Scott Foresman Reading Street

GUIDED PRACTICE Have students discuss how they would use the strategy to answer the following question.

What happened to the coyote that turned him purple?

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE After students answer the following test question, discuss the process they used to find information.

How would you describe the coyote?

Use the Strategy

When you read a story, pay close attention to what the characters say.
Ask yourself why the characters say the things they do. Think about what the characters' words tell us about the characters and the events in the story.
If you are confused about something in the story, go back to the dialogue and see if the characters' words explain what you are not understanding.

USE DIALOGUE Tell students that they may be asked to read a fantasy and answer questions about it on standardized tests. Explain that dialogue is the conversation between two or more characters in a story. Dialogue can advance the action of the story, develop the characters, and help readers understand both the characters and what is happening. Provide the following strategy.

Strategies
for Fiction

Jim is trying to understand why the coyote is purple, so he asks him a lot of questions. Students should add this detail to their graphic organizer.

Use Context Clues Point out the word paw on p. 134. Tell students that when we come across a word we don't know, we can sometimes use the words around the word to figure out what it means. Write the sentence on the board and circle the words right and front. Ask students to think about how many legs a coyote has (4). Point out that they are left and right, front and back. Ask students to tell you how they think the coyote was standing if he was standing on his right front paw. Point to the illustration
on p. 135. Ask students what they think a paw is. Have them use the word in a sentence of their own. Encourage them to use context clues to figure out the meaning of other words they don't know and to keep a notebook for new words.

The next day, Jim didn’t
play with his truck, which had
lost a second wheel.

Jim thought hard. He
looked the purple coyote

“Because it’s a secret! But
you can ask me questions if
you want.”

“I won’t tell you!” answered
the coyote.
“Why not?”

He went up to the animal,
greeted him and asked, “Why
are you purple? That’s not
normal for a coyote!”

It wasn’t very hard, as the
hill was neither high nor steep.

Jim climbed up the hill.

The purple coyote
appeared. He did his little
dance, balanced himself on his
right front paw, and let out his
“WULULI WULA WULILA
WUWU WA!”

He went to wait for the
coyote at the bottom of the hill.

Every afternoon, Jim joined
the coyote, greeted him, and
asked him a question.

“WULULI WULA
WULILA WUWU WA!”

Every afternoon, the purple
coyote returned to the hill,
did his little dance, balanced
himself on his front paw, and
howled:

“I never eat blueberries,”
the coyote replied.

straight in the eyes and
asked, “Did you eat too many
blueberries?”

The days went by. Jim
began to lose patience.

“I don’t care if I never find
out why you’re purple!” he
shouted at the coyote.

fever?”
“No.”

“No,” answered the coyote.
“Were you born purple?”
“No.”
“Did you catch purple-itis?”
“No.”
“Did you catch purple

“Did you put purple dye
on your fur?”

Plot

How is the plot developing? Add to your graphic organizer.



	Close
	Guided Practice Find an example of dialogue in the story, such as the exchange between Jim and the coyote on p. 134. Explain that dialogue means the conversation between two or more characters in a story, and direct students' attention to the example you have chosen. Point out the quotation marks around their words and the format of the dialogue. Discuss what this example of dialogue tells us about the characters and events. Then have students answer the Guided Practice question. Discuss how they got their answer. Coyotes Coyotes are some of the most adaptable animals on Earth. They can change their diet and breeding habits to survive in many different habitats. They can be found in North America as far north as Alaska and as far south as Panama. Suburban sightings have become more frequent in recent years due to efforts to rid the country of its main predator, the gray wolf. Coyotes range from 15 to 45 pounds and are about the size of a medium-sized dog. Their keen senses of vision, hearing, and smell help them avoid being noticed in suburban settings, but these stealthy animals are known to feed on cats and small dogs when they wander into populated areas in search of food. If coyotes are known to be in an area, people should keep their garbage cans tightly closed and not allow their pets to be outside unattended.