Home-School Connection

Home-School Connection Dear Family Member: An author usually has a reason for writing each book he or she writes. The story I m reading this week is Author: A True Story. I laugh as Helen Lester tells us about everything she learned about writing from the time she was three to when she is a grownup. This is a very funny book, but the author also tells us how she had a dream and just kept trying and trying to reach it. So, she s got two reasons for writing this book to give us a good time and to tell us not to give up. This Week s Skills Comprehension: author s purpose Vocabulary: word clues Spelling/Phonics: words with er, ir, ear, or, and ur Name (fold here) Word Workout WORDS TO KNOW acceptance excitement proper single talented useful Word Search Let s talk about what these words mean. Then tell me about a book or an article you have read lately. We can use some of the words in the list to talk about the book and what the author wanted to tell us. SPELLING WORDS firm first third perch world learn turns word purr girls worth nurse earn serve herds Before the R Look for the letters er, ir, ear, or, and ur in your spelling words. Then I ll give you a word to spell. Tell me which letter pattern is in the word and spell the word for me. 127

128 Writing Reasons Look at the picture clues to help you understand why the author is writing each item. Let s talk about each reason. We can also make up additions to each item.

Conexión con el hogar Queridos familiares: En general, un autor tiene un motivo para escribir cada libro. El relato que estoy leyendo esta semana se llama Author: A True Story. Me río cuando Helen Lester nos cuenta acerca de todo lo que ella aprendió sobre escritura desde que tenía tres años de edad hasta su edad adulta. Este libro es muy divertido, pero la autora también nos cuenta cómo ella tenía un sueño y seguía tratando de conseguirlo. Ella tiene dos motivos para escribir este libro: hacernos pasar un buen rato y decirnos que no nos demos por vencidos. Destrezas de la semana Comprensión: propósito del autor Vocabulario: claves de contexto claves de la palabra Ortografía/Fonética: palabras con er, ir, ear, or y ur Nombre (fold here) Ejercicio de palabras PALABRAS DE VOCABULARIO acceptance excitement proper single talented useful Búsqueda de palabras Hablemos acerca de lo que estas palabras significan. Luego dime un libro o un artículo que hayas leído últimamente. Podemos usar algunas de las palabras en la lista para hablar acerca del libro y sobre lo que el autor o autora nos quiere decir. PALABRAS DE ORTOGRAFÍA firm first third perch world learn turns word purr girls worth nurse earn serve herds Antes de la R Busca las letras er, ir, ear, or y ur en tus palabras de ortografía. Luego te voy a dar una palabra para deletrear. Dime qué grupo de letras hay en la palabra y deletréamela. 129

130 Motivos Observa las claves de cada ilustración para entender por qué el autor o la autora está escribiendo cada artículo. Hablemos acerca de cada motivo. También podemos agregar cosas a cada artículo.

Comprehension Check Summarize Use an Author s Purpose Chart to tell about E.B. White s life. Use the information to record clues about why the author wrote this book. Then summarize the book. Think and Compare 1. Reread page 13. Explain why E.B. White decided to write for children. (Evaluate Author s Purpose) 2. What about E.B. White s life did you find most interesting? Explain. (Apply) 3. Some authors seem to know what children like to read more than others. Who are some popular authors? Why are they popular? (Synthesize) 16 by Justine Fontes Table of Contents Introduction........................ 2 Chapter 1 Family Life............................ 4 Chapter 2 Animals All Around................... 7 Chapter 3 Becoming a Writer................... 10 Conclusion..........................14 Glossary/Index.................... 15 Comprehension Check.................16

2 Introduction E.B. White was a talented writer. He could make readers laugh and cry. White s children s books are about the things he loved. His writings helped readers see these things through his eyes. When he wrote, he described what it felt like to be a mouse, a spider, or a swan. In his first book, Stuart Little, a mouse sails, drives, and looks for love. Charlotte s Web tells of a doomed piglet and a smart spider who become friends. A mute swan learns to express himself in The Trumpet of the Swan. This is the finest thing I have ever done! Stuart Little Glossary classic (KLA-sik) a book that is so good people enjoy it for years (page 13) editor-in-chief (Ed-i-tuhr IN CHEEF) the person who decides what gets published (page 10) publisher (PU-bli-shuhr) a company that prints and sells books (page 13) Pulitzer Prize (PU-luht-suhr PRIGHZ) an award given every year for outstanding writing (page 14) Index Angell, Katharine, 11 Charlotte s Web, 2 3, 13 14 Early life, 4 10 Maine, 8 9, 12 Pulitzer Prize, 14 Stuart Little, 2, 13 14 The Trumpet of the Swan, 2, 13 14 White, Joel, 11 15

