Family Times
Daily Questions
Prior Knowledge
Drawing Conclusions
Vocabulary
Suffixes
Predictions
Guided Comprehension
Generalize
Simile
Independent Reader
All About Gymnastics
Additional Resources
Study Skills
Genre: Autobiography
Vocabulary Strategy: Word Structure
Comprehension Skill: Draw
Conclusion
Comprehension Strategy: Visualize
Question of the Week
Why do people try to change themselves?
Daily Questions:
Why does Gary want to take up gymnastics?
What do you think happens to Gary’s dream of being a
gymnast?
What kinds of skills and talents do you think are required
to become a good gymnast?
Activate Prior Knowledge
Gymnastics
K
Gymnastics is a difficult sport.
W
What does it take to be a
gymnast?
It takes a lot of practice.
Why would someone
want to be a gymnast?
L
Draw Conclusions:
A conclusion is a sensible decision you make after you
think about facts or details that you read.
Drawing conclusions may also be called making inferences.
Use your prior knowledge to help you draw conclusions.
What does the text say?
What can I conclude?
What do I already know?
Visualize
Active readers visualize as they read. They
make pictures in their mind. Visualizing can
help you understand what is happening in
what you read. It can also help you draw
conclusions about what is happening and
why.
Write:
1.Read “How to Do a Cartwheel.” Use a graphic
organizer like the one above to draw a
conclusion about which way to start a
cartwheel.
2.Describe how to do a handstand, a somersault,
or some other action without naming it.
Exchange papers with a classmate. Try to
visualize and draw a conclusion about what your
classmate is describing.
Word Rating Chart
Word
Bluish
Cartwheels
Gymnastics
Hesitation
Limelight
Skidded
Somersault
Throbbing
Wincing
Know
Have Seen
Don’t Know
Compound Words:
Two words this week are compound words.
Which two words are they?
Limelight
Cartwheels
What two smaller words make up each compound word.
Lime
and
light
Cart
and
wheel
Look for compound words as you read “The Gymnast”
Bluish
Somewhat blue
Cartwheels
Sideways handsprings with the legs
and arms kept straight.
Gymnastics
A sport in which very difficult exercises
are performed.
Hesitation
Act of failing to act promptly
Limelight
Center of public attention and interest
Skidded
Slipped or slid sideways while moving.
Somersault
To run or jump, turning the heels over
the head
Throbbing
Beating rapidly or strongly
Wincing
Drawing back suddenly.
More Words to Know:
Backflips: backwards somersaults performed
in the air.
Solitary: without companions
Spindly: Very long and slender
Practice Lesson Vocabulary:
True or False
Gymnastics is easy to learn.
Cartwheels don’t involve using your hands.
Someone would be wincing in pain if he had fallen off his bike.
Fill in the blank.
As he walked in the slippers, Gary’s feet were _______________.
Gary’s ankles turned ________________ in color.
Gary’s first _____________made him feel a little dizzy.
Issac loved the ______________________, so he looked around for an audience.
Gary was nervous, but he finally tried a back flip after much _________________.
Vocabulary Strategy:
Suffixes: -ion, -ish, -tion
A suffix is a syllable added to the end of a base word that changes the base word’s
meaning. The spelling of the base word may also change when the suffix is added. For
example, when the suffix –ion is added to appreciate, the final e is dropped: appreciation.
Adding this suffix adds the meaning “the act or state of being ____.” The suffix –ish adds
the meaning “somewhat” or “like,” as in brownish. Recognizing a suffix can help you figure
out the meaning of an unknown word.
1. Look at the unknown word. See if you recognize a base word in it.
2. Check to see if the suffix –ion, -tion, or –ish has been added to the base word.
3. Ask yourself how the suffix changes the meaning of the base word.
4. Try the new meaning in the sentence to see if it makes sense.
As you read “It’s Easier in Daydreams,” look for words that end with suffixes. Analyze the
base words and the suffixes to figure out the meanings of words you do not know.
Genre: Autobiography
An autobiography is the story of a
person’s life or of a single event in
ti, told by the person who lived it.
As you read, notice how the author
looks back at himself from a
humorous point of view.
Will Gary succeed
in becoming the
person he wants
to be?
