Professional Documents
Culture Documents
3
Evaluation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Skill Descriptions and Instructional Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Rubric for Open-Response Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Reproducible Graphic Organizers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Credits
Front cover: Bald eagle, saguaro cactus, giraffes: www.photos.com; clownfish:
www.istockphoto.com/redtwiggy; Mt. Rushmore: www.istockphoto.com/
megasquib; open book: www.istockphoto.com/mstay
ISBN 978-0-8454-K1684-6
Copyright © 2007 The Continental Press, Inc.
Excepting the designated reproducible blackline masters, no part of this publi-
cation may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechani-
cal, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
To the Teacher
This edition of Reading for Comprehension introduces a
new, open format, as well as new high-interest selections, to
enhance the reading experience for students. Photos and art
support the text throughout.
Each article is followed by five multiple-choice questions that
address the standards for reading identified by all states. The
questions focus on the following skills: recalling details, using
context clues, determining the sequence of events, identifying
cause-and-effect relationships, making valid inferences and
drawing conclusions, recognizing the main idea of a passage,
and understanding multiple-meaning words. Each question has
four possible choices to give students experience with the format
they will see on state and national tests.
The sixth item in every lesson is a critical-thinking question
that invites students to interact with the text by providing a
written response. These questions prompt students to write in
descriptive, expository, narrative, or persuasive form. Students
are expected to write their responses on a separate sheet of
paper.
This Teacher’s Guide includes a reproducible evaluation
chart, skill descriptions, instructional strategies, an answer key
for questions in the student book, a rubric for scoring open-
response questions, and reproducible graphic organizers.
The Reading for Comprehension materials may be used
individually, cooperatively by partners, or in a group setting.
The narrative style of the articles promotes literacy by appealing
to older remedial and special-needs students as well as to
younger students reading at the designated level.
Summary
Why Chart
Identifying cause and effect, particularly in fiction, often requires
a certain amount of inferencing and thinking about what caused
story events to happen. A Why chart can help students analyze cause
and effect. In the left column of the chart, have students list impor-
tant story events. In the right column, have them explain why each
event happened.
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#
Main Idea
Student Strategies
Partner Reading
Have students read informational texts with a partner. Have them
take turns reading paragraphs aloud. After each paragraph is read,
have the students work together to identify the main idea. Encourage
them to keep a list of the main ideas for the paragraphs and use the
list to decide what is the main idea of the whole selection.
Highlighting
Whenever it is possible, let students use highlighters to mark the
main ideas in paragraphs. Remind them that there can be only one
main idea in a paragraph, so they can highlight only one sentence
in each paragraph. If they can find no single sentence in the para-
graph that states the main idea, have them write what they think is
the main idea on a sticky note and place it in the margin next to the
paragraph.
4–5 How does a person become president of 12–13 What was the Hindenburg?
the United States? 1. C (Recalling Details)
1. D (Recalling Details) 2. C (Using Context Clues)
2. C (Using Context Clues) 3. D (Recalling Details)
3. C (Determining the Sequence of Events) 4. D (Determining the Sequence of Events)
4. A (Recognizing the Main Idea of a Passage) 5. D (Understanding Multiple-Meaning Words)
5. A (Making Valid Inferences and Drawing Conclusions) 6. (Narrative Writing) Answers will vary.
6. (Persuasive Writing) Answers will vary but
should be persuasive and be in the form of 14–15 What is color blindness?
a direct address. 1. D (Recalling Details)
2. B (Using Context Clues)
6–7 How do animals hide in plain sight? 3. A (Recalling Details)
1. B (Recalling Details) 4. D (Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships)
2. B (Using Context Clues) 5. D (Making Valid Inferences and Drawing Conclusions)
3. A (Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships) 6. (Expository Writing, Descriptive Writing) Answers
4. C (Recognizing the Main Idea of a Passage) will vary but should use information
5. B (Understanding Multiple-Meaning Words) gathered from the text.
6. (Expository Writing, Descriptive Writing) Answers
will vary. 16–17 When did women first vote?
1. B (Recalling Details)
8–9 Who was the Wizard of Menlo Park? 2. B (Using Context Clues)
1. D (Recalling Details) 3. C (Recalling Details)
2. A (Using Context Clues) 4. C (Determining the Sequence of Events)
3. D (Recalling Details) 5. A (Making Valid Inferences and Drawing Conclusions)
4. A (Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships) 6. (Expository Writing, Persuasive Writing) Answers will
5. B (Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships) vary.
6. (Expository Writing) Answers will vary. Students
should draw examples from the passage 18–19 How do insects survive the winter?
when discussing the invention of the elec- 1. C (Recalling Details)
tric light, and they may need to do 2. B (Using Context Clues)
research when collecting facts on the tele- 3. D (Recalling Details)
phone. Arguments in favor of the electric 4. B (Making Valid Inferences and Drawing Conclusions)
light may highlight the invention’s impor- 5. D (Understanding Multiple-Meaning Words)
tance to the quality of life throughout the 6. (Expository Writing) Answers will vary. Students
world. Arguments for the telephone may may note migration as a similarity. They
highlight the importance of communica- may note the following differences: Insects
tion across distances. do not watch over eggs, they die before the
eggs hatch, they spin cocoons rather than
10–11 What is it like on Venus? build nests, or they reduce their numbers
1. C (Recalling Details) and live off stored food.
2. B (Using Context Clues)
3. C (Recalling Details) 20–21 What is the Great Wall of China?
4. A (Identifying Cause-and-Effect Relationships) 1. A (Recalling Details)
5. A (Making Valid Inferences and Drawing Conclusions) 2. A (Using Context Clues)
6. (Narrative Writing) Answers will vary. 3. B (Recalling Details)
1 — Not Competent
• Student made no attempt to write.
• Writing is illegible.
• Content is incomprehensible.
2 — Marginally Competent
• Student did not write on topic.
• Student wrote partially in another language.
• Language skills are grossly lacking.
• Student may write only a single sentence.
3 — Acceptable
• Student wrote on topic.
• Sentence structure may be weak.
• Vocabulary may be limited.
• Sequence may be illogical.
• The piece may contain extraneous information.
4 — Well Written
• Student wrote on the topic, using basic skills taught at
this level.
• Writing shows use of organizational strategy.
• Vocabulary and sentence structure are good.
5 — Highly Successful
• Writing is consistent, well organized, and well elaborated.
• Writing contains rich detail and varied word choices.
• Writing shows creativity.
• Writing shows excellent basic skills appropriate for grade.
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
What Is It?
Definition:
Examples
_______________________
Word
I will probably find this word: I will remember this word by:
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
As you read a passage, write down what happens in the order the
events occur.
#
#
#
#
#
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
Cause Effect
(Why It Happens) (What Happens)
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
Main Idea
Main Idea
Main Idea
Title:_________________________________________________________________________________
Directions: In the center of the web, write the name of the article you
read. In the next ring, write something that happens in the article,
choosing a specific detail. In the outer ring, write what this event means.
For example, if the topic is “Show horses” (center ring) you may read
about a trainer having a horse do tricks (next ring). You could infer from
this that the trainer is skilled at working with horses (outer ring).
What Happens
_________________
Topic
97808454K16846