Family Times
Daily Questions
Prior Knowledge
Generalize
Vocabulary
Prefixes
Predictions
Guided Comprehension
Graphic Sources
Persuasive Devices
Independent Readers
Dame Shirley Goes to the Gold Rush
Additional Resources
Study Skills
Genre: Expository Nonfiction
Vocabulary Strategy: Word Structure
Comprehension Skill: Generalize
Comprehension Strategy: Graphic
Organizers
Question of the Week:
What adventures helped drive westward expansion?
Daily Questions
How does the Gould Rush represent the “American
Dream”?
What can ghost towns teach us about the past? Explain.
What challenges did Louise Clappe face in her journey?
Activate Prior Knowledge
Ghost Towns
Modern-Day Towns
Quiet
Busy
Old Buildings
Newer Buildings
Dusty
Clean
Generalize
To generalize means to make a broad statement or rule that applies
to several examples.
Sometimes authors make generalizations in their writing. Clue
words such as all, many, and most can signal generalizations.
Active readers pay close attention to these generalizations. If they
are supported by the text or logic, they are valid generalizations. If
they are not supported by the text or by logic, they are faulty
generalizations.
Support from article
Generalization
Support from article
Support from article
Graphic Organizers
Active readers often use graphic organizers
to help them understand and remember
what they read. Graphic organizers can be
used before, during, or after reading a
selection. You can create a graphic
organizer like the one above to help you
decide whether an author’s generalizations
are valid.
Write
1. Read “The Gold Rush.” Make a
graphic organizer like the one above
for the final paragraph.
2. Is the generalization in the final
paragraph valid or faulty? Explain
your answer in a paragraph of your
own.
Vocabulary Word List
Economic
Independence
Overrun
Scrawled
Vacant
Introduce Vocabulary
Predict a definition, and use the word in a
sample sentences.
Verify the definition.
Revise sample sentence.
Economic
Of or about the management of the
income, supplies, and expenses of a
household, government, etc.
Independence
Freedom from the control, influence,
support, or help of others
Overrun
To spread over
Scrawled
Written or drawn poorly or carelessly
Vacant
Not Occupied
More Words to Know
Mercantile: Of merchants or trade;
commercial
Prosperity: Prosperous condition; good
fortune; success
Tumbledown: Ready to fall down; not in
good condition; dilapidated
Practice Lesson Vocabulary:
Yes or No
If a house is vacant, is someone living there?
Is a student who scrawled a note on a classroom wall going to get in trouble?
Did the American colonies gain independence from Britain?
Fill in the Blank
Too many people and not enough gold to mine led to _________ problems in
western towns.
Soon the small towns were ____________ by men who were hoping to strike it rich.
The buildings in ghost towns are mostly _____________.
Vocabulary Strategy (p.606)
Prefixes: over-, in-, reA prefix is a word part added at the beginning of a base word. Each prefix has
a meaning of its own. Recognizing a prefix’s meaning can help you figure out
the word’s meaning. For example, on of the meanings for the prefix over- is
(too much.) A room that’s overcrowded is to crowded. The prefix in- can mean
“not.” People who are insensitive are not sensitive.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Look at an unfamiliar word to see if it has a base word you know.
Check to see if a prefix has been added to the base word.
Ask yourself how the prefix changes the meaning of the base word.
Try the meaning in the sentence. Does it make sense?
As you read “The Sky’s the Limit,” find words with the prefixes re- and in-. Use
the prefixes to help you figure out the meanings of the words.
Genre: Expository Nonfiction
Expository nonfiction explains a
person, a thing, or an idea.
Notice how the author tries to
solve the mysteries surrounding
ghost towns.
Why did Busy
Towns Turn
Into Ghost
Towns?
Preview and Predict
Preview the selection title,
photographs, and captions.
When you finish, identify the
topics and ideas you think the
selection will cover. Use lesson
vocabulary in your discussion.
Guided Comprehension
Which details help you visualize a ghost town?
What generalization can you make about ghost towns?
Why do you think cowboys, farmers, merchants, bankers, doctors, and teachers
followed the miners?
