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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Comprehension 73

Fact and Opinion

• Astatementthatcanbeprovedtrueorfalseiscalledastatement of fact.

• Astatementthattellsaperson’sthoughts,feelings,orideasiscalledastatement of opinion. Statementsofopinioncannotbeprovedtrueorfalse.

Directions Read the following passage. Then complete the graphic organizer below.

Rain forests make up only 7 percent of the land surface of our planet.

However, some scientists say they think that they contain more than half of Earth’s plant and animal species. A large percentage of rain forest animals are insects, and a large percentage of those

insects are beetles. Scientists are still not sure how many animal species exist on Earth because they have only been able to identify a small fraction of rain forest insects. One scientist said, “I believe that as many as thirty million kinds of insect live in the rain forests.”

Home Activity Yourchildidentifiedstatementsoffactandopinioninashortpassage.Tellyourchildastoryaboutafriendorfamilymemberthatcontainsbothstatementsoffactandopinion.Havehimorhertellyouwhichstatementsarewhich.

2. 3. 1.

Statement of Fact

5. 4.

Statement of Opinion

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74 Writing Problem-Solution Essay Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1

Name

Writing • Problem-Solution Essay

Key Features of a Problem-Solution Essay

• followsaproblem-solutiontextstructure

•maypersuadereaders

•givesanopinionsupportedbyfacts

Cars speed down LaCienega Street. This is especially dangerous because

kids often play there. Something needs to be done!

LaCienega is a busy street, and there are no stop signs or speed bumps to slow cars down. Sometimes cars whiz by at 40 miles per hour. How can they do that on a neighborhood street where kids play ball and ride bikes? When a car zooms by, kids dash out of the way.

Speeding cars are often noisy too. There is an old black Chevy with a loud muffler.

It roars by many nights around 6 p.m. and invades our “peaceful” dinner hour.

A speeding car could hit the parked cars. People who park in the street shouldn’t have to worry about their cars’ safety. My mom is afraid that our car might get hit.

For all these reasons, I think the city should put a speed bump on our block. This would warn drivers to slow down and give kids more time to move out of the way. It would make our neighborhood a safer, quieter place.

1. What three facts does the author include to support the idea that speeding cars are a problem?

2. What solution does the author propose?

Give Us a Bump!

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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Vocabulary 75

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VocabularyDirections Choose the word from the box that best matches each definition. Write the word on the line.

1. an imaginary line around the middle of Earth

2. changes from a liquid to a gas

3. regions of the world near the equator

4. processed to be used again

5. sent to a different country for sale or trade

Directions Circle the word or words that have the same or nearly the same meaning as the first word in each group.

6. charities organizations that help groups of writers clubs for children

7. basin hill near the sea land drained by a river mountain with snow

8. erosion building up covering over wearing away

9. industrial for use in business for help in education for ideas at home

10. evaporates disappears melts boils

Write a Weather ReportOn a separate sheet of paper, write a weather report for a tropical area. Include as many vocabulary words as you can.

Home Activity Your child identified and used vocabulary words from Saving the Rain Forests. Have a discussion with your child about the selection. Encourage him or her to use the vocabulary words during the discussion.

Check the Words You Know

basincharitiesequatorerosionevaporatesexportedindustrialrecycledtropics

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76 Conventions Compound and Complex Sentences Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1

Home Activity Your child learned about compound and complex sentences. Have your child tell you what compound and complex sentences are. Then ask your child to find one example of each kind of sentence in a magazine article.

Saving the Rain Forests

A simple sentence has a complete subject and a complete predicate.

The clouds gathered quickly.

A compound sentence has two or more simple sentences joined by a comma and a conjunction such as and, but, or or.

The clouds gathered quickly, and the leaves rustled in the wind.

A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Although it was sunny just a moment ago, the clouds gathered quickly.

A compound-complex sentence has more than one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Although it was sunny just a moment ago, the clouds gathered quickly, and the leaves rustled in the wind.

Directions Identify each sentence as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.

1. The forest ranger is speaking at my school, and I can’t wait to hear him.

2. When it rains, it pours.

3. When they got back from the boat tour, Donna took a nap, and Terry read the paper.

4. Paul looked up at the tree, and he saw a huge fern.

5. Many species of plants and animals live in the rain forest.

6. Although I have a map, I can’t find the camp.

Directions Complete each compound sentence with the conjunction and, but, or or.

