Guiding Comprehension

Author's Purpose

• Inferential

Why do you think the author wrote this story about living at sea?

Possible response: To tell us what it was like to spend a childhood on a ship or to entertain us with stories about life at sea.

then… use
the skill and
strategy
instruction on
p. 523.

If… students are unable to identify the author's purpose,

Author's Purpose

Point of View • Literal

Who is telling the story?

The story is told by Matilda, one of the children living on the ship.

Compare and Contrast

• Inferential

How is life on the ship like and unlike life on land?

Like: The ship has bedrooms, a living room, and kitchen; there are farm animals and pets. Unlike: Their home is always moving; they play on the ship's deck, not in a playground or backyard.

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Author's Purpose

TEACH

Remind students that an author can write something to entertain, persuade, inform, or express ideas or feelings. Authors often have more than one purpose.
Model predicting what the author's purpose might be in this story.

MODEL The pictures show children playing on a ship's deck. The first sentence says they had a wonderful childhood spent at sea. I think it would be fun to read about children growing up on a ship. I think the author wants to entertain us. She may also want to give us some information about what it's like to live on a ship.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students decide why the author chose to describe the children's games on p. 523, paragraph 4. To assess, make sure students can state a purpose, such as to entertain or inform. (Possible response: I think the author wrote this part to tell us what children could do for fun on a ship. She probably thought this would be interesting for other children to read about.)

"Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea"
by Gloria Rand

Student Edition
Unit 5, pp. 520–533

Historical fiction is based on real events in history to which the writer has added details from his or her imagination. As you read about a family's life at sea, think about which details are real and which are from the author's imagination.

My two sisters, brother, and I, Matilda, grew up on a huge sailing ship in the 1800s. It carried cargo everywhere in the world. The captain of the ship was our father. He had a crew of men to help him. Our part of the ship had a bathroom, bedrooms, and a huge saloon. The saloon was our dining room and living room. There was also a kitchen, or galley, and a huge storage room for our things.
Mother raised animals for the ship's meat and eggs. They stayed in pens below deck. We children took care of our cat and a dog. We even had a pig! She fell into some hot tar and died. We gave her a dignified burial at sea.
We learned to count and read from Mother. And we learned about planets, stars, and celestial navigation from Father. He even taught us to use signaling flags. He gave us our own set of flags. Sometimes we used them to send messages back and forth from the stern to Father at the bow.
Later, Miss Shipman became our governess. She lived on the ship. She was a good teacher. But we taught her geography. We had been all over the world. So we knew more than she did!
One year we were on the China Sea. It was right before Christmas. We were just starting to put up some decorations. A huge storm came down on us. We had to take the decorations down. We rushed around tying down the piano and furniture. Mother put away little things. Otherwise, when big waves hit, they would fly all over. The storm lasted for days. We had to sit on the floor when Miss Shipman conducted class. The ship rolled back and forth, and the sky stayed black.
The storm got worse. Lifeboats were torn away and broken up by the waves. The sails were ripped apart. Father put us all on the floor of the chart room. Then we got scared. He tried to get us to think about the Christmas party we would have when the storm was over. Just then the ship rolled over onto her side. It stayed there. Father said to Mother, "Mary, I think we are going to sink." Their bravery made us all feel brave. We all hugged each other for a very long time.
Suddenly the ship quivered. It slowly rolled upright! We were safe! And we had the best Christmas ever. The crew sang, and Father and Mother danced.

Afterword: What you have read is based on a real family's life. The children loved their life on the ship. When faster steamships were invented, their way of life ended. Their hearts broke when they walked off the ship for the last time. Father turned and saluted the ship and the crew.



	Close
	Activate Prior Knowledge For Spanish-speaking students, the phrase carried cargo (p. 522, paragraph 1) may seem redundant since cargo means "I carry" in Spanish. Cargo refers to the things carried on a ship. Have students discuss other ways to transport cargo over long distances. Author's Purpose Discuss these questions to find the author's purpose: What is this story about? What is it like so far—funny, serious, sad, educational or entertaining? Why do you think the author wrote it? Do you think this is the kind of story you need to read slowly and carefully, or can you read it quickly? Why? Saltwater The oceans of the world contain 97% of the water on Earth, but seawater is too salty to drink. Seawater is about 3.5% salt. Salts from dissolved rocks are carried out to sea by rivers. Although oceans are constantly receiving fresh water from rivers and rain, they lose some of this water through evaporation. The saltiness of the oceans is quite constant over time. The composition of seawater is basically the same in all the oceans of the world because of the constant motion of ocean currents.

"Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea" by Gloria Rand

"Sailing Home: A Story of a Childhood at Sea"
by Gloria Rand