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B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y Theme: Regions of the United States • The Midwest States • The Western States The Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest Level R/40 Social Studies Skills & Strategies Anchor Comprehension Strategies • Evaluate fact and opinion Comprehension • Retell • Draw conclusions • Use graphic features to interpret information Word Study/Vocabulary • Use knowledge of word structures to determine word meaning Social Studies Big Idea • Geography is of major importance in the development of the human story. TEACHER’S GUIDE

Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

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Page 1: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Theme: Regions of the United States• The Midwest States• The Western States• The Pacific Northwest

The Pacific NorthwestLevel R/40

Social Studies

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies

• Evaluate fact and opinion

Comprehension • Retell

• Drawconclusions

• Usegraphicfeaturestointerpretinformation

Word Study/Vocabulary • Useknowledgeofwordstructuresto

determinewordmeaning

Social Studies Big Idea • Geographyisofmajorimportanceinthe

developmentofthehumanstory.

TeACher’S Guide

Page 2: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Page 11: Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment

• Draw Conclusions

D ay

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2

3

4

5

A c t i v i t i e s

Using Navigators Chapter Books

Explicit Strategy InstructionUse the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use portions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.

Small-Group DiscussionsIntroduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.

Independent ReadingHave students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.

Core Lesson Planning Guide

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-6303-42

Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell

• Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Maps

Page 3: Prepare to Read• Build Content Background

• Introduce the Book

Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell

• Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Use Knowledge of Word Structures to Determine Word Meaning: Compound Words

Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Retell

• Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion

• Use Knowledge of Word Structures to Determine Word Meaning: Compound Words

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Page 3: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Build Content Background • Have students think about a place they have visited or would

like to visit.

• Ask: What do you like to see and do when you visit a new place?

Allow 1–2 minutes for students to write their thoughts. Have them share their writing with partners and then discuss it with the class. Explain that this book is about the states in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Tell students they will read about many things people can see and do in this region.

• Draw a three-column chart as shown below. Write the head-ings Location, Things to See, and Things to Do on the chart. Have students give details from their writing for you to put in each column.

• Review the details on the chart. Have students add other facts from their own experience to the chart.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. Have them turn to the

table of contents and read the chapter titles.

• Ask: Why is it a good idea to read a book’s chapter titles? (They give more specific information about the contents of the book.)

Ask: What is the title of Chapter 1? (Geography and Climate)

• Have students turn to page 4 and skim the first chapter of the book. Tell them that when they skim a chapter, they look at the chapter title, section headings, pictures, maps, charts, captions, and boldfaced words to get an idea of what the chapter will be about.

• To introduce key words and text/graphic features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to skim a chapter.

2. Document your observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with skimming, model the process by going through a chapter. Point out the chap-ter title, section headings, pictures, maps, captions, and boldfaced words, and explain what you learn about the contents of the chapter before you even begin to read the text.

Display photos of geographic fea-tures, landmarks, and popular attractions from a variety of places. Have students share information about popular destinations in their native countries.

Display a map of the United States. Have volunteers find the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Point out that these states make up the Pacific Northwest region of our country.

After introducing the book, encour-age students to discuss personal connections they can make to the Pacific Northwest.

Prepare to Readnglish anguage earnersE L L

Location

New York CitySan AntonioDenali National Park

Statue of LibertyAlamoMount McKinley

go to a playeat barbecuehike a wilderness trail

Things to See Things to Do

Page 4: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Use a real-life example of retelling.

Say: Recently I read an article about traveling in a foreign country. It was a place I thought I might visit someday, and I wanted to tell my friends about it. So I wrote notes for myself about the main points and important details I wanted to remember. I also made notes before I talked with my friends. This helped me remember the most important information so I could retell it. I also made notes about words or facts that I need to find out more about.

• Read pages 2–3 aloud while students follow along. Stop when you come to important ideas or words that might be chal-lenging to students. Share your thought processes aloud with them. Have students state the main ideas on the page. Write these ideas on self-stick notes and place them in the book as students observe. Some ideas students might discover include:

The United States is divided into different regions. The region known as the Pacific Northwest includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. One region can have different kinds of landscapes.

• Use the self-stick notes to retell information from pages 2–3.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read pages 4–11 silently to find out about the

geography and climate of the Pacific Northwest. Have them make notes in their journal or on self-stick notes about the main ideas they find and any questions they have. Explain that the notes they take will help them retell the main ideas of the chapter.

