. Sometimes there are strikes, and people stop working, hoping that will make a difference.
Farmers are asking every citizen not to buy produce that comes from outside Mexico. They hope these boycotts will improve conditions.
I'm learning a lot about Mexican culture. Local harvests are really important here. There are fairs, called ferias, to celebrate. There's lots of music, dancing, and eating. Maybe when you visit, we can go to a feria!
Use what the author tells you, along with what you know, to generate, or ask, questions about characters. This can help you make inferences.
Reread the selection for clues, and make inferences about whether Paul is enjoying his new home in Mexico. Use an Inferences Word Web to help you.
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could have happened in real life.
Dear Diary, I know I should be asleep already, but I just can't sleep. If I don't write this all down, I'll burst! Tonight after my brothers -- Mario, Victor, Hector, Raul, and Sergio -- and I all climbed into bed, I overheard Mama and Papa whispering. They were talking about leaving our little house in Juarez, Mexico, where we've lived our whole lives, and moving to Los Angeles in the United States. But why? How can I sleep knowing we might leave Mexico forever? I'll have to get to the bottom of this tomorrow.
Today at breakfast, Mama explained everything. She said, "Papa lost his job. There's no work here, no jobs at all. We know moving will be hard, but we want the best for all of you. Try to understand." I thought the boys would be upset, but instead they got really excited about moving to the States.
"The big stores in El Paso sell all kinds of toys!"
"And they have escalators to ride!"
"And the air smells like popcorn, yum!"
Am I the only one who is scared of leaving our home, our beautiful country, and all the people we might never see again?
My best friend Michi and I walked to the park today. We passed Don Nacho's corner store and the women at the tortilla shop, their hands blurring like hummingbird wings as they worked the dough over the griddle.
At the park we braided each other's hair and promised never to forget each other. We each picked out a smooth, heart-shaped stone to remind us always of our friendship, of the little park, of Don Nacho and the tortilla shop. I've known Michi since we were little, and I don't think I'll ever find a friend like her in California.
"You're lucky your family will be together over there," Michi said. Her sisters and father work in the U. S. I can't imagine leaving anyone in our family behind.
OK, Diary, here's the plan -- in two weeks we leave for my grandparents' house in Mexicali, right across the border from Calexico, California. We'll stay with them while Papa goes to Los Angeles to look for work. We can only take what will fit in the old car Papa borrowed -- we're selling everything else. Meanwhile, the boys build cardboard box cities and act like nothing bothers them. Mama and Papa keep talking about all the opportunities we'll have in California. But what if we're not allowed to speak Spanish? What if I can't learn English? Will I ever see Michi again? What if we never come back?
Today while we were packing, Papa pulled me aside. He said, "Amada, mija, I can see how worried you've been. Don't be scared. Everything will be all right."
"But how do you know? What will happen to us?" I said.
He smiled. "Mija, I was born in Arizona, in the States. When I was six -- not a big kid like you -- my Papa and Mama moved our family back to Mexico. It was a big change, but we got through it. I know you can, too. You are stronger than you think" I hope he's right. I still need to pack my special rock (and you, Diary!). We leave tomorrow!
Based on Amada's journal entries, what do you think she is feeling about the move?
How can you tell?
Our trip was long and hard. At night the desert was so cold we had to huddle together to keep warm. We drove right along the border, across from New Mexico and Arizona. Mexico and the U. S. are two different countries, but they look exactly the same on both sides of the border, with giant saguaros pointing up at the pink-orange sky and enormous clouds. I made a wish on the first star I saw. Soon there were too many stars in the sky to count. Our little house in Juarez already seems so far away.
We arrived in Mexicali late at night and my grandparents Nana and Tata, and all our aunts, uncles and cousins (there must be fifty of them!) welcomed us with a feast of tamales, beans, and hot chocolate with cinnamon sticks. It's so good to see them all! Everyone gathered around us and told stories late into the night.
We played so much that the boys fell asleep before the last blanket was rolled out onto the floor. But, Diary, I can't sleep. I keep thinking about Papa leaving tomorrow.
Papa left for Los Angeles this morning. Nana comforted Mama, saying that Papa is a U. S. citizen, so he won't have a problem getting our "green cards" from the U. S.government. Papa told us that we each need a green card to live in the States, because we weren't born there.
I can't believe Papa's gone. The boys try to copy his tricks but coins just end up flying everywhere. They drive me nuts sometimes, but today it feels good to laugh.
We got a letter from Papa today! I'm pasting it into your pages, Diary.
My dear family,
I have been picking grapes and strawberries in the fields of Delano, 140 miles north of Los Angeles, saving money and always thinking of you. It is hard, tiring work. There is a man here in the fields named Cesar Chavez, who speaks of unions, strikes, and boycotts. These new words hold the hope of better conditions for us farmworkers.
So far, getting your green cards has been difficult, for we are not the only family trying to start a new life here. Please be patient. It won't be long before we are all together again.
Hugs and kisses, Papa
What does Papa have to take into consideration as he plans his family's move to California?
I miss Papa so much -- it feels like he left ages ago.
It's been tough to stay hopeful. So far we've had to live in three different houses with some of Mama's sisters. 
Even Nana herself got mad when they used her pots and pans to make "music" And they keep trying to read what I've written here, and to hide my special rock. Lupe finally took us in, but where will we go if she decides she's had enough of us?
FINALLY! Papa sent our green cards -- we're going to cross the border at last! He can't come for us but will meet us in Los Angeles.
The whole family is making a big farewell dinner for us tonight. Even after all the trouble the boys have caused, I think everyone is sad to see us go. Nana even gave me a new journal to write in for when I finish this one. She said, "Never forget who you are and where you are from. Keep your language and culture alive in your diary and in your heart"
We leave this weekend. I'm so excited I can hardly write!
My first time writing in the U. S. A.! Crossing the border in Tijuana was crazy. Everyone was pushing and shoving. There were babies crying, and people fighting to be first in line. We held hands the whole way. When we finally got across, Mario had only one shoe on and his hat had fallen off. I counted everyone and I still had five brothers. Whew!
Papa is meeting us at the bus station in Los Angeles. It's been so long -- I hope he recognizes us!
What a long ride! One woman and her children got kicked off the bus when the immigration patrol boarded to check everyone's papers. Mama held Mario and our green cards close to her heart.
Papa was waiting at the station, just like he promised. We all jumped into his arms and laughed, and Mama even cried a little. Papa's hugs felt so much better than when he left us in Mexicali!
I wrote to Michi today.
Dear Michi,
I have stories for you! Papa found a job in a factory, and were living in a creaky old house in El Monte, east of Los Angeles.
It's not at all like Juarez. Yesterday everything started shaking and a huge roar was all around us -- airplanes, right overhead! Sometimes freight trains rumble past our house like little earthquakes.
Every day I hold my special rock and I think about home -- Mexico -- and our walks to the park. Papa says we might go back for the holidays in a year or two. Until then, write me!
Missing you,
Amada Irma
Well, Diary, I finally found a place where I can sit and think and write. It may not be the little park in Juarez, but it's pretty. You know, just because I'm far away from Juarez and Michi and my family in Mexicali, it doesn't mean they're not here with me. They're inside my little rock; they're here in your pages and in the language that I speak; and they're in my memories and my heart. Papa was right. I am stronger than I think -- in Mexico, in the States, anywhere.
P. S. I've almost filled this whole journal and can't wait to start my new one. Maybe someday I'll even write a book about our journey!
Amada Irma Perez used memories of her own journey from Mexico to the United States to write this story. Just like the girl in the story, she was both excited and scared about moving. To day Amada still writes in a journal. She believes that diaries help keep our memories alive.
Maya Christina Gonzalez has always loved to draw. When she was a child, she could not find any pictures of Mexican American children like herself in books. Maya would draw her own picture on a blank page in each book she read. To day Maya's books show lots of people of color so readers can feel proud of who they are.
Do you think using her own memories affected Amada Irma Perez's purpose for writing? What clues tell you whether the story mainly informs, explains, or entertains?
Summarize My Diary from Here to There. State the most important events, where the story takes place, and how the main character thinks and acts as the story progresses.
1. What clues from your Inferences Word Web help you figure out what Amada is like? 
2. Reread page 184. What conclusions can you draw about employment opportunities in Mexico at the time of this story? Use details from the story to support your answer. 
3. Suppose Amada writes another story about her experiences in the U. S. What would you like her to write about? Synthesize
Compare Amada's feelings with those of her brothers. Are some of their feelings the same? Use details from the story.
Textbook Excerpts are short nonfiction pieces taken from a textbook.
Primary Sources are first person accounts of historical events in letters, journals, or oral histories.
Between 1890 and 1914, what had been a steady stream of immigrants turned into a flood. More than 12 million people arrived on America's shores. That's about as many people as live in the state of Pennsylvania today! Many of these immigrants came from countries in Europe such as Poland, Russia, Italy, and Greece. Others came from China, Japan, and Mexico.
Most immigrants traveled by boat and arrived on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts. They settled all across our country, but millions stayed where they had landed, such as in New York City. The arrival of these immigrants transformed the Northeast into an exciting region made up of many different ethnic groups.
Pretend that your class is visiting the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Before going inside, you learn from your guide that it usually took a ship about three weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Few immigrants enjoyed the voyage because it was long and overcrowded. No wonder passengers rejoiced when they saw the city in the distance.
The immigrants' first stop, however, was Ellis Island, which stood a mile off the coast. Beginning in 1892, this island welcomed 17 million people to the United States. After closing in 1954, Ellis Island reopened as a museum in 1990.
This primary source is an oral history. Someone describes her experiences at a certain time and place. Primary sources are written in the witness's own words.
"This was where the boats docked," your guide explains. "Sometimes 5,000 people a day walked through these doors. Guards tied numbered tags to their coats. Then they were shown to the Registry Room."
Immigrants had to wait in long lines to be examined by doctors to make sure they were healthy enough to work. Some people were sent back home, but most continued on to an immigration officer who asked them questions. After answering the questions, most immigrants walked down a hallway to a door that said: PUSH TO NEW YORK. Beyond that door were a ferry, New York City, the United States, and hope for a new life.
1. Look back at the oral histories on this page and page 203. What kind of information do they give that you don't find in the rest of the textbook excerpt?
2. After reading the primary source on this page, how do you think Celia Adler must have felt to have brought only a change of clothes with her from Europe?
Good writing has a logical flow. Using transition words between paragraphs helps a writer connect the ideas in his or her writing.
I wrote this radio ad about a great local place to visit.
The word while connects ideas in my ad.
Would you like to sleep on a tall ship? Learn about sails, masts, and ropes. Help set a sail and watch over the harbor. Write in the ship's log. Experience what it is like to be a sailor!
While you are at the museum, visit the immigration exhibits to see photographs of people who came to the United States through the port of Galveston.
What kinds of radio ads make you pay close attention? Write a radio ad to advertise a great place to visit. It may be about a place you have visited or a place you would like to visit.
Use precise nouns as well as transition words. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Scientists in China are racing against the clock... and nature! They are working to preserve hundreds of ancient clay warriors, horses, and chariots. The statues were discovered in a tomb near the city of Beijing, the capital. They have been buried for 2,000 years. If the painted decorations on the statues are exposed to the air for too long, they will fade.
Villagers planting trees in the area were overjoyed when they found these foot-tall soldiers. The discovery gives researchers new information about the Han dynasty. This powerful family ruled China from 206 B. C. to 220 A. D.
The clay soldiers are buried in order of their rank. David Sensabaugh is an Asian art expert at the Yale University Art Gallery. He thinks the figures are a display of power. How powerful is this army? It's too soon to tell, but it may be thousands strong!
Many things were invented in China throughout history. Here are some Chinese inventions and what they were used for in the past. Which ones do we still use today? 
Nearly 5,000 years of Chinese history lie underground in Xiaoli. Fields contain tombs of royalty of many dynasties. Valuable works of art are buried in the tombs. Stealing these treasures, called looting, can bring the poor farmers of Xiaoli lots of money.
Little Su, a doctor in Xiaoli, paid for medical school by selling stolen art. He was also able to buy a big-screen TV. Over the past few years, thieves have broken into at least 220,000 tombs in China, according to China's National Cultural Relics Bureau.
"If the looting continues at this pace, we'll soon have nothing left to remind us of our glorious past," says He Shuzhong. He's the head of Cultural Heritage Watch in Beijing.
Stealing ancient treasures has become a major problem for other countries, too. Police in India recently stopped criminals who had stolen hundreds of sculptures from temples and monuments.
In Cambodia, thieves ripped out carved faces of gods from an eleventh-century site. Cambodian police recently found truckloads of ancient sculptures that were taken from archaeological sites.
What happens to these ancient treasures? Many art pieces are sent to collectors in the United States and Europe. Wealthy art collectors pay large amounts of money for ancient statues, sculptures, and vases.
Money can't replace ancient history, though. Many people believe that stealing artwork is like stealing a country's history and culture.
"Why are we as a people, as a government, as a country, allowing our heritage to slip through our fingers?" asks Michel Tranet. He has the job of protecting Cambodia's treasures and heritage.
Interpol is an international police agency, with more than 180 member countries. It maintains a database of stolen cultural properties. The database can help local and national law enforcement officials identify property that has been looted. It also helps individuals and museums avoid buying stolen objects.
Some people in these countries, however, see looting as a way to get rich.
Ancient royal statues can sell for $80,000 each or more at auction! A few years ago, small ceramic statues were stolen from the 2,000-year-old tomb of Empress Dou in the city of Xi'an, China. Six of the small statues ended up for sale at an auction in New York City. Luckily, the sale was stopped in time to preserve some of China's history.
This Buddha figurine sold for $295,000 at an auction in Hong Kong.
Today, those six small figures, valued at $6,000 to $8,000 each, have been returned to Xi'an. They are on display in a small museum. Li Ku, the vice director of the museum, believes the statues are an essential part of the city's history and culture. He is overjoyed at their return. "Looking at these figures, I feel like my family has come home at last," he says.
Most thefts of ancient art are never reported. One reason is that it's hard to say who owns some of the treasures. Many Asian countries were once colonies of European countries. Settlers took thousands of pieces of art, monuments, and sculptures. Treasures stolen centuries ago by invaders are often thought to be the property of whoever has them now. But some people don't agree. They say the art should be returned to the country in which it originally belonged. What do you think?
1. According to this article, what countries are having a problem with the theft of ancient treasures?
2. Why are farmers in China stealing treasures from tombs?
3. Many people say stealing ancient treasures is stealing a nation's past.
Is this a fact or their opinion?
4. What theme do the articles "Ancient Warriors" and "Stealing Beauty" have in common?
The answer is not directly stated. Think about what you have read to figure it out.
He whispered to her that she and her six-year-old sister would have to escape secretly from their home in Tibet to a new life in India. Sonam's parents had planned the trip for weeks. They hadn't told the girls because they were afraid the Chinese police would find out. That would mean prison for the entire family. "My escape was so secret that I couldn't even say goodbye to my best friend," says Sonam.
For the next two months, the girls and their guide stumbled over the snow and ice of the jagged Himalaya mountains. Their guide punished them when they slowed down. Finally, they arrived safely at Dharamsala, India.
Thousands of Tibetans, including more than a thousand children, have made the illegal crossing. They risk frostbite, arrest, and their very lives.
They are willing to brave these dangers to escape the harsh rule in China, which governs Tibet. The ones who survive the trip will have more freedom in India. But they will face new troubles in their new home.
Tibetan children at their new school in India. The mountains they crossed are in the background.
In the selection "Stealing Beauty" you read about how a country's culture and heritage are lost when ancient objects are stolen. Write a one-page journal entry about a time when something that belonged to you was stolen or lost. Tell the story in sequence.
I organized my story and wrote a strong ending.
Dear Diary:
I'm so upset! At practice yesterday, I took off my necklace and put it next to my backpack. When practice was over, I grabbed my bag and headed home. But I forgot my necklace!
I didn't notice it was missing until this morning. So after school today, I rushed back to the field. My friends and I searched high and low, but no luck. Jake said a dog could have chewed it up. Lisa said someone might have swiped it.
I got the necklace at the beach last summer during our family vacation. Whenever I looked at it, I remembered the great time we had. I still have the memories, but it's not the same.
As always, Me.
Think about a time when you lost something that had a special meaning for you. What was lost? Where were you when you lost it? How did it make you feel? What did you do to try to find it? Write a one-page story about the experience. Be sure to organize your story according to how things happened.
Thomas Edison was a poor student. Hilarious? It is funny when you know how he turned out. Even if his grades didn't show it, the mother of this future inventor was convinced he was smart.
After a few disappointing months in school, she decided to teach Thomas herself at home.
Thomas Alva Edison was born in 1847 in Ohio. Always curious and prone to mischief, Thomas read whenever he could.
Thomas's first job, at thirteen, was selling newspapers. Back then, that's when most boys started working. At sixteen he became a telegrapher. This gave Thomas independence and an opportunity to travel. Shortly after this, Edison decided to be an inventor.
Not everything Thomas invented was a success. In fact, his first invention, an electric vote recorder, failed. Edison thought it would come in handy for counting votes. No one else found it useful, but that didn't stop Edison.
Back then, gas was the best lighting source, but burning it was dirty and unhealthy. Gas could also be very dangerous. The idea of using electricity for lighting had been around for over 50 years. But nobody had developed anything practical or safe.
Edison set out to solve this problem. He improved upon what others had learned about electricity. He tested thousands of ideas in a whirlwind of activity. Several men helped Edison with his experiments.
By 1880, they had burned a light bulb for more than 1,500 hours. They must have felt dizzy with excitement!
This was just the beginning. Edison's success led to the invention of an entire electric lighting system. Nowadays, many appliances and lights run on electricity. It is hard to imagine life without it. So, next time you turn on your computer, think of Thomas Edison -- and say "Thanks."
Problem and Solution Problems and solutions are important parts of most stories. Asking yourself questions as you read can help you understand problem and solution.
Reread the selection to find a problem and solution. Use a Problem and Solution Chart to help you.
The great Benjamin Franklin really did steal lightning right out of the sky! And then he set out to tame the beast. It goes to figure, though, because he was a man who could do just about anything.
Why, Ben Franklin could swim faster, argue better, and write funnier stories than practically anyone in colonial America. He was a musician, a printer, a cartoonist, and a world traveler! What's more, he was a newspaper owner, a shopkeeper, a soldier, and a politician. He even helped to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States!
Ben was always coming up with newfangled ways to help folks out, too. He was the guy who started the first lending library in America. His post office was the first to deliver mail straight to people's houses.
He also wrote almanacs that gave hilarious advice about life and told people when to plant crops, whether there might be an eclipse, and when the tides would be high or low.
And he helped to start a hospital!
A free academy!
A fire department!
In colonial days, fire could break out at any time.
And it was lightning that caused some of the worst fires.
Whenever thunderstorms were brewing, they would ring the church bells for all they were worth, but it didn't do anybody a lick of good.
Of course, after Ben stole the lightning, there weren't nearly as many fires for firefighters to put out. "Now, why was that?" I hear you ask. "And how did he steal any lightning in the first place?" Well, it's a long story, but before we get to the answer, here's a hint. One of the things Benjamin Franklin liked to do best was to make inventions.
Why, Ben was a born inventor. He loved to swim fast, but he wanted to go even faster. So one day when he was a mere lad of eleven, he got some wood and invented swim paddles for his hands and swim fins for his feet.
Ben could go faster, all right, but the wood was pretty heavy, and his wrists got plumb worn out.
That's why his second invention was a better way to go fast. He lay on his back, held on to a kite string, and let his kite pull him lickety-split across a big pond. (You might want to remember later on that Ben always did like kites.)
Ben kept right on inventing better ways to do things for the rest of his life.
Take books, for example. Ben read so many books that some of them sat on shelves way up high near the ceiling. So he invented the library chair. If he pulled up the seat, out popped some stairs to help him reach any books on high shelves. And in case climbing stairs made him dizzy, he invented a long wooden arm that could grab his books, too.
He also invented an odometer that told how far he had ridden to deliver the mail. And the first clock with a second hand. And he even thought up daylight saving time. Then he invented bifocals so older folks could see up close and far away without changing glasses.
Everybody and his brother and sister just had to find better ways to heat their houses in wintertime. So Ben came up with a Franklin stove that could warm up cold rooms faster and use a lot less wood than old-fashioned stoves and fireplaces.
People all over Europe and America loved Ben's glass armonica. This instrument could spin wet glass bowls to make music that sounded like it came straight from heaven. Mozart and Beethoven wrote music for it, and it was even played at a royal Italian wedding.
But as popular as warmer stoves and glass armonicas were, they aren't anywhere near as celebrated nowadays as the invention Ben made after he stole the lightning.
Another hint about Ben's most famous invention is that it helped make life easier for everyone. His scientific ideas were helpful, too, and were often way ahead of their time. For example, he had a lot of ideas about health. He said that exercise and weight lifting help keep folks fit, but they have to work hard enough to sweat if they want to do any good.
He wrote that breathing fresh air and drinking lots of water are good for you. He was the guy who said "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."
And before anyone ever heard of vitamin C, he wrote that oranges, limes, and grapefruit give people healthy gums and skin. Sailors soon got wind of this idea. They began eating so many limes to stop getting sick from scurvy at sea that they became known as limeys.
Didn't the man ever stop to rest? Even when he was outside, Ben kept right on experimenting.
For instance, he often sailed to England and France to do business for America. As he crossed the Atlantic Ocean, he charted the Gulf Stream by taking its temperature. Once sailors knew the route of this fast, warm "river" in the cold ocean, they could travel between America and Europe in a shorter time than ever before.
He was probably the first person to write weather forecasts, too. Once he chased a roaring whirlwind by riding over the hills and forests of Maryland just to find out how it worked.
Ben had an old scientific trick that he liked to show people every chance he got. He used to store some oil inside a bamboo walking stick, and whenever he poured a few drops onto angry waves in a pond or lake, the water became smooth as glass!
Meanwhile, over in Europe, people called "electricians" had started doing some tricks of their own. One trick was to raise a boy up near the ceiling with a bunch of silk cords, rub his feet with a glass "electric tube," and make sparks shoot out of his hands and face.
Another mean trick made the king of France laugh so hard he could hardly stop. His court electrician had run an electric charge through 180 soldiers of the guard, and they jerked to attention faster than they ever had in their entire lives.
But although people were doing lots of tricks with electricity, nobody had a clue about why or how it worked. So Benjamin Franklin decided to find out. He asked a British friend to send him an electric tube so that he could do some experiments.
In one experiment, he made a cork "electric spider" with thread for legs. It kept leaping back and forth between a wire and an electric tube just like it was alive.
Another time he asked a lady and gentleman to stand on some wax. One held an electric tube, the other held a wire, and when they tried to kiss, they got shocked by all the sparks shooting between their lips.
Ben even figured out how to light up a picture of a king in a golden frame. Anyone trying to remove the king's gold paper crown was in for a shock!
Doing all these tricks gave Ben his idea for stealing lightning out of the sky. He believed that lightning was nothing more nor less than pure electricity. Now he set out to prove it.
First he made a silk kite with a wire on top to attract some lightning. Next he added a kite string, tied a key to the bottom, and knotted a silk ribbon below the key. Ben and his son William stood out of the rain inside the doorway of a shed on the side of a field. To keep from getting shocked, Ben held on to the dry silk ribbon.
Then he flew his kite straight up toward a big rain cloud.
For the longest time, nothing happened.
Just as Ben and William were about to give up, the hair on that wet kite string began to rise up and stand at attention. Ben put his knuckle near the key, and YIKES!!!! Out jumped a bright spark of genuine electricity!
Real lightning had traveled all the way down that kite string! Ben had stolen electric fire out of the heavens and proven that he was right.
(Of course, now we know that if the storm had been any stronger, the great inventor would have been toast.)
Finally! Here's the part of the story where Ben's practice from thinking up all those inventions came in so handy. Way back then, you remember, lightning was always setting fire to ships, houses, and church spires. Even the best fire departments couldn't keep entire towns from going up in smoke. So Ben decided to make his most famous invention of all -- the lightning rod!
The whole idea was to pull lightning safely out of the sky before it could do any mischief. Ben showed people how to put a pointed iron rod on the tip-top of a roof or ship's mast and connect it to a wire leading all the way down under the ground or into water. Now the lightning could follow a safe path without burning up a thing.
How did Ben's invention solve the problem?
This simple but brilliant invention worked beautifully. It saved more lives than anyone can count and made Ben Franklin a great hero.
Scientists from around the world lined up to give Ben medals and awards. But during his long life, he became much more than the master of lightning. Why, when America fought against Great Britain for the right to become a free nation, Ben convinced France to come help win the war, and when it was over, he helped convince Great Britain to sign the peace. He had helped in so many ways that the people of France honored him with a beautiful medallion. It says "He snatched the lightning from heaven and the scepter from tyrants."
She visited the places where Ben Franklin lived and worked to make sure that her words and pictures would be accurate. Rosalyn probably would have gotten along really well with Ben. She is a great swimmer, just like he was. Once she even swam past sharks on a trip to Belize! Rosalyn also shares Ben's curiosity about the world. She's explored a jungle, visited an ancient city, and sailed a boat more than 800 miles.
What was the author's purpose for writing How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning? What clues helped you decide if Rosalyn Schanzer was trying to inform, explain, or persuade?
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound in a series of words.
Edison didn't really squeeze his thoughts into a bulb. This figurative language helps the reader picture how hard Edison was thinking.
Thomas Edison didn't hesitate to let ideas incubate, and try again, if they weren't right. One day to his intense delight, he squeezed his thoughts into a bulb and then turned on the light.
Good writers start with a strong opening. They may lead with an interesting question, quotation, or description.
I started with a strong opening question.
I wanted to recommend a book I liked, so I answered the question.
Do you dream of being a great inventor? Then read Invented by Kids by Cynthia Mills. You'll find out about some great ideas by kids. The Auto-Off Candle goes out after a set time. A natural poison wards off mosquitoes while being safe to use in an animal's drinking water.
If you like experimenting with new ideas, I recommend this book.
These inventors inspired me. You'll be inspired, too!
Think about a book you have read recently. Would you recommend it to others? Write a book review. Briefly summarize the book. Tell why a reader will or won't enjoy it. Begin with a strong opening. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Narrator: Mark and Jean have been studying together weekdays after school for a big test on Friday. Jean takes a card from a cardboard box. The card has the name of a reptile on it. Now Mark will ask questions and try to name the reptile. Can you guess the answer before Mark?
Mark: Is it furry?
Jean: No. Remember, reptiles don't have fur. Mark: That's right. Where does it live?
Jean: Mostly in the southwestern United States. Mark: What does it eat?
Jean: It eats small birds, rabbits, mice, and squirrels.
Mark: Is it a crocodile?
Jean: No. Crocodiles live near streams, and this reptile lives where it's dry.
Mark: How big is it?
Jean: Some can be 7 feet long. Others are only 2 feet long.
Mark: It's probably not a turtle or a lizard. Is it a snake?
Jean: Yes!
Is it a crocodile?
Mark: Remember when my pet snake got loose and slithered across my mother's foot? I had to return it to the pet store.
Jean: What did the store say?
Mark: I think they were genuine when they offered to speak with my mom. I knew that wouldn't help, though.
Jean: Did you apologize to your mom and say you were sorry?
Mark: Of course, but she didn't change her mind.
Jean: Okay, back to studying.
Mark: Does the snake crush its prey?
Jean: No.
Mark: So it's not a python. Is it harmless?
Jean: No. It's dangerous. Its bite can be fatal. If you get bitten, you'd need an ambulance!
Mark: Yikes. Does it give a warning before it attacks?
Jean: Its tail shakes and makes a noise. Each time the snake sheds, its tail gets a new segment in it.
Mark: I've got it! It's a rattlesnake! 
Narrator: Did you guess the reptile before Mark did?
It's a rattlesnake!
Make Inferences Generating questions as you read can help you make inferences. For example, ask yourself, "Why did the character just say that?" or "What are some clues to what might happen next?"
Reread the selection and make inferences.
Write the clues in the Inferences Word Web.
Humorous Fiction is a made-up story written to make the reader laugh.
Dear Mr. Winston,
My parents said that I have to write and apologize. Dad says he is going to read this letter before it's sent and that I'd better make sure my apology sounds truly genuine. So, I am truly, genuinely sorry for bringing that snake into the library yesterday.
My parents say it's my fault for having brought that snake into the library and I truly, genuinely apologize but I still don't know how I was supposed to find out what kind of snake I had inside that box without bringing the snake right into the library so I could look at snake pictures and then look at the snake and try to find a picture that matched the snake.
I told my parents something that I didn't get a chance to remind you about before the ambulance took you away.
I did come into the library without the snake, first. I left the box outside, hidden under a bush and tried to borrow a thick green book with lots of snake pictures. You told me that the big green book was a reference book which meant that it had to stay inside the library and I couldn't take it out, even for ten minutes.
My parents say I still shouldn't have brought that snake into the library and that I have to be truly, genuinely sorry if I ever hope to watch Galactic Patrol on television again. My parents picked Galactic Patrol because it's my favorite show, although I'm not sure what not watching a television program has to do with bringing a snake into the library.
The people at the library say you hate snakes so much that you won't even touch a book with a picture of snakes on the cover and that is why you won't be back at the library for a few more weeks. If you want, you could watch Galactic Patrol. It's on at 4:00 P. M. weekdays, on channel 7. ^ere are no snakes on the show because it takes place in space.
Did the flowers arrive? Dad picked them out but I have to pay for them with my allowance for the next two months. The flowers are proof that I am truly, genuinely sorry for having brought that snake into the library. I hope the people who work at the library find that snake soon! Did they look under all the chairs?
That snake isn't dangerous. It is a local snake, and there are no poisonous snakes in Manitoba. The people at the library say you know that too because that was one of the reasons you decided to move here. I bought that snake from a friend. I paid one month's allowance for it, which means that snake has cost me a total of three months' allowance and I only owned it for one hour!
Mom says I don't have to tell who sold me that snake so I won't tell you either because Dad says he is going to read this letter. Besides, I don't want you to be mad at anyone else when I am the one who brought that snake into the library yesterday. I am truly, genuinely sorry.
Do you think the girl is truly, genuinely sorry for bringing the snake into the library? Why or why not?
I want you to know that I didn't plan to show you that snake. I didn't mean to scare you at all. I knew where the big green snake book was kept. I put the box on a table close to the book and tried to find the right picture. I looked at a picture, then at the snake, at another picture, and then the snake. I did that five times and can tell you that the snake inside the library is not a python, a rattlesnake, an anaconda, an asp, or a cobra.
Anyway, I was surprised when you wanted to see what was inside the box because I didn't ask for any help and there were plenty of people in the library who did need help.
Dad says that the fact that I said, "Nothing," instead of "A snake," is proof that I knew I was doing something wrong when I brought that snake into the library. I am truly, genuinely sorry even though my friend Jake Lambert promised me that the snake I bought from him is perfectly harmless.
I did tell you that I didn't need any help and I did have a snake book open in front of me, so I don't know why you insisted on looking inside the box if you are so afraid of snakes and everything. I don't know why you picked up that box before opening a flap, either. If you had left the box on the table and maybe even sat down next to it, then maybe the box would have been all right when you screamed and fainted. You wouldn't have fallen so far, either, if you were sitting down.
Did you know that you broke out in a rash after you fainted? I thought a person had to touch something like poison ivy to get a rash. I didn't know it was possible to get a rash by just thinking about something but my parents say it really can happen. I think maybe you did touch something. Maybe, when you were lying on the floor, that snake slithered over to you and touched you! Did you know that snake skin feels dry, not wet and slimy at all?
