then… use the Reteach lesson on
p. 85b.

If… children have difficulty making generalizations,

Generalize

STRATEGY SELF-CHECK

Use Prior
Knowledge

Using what they already knew about
rocks and minerals, museums, and
cars, and what they read, have
students write two generalizations.
Have students use the generalizations
to write a summary.

SELF-CHECK

Students can ask themselves
questions to assess their ability
to use the skill and strategy.

Does using what I know help
me read better?
How can I use what I know to
help make generalizations?
To assess students, use
Practice Book 3.2, p. 27.

Practice Book 3.2 p. 27

with | without Answers

Reader Response

Open for Discussion
Personal Response

MODEL The author's father
collected rocks because he
liked them. I think that's why
most people collect things. (Tell students about whatever you collect.)

Comprehension Check
Critical Response

The author is proud of her father. She is proud that he became an important person at the museum. Author's Purpose
Responses will vary; look for
responses showing what
students learned.
Generalize
Responses will vary; students
might mention that thinking
about what they already knew
helped them understand what
was happening and why.
Activate/Use Prior
Knowledge
Sentences will vary; check that
words are used correctly.
Vocabulary

Look Back and Write
For test practice, assign a 10–15 minute time limit. For assessment, see the Scoring Rubric below.

Retell

Have students retell Rocks in His Head.

then… use the Retelling Cards and the Scoring Rubric for Retelling on p. 76 to assist fluent retelling.

If… students have difficulty retelling the selection,

Check Retelling

Check Retelling Have students use illustrations and other text features to guide their retellings. Let students listen to other retellings before attempting their own. See the ELL and Transition Handbook.

Reader Response

Online Student Edition Snapshot Response with answer key (pdf)

Open for Discussion Why did father collect rocks? What do you collect? Why do you think people collect things?

The author tells you that her father has rocks in his head. Is she making fun of him? Is she proud of him? How can you tell? Think Like an Author

What did you learn about collecting things? What would you do with a collection? Generalize

What do you know about rocks? What do you know about collecting? How did what you know help you as you read? Prior Knowledge

Make cards with multiple-meaning words from the list and from the story. Work with a partner. Make up a sentence using one of the word's meanings. Ask your partner to tell what the word means in your sentence. Vocabulary

Look Back and Write Father collected other things besides rocks. Look back at pages 67–68. Then use information from the selection to write what father collected and why.

Meet author Carol Otis Hurst on page 419 and illustrator James Stevenson on page 423.

"Rocks in His Head"
by Carol Otis Hurst

Student Edition
Unit 4, pp. 64–74

A biography is the story of a real person's life, written by another person. Why might the author have decided to write a biography of this person?

Mr. Hurst, my father, was a collector. He didn't collect stamps or buttons. He collected rocks—all kinds of rocks. His interest in rocks began when he was a boy. By the time he was an adult, he had rocks of many colors and sizes. He knew the name of every rock and where each came from.
He used to tell people he had rocks in his head. Of course, this made them laugh. When people say that you have rocks in your head, they usually mean that you are not very smart. Mr. Hurst meant that he liked rocks a lot and knew a lot about them.
Rocks were just Mr. Hurst's hobby. For work he ran a gas station. He filled up gas tanks and repaired cars, using spare parts he kept in the station. He kept his rock collection at the station too. Every now and then, a customer would ask Mr. Hurst about the collection.
Business was good until the Great Depression. That was a time when many people lost their jobs. They did not have money to buy gas or fix cars. Mr. Hurst had to close his gas station.
He carefully packed his rocks and moved them to his home, where he put them in his attic. He went up there to look at them every day. Like others, Mr. Hurst had trouble finding work. There were very few jobs and very many people looking for work.
Sometimes he would spend the whole day at the science museum. He really liked the rock room. He met Mrs. Johnson, the head of the museum, there. When they talked, she found out that Mr. Hurst knew more about rocks than anyone else around. She asked the museum's board to hire him.
The board said that Mr. Hurst could not be hired as a rock scientist, or mineralogist, because he had not gone to college. And so Mrs. Johnson hired him as a night janitor. His chores included sweeping, cleaning, and dusting the rocks.
Then one day, Mrs. Johnson came into the museum and saw Mr. Hurst relabeling a rock. He told her it had been labeled incorrectly. Mrs. Johnson went to the board once again. This time she got them to agree to hire Mr. Hurst as the head of rock science.
She said that he was the best person for the job because he had rocks in his head.



	Close
	PRACTICE LESSON VOCABULARY Have students respond true or false to each statement below and make any false statements true. If I label something, it means I attach a piece of paper with information to the object. (True) If you were looking for your mother's wedding dress or old books, you might look in the attic. (True) Stamps are things people use to send an e-mail. (False; stamps are used to send regular mail.) BUILD CONCEPT VOCABULARY Review previous concept words with students. Ask if they have met any words today in their reading or elsewhere that they would like to add to the Concept Web. Look Back and Write Top-Score Response A top-score response will use details from pp. 67–68 of the selection to tell what the author’s father collected besides rocks and explain why he collected those things. Example of a Top-Score Response Father collected rocks. He labeled each one to name the kind of rock and where it came from. Father also collected spare parts for the Model T. He would sell the spare parts to people who needed them to repair their cars. For additional rubrics, see p. WA10.

"Rocks in His Head" by Carol Otis Hurst

"Rocks in His Head"
by Carol Otis Hurst