Spelling List
1. metallic
11. heavy
2. poetic
12. heavier
3. realistic
13. butterfly
4. historic
14. butterflies
5. classic
15. supply
6. artistic
16. supplies
7. basic
17. worry
8. dramatic
18. worried
9. oceanic
19. mercy
10. patriotic
20. merciful
BONUS WORDS: 1. Icelandic
2. worrisome
-ic
• suffix
• of or relating to
• possessing the
characteristic of
• ex: metallic
explodere• to drive out with
violence; loud noise
• ex: exploded
Root Words
caput
• head
• ex: capital
visus
• to see
• vision
falsus
• to deceive
• ex: false
McBroom
the
Rainmaker
Genre: Tall Tale
It uses humor and exaggeration to
tell the adventures of a fictional
character.
Comprehension Strategy:
Cause and Effect
Focus Questions:
How does McBroom plan to create
a rainstorm?
Why do you think this type of
story was popular with frontier
people?
by Sid Fleishman
Word Structure
farmer’s
dog’s
their
our
capital
vision
false
exploded
predict
merciful
exclaimed
international
Icelandic
metallic
poetic
realistic
Silent Write
• What do you know
about tall tales?
• What do you know
about the frontier
people?
What was the
rural life of
settlers like?
What were the
adventures
experienced by
the pioneers
like?
•Tall tales became popular on
the American frontier where
isolation and loneliness led to
the exaggerated stories often
told by the pioneers. One way
pioneers conveyed their
astonishment at their new
surroundings and the events of
their lives was through tall tales.
•What are some examples of
tall tales?
C
Clues
P
Problems
W
Wonderings
1. regard- (n.)
thought of care.
3. predict- (v.) to tell
beforehand.
2. merciful- (adj.) kind
or forgiving.
4. accurate- (adj.)
correct; exact.
5. drought- (n.) a
period of time
when there is not.
7. desperately- (adv.)
hopelessly.
6. prairie- (n.) a large
area of level land
with grass and few
or no trees.
8. sowing- (v.)
planting
9. heaved (v.)- to
make a sound with a
lot of effort or strain.
10. dispositions(n.)- a
natural way of acting;
mood.
Simile Example:
Metaphor Example:
Hyperbole
Example:
Alliteration Example:
Idiom Example:
Personification
Example:
…more effects of droughts
Write about it!
Tell your own tall tale about one of your
teachers. It must be three paragraphs. Write it
in your journal!
Workshop: McBroom the Rainmaker
*Complete 3 different activities
(1 must be Comprehension and 1 must be Vocabulary)
Concept/Question Board
Comprehension
Vocabulary
Create a “tall tale” about the
American West. Use SP p. 123
as your GO (prewriting). Write
your final story on a separate
sheet of paper. Be sure to
illustrate your tall tale.
Create 10 True/False
statements. At least 4 must be
false and explain why it is false.
Create a crossword puzzle
using all of the selection
vocabulary words. Crossword
puzzle must be completed
when turned in.
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Draw an illustration of the
McBroom Farm. Include a
paragraph describing the farm.
Figurative Language
Create a fill in the blank test
using your vocabulary words.
Be sure to include the answer
key on the back. Use context
clues to help the reader figure
out which vocabulary word best
completes the sentence.
Using the selection, locate 10
examples of figurative
language. Write down the
example and the type of
figurative language being used.
Comprehension
Spelling
Social Studies Inquiry
Create a Cause/Effect GO.
Include at least 10 causes and
their effects.
Create a word search using all
spelling words. Trade with a
partner and solve.
Read pages 580-581 and
complete the “Think Link”
questions using complete
sentences.