Lesson 6

Day 1

Words with Consonant -leDiscuss the meanings the words.

/el/ sound as in cradle is often spelled with le.

These words end with consonant plus –le.

Genre = magazine article

Present facts and other information of interest to readers

Include quotations of people of people in the community

Listen to learn information about the topic.

Purpose = find out what is special about the school on the prairie

Good readers read aloud with an intonation that matches the tone of the story and vary their intonation to keep the interest of their listeners.

Restore = return a thing or a place to how it was before

How much of North America was once covered by prairie?

About 1/3

To make short work of something means to deal with or finish something quickly

What is special about the school on the prairie?◦ Its students are restoring the land around it

into a prairie.

What is one benefit of restoring the prairie ecosystem?◦Students see what the prairie was like 150

years ago; animal habitats are restored.

This week’s story is about a family who lived on the prairie in the 1800s.

Page 154 Certain elements are common to all fiction stories.

Read.

The plot of a story is the series of events that make up the story.

The plot usually contains a conflict, or problem, that the main character must solve.

The end of the story usually presents a resolution, or solution, to the problem.

Characters might face a number of smaller challenges in a story, there is usually one main conflict.

Being able to identify the main conflict and its resolution will help you better understand fiction stories.

Page 155Read

The conflict = The story mentions dark clouds and raindrops. The last line of the first paragraph reveals Luke’s problem: He is worried about his gear getting wet.

Reread the second paragraph to look for the resolution.

In longer stories, the conflict is not resolved for many pages.

Rereading Comprehension StrategyAll readers sometimes encounter things

that are unclear to them as they are reading.

Sometimes they miss or do not recall information they read earlier.

One strategy good readers us is to reread; they go back and reread to look for information that will answer a question or clear up their confusion.

Read Passage

If you can’t remember why Sarah and William are in the woods or how William hurt his ankle, try rereading. Both these questions are answered in

the first paragraph.

Read the rest of the passage.

If you can’t answer the question, reread the 2nd paragraph.

This week’s story is about a pioneer family who lived in Minnesota during the 1870s.

Share what you know about pioneer life in America.

pioneer life

farm

hard workwagons

prairie

Develop ConceptDuring the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s, many

pioneers settled in Minnesota and other parts of the upper Midwest.

Many Midwestern pioneers lived on farms that were far from other people.

The pioneers grew or raised most of their food. They had to save up food and supplies for the winter.

Because there was much work to do, children began helping their parents at a young age.

Which would make you feel more responsible, doing an important job or playing a game? Why?

What would you do if a cat darted in front of your bicycle?

Would you want to be part of a jostling crowd? Why or why not?

If a car swerved, was it because of a deer on the road or a new coat of paint?

Why is it important to be attentive in class?

What is another way of saying that a cat pounced on a mouse?

Is contradicting a person the same as agreeing with the person? Explain.

Page 156Read

What animal darted in front of the wagon?

Why did the wagon swerve?

What job is the writer of the diary responsible enough to do?

Page 157Read

How did Jen contradict her sister?

Why did the cattle start jostling each other?

Why did Pa want his children to be attentive?

Why do you think Grace pounced on the snake?

Decoding cattle

How many syllables?

Where divide?

cat – tle

Which letters in cattle form the consonant plus –le?

Cat is pronounced with a short vowel sound.

resemble

re – sem- ble

“re” is pronounced with a long vowel sound, but “sem” is pronounced with a short vowel sound.

Divide a word into syllables before the consonant plus –le.

If the previous syllable ends in a consonant, the syllable is usually pronounced with a short vowel sound. ◦ Example: cattle

If the previous syllable ends in a vowel, the syllable is usually pronounced with a long vowel sound. Longer words may contain syllables with long vowel sounds and syllables with short vowel sounds◦ Example: resemble

Pattern: consonant plus –leDivide the words into syllables.

trample maple example responsible

tram-ple ma-ple wx-am-ple re-spon-si-ble

The End!!!

Day 2Read Story

Discuss

About the Author and Illustrator

Thinking Critically

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Day 3

Pages 172-173Read to find out what people did to survive on

the prairie.

The purpose of this selection is to inform readers about the many challenges homesteaders faced living on the prairie.

Expository nonfiction

◦ gives facts about a topic.

◦ often provides information through illustrations and captions.

How did the visuals work with the text to help readers understand what it was like to live on the prairie?

Why do you think settlers stayed on the prairie, even though life there was hard?◦ Because they could own their own land; because they thought

they could overcome the difficulties.

In your opinion, which of the hardships was the worst? Why?

What traits do you think settlers on the prairies would have needed?◦ They would have to be resourceful, strong, and courageous to

move to a place with so many hardships and that was difficult to settle.

Pages 174-175Compare Text Questions

Read directions for writing.

Discuss “writing checklist” page 175.

Use graphic organizer to help plan.Conflict

Plot Events

Resolution

Conflict and ResolutionThe series of events in a story make up the

story’s plot.

The plot includes a conflict and a resolution.