I just thought of something. Maybe everyone's looking in the library for that snake but it's not in the library. Maybe it crawled into one of your pockets or up your sleeve and rode with you to the hospital! Wouldn't that be funny? Why don't you get one of the nurses to check? If it's not in your clothes, it might have crawled out and might be hiding inside the hospital someplace. I think people should be looking there, too.
I am sure you will be talking to the people in the library, to make sure they find that snake before you go back to work. I hope they do find it, even though my parents say that I can't keep it. If that snake is found, could you ask the people at the library to give me a call? I would be interested in knowing that it is all right. And if they do find that snake and do decide to give me a call, could you ask them if they could compare that snake with the snake pictures in that big green reference book before they call me? I would still like to know what kind of snake I owned for an hour.
I am truly, genuinely sorry. Your friend,
Ken Roberts is actually a librarian. He often writes funny stories with unusual characters, like the girl in this piece. Ken has many talents.
He is a storyteller, puppeteer, juggler, and magician. He was once a champion runner, too.
Nicole E. Wong has been interested in art all her life and even went to college to study it. She has been very fortunate to have turned her passion and training into her career in illustration. Nicole lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Dan, and their dog, Sable.
Snakes are reptiles. They have flexible skeletons and no legs. Their bodies are covered with scales. Clear scales even cover their eyes. Most snakes are colored to camouflage them. For example, the emerald tree boa is green. This helps it hide among tree leaves. Other snakes, like coral snakes, are brightly colored to warn enemies that they are poisonous. Snakes range greatly in size. 
Like all reptiles, snakes are cold-blooded. They cannot make their own body heat. Snakes need the sun or warm surroundings to keep them warm. In cool weather, many snakes gather underground or in other sheltered places. There, they hibernate, meaning they stay at rest during the winter.
Coral Snake a kind of poisonous snake found in North and South America. There are about 30 species. Coral snakes all have bright bands of color on their bodies and are two to three feet in length. They hunt lizards and other snakes.
Anaconda a member of the boa family living in swamps and rivers in South America. The anaconda, like other boas, wraps itself around its prey to suffocate it. It is one of the longest and thickest snakes and bears live young.
Snakes are meat eaters but do not chew their prey. They swallow animals whole. Snakes can stretch their jaws far apart. This lets them eat animals that are bigger than their own heads.
Constrictors, such as boa constrictors, wrap themselves around their prey. These snakes suffocate their prey and then swallow it. Some snakes are venomous and kill their prey with poison. Venomous snakes, such as rattlesnakes, inject the poison through their fangs. Some poisons kill the animal. Others break down the animal's flesh so that it is partly digested by the time the snake eats it.
Most female snakes lay eggs that have soft leathery shells. Some females stay close to guard the eggs. Others, such as pythons, coil around the eggs to keep them warm. Some snakes give birth to live babies.
Garter snakes can have more than 40 baby snakes at once. Snakes do not usually take care of their young.
Garter Snake a common and harmless type of snake in North America. They are fairly small (about two feet long) and usually have dark colors, with stripes running along their bodies. They live in moist areas and feed on toads, frogs, earthworms, and similar animals.
Look at the Related Articles menu on this page. What would you click on to find out how constrictors kill their prey?
Constrictors often hunt animals that have sharp teeth, claws, or hooves. Why do you think they need to kill their prey before swallowing it?
Think about this article and Dear Mr. Winston. Which of the snakes you have read about would not make a good pet for Cara? Explain your answer.
Research a snake. If possible, use an electronic encyclopedia. Write a paragraph or two about the snake, and draw a picture of it.
The correct word choice, including strong, precise words, helps a writer create a message that is clear and interesting.
Dear Mr. Fine:
My family enjoys visiting your zoo. The only problem we ever have is in the Reptile House. It is supposed to be open every day, but sometimes the doors are locked. How can we learn about snakes if we can't see them? Please make sure that the Reptile House is open all the time.
Yours truly,
Adrianna O.
It's your turn to speak out about something you think is important.
Use a business letter to tell a person or a company about a problem. Be sure to use precise words and correct punctuation. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Writer's Checklist
Ideas and Content: Did I state my problem clearly? Can I add convincing facts and opinions?
Organization: Did I follow correct letter form? Does the order of the information make sense?
Voice: Did I use formal language in my letter?
We live in a watery world. It has five oceans: the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic, and the Antarctic. Water makes up more than 70% of the surface of our planet. No wonder astronauts see Earth as a beautiful blue world!
Oceans do more for us than just make the world look pretty from space. They give us fish, seaweed, and shellfish. Tons of food are taken from the oceans each year. Some of our salt, fertilizers, and minerals come from the sea. A great deal of the world's oil is drilled offshore. That means it comes from beneath the ocean floor. We get some of our natural gas this way too.
Oceans provide us with transportation. Freight and fuel travel by boat. Oceans are also used for recreation. They allow us to explore, swim, snorkel, study wildlife, and ride waves.
The oceans help make our weather. They play a huge role in spreading the sun's warmth all over our planet. Oceans fuel storm systems, too. And storms bring fresh water to land.
Even though our oceans do so much for us, we have not been taking care of them. They are getting more and more polluted. Some kinds of fish are dying out. Coral reefs are being damaged by water that is too warm.
Pollution may be the biggest problem. Some pollution results from things people dump into the oceans. For example, cruise ships dump waste into the ocean every day. Other pollution comes from industries dumping their waste into rivers. The rivers carry it to the sea.
Often, we harm the oceans without knowing it. For example, nitrogen gets into the oceans from fertilizers. Nitrogen is carried to the oceans as runoff. As water "runs off " the ground, it flows into our streams and rivers. The rivers and streams carry it out to sea. Other pollutants go into the air. Later, they reach the water. For example, most of the mercury found in the ocean comes from power plants that use coal.
When pollutants reach the oceans, problems occur. For example, nitrogen reduces the amount of oxygen in the ocean.
Less oxygen can kill some sea animals or cause diseases. Sometimes pollution upsets the balance of nature. Too much nitrogen can make algae, tiny plants, grow so much that they hurt other plants and animals.
Luckily, there are things we can do to protect the oceans. A good start is by learning about the oceans. Another thing that we can all do is get rid of waste properly. You should always use water wisely. And finally, we can ask our government to get involved. The oceans do a lot for us, but they won't last if we don't take care of them.
Don't be wasteful when washing your car or watering your lawn.
Reduce household pollutants.
Properly dispose of chemicals and cleaning products.
Reduce waste.
Dispose of trash properly, and don't leave fishing lines, nets, or plastic items in or near the water.
Reduce automobile pollution.
Use fuel efficient vehicles, carpool, recycle motor oil, and repair oil and air conditioning leaks.
Protect ocean wildlife.
Be considerate of sea-life habitats. Don't feed sea birds, mammals and turtles, or disturb their nesting grounds.
Get involved.
Take part in a beach cleanup or other ocean-oriented activities.
Write an essay to your principal about an issue at school you care about, such as a safer playground or a better cafeteria. State your opinion and support it with reasons. Write three paragraphs.
Synonyms are words that have the same, or nearly the same, meanings. You can use a thesaurus to find synonyms.
"Today we will hear from Pam," said Mr. Sanders.
Pam stood in front of the class. "I'm going to talk about roadrunners," she said, smiling.
Someone snickered, but Pam didn't let a little noise interfere with her presentation. She knew that her topic was interesting.
Pam was prepared, so she didn't feel awkward, or uncomfortable. Holding up her photo album, Pam began her report. "This is a roadrunner." She looked around the room. No one seemed interested. Pam knew she had to do something to get everyone's attention.
Holding up the next photo, Pam proclaimed with confidence,
"This amazing bird is so fast and agile it can catch a rattlesnake!"
"Whoa, that's cool!" called Peter from the back row. "What else can it do?"
Now every eye was on Pam. "Roadrunners can run up to 15 miles per hour!" she continued.
"Do they fly?" someone asked.
"They can fly when they sense danger. But not very far." Pam held up the next photo. It showed the roadrunner's black-and-white spotted feathers and the crest on its head. "Where did you get the photos?" asked Mr. Sanders.
"I took these while I was visiting my grandmother in Arizona," explained Pam.
"I see," said Mr. Sanders. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?"
"I learned that a roadrunner is a very clever guardian of its young. Let's say an enemy comes near a roadrunner's nest. The roadrunner pretends to have a broken leg, and leads the enemy away. I watched a roadrunner as it tottered along. It was so brave!"
Someone asked another question, but Mr. Sanders said to save it for next time. When the class groaned, "Awww," Pam knew her report was a winner.
When evaluating an author's purpose, look for exaggeration, humor, or dialogue. These can help you decide if the purpose is to inform or entertain.
An Author's Purpose Map can help you understand the author's purpose. Reread the selection to confirm your conclusion about why the author wrote.
"Ssss," hissed Snake as he slithered out of his hole by the side of the road. He bared his fangs and frightened a family walking home from the cornfield.
The mother threw her basketful of corn in the air.
The children froze with fright.
"Father!" the children called, and the father came running.
"Ssss," Snake threatened.
"Come away," the father said, and the family took another path home.
"I am king of the road," Snake boasted. "No one may use the road without my permission."
That evening the people of the village gathered together and spoke to the elders.
"We are afraid of being bitten by Snake," they protested. "He acts as if the road belongs only to him." The elders agreed that something should be done, and so the following morning they went to Sacred Mountain, where Desert Woman lived. She had created the desert animals, so surely she could help.
"Please do something about Snake," the elders said. "He makes visiting our neighbors and going to our fields impossible. He frightens the children."
Desert Woman thought for a long time. She did not like to interfere in the lives of the people and animals, but she knew that something must be done.
"I have a solution," she finally said.
Dressed in a flowing gown, she traveled on a summer cloud across the desert to where Snake slept under the shade of a rocky ledge.
"You will let people know when you are about to strike," Desert Woman said sternly. And so she placed a rattle on the tip of Snake's tail.
"Now you are Rattlesnake. When anyone approaches, you will rattle a warning. This way they will know you are nearby."
Convinced she had done the right thing, Desert Woman walked on the Rainbow back to her home in Sacred Mountain.
However, instead of inhibiting Rattlesnake, the rattle only made him more threatening. He coiled around, shaking his tail and baring his fangs.
"Look at me," Rattlesnake said to the animals. "I rattle and hiss, and my bite is deadly. I am king of the road, and no one may use it without my permission!"
How is the author building suspense in this story?
Now the animals went to Desert Woman to complain.
"Who, who," Owl said, greeting Desert Woman with respect. "Since you gave Rattlesnake his rattle, he is even more of a bully. He will not let anyone use the road. Please take away his fangs and rattle!"
"What I give I cannot take away," Desert Woman said. "When Rattlesnake comes hissing and threatening, one of you must make him behave."
She looked at all the animals assembled. The animals looked at one another. They looked up, they looked down, but not one looked at Desert Woman.
"I am too timid to stand up to Rattlesnake,"
Quail whispered.
"He would gobble me up," Lizard cried and darted away.
"We are all afraid of him," Owl admitted.
Desert Woman smiled. "Perhaps we need a new animal to make Rattlesnake behave," she suggested.
"Yip, yip," Coyote barked. "Yes, yes."
"If you help me, together we can make a guardian of the road," Desert Woman said. "I will form the body, and each of you will bring a gift for our new friend."
She gathered clay from the Sacred Mountain and wet it with water from a desert spring. Working quickly but with great care, she molded the body.
"He needs slender legs to run fast," said Deer. He took two slender branches from a mesquite bush and handed them to Desert Woman.
She pushed the sticks into the clay.
"And a long tail to balance himself," said Blue Jay.
"Caw, Caw! Like mine," croaked Raven, and he took long, black feathers from his tail.
"He must be strong," cried the mighty Eagle, and he plucked dark feathers from his wings.
"And have a long beak to peck at Rattlesnake," said Heron, offering a long, thin reed from the marsh.
"He needs sharp eyes," said Coyote, offering two shiny stones from the riverbed.
As Desert Woman added each new gift to the clay body, a strange new bird took shape.
"What is your gift?" Owl asked Desert Woman.
"I will give him the gift of dance. He will be agile and fast," she answered. "I will call him Roadrunner."
Then she breathed life into the clay.
Roadrunner opened his eyes. He blinked and looked around.
"What a strange bird," the animals said.
Roadrunner took his first steps. He tottered forward, then backward, then forward, and fell flat on his face.
The animals sighed and shook their heads. This bird was not agile, and he was not fast. He could never stand up to Rattlesnake. He was too awkward. Disappointed, the animals made their way home.
Desert Woman helped Roadrunner stand, and she told him what he must do. "You will dance around Rattlesnake and peck at his tail. He must learn he is not the king of the road."
"Me? Can I really do it?" Roadrunner asked, balancing himself with his long tail.
"You need only to practice," Desert Woman said.
Roadrunner again tried his legs. He took a few steps forward and bumped into a tall cactus.
"Practice," he said. He tried again and leaped over a sleeping horned toad.
He tried jumping over a desert tortoise, but landed right on her back. The surprised turtle lumbered away, and Roadrunner crashed to the ground.
"I'll never get it right," he moaned.
"Yes, you will," Desert Woman said, again helping him to his feet. "You need only to practice."
So Roadrunner practiced. He ran back and forth, learning to use his skinny legs, learning to balance with his tail feathers.
"Practice," he said again. "Practice."
With time, he was swirling and twirling like a twister. The once awkward bird was now a graceful dancer.
"I've got it!" he cried, zipping down the road, his legs carrying him swiftly across the sand. "Thank you, Desert Woman."
"Use your gift to help others," Desert Woman said, and she returned to her abode on Sacred Mountain.
"I will," Roadrunner called.
He went racing down the road until his sharp eyes spied Rattlesnake hiding under a tall yucca plant.
"Sssss, I am king of the road," Rattlesnake hissed and shook his tail furiously. "No one may use my road without my permission."
"The road is for everyone to use," Roadrunner said sternly.
"Who are you?"
"I am Roadrunner."
"Get off my road before I bite you!"
Rattlesnake glared.
"I'm not afraid of you," Roadrunner replied.
The people and the animals heard the ruckus and drew close to watch. Had they heard correctly? Roadrunner was challenging Rattlesnake!
"I'll show you I am king of the road!" Rattlesnake shouted, hissing so loud the desert mice trembled with fear. He shook his rattle until it sounded like a thunderstorm.
He struck at Roadrunner, but Roadrunner hopped out of the way.
"Stand still!" Rattlesnake cried and lunged again.
But Roadrunner danced gracefully out of reach.
Rattlesnake coiled for one more attempt. He struck like lightning, but fell flat on his face. Roadrunner had jumped to safety.
Now it was Roadrunner's turn. He ruffled his feathers and danced in circles around Rattlesnake. Again and again he pecked at the bully's tail. Like a whirlwind, he spun around Rattlesnake until the serpent grew dizzy. His eyes grew crossed and his tongue hung limply out of his mouth.
"You win! You win!" Rattlesnake cried.
"You are not king of the road, and you must not frighten those who use it," Roadrunner said sternly.
"I promise, I promise," the beaten Rattlesnake said and quietly slunk down his hole.
The people cheered and praised the bird.
"Now we can visit our neighbors in peace and go to our cornfields without fear!" the elders proclaimed. "And the children will no longer be frightened."
"Thank you, Roadrunner!" the children called, waving as they followed their parents to the fields.
Then the animals gathered around Roadrunner.
"Yes, thank you for teaching Rattlesnake a lesson," Owl said. "Now you are king of the road."
"No, now there is no king of the road," replied Roadrunner. "Everyone is free to come and go as they please. And the likes of Rattlesnake had better watch out, because I'll make sure the roads stay safe."
What details from Roadrunner's Dance do you find entertaining? Do you think the author's Mexican/Native American heritage affected his purpose for writing? Explain.
David Diaz likes to experiment when he illustrates a book. He always tries different art techniques for a story before deciding on one. David has even tried using a computer to do some of his illustrations. He believes that using different techniques makes his art more interesting.
Trickster Tales are folk tales, mostly about animals, in which one character tries to trick another. Often, the trickster ends up looking foolish.
Symbolism is the use of an object to represent an idea, such as sorrow, pride, or strength.
Many years ago, Flycatcher visited a lake whose water was a spectacular shade of blue.
At that time, Flycatcher's feathers were dull, gray, and ugly, and so the bird loved to look at the beautiful blue water. Coyote hid nearby to watch Flycatcher.
On the fifth morning that Flycatcher went bathing, something amazing happened. When she flew out of the water, her feathers had become a dazzling blue. Flycatcher was now the same color as the lake.
This whole time, Coyote had been watching the bird. Coyote didn't admire the bird or want to learn more about her. No, Coyote was trying to think of a way to trick the ^ bird and eat her. But Coyote was afraid of the water and could never get close enough to Flycatcher.
On the day that Flycatcher turned blue, Coyote was so impressed that he forgot all about catching it. He called up to Flycatcher, who was perched safely in a tree, "How did your ugly gray feathers turn that wonderful blue? Tell me how you did it, so that I can be blue, too."
Flycatcher was so happy that she was feeling generous. She remained safely on her branch, but she told Coyote, "This is what you must do. Jump in the lake four times every morning for four mornings. Then jump in the lake on the fifth morning, and you will turn blue. You might try singing my song, too." Flycatcher taught Coyote her song and then flew merrily on her way.
Well, Coyote really wanted to be blue. So even though he hated the water, he jumped into the lake four times the next morning.
He sang the bird's song, and he shivered as he sang. He did this for four days. On the fifth morning, Coyote emerged from his lake bath with lovely blue fur. Coyote whistled to himself. "I'm blue and beautiful."
Coyote couldn't wait to show off his new color. He thought his fine blue fur would make him the envy of all the desert creatures. He strolled along, looking left and right for someone to admire him. Coyote walked for hours, but he didn't find any admirers. He grew impatient. Then Coyote remembered a canyon where many animals and people lived. They would notice him, but he would have to hurry to reach the canyon before sundown.
As Coyote ran, he noticed the late afternoon shadows around him. He wondered if his shadow was as blue as he was. He twisted his blue head around to take a look. Coyote got a good look at his shadow, which was not blue. But he failed to see the big boulder directly ahead of him. Coyote ran smack into the boulder and fell to the ground.
He rolled over and over in the dirt, his blue legs flying. When he finally stopped and stood up, Coyote was the color of the dusty desert earth. Coyote shook himself, but the dusty color stayed on him. To this day, all coyotes are the color of the dusty desert.
And to this day, because her intentions were pure, the flycatcher is the color of the beautiful blue lake.
Coyote decided not to go to the canyon after all. No one would be impressed by his color now. He headed for home, stopping only to give the boulder a good, swift kick.
Choose characters from your favorite folk tale and write a page of dialogue for them. Include quotation marks, commas, and correct sentence punctuation in the dialogue. Also use transition words. Then read your dialogue aloud. Does it sound like something those characters would say? 
Ideas and Content: Did my dialogue show what my characters think and feel?
Organization: Are my sentences in correct order?
Voice: Do the characters' words match their personalities?
Q Word Choice: Do transition words help show cause and effect?
Sentence Fluency: Did my dialogue sound like a real conversation when I read it out loud?
Conventions: Did I use quotation marks and punctuation in the right places? Did I check my spelling?
Choose characters from your favorite folk tale and write a page of dialogue for them. Include quotation marks, commas, and correct sentence punctuation in the dialogue. Also use transition words. Then read your dialogue aloud. Does it sound like something those characters would say? Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Thurgood Marshall's family had come a long way from the time when their ancestors were slaves. But when he wanted to attend the University of Maryland Law School, the school rejected him because he was black. Marshall had to go to a different law school.
Later, in one of his first court cases, Marshall helped a young African American student sue the University of Maryland. The school had denied him admission, too.
Marshall worked hard to win numerous cases. One of his best-known trials was Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In this case, the Supreme Court decided to end segregation in schools. The Court made it illegal for black students and white students to be sent to separate locations.
In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges was the first black child to go to an all-white school in the South. Ruby was young and unsuspecting. She didn't realize how brave she was to do this. The white parents decided to take their children out of school. For a whole year, Ruby and her teacher were the only people there. Eventually, some white children returned. The following year, more black children came. Ruby Bridges made a difference.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a leader in the 1950s and 1960s.
He avoided violence and asked others to fight in peaceful ways to end injustice.
King organized a march on Washington, D. C. There, he and thousands of others demanded equal rights for all people. He gave a famous speech that day. He said, "I have a dream." King's dream was that all people would be treated fairly and equally.
Reread for Comprehension
Does the author use facts or humor to get her point across? Facts suggest an author wants to inform the reader. Humor suggests an author is writing to entertain.
An Author's Purpose Map can help you evaluate what you read. Reread the selection to find the author's purpose.
And not long after my brother Martin -- who we called M. L. because he and Daddy had the same name -- our baby brother was born. His name was Alfred Daniel, but we called him A. D., after our grandfather.
They called me Christine, and like three peas in one pod, we grew together. Our days and rooms were filled with adventure stories and Tinkertoys, with dolls and Monopoly and Chinese checkers.
And although Daddy, who was an important minister, and Mother Dear, who was known far and wide as a musician, often had work that took them away from home, our grandmother was always there to take care of us. I remember days sitting at her feet, as she and Aunt Ida filled us with grand memories of their childhood and read to us about all the wonderful places in the world.
And of course, my brothers and I had each other.
We three stuck together like the pages in a brand-new book. And being normal young children, we were almost always up to something.
Our best prank involved a fur piece that belonged to our grandmother. It looked almost alive, with its tiny feet and little head and gleaming glass eyes.
So, every once in a while, in the waning light of evening, we'd tie that fur piece to a stick, and, hiding behind the hedge in front of our house, we would dangle it in front of unsuspecting passersby. Boy! You could hear the screams of fright all across the neighborhood!
Then there was the time Mother Dear decided that her children should all learn to play piano.
I didn't mind too much, but M. L. and A. D. preferred being outside to being stuck inside with our piano teacher, Mr. Mann, who would rap your knuckles with a ruler just for playing the wrong notes. Well, one morning, M. L. and A. D. decided to loosen the legs on the piano bench so we wouldn't have to practice. We didn't tell Mr. Mann, and when he sat... CRASH! down he went.
But mostly we were good, obedient children, and M. L. did learn to play a few songs on the piano. He even went off to sing with our mother a time or two. Given his love for singing and music, I'm sure he could have become as good a musician as our mother had his life not called him down a different path.
But that's just what his life did.
Why does the author choose to tell so much about Martin's childhood?
My brothers and I grew up a long time ago. Back in a time when certain places in our country had unfair laws that said it was right to keep black people separate because our skin was darker and our ancestors had been captured in far-off Africa and brought to America as slaves.
Atlanta, Georgia, the city in which we were growing up, had those laws. Because of those laws, my family rarely went to the picture shows or visited Grant Park with its famous Cyclorama. In fact, to this very day I don't recall ever seeing my father on a streetcar. Because of those laws, and the indignity that went with them, Daddy preferred keeping M. L., A. D., and me close to home, where we'd be protected.
We lived in a neighborhood in Atlanta that's now called Sweet Auburn. It was named for Auburn Avenue, the street that ran in front of our house. On our side of the street stood two-story frame houses similar to the one we lived in. Across it crouched a line of one-story row houses and a store owned by a white family.
When we were young all the children along Auburn Avenue played together, even the two boys whose parents owned the store.
And since our house was a favorite gathering place, those boys played with us in our backyard and ran with M. L. and A. D. to the firehouse on the corner where they watched the engines and the firemen.
The thought of not playing with those kids because they were different, because they were white and we were black, never entered our minds.
Well, one day, M. L. and A. D. went to get their playmates from across the street just as they had done a hundred times before. But they came home alone. The boys had told my brothers that they couldn't play together anymore because A. D. and M. L. were Negroes.
And that was it. Shortly afterward the family sold the store and moved away. We never saw or heard from them again.
Looking back, I realize that it was only a matter of time before the generations of cruelty and injustice that Daddy and Mother Dear and Mama and Aunt Ida had been shielding us from finally broke through. But back then it was a crushing blow that seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Why do white people treat colored people so mean?"
M. L. asked Mother Dear afterward. And with me and M. L. and A. D. standing in front of her trying our best to understand, Mother Dear gave the reason behind it all.
Her words explained the streetcars our family avoided and the WHITES ONLY sign that kept us off the elevator at City Hall. Her words told why there were parks and museums that black people could not visit and why some restaurants refused to serve us and why hotels wouldn't give us rooms and why theaters would only allow us to watch their picture shows from the balcony.
But her words also gave us hope.
She answered simply: "Because they just don't understand that everyone is the same, but someday, it will be better."
And my brother M. L. looked up into our mother's face and said the words I remember to this day.
He said, "Mother Dear, one day I'm going to turn this world upside down."
In the coming years there would be other reminders of the cruel system called segregation that sought to keep black people down. But it was Daddy who showed M. L. and A. D. and me how to speak out against hatred and bigotry and stand up for what's right.
Daddy was the minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church. And after losing our playmates, when M. L., A. D., and I heard our father speak from his pulpit, his words held new meaning.
And Daddy practiced what he preached. He always stood up for himself when confronted with hatred and bigotry, and each day he shared his encounters at the dinner table.
When a shoe salesman told Daddy and M. L. that he'd only serve them in the back of the store because they were black, Daddy took M. L. somewhere else to buy new shoes.
Another time, a police officer pulled Daddy over and called him "boy." Daddy pointed to M. L. sitting next to him in the car and said, "This is a boy. I am a man, and until you call me one, I will not listen to you."
These stories were as nourishing as the food that was set before us.
Years would pass, and many new lessons would be learned. There would be numerous speeches and marches and prizes. But my brother never forgot the example of our father, or the promise he had made to our mother on the day his friends turned him away.
And when he was much older, my brother M. L. dreamed a dream... that turned the world upside down.
Why does the author echo Martin's words, "I'm going to turn this world upside down"?
Christine King Farris wrote this story to show boys and girls that her famous brother was once a kid just like them. She saw firsthand how young Martin laughed, played, and sometimes got into trouble. Christine wants readers to see that ordinary people can grow up to do great things.
Chris Soentpiet does a lot of research when he illustrates historical stories like this one. He goes to the library to study what clothes people wore and how they lived. Sometimes he even visits the actual places where story events took place. That is why it often takes Chris up to a year to illustrate a book.
Did Christine King Farris write My Brother Martin to explain, inform, or persuade? How do you think the author's relationship with her brother influenced her purpose for writing? Give details.
Summarize My Brother Martin. State who is telling the story. Explain who Martin is and include the most important events of his childhood.
Why do you think the author wrote about the childhood experiences of her brother? Use your Author's Purpose Map to answer. 
Reread the last two pages of My Brother Martin. What does the author mean when she says her brother's dream "turned the world upside down"? 
Suppose you had met Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was a child. What character traits would you both have in common? Use story details in your answer. 
Why is it important to correct injustice? Use story details and your own experience to support your answer.
Read "It Took Courage" on pages 306-307. Compare the experiences of Thurgood Marshall and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. How did segregation affect both men? What did they both accomplish? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Letters are written messages that people send to each other.
A Salutation is the line in the letter in which the writer greets the person to whom she or he is writing.
The Body of a letter is the main part of the letter, containing the message.
In 1955, civil rights activist Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. Her action helped bring about a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. For over a year, thousands of African Americans refused to ride buses in that city. The boycott ended when the U. S. Supreme Court said that separate seating for whites and blacks on the city's buses was unconstitutional.
The following letters are from a collection of letters between children and Rosa Parks.
During my childhood years, I had been bothered by the fact that white children had privileges that I did not.
I was deeply hurt by the hate that some white people, even children, felt toward me and my people because of our skin. But my mother and grandmother taught me to continue to respect myself and stay focused on making myself ready for opportunity. They felt that a better day had to come, and they wanted me to be a part of it. But it was up to us to make it better.
As an adult, I would go home thirsty on a hot summer day rather than take a drink from the "colored only" fountain. I would not be a part of an unjust system that was designed to make me feel inferior.
I knew that this type of system was wrong and could not last. I did not know when, but I felt that the people would rise up and demand justice. I did not plan for that point of change to begin with my actions on the bus that evening in 1955. But I was ready to take a stand.
What is hope? I have read that you hope for this world to be a better place to live in, and you haven't given up. I'm still figuring out what is "hope" and then maybe I can help "hope" out to make this a better world and be like you.
Elizabeth, many times we as adults seek to teach students like you without giving you examples of what the true meanings of words are so that you can learn from them.
Hope is wanting something that means a lot to you. It is like wanting something that you do not have. Hope is something we feel with our hearts. When we hope for something with our hearts, it becomes an expectation.
Hope is also something we believe in.
Many people I have known believed in ending racial segregation in this country, and their hope that it could happen influenced their actions and brought about change. A friend of mine, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, says, "We must keep hope alive." I agree. You can help keep hope alive by believing in yourself.
Your hope for yourself and for the future can make this world a better place to live.
Dear Mrs. Parks,
I always like hearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speeches. He was a great man.
I wish he was still living. I believe he can straighten out this mess this country is in. Were you ever afraid of him dying and leaving you here?
He spoke with authority and conviction. His faith, his words, and his commitment to nonviolence inspired us all in the Civil Rights movement.
You are right in saying that our country has many problems. We have a long way to go. But we can work together, young and old, to achieve Dr. King's dream of equality and justice. I hope that you will keep that dream in your heart and make it your own.
Look at the form of the letters to Mrs. Parks. What parts do all the letters have in common? 
What would you do if there were an empty seat on the bus and someone told you that you couldn't sit in it?
Think about this week's main selection, My Brother Martin. What might Martin's sister say in a letter to Rosa Parks? 
Write a letter to a famous person about something they did which you would like to know more about.
Good writers often use both formal and informal language to show their feelings. In a poem, make every word count.
I wrote about my hero using both formal and informal language.
To show how I feel, I included this thought about my subject.
Write a poem about a person who inspires you. It can be a family member, a friend, or someone famous. Explain why this person has made a difference. Choose language that clearly shows your enthusiasm. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Kids around the world use their skills and time to help make our world a better place. A service project can be as big as building a home for a family or as simple as collecting coins for charity. Choose something that will inspire you -- something that you really care about and makes you want to work hard. Here are some helpful tips.
1. Identify a problem that exists in your community.
2. Learn more about the problem; think about ways to solve it.
3. Set a goal for the project.
4. Decide what supplies and help you'll need.
5. Get others involved.
6. Stick with it! Your persistence and hard work will keep the project on track.
7. Have fun! Knowing that you are helping your community should make you feel good.
Each year, the news magazine Time For Kids selects several young people to serve as TFK kid reporters. These enterprising kids are not professional journalists, but like adult reporters, they still have to show they are qualified for the job. Three skills they must have are persistence in tracking down a story, good interviewing skills, and the ability to write clearly about complicated topics.
Here's a behind-the-scenes look at two TFK reporters and two of the stories they covered for the magazine. The reporters don't have much in common, except that they are both determined to do a good job as reporters covering an interesting story. The stories seem quite different at first, too. However, they have some strong similarities.
The event was a follow-up to a conference held at the U. N. in 1990 to promote the rights of children. World leaders and 375 young people met to discuss what had been accomplished since 1990 and how much more needed to be done. Issues with the highest priority were health care, education, and basic rights for the children of the world. U. N. Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed the opening session. Speaking directly to the young people in attendance, he said, "Your voices will be heard, I promise you."
