2. Pioneer Girl 495O Genre: Nonfiction The true story of the McCance family homesteaders. Selection Summary: Grace McCance and her family face the harsh reality of being homesteaders on the Nebraska prairie in the 1880’s.

3. Background 496A Remember this theme is about people who lived a long time ago, when settlers were establishing homes on the plains. We’re about to read about a family that settled in Nebraska. Does anyone know anything about life on the frontier long ago? Read “Claiming the Land” 496-497

4. Background 496A Let’s discuss these key vocabulary pioneer homesteaders prairie immigrants fertile discouraged sod

5. Vocabulary 497A PB 293 PB 293 claim: a piece of land claimed by a settler convinced: caused to believe discouraged: in low spirits and without hope heifer: a young cow fertile: rich in material needed to grow plants

6. Vocabulary 497A homestead: a farmhouse, its buildings, and the land it sits on immigrants: people who leave their native country to settle in another country prairie: a large area of flat or rolling grassland sod: a chunk of grassy soil held together by matted roots

7. Vocabulary Link disputes: arguments or quarrels grazed: put animals out to feed on growing grass range: a wide area of open land where animals can wander content: happy with how things are barbed wire: long metal strands with sharp hooks that are used on fences

8. Phonics/Decoding Skills 497A What are our Phonics/Decoding skills? They are chunking, words we know, beginning and endings, affixes, syllables, try different vowel sounds, base words or root words, blending, look carefully

10. Phonics/Decoding Skills 497A Poppie hunted for roof boards that had blown away and set to work rebuilding the roof. Help me figure out this word. Use your phonics/decoding skills

11. Decoding

12. Reading Strategy 497B Question As you read about a pioneer family in the 1880’s, think of questions that you can ask your classmates about details of their life. By asking yourself questions about characters and events can help you better understand.

14. Comprehension Skill 497C Question Trans 5-10 PB 294 Trans 5-10 PB 294 What is a K-W-L chart?

15. Comp Skill- Comparing Information from More Than One Source It is good to use more than one source when researching a topic. Reasons are: varied info, more info, and you will be able to compare for accuracy. 1. accuracy: who is the author and is he qualified? 2. completeness: is it general or specific information? 3. Timeliness: how recent is the info? 4. Bias: what is the author’s purpose? Is it full of opinions or one sided?

16. Comp Skill- Propaganda 501 Propaganda is information or ideas used to influence how others think. These are the ways to influence others. overgeneralization: Makes general statements based on only a few facts. testimonial: Uses a celebrity or an expert to make a statement supporting a product.

17. Comp Skill- Propaganda (cont) 501 bandwagon: Persuades consumers to do something because “everyone else” is doing it. flattery: making customers feel “smart” transfer: Associates a person with a product so that consumers will transfer their admiration for the person to the product. faulty cause and effect: Says consumers will be happier simply as a result of using the product.

18. Decoding Longer Words 519E PB 298 Stressed and Unstressed Syllables The new farm brought both adventures and hardships. A syllable is a word part that has one vowel sound. Words with more than one syllable, one of the syllable has the most stress, or emphasis. In this word ad VEN tures Let’s practice on these words remarkable, ancestor, cabbage, certificate,

19. Stressed and Unstressed Syllables Say it several times Clap to see where syllables are Many times it is the first syllable Use a dictionary, the one that is bolded is the stressed

20. Phonics 519F Word Beginnings a-, be- Recognizing the sounds that the letter a and the letters be can stand for at the beginning of words can help you decode new words. When a letter a stands alone as a separate syllable at the beginning of a word, it usually stands for the schwa sound When the letters be stand alone as a separate syllable at the beginning of a word, they usually stand for /bi/

21. Phonics 519F (cont) Word Beginnings a-, be- She had sent along jackets, dresses, and petticoats she did not want anymore. Help me figure out this word using our Phonics/Decoding strategies. Help me decode these words: The fields were ablaze. They arrived before you did. Don’t go there alone.

22. Spelling 519G Unstressed Syllables PB 299 PB 299 When you see new words of more than one syllable, note the spelling of any unclear vowel sounds in unstressed syllables. Ex. dozen, distance, destroy – the underlined vowels are unstressed and are not always spelled the way they sound.

