Unit 1, Week 4
The Astronaut and the Onion
Mrs. Wells’ 4th Grade
eMINTS4ALL Classroom
Vocabulary
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endless: having no limit or end, without a finish
realistic: showing people, things, or events as
they appear in everyday life
universe: everything that exists, including
Earth, the other planets, stars, and space
astronaut: a person trained to fly in a
spacecraft
sensible: showing good judgment
protested: complained or objected to
something
paralyzed: unable to move or act
Vocabulary: Context Clues
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Sometimes the meaning of an unfamiliar
word can be found by looking at
surrounding words in the same sentences.
The meaning of those surrounding words
can be clues.
Context Clues
Vocabulary: Words in Context
paralyzed, sensible, astronaut, protested,
realistic, universe, endless
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Dr. Street became an ________ because she loved to fly.
Traveling through space changed Dr. Street’s view of the
_________.
Gloria was ________ with fear when she threw the
onion.
Gloria told her teacher about meeting Dr. Street. “I
thought you were more _______ than to tell a story like
that,” he said.
Gloria ________ that she was telling the truth.
It just didn’t seem ________ that a famous person
would be in the local supermarket!
Dr. Street described space as a wonderful _________
place.
Word Study: Dictionary
Pronunciation and Meaning
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A dictionary tells the readers the meaning
of a word.
The reader will have to decide which
meaning is being used from the context.
A dictionary includes symbols that show
how to pronounce each part of a word and
which part is accented.
dictionary test tutor
Word Study: Dictionary
Pronunciation and Meaning
1.
2.
Bethany walked down the produce aisle.
A) produce verb (pre dus’) To bring forth; yield
B) produce noun (pro’ dus) farm products, especially
fruits and vegetables
At the music store I bought a new record.
A) record noun (rek’ erd) a disc on which sounds are
recorded to be played back
B) record verb (ri kord’) to set down in permanent
form
Word Study: Dictionary
Pronunciation and Meaning
3.
The stain was so minute that my friend
could hardly see it.
A) minute adjective (mi nut’) very
small; tiny
B) minute noun (min’ it) a unit of time
equal to 60 seconds
Vocabulary: Story Words
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Orbits are circular paths that heavenly bodies travel in
around other bodies.
Craters are deep pits or valleys.
An object is said to rotate when it turns around in a
circle.
An exploration is a journey into an unknown place.
pennants: long, narrow flags shaped like triangles
time warp: a shift in the progress of time that causes it
to stop, slow down, or speed up
Fluency: Intonation/Pausing
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Good readers learn to read groups of
words together in phrases.
A comma means to pause and a
punctuation mark means to stop.
Good readers vary the tone, pitch, and
intonation with the character and the
feeling expressed in the quoted words.
Fluency: Intonation/Pausing
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Read the sentences below, listen carefully to your pauses and
intonation as you read. A single slash indicates a pause, usually
between phrases pr a person’s words and a the name or pronoun of
the person speaking. A double slash indicates a stop, usually
between sentences.
I heard a woman’s voice. // “I have your onion.” //
I opened my eyes. // The woman in the jogging suit handed
the onion to me. //
“Lucky I used to play baseball,” / she said. //
“O-o-o-h,” / I said. // I clutched the onion. //
“O-o-o-h,” / I moaned again. //
“You’re welcome,” / was all she said. //
She had brown eyes with a sparkle in them, / and her hair was
in shiny black ringlets. // She wore blue-green earrings that hung on
tiny gold chains. //
Phonics
Decode Words with Long i
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In words with /i/ sounds, the long I can
be spelled several different ways. The
most common ways to spell the /i/ sound
are i-consonant-e as in file, ie as in pie, or
y as in spy.
Other ways of spelling this sound include
–igh and in sigh, I as in climb, and ei as in
height.
Phonics
Decode Words with Long i
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Read the following words aloud and point
out how the long i is spelled.
climb
slight
sly
wipe
die
Phonics
Decode Words with Long i
Sort the following words by how the long /i/ sound
is spelled: height, insight, arrived, paralyzed,
clarify, nighttime, heightened, mindfully,
organize, clothesline
i-consonant-e
ie
y
-igh
i
ei
Comprehension:
Make Inferences/ Analyze Character
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Like real people, characters in stories have traits, or
qualities that give them their personalities.
A character’s emotions can change often. A character’s
traits are longer lasting parts of their personality.
Good readers begin to analyze a character’s traits by
noting how he or she is described by the author or the
other characters.
Good readers also pay attention to the character’s
words, and actions to help identify character traits.
Comprehension:
Make Inferences/ Analyze Character
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Major Character: the characters who are
described in greatest detail by the author
and whose actions are most important to
the plot of the story
Minor Character: a character who does
not have such importance to the plot and
who are not as fully developed
Comprehension:
Analyze Character Comprehension:
Make Inferences/ Analyze Character
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Reread what Ana says in the last paragraph on page 84 then fill out the
character web. As you read look for clues that tell you what kind of person
she is.
Ana Gomez
Comprehension:
Make Inferences/ Analyze Character
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Inference Character Actions
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Character Tutor
Comprehension: Point of View
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A story is told from the point of view of a
narrator, wither in the first person or the third
person.
First person: when a story is told by a
character who refers to himself or herself as I or
me
Third Person: when the narrator is not a
character and may know the thoughts of several
or all the characters
Text Feature: Diagram
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Diagrams can help a reader visualize information
explained in the text.
Diagrams usually contain labels that help to
identify each part.
Captions explain the diagram as a whole.
Diagrams provide additional information that
may not appear within the text.
Look at the diagram on page 103 and calculate
how many miles is earth from the sun.
Reflection Day 1
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How might Gloria’s character traits help
her become an astronaut? Use Character
Web and story details to support your
answer.
Reflection Day 2
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How would you summarize what Dr. Street
experienced in space?
Why do you think Gloria shivers when she
tries to imagine what Dr. Street saw?
Reflection Day 3
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Re-read page 91 where the word
paralyzed is used. What is another word
for paralyzed? What information in the
story helps you know.
Reflection day 4
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Describe what Gloria is like. Explain why
her character is important to the story.
Use three details from the story in your
answer.
Reflection Day 5
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Describe how Gloria figures out who the
woman is. What does this tell you about
Gloria?