Contents. Reading Genres. Unit 1: Folktales... 1 The Story of Anansi and Turtle... 2 The Tale of Coyote and Hen... 3 Genre Activities...

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1 Reading Genres Unit 1: Folktales The Story of Anansi and Turtle The Tale of Coyote and Hen Genre Activities Unit 2: Biography and Autobiography from My Very Own Room, by Amada Irma Pérez Telling Her Own Stories Amada Irma Pérez: In Her Own Words Genre Activities Contents Unit 3: Procedural Text Compare Soil Types and Erosion How to Do Oral History Interviews Genre Activities Unit 4: Informational Text: Persuasive and Expository Preserving Texas History Barred Tiger Salamander Genre Activities Unit 5: Poetry The Guadalupe Mountains The Sea Turtles of South Padre Island Genre Activities Unit 6: Fiction My Day on Planet Z Betsy at the Dog Show Genre Activities

2 Genre Study Folktales Reading Folktales Folktales are stories that take place long ago. These stories are based on the traditions of a people or region and have been handed down through the generations. Folktales often have a message or a lesson for readers and listeners. This lesson or message is the theme of the story. Some folktales may tell about familiar things and have events that could happen in real life. Other stories describe things that could not happen in real life such as a person who can lift up a mountain with one hand, or animals that talk. Folktales are told all over the world. The stories may come from different cultures but they often share similar characters, events, and themes. Many folktales have a trickster as the main character. Trickster characters rely on their wits to get what they want. They often trick the other characters but sometimes the trickster gets tricked. 1

3 Genre Study Folktales The Story of Anansi and Turtle Anansi the spider was greedy. One day, Turtle came to visit as Anansi was about to eat his dinner. What a nice dinner! said Turtle. To be polite, Anansi had to offer to share the food. Still, he did not want to. You can join me, said Anansi. But first, clean your hands. Turtle s hands were dirty. He went to the river and washed. When he came back, Anansi had started to eat. Your hands are still dirty! Anansi said. Turtle looked down. On the way back, he had walked through mud. So he went and washed again. When he returned, he found that Anansi had eaten all the food. Tomorrow you must come to my house to share my dinner, said Turtle. The next day, a hungry Anansi met Turtle at the river. Turtle dove into the water to his home on the river bottom. Anansi jumped into the water and tried to swim down, but he was too light. Then, Anansi put stones in his coat pockets and sank down to Turtle s home. Turtle had started to eat. Turtle looked at Anansi and said, It is not polite to eat with your coat on. You must take it off. Anansi took off his coat. Without the stones, he was light again. He floated up to the surface. From there, he watched Turtle finish his meal. 2

4 Genre Study Folktales The Tale of Coyote and Hen One day, Coyote came upon Hen. She was sitting on a tree branch. Coyote was hungry. He decided that he would eat Hen. But how could he reach her? She was much too high in the tree. Coyote thought and thought. Then he had an idea. Oh, Hen, he said. I am so happy! I bring great news. Hen was interested, but she did not trust Coyote. A treaty has been signed, said Coyote. All the animals have signed it. It says that we are all friends now. There will be no more fighting! Please come down from the tree. I am so happy. I would like to give you a big hug. Ah, thought Hen. Now, she knew what Coyote was up to. I would love to, said Hen. But I see that someone else is coming. Really? asked Coyote. Who is it? It is Dog, said Hen. Coyote began to shake. Dog scared him. He must have heard the news, too, said Hen. He looks so happy! His eyes are bright and he is so fast. I think he wants to hug you. Coyote took off running as fast as he could. Up in the tree, Hen smiled. 3

5 Activities Genre Study Folktales Lessons and Themes Think about the two folktales you have read. The stories are meant to teach the reader a lesson. In a small group, discuss the following questions. 1. What is The Story of Anansi and Turtle mainly about? 2. Explain the lesson or message of the story. 3. What is The Tale of Coyote and Hen mainly about? 4. Explain the lesson or message of the story. After the group has fi nished discussing the two stories, get a separate sheet of paper. On your own, summarize the lesson, or message, of each story. Use details from the stories to support your summary. Compare and Contrast Adventures In these folktales, you read about tricksters and the characters that they tried to trick. With a partner, talk about the adventures of Anansi and Coyote. What happened in each story? How are the events in the two stories alike? In what ways are they different? How are the characters of Anansi and Coyote alike and different? Create a Venn Diagram to compare the two characters and their adventures. 4