For her story, Terrence interviewed kids from several different countries about what they hoped the conference would accomplish. "We hope to get kids closer to the government and making decisions," said Bala Subrayanya of India.
Terrence also reported on her tour of the United Nations building. Her tour ended with an exhibit showing the devastating effects of war. She saw pictures of child soldiers fighting in war-torn countries. She wrote: "It really reminded me of why the U. N. is working so hard to help improve children's lives and why its mission is so important."
In the large room where the United Nations General Assembly meets, young people from many countries perform at the opening ceremonies of the Special Session. Others sit in the U. N. delegates' seats.
Martin, who lives in New York, is a computer buff, plays the piano, and wants to be an airline pilot when he grows up. When he got the assignment to interview Andrew Hsu, he expected to be talking about science. After all, Andrew had just become the youngest winner of the Washington State Science and Engineering Fair. The 11-year-old scientist won the grand prize for identifying a particular gene that plays an important role in keeping the human body healthy.
Martin soon discovered that being a science whiz is just one of Andrew's accomplishments. He's also an athlete who competes in swimming. But the main thing Andrew wanted to tell Martin about was the World Children Organization (WCO). Andrew founded this organization along with his brother Patrick. The brothers started this venture in order to help improve the lives of children. In that way its mission is similar to that of the U. N. Special Session on Children. The U. N. special session identified three high-priority issues. In contrast, WCO focuses on a single issue for now.
Andrew and Patrick believe that improving education is the best way they can make a positive difference for children. They know that, unlike the United States, there are places where a free education isn't available to all kids.
Andrew Hsu, 11, receives the grand prize award at the 2003 Washington State Science and Engineering Fair.
To help meet that need, Andrew and Patrick had the idea of producing videos about science, math, and languages for children in countries where there aren't enough qualified teachers. "Without education," Andrew said, "the problems of poverty, hunger, child labor, and other abuses of childrens rights will never end."
Terrence and Martin both wrote about kids and organizations involved in helping children. In Terrences story, the organization -- the United Nations -- is a large one that was founded by the nations of the world. The kids involved came from many different countries. The size and political power of the U. N. enables it to work on several high-priority issues at once. In Martins story, the organization is a small one -- the World Children Organization -- founded by two kids. For now, the WCO focuses on education as its single issue.
Clearly, all of these kids -- at the U. N. Special Session, Andrew and Patrick at WCO, and reporters Terrence and Martin -- share a commitment to making the world a better place for everyone, especially children.
Throughout its history, the United States has counted on kids to lend a hand on farms and in factories. In the 1800s, children as young as 7 worked in textile mills for 12 hours a day. By the end of the nineteenth century, almost 2 million kids performed hazardous jobs in mills, mines, and factories.
Many concerned citizens worked to change this. Photographer Lewis Hine, who took these pictures of young cotton mill workers, was one of them. In 1938, a U. S. law was passed that limits work hours for kids. The law also requires safe conditions. The law still exists, but some people break it. An estimated 800,000 children work illegally in the U. S. today. Most of them work on farms and jobs related to farming. Some work with heavy machinery, poisonous chemicals, or under other conditions that could harm them.
These photos of young boys working in U. S. cotton mills were taken by Lewis Hine around 1911.
Gidget Schultz, Jhordan Logan, and Andrew and Patrick Hsu started their own charitable organizations. As reporters, Terrence Cheromcka and Martin Jacobs conducted interviews. Imagine you are starting your own magazine and you're trying to interview a famous person. Persuade that person that he or she should agree to be interviewed for your magazine.
I started my writing by stating facts that describe the topic.
Dear Mr. President,
I'm starting a new magazine for kids. It's called Kids Today. The magazine talks about everything that happens in a kid's life: school, friends, sports, music, and more.
In each issue, we talk to a famous person about what it was like for him or her as a kid. Every kid knows what you do, but we don't know what your childhood was like. I know you're very busy, but this would be a good thing for you to do.
Sincerely, Rebecca H.
In "Tips for Planning a Service Project" you read about things you can do to get a project started. One tip is "Get others involved." Imagine you are starting your own service project. Choose one person whose help would be very important to you in getting your project started. Write a letter to persuade that person to help you. Provide reasons why he or she should get involved. State your opinion and support it with convincing reasons.
Ask yourself, who is my audience?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Choose the correct form for your writing.
Use reasons to support your opinion.
Be sure your ideas are logical and organized.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
"Do I have to go?" Sam asked. "Look, I've got sores on my feet from walking so much."
Sam, his sister Kim, and their family were on their way to the Pawnee Indian Village Museum.
Mom gave Sam some bandage strips and said, "You'll enjoy learning about the people of the Pawnee nation."
Letting out a big sigh, Sam loosened his sandal straps and trudged out to the car.
Who Were the Pawnee?
The origins of the Pawnee tribe are mysterious. In the early 1800s, there were 10,000-30,000 Pawnee living in four separate bands.
"This museum is located where one band of Pawnee settled back in 1820," explained Mom.
"We're standing exactly where the Pawnee lived!" exclaimed Kim in amazement.
"That's right," said Dad. "Here's part of the original floor," he said, pointing. "You can see some burned timbers from the fire that destroyed the village."
What Was Life Like?
Sam had to admit that being in the midst of all that history was exciting. "What was it like to live back then?" he wondered aloud.
A museum guide spoke up. "It happens to be my responsibility to tell you just that. The Pawnee hunted mostly buffalo and used every part of the animals they killed for food or clothing. They let nothing go to waste."
"Clothing?" said Kim. "Buffalo aren't shaped like any clothing I've ever seen."
Everyone chuckled. "They'd sew a patchwork of pieces into warm winter robes and pants," explained the guide.
Sequence When you summarize a story, include the most important events in sequence. Sequence is the order in which events in a story take place.
A Sequence Chart can help you summarize a selection. Reread the selection to find the sequence of events. Then write a summary.
What gift does the mystic horse give to the boy and his tribe?
IN THOSE LONG AGO DAYS, when the Pawnee people had harvested their crops of corn and squash, they would leave their earth-lodge villages and travel out on the Great Plains to hunt buffalo. They had horses to ride and to carry their tipis and belongings when they went great distances in search of the wandering herds.
When they were not traveling, and the tipis were pitched, it was the responsibility of the older boys, the young men, to look after the herds of horses, and to guard the village. They would stay with the horses at pasture throughout the day, often far away from the camp. All the while they would keep a good lookout for enemies.
Traveling with the people were an old woman and her grandson. They were poor, living alone without any relatives at the edge of the village. Their only shelter was made of sticks and a patchwork of pieces of old tipi covers which people had thrown away. Nobody took much notice of them.
When the people moved from one camping place to another, the old woman and her grandson would stay behind to look for scraps of food, and to pick up discarded clothes. They had no horse. They walked, and what their dogs could not carry, they packed on their own backs. Their life was hard, but they were happy.
One day, as they followed far behind the village, they came upon a sad and sickly worn-out horse standing in the trail. He was terribly thin, with sores on his back.
"Grandmother," the boy said, "nobody wants this poor old horse. If we are kind and look after him, he will get well again. He will help us carry our packs! Then I will be able to join the buffalo hunt, and we will have meat, and fresh skins as well!"
And so they led the old horse, limping along behind them. People laughed: "You've got yourself a great warhorse, boy! How will we keep up with you now?"
But the boy loved his horse, and looked after him well.
What is the first thing the boy does when he finds the horse?
After some days had passed, the boys who were out on the hills looking after the horses spotted enemies approaching on horseback. They quickly drove the herds back to the safety of the camp. The men grabbed their weapons, mounted their fastest horses, and rode out to meet the enemy.
The boy, riding the poor old horse, followed shyly at a distance. But the men pointed at the horse and laughed: "Look! Here's the one who'll leave us all behind! Boy, that's an old good-for-nothing half-starved horse. You'll be killed. Go back home!"
The boy was ashamed, and rode off to one side where he could not hear their unkind remarks. The horse turned his head and spoke to the boy: "Listen to me! Take me down to the river and cover me with mud." The boy was alarmed to hear him speak, but without hesitation he rode to the river and daubed mud all over his horse.
Then the horse spoke again: "Don't take your bow and arrows. Cut a long willow stick instead. Then ride me, as hard as you can, right into the enemy's midst and strike their leader with the stick, and ride back again. Do it four times, and the enemy will be afraid; but do not do it more than four times!"
While the horse was speaking, he was tossing his head, stamping and prancing this way and that, until the boy could hardly hold him back. He loosened the reins, and the horse galloped toward the enemy. He was no longer an old sickly worn-out horse! He flew like a hawk, right to where the enemy riders were formed up in line of battle. The boy struck their leader with his willow stick, turned, and rode back to his people with arrows flying past him like angry wasps.
He turned again without stopping, and the horse carried him back to strike another enemy rider. By then his people were cheering loudly. Four times the boy charged back and forth, and each time he hit one of the enemy, just as his horse had told him.
Sequence
Retell the horse's instructions, using sequence words.
The men watched the boy with amazement. Now they, too, felt brave enough to follow his example, and they drove the enemy in full retreat from the village.
It was like chasing buffalo.
The boy was eager to join the chase. He said to himself: "I have struck four times, and I have not been hurt. I will do it once more." And so, again, he rode after the retreating enemy riders. He whipped another with his stick, but at that very instant his horse was pierced by an arrow, and fell. The horse tried to stand, but he could not.
When the enemy had fled, the men returned and gathered round the boy. His horse was dead. They wanted to touch the horse, for they knew he had been no ordinary one, but a horse with mystic powers.
The leader spoke: "Today this boy has shown that he is braver than all of us. From now on we will call him Piraski Resaru, Boy Chief."
But the boy cried. He was sad for his horse, and angry with himself that he had not done what the mysterious horse had told him. He untied the lariat, pulled out the arrow, and carefully wiped away the blood.
He climbed to the top of a nearby hill to mourn.
He sat on a rock and pulled his blanket over his head. While he sat there crying, fearsome dark clouds closed across the sky, and it grew dark as if night was falling. Lightning flashed! Thunder shook the hilltop, and it rained with a terrific downpour.
Looking through the downpour, he imagined he saw the dead horse move his legs a little, and that he even tried to lift his head. He wondered if something strange and wonderful was happening. And then he knew it was true: the horse slowly stretched out his front legs, and then stood up!
The boy was a little afraid, but he ran down from the hilltop and clasped his arms round the horse's neck, crying with joy that he was alive again.
The storm passed; the rain stopped. All was still and fresh, and the sun shone brilliantly on his beautiful living horse. "Now take me up into the hills, far away from people," the horse told him. "Leave me there for four days, and then come for me."
When the four days had passed, Boy Chief left the village and climbed into the pine tree hills.
A horse neighed, and the mysterious horse appeared, followed by a herd of spirited horses. They surrounded Boy Chief, snorting and stamping excitedly, horses of every color -- beautiful bays, chestnuts, shiny blacks, whites, grays, and paints.
Mounted on his mysterious horse, Boy Chief drove the horses round and round the village. He stopped in front of his grandmother's shelter.
"Grandmother," he said, "now you will always have horses! You need never walk again! Choose the ones you want, and give the rest to those who need them most." And so it was done.
After that, the boy and his grandmother rode whenever they moved camp. They lived in a tipi and were not poor any longer. And, just as his grandmother had looked after him when he was young, so he, too, always took good care of her for all her
Meet Paul Goble
Paul Goble first became interested in Native Americans when he was a boy growing up in England. He thought their beliefs, art, and tales were wonderful. When Paul grew up, he moved to the western United States to live and learn among the Native Americans. Paul began to write and illustrate books that retold traditional tales. Before writing each book, he carefully researches Native American customs and clothing. He also likes his books to show how people and nature are connected.
Legends often have some basis in fact. Why did Paul Goble write Mystic Horse? Was it mainly to explain, inform, entertain, or persuade?
The Black Hills Powwow is an annual, or yearly, event. It is held in the Black Hills, the sacred land of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people. Hundreds of dancers and drummers come. Many are from the northern plains.
Many things happen at a powwow. People dance and play music. They play hand games from the past. They buy and sell handmade crafts. On Youth Day, rap music, face painting, and other activities are all part of the fun.
Use links to move from one online article to another. If a word or phrase is blue and underlined, that usually means you can click it for more information.
When you click, another page will appear. By clicking on a link, you can learn more about your subject or a related subject.
Dancing is the central activity. Often, the dances are contests, and prize money is awarded to the winners. Powwows also feature drumming. Sometimes, people tell stories. Handcrafted clothing, animal carvings, and dreamcatchers are displayed and sold. Some powwows are held in large, open fields. Others take place in schools and gyms.
Dancing is a big part of today's powwows. Some dances are social, such as the round dance. Other dances are competitions. Judges rate the dancers on both their dancing and their outfit. Each dance competition features several different kinds of dances, such as men's traditional dance, women's traditional dance, men's grass dance, women's fancy shawl dance, and others. Little kids also get a chance to take part, and to join the dance tradition, in the "Tiny Tots" dance.
Good, well-chosen dialogue makes characters sound natural and believable. Forced word choice can make characters sound unbelievable.
I took a scene from a folk tale about Coyote and began with this sentence of dialogue.
Here in the scene I present Coyote's idea. Then I end with a statement from the Old Man. The dialogue expresses their feelings.
Do you have a technique for catching snowflakes? Some people run in circles trying to catch them. Others stand perfectly still with their tongue sticking out. It might look like foolishness, but it's fun!
A snowflake's shape is formed long before it lands on Earth. First, an ice crystal forms around a tiny piece of dirt in a cloud. Now it's a snow crystal. The crystal's shape depends on the temperature of the cloud.
Finally, as the crystals fall from the clouds, they stick together to form snowflakes. Each snowflake is made up of 2 to 200 separate snow crystals.
Snow crystals form into one of seven shapes. You probably know the stellar crystal best. These star-shaped crystals are not the most common, but they're the kind that inspire the work of most artists.
How can you study snowflakes before they evaporate and disappear? First, go outside when it's not windy and about 25 F. Second, bring a piece of dark cloth with you. This will make it easier to see the crystals. Finally, you will need to use a microscope to magnify the crystal to get a good look at it.
Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley learned how to make the crystals show up in photographs. He cut away the dark parts of the negatives.
If conditions are just right, beautiful snowflakes can turn into a dangerous storm called a blizzard. In blizzards, strong winds can blow the snow around. This causes "whiteout" conditions, making it very difficult to see where you're going.
Always pay attention to the weather. That way you can safely catch and study all the snowflakes you want.
What did the world give to Snowflake Bentley, and what did he give to the world?
Wilson Bentley was born February 9, 1865, on a farm in Jericho, Vermont, between Lake Champlain and Mount Mansfield, in the heart of the "snowbelt," where the annual snowfall is about 120 inches.
In the days when farmers worked with ox and sled and cut the dark with lantern light, there lived a boy who loved snow more than anything else in the world.
Willie Bentley's happiest days were snowstorm days. He watched snowflakes fall on his mittens, on the dried grass of Vermont farm fields, on the dark metal handle of the barn door. He said snow was as beautiful as butterflies, or apple blossoms.
Willie's mother was his teacher until he was fourteen years old. He attended school for only a few years. "She had a set of encyclopedias," Willie said. "I read them all."
He could net butterflies and show them to his older brother, Charlie. He could pick apple blossoms and take them to his mother. But he could not share snowflakes because he could not save them.
From his boyhood on he studied all forms of moisture. He kept a record of the weather and did many experiments with raindrops.
When his mother gave him an old microscope, he used it to look at flowers, raindrops, and blades of grass. Best of all, he used it to look at snow.
While other children built forts and pelted snowballs at roosting crows, Willie was catching single snowflakes. Day after stormy day he studied the icy crystals.
He learned that most crystals had six branches (though a few had three). For each snowflake the six branches were alike.
"I found that snowflakes were masterpieces of design," he said. "No one design was ever repeated.
Starting at age fifteen he drew a hundred snow crystals each winter for three winters.
Their intricate patterns were even more beautiful than he had imagined. He expected to find whole flakes that were the same, that were copies of each other. But he never did.
Willie decided he must find a way to save snowflakes so others could see their wonderful designs. For three winters he tried drawing snow crystals. They always melted before he could finish.
The camera made images on large glass negatives. Its microscope could magnify a tiny crystal from sixty-four to 3,600 times its actual size.
When he was sixteen, Willie read of a camera with its own microscope. "If I had that camera I could photograph snowflakes," he told his mother.
Willie's mother knew he would not be happy until he could share what he had seen.
"Fussing with snow is just foolishness," his father said. Still, he loved his son.
When Willie was seventeen his parents spent their savings and bought the camera.
It was taller than a newborn calf, and cost as much as his father's herd of ten cows. Willie was sure it was the best of all cameras.
Even so his first pictures were failures -- no better than shadows. Yet he would not quit. Mistake by mistake, snowflake by snowflake, Willie worked through every storm.
Winter ended, the snow melted, and he had no good pictures.
Willie's experiment:
He used a very small lens opening, which let only a little light reach the negative, but he kept the lens open for several seconds -- up to a minute and a half.
He learned, too, that he could make the snow crystals show up more clearly by using a sharp knife to cut away all the dark parts of the negative around the crystals. This etching meant extra hours of work for each photograph, but Willie didn't mind.
He waited for another season of snow. One day, in the second winter, he tried a new experiment. And it worked!
Willie had figured out how to photograph snowflakes! "Now everyone can see the great beauty in a tiny crystal," he said.
The best snowstorm of his life occurred on Valentine's Day in 1928. He made over a hundred photographs during the two-day storm. He called the storm a gift from King Winter.
But in those days no one cared. Neighbors laughed at the idea of photographing snow.
"Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt," they said. "We don't need pictures."
Willie said the photographs would be his gift to the world.
While other farmers sat by the fire or rode to town with horse and sleigh, Willie studied snowstorms.
He stood at the shed door and held out a black tray to catch the flakes.
When he found only jumbled, broken crystals, he brushed the tray clean with a turkey feather and held it out again.
He learned that each snowflake begins as a speck, much too tiny to be seen. Little bits -- molecules -- of water attach to the speck to form its branches.
As the crystal grows, the branches come together and trap small quantities of air.
He waited hours for just the right crystal and didn't notice the cold.
If the shed were warm the snow would melt. If he breathed on the black tray the snow would melt. If he twitched a muscle as he held the snow crystal on the long wooden pick the snowflake would break. He had to work fast or the snowflake would evaporate before he could slide it into place and take its picture. Some winters he was able to make only a few dozen good pictures.
Some winters he made hundreds.
Summarize how Willie would capture and photograph snow crystals. Include only important information.
Willie's nieces and nephews lived on one side of the farmhouse that Willie shared with his brother Charlie. Willie often played the piano as they sang and shared stories and games with them.
Willie so loved the beauty of nature he took pictures in all seasons.
In the summer his nieces and nephews rubbed coat hangers with sticky pitch from spruce trees. Then Willie could use them to pick up spider webs jeweled with water drops and take their pictures.
On fall nights he would gently tie a grasshopper to a flower so he could find it in the morning and photograph the dew-covered insect.
But his snow crystal pictures were always his favorites. He gave copies away or sold them for a few cents. He made special pictures as gifts for birthdays.
He held evening slide shows on the lawns of his friends. Children and adults sat on the grass and watched while Willie projected his slides onto a sheet hung over a clothesline.
Even today, those who want to learn about snow crystals begin with Wilson Bentley's book, Snow Crystals.
By 1926 he had spent $15,000 on his work and received $4,000 from the sale of photographs and slides.
He wrote about snow and published his pictures in magazines. He gave speeches about snow to faraway scholars and neighborhood skywatchers. "You are doing great work," said a professor from Wisconsin.
The little farmer came to be known as the world's expert on snow, "the Snowflake Man." But he never grew rich. He spent every penny on his pictures.
Willie said there were treasures in snow. "I can't afford to miss a single snowstorm," he told a friend. "I never know when I will find some wonderful prize."
Other scientists raised money so Willie could gather his best photographs in a book. When he was sixty-six years old Willie's book -- his gift to the world -- was published. Still, he was not ready to quit.
Less than a month after turning the first page on his book, Willie walked six miles home in a blizzard to make more pictures. He became ill with pneumonia after that walk and died two weeks later.
A monument was built for Willie in the center of town. The girls and boys who had been his neighbors grew up and told their sons and daughters the story of the man who loved snow. 
Begin your writing with a topic sentence to let your reader know what you plan to discuss. Then use a variety of sentences to make your writing more interesting.
Invent a fascinating, original character. Then write one or two paragraphs that describe that character. Include your character's name. Describe his or her appearance. Include details to help your readers see your character's special traits. Begin sentences in different ways to improve fluency. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
If you ride a road bike, you're going to get flat tires. Sometimes the smallest piece of glass or a tiny stone can stop your ride.
If you do get a flat tire, your ride doesn't have to be over. Just be sure you're carrying a new tube, a pump, and three tire levers. Then follow these steps:
Take the bicycle wheel off the frame of the bike. If the tire is not completely flat, release the rest of the air from it.
Pick up a tire lever. Place the thin end of the lever between the tire and the rim of the wheel.
Do the same thing with the other two tire levers. Find a spot on the wheel about two spokes over from where you placed the first tire lever.
Take the first lever out. Continue working your way around the rim. Stop when the tire is free from the rim. Remove the old tube.
Check the tire for the cause of the flat. Carefully remove any objects. Use your bike pump to put just a little air in your new tube. Put the tube into your old tire. Be sure it doesn't have any twists or kinks.
Find the hole in the rim of your wheel for the tire valve. Put the tire valve in the tube through the hole as you pull the tire and tube over the wheel. Use your fingers to ease the tire onto the wheel.
Use the bike pump to blow the tire up. The tire should feel firm to the touch. Then put the wheel back on the bicycle frame.
We got back from the grocery store and found the house a mess. I had neglected to close the bathroom door again, and our Saint Bernard, Bernie, had left chewed toilet paper all over the house. Bernie was happily jumping up and running in circles. He had no idea that what he had done while we were away was not appreciated.
Bernie had already chewed Mom's favorite handbag and my new pair of shoes. Mom was also concerned that Bernie jumped up on people when I took him out for walks. She didn't want to take risks with the little kids on the block, and I couldn't blame her.
Mom said that if Bernie didn't start behaving, we couldn't keep him, and I knew Mom wasn't bluffing. I could tell she wasn't kidding. Her message was clear, so there was no way it could be misunderstood, And now Bernie was in trouble again.
I was desperate. If I didn't think of something really fast, I was going to lose my dog!
Then I had a really wonderful idea. It meant I would have to give up watching some of my favorite TV shows to spend more time with Bernie. In the end, though, if I could keep him, it was worth a try.
Just then, Mom finished putting the groceries away.
She came into the living room and saw the mess.
"I've had it with this puppy," Mom said in a tired voice. "I'm just about out of patience, Lin."
"I know, Mom," I said, "you've endured Bernie's chewing and messes for three months now. But I've never had a pet before. If I'm not training him the right way, then it's not Bernie's fault. Can we try taking him to obedience school?" I asked.
And that's just what we did.
Reread for Comprehension
Generate Questions
Draw Conclusions Authors don't always tell everything that happens. Readers have to use what they already know and what the author does tell to draw conclusions. As you draw conclusions, ask yourself questions, such as, "Are there clues that support my conclusion?"
A Conclusions Chart can help you analyze what you read. Reread the selection to draw conclusions about the ending of the story.
Mark Teague says that this story is one of his favorites. He had lots of fun pretending he was Ike and writing from a dog's point of view. Mark based Ike on two dogs he and his brother had. One dog loved to eat, the other dog liked to play tricks. Now Mark has cats. He put them in this story, too. Mark gets ideas for many of his books from things he did as a boy. Then he adds a twist or two to make his stories really funny.
Border collies are intelligent medium-sized dogs that have a lot of energy and are easily trained. They like to stay busy, and they like to please their owners.
Even though nine-year-old Rico knows 200 words, he doesn't know as many words as even the average two-year-old person does. Human nine-year-olds know thousands and thousands of words, and they learn about ten new words a day. Still, Rico's ability to find objects by name is so impressive that scientists wanted to study him.
This graph shows how many words a child understands at different ages.
Humans have the ability to learn words far faster than even the smartest dog.
Scientists learned a lot about Rico as they watched him fetch familiar toys by name. Then Rico demonstrated something amazing. He showed scientists that he could pick out toys he had never seen before by name! Scientists put some familiar toys in a room. They added a new toy. Rico's owner asked him to fetch the new toy. Most of the time in these tests, Rico picked out the right toy.
Scientists think that Rico connects new words to new things. Since Rico already knows the names of old toys, he knows he should pick out a new toy when he hears a new word.
Rico can also remember the name of a new toy after just one exposure, or experience, with that toy. This shows scientists that even though animals are unable to talk, they can understand words. Rico's vocabulary seems to be as large as that of animals that have been trained in language. Those animals include apes, sea lions, dolphins, and parrots.
Most dog owners will tell you that their pets are very smart. But just how smart is Rico? Is he an outstanding dog in a breed known to be very intelligent? Or is Rico a "dog genius"?
Scientists are now studying Rico to learn more. They want to know if Rico can understand phrases such as "put the toy in the box." Rico's owner thinks that he can.
The answers to questions about Rico's intelligence are still to come. The outcome of the study will be interesting to both scientists and dog owners all over the world.
An explanation should start with a topic sentence and explain the parts of the solution in sequence order. Rearrange ideas when necessary.
I started with a topic sentence.
I explained how I solved my problem.
I arranged my sentences in sequence order.
Our dog, Daisy, always used to slip out of her collar and run away. When she started to do this, we would chase her down and scold her.
My family discussed how to solve the problem. We listed different ideas we had. We crossed out the ideas that wouldn't work, like my brother's idea that we should stop taking Daisy for walks.
Then we chose the best one.
We got a stretchy collar, so it would stay on Daisy better.
The problem was solved!
Write one or two paragraphs to explain how you solved a problem. Begin by stating the problem. Then list the steps you took to solve it. Be sure to rearrange ideas if necessary. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Elizabeth, cautiously tapping along, made her way down the sidewalk to her best friend Katrina's front door. Elizabeth used to attend a special school for the blind. Today she was joining Katrina at Washington Carver Elementary.
"Here comes my brother," Elizabeth remarked.
Katrina looked around but saw no one. Then, suddenly, Joshua came around the next corner on his skateboard. "How did you know Joshua was coming?" Katrina asked.
"From the rattle of the loose wheel on his board," replied Elizabeth. "I'd know it anywhere." Katrina listened again until she heard that one faint sound disguised amongst all the much louder noises on the street. "You're amazing, Elizabeth," she exclaimed Joshua crisscrossed the sidewalk, coasting from one side to the other and back again, until he came to a stop in front of Elizabeth and Katrina. "Hey Sis," he said. "Good luck today!"
"Thanks, Josh," said Elizabeth. "Any words of wisdom for me?" "Yeah," her brother replied, smirking.
Katrina wondered if Elizabeth remembered being four or five, before her vision began to fade.
Katrina wondered how often her friend felt a twinge of jealousy toward the people around her who could see. She decided to ask.
"I used to think I couldn't do everything," explained Elizabeth. "But now I know that I can do most things. I just need a little more learning time."
Katrina gave her friend's hand a squeeze. "You really are amazing, Elizabeth," she said.
In Africa, not so many years ago, a man named Chirobo lived all by himself in a village of round huts. Each day he went to work in his garden, carefully tending rows of sunflowers, pumpkins, and corn. As he worked he sang sweet songs, and birds of many colors flew out of the trees just to hear him sing.
Chirobo was known to be wise and very kind. People often came to him with questions, for it was said that his answers were never wrong. When children came to visit, he always stopped what he was doing so he could laugh with them and listen to their stories.
Everyone in the village liked this gentle man with the warm smile. Hardly anyone ever seemed to notice that he was blind.
Early one evening, as Chirobo sat stirring a pot of stew, a stranger paused nearby to admire his garden. "Your crops are as beautiful as they are bountiful!" he exclaimed.
Chirobo beamed with pride and asked the young man if he had traveled far. The stranger explained that he was on a hunting trip. He was called Muteye and had come from a village a half day's walk from the west.
"When I return to my home, I will have a sack full of fat birds on my back," he boasted. "Then I will be welcomed as a great hunter!"
"Before my eyes began to fade I, too, was a hunter," said Chirobo. "Come sit with me and eat some of this fine stew. We will have much to talk about."
Muteye gladly accepted Chirobo's offer and joined him beside the cooking fire. He stayed for many hours sharing tales, laughing, and singing.
When the moon had climbed high above the distant trees, the young man got to his feet.
"Thank you, my friend, for your kindness," he said. "Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
Chirobo was silent for a few moments. "It would make me very happy if I could go hunting with you," he replied.
The young man laughed and said, "I will not hunt with a man who cannot see."
"I will be no trouble," Chirobo assured him. "I know how to see in other ways."
"Very well, then," said the young man. "Tomorrow, when the sun rises, we will go hunting. You may use one of my traps. Whatever you catch will be yours to keep."
At the first light of dawn, the two men went out into the bush. The young man led the way, holding the end of a long, straight walking stick. Behind him the blind man followed, clutching the other end. They walked along a narrow path that wound through groves of crooked trees.
All of a sudden, Chirobo pulled back on the walking stick. He stood stone still, his hands cupped behind his ears. "We must be careful," he whispered. "There is a leopard nearby."
The young man gazed all around but could not see the leopard. Then he glanced upward, where a strange pattern caught his eye.
Above the path, draped along an acacia limb, a large cat lay sleeping.
When they had safely passed the sleeping beast, Muteye asked, "How does a man who lives in darkness know when a leopard is near?"
Chirobo answered simply, "I know how to see with my ears.
The two men walked on without speaking, into a dense forest where the cool air echoed with the sound of a rushing stream. Again Chirobo tugged at the walking stick, stopping in his tracks. He tilted his head and breathed deeply.
"We must be careful," he warned. "There are warthogs around."
The young man looked in all directions but could not see them.
He hurried to the crest of a nearby hill and peered down through the brush. To his surprise, a herd of warthogs trotted into view, their sharp tusks flashing in the midday sun.
After the two hunters had safely passed the wild pigs, Muteye asked, "How does a man who lives in darkness know when there are warthogs about?"
The blind man smiled and said, "I know how to see with my nose."
They continued on into a wide valley that was thick with thorn bushes and the sweet scent of flowers. Once again, Chirobo gave the walking stick a tug and paused, his feet spread wide beneath him. He fell to his knees and placed his hands upon the ground.
"We must be careful," he murmured. "There are rhinos coming this way. "
Muteye glanced about the thicket but could not see the rhinos.
Cautiously, he pushed aside the dense bushes and scanned the surrounding landscape. All of a sudden, a pair of rhinos appeared, stomping through the tall grass.
When the hunters had safely passed the two creatures, the young man turned and faced his friend. He asked, "How does a man who lives in darkness know when there are rhinos approaching?"
Quietly, Chirobo gave his answer, "I know how to see with my skin."
Together the men made their way deeper into the valley until they reached a shallow pond. Countless tracks of birds crisscrossed the soft, muddy bank.
"Birds come here for water," observed Muteye. "It is a good place to set our traps."
Following his friend's instructions, Chirobo placed his trap near the edge of the pond while the other man set his trap a short distance away. After he had disguised both traps, the young man said, "We will camp nearby and return tomorrow. Then we will see what we have caught."
