Unit 1, Week 2
4th Grade O’Neal Elementary
Vocabulary
• shimmer: to shine with a faint, wavering light;
glimmer
• eerie: strange in a scary way
• lurk: to lie hidden
• swallow: small birds having a slender body and
a forked tail
• climate: the average weather conditions of a
place or region through the year
• silken: made of silk; a silk like appearance
• lumbering: moving in a slow, clumsy way
Vocabulary: Words in Context
shimmer, eerie, lurk, swallows, climate,
silken, and lumbering
•
•
•
•
The lizard eyes the insect, chews it, then _____ it.
The desert _____ can be hard on plants and animals.
We heard the _____ call of the coyote in the night.
As we took a nocturnal walk, we sensed that animals
could ____ in the nearby shrubs.
• At dawn, the sunlight made the clouds ____.
• Weighted down by our packs, we began our _____ walk
across the landscape.
• The dew-covered spider web had a _____ look.
Vocabulary: Context Clues
• 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.
Vocabulary
Context Clues: Surrounding Words
Find the clue in each sentence that helps
define the underlined words.
1. The nest protects the wood rat from foxes, hawks, and
other predators.
2. Many desert animals are nocturnal and come out of their
shelters when the sun goes down.
3. The flickering light of the campfire casts unsteady shadows
around camp.
4. In some climates, land becomes so drenched in summer
that grassy areas turn into swamps.
Vocabulary: Story Words
• biome: a community of living things
• survival: life
• saguaro: a type of cactus that is tall and
has few branches
• nocturnal: staying awake at night and
sleeping during the day
• crevices: narrow cracks
Fluency
Repeated Reading: Tempo
• Choral reading is a good way to practice tempo.
• Tempo is appropriate to use when reading a
passage where there may be unfamiliar words.
• Let’s practice moderately slow tempo with the
passage below:
Sunbeams are flickering over the landscape as the sun
rises. A kit fox heads for her den as another day in the
desert begins.
Deserts are surrounded by other kinds of landscapes.
Scientists call these different land zones biomes.
Phonics
Decode Words with Long a
• In words with long /a/ sounds, the long /a/ sound
can be spelled several different ways. Examples
of words with long /a/ spelled with a-consonant-e
include face. Words with long /a/ spelled as ay
include clay. Words with long /a/ spelled ai
include sail.
• Read the following word aloud then underline
the spelling for long /a/.
pale
claim
crate
clay
bail
stray
Phonics Sort
Decode Words with Long a
Sort the following words by how the long /a/ sound is spelled:
interface, mistakes, replay, remain, giveaway, proclaim, and fabricate
a-consonant-e
ay
ai
Phonics Games
Decode Word Long a
a-consonant-e
Ice Cream Cake
ay
A Birthday on Monday
ai
Daisy the Brainy Snail
Comprehension
Summarize
• A summary is a retelling of the most
important facts, ideas, and events in a
text. A summary should be in your own
words.
• Summarize as You Read
Comprehension
Main Idea and Details
• Main Idea is the most important point of a
paragraph or entire nonfiction text.
Supporting details are statements that
help prove the point or explain the main
idea.
• Main Idea
• Main Idea and Supporting Details
Reflection: Day 1
• What is the meaning of silken? What
context clues from Living in Alaska helped
you define the word? Use two details or
examples from the story to support your
answer.
Reflection: Day 2
• Read the title and preview the illustrations
to A Walk in the Desert. What different
kinds of desert creatures will be
discussed? Predict what you think A Walk
in the Desert will be about. How does the
illustrations help you understand the
story?
Reflection: Day 3
• Use details from the A Walk in the Desert
to retell the main idea and important
details.
Reflection: Day 4
• List some things you learned from reading
A Walk in the Desert. How might this
information help you in the future?
Reflection: Day 5
• Write a Cinquain to describe an animal. Think
about how the animal survives. Choose colorful
words that paint a picture.
• Features of a Cinquain
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–
–
–
–
It contains five lines.
It states the subject on line one in two syllables.
It describes the subject on line two in four syllables.
It has action words on line three in six syllables.
It concludes on line five in two syllables.
Home to School Connection
• The desert is a very interesting
environment. This week our class is
reading A Walk in the Desert. The main
idea is how different plants and animals
make the desert their home. Details, or
facts, tell me all about the main idea. Did
you know that a cactus can live 200
years?