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The Mystery of Saint Matthew Island

Family Times

Daily Questions

Prior Knowledge

Main Ideas

Vocabulary

Endings

Predictions

Guided Comprehension

Sequence

Foreshadowing

Independent Readers

Get the Lead Out

Additional Resources

Language Skills

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Genre: Case Study

Vocabulary Strategy: Word StructureComprehension Skill: Main IdeaComprehension Strategy: Text Structure

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Question of the Week

What unexpected effects can humans have on nature?

Daily Questions

What skills and resources will Dr. Klein need to solve the mystery?

What role or responsibility did humans have in the death of the reindeer herd on Saint Matthew Island?

What long-term effects might Katie’s experiment with lead have on the environment?

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Language SkillsDaily Fix It

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Transparency: Conjunctions

Practice Book

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Spelling

Strategy

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Writing Workshop

Reading Writing Connection Writing Prompt

Writer’s Craft Editing and Revising

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Language Skills

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Day 1Daily Fix It

1. Living at the north pole would be a frigid experiance.

Living at the North Pole would be a frigid experience.

2. Some plants can live in the arctic cold and most cannot survive.

Some plants can live in the arctic cold, but most cannot survive.

Language Skills

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Day 2Daily Fix It

1. One diffrance between a dessert or a tundra is temperature.

One difference between a desert or a tundra is temperature.

2. Both places is very dry. And their life forms must adapt to this condition.

Both places are very dry, and their life forms must adapt to this condition.

Language Skills

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Language Skills

Day 3Daily Fix It

1. The Bering Sea lies between Alaska and siberia, ships can travel there only a few months.

The Bering Sea lies between Alaska and Siberia. Ships can travel there only a few months.

2. Can you locate St. Matthew island on a map.

Can you locate St. Matthew Island on a map?

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Language SkillsDay 4Daily Fix It

1. The polar bear be my favorite animal at the zoo?

The polar bear is my favorite animal at the zoo.

2. The bear fascinates that there man with huge paws.

The bear with huge paws fascinates that man.

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Language Skills

Day 5Daily Fix It

1. These here birds fluff out they feathers to trap warm air.

These birds fluff out their feathers to trap warm air.

2. A bird must fead constantly to keep up its bodie heat.

A bird must feed constantly to keep up its body heat.

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

Spelling StrategyDivide and Conquer

Words with affixes:

Step 1: Draw a line between the base and the suffix.

Step 2: Study the word one part at a time.

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

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Language Skills

Writing Prompt

Chose several paragraphs from “Saint Matthew Island” and take notes that include the most important facts and ideas. Paraphrase, or restate in your own words, all information you use in your notes.

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Language Skills

Editing/Revising Checklist

Have I put the most important facts and details from the article in my own words?

Have I used conjunctions effectively?

Have I spelled words with the final syllable –ant, -ent, -ance, and –ence correctly?

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Activate Prior Knowledge

K W L

How Investigators Solve Mysteries

Investigators think about what they already know.

Investigators collect evidence or data.

How do they know if the information they have already is correct?

How much evidence do they need?

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Main Idea and Details

The main idea of a selection is the most important idea about the topic of that selection.

Sometimes the author states the main idea in a single sentence. When the author does not state the main idea, the reader must figure it out.

Active readers ask, “What is this selection all about?” To check your main idea, ask, “Does it cover all the important details?”

Main Idea

DetailDetail

Detail

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Text Structure

Text structure is the way a writer organizes a selection. For example, the piece may describe events in a start-to-finish sequence, or may use a cause-and-effect pattern or a series of main ideas and details. Active readers use text structure to help them understand the selection’s main idea. As you read, look for text structure.

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Write

1. Read “Works of Art or Works of Aliens?” Make a graphic organizer to record the main idea and details.

2. Use your graphic organizer to write a short summary of the selection.

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Introduce Vocabulary

BleachedCarcasses

DecayParasites

ScrawnyStarvation

SuspicionsTundra

Vocabulary List

Write a sentence for each word based on what they think it means. Underline the word in each sentence.

Look up each word in the glossary to verify that they were correct. If not, write a new sentence using the correct meaning.

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Bleached

Whitened by exposure to sunlight or the use of chemicals.

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Carcasses

Bodies of dead animals

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Decay

Process of rotting

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Parasites

Living things that live on or in others, from which they get food, often harming the others in the process.

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Scrawny

Having little flesh; lean; thin; skinny

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Starvation

Suffering from extreme hunger

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Suspicions

Beliefs; feelings; thoughts

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Tundra

A vast, treeless plain in arctic regions

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More Words to Know

Absence: Condition of being without; lack

Die-off: To die one after another until all are dead

Nutritious: Valuable as food; nourishing

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Practice Lesson Vocabulary:

Respond to each questions:

A bleached blue shirt is what color?

Why are parasites dangerous for animals?

What does it mean if a pumpkin starts to decay?

What causes starvation?

How does a scrawny cat look?