Preview and Predict
Read the opening question and the title on
pp. 488-489. Do a picture walk through the
selection. When you finish, identify the
subject of the selection. “What do you
think the ‘The Gymnast’ is about?” Use
your lesson vocabulary in your discussion.
Guided Comprehension:
Reread p. 490, paragraph 1. What makes Gary feel jealous?
From whose point of view is “The Gymnast” told? How do you know?
Make a generalization about gymnasts based on what you read about Issac.
What does Gary seem to think is most interesting about gymnastics?
Does Gary remind you of anyone in your own life? Explain why.
How do you think the selection will end? What helped you make your prediction?
What is the base word in hesitation? What suffix has been added to the base word? What
does the word mean?
What details on p. 497 help you visualize the scene?
What is the author trying to tell you when he says, “ I ate a plum and pictured my cousin, who
was probably cartwheeling to the audience of one sleeping dog”?
Does the autobiography remind you of any other nonfiction selections you’ve read? Think
about events, characters, and the point of view from which it’s told.
Generalize:
Generalizations are broad statements or rules that apply
to many examples.
Model:
In this story, Issac practices a lot. I know that gymnastics
is very hard. I can generalize that gymnasts spend a lot
of time practicing.
Reread the second paragraph on p. 493. What
generalization does Issac make about gymnasts?
Simile
A simile is a comparison of two unlike things that are alike in at least one way.
In a simile, words of comparison such as like or as are used.
Simile is a kind of figurative language.
On p.494, paragraph 1, “….admiring my feet, which looked like bloated water
balloons” is a simile. Write the simile in your notebook, as well as an explanation of
the two things being compared.
Find another simile in “The Gymnast” on p. 493, paragraph 3. Write the simile and
answer these questions.
1. What comparison word is used in the simile?
2. What two things are being compared?
3. What other items could have been used to compare the two things?
SUMMARY
This book discusses strange sports that use unusual
gear. It describes the sports of curling, rhythmic
gymnastics, and jai alai.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 11 What conclusions can you draw about
why changes in curling were made?
PAGE 12 What are the two main parts of rhythmic
gymnastics?
PAGE 23 What gear do jai alai players wear?
PAGE 20 What effect would playing jai alai with
no equipment have on its players?
SUMMARY
This book describes the history of the Olympic
Games and how the games have changed through
the years. It focuses on the historic 1904 Olympics
and its memorable athletes like Felix Carvajal.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGES 11 AND 13 What conclusions can you
draw about Felix Carvajal?
PAGES 14 AND 15 What made the 1904 marathon
difficult?
PAGE 18 Why was it amazing that Ray Ewry
competed in the Olympics?
PAGE 19 Based on the chart, in which events
did George Eyser win the gold medal?
SUMMARY
This book discusses what it takes to be a great athlete.
It tells about the demands of training and competing
that athletes have to endure to prepare for a major
competition. It also highlights various notable athletes,
such as Jim Thorpe and Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
PAGE 6 About how many years ago did the first
Olympic games occur?
PAGE 8 What conclusion can you draw about
what the Ancient Greeks thought about athletes?
PAGE 8 What details helped you come to your
conclusion in the question above?
PAGE 13 How many miles would Jim Thorpe run
to get home from school?
PAGE 15 What made Babe Didrikson Zaharias
such a good athlete?
Genre: Online Reference Sources
You can find reference sources, such as
almanacs and dictionaries, on Internet Web
sites.
Some Web sites give you several different
reference sources all in one place.
Text Features:
These electronic references sources look a
lot like printed sources, and they’re
organized the same way.
Instead of turning pages by hand, you click
through them with a mouse.
How does Alice get from the search result screen to
the encyclopedia entry for gymnastics?
How are the dictionary entries on pp. 502-503 like an
entry in a printed dictionary?
Picture steps Alice takes as she does her search.
A definition and picture help you understand the
term.
Look back at “The Gymnast” to
see what kinds of moves the
your Gary Soto was practicing.
Compare them with the
information here. Which event
do you think Gary was
practicing for, and why do you
think so?
Describe your thinking and
illustrate it with drawings.
Additional Resources
http://www.garysoto.com/