4 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

ABOUT THE STRATEGY Retell

What? Good readers take notes about the main ideas in their reading and any questions they have about them. These notes help readers retell what they have read.

Why? Retelling helps good readers reflect on what they’ve read. Taking notes helps readers understand and remember the main ideas so they can retell the ideas afterward.

When? Good readers take notes before reading to help set a purpose. They take notes during reading to help them understand and remember main ideas so they can retell them later. They retell the main ideas after reading to help them synthesize what they have read. This strategy may also be used when returning to reading after several days have passed.

How? Good readers look for main ideas as they read. They also stop when they have questions about a word or an idea. They note ideas so they can retell them and questions so they can answer them during and after reading.

Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1

Page 5: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

After Reading Discuss the Reading• Say: I found that Chapter 1 describes the geography and climate

of the Pacific Northwest.• Call on students to retell what they have learned about the

geography of the Pacific Northwest. Suggest that they use the notes they wrote while reading the chapter.

Ask: What are some examples of the different landforms that make this region special? (Possible answers: waterways, deserts, mountains)

• Ask students to retell facts about the climate of the Pacific Northwest. Then have them ask questions from their notes on each topic.

• Encourage students to ask any questions from their notes about words or ideas in the chapter they did not understand. Let other students answer the questions. If no one knows the answer, help the class find a reference book with the information.

• Have students read the checkpoint on page 9. Point out that drawing pictures can help them remember details. Have stu-dents draw their pictures in their journals and discuss them with a partner.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Tell students that good readers evaluate statements as they

read, asking themselves whether the statements are facts or opinions. Explain that a fact can be proven to be true, while an opinion cannot be proven to be true or false; it tells what someone thinks or believes.

• Say: As you read, think about whether the statements you read are facts or opinions. Facts can be proven, either by using your own senses or by checking reports by experts. Opinions cannot be proven. An opinion may include words such as good, bad, beau-tiful, best, or worst. Once you identify a statement as an opin-ion, ask yourself whether the opinion is well supported.

• Pass out the graphic organizer “Evaluate Fact and Opinion” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-sized copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first two rows together. They will complete the last two rows in pairs or independently.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Monitor students as they write notes about the text and then retell the text.

2. In a folder or notebook, jot down what you see each student doing.

3. Students should be taking notes as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor-reading strategy.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 5

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that taking notes helps them understand and remember the text so they can retell it later.

Rapid readers can make notes of facts they would like to look up in other resources later.

Page 6: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued)

6 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion (continued)• Have students look at the book and follow along while you

show them how to identify and evaluate facts and opinions. Use the graphic organizer on this page to conduct a think-aloud.

• Read page 4 aloud while students follow along.

Say: It is a statement of fact that the Olympic Mountains are in the northwest corner of Washington. We can prove it by looking at a map. But the sentence about the Pacific Northwest having some of the most beautiful mountains in the world cannot be proven. Some people may think the mountains are some of the most beautiful while others may not. Beautiful is the clue word. It tells me that this statement is an opinion and therefore it cannot be proven.

• Say: I will write this sentence in the Opinion column: “The Pacific Northwest has some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.” I will write in the How Do You Know? column: “cannot be proven because different people will think that different mountains are the most beautiful in the world.”

Write these ideas on the graphic organizer.

• Tell students that they will find and evaluate other facts and opinions as they read The Pacific Northwest.

Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Maps• Remind students that maps can be used for many different pur-

poses. Many maps show countries, cities, mountains, and bodies of water. A map that shows the surface features of an area is called a topographic map. Topographic maps may show rivers, lakes, or other natural features on the surface of Earth. Some topographic maps show elevation. Elevation is how high or low something is.

• Have students locate the topographic map on page 11.

Ask: What land feature lies between Seattle and Spokane? (a mountain range)

How do these mountains affect the climate in Seattle and Spokane? (Wet air from the ocean drops most of its moisture before it crosses the mountains, so Seattle gets a lot of rain. After cross-ing the mountains, the air has little moisture left, so Spokane gets much less rain than Seattle.)

Reader Response

Look at the chart on page 10. Which city’s climate would you enjoy most? Which would you enjoy least? Why? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

The Pacific Northwest has some of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

cannot be proven because different people will think different mountains are the most beautiful in the world

Page Opinion How Do You Know?