The conflict is usually identified at the beginning of the story. It is a problem or challenge faced by the main character or characters.

The conflict is resolved through plot events.

Sometimes the conflict in a story is resolved suddenly. Sometimes it is resolved gradually by the end of the story. Often, the conflict gets worse before it gets better.

Page 162: What problem do Laura and her sister Mary encounter after their parents leave them to watch the farm?◦ The cattle start to eat and trample the hay-stacks.

Page 163: What makes the problem such a difficult one to solve?◦ The cattle are big, scary, and dangerous, and the girls are scared.

Page 164: How is the conflict resolved?◦ Laura shakes a stick at the lead cow, Jack barks at them, and they

drive the cows away.

Page 168: How do Laura and Mary learn that they made the right decision to solve the problem the way they did?◦ Pa tells them they did the right thing.

Knowing how to identify a story’s conflict and resolution will help you better understand and enjoy the stories you read.

Vocabulary Review1. Do you agree that Jack was a responsible

dog? Explain.2. Why did Laura dart away when Mary told

her to stay inside?3. Why were the cattle jostling each other as

Laura and Mary chased them?4. If Bright had not swerved, where might the

wagon have ended up?5. What made Laura and Jack so attentive in

the afternoon?6. Why do you think Laura pounced on what

Pa had in his pocket?7. Do you think Laura was contradicting what

Pa said about the cattle? Explain.

Buddy Read Story

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Day 4

Prefixes, Suffixes, and RootsWhen you come to a longer you do not know

while reading, you can look to see fi the word has familiar parts.

Preview is made up of the prefix “pre” meaning “before,” and the root word view means “to look at.” The word preview means “to look at before.”

Even if looking at the parts of a word does not enable you to understand the exact meaning of the word, it can often give you a general sense of what the word means.

When a prefix or suffix is added to a root, it changes the meaning of the word.

Identify the prefix, suffix, and roots in the following words.

rewrite write again

powerless without power

portable able to be carried

distrustful full of not trusting

inaudible not able to be heard

Vocabulary Review1. How can you show that you are attentive in

class?2. Do you tend to pounce on gifts, or do you

open them slowly? Why?3. What is something that you have done

recently that made you feel responsible?4. Why should dogs be trained never to dart

into the road?5. Someone tells you, “Dogs make the best

pets.” What might you say to contradict this statement?

6. Where might you see people jostling each other?

7. What might cause a driver to swerve?

SpeakingOrganizing Content

◦Write the book or movie title and the place where you read or saw it.

◦On note cards, jot down the main characters, the setting, the conflict, and the story events that led to the resolution in sequential order.

◦End by telling your opinion of the story.

Speaking Strategies Practice delivering the summary.

Speak clearly, using an appropriate tone and projection.

Maintain eye contact with your audience.

Use gestures to enhance meaning and to emphasize your points.

Listening StrategiesSit quietly and listen carefully.

Identify the story’s main characters, the setting, and the plot.

Listen for the speaker’s opinion.

Be prepared to ask a question about the story after the speaker has finished.

Independently Read Story

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Day 5

AnkleAnkel

-le and –el make the /el/ sound

When proofreading, write all the possible spellings for a word’s ending to see which one looks right.

If still unsure, check the dictionary.

Make cross word puzzle out of spelling words.

Write a clue for each word.

Trade papers and try to solve.

Character’s Traits and MotivationsYou can use story information and what you know

about how people behave in real life to understand character’s traits and motivations in a fiction story.

Traits are the qualities that make up a character’s personality.

A motivation, or motive, is a reason that causes a person to do something or act a certain way.

To understand a character’s traits and motivations, readers should pay attention to what the character says and does and should think about why the character behaved in a certain way.

Model analyzing a character’s traits and motivations.

Laura chased the cattle even though she was afraid of them.

People often do brave things when they feel they have no other choice.

Laura probably felt that she had to chase the cattle because her family needed the hay.

She was brave and responsible.

What was Mary’s reaction when she saws the cows?◦She said, “We can’t” and was too

afraid to move.

Why did Pa shout so loudly and run so fast as he chased the oxen?◦He was afraid that the oxen would pull

Ma and Carrie into the creek; he wanted to stop the wagon.

Vocabulary Review1. Could you be attentive if you were feeling

downcast? Explain.2. Why might a responsible person look pensive?3. If someone darted out of a room, was the

person acting serenely? Explain.4. Would extensive jostling in a crowd be likely to

cause consternation? Explain.5. If a skateboarder commenced swerving, what

would you think?6. Why might a cat pounce on something with

vivid colors?7. Would you want to recruit someone who was

always contradicting people ? Explain.

On the Banks of Plum Creek was made into a television program in the 1970s.

The program was title Little House on the Prairie.

When I read a book, I create a picture in my mind of what eth characters are like.

When I watch a DVD version of the same story, I see the actors who play the characters.

The actors do not always match the characters imagined.

Compare the print version of the story with the other media version.

Listen to Story

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