1. Smoke Jumpers Life Fighting Fires Genre: Expository Text

2. concentrating in context…
Before they even hit the ground, smoke jumpers
are hard at work tracking the fire, finding the right
place to jump, and concentrating on landing
safely.
concentrating: “paying close
attention” or “focusing the mind”

3. underbrush in context…
They chop away the underbrush.
Rabbits hid in the underbrush.
Gordon cleared the underbrush from the path in
the woods.
underbrush: “undergrowth or bushes and small trees growing
under large trees in woods or
forests.

4. essential in context…
The firefighters create a firebreak,
a wide dirt barrier, which is essential in
helping to stop the spread of a wildfire.
Grandpa says that laughter is essential.
essential: “absolutely necessary; extremely important”

5. dedication in context…
Their dedication has stopped the destruction
of millions of acres of forests all over the
world.
The mother dog showed dedication to her puppies.
dedication: “devotion,” “ the act of setting apart, or the condition
of being set apart for
a purpose”

6. parachute in context…
The master parachute rigger is in charge
of packing each smokejumper’s parachute.
The marine folded his parachute carefully.
parachute: “a device shaped like an umbrella, made of nylon or silk”

7. steer in context… steer: To steer something is to guide its course.
Instead, they use the parachute “shroud lines”
attached to the chute to steer toward the
landing zone– and away from the fire.
Riverboat captains steer their boats to safe water.
steer: To steer something is to guide its course.

8. method in context…
But since they dropped from the skies into this
remote area, how will they get out?
Often by the same method they got in.
Julie learned to play piano using the Thompson
method.
method: “a way of doing something or a system for getting things done”

9. wind in context… wind: “air in motion”
Goggles protect the eyes from wind, flying
embers, branches, and smoke.
The wind became stronger as the storm
approached.
wind: “air in motion”

10. Background Knowledge
Firefighters face many dangers, such as extreme heat, falling objects, and possibility of getting burned or inhaling smoke. To fight fires, you need to be trained in using the equipment, how to be safe, and how to look for people who might need to be rescued.
Smokejumpers, parachute into fire areas and stop the spread of fires.

11. have different meanings and sometime pronunciations..
Steer is a homograph that has
more than one meaning. I can
check a dictionary to see which
meaning makes sense in the
sentence.
Steer can mean “to guide” or a
“young male cow”
Homographs are
words that are
spelled the same but
have different meanings
and sometime
pronunciations..
Read “Remembering Firefighting Heroes”
on p Look for any additional
homographs.