Family Times

Daily Questions

Fact and Opinion

Prior Knowledge

Vocabulary

Context Clues

Predictions

Guided Comprehension

Main Idea

Foreshadowing

Independent Readers

Earthquakes and Primary Sources

Additional Resources

Study Skills

Genre: Expository NonfictionVocabulary Strategy: Context CluesComprehension Skill: Fact and OpinionComprehension Strategy: Ask Questions

Question of the Week

How can unexpected encounters reveal hidden dangers.

Daily Questions

Why were people so fascinated by the Hindenburg when it was created?

Do you think air travel would be different today if the Hindenburg hadn’t exploded?

Where might you find reliable information about the Hindenburg explosion?

Activate Prior Knowledge

Compare means of transportation in the past and today.

Transportation in the Past Transportation Today

Steamer ships

Trains fueled by coal

Horse and buggy

Jet airplanes

High-speed trains

Space shuttle

Fact and Opinion

Statements of fact are objective, not personal. They can be proved true or false. Statements of opinion are personal judgments or beliefs. They cannot be proved true or false.

Statements of opinion can be valid or faulty. Valid statements can be supported by facts and common sense. Faulty statements cannot.

Examine statements of opinion by using your prior knowledge. Based on what you have seen or read or what you know, ask, Is the statement valid or faulty?

Statement of Opinion Support Valid or Faulty?

Ask Questions

Active readers ask questions before, during, and after reading. Asking and answering questions can help you recall important ideas and decide whether opinions are valid or faulty.

Write:

1.Read “How Blimps Are Used.” Make a graphic organizer like the one above to keep track of statements of opinion.

2.Use your graphic organizer to help you write an answer to one of your questions about blimps.

Introduce Vocabulary

Word Meaning Sentence

Criticizing

Cruised

Drenching

Era

Explosion

Hydrogen

Blaming

Traveled at a steady speed

The police officer is criticizing the driver for speeding.

The car cruised along the highway.

Soaking wet The drenching rain caused a flood.

Period of time Dinosaurs roamed the Earth in the prehistoric era.

Criticizing

Finding fault with; disapproving of; blaming

Cruised

Traveled at the speed at which the vehicle operates best

Drenching

Wetting thoroughly; soaking

Era

A period of time or history

Explosion

Act of bursting with a loud noise; a blowing up

Hydrogen

A colorless, odorless gas that burns easily

More Words to Know

Dirigible: An airship made with a rigid framework. It is filled with gas that is lighter than air.

Newsreels: Short news stories for a movie audience

Transatlantic: Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

Vocabulary Strategy

Context Clues

As you read, you may see a word you do not know. Often the author has given clues to help you figure out the meaning of an unknown word. Check the words and sentences around the unknown word for these clues.

1.Reread the sentence where the unknown word appears.

2.Is there a specific clue to the word’s meaning?

3.For more help, read the sentences around the sentence with the unknown word. Look for words or phrases that suggest a reasonable meaning.

4.Try the meaning in the sentence with the unknown word. Does it make sense?

As you read “The Birth of the Automobile,” use the context to help you figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Genre: Expository Nonfiction

Expository nonfiction explains what certain things are and how and why they came to be. As you read, notice how the author explains the origins of the Hindenburg – and its disastrous end.

Could a tiny spark lead to a

gigantic explosion?

Preview and Predict

Preview the selection title and illustration. Predict what kind of disaster is going to take place. Use you lesson vocabulary in your discussion.

Guided Comprehension

The first sentence says the first dirigible was successfully flown in Germany in 1900. Is that a statement of fact or opinion? How do you know?

Describe the construction of the first dirigible.

Use context clues to find the meaning of criticizing on p. 708, paragraph 3.

The zeppelin was a giant technological feat of the early 1900s. Compare and contrast it with the modern day space shuttle.

Describe the interior of the Hindenburg. Use details from the selection to support your description.