That night they talked about many things. Muteye grew to admire the blind man's wisdom and asked him questions about which he had wondered for a long time.
Early the next morning, they returned to their hunting place. Chirobo knew right away that they had been successful. Excited, he cried, "There are birds in our traps.
I can hear them!"
The young man checked his own trap first and discovered that he had caught a small, thin quail. Although he was disappointed, he carefully removed it and put it into a goatskin sack. Then he went to check the other trap.
As he kneeled down to look inside, his heart filled with jealousy. The blind man's trap contained a large duck, fat enough to feed a hungry jackal.
For a few moments Muteye hesitated as he considered the two birds and wondered, "How would a man who lives in darkness ever know which bird belonged to him?"
His mind made up, he quickly switched the thin bird for the plump one.
"Your bird is the larger of the two," he said as he handed the quail over to his companion. "It will make a fine meal."
Chirobo stroked the bird's scraggly wings and thoughtfully passed his fingers along its bony back and breast. Without speaking, he put it into his own sack.
Then the men gathered their traps and began the journey back to the village.
In silence they walked and walked, until they stopped to rest beneath an old baobab tree. Muteye was eager to continue the conversation of the night before, so he took the opportunity to ask his friend a question that had worried him since he was a small boy.
"Why do people fight each other?" he inquired.
Chirobo thought about his answer for a long time. When at last he began to speak, his voice was full of sadness.
He said slowly, "People fight because they take from each other what does not belong to them -- as you have just done to me."
The young man was stunned by Chirobo's response. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. Deeply ashamed, he reached for his sack and took out the large duck. He gently placed it into the blind man's hands.
In a faint voice, Muteye asked, "How does a man who has been unkind earn the forgiveness of his friend?"
Chirobo's blind eyes seemed to look deep into the young hunter's soul. He said, "By learning to see with his heart -- as you have just done with me."
Draw Conclusions
What was the most important lesson the hunters learned?
Kristina Rodanas decided to write this story after she read a similar story in a collection of African folk tales. Kristina thought the tale had a special message worth sharing with readers all over the world.
At one time, people with disabilities were limited in what they could do at home. Many simple activities were difficult or impossible. With today's technology, they can do more. From faucet grippers to automated doors, handy devices now make working and relaxing at home a lot easier.
A glossary is an alphabetized list of definitions for difficult words or technical terms found within a text. A glossary usually appears at the back of a book and gives the same kind of information as a dictionary.
Do you enjoy skiing, biking, or playing sports? So do people with disabilities. Today they can find cleverly designed pieces of equipment for almost any activity.
Winter sports lovers can fly down ski slopes on sit skis.
The skis lift up so skiers can get onto the chairlift. For water skiers, there are specially designed boards. And two-wheel hand bikes make bike riding exciting and fun. There are even short golf clubs for use with wheelchairs!
Computers play an important part in our lives today. Thanks to new technology, people with disabilities can use the computer for fun, learning, and communicating with others.
For people who find it hard to type, keyboards have been designed with special keys or spacing. There are even on-screen keyboards. These work using touch, a pointer, or a mouse.
People with limited or no sight can link a Braille display to their computer. Information from the computer is sent to the display.
The display forms raised Braille characters that are read by touch. After each line is read, the display refreshes. The old line drops down and a new line of characters lifts up.
Computer programs for people with disabilities are being designed all the time. Some programs read aloud what is on a computer screen. Other programs write text as a person speaks into a microphone.
Many people with limited mobility use wheelchairs to get around. There are many kinds of wheelchairs, and many wheelchair accessories, or "add-ons." Accessories include special wheels and support arms for things like cameras and fishing poles. There are even wheelchairs designed for basketball, tennis, or the beach!
Writers use time-order words such as first, next, and then when they write directions. These words help readers know exactly what to do and when to do it.
My directions begin with a time-order word.
I used other time-order words to tell the sequence of the steps.
Yesterday Dad decided to show me how to make soup. He said some of the best chefs were men. He also said making soup kept him alive in college. This is how we easily made soup.
First, you fill a big pot 3/4 full with water and place it over a burner. Next, you see what vegetables you have. Dad sliced carrots and celery. I added a jar of tomato sauce and barley. Later, you have to skim off the junk that floats on top. The soup starts getting thicker as the water boils away. Then, you add some olive oil and spices, and you have soup!
Think about something you know how to do or how to make. Try to pick something that other people might want to learn how to do. Then write one or two paragraphs explaining how to do it. State your topic clearly in your opening sentence. List any materials that are needed. Then explain each step in order, using sequence words. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Ideas and Content: Does my writing show knowledge of my subject? Did I leave out any important steps?
Organization: Are my steps listed in sequence order?
Voice: Will my readers sense my interest in this topic and want to try out my directions?
Word Choice: Did I use time-order words such as first, next, and then?
Sentence Fluency: Are my sentences easy to read and understand?
Conventions: Did I use subject and object pronouns correctly? Did I check my spelling?
Though it costs a bit more to generate electricity from wind than from fossil fuels, my parents decided to help the environment. They knew that burning fossil fuels always releases pollutants into the air.
"Choosing wind or solar power is the key to making sure that Earth's future is bright," says Nancy Hazard. Part of an organization that promotes the use of non-polluting energy sources, Ms. Hazard also says, "Creating that vision and really going for it -- that's how we'll get energized!"
Around the globe, more people than ever are willing to pay extra for clean sources of energy. If you live in a place where power might be generated with a clean technology, get things rolling by talking to your parents and teachers. Remember: "Clean Energy for a Bright, Pollution-Free Future!"
Over millions of years, heat and pressure from deep within Earth have reacted with the remains of plants and animals that have decayed to form fuel. Once these natural resources are used up, they are gone forever.
Renewable energy sources can be reused, and they create much less pollution than fossil fuels.
Hydropower uses the force of flowing water to create electricity.
Solar energy comes from the sun.
Wind turbines are machines that look like giant windmills. They use the force of the wind to create electricity.
Geothermal energy comes from heat in Earth's core that is used to create electricity.
Biomass includes natural products such as wood and corn. These materials are burned and used for heat.
Worldwide, people use more than 80 million barrels of oil per day. A barrel contains 42 gallons. These countries are the biggest oil guzzlers. China's oil consumption is growing faster than that of any other country.
Oil began forming hundreds of millions of years ago as plant and animal remains were covered with layers of rock. Over the ages, those remains decayed. They turned into a mighty black brew that we use to make fuels. Fuels, such as gasoline, are energy sources that are usually burned to produce power.
Some nations sit atop huge underground lakes of oil. Other places, such as Japan and some European countries, have little or no oil of their own. The United States produces oil, but it also buys about 59% of what it needs.
Oil is a very important fuel because it helps power cars, trucks, trains, planes, factories, and electrical plants. Oil is also an ingredient in some products such as tires, crayons, and other things.
Oil is also a messy fossil fuel. When fossil fuels burn, they release carbon dioxide and other polluting gases. The gases are bad for our health and our planet. They can trap heat near Earth's surface, contributing to the worldwide rise in temperatures known as global warming. Ships carrying oil also have spilled millions of gallons, polluting oceans and shorelines and killing sea life.
The United States uses more oil than any other country on the globe. Most is pumped into our 200 million cars in the form of gasoline. On average, an American burns through 25 barrels of oil each year. Compare this with 15 barrels for a citizen of Japan or 12 for a person living in France.
If oil causes so many problems, why do we depend on it? For starters, nearly all of our cars and factories are designed to use oil and gas. Changing them to use other fuels would be very costly.
Still, it's possible to use less. In 1973, a few oil-producing nations got angry at the U. S. The price of oil tripled in just a few months. Gasoline was in short supply and there were long lines at gas stations. That forced auto companies to build cars that use less gas. In 1975, the average car could go just 12 miles on one gallon of gas. By 1990, some cars could travel 30 miles on just one gallon.
In recent years, oil prices dropped and Americans went back to buying big gas-guzzlers. About one of every four cars now sold is a sport utility vehicle (SUV), which get as little as 10 or 11 miles per gallon. But that's starting to change, too.
Research says roughly 88,000 hybrids were sold in the United States in 2004. That total will climb to 535,000 hybrids per year by 2011. Hybrids use electric motors and battery packs to improve fuel efficiency. A hybrid engine gets better gas mileage than one that runs on gasoline. Hybrid owners save money at the pumps, and through 2006 they are also getting a $2,000 tax break. Best of all, hybrid drivers are cutting their annual emission levels by a whopping 90%!
Many actors and professional athletes are driving hybrids. They are raving about the performance of their cars and feeling good about making the responsible choice.
Come See for Yourself!
If you wanted to persuade someone to buy a hybrid vehicle, what persuasive argument would you make? Which techniques of persuasion would you use?
Based on what you have read in "Clean as a Breeze" and "What Are You Waiting For?" how would you explain the relationship between clean energy choices and emission levels?
"Prairies are beautiful places," says Mackenzie Burkhart. "The long, flowing grass looks just like the ocean."
This sixth-grader from Park Ridge, Illinois, worries that nuclear reactors threaten the prairies in his state.
A dozen reactors produce nearly three-quarters of all the electricity for the state. Mackenzie believes nuclear reactors have the potential to be extremely dangerous.
In an accident at a nuclear power plant, nuclear waste could leak out. That could have devastating effects on the plants and animals of the prairies.
Burkhart's proposed solution: Provide energy from a more environmentally safe source -- windmills!
Big, colorful windmills caught Mackenzie's eye while he was on vacation in Denmark with his family. "Windmills were everywhere, and they provided power for much of the country," he says.
Not only would windmills be environmentally safer, but, as Mackenzie points out, they are also a renewable source of power. Unlike fossil fuels or even nuclear fuels, he says, "wind is endless."
In the selection "The Power of Oil" you read about the importance and challenges of oil. Imagine you own a hybrid car and are taking a road trip with friends. Suddenly you spot something in the road. In one or more paragraphs, write about what you see. Make sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
I made sure my ending included the solution to the problem.
Jake, Krista, Alex, and I were cruising down the road in my hybrid. I slammed on the brakes. A large, unfamiliar object sat in the middle of the road.
We saw that several people were standing in front of the object. They all looked upset, but a kid about 10 seemed most upset of all. "What happened?" I asked.
"We ran out of gas," the kid told me. "I'll never make soccer practice!" He slumped against the huge hulk. Suddenly I realized what it was: a gas guzzler, a kind of car lots of people had years ago.
My friends and I didn't know people still drove gas-powered cars. Luckily, Alex had an idea. "You can hop in with us," he said. "Leave your car here."
"Good idea," I said. "We'll make some calls. We can probably find someone who knows how to get some gas."
In the selection "The Power of Oil" you read about some of the problems of oil. Imagine you are the inventor of a car that uses solar or wind energy. You are out driving in your new car when the unexpected happens. Write a story about what happens. Make sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and a strong ending.
Ask yourself, who will read my story?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your story.
Be sure your story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
"There are two major groups of whales," Matty continued, "baleen whales and toothed whales. Instead of teeth, baleen whales have plates that act like a big sieve and collect food. These birds hang around to eat the tiny fish that slip out of the whales' mouths!" When a whale suddenly surfaced, I couldn't believe how big it was. It was massive!
Soon we saw another whale slap its tail on the water.
"Is it angry?" I asked Matty. "Probably not," said Matty.
"That's called lobtailing. Some scientists think it's a warning to other whales. Others think they're just playing or cleaning their tails."
Matty explained that it's against the law to hunt humpback whales, but whales get killed anyway. The huge nets fishermen use to catch tuna often trap whales, too. Matty said these tangles can be prevented by using other kinds of nets. Some concerned people want the politicians to help by passing more laws to protect whales.
When we reached the dock, we realized that Matty was right. The whale watching trip had been exciting and one-of-a-kind.
La Laguna is the name of a quiet, dusty fishing village on the sandy shore of Laguna San Ignacio, in Baja California, Mexico. A few dozen homesites are scattered along the water's edge. These little houses are simple oneor two-room boxes patched together with plywood and sheet metal. Drinking water is stored outside in fifty-gallon plastic barrels, and electricity is turned on for only a few hours each day.
Adelina Mayoral has lived her whole life in La Laguna. She is a bright ten-year-old girl. She loves the ocean and the feeling of the ever-present wind that blows her long, dark hair into wild tangles. She knows what time of day it is by looking at the way the light reflects off the water. Adelina can tell what month it is by watching the kind of birds that nest in the mangroves behind her home.
She can even recognize when it is low tide. Simply by taking a deep breath through her nose, she can smell the clams and seaweed that bake in the hot sun on the shoreline as the water level goes down.
In late January, every afternoon after school, Adelina walks to the beach to see if her friends -- the gray whales -- have returned. At this same time every year the whales come, traveling from as far away as Alaska and Russia. They slowly and steadily swim south, covering more than five thousand miles along the Pacific Coast during November, December, and January.
One night Adelina is awakened by a loud, low, rumbling noise. It is the sound of a forty-ton gray whale exhaling a room-size blast of hot wet air. As she has always known they would, the gray whales have come again to visit. Adelina smiles and returns to her sleep, comforted by the sounds of whales breathing and snoring outside her window. At daybreak she runs to the lagoon and sees two clouds of mist out over the water, the milky trails of breath left by a mother gray whale and her newborn calf.
The waters of the protected lagoon are warm and shallow. The scientists who have come to visit and study the whales have explained that Laguna San Ignacio is the perfect place for the mother whales to have their babies and then teach them how to swim. But Adelina knows why they really come -- to visit her!
Adelina's family lives far away from big cities with highways and shopping malls. Her little village does not have any movie theaters or traffic lights, but she knows that her hometown is a special place. This is the only place on earth where these giant gray whales -- totally wild animals -- choose to seek out the touch of a human hand. Only here in Laguna San Ignacio do whales ever stop swimming and say hello to their human neighbors. Raising their massive heads up out of the water, they come face-to-face with people. Some mother whales even lift their newborns up on their backs to help them get a better view of those who have come to see them. Or maybe they are just showing off, sharing their new baby the way any proud parent would.
The whales have been coming to this lagoon for hundreds of years, and Adelina is proud that her grandfather, Pachico, was the first person to tell of a "friendly" visit with one. She loves to hear him tell the story of that whale and that day. She listens closely as he talks about being frightened, since he didn't know then that the whale was only being friendly. He thought he was in big trouble.
Adelina looks first at the tight, leathery skin of her grandfather, browned from his many years of fishing in the bright tropical sun. From his face she glances down to the small plastic model of a gray whale that he keeps close by. As he begins to tell the story of his first friendly whale encounter, there is a twinkle in his eye and a large smile on his face. Adelina and her father, Runolfo, smile too, listening again to the story that they have heard so many times before.
In a whisper, her grandfather begins to draw them in. Adelina closes her eyes to imagine the calm and quiet on that first afternoon when his small boat was gently nudged by a huge gray whale. As the boat rocked, her grandfather and his fishing partner's hearts pounded. They held tight and waited, preparing themselves to be thrown into the water by the giant animal. The whale dove below them and surfaced again on the opposite side of their boat, scraping her head along the smooth sides. Instead of being tossed from the boat, they were surprised to find themselves still upright and floating.
For the next hour the whale glided alongside them, bumping and bobbing gently -- as gently as possible for an animal that is as long as a school bus and as wide as a soccer goal. As the sun started to set behind them, the whale gave out a great blast of wet, snotty saltwater that soaked their clothes and stuck to their skin. The whale then rose up inches away from their boat and dove into the sea. Her first visit was over.
As her grandfather finishes the story, he looks to Adelina, who joins him in speaking the last line of the story: "Well, my friend, no fish today!" they say before breaking into laughter.
Retell the grandfather's story using sequence words.
After this first friendly visit with the whales, word quickly spread of the unique encounter between a wild fifty-foot whale and a tiny fishing boat. Scientists and whale watchers started to come to Laguna San Ignacio to see the whales themselves. Perhaps word spread among the whales, too, because now dozens of whales began to approach the small boats. With brains as large as a car's engine, gray whales might even have their own language. They "talk" in low rumbles and loud clicks, making noises that sound like the tappings of a steel drum or the ticking that a playing card makes as it slaps against the spokes of a turning bicycle wheel. Maybe they told each other that it was safe to visit here.
Adelina's favorite time of the day is the late afternoon, when her father and grandfather return from their trips on the water, guiding visitors to see the whales. They sit together as the sun goes down behind them, and she listens to stories of the whales. She asks them lots and lots of questions.
Adelina has learned a lot about the gray whales. She knows that when a whale leaps out of the water and makes a giant splash falling back in, it's called breaching. When a whale pops its head straight up out of the water, as if it is looking around to see what is going on, it is called spyhopping. Adelina also learned how the whale's wide, flat tail is called a fluke, and when it raises its tail up in the air as it goes into a deep dive, that is called fluking.
Although her home is a simple one on a sandy bluff hugging the edge of the Pacific Ocean, Adelina has many new friends who come to share her world. She has met people who come from beyond the end of the winding, bumpy road that rings the lagoon. Some are famous actors. Some are politicians. Some speak Spanish. Some speak English. Those that weigh forty tons speak to her in their own magical style. The whales have taught her that the world is a big place.
Adelina knows that she has many choices in her future. Sometimes she giggles with delight at the idea of being the first girl to captain a panga (a small open fishing boat) and teach people about the whales in the lagoon. Or sometimes she thinks she may become a biologist who studies the ocean and can one day help to unlock some of the mysteries of the whales in her own backyard. Or maybe she will take pictures like the photographer whom she watches juggling his three cameras as he stumbles aboard the whale-watching boat. But no matter what she chooses, the whales will always be a part of her life.
For these three months Adelina knows how lucky she is to live in Laguna San Ignacio, the little corner of Mexico that the gray whales choose for their winter home. This is the place where two worlds join together. She wouldn't trade it for anything.
What events drew whale watchers to Laguna San Ignacio? Be sure to name the events in the order in which they occurred.
In the early spring the lagoon grows quiet. One by one the whales swim off, heading north for a summer of feeding. On their heads and backs they carry the fingerprints of those they met, the memories of their encounters in Mexico. Maybe, as the whales sleep, they dream of the colorful sunsets of Laguna San Ignacio.
Every afternoon Adelina continues to gaze across the water. Sometimes now, when she closes her eyes, she can still see the whales swimming by. And if she listens really closely, she can even hear their breathing.
I think whales are great! I wrote this to express my point of view about whales.
I tried to show why I feel that whales are important.
We learned in class today that some kinds of whales are in danger of becoming extinct.
I think we should try to save them. We need whales.
Why do we need whales? We don't need them for food. They don't do any work for us. But they are fascinating to watch. They seem to play and talk together. The world would be less interesting if there were no whales.
I want the world to be an interesting place, so I hope there will always be whales making their wonderful noises.
Write an article of one or two paragraphs to explain your point of view about the importance of animals. You may write about animals in general or one kind of animal in particular. State your opinion and give strong reasons for it. Save your strongest reason for last. Back up your reasons with examples. End by restating your opinion.
Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Coral comes in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. It can be the size of the head of a pin or a foot in diameter. Although corals are often mistaken for rocks or plants, they are actually very small animals. When thousands of these animals are grouped together to form a mound or a tree shape, it is called a coral colony. Thousands of these colonies make up a reef.
There are more than 700 kinds of coral but only two main types. Each kind of coral is either a soft coral or a hard coral.
The easiest way to identify a hard coral is by its appearance. A colony of hard corals can resemble a vase, a plate, a little tree, a boulder, a brain, or the antlers of an elk.
Hard corals have groups of six, smooth tentacles around their mouths. They get their name from the hard cup-like skeletons of limestone that they produce out of seawater.
Soft corals always have eight feathery tentacles around their mouths. They have names like sea fan, sea whip, or sea fingers and are as soft and bendable as plants or tree branches. Soft corals do not have hard skeletons. They have woody cores that support them instead. Soft corals often live on coral reefs along with hard corals, but soft corals can also live in cool, dark regions where hard corals would die.
Hard corals cannot live as far from the surface as soft corals because hard corals have plants, called algae, living inside of them. Through this partnership, the algae provide most of the coral polyp's food and the polyp gives the algae protection from the predators that eat them. The algae, though, require sunlight in order to live.
Hard corals begin their lives as fertilized eggs. These develop into soft larvae which drift with the current of the waves until they attach themselves to a part of the existing reef. Eventually the coral polyps die and other living larvae attach themselves to their skeletons.
Scientists believe that the existing coral reefs began to grow over 50 million years ago. When seaweed, sponges, giant clams, oysters, starfish, and brittle stars die, they serve as the foundations upon which another generation of hard coral polyps will attach and grow. In this way, the hard corals are the architects of the community -- from the downtown area out to the suburbs.
The sprawling structures of the coral reefs support a quarter of all known sea animals. This includes over 4,000 different kinds of fish, along with mollusks, octopus and squid, sponges, algae, seaweed, shrimp, sea turtles, and sharks.
Compare and Contrast Authors sometimes organize a selection by comparing and contrasting two or more things. Comparing is telling how things or people are alike. Contrasting is telling how they are different.
A Venn Diagram can help you analyze text structure. Reread the selection and diagram how soft and hard corals are alike and different.
Narrative Nonfiction is a true story or account about actual persons, living things, situations, or events.
Down, down, down in the tropical clear blue sea lives a beautiful coral reef. The coral reef is a wonderful home for hundreds of kinds of fish and thousands of other kinds of creatures. The reef itself is made of zillions of tiny animals called coral polyps.
Each tiny coral polyp catches food with its little arms, called tentacles. The polyps share their food and live so close together that their skeletons are connected.
Some kinds of coral polyps make soft skeletons that sway gently back and forth in the water. These polyps have 8 tentacles. Other coral polyps make skeletons that are as hard as rock. Their hard skeletons form the coral reef. A hard coral polyp has 12, or 24, or 48, or more tentacles! Together, over 50 kinds of hard coral form this reef in the Caribbean Sea.
What are these pink things? Coral eggs! Once a year, coral polyps have babies. Eggs and sperm pop out of the polyps and float up and up to the top of the blue sea. There each fertilized egg becomes a baby coral called a planula. Now it is ready to search for a new home.
The planula is completely covered with little hairs. It swims by waving them through the water, but it cannot swim very fast. Watch out for those hungry wrasses!
Just in time, a big wave carries the planula away to the crest, or top, of the coral reef. Here the water is very shallow. Because it is so shallow, the waves break and crash into the reef.
Splash! Crash! The breaking waves make the water very rough. It's so rough that only a few animals can live here.
A fireworm holds on tight. A school of blue tangs darts in and out, hunting for food.
Crash! Splash! Will this be home for the planula? No, it's too rough. The planula is swept along, riding a wave over the crest to the lagoon.
The water in the lagoon is calm. Although the lagoon seems peaceful, it is really a busy place, from top to bottom. At the top, a pelican gulps a pouchful of fish. At the bottom, a stingray slurps up shrimp.
Many animals looking for food in the lagoon are hard to see. An emerald clingfish hides on a blade of turtle grass. Clams and crabs hide in the sand.
How are the crest at the coral reef and the lagoon alike and different?
Such a busy place, day and night in the lagoon.
Flash! Glow! Blink! What could these lights be? They twinkle like stars in the sky, but they are all under water.
These lights are made by animals. Animals almost too small to see are twinkling. Brittle stars flash to scare away lobsters and crabs. Worms glow to show other worms where they are. Flashlight fish attract their food by blinking.
Can the planula live here? No, it is too sandy.
The planula needs a rocky place. It floats along to the red mangrove trees near the shore of the lagoon. Red mangroves can grow in salty water. Their roots grow out and hang down right into the ocean. Sponges and seaweeds grow on the roots.
Millions of baby fish and baby shrimp start life in the water around mangrove roots. There's lots of food for them there. Will this be a home for the planula, too?
No, the water here is too shady for the planula. It turns away and swims to the shallow water near the beach of the lagoon.
The sunshine heats the sandy beach. The sand was made by the ocean waves. Over thousands of years, the waves have pounded the skeletons of reef animals and plants into smaller and smaller bits. Eventually, the bits formed so many grains of sand that they covered the bottom of the lagoon and washed up on shore to make a beach.
Will this be home for the planula? No, it is too shallow and too hot here.
The planula catches a current to deeper water. Oh, no, the water is dirty! The water is so dirty, the coral is dying. The dirt smothers the coral polyps and blocks the sunlight they need.
Chemicals washed down the rivers from factories and farms poison the coral. In the dirty water harmful bacteria grow over the coral and kill it. Careless divers hurt the coral too. They step on it and break it with their boat anchors.
Without living coral, the fish and other animals will leave. The planula cannot live here either.
Luckily, a current carries it out of the lagoon, over the top of the reef, and down the other side of the reef deeper and deeper and deeper to a healthy part of the reef.
At last! A safe spot for the planula to settle down. The spot is hard and rocky. It is sunny but not too hot. Gentle currents bring clean water, and plenty of food. It will be a perfect home.
The planula begins to change. First, it sticks itself to a safe spot. Then, around its mouth it grows twelve little tentacles. Now it is a polyp. It looks like a flower, but it really is an animal.
Under its soft body, the polyp starts to grow a hard white skeleton. In a few weeks it makes another tiny polyp exactly like itself. The polyps are connected to each other. Together, the two polyps have twenty-four tentacles for catching food.
The planula is growing up to be a staghorn coral. More polyps grow, and more and more.
Here comes a reef butterfly fish. It eats coral. The coral polyps warn each other of danger. Quick as a wink, they hug their tentacles in. They hide their soft bodies down inside their hard white skeleton. When the danger is past, the coral polyps slowly come out and open up their tentacles again.
Many creatures in the reef are partners that help each other hide or find food. A crab hides in the coral to escape from a hungry octopus. A shrimp lives safely inside a vase sponge.
At a cleaning station, gobies eat what they clean from the teeth of a big grouper. The grouper holds its mouth wide open for the gobies. Away from the station, the grouper would eat gobies!
Even the tiny polyps have partners. The polyps get special food from little golden plants living just inside their skin.
In return, the plants get a home. This partnership helps the coral grow big enough to form reefs.
Down, down, down in the tropical clear blue sea, this coral reef is alive and well. The place where it lives is clean. Zillions of coral animals have been adding their skeletons to the reef for over 8,000 years.
It takes thousands of years for a reef to grow but only a few years for one to be destroyed! This reef and other coral reefs all around the world are in danger because the oceans are becoming dirty. Coral reefs need our help.
How was the safe spot the planula chose different from the other places? How were they all alike?
What can we do to help a little baby planula grow up to become part of a big coral reef? The first step is to discover how what we do on land affects life in the sea.
All living creatures -- including corals and people -- need clean water. We all use water on our farms, in our suburbs, and in our cities. We throw many things into it that make it dirty. This dirty water flows into rivers, lakes, and underground streams, and eventually ends up in the sea.
There it hurts the coral reef and all the creatures that make it their home.
But we can make a difference. We can make our rivers and lakes and oceans clean again. We can learn about life on the coral reef and share what we learn. We can help people everywhere to care about the amazing reefs and the tiny coral animals that build them.
Katy Muzik is a marine biologist who specializes in octocorals -- commonly known as sea fans. She has dived on coral reefs all over the world, including Fuji, Japan, Australia, and throughout the Caribbean.
Katy wrote At Home in the Coral Reef to share both her love of the sea and her concern for its rapidly declining health. She hopes that once people realize how beautiful, fragile, and important corals are, they will change their behavior to help preserve coral reefs. Katy lives near the ocean in Isabela, Puerto Rico.
Katherine Brown-Wing studied at the Art Institute of Boston. She works as a biological illustrator, and her pictures have been published in numerous scientific journals. Katherine lives in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, with her husband.
How do you think the author's job affected her purpose for writing At Home in the Coral Reef? What clues tell whether she wanted to inform, explain, entertain, or persuade?
Summarize what you learned from At Home in the Coral Reef. Include only the most important information in your summary.
Use your Venn Diagram to show how the sandy beach and the coral reef are alike and how they are different. Use story details and illustrations to support your answers. 
Reread pages 519-520 of At Home in the Coral Reef. Why do you think baby fish and baby shrimp live among the mangrove roots instead of in the coral reef? Use story details in your answer. 
What changes in your life could you make to avoid adding pollution to ocean waters? Explain.
Suppose there was a large increase in butterfly fish. How would this change the coral reef community?
Read "Coral Reefs" on pages 510-511 and page 514 of At Home in the Coral Reef. What did you learn about hard and soft coral from each selection? 
Myths are stories that help people make sense of the world. They may explain natural occurrences, such as the sunrise, with stories of gods or goddesses.
A Protagonist is the main character in a story. In a myth, the protagonist is usually a god or goddess, or a heroic character.
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to create emphasis or a sense of drama.
At the beginning of time, the immortal Greek gods of Mount Olympus divided the world among themselves. Zeus, the king of the gods, ruled over the sky and the thunderbolt. Poseidon, his brother, was the god of the sea, the lake, and the earthquake. Poseidon's power and bad temper earned him the name "Earth Shaker." He could stir up the oceans with his trident, a three-pronged fishing spear. He could also calm the sea, riding over the waves in his golden chariot.
In this paragraph we learn about Poseidon. We see that he will be the protagonist of this story.
Along with the seas, Poseidon ruled over an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean called Atlantis. The people of the island grew wheat, fruit, and vegetables in its fertile soil. Gold and other metals lay beneath the soil. Herds of magnificent elephants and other animals lived in the forests. Poseidon created hot and cold springs, so the people always had fresh water to drink, and warm water in which to bathe.
On the island of Atlantis lived a beautiful woman named Cleito. Poseidon was so taken by Cleito's beauty that he married this mortal woman. He built a palace for Cleito on a graceful hill in the middle of the island. To protect Cleito, Poseidon surrounded the hill with circular belts of water and land. A canal from the ocean to the hill cut across these belts. Cleito and Poseidon became the parents of five sets of twins, all of them boys. The boys grew up to rule over their father's territory, with the oldest, Atlas, ruling as king.
Atlantis was the greatest island kingdom ever known. The power of its rulers extended beyond the island to Europe and Africa. For many generations, Atlantis was a rich and happy land. The walls of the city were lined with brass and tin. Gold covered the temple of Poseidon.
The people of Atlantis were noble and virtuous and lived by a set of laws that Poseidon had created. But, over time, the kings and the people became petty and greedy. They ignored Poseidon's laws and began to war against other nations.
Zeus saw what was happening to this great race of people and was angry. He called the gods to Mount Olympus. Pointing his finger at Poseidon, he blamed him for allowing Atlantis to become spoiled.
Using his powers, Poseidon took his trident and furiously whipped up the seas. A gigantic wave washed over the kingdom of Atlantis and flooded the island. Atlantis instantly sank into the sea.
Saying that Atlantis "instantly" sank into the sea is an exaggeration and an example of hyperbole.
Pretend that you are writing your own version of this myth. Use hyperbole to describe Poseidon, Atlantis, or the island's destruction.
In this myth, the god Poseidon is blamed for sinking Atlantis. Can you think of a natural cause for such an event? 
There are some who believe that the great island kingdom of Atlantis really existed. The Greek philosopher Plato described such a place in his writings. Many people have searched for the sunken island, but no one has ever found it.
If Atlantis did exist, it might now be covered by coral reefs. Think about what you learned from At Home in the Coral Reef. In what kind of waters would Atlantis have to lie to be a home to coral reefs?
Writers improve their writing by changing or adding words. They may add figurative language to evoke mental images for readers.
"Sparkles like diamonds" creates a strong mental picture.
My last sentence describes a trash pile.
