Family Times
Daily Questions
Prior Knowledge
Compare and Contrast
Vocabulary
Suffixes
Preview and Predict
Guided Comprehension
Drawing Conclusions
Author's Craft
Independent Readers
Jimmy Jet and His TV Set
Additional Resources
Study Skills
Genre: Myth
Vocabulary Strategy: Word
Structure
Comprehension Skill: Compare and
Contrast
Comprehension Strategy: Answer
Questions
Question of the Week
How can we learn from the results of our actions?
Daily Questions
Why do you think gold was so valuable to King Midas?
How do you think King Midas will live his life differently
after cleansing himself of the golden touch.
What is the lesson in this poem?
Activate Prior Knowledge
Explain
something about
nature
Spread by word
of mouth
Myths
Supernatural
characters and
events
Compare and Contrast
Writers sometimes use comparison and contrast to organize their
writing. Clue words such as same, also, before, although, and
however signal comparisons and contrasts.
Good readers notice the author’s comparisons and contrasts and
make their own as they read.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Answer Questions
Good readers know where to find the
answers to questions about what they read.
To answer questions about what they read.
To answer questions about comparisons and
contrasts, look for clue words and use your
prior knowledge. You may find an answer in
just one sentence. Other times you will find it
in several different places.
Write
1. Read “Lucky Winners?” List the
advantages and disadvantage of
winning the lottery in a graphic
organizer like the one above.
2. Use your graphic organizer to
help you describe how you
might feel if you won the lottery.
Vocabulary List
Adorn
Cleanse
Lifeless
Precious
Realm
Spoonful
Introduce Lesson Vocabulary
Which vocabulary words go with the following clues?
Which word describes something you might do to your home for a
holiday celebration?
Which word is an antonym for lively?
Which word describes an amount of medicine you might take?
Adorn
To add beauty to; put ornaments on;
decorate
Cleanse
To make clean
Lifeless
Without life
Precious
Having great value; worth much
Realm
Kingdom
Spoonful
As much as a spoon can hold
More Words to Know
Bequeath: to give or leave by means of
a will when a person dies.
Exquisite: very lovely; delicate
Inconvenience: something
inconvenient; a cause of trouble,
difficulty, or bother
Practice Lesson Vocabulary
Yes or no
Is a realm a place where people might live?
Would you adorn a gift box with a bow?
Is plastic a precious material?
Is a spoonful of salt greater than a pinch of salt?
Is a tree lifeless?
Would a sponge help you cleanse something?
Vocabulary Strategy
Suffixes: -less, -ful
A suffix is a word part added to the end of a base word that changes the base word’s
meaning. Sometimes the spelling of the base word also changes when a suffix is added.
Knowing the meaning of a suffix can help you figure out the meaning of a word.
1. Look at an unfamiliar word to see if it has a base word you know.
2. Check to see if the suffix –less or –ful has been added.
3. Decide how it changes the base word’s meaning. The suffix –less can mean “without,”
as in harmless. The suffix –ful can mean “the amount that will fill,” as in handful.
4. Try this meaning in the sentence to see if it makes sense.
As you read “Hospital for Wild Animals,” look for words with the suffix –less or -ful. Use
the suffixes to help you figure out the meanings of the words.
Genre: Myths
Myths are tales handed down by word of
mouth for generations. They tell about
nature and human behavior. As you read,
notice that the author points out how the
king’s behavior leads to tragedy.
Will the King
get his wish?
Preview and Predict
Preview the story title and illustrations.
Recall hearing about King Midas or “the
golden touch,” and have them use this
knowledge to predict what will happen
in the story. Use your selection
vocabulary words as you discuss your
predictions.
Guided Comprehension
On p. 680, paragraph 4, the roses are described as having exquisite colors. Which word
provides a synonym as a clue for the meaning of exquisite? Explain.
What is the main difference King Midas notes between himself and the old man?
What part of p. 683 could be true in real life? What part could not? Explain.
Why and how does the mysterious stranger come to Midas in his dungeon chamber?
Why do you think the visitor cautions Midas by saying, “Think carefully, my friend”?
When does King Midas realize his wish has been granted? How did you find the answer to
this question?
Based on similar stories you’ve read where a wish is granted, what do you think will happen
to Midas now that his wish has come true?
Why do you think the visitor cautions Midas by saying, “Think carefully, my friend”?
When does King Midas realize his wish has been granted? How did you find the answer to
this question?
Guided Comprehension Continued
Based on similar stories you’ve read where a wish is granted, what do you think will happen
to Midas now that his wish has come true?
Draw conclusions about why the king is in a rush on pp. 686-687.
How does the illustration reflect what has happened so far in the story? How does it hint
at what may yet happen?
How are Aurelia’s feelings about the golden roses different from what King Midas
expected?
