Harcourt Journeys:
Story Selection
Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott
Unit 3: Lesson 11
“The Screech Owl Who
Liked Television”
Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott
Turn your Text Book to
page 278.
Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott
1
2
Why does the selection
begin with a separate
introduction?
Answer
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Answer:
To tell the reader who and
what the story will be about;
to separate the explanation
from the story.
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Why is the family aloud to
keep Yammer around the
house?
Answer
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Answer:
He acts calmly and fits in well
with the family.
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3
4
How are Twig and Yammer
alike? How are they different?
Answer
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Answer:
They both like watching TV, but
they see different things on the
screen. Twig sees a cowboy on a
horse and understands their size,
while Yammer sees mouse-sized
prey.
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How could you verify the
author’s statement that from
an owl’s point of view, the
image on TV was mouse-sized?
Answer
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Answer:
Measure the size of a similar
image on the TV and compare
it to a size of a mouse.
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5
6
Why do you think Yammer
flew into the TV screen?
Answer
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Answer:
He saw something small that
was moving quickly, thought it
was prey, and wanted to catch
it.
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Why does the author use the
word bedroom instead of nest
to describe where Yammer
sleeps?
Answer
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Answer:
To convince the reader that
the owl was more like a
person than a pet.
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7
8
Aside from flying into the
television, what other major
incident has Yammer
experienced?
Answer
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Answer:
Falling out of his nest and
being rescued
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What clues does the author
give to suggest Twig is a caring
person?
Answer
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Answer:
Twig rescued Yammer and
brought him home, she takes
care of Yammer and spends
time with him, and she feels
sorry for Yammer.
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9
What conclusions can you
draw about how Twig’s family
felt about Yammer?
Answer
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Answer:
They thought of him as
part of the family.
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10
11
Describe the sequence of
events that occurred when
Yammer heard someone turn
on the shower.
Answer
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Answer:
1. He flew into the bathroom.
2. Sat on the shower rod
3. Dropped into puddles on the shower floor
4. Flipped water onto himself until he was
soaked
5. Waited for someone to pick him up and dry
him off
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Why does the author say that
their arrangement with
Yammer in the shower was
“perfectly satisfactory”?
Answer
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Answer:
No one in the family
minded drying him off.
Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott
12
13
Why does the author describe
how Yammer watches the
Craig’s train?
Answer
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Answer:
To show the reader that
Yammer is still a wild animal
and acts like one in many
ways.
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Why does the author say the
train set provided biological
diversity for Yammer?
Answer
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Answer:
The train moved like a snake;
in the wild a snake might have
been prey for an owl. The
train was as close as Yammer
got to stalking prey.
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14
What was the effect of
Yammer when the train came
off the tracks?
Answer
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Answer:
Yammer would get scared
and fly away.
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15
What makes the author decide
to set Yammer free?
Answer
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Answer:
Hearing an owl outside
made her realize that
Yammer should be free.
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16
17
How do the children react to
the mother’s decision? How
does the author use the TEXT
to show their reaction?
Answer
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Answer:
• The children are very upset and
start yelling, “no”.
• The author uses all CAPITALS to
emphasize that the children are
yelling.
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How does the mother try to
convince her children to free
Yammer?
Answer
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Answer:
She tells a story about an
owl she raised that came
back after it was released.
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18
19
Is it a fact when the author
says that Yammer would be
back? How do you know?
Answer
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Answer:
No, it is an opinion; there
was no way to verify it
would happen.
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What does the story’s
conclusion suggest about
Yammer’s departure?
Answer
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Answer:
It was a dramatic and
emotional event.
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Projectable 11.3
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Projectable 11.4
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Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott
How did you do?
Copyright © 2011 Kelly Mott