Do you want a clean beach that sparkles like diamonds? If so, then here's what you can do. You can organize a community beach cleanup. You can advertise it with posters at school, in the library, and in supermarkets.
On cleanup day, gather at the beach. Then, everyone should put on gloves and pick up litter. Be careful not to touch broken glass. Look for plastic bags and bottles along the edge of the water. Put everything in big trash bags. Finally, have a cleanbeach party. Just be sure to pick up your mountain of trash!
Write one or two paragraphs explaining how to join or start a community project. Identify your topic and tell why it is important. Then explain the steps for getting it done. When you're done, read your work. Can you change or add words to improve your writing? 
Organization: Did I make my directions clear?
Voice: Did I share my feelings in a way that wil get others interested in the topic?
Word Choice: Did my choice of precise words show that I know about my topic?
Sentence Fluency: Did I try changing or adding words to make my sentences sound better?
Conventions: Did I use contractions and possessives correctly? Did I check my spelling?
The answer is not directly stated. Connect the clues to figure it out.
Rachel Carson was an author and a scientist who loved nature -- especially the sea. Rachel began writing at a very young age. She published her first piece of writing in a magazine for children in 1918, when she was just 11 years old. She kept writing throughout her entire life.
Rachel Carson was born on a farm in Springdale, Pennsylvania, in 1907. There she learned to adore nature. She often said that it was her mother who first showed her the wonders of nature. When Carson went to college, she planned to become a writer, but her love of nature took over. She changed her major from English to marine biology. Marine biology is the study of life in the sea.
After college, Carson taught for five years before joining the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries. The bureau later became the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Carson's new job allowed her to share her love of the sea with other people. She wrote a radio show, called "Romance Under the Waters," that explored life in the seas. Carson's writing made the sea come alive for listeners. She wrote three books about the sea: Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, and The Edge of the Sea. These books all became bestsellers and won many awards. Carson soon left her job so she could write all the time.
In the late 1940s and 1950s, people used chemicals called pesticides to kill unwanted insects. One of these pesticides was DDT. Scientists began to learn that pesticides were harmful to other living things. DDT did kill harmful insects, but it also killed birds. Birds took the chemical into their bodies when they ate insects infected with DDT. The chemicals made the birds' eggs very frail. The delicate eggs broke easily, and many baby birds did not hatch. Birds such as peregrine falcons began to die and were likely to become extinct.
Rachel Carson became concerned about this problem. Because she was an excellent scientist, she spent a lot of time gathering the facts. When she was ready, she began to write her book, Silent Spring. She wanted to make people aware that birds were dying and that if things didn't change, people would no longer hear birds' songs in the springtime.
The companies that made the chemicals tried to stop Carson's book by saying that she was mistaken. Other people believed she was right, though. President John F. Kennedy called for testing of the chemicals. Tests showed that Carson had not been misled, and that her ideas were correct. Pesticides were harming the environment and causing birds to die.
Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962. Because she died in 1964, Rachel Carson did not get to see her work change history. The use of DDT in the United States was banned in 1972. Since then, birds that were in danger of disappearing have returned. Now, each spring, you can hear birds singing in the trees. Thanks to Rachel Carson, spring has not become silent.
Write a set of directions on how to do an interview. Explain how to prepare and what kinds of questions you should ask. Write at least six steps that are clear and easy to follow.
"Hurry or we'll miss the bus to the library, Emilio!" called Mrs. Mendoza. The Mendoza family had moved to Boston, from San Juan, Puerto Rico last month, and Emilio was going to get his library card today.
On the bus, Emilio's grandmother noticed something peculiar. Emilio was very quiet and looked rather sad. "Is something wrong, honey?" she asked.
Emilio snuffled and took out a tissue to blow his nose. "My speaking of English is not very good. What if the library lady is not able to understand what I am saying?" he said.
"Your English gets better and better every day. I'm one hundred percent positive that the librarian will understand you," Mrs. Mendoza said confidently. "I am sure that you will be able to take some books home today."
Connotation is the feeling associated with a word. Denotation is the dictionary meaning. What are the connotation and denotation of peculiar?
Inside the library, there were lots of people. Some were reading magazines and newspapers. Others were selecting books that they wanted to borrow from the shelves.
"May I help you with anything?" asked the librarian. She was smiling and seemed friendly.
Emilio stuttered a little as he began to explain. "I... I am here for my card for library books."
"That's just terrific!" said the librarian. She asked him to complete a form that consisted of questions about Emilio and where he and his family lived.
Mrs. Mendoza smiled. She noticed that her grandson had no trouble understanding the form.
He filled it in quickly and returned it to the librarian.
"It will take me a few minutes to process your card, Emilio," said the librarian. "Why don't you select a few books to borrow today? If you're an advanced reader, you might want to look over there." "Thank you," said Emilio. "Abuela," Emilio whispered to Mrs. Mendoza, "My English must be better than I thought!"
Summarize When you summarize, include only the important parts of a story. Although details make a story clearer or more interesting, they do not belong in a summary.
A Summarizing Chart can help you evaluate which events are important and keep track of them.
Reread the selection and list each important event in a separate box. Summarize the story by discussing the information on your chart.
I spent a lot of time that summer at the Herman W. Block Memorial Library. The Herman W. Block Memorial Library sounds like it would be a big fancy place, but it's not. It's just a little old house full of books, and Miss Franny Block is in charge of them all. She is a very small, very old woman with short gray hair, and she was the first friend I made in Naomi.
It all started with Winn-Dixie not liking it when I went into the library, because he couldn't go inside, too. But I showed him how he could stand up on his hind legs and look in the window and see me in there, selecting my books; and he was okay, as long as he could see me. But the thing was, the first time Miss Franny Block saw Winn-Dixie standing up on his hind legs like that, looking in the window, she didn't think he was a dog. She thought he was a bear.
This is what happened: I was picking out my books and kind of humming to myself, and all of a sudden, there was this loud and scary scream. I went running up to the front of the library, and there was Miss Franny Block, sitting on the floor behind her desk.
"Miss Franny?" I said. "Are you all right?"
"A bear," she said.
"A bear?" I asked.
"He has come back," she said.
"He has?" I asked. "Where is he?"
"Out there," she said and raised a finger and pointed at Winn-Dixie standing up on his hind legs, looking in the window for me.
"Miss Franny Block," I said, "that's not a bear. That's a dog. That's my dog. Winn-Dixie."
"Are you positive?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am," I told her. "I'm positive. He's my dog. I would know him anywhere."
Miss Franny sat there trembling and shaking.
"Come on," I said. "Let me help you up. It's okay." I stuck out my hand and Miss Franny took hold of it, and I pulled her up off the floor. She didn't weigh hardly anything at all. Once she was standing on her feet, she started acting all embarrassed, saying how I must think she was a silly old lady, mistaking a dog for a bear, but that she had a bad experience with a bear coming into the Herman W. Block Memorial Library a long time ago and she never had quite gotten over it.
"When did that happen?" I asked her.
"Well," said Miss Franny, "it is a very long story."
"That's okay," I told her. "I am like my mama in that I like to be told stories. But before you start telling it, can Winn-Dixie come in and listen, too? He gets lonely without me."
"Well, I don't know," said Miss Franny. "Dogs are not allowed in the Herman W. Block Memorial Library."
"He'll be good," I told her. "He's a dog who goes to church." And before she could say yes or no, I went outside and got Winn-Dixie, and he came in and lay down with a "huummmppff" and a sigh, right at Miss Franny's feet.
She looked down at him and said, "He most certainly is a large dog."
"Yes ma'am," I told her. "He has a large heart, too."
"Well," Miss Franny said. She bent over and gave Winn- Dixie a pat on the head, and Winn-Dixie wagged his tail back and forth and snuffled his nose on her little old-lady feet. "Let me get a chair and sit down so I can tell this story properly."
Back when Florida was wild, when it consisted of nothing but palmetto trees and mosquitoes so big they could fly away with you," Miss Franny Block started in, "and I was just a little girl no bigger than you, my father, Herman W. Block, told me that I could have anything I wanted for my birthday. Anything at all."
Miss Franny looked around the library. She leaned in close to me. "I don't want to appear prideful," she said, "but my daddy was a very rich man. A very rich man." She nodded and then leaned back and said, "And I was a little girl who loved to read. So I told him, I said, 'Daddy, I would most certainly love to have a library for my birthday, a small little library would be wonderful.' "
"You asked for a whole library?"
"A small one," Miss Franny nodded. "I wanted a little house full of nothing but books and I wanted to share them, too. And I got my wish. My father built me this house, the very one we are sitting in now. And at a very young age, I became a librarian. Yes ma'am."
"What about the bear?" I said.
"Did I mention that Florida was wild in those days?" Miss Franny Block said.
"Uh-huh, you did."
"It was wild. There were wild men and wild women and wild animals."
"Like bears!"
"Yes ma'am. That's right. Now, I have to tell you, I was a little-miss-know-it-all. I was a miss-smarty-pants with my library full of books. Oh, yes ma'am, I thought I knew the answers to everything. Well, one hot Thursday, I was sitting in my library with all the doors and windows open and my nose stuck in a book, when a shadow crossed the desk. And without looking up, yes ma'am, without even looking up, I said, 'Is there a book I can help you find?'
"Well, there was no answer. And I thought it might have been a wild man or a wild woman, scared of all these books and afraid to speak up. But then I became aware of a very peculiar smell, a very strong smell. I raised my eyes slowly. And standing right in front of me was a bear. Yes ma'am. A very large bear."
"How big?" I asked.
"Oh, well," said Miss Franny, "perhaps three times the size of your dog."
"Then what happened?" I asked her.
"Well," said Miss Franny, "I looked at him and he looked at me. He put his big nose up in the air and sniffed and sniffed as if he was trying to decide if a little-miss-knowit-all librarian was what he was in the mood to eat. And I sat there. And then I thought, 'Well, if this bear intends to eat me, I am not going to let it happen without a fight. No ma'am.' So very slowly and very carefully, I raised up the book I was reading."
"What book was that?" I asked.
"Why, it was War and Peace, a very large book. I raised it up slowly and then I aimed it carefully and I threw it right at that bear and screamed, 'Be gone!' And do you know what?"
"No ma'am," I said.
"He went. But this is what I will never forget. He took the book with him."
"Nuh-uh," I said.
"Yes ma'am," said Miss Franny. "He snatched it up and ran."
"Did he come back?" I asked.
"No, I never saw him again. Well, the men in town used to tease me about it. They used to say, 'Miss Franny, we saw that bear of yours out in the woods today. He was reading that book and he said it sure was good and would it be all right if he kept it for just another week.' Yes ma'am. They did tease me about it." She sighed. "I imagine I'm the only one left from those days. I imagine I'm the only one that even recalls that bear. All my friends, everyone I knew when I was young, they are all dead and gone."
She sighed again. She looked sad and old and wrinkled. It was the same way I felt sometimes, being friendless in a new town and not having a mama to comfort me. I sighed, too.
Winn-Dixie raised his head off his paws and looked back and forth between me and Miss Franny. He sat up then and showed Miss Franny his teeth.
"Well now, look at that," she said. "That dog is smiling at me."
"It's a talent of his," I told her.
"It is a fine talent," Miss Franny said. "A very fine talent." And she smiled back at Winn-Dixie.
"We could be friends," I said to Miss Franny. "I mean you and me and Winn-Dixie, we could all be friends."
Miss Franny smiled even bigger. "Why, that would be grand," she said, "just grand."
And right at that minute, right when the three of us had decided to be friends, who should come marching into the Herman W. Block Memorial Library but old pinch-faced Amanda Wilkinson. She walked right up to Miss Franny's desk and said, "I finished Johnny Tremain and I enjoyed it very much. I would like something even more difficult to read now, because I am an advanced reader."
"Yes dear, I know," said Miss Franny. She got up out of her chair.
Amanda pretended like I wasn't there. She stared right past me. "Are dogs allowed in the library?" she asked Miss Franny as they walked away.
"Certain ones," said Miss Franny, "a select few." And then she turned around and winked at me. I smiled back. I had just made my first friend in Naomi, and nobody was going to mess that up for me, not even old pinch-faced Amanda Wilkinson.
Kate DiCamillo wrote this story while she was shivering in Minnesota one winter. Kate had moved there from Florida and was very homesick.
She also felt sad because she was not allowed to have a dog in her apartment. When Kate went to sleep, she dreamed she heard a girl say she had a dog named Winn-Dixie. Kate started writing the story as soon as she woke up.
Because of Winn-Dixie became the first book that Kate published. It won a Newbery Honor, which is one of the most respected awards a children's book can receive. She is also the author of The Tiger Rising and of The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, which received the Newbery Medal in 2004.
When Kate wrote Because of Winn-Dixie, she would get up early every day to write two pages before leaving for her job at a bookstore. She no longer works at the bookstore, but she still writes two pages every morning.
This selection is realistic fiction -- a made-up story that has true-to-life details. What was the author's purpose for writing? Why do you think so?
1. Summarize the peculiar story that Miss Franny Block tells Opal. Focus on the main events of her story.
2. Reread pages 548-552 of Because of Winn-Dixie. What does Miss Franny mean when she says she never had quite gotten over it?
3. What funny story would you share with a new friend?
4. Why are Miss Franny Block and Opal a good match for each other?
Free Verse Poems do not have to follow rhyme schemes but often contain rhythmic patterns and other poetic elements.
Onomatopoeia is the use of a word that imitates the sound that it stands for, such as hiss.
A Simile compares two different things, usually by using the words like or as.
The word popping sounds like the thing it describes. This is an example of onomatopoeia.
Popcorn leaps, popping from the floor of a hot black skillet and into my mouth.
Black words leap, snapping from the white page. Rushing into my eyes. Sliding into my brain which gobbles them the way my tongue and teeth chomp the buttered popcorn.
1. Although it doesn't rhyme, this free verse poem contains elements of poetry, such as onomatopoeia. Besides the word popped, what other examples of onomatopoeia can you find? 
2. The poet uses a simile to compare her brain to something. What is it?
3. Compare the narrator in this poem with the narrator in Because of Winn-Dixie. How are they alike? How are they different?
Writers arrange multiple paragraphs in a logical order when they compare and contrast. You can use Venn diagrams to sort out similarities and differences before you write.
I arranged my paragraphs in a logical order.
First I told how the characters are different. Then I told how they are alike.
I am writing to compare two characters from the books we read this year. One is Ike from Dear Mrs. LaRue, and the other is Cara from Dear Mr. Winston.
Right away, you can tell that Ike's character could never be real -- dogs cannot talk or write letters to their owners. Cara's character could be real. She looks and writes like a real person. Ike uses a typewriter. Cara types her letter on a computer.
The two characters are alike in that they are both clever, they get in trouble, and they were invented to make readers like me laugh.
Choose two characters you know from books. Then write a description that compares and contrasts the characters. Start your writing by introducing your subjects. Tell how they are alike in one paragraph and how they are different in another paragraph. 
Narrator: There once was a beautiful princess whose favorite amusement was a golden ball. One day the princess tossed the ball too high, and it landed in the well. As the princess cried over her lost treasure, she heard someone ask a question.
Frog: Why are you so miserable, beautiful princess?
Narrator: The princess looked around and saw only a frog.
Princess: My favorite golden ball fell into the well.
Frog: I can retrieve it for you, but first, you must agree to one condition. You must promise to take me home and be my friend. Narrator: The princess had no intention of being friends with a frog, but she promised anyway. When the frog brought her the ball, the princess snatched it from him and scampered home.
Frog: What a selfish princess. I'm certain that she has forgotten her promise. I'll just hop over to the castle to remind her. Narrator: The frog hop-hop-hopped through the meadow and knocked on the heavy door of the castle.
Princess: What are you doing here, you bumbling frog?
Frog: My, aren't we cranky? And as for bumbling, I wasn't the one who dropped the ball in the well.
I am here to remind you of the promise you made.
Narrator: The princess slammed the door in the frog's face with a big BANG.
King: I heard a door slam. What's all the commotion? If you made a promise you must honor it. Narrator: The princess was exasperated but obeyed her father. So, the king, the princess, and the frog enjoyed dinner together.
It was mutton stew, the cook's specialty.
Frog: I was famished, but now I'm full. Thank you for dinner. Kindly show me to my bed now.
Narrator: The princess did as she was asked, but the frog looked sad. Frog: You have welcomed me into your home, but I can tell that you don't want to be my friend. Narrator: The princess blushed, for what the frog said was true.
She bent down to kiss the frog, but ended up kissing a prince.
Frog: I am a prince who was turned into a frog, and your kiss turned me back. Thank you, dear friend! Narrator: The prince and princess were wonderful friends from that day on and lived happily ever after.
Judgment characters in a story by evaluating what they say and do. These actions, plus what you know from your own experiences, can help you make judgments about characters.
A Make Judgments Flow Chart can help you understand the characters you read about. Reread the selection for the actions of the characters and add them to the chart. Then use their actions, along with your own experiences, to make judgments about the characters.
A Play is a story told entirely through dialogue and intended to be performed.
In a forest clearing, men are frantically searching the ground. From a nearby stone well, Ranita watches but remains unnoticed.
Man One: (Frustrated) Keep looking! If we don't find that golden arrow -- 
Man Two: -- we'll be on tortillas and water for the next month!
(Men, grumbling, all agree.)
(Enter Felipe.)
Felipe: (Loud and demanding) Well? Have you found my golden arrow yet?
Man Three: Not yet, Senor!
Felipe: (Sweetly, hand over heart) It was a gift from my dear mother. (Turning suddenly and hissing) Find it or I will feed you to the jaguars -- starting with my bumbling servant, Pepe. It's his fault I missed my mark. Now, out of my sight, all of you!
(Men exit hurriedly.)
Felipe: (Stomping foot and whining) I want my golden arrow back!
Ranita: (Sitting on top of well, holding the golden arrow) You mean, this golden arrow?
Felipe: (Joyously) My golden arrow! You found it! You -- (Stops cold) -- you're a frog.
Ranita: You were expecting a Mayan princess, perhaps?
Felipe: (Rolls eyes) Well, I wasn't expecting a talking frog!
Ranita: (Sighs) I'm under a spell. I don't like to talk about it.
Felipe: (Pauses to think) Not my problem. Hand over the arrow.
Ranita: (Plink! Drops it back down the well) Hmm, looks like it's your problem now.
Felipe: N-n-noooo! (Threateningly) What have you done, you foolish frog?
Ranita: If I am so foolish, how come I am the one with the arrow while you are the one standing there talking to a rana, a frog?
Felipe: I would squish you right now -- (Sniffs) -- but you are only a frog.
Ranita: (Warningly) You want that golden arrow?
Felipe: (Suspicious) In exchange for what?
Ranita: A promise.
Felipe: (Relieved) Oh, is that all?
Ranita: A promise is a very serious thing.
Felipe: (Coughing) Yes, yes, of course -- go on.
What judgment can you make about Felipe's character? Does he take promises seriously?
Ranita: IF I rescue your golden arrow, you must promise to let me eat from your plato, sleep in your cama, and give me a beso when the sun comes up.
Felipe: (Just stares) Eat from my plate? Sleep in my bed?
KISS you? That is disgusting!
Ranita: No promise, no golden arrow.
Felipe: (Crossing his fingers behind his back) I promise.
(Ranita fetches the arrow. Felipe bows and runs of.)
Ranita: Espera! Wait! I can't hop that fast! (Hangs her head and begins to cry) He's gone. Now I'll never break this evil spell.
(Enter wise woman, leaning on two canes.)
Vieja Sabia: It doesn't feel very good, does it?
Ranita: (Blows nose) Please, no lectures today, old woman.
Vieja Sabia: My name is Vieja Sabia.
Ranita: Sorry, Wise Old Woman. (Sadly) You've already turned me into a frog. Isn't that enough?
Vieja Sabia: You wouldn't be a frog if you hadn't refused to give me a drink from this well, so long ago.
Ranita: I was a selfish child then. I have paid for that, haven't I? I have learned what it is like to be alone and forgotten.
Vieja Sabia: Perhaps you have...
Ranita: (Brightening) Then, you will turn me into a girl again?
Vieja Sabia: No. But I will take you as far as the Viceroy's hunting lodge.
You must make the leap from there.
(Exit Vieja Sabia and Ranita.)
Scene 2
Hunting lodge with Viceroy, his wife, noblemen and women, all seated at long banquet table. Servants scurry in and out with bowls of food.
Servant One: (Placing bowl of soup before Viceroy) Sopa, Senor?
Viceroy: (Exasperated) St, si. Where is Felipe?
Viceroy's Wife: (Wistfully) Dear boy. He is probably feeding the birds.
Servant Two: (Aside) To the cat.
Servant One: (Muffles laugh)
(Enter Felipe.)
Felipe: I am famished. What a day I've had today. First, I lost my golden arrow -- 
(Shouting from the kitchen can be heard.)
Felipe: (Louder) -- then I met this ridiculous, demanding -- 
(Enter Ranita, running from the kitchen chased by cook and servants.) Felipe: (Slack-jawed) -- frog.
Cook: You hop back here! (To servant) Stop her, right now!
Servant One: (Tries to catch frog) Aaaaayyyy! She's a slippery one!
Servant Two: Oooooeeeeee! She bit me!
Cook: Get her, Pepe. (Pepe catches Ranita under the table, smiles, and lets her go. A commotion follows as the cook and servants chase Ranita.)
Why do you think Pepe let Ranita go?
Viceroy: Basta! Enough! Who is this creature?
Felipe: (Sneering) She's the nasty little frog who rescued my golden arrow.
Ranita: And in return he promised to let me eat from his plato, sleep in his cama, and give me a beso when the sun came up.
Viceroy: Did you make this promise?
Felipe: (Sullen) I don't remember.
Viceroy's Wife: (Indignant) Even if he did -- he is the Viceroy's son!
Viceroy: (Grave) Si. And THE VICEROY'S SON KEEPS HIS PROMISES. Pepe! Set a place for our guest.
Felipe: But, Father -- 
Viceroy's Wife: Ernesto!
Viceroy: (Slamsfist on table.) Silencio! Silence!
(Ranita hops on table. Felipe is too stunned to speak.
Viceroy's Wife is glaring.)
Viceroy: Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- EAT!
(Pepe puts bowl down in front of Felipe.)
Felipe: (Gives a yelp) Pepe!
Pepe: (Innocently) Si?
Felipe: (Disgusted) There is a fly in my soup!
Pepe: It's for the frog.
Viceroy: Excellent. Eat up, Felipe.
Viceroy's Wife: (Revolted) Arggh.
Carmen Agra Deedy came to the United States from Cuba in 1960, after a revolution made it dangerous for her family to live there. Hoping for a more peaceful life, Carmen and her family settled in Georgia. Carmen has not forgotten her Cuban heritage. She combines it with the heritage of the southern United States when writing her stories.
Renato Alarcao was born, raised, and currently lives in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Among his many art projects was the creation of 13 murals around Paterson and Passaic, New Jersey, all done with a team of artists and local teens.
Children have been performing with the Puddlejump Players for more than ten years. The actors are 3 to 17 years of age. The director and many other staff members are adults.
Perry Kroll, one of the oldest child actors in the group, answered some questions about the Puddlejump Players.
Q: Do children have to try out for roles in the Puddlejump Players?
A: The children do audition for the roles that interest them. They often give the director a list of parts they'd like, and then try out for one or two of them.
During the auditions, stand-ins are sometimes required. These are actors who read the lines for the other characters in the scenes that have been selected. It's not uncommon for a stand-in to do so well that they end up with that part!
Q: Who makes the casting decisions?
A: A few older members can have a little influence, but it is really the director's decision. I am always surprised by the way she can predict someone's skill at a role they didn't audition for.
An interview is made up of questions and answers. The letter Q stands for the question, and the letter A stands for the answer. Each Q paragraph may have a question mark at the end, but it also may not.
Q: How many plays are performed a year?
A: One play per year, in the spring.
Q: How long does the company before performing a play?
A: Rehearsals usually start in January. The auditions begin in November or December. The show is in May.
Q: Do children do any behind-thescenes work, such as making sets?
A: Absolutely! There is a core group who helps Sheila [the director]. Sheila usually designs the sets herself -- though during the last show a few members of the cast painted some pieces. Then she stays up nearly around the clock putting them up with help from the older members.
Q: Who makes the costumes and props?
A: In general, cast members find or create their own costumes, make-up, and props. Sheila makes some of the more complicated ones herself.
Q: Do children play music for the performances?
A: The music is usually played live by a few parents with musical experience. In the past a few excellent musicians from the cast have helped as well.
When the curtain rises and the actors step on stage, all the hard work pays off. Once again, the children get to put on a play and an audience experiences a wonderful performance.
Good word choice brings writing to life. Precise adjectives help readers picture the person, place, or thing being described.
Enjoy yourself at the Annual All-School Spring Funfest on April co from 12-6 p. m.
The Spring Funfest is a festival for everyone. Kids can have their faces painted like birds or lions or bears. You can eat spicy tamales, crunchy eggrolls, and hot dogs that are a foot long. Grades 3 and 4 will put on a play called The Frog Princess in the gym, and all the teachers will dress up in elegant, fashioned costumes.
For sports fans, there will be an exciting soccer game outside between parents and 6th graders.
Everyone will have a great time. Mark your calendars!
Make a poster that announces a school event. It may be a real event at your school or an imaginary one. Begin with a catchy title. Explain what the event is and then describe it in a paragraph. Use precise adjectives that will get your readers' attention and make them want to attend. Include details about the date, time, and place of the event. 
The sixteenth century was a period of great exploration by European countries. Facing known and unknown dangers, explorers set sail in the best sea-going vessels of their day. Many of those explorers who set sail for North America were from Spain.
Deep in a forest of the Dominican Republic is an unusual well. It contained more than 240 objects -- chairs, jars, baskets, and bowls -- that are at least 500 years old.
Far from being worthless, these old everyday objects are extremely valuable. They are giving scientists new information about the Taino.
The Taino were people who lived throughout the Caribbean, including the countries now called Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. When European explorers started arriving in the Caribbean in 1492, the lives of the Taino were changed forever. Explorers took their land. Many of the Taino were killed. By the 1520s very little was left of the Taino civilization except some artifacts and a few words. Hurricane, barbecue, and canoe are Taino words we still use today.
Scientists and historians are documenting -- making a record of -- and studying the items from the well. After 500 years of silence, it seems that the story of the Taino will finally be told.
This carved figure represents a Taino idol or god.
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States. That means it belongs to the U. S. but is not one of the 50 states. Puerto Rico is located in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Miami, Florida. It consists of the island of Puerto Rico and the smaller islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona.
A Nonfiction Article gives information about real people, places, or things.
A fact is something that can be proved to be true. 
Fifteenth-and sixteenth-century European explorers arrived in North America after dangerous ocean voyages. Today we are in another period of ocean-based exploration. Now the focus is on exploring the worlds found under the water. Explorers of the past and the present have a lot in common. However, modern explorers have vessels equipped with technologies that sea captains of the past could never have imagined.
Many things set Sylvia Earle apart from the great explorers of the past and the present. In 1979 she set the record for the deepest ocean dive -- 1,250 feet -- ever made by a human alone and untethered -- not connected in any way to a vessel or other object. That feat earned her the title "Her Deepness."
In 1985 she set another record for diving solo. This time she dove to 3,000 feet in a submersible -- a "compact" version of a submarine -- she helped design.
Over the course of Earle's career of more than fifty years, she spent more than 6,000 hours under water. She held the positions of Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and Chief Scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- the first woman ever to hold that post. She co-founded and served as chief executive of a company that designs diving equipment. Add to this list the titles of mother and grandmother.
According to Earle, "This is the Lewis and Clark era for oceans." She was referring to the historic 1805 expedition to explore the huge and largely unknown area of the U. S. known as the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark mapped and documented the new territory.
"The ocean is the cornerstone of all life," Earle pointed out. "It produces most of the oxygen in the atmosphere. It shapes climate and weather. If the sea is sick, we will feel it. If it dies, we die." She based her work on her belief that ignorance is the greatest threat of all to this resource that is so valuable to life on Earth. "We know more about Mars than we know about the oceans," she has said. This scientist who is also an explorer, a businesswoman, and a grandmother has dedicated her life to both exploring and protecting the oceans of the world.
Robert Ballard is best known as the explorer who located the wreck of the luxury steamship Titanic. Like Sylvia Earle, he is a National Geographic Society Explorer-in- Residence. As Director of the Institute for Exploration (IFE), Ballard continues to dedicate his work to revealing the mysteries of the world's oceans. He and his team locate and study ancient shipwrecks in an effort to understand early human history.
Ballard and his team don't always have to travel to distant oceans to find interesting old shipwrecks. In fact they don't have to go any further than Lake Huron, one of the Great Lakes. There, within the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, is an area known as "Shipwreck Alley."
It is estimated that more than 100 shipwrecks dating back to the 1800s sit on the bottom of the lake. Ballard believes that finding and documenting them will tell an important story about trade and shipbuilding in North America.
Using a submersible called Little Hercules, the IFE team has identified a number of well-preserved wrecks. One is the Cornelia B. Windiate, which sank on November 28, 1875. It went down with all crew members and 332 tons of wheat. Cameras have photographed the ship's three wooden masts, still standing tall; its anchors, deck, and rigging; and its name, carved into the hull.
As their work in "Shipwreck Alley" continues, Ballard and his team expect to increase awareness of one aspect of U. S. history.
A sonogram -- a picture made with sound waves -- shows the Cornelia B. Windiate on the floor of Lake Huron.
Viking ships were brilliantly designed. They were tough enough to sail hundreds of miles on the open sea. They were light enough to be carried over land.
When there was no wind, the crews could row the ships with oars.
Vikings traveled far in search of goods such as silk, glass, and silver. Some Vikings sailed west and settled the islands of Iceland and Greenland. Between 997 and 1003 A. D., a Viking named Leif Eriksson landed in what is now Canada. The Vikings probably stayed for less than ten years, though they traded with Native Americans for much longer. 
In the selection "Exploring the Undersea Territory" you read about two modern-day explorers. How did their personal qualities, interests, and skills help them become undersea explorers? Write your response in three or more paragraphs, and use details from the article.
I used details to explain my ideas.
People who do what Sylvia Earle and Robert Ballard do have to like danger, like to travel, and like to study. It's hard to think of a more dangerous job than getting into a little submarine alone and diving to the bottom of the ocean. Any kind of problem could mean death.
Earle and Ballard are both scientists. They went to college and studied hard in order to be able to do the work they do. Earle is actually a botanist -- a scientist who studies plants. But the plants she studies grow underwater. Ballard is a marine geologist and geophysicist. That is a scientist who studies the structure of oceans.
To be any kind of scientist takes a person who can focus on details.
Explorers like Earle and Ballard use science to help others. That's the quality I admire most.
Sylvia Earle and Robert Ballard are both explorers Explain how their interest in the sea has made a difference in their lives and in ours. Write three paragraphs, and use details from the article in your answer.
Descriptions can help you figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Use the description words in the story to figure out what the word collage means.
Danny and Emma decided to enter the school art contest. Today they are working together on their project. The problem is, they can't decide what to make.
"Danny, maybe we should make models of modern skyscrapers. Mr. Buckle said, 'The sky's the limit.'" Danny and Emma laughed.
"Seriously," said Danny, "how about making a collage out of pictures we cut from magazines?"
"We could," said Emma, "but I'll bet a lot of kids will make collages. Let's try to do something different."
Danny's mom walked into the kitchen. She reminded Danny to put the recycling bin in her car. Danny's eyes lit up.
