The week we explore the question "Why is volunteering good for a community and its people?" In the realistic fiction selection, Destiny's Gift, students will read about how a young girl rallies her community to keep a neighborhood bookstore from closing.
Helping Others- Why do people like to help each other? Why is it important to help your neighbors? Discuss these questions with our child, and talk about why it feels good to help others.
Vocabulary on the Go Ask your child to use this week's target vocabulary to talk about stores you visit in your community.
contacted, raise, spreading, earn, figure, block, afford, customers
A Personal Narrative About the Community- Talk with your child about a problem in your community that he or she would like to fix. Then encourage your child to write a paragraph that tells how he or she feels about the problem and how people might work together to solve it.
A city neighborhood is a busy place. Many people live and work there. They also volunteer their time and money to help one another. Some volunteers organize events such as block parties or street fairs. These events raise money and gather donations for people who can't afford the things they need.
In Destiny's Gift, you'll read about a young girl who tries to help her neighborhood bookstore owner keep the store open. Her family organizes other volunteers to help as well. What do you think they do?
Realistic Fiction has characters and events that are like those in read. As you read, look for:
a setting that could be real
characters that have feelings that real people have
problems that could be real
Read "Destiny's Gift" on page 86 of your Journeys Textbook
Continue your discussion of Destiny's Gift by explaining your answers to these questions:
Why is the notebook important to Destiny?
What does Mrs. Wade do to show how she feels about Destiny?
What lesson do the people in the neighborhood want Mrs. Wade's landlord to learn?
Response
Review the story with a partner to prepare to discuss this question: Think about a time when you helped someone. Where were you? Whom did you help? How did you help?
In Destiny's Gift, the main characters are Destiney and Mrs. Wade. What they say and do are clues to their feelings, traits and motivations. Traits are qualities that people have, such as kindness. Motivations are the reasons for their actions.
As you read, analyze, or think about, what Destiny and Mrs. Wade say and do. This text evidence will help you evaluate them or decide what they are like and what their motives are.
Listen to the Story