6 Genre Study Biography and Autobiography Reading Biographies and Autobiographies A biography is the story of a real person s life written by another person. The author usually presents events and information about the person s life in chronological order starting from the person s childhood. An autobiography is the story of a real person s life written by that person. Someone who writes an autobiography shares the events of his or her life. He or she may also share feelings and insights about these events. An autobiographical story is inspired by events in the author s life. Sometimes authors use real events from their own lives in the fictional stories that they write. Reading an autobiography of an author or a biography about the author can help us see how an author gets his or her ideas for the characters and events in a story. 5

7 Genre Study Autobiographical Story from My Very Own Room by Amada Irma Pérez I woke up one morning on a crowded bed in a crowded room. Victor s elbow was jabbing me in the ribs. Mario had climbed out of his crib and crawled in with us. Now his leg lay across my face and I could hardly breathe. In the bed next to ours my three other brothers were sleeping. I was getting too big for this. I was almost nine years old, and I was tired of sharing a room with my five little brothers. More than anything in the whole world I wanted a room of my own. A little space was all I wanted, but there wasn t much of it. Our tiny house was shared by eight of us, and sometimes more when our friends and relatives came from Mexico and stayed with us until they found jobs and places to live.... I loved my brothers. It wasn t that I didn t want to be near them. I just needed a place of my own. I tiptoed around our tiny, two bedroom house. I peeked behind the curtain my mother had made from flour sacks to separate our living room from the storage closet. Aha! This is it! This could be my room. I imagined it with my own bed, table, and lamp a place where I could read the books I loved, write in my diary, and dream.... 6

8 Genre Study Biography and Autobiography Telling Her Own Stories Amada Irma Pérez is a teacher and an award-winning author. She writes books for young readers. Her books are often about her childhood. Pérez was born in Mexico, but she grew up in the United States with her five brothers. Life was not easy. Pérez and her brothers did not have many toys or a lot of clothes. Pérez says she did not like her family s house and felt it was embarrassing living in the ugliest house and not having a telephone. The house was very small. She and her brothers had to share space. Pérez wished that she could have her own room. Things were hard but Pérez was proud of her family. Her parents loved her and her brothers. When Pérez was a girl, her mother gave her a present. It was a blank journal. She started writing about events that happened in her life. Pérez turned what happened into stories. In 1998, she wrote her first book. Amada Irma Pérez: In Her Own Words I ve always enjoyed reading autobiographies and found it easy to tell my own stories when I started writing. I wrote them as if I were telling them to a friend. They are based on my life, but fictionalized to make them even better. From my tiny storage closet room to a room in the house of children s literature? Wow! I guess I have come a long way. 7

9 Activities Genre Study Biography and Autobiography Alike and Different Amada Irma Pérez wrote My Very Own Room. How is the girl in the story like Pérez? How are they different from each other? Fold a sheet of paper in half. On one side write My Very Own Room. On the other side, write Amada Irma Pérez. 1. Write the details about Pérez s life from Telling Her Own Story and Amada Irma Pérez: In Her Own Words on the Pérez side of the paper. 2. Write the details about the little girl from My Very Own Room on the other side of the paper. 3. Find a partner and discuss the similarities and differences between the character s experience in My Very Own Room and Pérez s experience growing up in the United States. Making Life into a Story Think of something that really happened to you. It might be funny, exciting, or happy. Follow these steps to use the memory as an event in a fi ctional story. Write a short summary of the event. List as many details as you can remember. Choose some details to change for the story. Think of a main character. Name and describe him or her. Think of what might happen before and after the event. Write a draft of your story with a good beginning, middle, and end. Share your story with a small group. 8

10 Genre Study Procedural Text Procedural Text A procedural text tells you how to do something. The directions that come with new toys are procedural texts. So are recipes for your favorite foods. Directions to your friends houses are procedural texts, too. All procedural texts have similar parts. Sometimes there is a list of materials. There is always a list of steps to follow and usually the steps are numbered. When you are using a procedural text, it is important to do each step in the correct order, otherwise the end result will not be successful. Procedural texts often have pictures, diagrams, or charts. Information that is presented graphically helps you see what the text is describing. 9