"I've got it!" he said. "Mr. Buckle is always talking about taking care of the Earth. Let's make our project out of that stuff!"
"Great idea," agreed Emma. They got right to work. There were tons of aluminum cans from last week's outdoor hamburger and hot dog barbecue.
They used empty plastic bottles and jars, and cardboard. They cut up strips of newspaper to make papier-mache. Finally, Danny and Emma were ready to paint.
"Let's use bright yellow," Emma suggested. "It's such a glorious color, isn't it?"
Danny giggled. "You're so dramatic, Emma."
He started strutting around the room. "Yellow is such a glorious color," he said, teasing Emma. Emma flicked her paintbrush at Danny.
The next day, Danny and Emma presented their art project. Everyone loved it, especially Mr. Buckle. Danny and Emma won first prize. Swarms of people came up to congratulate them.
"Who knew recycling could be so much fun?" said Emma.
"The best part was that I didn't have to haul everything into Mom's car," said Danny with a grin.
To monitor your comprehension of characters, think about their traits, or the long-lasting parts of their personalities. Thinking about a character's traits will help you understand why a character does or says things and what he or she might do next.
A Character Web will help you gather information about a character's traits. Reread the story to find examples of Emma's traits.
Realistic Fiction is a made-up story that could have happened in real life.
As you read, fill in your Character Web.
How does James's summer in New York actually turn out?
It was the summer Mama had the twins that I first met my uncle Romie. The doctor had told Mama she had to stay off her feet till the babies got born. Daddy thought it was a good time for me to visit Uncle Romie and his wife, Aunt Nanette, up north in New York City. But I wasn't so sure. Mama had told me that Uncle Romie was some kind of artist, and he didn't have any kids. I'd seen his picture too. He looked scary -- a bald-headed, fierce-eyed giant. No, I wasn't sure about this visit at all.
The day before I left home was a regular North Carolina summer day. "A good train-watching day," my friend B. J. said.
We waited quietly in the grass beside the tracks. B. J. heard it first. "It's a'coming," he said. Then I heard it too -- a low rumbling, building to a roar. WHOOO -- OOO!
"The Piedmont!" we shouted as the train blasted past.
"I'm the greatest train-watcher ever," B. J. boasted.
"Yeah," I answered, "but tomorrow I'll be riding a train. I'm the lucky one."
Lucky, I thought as we headed home. Maybe.
That evening I packed my suitcase. Voices drifted up from the porch below.
"Romie's got that big art show coming up," Mama said quietly. "I hope he's not too busy for James, especially on his birthday."
"Romie's a good man," Daddy replied. "And Nanette'll be there too."
Who is the narrator of this story? How would you describe this character?
The light faded. Mama called me into her bedroom. "Where's my good-night kiss?" she said.
I curled up next to her. "I'll miss the way you make my birthday special, Mama. Your lemon cake and the baseball game."
"Well," Mama sighed, "it won't be those things. But Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette are family, and they love you too. It'll still be a good birthday, honey."
Mama pulled me close. Her voice sang soft and low. Later, in my own bed, I listened as crickets began their song and continued into the night.
The next morning I hugged Mama good-bye, and Daddy and I headed for the train. He got me seated, then stood waving at me from the outside. I held tight to the jar of pepper jelly Mama had given me for Uncle Romie.
"ALL A-BOARD!" The conductor's voice crackled over the loudspeaker.
The train pulled away. Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug.
I watched my town move past my window -- bright-colored houses, chickens strutting across the yards.
After a while I felt hungry. Daddy had packed me a lunch and a dinner to eat one at a time. I ate almost everything at once. Then my belly felt tight and I was kind of sleepy. I closed my eyes and dreamed about Mama and Daddy getting ready for those babies. Would they even miss me?
Later, when I woke up, I ate the last bit of my dinner and thought about my birthday. Would they make my lemon cake and take me to a baseball game in New York?
The sky turned from dark blue to black. I was getting sleepy all over again.
"We're almost there, son," the man next to me said.
Then I saw it... New York City. Buildings stretching up to the sky. So close together. Not like North Carolina at all.
"Penn Station! Watch your step," the conductor said, helping me down to the platform. I did like Daddy said and found a spot for myself close to the train. Swarms of people rushed by. Soon I heard a silvery voice call my name. This had to be Aunt Nanette. I turned and saw her big smile reaching out to welcome me.
She took my hand and guided me through the rushing crowds onto an underground train called the subway. "This will take us right home," she explained.
Home was like nothing I'd ever seen before. No regular houses anywhere. Just big buildings and stores of all kinds -- in the windows I saw paints, fabrics, radios, and TVs.
We turned into the corner building and climbed the stairs to the apartment -- five whole flights up. Whew!
I tried to catch my breath while Aunt Nanette flicked on the lights.
"Uncle Romie's out talking to some people about his big art show that's coming up. He'll be home soon," Aunt Nanette said. She set some milk and a plate of cookies for me on the table. "Your uncle's working very hard, so we won't see much of him for a while. His workroom -- we call it his studio -- is in the front of our apartment. That's where he keeps all the things he needs to make his art."
"Doesn't he just paint?" I asked.
"Uncle Romie is a collage artist," Aunt Nanette explained. "He uses paints, yes. But also photographs, newspapers, cloth. He cuts and pastes them onto a board to make his paintings."
"That sounds kinda easy," I said.
Aunt Nanette laughed.
"Well, there's a little more to it than that, James. When you see the paintings, you'll understand. Come, let's get you to bed."
Lying in the dark, I heard heavy footsteps in the hall.
A giant stared at me from the doorway. "Hello there, James." Uncle Romie's voice was deep and loud, like thunder. "Thanks for the pepper jelly," he boomed.
"You have a good sleep, now." Then he disappeared down the hall.
The next morning the door to Uncle Romie's studio was closed. But Aunt Nanette had plans for both of us. "Today we're going to a neighborhood called Harlem," she said.
"It's where Uncle Romie lived as a boy."
Harlem was full of people walking, working, shopping, eating. Some were watching the goings-on from fire escapes. Others were sitting out on stoops greeting folks who passed by -- just like the people back home calling out hellos from their front porches. Most everybody seemed to know Aunt Nanette. A lot of them asked after Uncle Romie too.
We bought peaches at the market, then stopped to visit awhile. I watched some kids playing stickball. "Go on, get in that game," Aunt Nanette said, gently pushing me over to join them. When I was all hot and sweaty, we cooled off with double chocolate scoops from the ice cream man. Later we shared some barbecue on a rooftop way up high. I felt like I was on top of the world.
As the days went by, Aunt Nanette took me all over the city -- we rode a ferry boat to the Statue of Liberty... zoomed 102 floors up at the Empire State Building... window-shopped the fancy stores on Fifth Avenue... gobbled hot dogs in Central Park.
But it was Harlem that I liked best. I played stickball with the kids again... and on a really hot day a whole bunch of us ran through the icy cold water that sprayed out hard from the fire hydrant. In the evenings Aunt Nanette and I sat outside listening to the street musicians playing their saxophone songs.
On rainy days I wrote postcards and helped out around the apartment. I told Aunt Nanette about the things I liked to do back home -- about baseball games, train-watching, my birthday. She told me about the special Caribbean lemon and mango cake she was going to make.
My uncle Romie stayed hidden away in his studio. But I wasn't worried anymore. Aunt Nanette would make my birthday special.
My birthday was almost here!
And then Aunt Nanette got a phone call.
"An old aunt has died, James. I have to go away for her funeral. But don't you worry. Uncle Romie will spend your birthday with you. It'll be just fine."
That night Aunt Nanette kissed me good-bye. I knew it would not be fine at all. Uncle Romie didn't know about cakes or baseball games or anything except his dumb old paintings. My birthday was ruined.
When the sky turned black, I tucked myself into bed.
I missed Mama and Daddy so much. I listened to the birds on the rooftop -- their songs continued into the night.
The next morning everything was quiet. I crept out of bed and into the hall. For the first time the door to Uncle Romie's studio stood wide open. What a glorious mess! There were paints and scraps all over the floor, and around the edges were huge paintings with all sorts of pieces pasted together.
I saw saxophones, birds, fire escapes, and brown faces. It's Harlem, I thought. The people, the music, the rooftops, and the stoops. Looking at Uncle Romie's paintings, I could feel Harlem -- its beat and bounce.
Then there was one that was different. Smaller houses, flowers, and trains. "That's home!" I shouted.
"Yep," Uncle Romie said, smiling, from the doorway. "That's the Carolina I remember."
"Mama says you visited your grandparents there most every summer when you were a kid," I said.
"I sure did, James. Mmm. Now that's the place for pepper jelly. Smeared thick on biscuits. And when Grandma wasn't looking... I'd sneak some on a spoon."
"Daddy and I do that too!" I told him.
We laughed together, then walked to the kitchen for a breakfast feast -- eggs, bacon, grits, and biscuits.
"James, you've got me remembering the pepper jelly lady. People used to line up down the block to buy her preserves."
"Could you put someone like that in one of your paintings?" I asked.
"I guess I could." Uncle Romie nodded. "Yes, that's a memory just right for sharing. What a good idea, James. Now let's get this birthday going!"
He brought out two presents from home. I tore into the packages while he got down the pepper jelly and two huge spoons. Mama and Daddy had picked out just what I wanted -- a special case for my baseball cards, and a model train for me to build.
"Pretty cool," said Uncle Romie. "I used to watch the trains down in North Carolina, you know."
How funny to picture big Uncle Romie lying on his belly!
"B. J. and me, we have contests to see who can hear the trains first."
"Hey, I did that too. You know, it's a funny thing, James. People live in all sorts of different places and families. But the things we care about are pretty much the same. Like favorite foods, special songs, games, stories... and like birthdays." Uncle Romie held up two tickets to a baseball game!
It turns out Uncle Romie knows all about baseball -- he was even a star pitcher in college. We got our mitts and set off for the game.
Way up in the bleachers, we shared a bag of peanuts, cracking the shells with our teeth and keeping our mitts ready in case a home run ball came our way. That didn't happen -- but we sure had fun.
Aunt Nanette came home that night. She lit the candles and we all shared my Caribbean birthday cake.
After that, Uncle Romie had to work a lot again. But at the end of each day he let me sit with him in his studio and talk. Daddy was right. Uncle Romie is a good man.
The day of the big art show finally came. I watched the people laughing and talking, walking slowly around the room from painting to painting. I walked around myself, listening to their conversations.
"Remember our first train ride from Chicago to New York?" one lady asked her husband.
"That guitar-playing man reminds me of my uncle Joe," said another.
All these strangers talking to each other about their families and friends and special times, and all because of how my uncle Romie's paintings reminded them of these things.
Later that night Daddy called. I had a brand-new brother and sister. Daddy said they were both bald and made a lot of noise. But he sounded happy and said how they all missed me.
This time Aunt Nanette and Uncle Romie took me to the train station.
"Here's a late birthday present for you, James," Uncle Romie said, holding out a package. "Open it on the train, why don't you. It'll help pass the time on the long ride home."
I waved out the window to Uncle Romie and Aunt Nanette until I couldn't see them anymore. Then I ripped off the wrappings!
And there was my summer in New York. Bright sky in one corner, city lights at night in another. Tall buildings.
Baseball ticket stubs. The label from the pepper jelly jar.
And trains. One going toward the skyscrapers. Another going away.
Were the opinions James had of his uncle and his birthday in New York proven correct? How would this story be different if Uncle Romie were the narrator?
Back home, I lay in the soft North Carolina grass. It was the first of September, almost Uncle Romie's birthday.
I watched the birds streak across the sky.
Rooftop birds, I thought. Back home from their summer in New York, just like me. Watching them, I could still feel the city's beat inside my head.
A feather drifted down from the sky. In the garden tiger lilies bent in the wind. Uncle Romie's favorite flowers. I yanked off a few blossoms. And then I was off on a treasure hunt, collecting things that reminded me of Uncle Romie.
I painted and pasted them together on a big piece of cardboard. Right in the middle I put the train schedule.
And at the top I wrote:
American artist collages because they seem to tell stories. Claire wrote her story to show how we can use art to share ideas. She's been expressing herself through art since she was young. Claire was a shy child, and she found that dance and art helped her share her feelings.
Did Claire Hartfield write Me and Uncle Romie to entertain, explain, inform, or persuade the reader? How may the author's own love of art have affected her purpose for writing? Explain. Use details from the story.
I comes from a family or artists. He grew up in France, but came to the United States to study art. Jerome illustrates books and magazines. He also teaches art.
1. How do Uncle Romie's character traits differ from his physical traits? Use your Character Web to help you.
Have you ever discovered that you were mistaken about someone's character based on the person's appearance?
Read "Secondhand Art" on pages 606-607. Compare this story with Me and Uncle Romie. How are the stories alike? How are they different? Use details from both selections in your answer.
How-to Articles provide directions on how to do or make something.
Directions are the steps you follow in order to do or make something.
To begin your project, pick a story or theme for your collage. Do you want to tell about something that really happened? Or would you rather make up a story? Is there a theme that would make a fun collage -- things that make you laugh, things you do at bedtime, a list of wishes, favorite songs? To get ideas, think of people, places, or memories that mean a lot to you.
Then think about images you can use in your collage to illustrate what you want to say. What do you want in the picture? People? Animals? What are they doing? Where are they? What do they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel?
Start by deciding whether or not it's important to have the images you'll be using in any particular order. If it is, you can lay them out to get an idea of how they will look together.
Next, paint or color the background on your paper or board. Use colors you want to peek through in the finished picture.
Then begin to create your story or theme by cutting and pasting your objects onto the background.
1. When making a collage, what do you do before you paint or color the background? What do you do after you paint the background?
2. What would happen if you pasted down your materials before you painted the background?
3. In Me and Uncle Romie, James made a collage. What did he do that was similar to the directions in this article? What did he do differently? 
Writers often set the mood in a speech by expressing their opinions. They use precise words to reinforce the mood.
I admire my older sister, Blanca. I used precise words to introduce her to my class.
I included opinions in my speech to reinforce the mood.
She always takes a drawing pad with her when she goes out. When she sees an interesting person, animal, or flower, she quickly sketches it. Then she chooses her favorite sketches and turns them into finished art.
She taught me everything I know about drawing. She is the most incredible teacher, and I hope you can learn a lot!
Think of a person you admire. It could be someone famous, someone you have read about, or someone you know, such as a teacher or relative. Pretend you are going to give a speech that introduces this person to an audience. Include your opinions about this person. Back up your opinions with facts. Then use the Writer Checklist to check your writing.
Paragraph Clues are words that can help readers figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Use paragraph clues to figure out what descendants means.
Assateague and Chincoteague Islands are located off the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Part of Assateague belongs to Maryland and part belongs to Virginia. On a smaller neighboring island, the Chincoteague ponies graze.
These beautiful animals are descendants of wild horses. How the ancestors of the ponies ended up on an island, no one knows for sure.
The calm, quiet privacy of Assateague provided a sanctuary for its residents. However, when several terrible fires broke out on Chincoteague, it was clear that emergency services were needed. The new Volunteer Fire Department needed money to buy equipment. That's how the idea for the annual pony swim started.
Every year thousands of people come to watch the ponies. Many watch from boats out on the glistening water. The firemen "round up" the wild ponies on Assateague Island. At first, the ponies feel threatened and try to head back into the trees.
After some coaxing, the ponies swim across the channel to Chincoteague Island.
These ponies are small, but they are not fragile. They are very strong and intelligent animals.
Many farmers want to buy a Chincoteague pony. Some of the foals are auctioned off to good homes. The rest of the ponies swim back to Assateague Island a few days later. The fire department uses the money that is raised to update their safety equipment.
The pony swim is important for another reason, too. The number of horses living on Assateague has to be controlled. If too many horses are born, there won't be enough grass for the rest to eat. Keeping the numbers under control protects the habitat and its natural resources for future generations.
As you read, remember to monitor your comprehension, or check your understanding, of cause and effect. A cause is why something happens. What happens is the effect. Authors do not always provide a cause and effect. Sometimes readers have to make inferences.
A Cause and Effect Diagram will help you identify what happens in a story or article and why. Reread the selection and identify the causes and effects.
Narrative Nonfiction is a story or account about actual persons, living things, situations, or events.
In the deepest, darkest part of night, when the crickets and tree frogs are almost silent, shadowy shapes emerge from the ponderosa pine ridge and tiptoe down to the glassy Cheyenne River below. Their long tangled manes and tails ruffle in the night breeze. Ever alert and watchful for predators, they swiftly drink their fill. Then they turn on their heels and lunge up the rocky hills to safety.
In the misty glow of dawn, one can see these mysterious visitors aren't backyard pasture mares with swishing tails and docile, trusting eyes. These horses are wild -- from another century, another era, another world. They are American mustangs, whose freedom, adaptability, and toughness define the western wilderness.
Some of the mares have names. Medicine Hattie is easy to spot. Her dark ears jut out above her ghostly white face and corn-silk mane. Painted Lady's pure white coat is splashed with brown spots; she always seems to know where the sweetest grasses are.
And there are others. Funny Face has a creamy white blaze that slides down the sides of her face like melting ice cream on a hot day. She loves to stand on the highest rock-strewn spot with her face to the wind. Yuskeya, whose name means freedom in the Sioux language, always stands at the edge of the herd, alert for danger and ready to run.
To find these horses, cross Cascade Creek where the South Dakota Black Hills meet the prairie, and turn right onto a pothole-strewn gravel road. This is the land of silver sagebrush and cowboy legends. Scraggly buzzards perch on fence posts near the entry gate to the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, home for more than three hundred wild horses and one determined cowboy-conservationist named Dayton Hyde.
Dayton was a gangly, growing thirteen-year-old boy when he met his first horse. It was a dirt-colored pony he found drinking from a puddle of old soapy dishwater behind his family's summer cabin in northern Michigan. He recalls that for a time he thought all horses blew bubbles out of their noses.
Soon after that encounter, word came from Dayton's cattle rancher uncle in Oregon that his cowboys had just captured a band of wild horses. Dayton hopped a westbound train and arrived on his uncle's doorstep, where he grew up as a cowboy learning to love the western range and its wild horses.
Mustangs are descendants of the horses brought to America by Spanish explorers nearly five hundred years ago. By 1900, more than two million smart, fast, surefooted wild horses roamed the West.
When newly invented barbed wire fences began crisscrossing the rangelands, the horses lost access to sources of food and water and became a pesky problem for local residents. Thousands of them were slaughtered for fertilizer or pet food. By 1950, less than seventeen thousand survived.
After a Congressional act prohibited the capture or slaughter of wild horses in 1971, the wild horse population again grew quickly. Many died of thirst and starvation in the harsh western winters. In an attempt to manage the size of the herds, the United States government gathered up the animals and maintained them in fenced feedlots until they could be adopted.
One day in the early 1980s, Dayton Hyde, who by this time owned his uncle's ranch and had a grown family of his own, drove by one of these feedlots. Shocked and dismayed by the sight of dozens of muddy and dejected horses locked in a corral, he felt he had to do something.
What caused the mustang population to increase during the 1970s?
After months of searching and many long days spent convincing government officials to accept his plan of creating a special place for wild horses, he acquired eleven thousand acres of rangeland and rimrock near the Black Hills in South Dakota. Here, among yawning canyons and sun-drenched pastures, he hoped wild horses -- some too ugly, old, or knobby kneed to be adopted -- could run free forever.
Before he could ship his wild horse rejects to their new home, Dayton had to build eight miles of fences to ensure they wouldn't wander into his neighbors' wheat fields. He also fenced in a fifty-acre training field where the horses would spend their first few days on the ranch adjusting to their new surroundings.
On a miserably cold fall day, huge creaking semi-trailers filled with snorting, stomping steeds finally arrived at the ranch. After hours of coaxing, Dayton succeeded in getting Magnificent Mary to skitter off the trailer. She was a battlescarred, mean-eyed mare with a nose about twice as long as it should be. The rest of the herd clattered behind her, eyes bulging with fear.
Dayton's worst fear was that the horses would spook and charge through his carefully constructed six-wire fence, scattering across the prairie like dry leaves in a whirlwind. Aware that wild horses often feel threatened by being watched, he sat in the cab of his old pickup truck, peeking at them out of a corner of his eye. Finally, after nearly a week of around-theclock vigilance, he swung open the gate from the training field to his wild horse sanctuary.
Many years have passed since Dayton held his breath and pushed that corral gate open. Every spring, dozens of his wild horses give birth to tottering colts that learn the ways of the back country from their mothers. They share the vast, quiet land with coyotes, mountain lions, and countless deer. Star lilies, bluebells, and prairie roses nod in the wind along with the prairie short grass that feeds the herd.
Thousands of visitors arrive each summer to get a glimpse of wild horses in their natural habitat, a habitat that has been preserved through Dayton's careful planning. Throughout the grazing season, he moves the herd from one area of the ranch to another so the horses don't damage the fragile rangeland.
In the process, he searches for his marker mares: Painted Lady, Medicine Hattie, Funny Face, Yuskeya, Magnificent Mary, and several others. When he spots them all, he knows the whole herd is accounted for.
Sometimes in the fall while he's checking on the horses, Dayton notices a gaunt, aging mare whose ribs stand out through her ragged coat. He knows this old friend won't survive the winter. As the pale December daylight slips over the rimrock, the old mare lies down and goes to sleep for the last time. After years of running free, the wild mustang returns to the earth and completes the circle of life.
The wild mustangs Dayton Hyde once discovered crowded into a feedlot now gallop across the Cheyenne River free as the prairie wind. They splash through the glistening water and bolt up a ravine. Here in this rugged wilderness, one man's vision of a sanctuary for wild horses has become a reality.
What were the events that caused the wild horses from the feedlot to be protected in the Sanctuary?
Cris Peterson lives on a big dairy farm in Wisconsin. Tending 500 cows keeps Cris pretty busy, but she still finds time to write. Cris writes a lot about farm life and animals. She often uses her own experiences as inspiration for her books. Cris believes it is very important to give readers a true picture of farms and animals, so she chooses her details carefully.
Alvis Upitis has provided the photographs for many of Cris's books. He is a good partner. When Cris was very busy with farm work and did not think she'd have time to write, Alvis encouraged her to try.
Cris Peterson tried hard to create a true picture of the animals in Wild Horses. What does this suggest about her purpose for writing? How well did she succeed at that purpose?
Summarize Wild Horses. Include only the most important information in your summary. Use your Cause and Effect Diagram to help you.
1. What caused the fragile wild horse population to almost disappear? 
2. Reread page 638 of Wild Horses. What does the author mean by saying these horses are from "another era, another world"? 
3. What would you do if you found a horse drinking soapy dishwater?
4. Why is it important to care for and protect animals?
5. Read "The Wild Ponies of Chincoteague" on pages 634-635. Compare Assateague Island with the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary. How are the two places alike? How are they different? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Tall Tales are stories with events so exaggerated that they are beyond belief. Tall tales are an American form of storytelling.
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration for emphasis. The author does not expect it to be believed.
A Figure of Speech is an expressive use of language that is not meant to be taken literally.
Pecos Bill was the best cowboy and toughest man there ever was. He had bounced out of his family's wagon when he was a baby and landed in the Pecos River. He was raised by coyotes, but he didn't talk about that very much.
One day, Bill showed up on the Texas range, wearing a blue bandanna and big Stetson hat. "Hey, partner," Pecos Bill roared at a gold prospector, "I'm lookin' for some real cowhands. Got me a ranch in New Mexico -- well, to tell the truth, New Mexico is my ranch. I need some tough guys to work for me. I'm looking for the kind of man who can eat a pot of beans in one gulp and pick his teeth with barbed wire."
Pecos Bill's description of a tough guy is hyperbole. It's a humorous exaggeration that the reader is not meant to believe.
The prospector said some tough cowhands were camped out 200 miles down the river. Bill and his horse set off in that direction, and before long, a mountain lion leaped from a boulder straight down on Pecos Bill.
Bill's horse didn't wait around to see what happened next. If he had, all he would have seen was a blur of flying fur. He would have heard nothing but hideous snarls and groans. When the fur settled, the big cat was apologizing to Bill.
"How can I make it up to you?" it asked.
"You can't, but I'm putting this saddle on you," said Bill. "You scared off my horse, and I hate walkin'."
So Pecos Bill rode the cat to the tough guys' campsite. Those tough men took one look at Bill on that mountain lion and made him their new boss. Then the whole crew headed out for New Mexico.
Back on the ranch, Pecos Bill caught a wild black horse for himself and named it Widow-Maker. That crazy horse had the power of twelve horses and wouldn't let anyone but Bill ride him.
Pecos Bill also got himself a spouse. He first spied Slue-Foot Sue on the Rio Grande. She was riding a catfish the size of a boat and whooping at the top of her lungs.
The day she married Bill, Slue-Foot Sue wore a dress with one of those old-time bustles. The bustle was a steel-spring contraption that made the back of her dress stick out a mile.
After the wedding, Sue wanted to ride Widow- Maker. Now, Pecos Bill loved Slue-Foot Sue, so he attempted to talk her out of this notion.
"Widow-Maker won't let anybody ride him but me. He'd throw you in a second."
But Sue insisted, and Bill finally let Sue give it a try. Sue got on Widow- Maker, who bucked and jumped and bucked again. Then he threw Slue-Foot Sue, and she sped into the sky like she'd been shot from a cannon. When Sue finished going up, she plummeted down. And when she hit the ground, she bounced on her steel-spring bustle and flew up again, even higher than before. She even hit her head on the moon.
For days, Pecos Bill watched his bouncing bride.
Up and down she went. Every time Sue landed, she bounced up higher, until she came down to Earth only once every few weeks.
It took a long time for Pecos Bill to find another bride as accomplished as Slue-Foot Sue. And he never again allowed a wife of his to ride Widow-Maker.
Sue was not actually shot from a cannon, but the comparison helps the reader picture what happened. This comparison is a figure of speech.
Scientific observations include specific details that tell exactly what the writer saw, heard, and felt. Choose words that keep the tone as serious and accurate as possible.
I observed a hawk in flight. Then I wrote this accurate observation.
I included words that give specific details.
Yesterday I watched a hawk in the park. If was brown. Its white chest was speckled with brown, foo. If flew in big circles, holding ifs wings straight out. If was hunting. Then if landed on the trunk of an old pine free.
Through binoculars, I could see the hawk's red fail feathers. Ifs claws were light gray, and they looked as sharp as fishhooks. That makes if easy for the bird to catch ifs prey. Ifs beak was sharp and curved, foo.
Pretend that you are a scientist. You must observe an animal and write about what you see. The animal could be a wild animal that you observe from a distance, such as a rabbit or a bird. It could be an insect. It could even be your pet. Take notes while you observe. 
Sharks! They are strange and amazing creatures.
Sharks are living fossils. They are among the oldest living creatures on Earth. Many sharks look the same as sharks that lived 100 million years ago.
Sharks are different from other fish in several ways.
They have no bones! Instead, a shark's skeleton is made of a material called cartilage. Your nose and ears are made of cartilage.
Most sharks have several rows of teeth. When a shark loses a tooth, another one moves up to take its place. Great white sharks lose their teeth at least once a week, but there are always more teeth to take their place.
Sharks do not lay eggs like other fish. Their newborn sharks can swim fast and hunt food at birth.
How do scientists learn about sharks? They study them up close in the ocean. For protection, they wear shark-proof diving suits and get into iron shark cages. Scientists study how sharks hunt, what they eat, and where they go in the sea.
Scientists also catch sharks and attach tags to them. A tiny computer is in each tag. It records where the shark is, how deep it goes, and how fast it swims.
One shark swam more than 1,800 miles in three months!
Sharks have been called "wolves of the sea." That is because most sharks are feared hunters. The largest shark, though -- the giant whale shark -- is harmless. It feeds on tiny sea animals that it strains out of the water with its gills.
Many people fear sharks, but being attacked by a shark is quite unlikely. Out of 370 different kinds of sharks, only 27 species are known to attack humans. The most dangerous are the great white, hammerhead, tiger, bull, and blue sharks.
The most feared shark of all is the great white. A great white can grow to more than 20 feet (6 meters) long and weight 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms)! Though great white sharks have been known to attack people, you are much more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a shark. When sharks do attack, they may be mistaking humans for their prey. They prefer to eat other sharks, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.
There are places when people go scuba diving to see sharks, but for most people, the best place to go is the aquarium.
Many aquariums keep sharks. They are not too difficult to care for -- and they are popular! Visit an aquarium if you want to see these living fossils in real life.
Mr. Rodriguez's fourth-grade class was on a field trip at the Sutter Gold Mine. Larry couldn't wait to load up on gold. He even brought along some photographs to use as a reference. He didn't want to pick up any "fool's gold" by mistake.
Larry's class boarded the Boss Buggy Shuttle that would take them down into the mine. Everyone had to wear a hardhat for safety. On the ride down, their guide Ron gave them some information about the Gold Rush.
"Many prospectors came to this area beginning in 1848," explained Ron. "A prospector is someone who searches for valuable metals like gold."
Margaret commented, "Everyone must have gotten rich!"
"Actually," said Ron, "not everyone was successful. Many left the mines filled with disappointment. People often turned to farming or ranching to make a living instead."
"If I don't find any gold today, I'll be really annoyed," Larry thought to himself.
The underground tour lasted about an hour. Then it was time to go to the mining flumes and pan for gold. Ron handed out pans and demonstrated how to swirl them in a circular motion.
"It's okay to let some of the water splash out," said Ron. "If there's any gold in your pan, it will sink to the bottom."
Larry found an open place at one of the flumes.
With his arm outstretched, he dipped his pan below the surface of the water. Then he swished around the water. "Nothing," he said with a sigh.
Larry repeated the process several times. Then he noticed something at the bottom of his pan. Larry angled the pan so he could get a better look.
Whatever it was, it glinted in the sunlight. Larry pulled out the photos and compared them with what was in his pan. Then he went to show Ron.
"You've found gold!" Ron exclaimed with surprise.
Everyone gathered around to see. It was just a small piece, but Larry felt like he had hit the jackpot.
A Cause and Effect Diagram can help you understand what happens and why. Reread the story and identify causes and effects.
Cause and Effect In many stories, cause and effect is an important part of the story structure.
A cause is why something happens. What happens is the effect. An author doesn't always write about the cause before the effect. The reader must read the text carefully.
Science Fiction is a fantasy in which an invention involving science or technology affects historic or imaginary characters.
Eric Wong looked at his new game on the computer screen. "Let's play" He clicked the button to start.
"The Gold Rush" his friend Matt O'Brien read out loud, as he rolled his chair closer. "What's that mean? I want to see it! Come on, I'm going first"
"I'm older," said Eric. "Besides, it's my game"
"Be nice" Eric's mom came up behind them. "We bought the game so Eric could learn more about the Gold Rush," she said to Matt. "His dad and I are tracing our family tree. Eric's great-greatgreat grandfather on his dad's side came to California from China during the Gold Rush, but we don't know much about him."
"Hey, look at the game" said Eric. On the screen, he saw steep, mountain slopes covered with tall, green trees. Some men wearing broad-brimmed hats rode horses along a muddy path, leading mules with bundles on their backs. Picks and shovels were tied to the bundles. Chinese men, with long, braided queues down their backs, squatted by a rushing river.
"Who are those guys?" Matt asked. "Are they looking for gold?"
"They might be" said Eric's dad as he came into the room. He held out a small piece of paper with two Chinese characters written on it. "This is the name of our ancestor who first came to California. I don't know Chinese, but my grandfather wrote it down for me when I was growing up."