7. She loved to hike, she loved to camp.

8. Some animals live among the leaves, some live on the tree trunks.

9. We must protect the rain forests, they will disappear.

10. Larry loved the rain, Darla did not.

11. Forest fires are common, they endanger the rain forest.

12. You need to hurry, I’ll leave you behind.

Compound and Complex Sentences

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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Spelling Difficult Spellings 77

Home Activity Your child wrote words with difficult spellings. Ask your child to pick a word group and explain why the list word belongs in that group.

Saving the Rain Forests

Difficult Spellings

Complete the Sentences Write the list word that completes each sentence.

1. My favorite ___ is celery.

2. Uncle Tony picked a whole ___ of tomatoes.

3. My mother left her ___ full of papers at her office.

4. My dog loves to ___ sticks that I throw in the pond.

5. I dislike dishonesty and ___.

6. I would like to achieve the ___ of success as an athlete.

7. I came in first in the ___ competition.

8. My sister wants to be a fashion ___ when she gets older.

9. She wears so much ___ that I can smell it from the next room.

10. My uncle is a ___ serving in the armed forces.

11. I can’t find the last ___ of this jigsaw puzzle.

12. Lions are ___ and deadly predators.

13. Food is like ___ for your body.

14. I have ___ copies of the same comic book.

15. A square and a ___ have four sides.

Classifying Write the list word that belongs in each group.

16. desirable, better, superior, ___

17. idea, sensation, vision, ___

18. conserve, save, keep, ___

19. observe, notice, comprehend, ___

20. odd, strange, peculiar, ___

1. _______________

2. _______________

3. _______________

4. _______________

5. _______________

6. _______________

7. _______________

8. _______________

9. _______________

10. _______________

11. _______________

12. _______________

13. _______________

14. _______________

15. _______________

16. ___________________

17. ___________________

18. ___________________

19. ___________________

20. ___________________

Spelling Words

fierce weird piece perceive perfumepreserve soldier model multiple fuelbriefcase retrieve deceit perception vegetablepreferable rectangle bushel pinnacle preliminary

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78 Writing Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1

Name

Title

A.

1.

2.

3.

B.

1.

2.

3.

C.

1.

2.

3.

Outline

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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Vocabulary 79

Home Activity Your child identified endings to understand new words in a passage. Write a note with him or her to another member of your family. Have your child identify the -s and -ed endings of words used in the note.

Vocabulary • Word Endings -ed, -s

• An ending is a letter or letters added to the end of a base word.

• Theending-edisaddedtoaverbtomakeitpasttense.Theending-s is added to a verb to show present action in the third person.

• Theending-s is added to most singular nouns to make them plural.

• Recognizinganendingwillhelpyoufigureoutaword’smeaning.

Directions Read the following passage. Then answer the questions below.

Many people in the United States eat bananas. A banana plant needs

a hot, wet climate to grow. That is why they grow in the tropics near the equator. Millions of tons of bananas are exported

and are shipped to the United States every year. Many doctors recommend eating bananas because they are a good source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium.

1. Bananas and tropics both have the same ending. What are their base words? How does -s change the meanings of their base words?

2. What is the difference in meaning between -s at the end of tropics and -s at the end of needs?

3. If the last sentence began with “A doctor,” what would you have to do to recommend to make the new sentence correct?

4. Exported and shipped both have the same ending. What are their base words? How does -ed change the meanings of their base words?

5. Choose a noun or a verb from the passage. What is its base word? Add a new ending to it. How has the meaning of the word changed?

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80 Research and Study Skills Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1

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Graph

• Agraph is a pictorial representation of data. Graphs show how any one piece of information compareswithotherpieces.Agraphcanshowinformationmorequicklythanaverbalexplanationandcanrevealhowsomethingchangesovertime.

• Therearebargraphs,circlegraphs,linegraphs,andpictographs.Titlesandlabelsonagraphwillhelpyouinterpretthedatainthegraph.

Directions Use this bar graph to answer the questions below.

