Guiding Comprehension

Realism/Fantasy • Critical

Reread pp. 18–19. Could the events on these pages have happened in real life?

Yes, these events could have happened in the past.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on
p. 19.

If… students are unable to determine whether the events are realistic or not,

Realism/Fantasy

Imagery • Inferential

What does the narrator mean when she writes, "even my shadow ran off"?

Possible response: The author uses imagery to show how lonely her new town is. She doesn't mean her shadow really ran away. She just means she feels so alone that it feels like even her shadow had left her.

Students who have access to the Internet may enjoy searching online reference sources for information about the Wild West and the Gold Rush in California.

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Realism/Fantasy

TEACH

Tell students that a realistic story tells about something that could happen. A fantasy is a story about something that could not happen.
Realistic stories and fantasies are similar in that both are "made up."
Model identifying the elements of a realistic story found on
pp. 18–19.

MODEL I need to look for clues to tell me if I am reading a realistic story or a fantasy. I will look to see whether the things in the story could really happen. The characters move to a small town in California. They find a place to live, and their father works in the gold fields. I think all of these events could have really happened to people.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students define a realistic story. (a story about something that could really happen) Ask them to reread
p. 18, paragraph 1. Then have them explain how each detail shows something that could really happen.

Imagery and Sensory Words

Tell students that authors often use special words and phrases to "paint" a word picture so readers can use their senses to understand what is happening. Encourage students to look for imagery and sensory words as they read. Explain that they can improve their comprehension when they encounter such words and images by closing their eyes and trying to picture what the words are showing. Have students locate and explore other examples of imagery and sensory words in Boom Town.

"Boom Town!"
by Sonia Levitin

Student Edition
Unit 1, pp. 16–35

Historical fiction is a made-up story that takes place in the past. Can you tell when this Selection Snapshot took place? What clues can you use?

A stagecoach carried Ma, my brothers, Baby Betsy, and me, Amanda, to California. Pa was already here. He was working in the gold fields. Every day he swung a pick and panned for gold. Ma said that she wasn't going to raise her family in a gold field. So we lived in town, and Dad stayed in the fields.

Town was little more than a couple of cabins. It was a small, lonely place. Every day was the same. I fetched water and helped clean and cook. I helped with the mending. We always had something that needed to be sewed. We worked hard all week. But we all looked forward to the weekend. That's when Pa came home.

One day I had a hankering for pie. Now, we didn't have a proper oven or pie tins. But I found a skillet. I put the pie in that old frying pan and baked it in the wood stove. Pa really liked it. He took some back to the fields. Guess what happened. The next weekend Pa came home with coins. He did not strike gold. He had sold pieces of my pie! Soon we had a business going. I made pies, and Pa sold them.

One day, a peddler stopped by. I bought some pie tins and a bucket. I told the peddler that people in town needed lots of things. We didn't have a store. So he opened one. He did real well too.

Then one day a man came to town looking for someone to wash his clothes. But our town did not have a laundry. I told him he could make a lot of money if he opened one. And that's just what he did.

Then a cowboy came by. He was tired and wanted to rest for a spell. He needed a place to keep his horse. But we didn't have a stable in town. I told him he should open one. And that's just what he did.

Well, more and more people came to town. Soon the town had a hotel and a cafe. Then a bank opened. The town even built a school. Pa took over my pie business. Now he stays in town baking pies. I help him when I'm not in school. Our town is no longer a small, lonely place. It's a lively boom town!



	Close
	Access Content Direct students' attention to the word stagecoach in the first sentence on p. 18. Explain that a stagecoach was a common form of transportation in the 1800s, when this story takes place. Divide the word into stage and coach. Explain that the word coach has several meanings, one of which is "a large carriage drawn by a horse." Then explain that stagecoaches typically traveled in stages, or parts, between towns to carry and deliver mail and passengers. You may then wish to have students discuss how stagecoaches have been replaced with modern forms of transportation. Communities Many communities grew because of geographic features such as transportation routes, climate, or location of natural resources. Gold fueled the growth of many communities in California during the middle of the 19th century. The first major gold discovery in North America occurred at Sutter's Mill in 1848. By the next year, over 80,000 "forty-niners" swamped the California gold fields in search of fortune. The California Gold Rush led to the growth of many small towns. As supplies of gold ran out, though, many places were abandoned and became ghost towns. For the most part, only towns that had developed different kinds of businesses managed to survive after the gold supply ran out.

"Boom Town!"by Sonia Levitin

"Boom Town!"
by Sonia Levitin