Eric turned and looked. "What was his name?"
"Daido," his dad said. "I'll say it slower, 'Dye-doe.' It means 'Great Path.' That's a good name for a man who took a great adventure traveling across the Pacific Ocean to a new land. In Chinese, his family name would be given first. And so, he was called Wong Daido."
"Wong Daido" Eric repeated. "Yeah"
"Do you know how to write that?" Matt asked, looking at the name.
"No" Eric shrugged.
"We'll let you play your game," said Eric's mom. "Come on, dear." She and Eric's dad walked away.
"Look." Eric pointed to the screen. A miner wearing a broad-brimmed gray hat lifted a rock showing a button that said, "Press if you dare"
"I dare you," Matt said loudly.
"I'm doing it" Annoyed, Eric pressed the button.
Suddenly Eric and Matt found themselves standing in a narrow space between two large, tall rocks by the muddy road in the mountains, with trees towering over their heads. Miners and prospectors walked and rode past. Eric's heart beat faster with excitement, but he was also a little scared.
"What happened?" Matt asked. "This is creepy. Where are we?" Eric smelled the scent of pine trees and kicked at the mud.
"I think we're really in the Gold Rush. We went back in time!" "Did you say, back in time?" Matt stared around them in shock.
"Come on." Eric walked up to the mysterious miner who had lifted the rock. "Do you know a man named Wong Daido?" Eric carefully pronounced his ancestor's name, remembering to put his family name first.
The miner laughed. Then he looked closely at Eric and Matt. "You're not from around here are you?"
"No, we're not," said Eric hoping the man wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Do you know how many people are in this area? We're on the Feather River upstream from Marysville, in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. Men came to find gold. We're called the Forty-niners because so many of us have come this year."
"What year?" Matt asked, his eyes wide.
"1849, of course," said the miner. He frowned. "Don't you boys know what year it is? Gold was discovered in this area last year. Now, Forty-niners are coming from all over America and lots of other places."
How did Eric and Matt find themselves back in 1849?
"How do they get here?" Eric asked.
"I came overland from the eastern United States by wagon train. A good friend of mine took a ship from the east coast south around Cape Horn at the tip of South America. From China, other men come on ships across the Pacific Ocean."
"But where do they live?" Eric asked. "I don't see any houses here."
"Marysville is a new town," said the miner. "It was started by miners and prospectors. But men also live in camps, sometimes together and sometimes on their own, while they look for gold." He pointed to the river. "But the best way to find a Chinese miner is to ask other Chinese miners."
Matt ran down to the edge of the river, where a Chinese miner squatted by the rushing water, swirling sand in a metal pan.
Eric hurried after him. "Hey, mister, is your name Wong Daido?"
"No." The man shook his head. Then he gave Eric a little smile and pointed downstream. "You see that man? His name is Wong."
Matt ran down the bank, but this time Eric ran, too.
They stopped next to Mr. Wong together, near a big tree growing right beside the river.
"Are you named Wong Daido?" Eric asked.
Mr. Wong was a little younger than the other Chinese miner. His long, braided queue swung behind him as he looked up. "I am," he said, giving both boys a big smile.
"Why do you ask?"
Eric was afraid to explain he and Matt had traveled through time from the future. He was sure Mr. Wong wouldn't believe him and might chase them away, so he changed the subject. "My name's Eric, and this is my friend Matt. Have you found any gold?"
"Not today. Some days I find enough gold to buy food that will last until the next time I find gold. I filed this claim so I have the right to pan gold here. The river washes gold dust downstream, so I catch river water, mud, and sand in this pan and try to find it." He moved the pan in a circular motion, so that water sloshed out with some of the sand. "Gold is heavy, so it stays in the pan."
"Wow," said Matt. "And the river's so fast."
"Don't you have to get sand from the bottom of the river?" Eric asked. "It looks really deep right here!"
"It's very deep here," said Mr. Wong. "The riverbank drops steeply from the edge of the water and the current's very fast. But I can take the sand and mud right here at the edge and pan it. And the water itself carries sand, even when it looks clear. On a good day, the water brings gold to me."
Suddenly the ground shook. Eric and Matt thumped backward into a sitting position in the mud. Mr. Wong fell into the river with a splash.
"It's an earthquake!" Eric jumped up again. He had felt small earthquakes before, and this one was so quick it had ended already. When he looked up, he saw Mr. Wong in the river, desperately holding onto a tree root with both hands.
^e power of the river current pulled his legs downstream and he struggled to hold his head above the water. "Help me!"
Eric and Matt grabbed his arms and pulled, but the river current was too strong and Mr. Wong was too heavy for them to help.
"We have to save him," Eric called desperately to Matt.
"If we don't, my family won't ever be born. And I won't be here!" Eric saw a tree branch hanging low. "Come on! Help me pull the branch down!" He took the branch in both hands and bent his knees so his weight pulled it down. When Matt grabbed it, too, the branch lowered to Mr. Wong.
With an outstretched hand Mr. Wong grasped the branch. "Matt, let go!" Eric and Matt released the branch and the branch slowly moved upward again, pulling Mr. Wong out of the water. He got his feet back on the river bank and let go of the branch. Mr. Wong took several moments to catch his breath. His clothes were so wet they stuck to him.
"Mine too," said Eric. "You're welcome"
"I thought I was going to drown. Everything I have dreamed about would have come to an end" He paused and looked down at the ground. "I came from a poor peasant village in southern China," Mr. Wong went on. "I hope to find some gold and send for a woman I love. We'll marry here and raise a family in America -- at least, I hope so"
"Hey, that's good" said Matt. "Because -- "
Eric jabbed Matt with his elbow and interrupted, "... because it's a good idea" He smiled, knowing that Mr. Wong's dream was going to come true.
"I don't have much to offer in return for my life" said Mr. Wong. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "This is my chop."
Eric and Matt looked. It was a small piece of ivory, with unfamiliar shapes carved on the bottom. "What's it for?" Eric asked.
"I'll show you." Mr. Wong pushed the bottom into a smooth spot of mud next to the river. When he lifted it, three marks were in the mud. "That's my name, Wong Daido. I don't have any gold today. But I would like you to accept this as my gift.
I will always remember you."
Eric took the chop. "That's very nice of you. Thanks"
"I should return to my camp and dry off," said Mr. Wong.
"I think we better go home, too," said Eric. "We enjoyed meeting you!" He carefully put the chop in his pants pocket.
"Thank you again for your help," said Mr. Wong. "Goodbye" He picked up his pan and walked away from the river toward the muddy road.
"How do we get back to our time?" asked Matt. "Maybe we should try to find those big rocks. But where are they?"
"Come on," Eric said to Matt. "I remember where they are. Maybe we'll find some kind of clue there that will help us get back." He led Matt back into the space between the two big rocks where they had walked out. Suddenly they were back in Eric's living room in front of the computer.
"Wow! It worked. Those rocks must be some kind of doorway into the past." Matt looked at the computer screen. "That's a great game!"
"Who's winning?" Eric's mom asked, as she and his dad came in.
"Mom! Dad!" Eric called out. "We went into the game and back in time!"
"Yeah," said Matt. "We met Eric's great-great-great grandfather!"
Eric's mom and dad laughed.
"I love the way these games build imagination while they teach history," said Eric's mom. "Isn't that nice?"
"Dad! He told us he filed a claim for his mine along the Feather River!"
"Well, I know from what I read in my grandfather's journal that Daido did file a claim. Let's see if we can find out if it was along the Feather River." Eric's dad moved to the computer and conducted an Internet search. After a while he looked up in surprise. "Wong Daido did file a claim in that area in 1849.
I found a reference to it"
"Do you believe me now?" Eric asked.
"C'mon, Eric. Do you expect me to believe you actually went back in time?"
"No, I guess not" Eric felt a wave of disappointment, then suddenly reached into his pocket. "Maybe this will convince you!" He pulled out the chop. "Dad! Look at the name:
Wong Daido" Smiling, Eric held it up.
On the chop, a little bit of gold dust from the river glinted in the light.
William F. Wu has liked history since he was a boy. During recess at school, he and his friend acted out famous historical events. William also enjoyed writing stories and poems. He first thought about becoming a writer when he was eight years old.
Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu are a husband and wife team who have been illustrating books for more than 15 years. Cornelius studied art in New York City, while Ying developed her art skills in Taiwan and Minnesota. With such different backgrounds, the two try to combine their different cultures into each illustration for this story.
What clues in The Gold Rush Game helped you to understand the author's purpose for writing this science fiction story? Did William F. Wu want to inform or entertain the reader? Discuss the evidence that led you to your conclusion.
Summarize The Gold Rush Game. Who are the main characters? Explain what they are trying to do and what happens to them.
1. What caused Eric and Matt to go back in time?
Use your Cause and Effect Diagram to help you answer. 
2. Reread page 670 of The Gold Rush Game. How do you think the prospector knew that the boys were not "from around here"? 
3. How would you change the plot to include one of Matt's ancestors? Invent a character with traits that would fit into the story. 
4. Why is it important for people to learn about their family's history? Explain your answer. 
5. Read "In Search of Gold" on pages 664-665. How is Larry's experience similar to that of the prospectors in The Gold Rush Game? How is it different? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Nonfiction Articles provide information about real people, places, or things.
Although they never found these cities, they did send many items made of gold back to Spain.
Mexico was freed from Spanish rule in 1821, but more conflict was yet to come. A war broke out in 1846. As an outcome of the war, the United States won the northern part of Mexico and called it California.
Before 1848, California was home to only a few ranchers, in addition to the Native Americans who had lived there before the European settlers arrived. That all changed with the cry of "Gold!" The precious metal had finally been discovered in the American River, not far from the then-small town of San Francisco.
As historians tell us, "The world rushed in!" In 1849 nearly 90,000 men and women, nicknamed "49'ers," raced to California in search of fame and fortune.
Some made the journey overland by covered wagon, traveling about 12 miles a day. Others chose to take ships down the Atlantic coast to Panama and then up the Pacific coast to California. The longest trip was to sail down the eastern coasts of the United States and South America, around the tip, and up the Pacific coasts. This route required up to eight months to make the 18,000-mile voyage.
A timeline organizes events on a line. Read across the timeline from left to right.
California becomes a state.
People came from all oversome from as far away as China. In 1850, a year after California became a state, there were 3,000 Chinese men living there-and another 22,000 on their way. One of the few women in gold rush country used the pen name "Dame Shirley." Shirley was a doctor's wife whose real name was Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe. She spent a year living in rough mining camps along the Feather River and wrote letters filled with colorful information about the era.
In one letter, "Dame Shirley" described the way the miners spoke. She especially liked their figure of speech "seeing the elephant."
That meant "having a remarkable experience," nearly as remarkable as finding an elephant in the gold mines. In 1851 she wrote this about the gold miners: "I never could appreciate the poetry or the humor of making one's wrists ache by knocking to pieces gloomy-looking stones...." Miners set up systems that dumped huge amounts of dirt and gravel into long wooden boxes. They poured in water to wash away everything but the heavier gold. By 1852, though, most of the easier-to-find gold had been discovered. Then miners began digging underground.
Some Californians became concerned about the environment when mud and trash washed into California's rivers. Lawmakers finally passed laws in 1854 that stopped much of this pollution. However, some effects are still visible even today.
Gold mining was popular until shortly after World War II, which ended in 1945. Although most of the gold is probably gone now, people still look for gold in the rivers of northern California. They dip a shallow pan in the river and swirl it around to wash out the dirt. A very lucky miner might find a few specks glinting in the bottom of the pan.
Look at the timeline on page 683. About how many years did the gold rush last? 
2. Why do you think the earliest gold miners made no effort to protect the environment? 
A good magazine article is organized by topic sentences and interesting supporting details. A strong conclusion sums up the article.
My article for the school newsletter includes topic sentences and interesting details.
I summed up with a strong conclusion.
Write a short magazine article about a special place to visit in your community. Write topic sentences and support them with details. In your details, describe the features of this special place and explain why it is worth visiting.
Sum up with a strong conclusion.
One day Country Mouse invited an old friend from the city to visit her. Country Mouse welcomed City Mouse with a delicious meal of fresh barley and corn. City Mouse was very quiet, so Country Mouse asked her whether anything was wrong.
"I was just missing the city," she replied wistfully. "You must come visit one day. There are lots of good things to eat"
Country Mouse thought this was a very good idea, so a few weeks later she traveled to the city. City Mouse invited her friend for dinner at her favorite restaurant. Country Mouse followed City Mouse as she tiptoed quietly into a cupboard and listened.
"So, what are we doing?" asked Country Mouse.
"Shhh. We're doing a bit of eavesdropping"
City Mouse whispered. "When the cook leaves for the night, we can help ourselves to that lovely bag of sugar over there."
A light went out, and it grew quiet. City Mouse nibbled a hole in the bag, and Country Mouse took the tiniest taste.
"I've never tasted anything so wonderful in all my life!" she cried.
Just then, the mice heard a scuffling sound coming from behind the cupboard door. "Run for your life!" screamed City Mouse.
"That's Esperanza, the cook's rotten cat," City Mouse explained when they were safe. "You don't ever want to make her acquaintance. One swipe from her claws and it's curtains. When she's asleep again, we can go back for more sugar."
But Country Mouse was too frightened to go back, so they went down to the basement instead. There they found a jumble of grain bags stacked randomly against the wall.
Country Mouse happily nibbled this and that. Then she saw something that made her mouth water -- a hunk of cheese! Country Mouse was about to bite it when...
"STOP!" yelled City Mouse.
"Can't you see that's a trap?" she said scornfully! "One nibble and that big metal thing comes crashing down."
Country Mouse was horrified.
The city was not the safest, most logical place for a mouse to live -- or visit! So Country Mouse went home and never visited the city again.
Reread for Comprehension
Theme In a fable the theme may be expressed as the moral. To identify the theme, think about the story structure. Think about what the characters do and say and what happens as a result. Finally, ask yourself, "What lesson, or moral, does the author want the readers to learn?"
Tucker Mouse had been watching the Bellinis and listening to what they said. Next to scrounging, eavesdropping on human beings was what he enjoyed most. That was one of the reasons he lived in the Times Square subway station. As soon as the family disappeared, he darted out across the floor and scooted up to the newsstand. At one side the boards had separated and there was a wide space he could jump through. He'd been in a few times before -- just exploring. For a moment he stood under the three-legged stool, letting his eyes get used to the darkness. Then he jumped on it.
"Psst!" he whispered. "Hey, you up there -- are you awake?" There was no answer.
"Psst! Psst! Hey!" Tucker whispered again, louder this time. From the shelf above came scuffling, like little feet feeling their way to the edge. "Who is going 'psst'?" said a voice.
"It's me," said Tucker. "Down here on the stool."
A black head, with two shiny black eyes, peered down at him. "Who are you?"
"A mouse," said Tucker, "Who are you?"
"I'm Chester Cricket," said the cricket. He had a high, musical voice. Everything he said seemed to be spoken to an unheard melody.
"My name's Tucker," said Tucker Mouse. "Can I come up?"
"I guess so," said Chester Cricket. "This isn't my house anyway."
Tucker jumped up beside the cricket and looked him all over. "A cricket," he said admiringly. "So you're a cricket. I never saw one before."
"I've seen mice before," the cricket said. "I knew quite a few back in Connecticut."
"Is that where you're from?" asked Tucker.
"Yes," said Chester. "I guess I'll never see it again," he added wistfully.
"How did you get to New York?" asked Tucker Mouse.
"It's a long story," sighed the cricket.
"Tell me," said Tucker, settling back on his haunches. He loved to hear stories. It was almost as much fun as eavesdropping -- if the story was true.
"Well it must have been two -- no, three days ago," Chester Cricket began. "I was sitting on top of my stump, just enjoying the weather and thinking how nice it was that summer had started. I live inside an old tree stump, next to a willow tree, and I often go up to the roof to look around. And I'd been practicing jumping that day too. On the other side of the stump from the willow tree there's a brook that runs past, and I'd been jumping back and forth across it to get my legs in condition for the summer. I do a lot of jumping, you know."
"Me too," said Tucker Mouse. "Especially around the rush hour."
"And I had just finished jumping when I smelled something," Chester went on, "liverwurst, which I love."
"You like liverwurst?" Tucker broke in. "Wait! Wait!
Just wait!"
In one leap, he sprang down all the way from the shelf to the floor and dashed over to his drain pipe. Chester shook his head as he watched him go. He thought Tucker was a very excitable person -- even for a mouse.
Inside the drain pipe, Tucker's nest was a jumble of papers, scraps of cloth, buttons, lost jewelry, small change, and everything else that can be picked up in a subway station. Tucker tossed things left and right in a wild search. Neatness was not one of the things he aimed at in life. At last he discovered what he was looking for: a big piece of liverwurst he had found earlier that evening. It was meant to be for breakfast tomorrow, but he decided that meeting his first cricket was a special occasion. Holding the liverwurst between his teeth, he whisked back to the newsstand.
"Look!" he said proudly, dropping the meat in front of Chester Cricket. "Liverwurst! You continue the story -- we'll enjoy a snack too."
"That's very nice of you," said Chester. He was touched that a mouse he had known only a few minutes would share his food with him. "I had a little chocolate before, but besides that, nothing for three days."
"Eat! Eat!" said Tucker. He bit the liverwurst into two pieces and gave Chester the bigger one. "So you smelled the liverwurst -- then what happened?"
"I hopped down from the stump and went off toward the smell," said Chester.
"Very logical," said Tucker Mouse, munching with his cheeks full. "Exactly what I would have done."
"It was coming from a picnic basket," said Chester. "A couple of tuffets away from my stump the meadow begins, and there was a whole bunch of people having a picnic. They had hard boiled eggs, and cold roast chicken, and roast beef, and a whole lot of other things besides the liverwurst sandwiches which I smelled."
Tucker Mouse moaned with pleasure at the thought of all that food.
"They were having such a good time laughing and singing songs that they didn't notice me when I jumped into the picnic basket," continued Chester. "I was sure they wouldn't mind if I had just a taste."
"Naturally not," said Tucker Mouse sympathetically. "Why mind? Plenty for all. Who could blame you?"
"Now, I have to admit," Chester went on, "I had more than a taste. As a matter of fact, I ate so much that I couldn't keep my eyes open -- what with being tired from the jumping and everything. And I fell asleep right there in the picnic basket. The first thing I knew, somebody had put a bag on top of me that had the last of the roast beef sandwiches in it. I couldn't move!"
"Imagine!" Tucker exclaimed. "Trapped under roast beef sandwiches! Well, there are worse fates."
"At first I wasn't too frightened," said Chester. "After all, I thought, they probably come from New Canaan or some other nearby town. They'll have to unpack the basket sooner or later. Little did I know!"
He shook his head and sighed. "I could feel the basket being carried into a car and riding somewhere and then being lifted down. That must have been the railroad station. Then I went up again and there was a rattling and roaring sound, the way a train makes. By this time I was pretty scared. I knew every minute was taking me farther away from my stump, but there wasn't anything I could do. I was getting awfully cramped too, under those roast beef sandwiches."
"Didn't you try to eat your way out?" asked Tucker.
"I didn't have any room," said Chester. "But every now and then the train would give a lurch and I managed to free myself a little. We traveled on and on, and then the train stopped. I didn't have any idea where we were, but as soon as the basket was carried off, I could tell from the noise it must be New York."
"You never were here before?" Tucker asked.
"Goodness no!" said Chester. "But I've heard about it. There was a swallow I used to know who told about flying over New York every spring and fall on her way to the North and back. But what would I be doing here?" He shifted uneasily from one set of legs to another. "I'm a country cricket."
"Don't worry," said Tucker Mouse. "I'll feed you liverwurst.
You'll be all right. Go on with the story."
"It's almost over," said Chester. "The people got off one train and walked a ways and got on another -- even noisier than the first."
"Must have been the subway," said Tucker.
"I guess so," Chester Cricket said. "You can imagine how scared I was. I didn't know where I was going! For all I knew they could have been heading for Texas, although I don't guess many people from Texas come all the way to Connecticut for a picnic."
"It could happen," said Tucker, nodding his head.
"Anyway I worked furiously to get loose. And finally I made it. When they got off the second train, I took a flying leap and landed in a pile of dirt over in the corner of this place where we are."
"Such an introduction to New York," said Tucker, "to land in a pile of dirt in the Times Square subway station. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"And here I am," Chester concluded forlornly. "I've been lying over there for three days not knowing what to do. At last I got so nervous I began to chirp."
"That was the sound!" interrupted Tucker Mouse. "I heard it, but I didn't know what it was."
"Yes, that was me," said Chester. "Usually I don't chirp until later on in the summer -- but my goodness, I had to do something!" The cricket had been sitting next to the edge of the shelf. For some reason -- perhaps it was a faint noise, like padded feet tiptoeing across the floor -- he happened to look down. A shadowy form that had been crouching silently below in the darkness made a spring and landed right next to Tucker and Chester.
"Watch out!" Chester shouted, "A cat!" He dove headfirst into the matchbox.
Harry Cat
Chester buried his head in the Kleenex. He didn't want to see his new friend, Tucker Mouse, get killed. Back in Connecticut he had sometimes watched the one-sided fights of cats and mice in the meadow, and unless the mice were near their holes, the fights always ended in the same way. But this cat had been upon them too quickly: Tucker couldn't have escaped.
There wasn't a sound. Chester lifted his head and very cautiously looked behind him. The cat -- a huge tiger cat with gray-green eyes and black stripes along his body -- was sitting on his hind legs, switching his tail around his forepaws. And directly between those forepaws, in the very jaws of his enemy, sat Tucker Mouse. He was watching Chester curiously. The cricket began to make frantic signs that the mouse should look up and see what was looming over him.
Very casually Tucker raised his head. The cat looked straight down on him. "Oh, him," said Tucker, chucking the cat under the chin with his right front paw, "he's my best friend. Come out from the matchbox."
Chester crept out, looking first at one, then the other.
"Chester, meet Harry Cat," said Tucker. "Harry, this is Chester. He's a cricket."
"I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance," said Harry Cat in a silky voice.
"Hello," said Chester. He was sort of ashamed because of all the fuss he'd made. "I wasn't scared for myself. But I thought cats and mice were enemies."
"In the country, maybe," said Tucker. "But in New York we gave up those old habits long ago. Harry is my oldest friend.
He lives with me over in the drain pipe. So how was scrounging tonight, Harry?"
"Not so good," said Harry Cat. "I was over in the ash cans on the East Side, but those rich people don't throw out as much garbage as they should."
"Chester, make that noise again for Harry," said Tucker Mouse. Chester lifted the black wings that were carefully folded across his back and with a quick, expert stroke drew the top one over the bottom. A thrumm echoed through the station.
"Lovely -- very lovely," said the cat. "This cricket has talent."
"I thought it was singing," said Tucker. "But you do it like playing a violin, with one wing on the other?"
"Yes," said Chester. "These wings aren't much good for flying, but I prefer music anyhow." He made three rapid chirps.
Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat smiled at each other. "It makes me want to purr to hear it," said Harry.
"Some people say a cricket goes 'chee chee chee,'" explained Chester. "And others say, 'treet treet treet,' but we crickets don't think it sounds like either one of those."
"It sounds to me as if you were going 'crik crik crik,'" said Harry.
"Maybe that's why they call him a 'cricket,'" said Tucker.
They all laughed. Tucker had a squeaky laugh that sounded as if he were hiccupping. Chester was feeling much happier now. The future did not seem nearly as gloomy as it had over in the pile of dirt in the corner.
"Are you going to stay a while in New York?" asked Tucker.
"I guess I'll have to," said Chester. "I don't know how to get home."
"Well, we could always take you to Grand Central Station and put you on a train going back to Connecticut," said Tucker. "But why don't you give the city a try. Meet new people -- see new things. Mario likes you very much."
"Yes, but his mother doesn't," said Chester. "She thinks I carry germs."
"Germs!" said Tucker scornfully. "She wouldn't know a germ if one gave her a black eye. Pay no attention."
"Too bad you couldn't have found more successful friends," said Harry Cat. "I fear for the future of this newsstand."
"It's true," echoed Tucker sadly. "They're going broke fast." He jumped up on a pile of magazines and read off the names in the half-light that slanted through the cracks in the wooden cover. "Art News -- Musical America.
Who would read them but a few long-hairs?"
"I don't understand the way you talk," said Chester. Back in the meadow he had listened to bullfrogs, and woodchucks, and rabbits, even a few snakes, but he had never heard anyone speak like Tucker Mouse. "What is a long-hair?"
Tucker scratched his head and thought a moment. "A long-hair is an extra-refined person," he said. "You take an Afghan hound -- that's a long-hair."
"Do Afghan hounds read Musical America?" asked the cricket.
"They would if they could," said Tucker.
Chester shook his head. "I'm afraid I won't get along in New York," he said.
"Oh, sure you will!" squeaked Tucker Mouse. "Harry, suppose we take Chester up and show him Times Square. Would you like that, Chester?"
"I guess so," said Chester, although he was really a little leery of venturing out into New York City.
The three of them jumped down to the floor. The crack in the side of the newsstand was just wide enough for Harry to get through. As they crossed the station floor, Tucker pointed out the local sights of interest, such as the Nedick's lunch counter -- Tucker spent a lot of time around there -- and the Loft's candy store. Then they came to the drain pipe. Chester had to make short little hops to keep from hitting his head as they went up. There seemed to be hundreds of twistings and turnings, and many other pipes that opened off the main route, but Tucker Mouse knew his way perfectly -- even in the dark. At last Chester saw light above them. One more hop brought him out onto the sidewalk. And there he gasped, holding his breath and crouching against the cement.
They were standing at one corner of the Times building, which is at the south end of Times Square. Above the cricket, towers that seemed like mountains of light rose up into the night sky. Even this late the neon signs were still blazing. Reds, blues, greens, and yellows flashed down on him. And the air was full of the roar of traffic and the hum of human beings. It was as if Times Square were a kind of shell, with colors and noises breaking in great waves inside it. Chester's heart hurt him and he closed his eyes.
The sight was too terrible and beautiful for a cricket who up to now had measured high things by the height of his willow tree and sounds by the burble of a running brook.
"How do you like it?" asked Tucker Mouse.
"Well -- it's -- it's quite something," Chester stuttered.
"You should see it New Year's Eve," said Harry Cat.
Gradually Chester's eyes got used to the lights. He looked up. And way far above them, above New York, and above the whole world, he made out a star that he knew was a star he used to look at back in Connecticut. When they had gone down to the station and Chester was in the matchbox again, he thought about that star. It made him feel better to think that there was one familiar thing, twinkling above him, amid so much that was new and strange.
How does the author use his characters to express the theme?
Chester's whole story came to George immediately. The cricket reminded George of his home in the countryside where he used to live.
1 New York City is filled with people from many different backgrounds and countries. What message do you think the author is sending by making a cricket, a cat, and a mouse his main characters? Use your theme chart to answer the question.
2. Reread page 708 of the story. How do you think Chester feels about New York after he sees Times Square? Use story details to support your answer.
3. If you could be a character in the story, which character would you choose to be, Chester or Tucker?
4. Tucker advises his new acquaintance Chester to give the city a try. How would you decide if this is a good idea? Support your answer with details from the text. 
5. Read "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse" on pages 690-691. How is Country Mouse's experience similar to Chester's on pages 701 to 704? How is it different? Use details from both selections in your answer. 
Editorials are articles printed in newspapers and magazines that express the opinions of the writer.
Advertisements are text and pictures that try to persuade consumers to buy a product.
Creepy? Dark? Dangerous? People who know very little about this creature might answer in this way. Those who know bats would use words such as "fascinating," "amazing," even "beautiful."
All of us here in Austin have an incredible opportunity to take a first-hand look at the Mexican free-tailed bat. A colony of bats has settled under the Congress Avenue Bridge.
I urge all of you to come out to see these bats. They tend to come out around sunset. Depending on the size of a colony, bats can eat tens of thousands of insects during their nightly flights. That, my friends, is a lot of mosquitoes.
Unfortunately, bat populations are falling all around the county. This decline is due to several factors. Insecticides have killed many bats. People have disturbed bat roosts. Sadly, people who mistakenly think that bats are dangerous or carry disease have intentionally destroyed them. Scientists, however, believe that fewer than one bat in 200 is sick. Sick bats are too weak to fly, so they rarely come in contact with people. We need to spread the word.
Dr. Markus Rivera, a scientist who studies bats, has some helpful advice to pass along. Here are his bat-viewing suggestions.
Look for bats at dawn or dusk.
Pick an open spot to see bats against the sky.
Look for bats near water or streetlights.
Never touch a bat.
Do not disturb bats during the day when they sleep.
Did you know that bats do not rely on their eyes when they fly and hunt insects? They use echolocation. They emit high-pitched sounds. When the sound waves bounce off objects and return to the bat's ears, it can tell how far away the object is.
What are some persuasive techniques used in the ad on page 713? Could a customer at Kramer's get 50% off all hammocks? 
If you want to watch bats, when and where should you look? 
Think about the editorial and The Cricket in Times Square. What are some misunderstandings that people have about crickets? About bats? 
News articles answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why.
I wrote a fact-filled news article about an interesting subject.
I included the "five Ws"- who, what, why, when, and where.
Have you seen the big green birds on the telephone poles behind the school? Their messy nest has been there for at least three years, growing larger every year.
The birds are called monk parakeets, but they are a kind of parrot that originally lived in South America.
How did they get here? They are probably escaped pets. Bird experts think the parakeets like it here on the coast because it doesn't get too cold in the winter. Next time you're outside for recess, take a look at our monk parakeet colony.
Write a news article about an animal outside its habitat. Choose a topic that is important or unusual -- something that will interest your readers. Think about the "five Ws" as you research and write: who, what, where, when, and why. Make sure you answer these questions with facts. Use the Writer's Checklist to check your writing.
Nature's Time Capsule
About 30 million years ago, this tiny scorpion found trouble. It got stuck in some sticky stuff called resin. Over millions of years, that resin grew dryer and harder. Finally it turned into a material called amber. The scorpion remained perfectly preserved in a golden prison.
Amber is nature's time capsule. It forms a tight seal around whatever is trapped inside, protecting it from the effects of aging. Scientists have found insects preserved in amber that come from the time of the dinosaurs.
Several years ago, a scientist discovered an important amber fossil: three tiny flowers that were 90 million years old. Found in New Jersey, they are the oldest whole flowers ever seen.
Because amber is beautiful, people value it for reasons other than science.
For centuries people have made jewelry and sculpture from amber. To the ancient Etruscans, who lived in what is now Italy, amber was as precious as gold. But not all amber is golden.
Some is white, red, or green.
Bambiraptor had a long, stiff tail and long arms that could bend at the wrist. It may also have had feathers.
"This big ball of dirt rolled over, and I saw black bones in it," recalls Wes Linster, describing his astonishing discovery in 1994 at age 14. Linster was digging on a ranch near Choteau, Montana, when he stumbled upon the new dinosaur species. His family nicknamed the three-foot-long fossil Bambi because it was so small.
The fossil itself is the skeleton of a baby that lived 75 million years ago. It belongs to a dinosaur family that most scientists believe are the ancestors of birds.
Paleontologist John Ostrom first inspected the bones in 1995. "The skeleton is a jewel," he says. "I think it's one of the most valuable scientific specimens ever found in North America"
A Nonfiction Article gives information about real people, places or things.
A generalization is a broad statement. It combines facts in a selection with what a reader already knows to tell what is true in many cases.
What does a paleontologist do next after she's discovered the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils ever found?