11 Genre Study Procedural Text Compare Soil Types and Erosion The wearing away of soil by water is called erosion. Let s find out how different soils are affected by erosion. Step 1 Press sandy soil into one plate and clay soil into the other plate until the soil is even with the rim. Step 2 Put each plate into one of the baking pans. Put blocks under one side of the plate to make it higher. Step 3 Slowly pour 3 cups water over the sandy soil. Do the same with the clay soil. After the water stops running off the plates, see which plate has more soil left. Step 4 Take the plates out of the pans and measure how much water is left. Record you findings in a chart like the one below. Type of Soil Sandy soil Water Poured onto Soil three cups Materials sandy soil clay soil 2 plates with rims measuring cup 2 baking pans, 9 x 13 blocks water Water Collected from Pan Clay soil three cups 10

12 Genre Study Procedural Text You can learn a great deal about the past by interviewing people a couple of generations older than you. Their stories are called oral, or spoken, history. Here is a guide for doing interviews. Steps to Follow 1. Choose a person to interview. Whose story would you like to hear? Ask your parent or guardian for permission to interview the person you have chosen. 2. Ask the person you chose if you can interview him or her. Agree on a day, a time, and a place for the interview. Explain to the person that you are going to write down what they say during the interview. 3. Prepare a list of 8-10 questions. Ask questions that require more than a Yes or No to answer them. 4. Note the name of the person and the date when you start the interview. 5. Each time you ask a question, listen carefully and record the person s answer. Interview Question Starters What do you remember about...? How did you learn about...? What was it like when...? When did you fi rst see...? After the interview, type up the questions and answers. Share the interview with your class. 11

13 Activities Genre Study Procedural Text Pictures and Charts Pictures and charts show information that you can use. Work with a partner to answer these questions about Compare Soil Types and Erosion. 1. Look at the picture on page 10. Why is one side of the plate higher than the other side? 2. Look at the chart on page 10. What information do you need to write in column three? 3. After you fi nish the Step 4, how can you use the information in the chart to fi nd out how much water each type of soil holds? Experiment or Interview? Would you like to do the experiment or the interview? Find a partner who wants to do the same activity as you. If you choose the experiment, be sure to follow the steps in the correct order. Copy the chart on page 10, and fill in your measurements. Discuss the results with your partner. If you do the interview, take turns being the one who asks questions and the one who answers. You may want to decide on a topic for the interview before you start. After both of you have fi nished, write up the interview in a question-and-answer format. 12

14 Genre Study Informational Text: Persuasive and Expository Reading Persuasive and Expository Texts Informational, or expository, text gives readers facts and details about a person, place, thing, or event. The author presents a main idea and supports it with details. Supporting details include examples and facts. A fact is a statement that can be checked, by using reliable sources. Expository text describes, defines, or explains. It may contain text features such as photos, illustrations, headings, or guide words. Persuasive text is one kind of informational text. It states the author s point of view and uses language to convince the reader to think the same way. The author s purpose may be stated or implied. An author may state the purpose for writing in a sentence in the text. However, if the author s purpose is implied, readers must use details in the text to figure out the author s purpose. 13

15 Genre Study Informational Text: Persuasive and Expository Editorial Every person in Texas must help protect our state s historic places, many of which are threatened. Unless everyone helps to protect these places, much of our history will be lost. Many historical places are threatened such as Fort Brown. This historic fort is more than 150 years old. It is close to the Rio Grande, so it could be flooded. People who walk or drive near the fort can cause the ground around it to erode. Another threatened historical place is Mission Concepción 14 Historic Mission Concepción is located in San Antonio. in San Antonio. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in San Antonio. Time and weather have worn away parts of the facade and damaged the building. There are many things that Texans can do to help protect these historical places. You should visit these places and learn about them. You should write letters to your state leaders. Ask them to provide more funds to preserve and protect these places. Texans are proud of our state s historic places. If we do not stand up for our historic places, our history will be lost. Texas has 46 National Historic Landmarks. Historic places face many threats. Old buildings fall apart if no one takes care of them. Outdoor places can get filled with weeds or be damaged by weather. Sometimes people cause harm, too. They tear down historic buildings to build new ones.

