Home-School ConnectionHome-School Connection

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Dear Family Member:This week we’re reading Me

and Uncle Romie. It’s about a boy named James who goes to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in New York City. When James meets his aunt, I can tell by all the places she takes him and from the things she says that she is a nice woman. I don’t know anything about Uncle Romie yet, but I’m sure in a while what he says and does will tell me what kind of man he is.

This Week’s Skills

Comprehension: character, setting, and plot

Vocabulary: context clues—defi nitions and examples

Spelling/Phonics: compound words

Name

Word WorkoutWORDS TO KNOW

barbecue collage glorious

skyscrapers strutting swarms

Test Me Look at each word and give me a clue to what it is. If I don’t know the word, give me another clue. Let’s see how many clues it takes me to say the word.

SPELLING WORDS

fi shbowl lookout backyard undertake

campfi re overhead waterproof grandparent

newborn bookcase bedroom blindfold

yourself railroad desktop snowstorm

bedspread overdo clothesline loudspeaker

Match the Parts I’ll give you just one part of a compound word. Let’s see if you can name the missing word in the compound and spell the entire word.

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Dear DiarySuppose you are in a new place with a person you do not know. Let’s read about each location and the person you’re going to be there with. We can make up that character. What kind of person is this? How does he or she show that? What would she do? What would he say?

You’ve been chosen to join a group of students on a trip to a Central American rain forest. You’ll spend your summer exploring the plants and animals that live there. Mr. Tanner will be your leader. When you get to the forest you are amazed at how green and beautiful it is. However, it rains every day, and soon you and everything you own are damp. You complain to Mr. Tanner.

You’ve loved dinosaurs your entire life, so when you’re invited on a summer dinosaur dig, you jump at the chance. You are with a small group of paleontologists in a desert, and you share a tent with two other young people. It is very hot and you tire easily. You carefully dig hour after hour, but fi nd nothing.

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Conexión con el hogarConexión con el hogar

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Queridos familiares:Esta semana estamos leyendo

Me and Uncle Romie. Se trata de un niño llamado James que va a pasar el verano con su tía y su tío en la ciudad de Nueva York. Cuando James conoce a su tía, por los lugares adonde ella lo lleva y por lo que le dice, puedo ver que es una buena mujer. No sé nada sobre el tío Ramie todavía, pero con toda seguridad lo que él diga y haga me va a indicar qué clase de hombre es.

Destrezas de la semana

Comprensión: personaje, ambiente y argumento

Vocabulario: claves del contexto—defi niciones y ejemplos

Ortografía/Fonética: palabras compuestas

Nombre

Ejercicio de palabrasPALABRAS DE VOCABULARIO

barbecue collage glorious

skyscrapers strutting swarms

Ponme a prueba Mira cada palabra y dame una pista para indicarme qué es. Si no sé de qué palabra se trata, debes darme otra pista. Vamos a ver cuántas pistas necesito hasta descubrir cuál es la palabra.

PALABRAS DE ORTOGRAFÍA

fi shbowl lookout backyard undertake

campfi re overhead waterproof grandparent

newborn bookcase bedroom blindfold

yourself railroad desktop snowstorm

bedspread overdo clothesline loudspeakerUna parte y la otra Te voy a dar sólo una parte de una palabra compuesta. Vamos a ver si puedes decirme la palabra que falta y luego deletrear la palabra completa.

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Querido diarioSupón que estás en un lugar nuevo con una persona que no conoces. Leamos sobre cada lugar y la persona con la que estarás. Podemos crear ese personaje. ¿Qué clase de persona es? ¿Cómo lo demuestra? ¿Qué hace esa persona? ¿Qué dice?

You’ve been chosen to join a group of students on a trip to a Central American rain forest. You’ll spend your summer exploring the plants and animals that live there. Mr. Tanner will be your leader. When you get to the forest you are amazed at how green and beautiful it is. However, it rains every day, and soon you and everything you own are damp. You complain to Mr. Tanner.

You’ve loved dinosaurs your entire life, so when you’re invited on a summer dinosaur dig, you jump at the chance. You are with a small group of paleontologists in a desert, and you share a tent with two other young people. It is very hot and you tire easily. You carefully dig hour after hour, but fi nd nothing.

