Guiding Comprehension

Sequence • Literal

What does the boy do after the Grand Master asks for a small carpet?

The boy rushes off to find a carpetmaker.

then… use the skill and strategy instruction on
p. 49.

If… students are unable to determine the sequence of events,

Sequence

Setting • Critical

Text to World Which clues on pp. 48–49 tell you about the time and place in which the fable is set?

Possible time clues: the phrase "Once there was a boy" at the beginning; the clothes shown in the illustrations. Possible place clues: the illustrations suggest that the fable takes place in a foreign country.

Students who have access to the Internet or to electronic reference works may enjoy searching for and reading more fables, including the classic fables written by Aesop.

SKILLS

STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT

Sequence

TEACH

Make sure students understand that the term sequence can be used as a synonym for the word order. Tell students that understanding the sequence of events will often enhance their reading comprehension.
Explain that authors often use clue words and phrases such as once, before, later, or in the first place to signal sequential order.
Model identifying the sequence of events on pp. 48–49.

MODEL The order of
events on this page is clear:
they are told in order from
first to last. First, a boy wants
knowledge. Then, he goes to the Grand Master to ask for knowledge. Next, the Grand Master asks for a carpet. Finally, the boy leaves to find a carpetmaker.

PRACTICE AND ASSESS

Have students reread p. 49. Ask which of the following events occurs last (b):

a)	The Grand Master asks for a small carpet.
b)	The carpetmaker asks for thread.
c)	The boy looks for the carpetmaker.

Narration

Point out that narration describes
who is telling the story. Sometimes
the author uses the first person,
where the pronoun I identifies the
narrator. Other times, the author
uses the third person, where the
narrator is not a character in the
story. Have students examine
What About Me? to determine the
mode of narration (third person).
Then have them discuss why
authors choose to narrate a story
using first or third person.

"What About Me?"
by Ed Young

Student Edition
Unit 1, pp. 46–59

A fable is a story that teaches a lesson, or moral. What moral does this Selection Snapshot teach?

A young boy wanted knowledge. He asked the Wise One for it. In return, the Wise One wanted a carpet. So the boy went off to get a carpet. He asked a carpetmaker for one, but the carpetmaker needed thread. He told the boy to get him thread, and he would make a carpet. The boy went to the spinner. He told her that he needed thread for the carpetmaker. To make thread, the spinner needed plenty of goat hair. She told the boy to get her some, and she would make thread.

The boy found a man who raised goats, but he had none at the time. He told the boy to get him goats, and he would give the boy goat hair. The boy found a seller of goats, but the goats kept wandering away. The seller needed a pen to keep them from straying. He told the boy to get him a pen, and he would give the boy some goats. The boy asked for help from a carpenter, but the carpenter wanted help too. He wanted to find a wife. Then he would build a pen. The boy went in search of a wife for the carpenter. He asked a matchmaker, but she wanted knowledge in return. He explained that he too wanted knowledge. But he couldn't get it without getting all the other things first. She sent him away.

Many months later the boy was in a busy marketplace. There he saw a merchant who looked very unhappy. The sad merchant said that he had a daughter who would not get married. The boy went to see the daughter. She would not marry anyone but the carpenter she loved. She secretly loved the very carpenter who had promised to build a pen. At last, the boy had found the carpenter a wife.

After the wedding, the carpenter built the pen. The seller gave the boy goats. The man who raised goats gave the boy goat hair. The spinner gave him thread for the carpetmaker, who made a carpet. Now the boy had a carpet for the Wise One. Now he would get knowledge.

To his surprise, the Wise One said that the boy already had knowledge. It came from his experiences. The boy also received help from others because he had helped them. These were the great lessons of the Wise One.

What About Me? by Ed Young. Copyright © by Ed Young, 2002. Published by arrangement with Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. All rights reserved.



	Close
	Extend Language Direct students' attention to the word carpetmaker on p. 49. Tell students that they can use their knowledge of word structure to help them recognize and define compound words. Separate carpetmaker into two smaller words, carpet and maker. Then have a volunteer define the word. To extend the activity, help students form other compound words that use the word maker, such as shoemaker, mapmaker, and filmmaker. Barter System The Grand Master asks for a carpet in exchange for knowledge. Then the carpetmaker asks for thread in exchange for a carpet. When people exchange goods, it is called bartering. The barter system—which is the name for an economic system in which people trade, or barter, goods—was much more common before the invention of money over 4,000 years ago. Since money makes it easier to do business, people no longer have to carry around large items to barter.

"What About Me?"by Ed Young

"What About Me?"
by Ed Young