16 Genre Study Informational Text: Persuasive and Expository Barred Owl Barrel Cactus Barred Tiger Salamander The barred tiger salamander is the largest salamander that lives on land. It is named for the bars or stripes on its body. The body is dark brown or black, and the stripes are yellow. Barred tiger salamanders grow to between 6 and 8½ inches long. Some have grown as big as 14 inches long. Barred tiger salamanders are active only at night. They eat earthworms, insects, and some small animals. They are found throughout much of North America and most of Texas. Amphibians Like all salamanders, barred tiger salamanders are amphibians. Amphibians are animals that have gills and live in water when they are young. When they become adults, they breathe air. Growing and Changing Barred tiger salamanders lay their eggs in water. The baby salamanders, called Barred Tiger Salamander larva, live in the water. They have gills, or organs that let them breathe under water. They also have tail fins to help them swim. After a few months, most barred tiger salamanders change. They lose their gills and fins. They begin to breathe air and live on land. Some barred tiger salamanders do not change. If the land is too dry for them, they stay in the water. They grow bigger but do not lose their gills or fins. 15

17 Activities Genre Study Informational Text: Persuasive and Expository Do You Agree? Form a small group, and discuss these questions. 1. What is the author s opinion about historical places in Texas? 2. List three facts from Preserving Texas History. How can you prove that the facts are true? Where can you look up each fact? 3. Find one opinion in Preserving Texas History. What makes it an opinion? 4. What persuasive language does the author use in the fi rst and last paragraphs? Type and Purpose Finding the Facts With a partner answer these questions about the passage on page What text features give clues about the main idea of the passage? 2. What guide words appear on page 15? 3. How do you know where to look to fi nd out how the salamander grows and changes? 4. Choose one paragraph, and summarize its main idea and supporting details. Work with a partner to answer these questions. 1. Label each passage persuasive or expository. Explain the difference. 2. Which passage has a stated purpose? Which has an implied purpose? Explain the difference. 16

18 Genre Study Poetry Reading Poetry A poem creates a word picture, describes a moment, or expresses a feeling. There are many different forms of poetry. Some rhyme and some do not. Two examples of poem forms are free verse and lyric poems. A free verse poem does not rhyme. A lyric poem uses imagery to express a feeling and uses rhythm, regular meter, and rhyme. Poems use rhythm. Rhythm comes from meter, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. A poem may have a rhyme scheme. A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming words in a poem. Poems use figurative language such as similes and metaphors. A simile uses the words like or as to compare two unlike things. A metaphor compares two unlike things without the use of like or as. Poems are written in groups of lines called stanzas. A stanza in a poem is like a paragraph in a story. Often a new idea or image appears in each stanza. 17

19 Genre Study Poetry The Guadalupe Mountains In the distance, the mountains are a giant s row of snaggled, uneven teeth. Following the steep path up, you can hear stones crunching beneath your feet. Wind feels like warm water. As you get to the top, the highest peak in Texas, the canyons stretch out below like long wrinkles carved in earth. Overhead, three buzzards circle, black silhouettes against the blue of a sky emptied of clouds. It is time to leave. Your footprints will remain behind, in the dry dirt on the peak Until the wind erases them. 18

20 Genre Study Poetry The Sea Turtles of South Padre Island Tiny turtles along the beach Rushing toward water out of reach. Hatched from eggs buried in the sand, The baby turtles must leave land. As the tiny turtles make their way Above them circle birds of prey. Every year this same mad race, Every year in this same place. Their flippers propel them to the sea, Their instinct telling them to flee. Tiny turtles along the beach Rushing toward the water within their reach. 19