23. Spelling 519G ( cont ) Unstressed Syllables PB 299 PB 299 Find the unstressed syllables in these words: voyage, native, notice The final /ij/, /iv/, /is/ are spelled /age/, /ive/, and /ice/, these occur in unstressed syllables. knowledge The edge pattern is a less common spelling for the final /ij/ sounds.

24. Vocabulary 519G Synonyms PB 300 PB 300 What are synonyms? Synonyms are words that mean the same or almost the same. Tell me the synonyms for these word: journey answer prisoner fairness twelve prohibit

25. Vocabulary Skills 519I Dictionary: Suffixes PB 302 PB 302 The darkness, black and thick as velvet, was ripped apart by a terrible blue flash of lightning. What does dark mean? If you come across a word like this that they recognize the base word but not the suffix attached to it, you may be able to figure out the word’s meaning by looking up the meaning of the suffix in the dictionary. Dictionaries list suffixes in ABC order

26. Vocabulary Skills 519I PB 302 Dictionary: Suffixes (cont)PB 302 -ful (“full of” or “characterized by”) -less (“without”) -ly (“in a specified manner” or “have the characteristics of”) -ment (“act, action, or process” or “state of being acted upon”) -ion (“action or process” or “results of an action or process”) ness – condition or quality

27. Suffixes Suffixes are word parts added to base words or word roots that will change the meaning of the word.

28. Grammar Skills 519K Possessive Pronouns Trans 5-13 PB 303 Trans 5-13 PB 303 A possessive pronoun shows ownership. my, your, his, her, its, our, and their appear before nouns that are subjects. mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs stand alone and replace nouns in a sentence.

29. Grammar Skills 519K Contractions with Pronouns Trans 5-14 PB 304 Trans 5-14 PB 304 A contraction is a shortened form of two words. You can combine pronouns with the verbs am, is, are, will, would, have, has, and had to form contractions. Use an apostrophe in place of the dropped letter or letters.

30. Inference Inference worksheet Reading Standard – 2.3 Inference means what conclusion can you come up with after reading a passage. Use story clues to figure out something the author doesn’t tell you. Read between the lines.

31. Main Ideas Main Idea worksheet Reading Standard 2.3 – ALS Main Ideas – What is the main point of the passage or paragraph. What is the topic of the paragraph

32. Theme Theme worksheet Reading Standard 2.3 – ALS Main Ideas – What is the main point of the passage or paragraph. What is the topic of the paragraph

33. Improving Your Writing 519L PB 305 PB 305 Using its and it’s A good writer is careful not to confuse the possessive pronoun its with the contraction it’s. Its my belief that a cow uses it’s tail to swish away flies. Corrected: It’s my belief that a cow uses its tail to swish away flies.

35. Combining Sentences with Pronouns 519N Trans 5-16 PB 307 Trans 5-16 PB 307 A good way to streamline writing is to combine short, choppy sentences that have repeated pronouns or nouns into one sentence.

36. Spiral Review 519Q Fact and Opinion A fact is a statement that can be proved true or false. Facts can usually be checked in a reference source. An opinion is a judgment cannot be proved true or false. It often contains clue words such as probably, think, believe, should, feel, and best. Tell me if these are facts or opinions: Millions of years ago, glaciers covered the land. Lightning on the prairie can be terrifying. The house was a “sorry-looking mess.” They found half of the marriage certificate.

38. Spiral Review 519R Suffixes -ous (“full of”) -ward (“in the direction of”) -ive (“inclined to”) -ic (“relating to”) -ed (“past tense”) -ing (“continuous action”)

39. Spiral Review 519R Suffixes -ly (“forms and adverb from an adjective”) -ness (“state or quality of”) -ment (“state or quality of”) -ful (“full of”) -less (“without”)

40. Suffixes Suffixes are word parts added to base words or word roots that will change the meaning of the word

41. Spelling Test 1. dozen 2. voyage 3. forbid 4. native 5. language 6. destroy 7. notice 8. distance 9. carrot 10. knowledge 11. captive 12. spinach 13. solid 14. justice 15. ashamed 16. program 17. message 18. respond 19. service 20. relative

42. Challenge Words adapt discourage cooperative apprentice somber

43. Study Guide