4

Page 7: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Remind students that they took notes on main ideas and on

questions they had as they read Chapter 1. Point out that writing about and retelling what they have read can help them understand and remember the facts.

• Turn to page 12. Read the page aloud. Say: This page introduces the history of the Pacific Northwest. It

tells how this region was once a big territory and then it split into several smaller territories. It took years for these smaller territories to become states. I’m going to write a note about this information to help me remember it.

On a self-stick note, write: “Oregon, Washington, Idaho part of huge territory before becoming states.” Place the self-stick note on the page.

• Explain that as students continue reading, they should use self-stick notes to make notes about the people and industry of the Pacific Northwest. They will be asked to retell the facts they find at the end of the chapter.

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students finish reading Chapter 2. Encourage them to

find out more about the different industries of this region. Encourage them to write main ideas and questions on self-stick notes or in their journals as they read.

After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to retell the chapter by sharing some main ideas

they wrote about people in the Pacific Northwest and the jobs they do.

• Have students share questions they noted as they read. Invite the class to answer the questions by recalling the text or looking up information in a reference book.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 7

Observe ELL students as they read the text. If they are not making notes of main ideas and questions, they may not be understanding the text. Ask them to share some of their notes so you can check their understanding.

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with this strategy, model again by retelling part of the text based on self-stick notes. Then have students read one page and note the main ideas they find on it. Have them share the main ideas they noted and explain how they identified them.

Rapid readers can make notes on the history of the Pacific Northwest industry they find most interesting. Encourage them to include any back-ground knowledge they have about the industry.

Guide Strategies: Chapter 2

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Page 8: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Chapter 2 (continued)

Reader Response

How do visitors to the Pacific Northwest support the industries of the region? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

8 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Review the “Evaluate Fact and Opinion” graphic organizer, and

remind students that a statement of fact can be proven true or false, but a statement of opinion cannot be proven.

• Have students reread page 19. Ask: What word on this page tells you that you might be reading

about opinions? (Possible answer: interesting)

Read the first sentence of the last paragraph on the page aloud. Ask: How do you know this sentence states an opinion?

(The statement that there are so many interesting places to visit in the Northwest is an opinion. Some people might think the places are interesting or that the Northwest has many interesting places while others might not. Neither can be prov-en.)

• Write student responses on the graphic organizer.• Provide support for students who are struggling with this strategy.

Use Knowledge of Word Structures to Determine Word Meaning: Compound Words• Write the word wasteland on the board. Explain to students

that wasteland is a compound word and that a compound word is made up of two smaller words. Draw a line between waste and land.

Say: The compound word wasteland is made up of the two words waste and land. If you know the meanings of waste and land, you can figure out the meaning of wasteland. Wasteland is land that is thought to have no value.

• Point out that some compound words, such as wasteland, are closed; the two words are written as one word. Other compound words (thirty-six) are hyphenated; the two words have a hyphen (-) between them. Still other compound words (rain forest) are open; they are written as two separate words. Write the three words on chart paper to display in the classroom.

• Have students find the compound word on page 15. (overfish-ing). Point out that this compound word is closed. Ask them what two words make up the compound word. See if they can use the meanings of the two smaller words to figure out the meaning of the compound word and how it applies to the fish-ing industry in the Pacific Northwest.

• Have students find the compound word on page 17. (topsoil) Point out that this compound word is also closed. After stu-dents identify the two smaller words in the compound word and their meanings, discuss how those meanings helped them figure out the meaning of the compound word and how it applies to strip mining.

There are so many interesting places to visit in the Northwest.

cannot be proven because some people might agree and others might disagree

Page Opinion How Do You Know?

19

Page 9: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 9

Apply Strategies: Chapter 3–Conclusion

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Retell• Remind students they have been writing notes about main ideas

in The Pacific Northwest so they can retell them. They may also have written notes about questions they had about the text. Point out that these notes can help them understand and remember the facts. Then they can retell the facts they have learned.

• Read the first paragraph on page 20 aloud while students follow along.

Say: The main idea of this paragraph is that Crater Lake is the most popular attraction in Oregon. I’m going to make a note about this main idea. The rest of the page gives supporting details about this idea. Remember, I will use my notes to retell what I have read.

