Lou Gehrig The Luckiest Man Genre: Biography Author’s Purpose: Inform

1. Compiled by Terry Sams, Piedmont Lou Gehrig The Luckiest Man Genre: Biography Author’s Purpose: Inform Comprehension Skill:Text Structure By: David A. Adler Illustrated by: Terry Widener

2. Summary When Lou Gehrig left college to play baseball with the Yankees, his mother thought he had ruined his life.  Little did she know that he would go on to play in 2,130 straight games.  He played the game so well that twice he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player.  Then Lou Gehrig found out he had a fatal illness.  In a speech to his fans, he called himself the "luckiest man."  The Yankees honored him by retiring his uniform, something never before done in major league baseball.

3. Genre - Biography • Definition: An informational book that gives an account of a person’s life or an episode in a person’s life. • Autobiography: • Definition: A book about a person’s life written by that person. • Suggestions: • Where Do You Think You’re Going, Christopher Columbus? By Jean Fritz • What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? By Jean Fritz • Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freeman

4. Comprehension Skill: Text Structure • Knowing how a piece of text is organized helps the reader to make better sense of the information. It can be organized by patterns such as sequencing, cause and effect, fact and opinion, compare and contrast, and main ideas and details. • Nonfiction can also be written in chronological order, in order of importance, and by problem and solution. • Can you tell how Lou Gehrig is written?

5. Comprehension Skill Review: Paraphrasing • Paraphrasing mean to put someone else’s words into your own words. • When you paraphrase, you should include all of the important ideas from what you read. • When you write a report about something you researched, you MUST always put the ideas into your own words.

6. Practice Paraphrasing • Reread the last paragraph on page 397. Paraphrase this selection. • Why is it helpful to paraphrase what you read? • (It lets you know if you understand what you are reading) • It helps you recall, inform, and organize ideas. • Use WP 177 for review.

7. Vocabulary Skill –Context Clues - Unfamiliar Words • When you read, you may come across a word you do not know. • To figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word, look for clues in the sentences or paragraph around it. • A clue might be found in specific details or examples given near the unknown word. • You can also use a dictionary to clarify word meanings

8. Research Skill – Order Form TE 405j • An order form is a chart with spaces to be filled in. • An order form can be used to purchase merchandise from a catalog or to order publications, such as magazines. • You might find order forms in print sources or in electronic form. • Use PB 179-180

9. Literary Device – Idioms TE Pg. 405i • An idiom is a type of figurative language that cannot be understood by the ordinary meanings of words. • When Lou said, “I don’t have long to go,” he meant he didn’t have much time to live, not that he had a distance to travel. • Often an idiom can be understood by figuring out what makes sense in context. http://www.funbrain.com/funbrain/idioms/ http://www.englishdaily626.com/idioms.php

10. Weekly FluencyCheck - Read with Appropriate PhrasingTE 405d • Model or review ways to read with appropriate phrasing, for example, stressing particular words or phrases in a sentences for emphasis of a point. • In the paragraph below, a reader might stress the words amazing and consecutive while reading. • By stressing these words, the reader calls attention to them and emphasis their importance within the sentences. It makes the story more exciting! • Go to page 391, beginning at the top of the page.

11. Review Pages 386-393 • Where was Lou Gehrig born? • Who did Lou Gehrig sign to play for while in college? • What is Lou Gehrig’s nickname? How did he get it? • How did Gehrig’s career change in 1938? • How are Lou Gehrig’s dreams different from his mother’s?

12. Review Pages 394-402 • Why does Gehrig wipe his eyes during Appreciation Day? • Paraphrase what Gehrig told his fans on Appreciation Day. • Why did the Yankees retire Lou Gehrig’s number? • Why did Gehrig consider himself lucky?

13. Writing Assignment Choose one of the following and write a paragraph: • Choose a person you know who is like Lou Gehrig – a courageous person of character. Describe why you think this person is brave. • Write a paragraph that tells what your favorite sport is and why you like it.

14. Good Stuff • ABC Spelling words • Spelling Hangman • Vocabulary Match • Vocabulary Concentration • Lou Gehrig Field Trip • Meet the Author • Reading Test • Spelling Test

15. Sites about Lou Biography and pictures Hear hisspeech http://www.lougehrig.com/about/speech/gehrig.mp3 http://www.lougehrig.com/about/speech.htm Hall of Fame

16. Words to Know convinced courageous engineer gradually immigrants

17. More Words to Know! citizenship commission consecutive prototype specialists

18. convinced • caused to believe

19. courageous • brave

20. engineer • an expert in engineering

21. gradually • slowly over a period of time

22. immigrants • people who come to a foreign country to live

23. citizenship • duties, rights, and privileges of a citizen

24. commission • a group of people with authority to do certain things

25. consecutive • one right after another 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. . . first, second, third, fourth. . .

26. prototype • first or original type or model of anything that is designed or constructed

27. specialists • people who pursue particular branches of study

28. The officer’s deed proved to be valiant and courageous.

29. The officer’s deed proved to be valiant and courageous.

30. The mayor of New York City told Lou he was a prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship.

31. The mayor of New York City told Lou he was a prototype of good sportsmanship and citizenship.

32. Mom convinced her that his answer was wrong.

33. Mom convinced her that his answer was wrong.

34. Gradually, Lou’s disease got worse.

35. Gradually, Lou’s disease got worse.

36. The immigrants earned their citizenship after studying about America.

37. The immigrants earned their citizenship after studying about America.

38. The engineer designed the plans for the train.

39. The engineer designed the plans for the train.

40. The doctors were specialists but they could not cure Lou.

41. The doctors were specialists but they could not cure Lou.

42. The immigrants came from southeast Asia.

43. The immigrants came from southeast Asia.

44. Lou played in 2,130 consecutive Yankee games.

45. Lou played in 2,130 consecutive Yankee games.

46. The baseball commission retired Lou’s jersey.

47. The baseball commission retired Lou’s jersey.

48. This Week’s Word Wall Words Click and type your own words for this week:

49. Spelling Words – Easily Confused • win • our • are • than • then • set • sit • off • of • when

50. Spelling Words – Easily Confused • quiet • quite • quit • whose • who’s • lose • loose • were • we’re • where