Population of the United States by Age and Sex: Year 2000

0 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49

Age

Popu

latio

n (M

illio

ns)

50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89 90-94 95+

2

4

6

8

10

12

Females Males

1. What information is given in this graph?

2. What two groups are compared in this graph?

3. Which group had a greater population from birth to age 4?

4. Using the data in this graph, what conclusion can you draw about people over 60 years old?

5. What generalization can you make about human lifespans based on the data in the graph?

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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Research and Study Skills 81

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Home Activity Your child learned how to read and understand data on graphs. Find a graph in a newspaper or magazine. Discuss it with your child and draw conclusions about the data.

Directions Use the following graphs to answer the questions below.

Monthly Rainfall in a Monthly Rainfall in a Coniferous Forest Temperate Deciduous Forest

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Month

Pre

cip

itatio

n (m

m)

J F M A M J J A S O N D

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Month

Pre

cip

itatio

n (m

m)

J F M A M J J A S O N D

6. Which forest has more rain in May?

7. In which month do both forests have the same amount of rain?

8. Which is the rainiest month in the coniferous forest? the temperate deciduous forest?

9. What conclusion can you draw about precipitation in the coniferous forest for October, November, and December?

10. What conclusion can you draw about precipitation when you compare the data from both forests?

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82 Spelling Difficult Spellings Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1

Home Activity Your child identified misspelled words. Say a list word and ask your child to spell the word aloud.

Saving the Rain Forests

Difficult SpellingsProofread the Story Circle five words in this story that are spelled incorrectly. Write them correctly. Find a sentence with an incorrect verb form. Write the sentence correctly.

Overcoming Stage FrightLisa is excited but nervous about performing at

the school talent show. She has vivid memories of the night she discovered stage fright. She remembers how wierd and sick she felt. She knows she felt better once she began to dance, and she gave a modle performance. However, she never wants to feel that horrible again.

So she research stage fright. She learned that many of the world’s top performers get stage fright and that it can be prefrable to overconfidence. Stage fright heightens purception and helps performers reach the pinacle of their ability. This time she will prepare herself by recalling happy moments from her past. She will gain confidence from knowing that she never looks as nervous as she feels.

1. ________________ 2. _________________

3. ________________ 4. _________________

5. ________________

6. __________________________________________________________

Proofread Words Circle the word in each group that is spelled correctly. Write the word.

7. modle model modal

8. preserve perserve presurve

9. peice peise piece

10. pinacle pinnacle pinnakle

Spelling Words

Frequently Misspelled

Words

field don’t

fierceweirdpieceperceiveperfumepreservesoldiermodelmultiplefuel

briefcaseretrievedeceitperceptionvegetablepreferablerectanglebushelpinnaclepreliminary

Spelling Words

7. ______________

8. ______________

9. ______________

10. ______________

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Reader’s and Writer’s Notebook Unit 1 Conventions Compound and Complex Sentences 83

Home Activity Your child prepared for taking tests on compound and complex sentences. Together look through a newspaper or magazine article. Ask your child to find and circle three compound sentences and three complex sentences.

Saving the Rain Forests

Compound and Complex Sentences

Directions Read the passage. Then read each question. Circle the letter of the correct answer.

The Wealth of the Rain Forest(1) The Amazon rain forest provides a strong link between humans and nature.

(2) Because the rain forest supports millions of plant species, native healers have looked to nature for cures to diseases. (3) Today the rain forest is one of the richest resources on our planet. (4) Many new drugs have been developed from the plants and trees of the rain forest, and we expect many more will be discovered. (5) The rain forest is a likely source of new drugs as we try to cure cancer, diabetes, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. (6) Over 100 pharmaceutical companies are funding projects in the rain forest, and the United States government encourages companies to study the natives’ knowledge of the plants.

1 Sentence 1 is which type of sentence?

A Simple sentence

B Compound sentence

C Complex sentence

D Exclamatory sentence

2 Sentence 2 is which type of sentence?

A Simple sentence

B Compound sentence

C Complex sentence

D Interrogative sentence

3 In sentence 4, which word is a conjunction?

A Many

B from

C more

D and

4 In sentence 5, The rain forest is a likely source of new drugs is what?

A Dependent clause

B Independent clause

C Compound sentence

D Complex sentence

5 Sentence 6 is which type of sentence?

A Compound sentence

B Simple sentence

C Complex sentence

D Exclamatory sentence

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