4 TEACHER’S GUIDE Sky-High Dreams -...

Number of Words: 1,123

L E S S O N 4 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Sky-High Dreamsby Lee S. Justice

Fountas-Pinnell Level QHistorical FictionSelection SummaryDuring the Great Depression, Gabe’s family takes in his cousin Hank, whose family has lost its home. Hank is sad and barely involved in family activities. However, he comes alive after visiting the building site of what is to become the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building.

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Historical fi ction

Text Structure • First-person narrative • Organized chronologically• Problem presented in beginning of story

Content • Events take place in the distant past• Family takes in a needy relative during the Depression• Construction of the Empire State Building

Themes and Ideas • Helping out a family member is a positive thing to do.• You can watch history being made.• Architecture can inspire.

Language and Literary Features

• Conversational language • First-person narrator

Sentence Complexity • Split dialogue• Direct speech implied but no quotation marks for narrator’s words• Compound and complex sentences with phrases. Example: Hank was older than I was,

but I remembered that he was always laughing and joking.Vocabulary • Many construction terms that might not be familiar: beams, cable, columns, framework,

observatory, rivets, scaffoldsWords • Many compound words. Examples: framework, skyscraper, stickball, newsreel, sidewalk,

overnight, scrapbook, viewpoint, rooftopIllustrations • Drawings convey historic and architectural details.

Book and Print Features • Eleven pages of text, four-color illustrations on many pages; some full page art© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Expand Your Vocabulary

beams - long heavy pieces of timber or metal used as a main support of a building, p. 7

cable - a very strong thick rope, wire, or chain, p. 7

columns - supporting pillars, p. 7

framework - a basic supporting part or structure, p. 7

observatory - a place providing a wide view, p. 10

rivets - metal bolts with a head at one end used for uniting two or more pieces, p. 5

scaffolds - elevated platforms built as supports for workers, p. 7

skyscraper - a very tall building, p. 5

Sky-High Dreams by Lee S. Justice

Build BackgroundHelp students think about what they know about skyscrapers. Build interest by asking such questions as these: What is the tallest building where you live? What do you think it means to be sky high? Read the title and the author’s name, and then talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that this story is historical fi ction, so some of the events described in it really happened but the characters may not be real.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so that they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

: Explain that this story takes place in New York City in the 1930s during the Great Depression, when many people lost their jobs and their homes. The main characters are Gabe and his cousin Hank. Suggested language. Turn to page 2. Read aloud the last two sentences: Then I heard Papa say, “That’s what family is for. No nephew of mine is going to be out on the streets.” What does that tell you about the speaker, who is Gabe’s dad?

Page 5: Explain that this story shows how a very tall building called a skyscraper is built. Read the sentence: Slowly we began to hear the nonstop noise of rivets being hammered into steel. What do you think the rivets are holding together?

Pages 6–7: Point out that this story contains a number of terms related to construction. Make sure students understand the words scaffolds, framework, columns, beams, and cable. Help them fi nd some of the terms illustrated in the art on page 6. What would it be like to watch this building being built, fl oor by fl oor? Imagine what it would be like if it were the tallest building in the world!

Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out how a new skyscraper changes the lives of Gabe and Hank.

2 Lesson 4: Sky-High DreamsGrade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


ReadHave students read Sky-High Dreams silently while you listen to individual students read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Infer/Predict Strategy to fi nd clues to help them fi gure out more about the selection.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the story.Suggested language: Do you think the way Gabe and Hank acted about the Empire State Building was realistic? How is it the same and different from how you and your friends act when you are excited about something new?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Hank needs a place to stay until his parents have a home of their own again.

• Gabe tries hard to cheer up his cousin.

• Seeing the Empire State Building being built helps Hank feel excited and happy again.

• Being away from your own family can be hard.

• If someone is feeling sad, it helps to have something exciting to look forward to.

• Watching something big and historically important happen is exciting.

• The family scenes help us to understand how the Depression affected people.

• The details in the text and the art about what the building site looks and sounds like help us feel as though we’re right there.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to act out, such as page 7,

which has both narrative and dialogue. Remind them to try to sound as if the narrator, Gabe, is actually speaking.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify and extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students that compounds are formed from shorter, familiar words. For example, framework on page 7 is a compound that combines the words frame and work. Explain that taking apart longer words can sometimes help readers understand the meaning of compound words.