"I was really shy and always walked with my head down," she says, "but my curiosity was strong." She often searched the ground for low-lying treasures. Hendrickson's interest in finding things turned into an exciting job. Now she is a field paleontologist. As a paleontologist, Hendrickson gets to spend a lot of her time exploring -- and digging. Her searches for new discoveries have taken her to countries around the world.
Hendrickson became famous after making a gigantic discovery in August 1990. After a long day of digging in South Dakota, she stumbled upon one of the largest and most complete specimens of a T. rex skeleton ever found. "It was as if she was just waiting to be discovered," Hendrickson says. "It took 67 million years, but we finally got to her."
How did this fossil hunter discover this ancient natural wonder? It all started with a flat tire. While others from her digging team went to get the tire fixed, Hendrickson decided to explore a nearby cliff with her golden retriever, Gypsy.
She walked around with her eyes to the ground, as usual. Suddenly, she noticed a few pieces of bone. Then she looked up. She inspected the rocky cliffs above her head and saw three dinosaur backbones. She quickly headed back to the team to tell them about her exciting discovery.
Over a period of three weeks, the paleontologist and her team were able to uncover the huge dinosaur fossil. The team decided to name the dino fossil Sue, after Hendrickson. How does Hendrickson feel about finding Sue? "She is, I am certain, the greatest discovery I will ever make," she said.
Hendricksons adventurous spirit and curiosity about the past have taken her to extreme places to do her work.
When she's not digging for bones, she's diving for sunken treasure. She has been working with a team in Egypt to find the palace of Cleopatra. The palace sank underwater during a fifth century earthquake. "Sharing these finds with the world is the biggest thrill," says Hendrickson.
Hendrickson also explored a 400-year-old sunken ship in the waters near the Philippines. The ship was called San Diego. It was a Spanish ship that was used for trade and battle. In 1600, the ship sank to the bottom of the South China Sea. Hendrickson was part of the team that helped make the San Diego famous again.
In 2004, Hendrickson joined a team of divers in Egypt to find an ancient sunken city. She also was part of a dive in Cuba to explore a ship that sank in 1714.
What advice does Hendrickson have for kids who want to get their fingers dirty?
"Spend some time volunteering out in the field with professionals," she recommends. "And focus on school. It will equip you to learn on your own"
1. What is a paleontologist?
2. What generalization can you make about Sue Hendrickson's life?
3. Do you think you would like traveling as much as Sue Hendrickson does? Why or why not?
The answer is not in the selection. Use what you know to form your answers for questions 4 and 5.
A canopy crane lowers researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute into the canopy of a rain forest in Panama.
Rain forests are one of Earth's last frontiers. They are filled with plants and animals that are rarely -- if ever -- seen by humans. According to one estimate, more than half of all life forms on Earth live in tropical rain forests. Some scientists believe there may be many millions more.
Scientists are now focusing on the forest canopy. The canopy is the highest part of the forest. It is a network of leaves, vines, and branches that forms a world within a world. It functions differently from other parts of the forest because of its height and exposure to sunlight. This world has been difficult to study because of the great height of rain forest trees. New techniques and equipment are changing that. The canopy crane is one important example.
The canopy crane is an ordinary construction crane equipped with a special platform. The crane lifts the platform above the treetops and then gently lowers it into the canopy. Scientists use the platform as a base of operations for their studies. One scientist described this experience as "like landing on the moon." Scientists agree that there is much to learn about this unique place that is right here on Earth.
Sometimes scientists must go to new and unfamiliar places. Write a personal essay about a time when you had to go somewhere new or face something new. Express your opinion about what you experienced.
I grew up in a small town. I knew just about every person there, and they knew me. I was very happy there. Why would I want to leave? Then one day my mother said we were moving. She had a great new job, in a city a thousand miles away.
The city was very different. I didn't know anybody. I didn't know my way around. We lived in an apartment, not a house. People spoke with a different accent. Even the food was different.
Well, I was miserable for about three days. Then I met my new neighbor, a kid my age. He introduced me to his friends. When school started, I met even more new friends. I learned my way around, and there was a lot to do. I decided I liked most of the food.
I still miss my old town and my old friends. But I can go back for a visit, so now I figure I have two home towns!
I summed up my opinion in the last paragraph.
Some people welcome new experiences. Others like things to stay the same. Either way, we all have to face new things in life. Write a personal essay about a time when you had to face something new. Describe the situation, how you felt before, and how you felt after.
Ask yourself, who will read my essay?
Think about your purpose for writing.
Plan your writing before beginning.
Use details to support your opinion.
Be sure you state your opinion and give reasons for it.
Use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Every day thousands of people fly through the sky in airplanes. It is easy to take flying for granted, but it took many years and many inventors to master flight.
About 1500 Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian artist, made sketches of flying machines with wings that flapped like a bird's. In 1783 the Montgolfier brothers made a balloon out of linen cloth and paper. A controlled fire filled the balloon with hot air, which made it rise. Other inventors tried using hydrogen to make their balloons rise. Hydrogen is a gas that is lighter than air.
In 1804 Sir George Cayley made the first successful glider. A glider is an aircraft without engines. Although Cayley's first glider could not carry a passenger, his later gliders could.
Over the years better gliders were built. They were still unstable, though, and hard to control. It was the Wright brothers who figured out how to steer a glider.
In 1903 the Wright brothers built their first airplane. It had a gasoline engine and a wingspan of 40 feet, 4 inches. Only a few inventors applauded the Wright brothers' success. Other inventors continued working to perfect the flying machine.
Newspaper headlines cheered Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh in 1927. He was the first to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to do the same thing, in 1932.
In the 1950s American engineers designed passenger jet planes. By 1970 the world's first jumbo jet could carry more than 400 people. Today jets can fly farther and faster than ever.
Flight has come a long way since the days of hoisting a glider to the top of a sand dune. We owe our thanks to those who risked their lives when no one was assured of success.
As you check your comprehension, it is important to evaluate how an author feels about a topic. Using an Author's Perspective Map can help you understand his or her point of view. Reread this selection and think about the author's perspective.
Narrative Nonfiction is a story or account about actual persons, living things, situations, or events.
As you read, fill in your Author's Perspective Map.
What inspired the Wright brothers to make the first successful flying machine?
I was four years old when Papa brought home a little flying machine. He tossed it into the air right in front of Orv and Will. They leaped up to catch it.
"Is it a bat?" Orv asked. Or maybe it was Will.
When at last the "bat" fell to the floor, they gathered it up like some sultan's treasure, marveling at its paper wings, admiring the twisted rubber band that gave it power. I wanted to touch it, too, but they would not let me, saying I was too little, though I was but three years younger than Orv, to the very day.
When the "bat" broke, they fixed it together, Will directing Orv -- with his busy hands -- tinkering till the toy worked better than when Papa first brought it home.
Our older brothers, Reuchlin and Lorin, looked down on childish activity, but Will was not put off. He made one, and two, and three more "bats," each one bigger than the last. Orv was his constant helper. I stood on tiptoe by the table, watching them work.
Will shook his head. "On a much larger scale," he said, "the machine fails to work so well."
They both were puzzled. They did not know yet that a machine twice as big needs eight times the power to fly.
After that, Will built sturdy kites, which he sold to his pals in school. Orv made a printing press, with an old tombstone for a press bed, wheels and cogs from a junkyard, and the folding top of my old baby buggy that he had found in the barn.
My, it made me smile to see it.
Papa and Mama applauded their efforts.
Orv's press could print a thousand pages an hour.
A printer from the great city of Denver came to visit and climbed under and over Orv's baby-buggy press. At last he laughed, amazed. "Well it works," he said, "but I certainly don't see how."
Orv and Will made many messes, but Mama never complained. She'd always been the one who gave them a hand building things when they were boys. Poor Papa. He knew God's word well enough, but not how to drive a nail.
When dear Mama died of tuberculosis, I took over her role: keeping the house, making the meals, and always giving the boys applause, even after I graduated from college and worked as a teacher.
Will and Orv never went on in school. They ran a print shop, then a bicycle shop, repairing and making custom-built models they called the Van Cleve and the St. Clair. Theirs was not the biggest bicycle shop in Dayton, but I like to think it was the best.
Will and Orv. Orv and Will. They worked side by side in the bicycle shop, whistling at the same time, humming the same tune. They even -- so Will said -- thought together.
Some folks mistook them for twins, though they looked nothing alike. Will had a hawk's face, and Orv a red mustache. Orv was the neat one.
He wore special cuffs for his sleeves and a blue-and-white-striped apron to protect his clothes. But Will -- land's sake, he was a mess. I had to remind him when his suit needed pressing and when his socks did not match, or find him one of Orv's shirts when he was ready to go off to give a speech.
The newspapers and magazines were full of stories about people trying to fly. Lilienthal, Pilcher, Chanute, men into birds, the headlines read. I wondered if such a thing were really possible. Orv said: "insects, birds, and mammals fly every day at pleasure, it is reasonable to suppose that man might also fly."
Will wrote off to the Smithsonian for all their books and pamphlets on flight. He and Orv studied page after page. The first question they asked was:
How can we control the flight?
They knew that a bicycle is unstable by itself, yet it can be controlled by a rider. How much more control would an aeroplane need?
Overhead, buzzards wheeled in the sky, constantly changing the positions of their wings to catch the flow of air. "If birds can do it,"
Orv mused out loud, "so can men." He seemed so certain, I began to believe it could be done. I began to believe it could be done by Will and Orv.
What is the author's perspective about Will and Orville's sister? What role does Jane Yolen have her play in the story?
They built their first aircraft right in the bicycle shop. I took over running the place, as Mama would have, so they might make their flying machine.
That first aircraft's wings spanned a full five feet. I measured it out myself. The craft was of pinewood covered with fabric and sealed with shellac. Like a kite, it was controlled by a set of cords.
When it was finished, Orv and I went off on a camping trip with a group of friends. While we were gone, Will did a sneak. He marched out to a nearby field and he flew the glider, watched only by some boys. The thing suddenly swooped down on them. The boys ate dust that day, I'll tell you.
Their first aircraft was a big kite. But a kite is not an aeroplane. So Will and Orv set about to build it bigger -- sixteen or seventeen feet, large enough to carry a man but still open to all the elements.
Will lay facedown on the lower wing, showing me how he planned to fly. I tried to imagine the wind in his face, the dirt and grass rushing up to greet him like an old bore at a party.
"Is it safe?" I whispered.
He winked at me, smiled, and said, "If you are looking for perfect safety, sit on the fence and watch the birds."
Dayton, Ohio, where we lived, was not the place to fly the craft. Will and Orv needed somewhere with open spaces and strong, regular breezes. They thought about San Diego, about St. James, Florida, about the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia.
At last they settled on Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks, a two-hundred-mile strip of sand with the ocean at its face and North Carolina at its back. Will called it "a safe place for practice." Only sand and hearty breezes. Only sun and a moon so bright Orv could read his watch all hours. I kept the store. Will and Orv kept the sky.
Weeks, months went by in practice. The boys sent me letters almost every day so that I might follow their every move. When they were home,
I was in their closest confidence.
At Kitty Hawk they flew the aircraft with a man -- and without one -- but always controlled the craft from the ground. We had thought: Stand on the shoulders of giants, and you are already high above the ground, but success did not come as quickly as we hoped. Finally Will made a big decision: "We cast the calculations of others aside."
Back in Dayton they would start anew. This time when they left Kitty Hawk for home, when they left the wind, the sand, the mosquitoes that left lumps like hen's eggs, they came home with a new idea.
How does the author feel about the Wright brothers? Provide examples from the story to support your answer.
Now they worked dawn to dusk, so absorbed in what they were doing, they could hardly wait for morning to come to begin again. They built a small wind tunnel out of an old starch box and used a fan to make the wind. Then they built a larger tunnel.
They learned about lift and drag. They tried out many different kinds of wings. And three years, almost to the day, after Will had written to the Smithsonian, they were ready for powered flight. They built the Flyer, with a wingspan of just over forty feet.
Our friend Charlie Taylor made a twelvehorsepower engine for the Flyer, a motor both light and powerful. Gasoline was gravity-fed into the engine from a small tank just below the upper wing. The Flyer was so big -- over six hundred pounds of aeroplane -- it could not be assembled whole in our shop.
Back to Kitty Hawk they went at the tag end of September 1903, carrying crates filled with aircraft parts. It took weeks to put the Flyer together, weeks more to prepare for the flight.
Winter came blustering in early. It was cold in camp, each morning the washbasin was frozen solid, so they wrote in their letters. They kept fiddling, tinkering, changing things.
Finally, on December 14, they were ready. They flipped a coin to see who would be pilot. Will won, grinned, climbed into the hip cradle, and off the Flyer went, rattling down the sixty-foot starting track, then sailing fifteen feet into the air, where it stalled, crashed. But they were encouraged nonetheless. The telegram they sent to Papa and me read: Rudder only injured. Success assured. Keep quiet.
On December 17, a cold and windy day, the Flyer repaired and ready, they decided to try again.
Four men and a teenage boy appeared.
The men helped them get the Flyer onto the starting track. Orv lay down on the lower wing, his hips in the padded cradle. Will shook Orv's hand.
"Now you men," Will called out, "laugh and holler and clap and try to cheer my brother."
The motor began: Cough, cough, chug-a-chug-achug. Orv released the wire that held the plane to the track. Then the plane raced forward into the strong wind and into history.
The boys sent a telegram home to Papa and me.
After that, the world was never the same. Many men went into the air. Women, too. I was not the first woman to fly. That honor went to the wife of one of our sponsors, Mrs. Hart O. Berg, with a rope around her skirt to keep it from blowing about and showing her legs. She flew for two minutes and seven seconds, sitting stiffly upright next to Will.
A Parisian dressmaker who watched the flight invented the hobble skirt, which for a short time was quite smart. Such is fashion.
But how I laughed when I had my turn at last, flying at Pau in France on February 15, 1909. Will took his seat beside me. Orv waved from the ground. The plane took off into the cold blue.
Wind scoured my face till my cheeks turned bright red. Then I opened my arms wide, welcoming all the sky before me.
Jane Yolen was asked by her editor to write a book about the Wright brothers for the 100th anniversary of their first flight. Jane wanted her book to be different from all the other books about the Wrights. She did a lot of research, until she came across an interesting note about the Wright brothers' sister. Jane knew she had found her story.
Jim Burke has been an award-winning artist for many years, but this is his first book for children. Jim currently lives in New York City.
How can you figure out Jane Yolen's purpose for writing My Brothers' Flying Machine? What clues tell you if she wanted to inform, explain, or entertain?
Explain who the main characters are and tell the most important story events in the order in which they happened.
What makes this story about the Wright brothers different from other biographies you have read? 
Reread page 744. How do you think Will feels about living in "perfect safety"? Use story details in your answer. 
Imagine you are reporting on the Wright brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk. What would your headline and article say? 
Would the Wright brothers have succeeded without the support of their sister? Explain your opinion. 
What do you learn about the Wright brothers' first flight in "Take Off" on pages 732-733? What else do you learn from pages 748-750 of My Brothers' Flying Machine? 
I hear Amelia Earhart took a plane and flew it like a bullet straight up through clouds into an atmosphere we can't see and when the engine cut (the plane being pushed as high as it would go)
The first line of the poem is repeated later.
I hear Amelia Earhart turned that plane straight back down into a blanket of foggy cloud lying thick and nearly to the ground only with the clouds gone could she pull back on the stick the ground screaming in her face Amelia tacked that plane back into the sky saving herself and breaking another flying record -- Monica Kulling.
The phrase "the ground screaming in her face" is an example of personification. The poet describes the ground as if it were a human being.
1. If you were the poet, how else might you use personification in this poem? 
2. How is this narrative poem like a story? Tell about the poem's main character, the problem faced by the main character, and the solution. 
3. Compare Amelia Earhart with the Wright brothers as they are described in My Brothers' Flying Machine. How are they similar? How are they different?
Unnecessary details slow the reader down. A good writer includes only important details essential to the theme or story.
I included important details about Ann.
I took out the extra words I didn't need.
I interviewed my neighbor Ann Smith.
She writes and illustrates children's books. Many of her books are about birds and flying insects. I asked Ann why that was.
"I've always wished I could fly," said Ann. guess that's why I make books about things that fly." Ann said she usually goes to the woods to watch birds and insects.
On a pad of paper, she sketches them and carefully takes notes about what they do. She also reads a lot of books about animals that can fly.
I asked Ann what her next book will be about. She laughed and said, "It's about airplanes!"
Interview someone about his or her job. First prepare a list of questions. During the interview, ask these questions and write down the answers. Then use your notes to write one or two paragraphs. Start a paragraph by including the question you asked.
Then include the person's answer. Use direct quotations whenever possible. 
What do you want to be when you grow up? Perhaps an astronomer who studies the stars? Perhaps a scientist who investigates ants? Find out how interesting these insects are.
There are about 10,000 kinds of ants. Most are not solitary but live in groups called colonies. Ants are everywhere, but they prefer their territory to be in warm climates and never where it's very cold.
Communication among ants varies. Some tap on the outside of their nest to alert the ants inside that food or enemies are nearby. Other ants can make squeaking or buzzing sounds. Ants also make chemicals that other ants in the colony can smell. Each chemical communicates different information to the colony.
These ants got their name from the way they get most of their nutrients. Dairying ants "milk" insects called aphids. In exchange for the juice, dairying ants protect the aphids against other insects.
Some dairying ants are also babysitters. They keep aphids' eggs in their nests during the winter. Then when the eggs hatch, the ants place the baby aphids on plants.
Some ants are gardeners. They grow fungi that the colony can eat. These ants gather leaves, flower petals, and other things from outside the nest. Then they bring them inside to use as fertilizer in their fungi gardens.
Ants have lived on Earth for a long time. They have been found in prehistoric pieces of amber. This is material that existed during the time of the dinosaurs! These tiny creatures have had to overcome many challenges in order to survive, and ants are here to stay.
Description Authors may structure the information they present in a variety of ways. A paragraph may define or classify. It may list examples using words such as for example, such as, is like, include, or which shows. It may also describe the characteristics of the subject.
A Description Web can help you identify text structure. Reread the article and use the chart to help you determine the text structure.
Informational Nonfiction is a detailed composition that sets out to explain something by presenting facts about it.
Ants are one of the world's most important insects. They plow more soil than beetles, eat more bugs than praying mantises, and outnumber many insects by 7 million to 1.
Tunneling out of jungles and forests and into back yards on every continent except Antarctica, ants ramble on as if they own the Earth. Perhaps they do.
Ounce for ounce, an ant is one of the strongest animals on earth. An ant can lift a seed five times its weight, while an elephant can lift a log only one fifth of its weight.
Each year, the world's ants dig up more than 16 billion tons of dirt -- enough to fill 3 billion dump trucks.
Ants are frequently compared with people because they live in social communities and work together to solve their problems.
There are more than a million kinds of insects. Most of them are solitary insects. Their survival depends on only one being -- themselves.
An ant is different; it is a social insect. It cannot survive by itself for long periods of time. Ants need other ants to help build a nest, gather food, and protect themselves from enemies. This need for other ants is not a weakness but a strength that enables the ant to overcome its small size.
When an ant is threatened by a larger insect, it emits a scent called an alarm pheromone. Other ants smell the odor and rush to help.
In the second paragraph of "Friends in Low Places," what details help describe how ants are different from other insects?
Successful teamwork requires effective communication.
Ants express themselves by using four senses.
Ants tap one another with their antennae to announce the discovery of food and to ask for food.
Ants emit pheromones that other ants smell through their antennae. These scents warn of danger, say hello to friends, and inspire fellow ants to work harder.
When some ants are trapped in a cave-in, they rub the joint between their waist and abdomen to produce a squeaky sound that other ants "hear" through their legs.
Ants exchange food with other ants mouth to mouth. These ant "kisses" are a way to share nutrition and chemicals that says "We're family."
Because it is dark underground, most ants do not rely on sight for communication.
In fact, many ants can see only a couple of inches, and some army ants are blind.
Ants live in social groups called colonies. A small colony may contain only 12 ants, while a large colony overflows with more than 7 million ants. Each colony has three types of ants: workers, male ants, and the queen ant.
Most of the colony's ants are workers. They are all female, but they do not lay eggs. Although they are the smallest ants, they do all of the chores: clean the nest, gather food, and defend the colony. When you see an ant dragging a crumb of food, you are looking at a worker.
All males have wings and can be seen for only a few weeks in the summer. They mate with the queen but do no work in the colony.
The queen ant lays eggs and is the mother of all the ants. Young queens have wings, but old queens do not. All queens have large abdomens to produce eggs. Some queens lay millions of eggs per year.
After a hot summer rain, a young queen takes off on her mating flight. The queen flies into a cloud of male ants and mates in the air.
Afterward, all the males die, and the queen returns to the earth. She breaks her wings off by rubbing them on the ground.
Then she digs a hole in the soft, moist earth and starts laying eggs.
She will never leave the nest again.
During the next three months, the eggs develop through four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult ant.
After they have hatched, the first workers assume the duties of the colony. They search for food and protect the queen. As the queen lays more eggs, the workers enlarge the nest.
Most ants build their homes underground. Ants dig by scooping dirt with their mandibles (jaws). As they chew the dirt, it mixes with their saliva to form little bricks. Then they pack the little bricks together to reinforce the tunnels. Finally, the ants carry the excess dirt outside with their mandibles, and it gradually forms an anthill.
Beneath the anthill lies the ant nest. Small nests have only one chamber just inches below the surface, while large nests may have thousands of chambers and may be as deep as twenty feet. All nests provide shelter from the weather and a safe environment for the queen ant to lay eggs.
An anthill absorbs the sun's rays and transfers the heat down into the nest. An anthill can be ten degrees warmer than the surrounding area.
Ants often nest beneath a rock or log, which protects the nest and traps moisture in the dirt. Ants require moisture so that their bodies do not dry out.
Ants dig their nests deep enough to reach damp dirt. As air dries out the nest, they dig new tunnels into the damp dirt.
As ants bring up dirt, they recycle nutrients that help plants grow.
In the daytime, ^ workers move eggs into the upper chambers, which are heated by the sun.
The floor of an ant chamber slants down so water can drain off The roof is curved to trap heat.
Ants begin their working lives by cleaning themselves. In a couple of days they start sharing food and licking each other. These food exchanges bond the colony together. There is no boss ant, but active ants usually begin doing chores and then other ants join in.
Younger ants work in the nest -- tending the queen ant, feeding larvae, and digging tunnels. After a couple of months, the ants leave the nest to search for food. There is no retirement; worn out or battle-scarred, ants work until they die.
Young ants help the queen deliver her eggs by grabbing the eggs with their mandibles.
Ants lick larvae so they do not dry out, and feed them so they grow.
As the population grows, ants dig more tunnels for the increased traffic and new chambers to store the eggs and larvae.
Digging holes can be hard work. To remove a pile of dirt 6 inches high, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches long requires 500,000 loads of dirt.
Every warm day, foraging ants patrol the colony's territory. They are not just wandering; they are searching for food. When an ant finds food, she rushes back to the colony while laying a scent trail. It is the scent trail that leads the other ants to the food source.
Each forager moves out in a different direction. One of the ants discovers a cookie crumb. She investigates it with her antennae. Then she tries to drag it home, but it's too big.
So she rushes home to get help. Every couple of steps she bumps her abdomen against the ground and her scent gland releases an invisible vapor, which forms a scent trail.
Back inside the colony, the forager alerts other ants about the cookie by tapping them with her antennae. Suddenly, several ants rush out and follow the scent trail to the food.
Each of the new ants harvests part of the cookie and transports it back to the colony while laying a scent trail of her own.
Soon the vapors of the scent trail are so thick that many more ants join the harvest. As they return, the foraging ants share their feast with the ants inside the nest. Within twenty-four hours, every ant in the colony has tasted the cookie.
Ants dug tunnels under dinosaurs.
Ants evolved from wasps more than 100 million years ago. They have been dodging footsteps ever since. As dinosaurs thundered above ground, ants dug out a home below. The mighty dinosaurs are long gone, but the little ant has survived.
Today, myrmecologists search for the secrets of the ants' long existence and how those traits may benefit our society. They study ant fossils in prehistoric amber and observe the daily habits of ant colonies.
Two ants were sealed in amber. Millions of years later, the amber was found in New Jersey.
Some scientists think a giant meteorite crashed into Earth, killing the dinosaurs. But ants, which could hide underground, survived the disaster.
When Europeans conquered the Caribbean islands, their forts were frequently invaded by ants. They offered rewards and prayed to Saint Saturnin to stop the six-legged armies.
Aborigines in Australia ate the honey of honeypot ants. Their modern descendants call these sweet ants yarumpa.
Chinese farmers used ants to keep their orange trees free of insect pests.
Herodotus, a Greek historian, wrote about ants that mined gold. Today, some miners sift through anthills to learn what minerals lie underground.
Anton von Leeuwenhoek, who invented the microscope, discovered ant eggs and pupae.
The biologist Charles Darwin wrote about ant intelligence and teamwork in his classic work The Origin of Species.
Germany passed a law protecting wood ants because they kept trees free of pests.
William Wheeler, one of America's first myrmecologists, traveled around the world collecting ants and ant fossils.
Bert Holldobler and Edward O. Wilson, two myrmecologists, won the Pulitzer Prize for their book The Ants.
Scientists applied ant behavior as a model for computer networks. Computer systems based on ant behavior rerouted around problems quicker than previous systems did.
The tunnel of time continues for ants. Their hard work inspires people today, as it has for many centuries. Look down on a warm day and you will probably find an ant. Drop a piece of food... and an ant will probably find you.
Charles Micucci often fills his nature books with amusing illustrations, just as he does in this selection. Once he even drew the planet Earth wearing red sneakers. Charles carefully researches his science topics. Sometimes he does experiments to help him write. When he was working on a book about apples, he planted 23 apple seeds and cared for them in his apartment.
The Life and Times of the Ant is a work of informational nonfiction. What was Charles Micucci's purpose for writing it? What clues in the text or illustrations help you to know?
Summarize The Life and Times of the Ant. Include only the most important information in your summary.
1. Use your Description Web to describe the inside of an anthill. Use story details in your descriptions. 
2. Reread page 763 of The Life and Times of the Ant. Why do you think the author describes ants as "masters of the Earth"? 
3. How could you use what you have learned about ants to overcome a problem? Explain your answer. 
4. How do ants keep nature in balance? Use details from the story to support your answer.
5. Read "Amazing Ants" on pages 760-761. What did you learn about how ants get food that was not in The Life and Times of the Ant? 
A LONG TIME AGO, in the old Summer Palace at the edge of the Emperor's courtyard, there lived a grasshopper and a family of ants.
The ants awoke every day before dawn and began their endless tasks of rebuilding their house of sand, which had been washed down by the evening rains, and searching for food, which they would store beneath the ground. They carried their loads grain by grain, _ one by one, back and forth, all day long.
"Silly ants," said the grasshopper. "Don't you ever rest? Today is the harvest festival. The Emperor will feast on mooncakes and sweet greens from the fields. I will play my music for him until the moon disappears into the smooth lake water. Come and dance with me."
"You would do well to do as we do," said one of the ants. "Winter is coming soon and food will be hard to find. Snow will cover your house and you will freeze without shelter."
But the grasshopper ignored the ant's advice and continued to play and dance until the small hours of the morning.
Winter arrived a week later and brought whirls of snow and ice.
The Emperor and his court left the Summer Palace for their winter home in the great Forbidden City. The ants closed their door against the ice and snow, safe and warm, resting at last after their long days of preparation.
And the grasshopper huddled beneath the palace eaves and rubbed his hands together in a mournful chirp, wishing he had heeded the ant's advice.
Identify the moral of this fable. Is this a good lesson to learn? Why or why not?
What problem does the grasshopper have? At what point in the story is he aware of it? Does he solve his problem?
Think about The Life and Times of the Ant. How are the ants in this fable similar to the ants in that selection? 
I read and took notes on an article about gibbons. Then I summarized the article. I began with a key fact.
Gibbons are small apes that live in rain forests in Southeast Asia. They make their homes high up in the treetops. There they eat, sleep, and raise their babies. Gibbons eat fruit, leaves, insects, and sometimes even small animals.
Gibbons move around in the trees skillfully. They can travel through treetops at 40 miles an hour. Leaping from branch to branch, they sometimes jump 50 feet to another tree. These small animals are remarkable.
Choose a magazine or a news article, or a chapter from a nonfiction book. Take notes on the article. List the main ideas and the important details for each main idea. Then use your notes to write a summary with a good beginning, middle, and end. 
The answer is not directly stated. Think about everything you have read to figure it out.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a prospector? What would it be like to tap rock with a hammer, hour after hour, in the hopes of discovering a glittering diamond?
Each year hundreds of people do just that in upper New York State. Herkimer County, New York, is the only place in the world where Herkimer diamonds can be found. Actually, they aren't real diamonds. They are natural quartz crystals with points at both ends.
When true diamonds are taken from the earth, they need to be cut and polished to make them sparkle and shine. Herkimer diamonds come out of their rocky homes already shaped and polished by nature!
Some 500 million years ago, a shallow sea covered parts of what is now New York State. Particles of rock and earth settled to the bottom of the water. Over millions of years, this sediment built up. The weight of the sediment on top pressed down on the bottom layers. Gradually, the layers of sediment turned into rock. Water seeped through pores in the rock and eventually became trapped in pockets in the rock. Over time, crystals formed in the pockets.
Long ago, the sea dried up. Glaciers and storms wore away the top layers of rock. This weathering exposed hidden crystals, and the first Herkimer diamonds came to light!
Native Americans in the area took their name from the gems. The local Mohawks were known as "The People of the Crystals."
There are no deep shafts in these "diamond mines." The mines are rocky, open pits. Safety comes first when prospecting for diamonds. The ground is rough and uneven. Prospectors are told to wear shoes or hiking boots, not sandals. Goggles are recommended as well. A rock chip in your eye can cause a serious problem!
Some collectors just wander around, hoping to spot a diamond. Some sift through the dirt. Serious prospectors use crowbars, rock hammers, and heavy chisels. Most miners use hammers that weigh two or three pounds. Whatever the tool, the method is the same. They pound the rock until it breaks apart. If they're lucky, a crystal will be there.
The luckiest prospectors find pockets of crystals, rather than a single stone. These pockets can be as much as six feet wide and can contain thousands of crystals. Most pockets contain crystals in a wide range of sizes, up to eight or more inches long. Sometimes a crystal has a water bubble inside it. Even more unusual is a crystal with ancient plants floating in the water bubble. Twin crystals, double crystals, and smoky crystals are all possible as well.
Shouts of "I found one!" encourage other prospectors to keep working. If they keep at it, they may be lucky, too. If not, they can always buy a Herkimer diamond in the gift shop.
1. How does the author feel about prospecting for diamonds?
2. What is the author's purpose in writing this selection?
3. Why would someone want to hunt for a Herkimer diamond?
4. What is one message the author wants to get across to readers?
5. Look back at the advertisement on page 784 of the selection. What is the purpose of this ad? Use details from the selection to support your response.
Imagine that you have been to Herkimer County to prospect for diamonds. Write a one-paragraph news story for the school newspaper about your visit and the discoveries you made there.
Glossary can help you find the meanings of words in this book that you may not know. The words in the glossary are listed in alphabetical order. Guide words at the top of each page tell you the first and last words on the page.
Each word is divided into syllables. The way to pronounce the word is given next. You can understand the pronunciation respelling by using the pronunciation key at the right. A shorter key appears at the bottom of every other page.