The settlers in this selection lift their homes and headed west in hopes of
becoming rich. Can you think of another group who did something similar?
What conclusions can you draw from the photograph on p. 613?
What base word do you see in Independence? What prefix has been added to
the base word? What does independence mean?
Why do you think the author included the quotation from Mark Twain?
Guided Comprehension Continued
What happened if the railroad bypassed a village? Why?
What generalizations does the selection make about women?
Why did many western towns become ghost towns?
To what does the selection compare the memories, hopes, and dreams of the
people who once lived in these ghost towns? Why do you think this
comparison is made?
Does this remind you of any other book you might have read?
Graphic Sources (TM613)
Graphic sources can be used to draw conclusions as you
read.
Examine the photograph on p.613 and read the caption.
“I can see by looking at this picture and by reading the
caption that these travelers aren’t exactly happy. From this
picture and from what the text says, I can conclude that the
journey to California must have been pretty tough.
Examine the photograph on p. 612. What conclusions can
you draw about mining for gold?
Persuasive Devices
Sometimes a wrier will use persuasive devices, or propaganda
techniques, to make an argument more convincing. These include:
Loaded Words which create certain emotions or make value
judgments.
Slogans which appeal to people’s emotions rather than logic.
Generalities, or vague statements, rather than specific facts and
details.
Bandwagon, meaning “everyone else is doing it.”
Testimonials, or endorsements, by celebrities or other will-known
people.
Look at the quote on p. 615 by Mark Twain.
Notice these loaded words: driving vigorous,
simpering, dainty, kid-gloved weaklings, stalwart,
dauntless, young braves.
Imagine you own a hotel in a gold rush town. Write an
advertisement persuading people to visit the town and
stay at their hotel using at least two persuasive
devices.
SUMMARY
This reader outlines the westward expansion of the United
States in the 1800s. It describes the search for resources that
led to the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark’s journey.
It also describes the impact that this expansion had on the
Native American peoples already living there.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 6 Whom did Jefferson send to Paris to try to buy New
Orleans?
PAGE 7 Which country owned Louisiana at the time just
before the Purchase?
PAGE 12 Which river did Lewis and Clark start out on?
PAGE 16 What mountain range did Lewis and Clark run into?
PAGE 22 As a result of the United States western expansion,
where did Native American groups end up living?
SUMMARY
This reader outlines the westward expansion of the United
States in the 1800s. It describes the search for resources
that led to the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark’s
journey. It also describes the impact that this expansion
had on the Native American peoples already living there.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 6 Whom did Jefferson send to Paris to try to buy New
Orleans?
PAGE 7 Which country owned Louisiana at the time just
before the Purchase?
PAGE 12 Which river did Lewis and Clark start out on?
PAGE 16 What mountain range did Lewis and Clark run into?
PAGE 22 As a result of the United States western expansion,
where did Native American groups end up living?
SUMMARY
This work presents a collection of stories of western territories
and the process by which they became states. It begins with a
discussion of The Louisiana Purchase, Lewis
and Clark’s expedition, and The Missouri Compromise. The
work covers the historical context of the period and touches on
important social issues affecting the statehood process, such as
the practice of slavery. It contains a chronological chart of all
the states admitted to the United States in the 1800s.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 3 How many states did the United States have originally?
PAGE 4 What country did President Jefferson make a deal with in
The Louisiana Purchase?
PAGE 6 What group of people did Lewis and Clark set out to
learn more about?
PAGE 8 Which national body has to approve admission of a new
state?
PAGE 11 When the Missouri Compromise was reached, how
many slave states and how many free states were there?
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction
Narrative nonfiction tells the story of
an event or series of events.
Some narrative nonfiction describes
events from people’s lives.
Text Features
Sometimes maps are used to make the
events easier to follow.
Interactive maps use numbers to link
the events described to geographic
places.
What do you think this selection is about?
What does the map on p. 622 tell you about Dame
Shirley’s trip?
What makes this look like a difficult journey?
What main idea would summarize this article?
Additional Resources