During ReadingSet a Purpose for Reading • Have students read the rest of the book silently. Remind them

to make notes about main ideas and their own questions as they read. Have them write their questions on self-stick notes or in their journals.

• Have students look for places they would like to visit in the Pacific Northwest.

After ReadingDiscuss Reading• Call on students to retell the facts in Chapter 3 by checking the

main ideas they wrote in their notes. Ask: What are some popular places to visit in Portland?

(Waterfront Park, the Japanese Garden) Where would you like to go in Washington? Why?

(Possible answers: to Spokane to see the largest city waterfall, to Mount Rainier to explore the land around a volcano)

Why is Seattle called the Emerald City? (because the wet climate keeps the city emerald green)

Why is Anchorage considered a gateway to outdoor adventure? (There are lots of outdoor activities to do and wildlife to see.)

• Have students share their questions and help them identify the answers that can be found in the text.

• Have students turn to page 28 and read the checkpoint. Explain that rereading is another way to better understand and evaluate text information. Have students discuss the prompt with partners.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 3 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Teaching Tips

After discussing the reading, have stu-dents remove self-stick notes from their books and place them in their journals on a page titled “Retell.” Use this page to review retelling through-out the year.

Page 10: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Comprehension Strategy: Evaluate Fact and Opinion• Review the graphic organizer students have been completing.

Explain that they will be finding and evaluating facts and opin-ions on pages 26 and 30.

• Ask students if they have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. Discuss students’ responses together.

• For more practice on evaluating fact and opinion, have students complete the blackline master “Evaluate Fact and Opinion” on page 15.

Use Knowledge of Word Structures to Determine Word Meaning: Compound Words• Remind students that compound words are made up of

two smaller words and often they can use the meanings of the two smaller words to figure out the meaning of the compound word.

• Ask students to find the compound words on page 22. (light-houses, waterfall, grasslands, nearby, southwest) Point out that these are closed compound words. Have students identify the two words in each compound word and discuss how the meanings of those words help them understand the meanings of the compound words.

• For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16.

Chapter 3–Conclusion (continued)

10 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Watch students as they evaluate fact and opinion. Ask yourself: How have students progressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in your fold-er or notebook. For students who struggle with evaluating fact and opin-ion, review the strategy using the Comprehension Strategy Poster: Evaluate Fact and Opinion.

Reader Response

Imagine that you are planning a trip to one place in the Pacific Northwest. Which place would you choose to visit? Why? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

Alaska is like no other place in the world.

cannot be proven; some people might disagree

Page Opinion How Do You Know?

The Pacific Northwest is a great place to live or visit.

expresses the author’s opinion; cannot be proven

Paragraph Opinion

The best place to visit in Alaska is Denali National Park.

author’s opinion of the park; cannot be proven1

The most exciting activity is snowmobiling.

states someone’s opinion of snowmobiling; cannot be proven2

Sled dogs are the smartest animals in the world.

cannot be proven; different people may have different opinions about what animals are the smartest

3

How Do You Know?

26

30

1. Northwest2. hometowns3. farmland4. hard-won5. horse-drawnChoose one compound word and define it. Answers will vary.

Page 11: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #13 on pages 56–57 in

the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 4).

Draw Conclusions• Have students review the information on pages 8–9 and 15–17.

They can work in pairs or independently to answer these questions:

What industries rely on the waterways of the Pacific Northwest? How? (The waterways are used to generate hydroelectric power. They are also used for fishing. Farms rely on waterways to irrigate crops.)

How has the fishing industry changed over the years? (The number of fish has dropped sharply due to overfishing, pol-lution, and dams. Today the fishing industry relies on fish farms.)

How have the logging and mining industries affected the land? (Logging has reduced the forests that once covered the region. Hundreds of paper mills have closed. Mining has changed the appearance of the land.)

• Have students discuss their answers.

• Say: What conclusion can you draw about the geography of the Pacific Northwest and the impact that industry has on the environ-ment? The book doesn’t answer this question directly, but we can figure out the answer by combining what we read with what we already know. (Possible answer: The Pacific Northwest is an area rich in natural resources. Many of those resources support the industries of the region. People must use the resources wisely to preserve the land, protect the environment, and conserve the resources.)

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 11

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have answered the question in this man-ner? For in-depth analysis, discuss responses with individual students.