Why don’t trees grow in the tundra?

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Vocabulary Strategy

Endings: -s, -es

An ending is a letter or letters added to the end of a base word that changes how the word is used. For example, the endings –s and –es make singular nouns plural. Recognizing an ending may help you figure out a word’s meaning.

1. Look at the unknown word to see if it has a base word you know.

2. Check to see if the ending-s or –es has been added.

3. Ask yourself how the ending changes the meaning of the base word.

4. See if the meaning makes sense in the sentence.

As you read “Cleanup by Mother Nature,” look for words with the ending –s or –es. Use the endings to help you figure out the meanings of the words.

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Genre: Case Study

In case studies, investigators detail how they found answers to difficult questions or solutions to difficult problems. As you read, notice how scientists go about solving a mystery.

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Why did all

the reinde

er die?

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Preview and Predict

Look at the title, illustrations, and photos and predict the mystery they think this selection will discuss. Use your vocabulary words as you talk about what you expect to find out.

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Guided Comprehension

What is the main idea of the first tow paragraphs on p. 660?

Find details in the text to support the main idea of paragraph 3, that because St. Matthew Island is difficult to reach, it took Dr. Klein over a year to get there.

What conclusions can you draw about Dr. Klein and the other investigators? Support your conclusions with details from the text.

Identify the base word and ending of the word carcasses on p.662 and identify its meaning.

How does this selection remind you of “Jane Goodall’s 10 Ways to Help Save Wildlife”? How is it different?

Why did the illustrator use a cut-away of a reindeer bone on pp. 664-554?

Dr. Klein studied the reindeer bones and believed the animals had starved to death. What event took place before this discovery that lead him to conclusion?

Why do authors use line graphs like the one on p. 666?

How has Dr. Klein’s work contributed to our understanding of the natural world?

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Sequence

To better understand sequence they should think about the order in which the events occurred.

“First I read that Dr. Klein studied the bones and concluded the herd had starved to death. Then it says that three years earlier when he visited the island he had noticed the plants looked overgrazed. This was the first clue to solving the mystery of why the reindeer died.”

Create a time line summarizing the events in the selection so far, focusing on events between 1963 and 1966.

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ForeshadowingHints and clues abut what will happen later in a work of fiction or nonfiction are called foreshadowing.

Foreshadowing can create suspense or curiosity.

Foreshadowing can b e useful in making predictions.

Reread the first sentence on p. 660. Point out that the clause “the future of the herd seemed bright” foreshadows what happens later.

Discuss the first sentence on p. 660, paragraph 2: “Then something went terribly wrong.” Ask students why they think the author wrote this sentence.

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SUMMARY This book discusses the kudzu plant’s introduction to America. The kudzu plant grew so rapidly that it took over a large amount of land, ruining crops and even pullingdown farmhouses. It was almost impossible to kill. It also had benefits, like serving as a healthy food for animals.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 6 What is the main idea of the first paragraph on this page?

PAGE 6 What details support the main idea of the first paragraph on this page?

PAGE 10 What effects has the kudzu plant had on plants and animals in the forest habitat?

PAGES 14–17 If you were a southern farmer, which way would you choose to destroy kudzu on your farm? Why?

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SUMMARY This article discusses why and how conservationists help control the population of buffalo. It also talks about the history of buffalo hunting and its effects and explains why buffalo were hunted.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 5 What is the main idea on this page?

PAGE 5 What details support the main idea from above?

PAGES 12–13 What does this chart show about the progress of conservation?

PAGES 13–14 What effects has the conservation movement had on buffalo?

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SUMMARY This book examines genetic engineering as it applies to food. Many people believe that altering food can help to solve the world’s food shortage. Other people believe that altering food is dangerous and could bring harm to people and the Earth. The book shows how farmers and scientists have changed vegetables and the reasons for such changes.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONSPAGE 3 What resulted when a gene from a cold water fish was inserted into genes for a tomato plant?

PAGE 5 Other than genetic alteration through experiments, what are two ways that farmers have used for changing plants?

PAGE 7 What do you call plants or other organisms that have had their genetic makeup altered?

PAGE 11 Nonmodified tomatoes are picked when they are what color?

PAGE 15 Do transgenic vegetables have to be labeled as such?

PAGE 16 Why can it be a problem when scientists develop insect-resistant crops?

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Genre: Narrative Nonfiction

Narrative nonfiction tells the story of an event or a series of events.

Narrative nonfiction may be written by the person who lived the event or by another person who reports it.

Text Features

Narrative nonfiction usually deals with things in time order, from start to finish.

Narrative nonfiction may include sidebars. Sidebars are like mini-articles within an article. These chunks of text are presented separately, usually in a column along the outside of the page.

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Why does the author include a sidebar?

What special information is in the sidebar?

How has the author organized her writing?

What main ideas become the summary of this article?

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Additional ResourcesConjunction worksheets

Conjunction Game

Conjunction Activities