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Comprehension Check

SummarizeUse a graphic organizer to

record information from the

book. Then use the information

to summarize the story.

Think and Compare 1. Look back at page 14. How does Carly change

as she tries to figure out the secret of the

photographs? Where does this take place?

(Analyze Character, Setting, and Plot)

2. Carly enjoyed photographing the sights around

Fort Peck Lake. If you were taking pictures

of Fort Peck Lake, which subjects would you

photograph? Why? (Apply)

3. Look at the Margaret Bourke-White photographs

in Chapter 3. How do photographs sometimes

make ordinary things look glorious? (Evaluate)

Setting

Character’sReaction

Event

Character’sReaction

Event

Character’sReaction

Event

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by Kirsten Andersonillustrated by Matthew Archambault

Beautiful or Not

Table of ContentsChapter 1

The Perfect Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Chapter 2

A Tip from a Visitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Chapter 3

Learning from the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Chapter 4

The Perfect Picture, Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Comprehension Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

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Chapter 1

The Perfect PictureCarly held her breath as the broad-tailed

hummingbird fluttered near the cluster of

wildflowers. She stared into her camera,

waiting. A fly landed on Carly’s arm. She

flicked it away with a finger. The bird

flew near a flower. The flower wasn’t red

enough, though. Carly waited. The bird flew

to another flower. This one was too small.

Finally the bird hesitated over the largest,

reddest flower. Carly began to snap pictures.

She was certain that these would be some of

the best pictures she had ever taken.

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“Yes,” Carly said.

“They look like they’re big enough to hold

up a building. That’s good,” he said.

“Ugly things in dull places,” Carly

reminded him.

She printed out the pictures she liked, and

pinned them next to the collage of Margaret

Bourke-White photos.

“It’s not what it is, I guess,” Carly wrote

in her photo journal. “It’s how you see it.

You can see something a million different

ways—and that can be better than one

beautiful way.”

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“What are you doing?” Dad asked.

“Trying something new,” Carly said.

When Carly went home, she uploaded

her pictures. Some weren’t very good.

Others definitely were different. The fishing

poles looked gigantic. The floorboards had

contrasting patches of sun and shadows. They

might have been part of a railroad track.

Carly called Brad in to look at the

pictures.

“Are those fishing poles?” he asked, staring

closely at one picture.

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Carly raced home and uploaded the

pictures onto her computer. She couldn’t wait

to see the results.

But when the pictures came up on the

screen, she was disappointed. Carly studied

them, then opened her photo journal. She

wrote: “Hummingbird pictures: The bird’s

wings are a blur, not enough detail on flower,

bird isn’t close enough to the flower in any

shot. Why aren’t these the way I thought

they would be?”

“Carly, Mom says it’s time for dinner.”

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Carly’s brother Brad stood in the doorway,

drumming his fingers on the door. He played

the drums, and he practiced on everything.

“Look at these.” Carly pointed to the

computer screen.

“They’re nice,” he said.

“That’s it,” sighed Carly. “They should be

more than nice. It’s a beautiful day. The bird

is exciting and the flowers are gorgeous but

they’re just boring. Here.” She handed Brad

her camera. “You can have it. I’m done with

photography.”

“Thanks,” said Brad, taking the camera.

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Carly kept her camera out as she walked

to the store. She took pictures of cars, gates,

and the empty pathways and streets. She

took pictures of puddles and rocks, from

close up and from far away. When she got to

the store, she picked out a group of fishing

poles. She brought them out on the porch

and leaned them up against a wall. Then

she took picture after picture of them. She

went into the store and took pictures of the

counter. She knelt down on the floor and

took pictures of the floorboards.

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Chapter 4

The Perfect Picture, Part II

The next morning Carly took her camera

and ran out to the front porch. The family

had been cleaning out the cellar and attic.

The whole jumble was now on the front

porch. There were games, books, lamps, and

equipment for a variety of sports. The dogs,

Rusty and Scout, slept in the middle of it all.

Carly knelt down. She took pictures of

everything. She tried different angles. She

looked for shadows and blocks of sun.

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Carly stared at him nervously. Brad waited

a moment, then handed it back.

“You quit photography almost every day,”

he said. “Don’t worry.”

“I just want to take beautiful pictures of

beautiful things in wonderful places,” Carly

said, shaking her head.