4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer Ongoing Assessment #14 on pages 58–59 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 4).

5. Use ongoing assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Scaffold the activity by helping stu-dents find answers in the text to the first question or two. Then model how to draw a conclusion by com-bining the answers to these with prior knowledge. Encourage stu-dents to draw additional conclusions based on what they have read in the book combined with previous knowledge. For example, they can conclude that industries in the Pacific Northwest will continue to change because of pressure to con-serve natural resources.

Synthesize Information

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Page 12: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

Write a Personal ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives.

• Which popular tourist attraction in the Pacific Northwest would you like to see? (text-to-self)

• Compare this book about the Pacific Northwest to other books about the United States you have read. (text-to-text)

• How do the industries in the Pacific Northwest affect indus-tries in the rest of the world? (text-to-world)

• What places did you think about while you were reading this book? (make connections)

• Which part of this book did you think was most interesting? Which was least interesting? (evaluate)

• Did any parts of this book confuse you? How could you make them clearer? (self-monitor)

• How did you feel when you read about the different places in the Pacific Northwest? Why did you feel that way? (personal response)

• What main ideas about the Pacific Northwest were discussed in this book? (synthesize information)

Write to a Text PromptUse the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric provided in the sidebar to score students’ writing.

Write to a Picture PromptUse the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.

Reading/Writing Connections

Teaching Tips

Transfer personal response prompts to a piece of large chart paper and hang it in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.

The prompt is well developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is somewhat devel-oped. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

Scoring Rubric

4

3

2

1

What do you consider the most interesting and unique geographic features of the Pacific Northwest? Use information from the book to support your answer.

Look at the pictures on page 3. Compare and contrast the two landscapes. Use details from the picture to support your answer.

12 © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Page 13: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.

Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.

Questions:Write two or three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.

Make Connections:Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.

Adapted from Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom, Harvey Daniels (Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 1994).

Rules for a Good Discussion:1. Be prepared.

2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her.

3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond.

4. Use inside voices.

5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.

6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3–6): Teaching Comprehension, Genre, and Content Literacy, Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).

Ways to Make ConnectionsText-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . .

Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s happening right now in . . .

Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called . . . . It was about . . .

Small-Group Discussion Guide

Page 14: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Evaluate Fact and Opinion

Page

4

19

26

30

Opinion How Do You Know?

Page 15: Level R/40 The Pacific Northwest

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Evaluate Fact and OpinionDirections: Identify the opinions in the paragraphs and tell how you know each is an opinion. Complete the chart using information from the passage.

Destination: DenaliThe best place to visit in Alaska is Denali National Park. This park

has more than six million acres. Mountains, glaciers, forests, and lakes are some of the natural wonders in the park. The area’s climate makes this park a subarctic ecosystem. Grizzly bears, wolves, moose, and other animals live in this protected habitat.

The animals and the wilderness here have been protected since this land became a national park. Visitors come to see the animals in their natural surroundings. There are many other activities to do in the park. People can hike, backpack, and go horseback riding. The most exciting activity is snowmobiling. However, some people prefer to ride on sleds.

Park rangers travel through Denali on sleds. The sleds are pulled by trained sled dogs. These dogs work with park rangers to help protect the park and its wildlife. Sled dogs are the smartest animals in the world. They are also one of the most popular summertime tourist attractions. More than 50,000 people visit Denali every year just to see the sled dogs.

For beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, and animals both wild and tame, Denali National Park is the destination.

Paragraph

1

2

3

Opinion How Do You Know?

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© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Use Knowledge of Word Structures to Determine Word Meaning: Compound Words

Directions: Read the passage. Find the compound words and write them below.

The Oregon Trail

Much of the Pacific Northwest was settled by pioneers who

left their hometowns and set out on the Oregon Trail. Most

walked the 2,000 miles, following their horses and wagons.

Many died from diseases and accidents. One out of every four

pioneers did not survive the journey.

Those who did survive arrived in the Willamette Valley at the

end of the trail. The valley’s fertile soil made perfect farmland.

This was their hard-won reward for their difficult journey. They

had reached the Oregon Territory.

In time, trains replaced horse-drawn wagons. Travel became

much easier and faster, and many more settlers made their way

to the Pacific Northwest.

1. ________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________

Choose one compound word and define it.