21 Activities Genre Study Poetry Time to Rhyme With a partner, discuss the answers to these questions about the poem The Sea Turtles of South Padre Island. 1. What is the rhyme scheme of the fi rst three stanzas of this poem? 2. Count the syllables in the fi rst four lines. How many syllables in each line? 3. How does the poet use stanzas in this poem? 4. What kind of poem is this? Explain your answer. Stanza to Stanza On a sheet of paper, answer these questions about The Guadalupe Mountains. 1. How does the poet use stanzas? 2. Count the lines in each stanza. How many lines does each have? 3. Which stanza do you think is the most interesting? Why? 5. What is one example of a metaphor and one example of a simile in the poem? 20

22 Genre Study Fiction Reading Fiction Fiction is an invented story that is meant to entertain readers. The elements of fiction are plot, characters, and setting. Realistic fiction is a made-up story that could have happened in real life. The characters speak and act like real people do. The events and settings are realistic. A fantasy is a story about characters and settings that could not exist in real life. The writer invents the characters, who might not be human, such as talking animals. Often, fantasies are set in the past or far into the future. Writers of fiction often use figurative language. Authors use similes and metaphors to compare unlike things in interesting ways. Fiction may be written in the first-person or thirdperson point of view. A first-person narrator is talking about himself or herself and uses words such as I, me, and we. A third-person narrator or speaker uses words such as he, she, or they. 21

23 Genre Study Fiction My Day on Planet Z I asked Mom and Dad every single day if I could fly down to Planet Z. You could say that I begged. Finally, they said yes. At first, I couldn t believe it. But they really had agreed. I should explain. My family and I have lived on Falcon 113 for about a year. Falcon 113 is a space station in orbit around Planet Z. All of us here are astronauts, even me. And I am only in fourth grade! We were all trained back on Earth at a NASA base in Houston. Our job is to study Planet Z. This was my first visit to the planet. There were conditions, of course. Mom and Dad couldn t take time off from their jobs. I had to find some adults to go with me, so I asked Mr. and Mrs. Ramos who are good friends of my family. I was so happy when they agreed. We took the lander down to the surface. It was more beautiful than I had expected. Purple sand stretched away as far as the eye could see. We drove along slowly in our hover-car that floated like a cloud. We saw huge shiny green mountains. They were emeralds that dazzled our eyes. So far, no one has found any living things on Planet Z. At the end of the day, we flew back home to Falcon 113. I plan to go back soon and keep exploring! 22

24 Genre Study Fiction Betsy at the Dog Show Betsy was very excited. Finally, it was time for the Junior Dog Show at the big convention center in Dallas. Arriving at the center, Betsy was surprised. Her friend Sue was there, too. Sue! said Betsy. What are you doing here? Sue shrugged. I might ask you the same thing. Betsy smiled. She explained that she was there to compete with Slippers, her cocker spaniel. Sue said, I m here to compete, too. Her voice was as cold as a winter wind. She pointed to Rusty, her beagle. Good luck! said Betsy. Sue just nodded silently. Soon all the contestants gathered in a huge room where the judging would take place. Betsy spent the morning getting ready. She groomed Slippers until his soft coat was like velvet. Then she practiced walking with him. Every so often, Betsy would look at Sue whom seemed to be ignoring her. Maybe she s afraid I ll win, thought Betsy. The dog show was a lot of fun. The judges seemed to like Slippers. But in the end, he didn t win. Neither did Rusty. The best-in-show award went to a little terrier named Cookie. After the show, Sue came over and hugged Betsy. Betsy was so relieved. She may not have won the award, but she still had her friend. 23

25 Activities Genre Study Fiction Retell the Plot Choose either My Day on Planet Z or Betsy at the Dog Show. Write the answers to following questions. Then exchange papers with a partner, and discuss the two stories. What type of fi ction is the story? What are the main plot events of the story? Which events infl uence or affect events that happen later in the plot? Share Your Thoughts With a partner, discuss the answers to these questions. 1. How would you describe the main characters in the two stories? 2. How did Sue in Betsy at the Dog Show change at the end of the story? 3. Which story is told from a fi rst-person point of view? Which is told from a third-person point of view? Name the Figurative Language Read these sentences from the stories. On a separate sheet of paper, write if the sentence contains a simile or a metaphor. 1. We drove along slowly in our hover-car that floated like a cloud. 2. They were emeralds that dazzled our eyes. 3. Her voice was as cold as a winter wind. 4. She groomed Slippers until his soft coat was like velvet. 24