What is the main idea of p. 710, paragraph 3? Provide a supporting detail.

Identify one statement of fact and one statement of opinion from p. 712, paragraph 1.

Why did the steward take away the toy truck from the young passenger?

Write a question that you hope will be answered on the next page.

Guided Comprehension Continued

Why do you think it took only thirty-two seconds for the Hindenburg to burn?

Which part of this sentence, “Amazingly, of the ninety-seven people on board, sixty-seven survived the explosion: is an opinion and which is a fact?

How did Werner Franz survive the crash of the Hindenburg?

What is the main idea of p. 716?

Why do you think the era of zeppelins came to an end?

Are the “Did you know?” features on pp. 718-719 facts or opinions? How do you know?

Ask a question about the Hindenburg that is not answered on pp. 718-719.

Does Hugo Eckener remind you of any other inventors you’ve read about?

Main Idea

The Main idea of a paragraph or selection is the most important idea about the topic.

The main idea is not always stated directly. You may need to use details from the text to find the main idea.

“The main idea is not stated directly, but the details about people filling rooftops, windowsills, and streets, cheering as the zeppelin flew overhead, tell me that Americans were excited to see the zeppelin. This must be the main idea.”

Identify the main idea for the last three paragraphs on pp. 710-711.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a technique used to provide hints or clues about what will happen later in a selection.

Foreshadowing may help create suspense or a sense of the inevitable.

Foreshadowing can help make stories predictable.

The foreshadowing of the Hindenburg disaster through the discussion of safety hazards on p. 708.

Reread pp. 712-713 and write a list of specific examples of foreshadowing about the disaster that was about to take place.

SUMMARY Train Wreck! recounts the dangers involved in the early years of American train travel. This nonfiction readerprovides information on some famous railroad accidents of the 1800s and how improvements in technology have made train travel safer.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 5 Name one opinion found on this page. How do you know it’s the author’s opinion?

PAGE 10 Give an example of a generalization that the author makes.

PAGE 17 What question do you have after reading this page? Where could you look for an answer?

PAGE 18 Look at the sentence, “Jones died in a heroic effort to stop his train.” Is this a fact or an opinion? Explain your answer.

SUMMARY This reader gives a history of transatlantic flight, beginning with the 1919 crossing by a military plane. From there, the era of zeppelins and Lindbergh’s famous flight to Paris were not far behind.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 3 Identify one statement of opinion on this page.

PAGE 13 Is the sentence “Both men climbed out, unhurt” a statement of fact or of opinion?

PAGE 22 Look at the last sentence on the page. Rewrite this sentence using a synonym for drenching.

PAGE 23 What does the fact that Lindbergh couldn’t sleep the night before take-off add to this account?

SUMMARY Join the García family, 21st century travelers, as they take a plane from Chicago to Denver. Grandma reflects on how—from ticketing to checking in to inflightentertainment—flying has come a longway. This book talks about the future of commercial space flight as well.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 3 How did the Wright brothers reward Charley Furnas? What did they reward him for?

PAGE 6 What are e-tickets?

PAGE 10 What is one way commercial air travel today is different from earlier times?

PAGE 13 In addition to monitoring the electronic tracking system, what do air traffic controllers do before giving the final clearance to land?

PAGE 20 “Computers will likely play an even bigger role in future air travel.” Is this a statement of fact or of opinion? Explain.

Genre: Evaluating Sources

You can find information fast on the Internet, but only some of it will be reliable and useful.

On government and reference Web sites, such as NASA and Fact Monster, you’ll find facts you can rely on.

Text Features:

The addresses of these reliable Web sites often end in .gov, .edu, or .org.

Web sites that end in other ways, such as .com or .net, may be reliable. Use what you know and other sources.

What does the ending .gov in a Web address tell you about the site?

Why is it important to find a reliable Web site when looking for information?

Why are facts 2, 3 and 4 not useful?

Do the authors use facts in exciting ways?

Hindenburg Site

Additional Resources