Guiding Comprehension

If you are teaching the story in two days, discuss the author's purpose so far and review the vocabulary.

Setting • Literal

How long does the storm last?

It lasts for days.

Author's Purpose • Critical

Question the Author The author includes many details about what happens during the storm. Why do you think she does this?

Possible responses: It helps the reader understand what it's like to experience a storm at sea. It makes the storm seem scarier.

then… use
the skill and
strategy
instruction on
p. 529.

If… students have difficulty understanding the author's purpose,

Author's Purpose

Model Pauses, 537a

Writing

Grammar

Fluency

Adjectives and Articles, 537f

Connect to Writing, 537j

Prewrite and Draft, 537h

Spelling

Fluency and Language Arts

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Author's Purpose Predict

TEACH

Point out some of the descriptive details on pp. 528–529. Remind students that one common reason for writing is to inform. Ask students what the author may be informing readers about on these pages. (what it's like to experience a storm at sea) Then model how to use the author's purpose to make a prediction about what might happen next.

MODEL Now that I understand what the author is trying to do, I can predict what might happen next. We will probably read more about what the storm is like or what happens when the storm ends.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students make predictions about what kind of Christmas celebration the family will have. To assess, make sure predictions are reasonable based on what the story has told us about life at sea.

"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
	Extend Language Words can give the storm a powerful human voice: the thunder roared (p. 528, paragraph 1); screaming winds (p. 529, paragraph 1). Encourage students to use similar figurative language to describe and personify other elements of nature. Author's Purpose/Predict Have students reread the first paragraph on p. 529. Discuss what the author's purpose might be for including these details about the storm. Point out that several different predictions would be reasonable at this point. Oceans and Weather Generally, oceans make Earth's weather milder. Ocean temperatures stay fairly constant around the world. The vast ocean waters store heat from the sun during the summer and warm the air during winter. Ocean currents carry warm waters from near the equator toward the poles and move colder waters from deep below an ocean's surface toward the equator. Oceans also play a key role in the water cycle, supplying moisture to Earth's environment. Water from the oceans evaporates in the sun's heat, rises and cools to form clouds, and then falls back to Earth again as rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation.

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

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