“Maybe you should take ugly pictures of

ugly things in dull places,” Brad said.

“Very funny,” Carly said.

“I’m about to feed your barbecue to Rusty

and Scout,” Mom called.

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Brad rushed out the door.

Carly looked at the hummingbird pictures

again. She had always been fascinated by

cameras and photographs. Her father had let

her take pictures with his camera as soon as

she could hold one. At first it was just fun.

She took pictures of anything. Now Carly

wanted something more.

“I want to take the kinds of pictures that

make people stop and look,” she thought.

“Rusty’s eating your dinner!” Brad yelled.

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The pictures that fascinated Carly the most

were some of the least glamorous. Margaret

had taken a series of pictures of a Cleveland

steel factory in the late 1920s. It wasn’t a

particularly exciting subject—it was just the

factory at work. Still, Carly loved the pictures,

especially the one of a giant ladle pouring

liquid steel. The light, shadows, and bigness

of everything made it all seem somewhat

glorious.

Carly cut out the Margaret Bourke-White

photographs she had found. She taped them

on a corkboard and made a collage. She

stared at them, trying to figure out the

secret.

“Maybe,” she wrote, “great pictures aren’t

just about looking for beautiful things. Maybe

it’s looking for the beauty in everyday things

that is important.”

Carly looked back at the collage and

smiled. She was ready to start over.

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Chapter 2

A Tip from a Visitor“I’m going to the stockroom, Carly,” Dad

said. “Call me if you need help.”

“Sure,” said Carly.

Carly’s family lived near Fort Peck Lake in

Montana. Her parents owned a fishing tackle

and camping supply store. During the busy

summer season, swarms of tourists came to

fish at the lake and camp in the Charles M.

Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Carly and

Brad helped their parents in the store.

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Carly loved talking to visitors about the

area. Fort Peck Lake was so big that she

couldn’t see where it ended. Ducks skimmed

across the surface of the lake. Geese strutting

along the shore were a regular sight.

Kingfishers sat on the rocks at the water’s

edge. In the forested areas, Carly saw deer,

raccoons, owls, and even foxes. She spent

hours looking for subjects for her pictures.

Each season everything changed, and she was

never bored.

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Carly searched for other Margaret

Bourke-White pictures. Many were of things

that Carly wouldn’t usually have found very

interesting: ordinary bridges, towers, buildings.

But these pictures caught her attention

somehow.

“Maybe it’s that they’re in black and

white,” Carly wrote. She looked at some

of her own pictures on her computer. She

changed them from color to black and white,

but they looked pale and faded. That wasn’t

the answer.

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Chapter 3

Learning from the Past

When Carly got home that afternoon, she

looked online for the Fort Peck Dam picture.

She printed it and looked at it closely.

Carly wrote in her photo journal: “It

isn’t that the dam is beautiful. I think it

has something to do with the angle of the

picture. Maybe it’s the clouds. Did she wait

for the perfect day, with the perfect piece of

sky, to take the pictures?”

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Carly had visited her cousins in Seattle

many times. The streets were filled with cars,

and the houses were close together. Carly

wondered what it must be like in Chicago

or New York, where people were packed into

apartment buildings, and skyscrapers blocked

the sun. She looked at pictures of cities,

and thought the big, gray buildings were

dull. Carly thought it must be hard to be a

photographer in the city.

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A young couple came into the store. The

man went to get some batteries. The woman

told her that they were on their way to Fort

Peck Dam. The dam had been built in the

1930s. It had blocked off the Missouri River,

creating Fort Peck Lake.

Carly made a face. “Really? The dam’s

pretty boring.”

“Oh, not at all!” the woman said. “Look.”

She pulled a magazine out of her knapsack.

She opened it and handed it to Carly.

Carly looked at the photograph. She had

never seen the dam like this before. It looked

like a giant castle. Its towers seemed to brush

the clouds in the sky. At the bottom of the

picture were two tiny figures. They made the

dam look even bigger and more impressive.

“Who took this?” Carly asked.

“Margaret Bourke-White,” said the woman.

“It’s from 1936.”

Carly looked at the picture again, and

wrote the photographer’s name on a slip of

paper. She couldn’t wait to find out more

about the photographer.

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