How do you think King Midas will end up feeling about his wish? Give reasons for your
answer.
What causes the king to grumble and wring his hands?
Name the base word and suffix in the word lifeless. How does the suffix change the
meaning of the base word?
Guided Comprehension Continued
Compare and contrast King Midas’s feelings about his wish on p. 693 with how he felt
before.
What lesson has the king learned from this experience?
King Midas cleanses himself in the spring to get rid of the golden touch. In what other
sense does he cleanse himself?
How do the feelings of King Midas change from the beginning to the end of this story?
Have you ever learned a lesson similar to the lesson of King Midas – that there are more
important things than money? Explain.
Drawing Conclusions
A conclusion is a decision or opinion that makes sense after thinking about the
facts and details.
“The mysterious stranger appears suddenly in the locked chamber, his figure
glows, and he now looks like a young man, so he must be a magical creature of
some sort. He says he wants to reward Midas for his kindness and asks what the
King wants. I think he is going to grant Midas a wish.”
Which conclusion is best supported by information in the first
paragraph?
1. Midas is hiding in the dungeon.
2. Midas visits prisoners being kept in the dungeon.
3. Midas stores gold in the dungeon.
Drawing Conclusions Continued
You should find details in the story to support conclusions they draw
about characters or events.
“When I read the text and study the picture on pp. 686-687, I
conclude that Midas is in a hurry to go outside and use his golden
touch, possibly in the garden.”
Which conclusion is best supported by the illustration p. 686-687?
1. The king lives in an extravagant palace.
2. The king likes to run down the stairs.
3. The king is a greedy person.
Author’s Craft
An author is the writer of any piece of literature. An author is not
one of the characters in a story, but creates the character, even if
the story is told in the first person (using the pronoun I).
Authors choose what they will write, how they will describe the
characters, and how long the story will be.
Authors of folk or fairy tales can take old stories recorded long ago
and rewite them using new words.
Explain how the author lets the reader know how King Midas feels
about gold.
Write a paragraph that explains how the author lets the reader
know about how King Midas feels about his daughter. Give several
examples of what the King both says and does.
SUMMARY
This story follows the members of a family as they leave their farm
and join other gold diggers on the California Trail heading
off in search of a new life in the West. After surviving the long trek,
many hardships, and the disappointment of finding very few
nuggets in several mining towns, the family finally settles in San
Francisco, where Pa starts a successful construction business.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGES 5–6 How was Josh’s response to the news of the family’s
move similar to Susannah’s response? How was it different?
PAGE 11 Why was Susannah more bored than Josh during the
trip?
PAGE 19 How did the families help each other cross the Sierra
Nevada?
PAGE 22 Pa had a smile on his face after learning that Pleasant
Valley had been mined out, but Weaverville still had gold. What
does that reveal about his character?
SUMMARY
Since its discovery 5000 years ago, gold has been
considered precious. The ancient Greeks and Romans
used gold to confer status and beauty, as well as to
express love. The Inca considered gold “sweat from the
sun,” while the Aztecs used gold to honor their gods.
Today, most of the world’s gold is mined in South
Africa, and it is still considered precious.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 7 Look at the use of the phrase “the Midas touch.”
Use this phrase in a sentence of your own.
PAGES 10 AND 14 How did the use of gold in ancient
Rome differ from its use among the Aztecs?
PAGES 14 AND 16 What can you infer about the Spanish
soldiers and their relation to the Aztecs and the Inca?
PAGE 20 Give one possible reason that gold production
has grown in the last twenty-five years.
SUMMARY
This nonfiction selection explores the history of salt, silk,
gold, diamonds, and oil. Obtaining and trading such
precious goods has had both good and bad
consequences, such as spreading ideas across cultures
and starting wars.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 3 What is one common factor that makes salt,
silk, gold, diamonds, and oil precious?
PAGES 10–11 What was one good result of the silk
trade?
PAGES 9 AND 18 How is the history of silk
similar to the history of diamonds?
PAGE 21 What do you think will happen if most
countries continue to meet their energy needs
with oil?
Poetry
What do you think thisGenre:
poem
is about?
A poem is a composition
arranged in lines. Some poems
have rhyme.
Some poems are written in the
voice of a first person narrator
who tells the reader a story.
Sometimes this story is
humorous and fantastic.
Look at the drawings and ask
yourself: “What clues tell me this
poem will be funny and
fantastic?”
I’ll tell you the story of Jimmy JetAnd you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.
He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From “The Early Show” to “The Late Late Show”
And all the shows between.
He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial, And
antennae grew out of his hair.
And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying “VERT.” and “HORIZ.”
Grew where his ears had been.
And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him.
Do you know people who
overdo one activity?
Additional Resources