Guiding Comprehension

Character • Inferential

What kind of person is Pa? Why do you think so?

Pa is hopeful and kind. He has bad luck, but he keeps trying to find gold. He tells stories and sings songs to his family.

Activate/Use Prior

Knowledge • Critical

Text to Self What chores do Amanda and her brothers do? How are these chores similar to the chores you do?

Amanda and her brothers plant things, fetch water, make soap, lay fires, make beds, and sweep the floor. Have students list chores they perform that are similar to the chores listed in the text.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on
p. 21.

If… students have difficulty activating and using prior knowledge to list chores,

Activate/Use Prior

Knowledge

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Activate/Use Prior Knowledge

TEACH

Tell students that good readers make connections between what they are reading and what they already know.
Encourage students to use what they know to help them better understand what they read.
Explain to students that using prior knowledge can help them determine whether a story is realistic or a fantasy.

MODEL When I read p. 21,
I see Amanda and her
brothers doing chores that
many kids do. If I lived on a
farm, I am sure I would help plant
things too. I am glad I do not have to
fetch water or make soap! Today,
water comes to my house through
pipes. If I want soap, I just go to the
store. I guess life was a lot more
difficult for kids in the past. We still
have to make our beds and sweep
the floor. I think this story is realistic.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students read the second paragraph on p. 20 that describes Amanda's boredom. Have them explain how Amanda's boredom parallels their own understanding of the difficulties students face when they move to a new place.

"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
	Extend Language Direct students' attention to the word hankered near the end of the paragraph on p. 21. Explain to them that hankered means "to want something badly." Then help students generate a list of words and phrases that can be used as synonyms for hanker, such as crave, desire, long for, have a yen for, and so on. Geology Gold has several special qualities. It is one of the heaviest metals in existence. Yet despite its heavy mass, it is a soft and moldable metal. For thousands of years, gold workers have used it to craft stunning and highly-detailed pieces of jewelry and art. Gold also carries heat and electricity well, so it is used in machines for communications and in factories that use electricity.

"Boom Town!"by Sonia Levitin

"Boom Town!"
by Sonia Levitin