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 4.9.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillCompare and Contrast

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that recognizing how one

character is alike or different from another will help them to understand why those characters think or behave as they do. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

Look at the Venn diagram on page 14 of your book. Both Hank and Gabe are interested in the Empire State Building. So in the Venn diagram, that appears under “Both.” What do we know about Gabe that is not necessarily true of Hank? Gabe is living at home with his parents. That detail would appear under Gabe’s name in the chart.

Practice the SkillHave students write two sentences that compare and contrast what Hank was like at the beginning of the story and what he was like at the end of the story.

Writing Prompt: Thinking About the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think about the text, they refl ect back on the text. They notice and evaluate language, genre, literary devices, and how the text is organized.

Assessment Prompts• On page 3, what is the last paragraph mainly about?

• Tell one word that best describes how Hank felt as he looked over the city from the observatory on the 86th fl oor. Use details from the story to support your answer.

• This story was most likely written to _____________________________________.



English Language DevelopmentReading Support After reading aloud, help students to make a list of interesting language and/or new words, such as the list of words pertaining to construction.

Idioms Explain any idioms students might fi nd unfamiliar such as, on page 8, That skyscraper had captured Hank’s interest; and on page 9, You lifted Hank’s spirits!

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?

Speaker 2: Gabe

Speaker 1: Where does the story take place?

Speaker 2: in New York City

Speaker 1: Why does Gabe’s cousin Hank feel sad?

Speaker 2: His family lost their home.

Speaker 1: What does Doris learn from a newsreel at the movie theater?

Speaker 2: She learns about a skyscraper being built.

Speaker 1: What is special about the skyscraper?

Speaker 2: It will be the tallest skyscraper in the world.

Speaker 1: What does Hank think about the new skyscraper?

Speaker 2: He thinks it is the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

Speaker 1: How does Hank keep track of the new building?

Speaker 2: He keeps a scrapbook of articles and pictures.

Read directions to students.

Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text Why did Hank come to live with

Gabe’s family?

His father lost his job, and they could no longer afford to pay rent for a home.

2. Think within the text What was special about the new

offi ce building going up on Thirty-Fourth Street?

It would be the tallest skyscraper in the world.

3. Think about the text How was Hank different from the

way his cousin Gabe remembered him?

Possible response: Hank used to laugh and joke a lot. Now he looked sad and

stayed by himself much of the time.

4. Think beyond the text Why did Hank seem to “come

alive” during the summer?

Possible response: He was excited by the construction of the Empire State Building.

This new interest took his mind off the trouble his family was experiencing.

Making Connections Think about a time when someone or something cheered you up. Describe what happened.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Name Date

Grade 3, Unit 1: Good Citizens11

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Sky-High Dreams

Critical Thinking

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Name Date

Sky-High DreamsThinking About the Text

Think about the question below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs.

Most of this story is about watching all the steps of a skyscraper being built. At the end of the story, the main characters are standing near the top of the skyscraper so they can’t actually see the building. Why do you think the author ended the story with this scene?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text Why did Hank come to live with

Gabe’s family?

2. Think within the text What was special about the new

offi ce building going up on Thirty-Fourth Street?

3. Think about the text How was Hank different from the

way his cousin Gabe remembered him?

4. Think beyond the text Why did Hank seem to “come

alive” during the summer?

Making Connections Think about a time when someone or something cheered you up. Describe what happened.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Lesson 4B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 4 . 9

Sky-High Dreams

Critical Thinking



1413

989Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

10 New York is nicknamed the Empire State, and the name of the

new skyscraper was the Empire State Building. It opened in

May, right on schedule. Our whole family joined the crowds

eager to take a tour.

“Just swallow, and your ears won’t hurt,” advised the elevator

operator. The elevator soared to the eighty-sixth floor in a

flash. Everyone stepped out to the observatory.

I peered over the wall and stumbled back, dizzy. Then I took a

deep breath and looked again. The city spread out below me. I

could see tiny cars crawl on the streets and toy bridges stretch

across water.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/104 ×

100)

%

Total Self- Corrections

Student Date Lesson 4

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 4 . 1 3

Sky-High Dreams • LEVEL R Sky-High DreamsRunning Record Form



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