1. Getting Ready to Read Officer O’Brien’s participation allowed Mother Fletcher to get to the hospital. How has your participation in an event helped others? Officer O’Brien may have been uncomfortable with people of different races because he came from a community with little cultural diversification. 5 minutes

2. Getting Ready to Read Amazing Words Define residential. In what kind of residential area did Mother Fletcher live? Describe a residential area in your community. Urbanization means to make or become urban (city). When the farmer sold his property, the area lost farmland to urbanization. What are positive and negative aspects of urbanization. 5 minutes

3. Getting Ready to Read Realistic Fiction: In what way do the illustrations add to your understanding of Mother Fletcher’s Gift? Theme Based on what you have read so far, what do you think the “big idea” of Mother Fletcher’s Gift is? Inferring: How do you predict O’Brien’s relationship with Mother Fletcher might interfere with his holding fast to the motto Eight and Straight? Greek and Latin Roots: Look for Greek or Latin roots to define the word ambulance. Text to Self: If you met Mother Fletcher, would you like to develop a friendship with her? What qualities does she possess that you admire? 15 minutes

4. Read and Comprehend Read pages 64-71. As you read think about these questions: On page 64, we learn that Mother Fletcher has invited Officer O’Brien’s family for Christmas dinner. What does O’Brien think about the invitation? Think about what you have learned about Megan. What can you infer about her character from the things she says and does? The author uses dialogue to reveal a character’s personality. What can you infer about Officer O’Brien’s personality when he says: “We’ll send her a present if you want, Meghan.” 25 minutes

5. Read and Comprehend Discuss the Critical Thinking questions with your group. Write your answers on a piece of paper to be turned in. 10 minutes

6. Read and Comprehend Read pages 65-66 out loud with me. Try to read with expression. Now read page 65 with your partner. Keep trying to read with expression. 10 minutes

7. Read and Comprehend Using a Thesaurus: A thesaurus is a kind of dictionary that lists synonyms (words with the same or similar meanings), antonyms (words with opposite meanings), and other related words. Because not all synonyms have exactly the same meaning, you should check their meanings in a dictionary. Entry words are arranged in alphabetical order. Parts of speech are listed to show how an entry word is used. If an entry word has more than one meaning, a thesaurus provides synonyms for each meaning. Sometimes a thesaurus includes sentences to illustrate the meanings of synonyms. One type of thesaurus provides an index in which you can look up the word for which you want synonyms. survive (v) 1. endure: live on, persist, continue, last, exist, remain: Some holiday customs from 100 years ago survive to this day. 2. live through: come through alive, stay alive: Because they were wearing seat belts, the passengers were able to survive the accident. (ant) perish, disappear, succumb to, die from.

8. Read and Comprehend Use the Amazing Words we’ve been learning. Look up synonyms for each. Share them with your partner. Why is a thesaurus useful? 10 minutes

9. Language Arts Research and Inquiry Look at your question and the information you have found. Does it need to be refocused? For instance, instead of writing about 911 calls, you could write about reasons people have for calling 911. Use a table to organize your information. 10 minutes

10. Language Arts Subject: Who or what the sentence is about. Predicate: What the subject does. Mr. Morton 15 minutes

11. Language Arts

13. Using pages 74-75, write a rough draft of your thank you letter to Officer O’Brien. Make sure your introduction clearly states what you are thanking him for. 15 minutes