Realistic Fiction
Big Idea
Everyone has a story to tell.
Essential Question
Why does an author want to tell a story?
Target Vocabulary
record - the most remarkable achievement known
mental - something in the mind
launch - to officially start something
assuming - accepting that something is true; supposing
episodes - distinct parts of a longer series of events
developed - brought into being or made bigger and more complex
feature - to give something special importance
incredibly - especially hard to believe; amazing
villains - characters that oppose heroes
thumbed - turned pages quickly
Comprehension
Target Skill
Author's Purpose - the reason that the author wrote the selection. You can determine an author's purpose for writing from story details.
Target Strategy
Monitor/Clarify - to pay attention to how well you understand what you read/to make clear and understandable. You can use text clues to monitor and clarify the author's purpose and viewpoint. Monitoring the text and clarifying confusing details help readers better understand the author's purpose.
Fluency
Rate - Good readers can read a passage quickly and without errors. However, when they read quickly, they must understand what they read. Their reading rate, or how fast or slow they read, must be appropriate for the text. You might need to read at a slower rate to understand a difficult text. If you are reading for enjoyment, you can read faster. Adjust your reading rate as needed to understand the passage. With practice, you can improve comprehension by learning to adjust your reading rate as necessary.
Decoding
Word Parts and Inflectional Endings - If a base word ends in a d or a t, the inflection -ed will form the last syllable; otherwise -ed will be part of the preceding syllable. For base words that end in a vowel-plus consonant, double the consonant and add the inflection. For base words that end in e, drop the e before adding the ending.
Vocabulary Strategies
Word Origins - the language or region in which a word originated. Word origins tell where a word come from, or where it originated. Word origins can give us an idea of what a word means, why and where it was created and by whom. Many English words came from words in other languages, such as Greek, Latin and French. English has changed a lot over time and some words and word roots were created during the Old or Middle English periods. English also uses words that are originally from other languages, such as Spanish and German.
Grammar
Adjectives - give information about a noun. A descriptive adjective tells how many, what kind and may also tell the origin of a noun.
Writing
Write to Narrate
Focus Trait: Voice - writing voice is the feelings and personality that come through in the words and phrases that are used. Informal language can help express a writer's voice. Informal language is friendly and casual, like natural conversation. Informal words and phrases allow thoughts and feelings to come through and help readers understand text.