Scott Foresman Reading Street

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Realism/Fantasy Prior Knowledge

Test

Selection Test:
Unit 1
Benchmark Test: Unit 1

Reteach/
Review

TE: 3.1 41b, 115b, 125, 133, DI•52, DI•55; 3.2 183

PB: 3.1 3, 7, 33, 37, 46, 66

Practice

TE: 3.1 12–13,
86–87

Introduce/
Teach

Realism and Fantasy

	Distinguish a realistic story from fantasy.
	Use prior knowledge to help judge the distinction between realism and fantasy.

INTRODUCE

Write the following sentence on the board: "I jumped into my time machine and went back to the day Columbus first landed in America." Ask students to explain whether they think this sentence talks about something in real life or a fantasy. (Possible response: Time machines do not exist; this sentence would be used in a fantasy.)

Have students read the information
on p. 12. Explain the following:

Prior knowledge can help the reader distinguish a realistic story (which could happen) from a fantasy (which could not happen).
Readers can increase their understanding by connecting what they know to what they are reading.

Use Skill Transparency 1 to teach realism and fantasy and prior knowledge.

TEACH

SKILL Use paragraphs 1 and 2 to

model how to distinguish a realistic story from fantasy.

MODEL I need to find out if
this story is a realistic story
or a fantasy. I think it is clear

from the first two paragraphs that there are things that could
not really happen; real people do not ride seahorses, seals, mountain lions, or tornadoes.

STRATEGY Model how to use

prior knowledge to help decide
whether or not the story is
realistic.

MODEL I know that
tornadoes are powerful
storms. As far as I know,

people do not really ride
tornadoes—at least not on
purpose! I can use this prior
knowledge to help me decide if
the story is realistic or if it is a
fantasy.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

SKILL This story is a fantasy

because it includes events that could not really happen.

STRATEGY Students should use

prior knowledge to determine
that the story is a fantasy.

WRITE Have students complete

steps 1 and 2 of the Write to Read activity. You might consider using this as a whole class activity.

then… use Practice Book 3.1, p. 3 to provide additional practice.

If… students are unable to complete Write to Read on
p. 12,

Realism and Fantasy

Available as Skill Transparency 1

Skill
Realism
and Fantasy

Strategy
Prior Knowledge

Realism
and Fantasy

Pecos Bill had never fallen off of
anything. “I have ridden horses and hogs,”
Bill said. “I have ridden seahorses and seals. I
have even ridden a mountain lion. I have never
fallen off of anything!”

A realistic story tells about something that
could happen.

A fantasy is a story about something that
could never happen.

As you read, ask yourself, “Could this
happen?”

What happens

Could this happen?

This story
is a _____.

One day a big black cloud stormed into town.
It was a tornado. The tornado picked up a barn and
turned it into a pile of toothpicks! Bill threw his
rope around that tornado. Then he hopped on!

The tornado roared its way across Texas. Bill
did not fall off. The tornado picked up a river and
shook it back and forth. Now we call it the Snake
River. The tornado sucked up a huge chunk of the
ground. It’s now the Grand Canyon. Still, Bill did
not fall off.

Bill rode that tornado the whole day. In the
end, it became a soft white cloud. Bill hopped off.
He was far from Texas. What do you think Bill
rode back home?

Skill Here’s a
clue that this might
be a fantasy. Bill
couldn’t really rope
a tornado.

Strategy: Prior Knowledge

Good readers connect what they are reading with what they already know. Using what you know can help you better understand what you read. You can also use what you know to help you judge whether a story is realistic or a fantasy.

Strategy What
do you know about
tornadoes? Use that
to help you decide
if this is a realistic
story or a fantasy.

1. Read “Pecos Bill and the
    Tornado.” Make a chart
    like the one above. Fill it
    in to help you decide if
    the story is a realistic
    story or a fantasy.

2. Then write something else
     Pecos Bill might do. If the
     story is realistic, add
     something that could really
     happen. If the story is a
     fantasy, add something
     that could not.



	Close
	Access Content Beginning/Intermediate For a Picture It! lesson on realistic fiction and fantasy, see the ELL Teaching Guide, pp. 1–2. Advanced Before students read "Pecos Bill and the Tornado," have volunteers tell what a tornado is. Realism and Fantasy Have volunteers define and distinguish the terms realistic fiction and fantasy. Stress that the terms are similar—both terms refer to stories that are made up. Make sure that students understand that the difference, however, lies in the fact that the details in realistic fantasies could really happen. Ask students to name examples of fiction that they have recently read. Then ask them to distinguish the examples they name as being either realistic fiction or fantasy. Practice Book 3.1 p. 3 with \| without Answers