Conclusion In 1978, E.B. White won the Pulitzer Prize for his writing. White never lost a child s joy in little things. He liked watching eggs hatch. He liked to watch the sunset. And he even liked a blank sheet of paper. He knew he could fill it with stories that people would enjoy. E.B. White s Children s Books 1945 STUART LITTLE 1952 CHARLOTTE S WEB 1970 THE TRUMPET OF THE SWAN 14 3

4 Family Life Elwyn Brooks White was born on July 11, 1899. He was the baby in his family. He had three sisters and two brothers. His brother, Stanley, taught him to read before he even started school. White is the youngest child in this family picture. White often told stories to his nieces and nephews. Their favorite stories were about a well-dressed mouse. So White put these stories in a book. After many drafts, Stuart Little finally found acceptance from a publisher who agreed to print it. Readers loved the book and wanted more. So White wrote Charlotte s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan. These became classics, as well. White is also famous for a useful book he wrote for adults about the proper way to write. White saw trumpeter swans when he took a trip to the western part of the United States. 13

12 Book Sales All three of E.B. White s children s books are bestsellers. In its first 30 years in print, Stuart Little sold over 2 1 /2 million copies. Both Charlotte s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan each sold over 6 million copies during their first 30 years in print. All three books are still read all over the world. White worked at The New Yorker for many years. White liked the excitement of city life, but he decided to give up his full-time job. He moved from New York City to a farm in Maine. He wanted to be that single loon at dawn. He wanted to explore the misty ponds once again. When the first light comes into the sky and the sparrows stir I will show you my masterpiece. Charlotte s Web I m not tall enough to be noticed yet I m tall enough to want to go to Seventy-second Street. Stuart Little All six White children learned music. After dinner, the Whites played music together. They also did their homework. Mr. and Mrs. White had been too poor to stay in school. But they wanted their children to get a good education. Bother arithmetic! Let s skip it. Stuart Little 5

6 The Whites lived in Mount Vernon, a city near New York City. Mount Vernon was more like a rural town in those days. A boy could still find many wild animals. White always had a dog and lots of other pets. He kept birds, bunnies, lizards, snakes, and mice. During White s childhood, people traveled mostly by horse and carriage, and by train. Many families kept horses. White loved to spend time in the stables behind his home. The Whites lived in a comfortable house in Mount Vernon, NY. This is Cornell University where White studied. Katharine Angell, an editor, read it and laughed out loud. She told her boss to hire White. White and Angell married in 1929. A year later, their only child, Joel, was born. It was just a cheap notebook that was always by his bed. Every night he wrote about things he had done, things he had seen, and thoughts he had had. The Trumpet of the Swan 11

10 Becoming a Writer At the age of eight, White started writing a journal. He wrote letters to his brothers at college. He wrote poems and stories. Many of them were about animals. White s poem about a mouse won a prize from a magazine called Woman s Home Companion. Then White went to college. He soon was named editor-in-chief of the school newspaper. Readers loved the way White made fun of the news. White also became friends with other writers. In 1925, White sent a funny story to a new magazine called The New Yorker. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both. Charlotte s Web Animals All Around White loved all of nature s beginnings, like birds hatching and the sun rising on a new day. One day, Mr. White brought home a crate of chicken eggs. Elwyn was excited when the first chick pecked free of its shell. He spent many fun hours watching the eggs hatch. White once built a gym for a mouse and trained it to do tricks. I don t know of anything in the entire world more wonderful to look at than a nest with eggs in it. The Trumpet of the Swan 7

8 White loved nature. But nature did not always love him. Six-year-old Elwyn came down with hay fever. Mr. White thought living in the country might help. So the family went to Maine for the summers. summers are wonderful, aren t they? Stuart Little Pine Island, Belgrade Lakes, Maine White loved exploring the Maine lakes with his brother Stanley. White fell in love with Maine s wildlife. He loved Great Pond, one of the lakes there. He would wake up early to explore. At dawn, he might spot a single loon in the mist. Then he would watch it flap above the water and fly into the sky. At times he felt like he was flying too. my canoe is like an old and trusted friend. Stuart Little 9