1. Boom Town Written by Sonia Levitin Illustrated by John Sandford
Skill: Realism and Fantasy
Genre: Historical Fiction
Author’s Purpose:

2. Words to Know boom business coins fetched laundry mending pick skillet
spell

3. More Words to Know
bustle
nuggets
prospector

4. boom
having fast growth

5. business work done to earn a living

6. coins round pieces of metal used as money

7. fetched went and got something

8. laundry a room or building where clothes are washed and ironed

9. mending sewing that repairs a hole or tear

10. pick
a tool with a heavy metal bat pointed at one or both ends, having a long, wooden handle

11. skillet
a type of frying pan

12. spell a period of time

13. My dad owns his own

14. My dad owns his own business.

15. Grandma told me to sit and stay a spell with her.

16. Grandma told me to sit and stay a spell with her.

17. The miner used his pick while digging for gold.

18. The miner used his pick while digging for gold.

19. Sally’s mother is great at mending torn jeans.

20. Sally’s mother is great at mending torn jeans.

21. The town had a huge boom when many businesses moved west.

22. The town had a huge boom when many businesses moved west.

23. Ma uses a skillet to fry bacon for breakfast.

24. Ma uses a skillet to fry bacon for breakfast.

25. Dad is teaching me how to use the washer so I can do my own laundry.

26. Dad is teaching me how to use the washer so I can do my own laundry.

27. I use coins to buy gum at the store.

28. I use coins to buy gum at the store.

29. Let’s review our words. Watch carefully because they will flash on the screen for just a moment. We will clap as we spell the word.

30. boom

31. business

32. coins

33. fetched

34. laundry

35. mending

36. pick

37. skillet

38. spell

39. Review Questions p.18-23 What state are they going to?
Where do they live?
Who tells stories about striking it rich?
How does the family keep the house clean?
Where do the gooseberries grow?
Why are Billy, Joe and Ted laughing at Amanda?

40. Review Questions p.24-35 What did the boys hit the pie with?
Why does Pa call Amanda “Queen of the Kitchen”?
How much did the miners pay Pa for a slide of pie?
Who is having a new baby?
What does Peddler Pete decide to open up?
Name the businesses opened up so far in the town at the end of the story.

41. GREAT JOB!