Get Ready to Read

1. Get Ready to Read Why is it important to stay calm during a crisis? Review pages 396-403. What are some ways to keep a crowd calm if they have to evacuate a building? How has practicing helped you face a crisis or emergency calmly?

2. Get Ready to Read • Amazing Words • Cautiously – to do with care and attention to safety. • Yesterday, we read about a girl who swam cautiously in a river. • Why is acting cautiously important to help get through a challenge or crisis? • What is an antonym for cautiously? • Serenity – peace and quiet; calmness • The yoga master’s life was one of serenity. • How can you feel serenity in your life?

3. Get Ready to Read • What are some features of autobiographies that appear in Learning to Swim? • Describe the sequence of events that leads to Kyoko’s swimming in the ocean. • What do you predict will happen at the end of Learning to Swim? • Find the synonym for fatigue in the sentence: • Fatigue seized her and she felt such exhaustion that she could not move another inch. • Think about a personal goal you would like to achieve. What steps have you learned in our selection that can help you achieve that goal?

4. Read and Comprehend • Read pages 404-405. • Think about: • What context clues help clarify the meaning of flinging in paragraph 6 on page 405? • Visualize the last paragraph on page 404. What do you see, hear, smell, taste? • Why do you think the author has chosen to tell this story?

5. Read and Comprehend • Read pages 406-407. • Think about: • Even though Kyoko and her mother were in danger, the people on the shore thought they were waving. What generalizations can you make about staying safe in the water? • What aspects of Kyoko’s character and her mother’s character help them make it to the rocks? • Reread the last paragraph on page 406. Why is Kyoko suddenly able to make smooth, graceful strokes?

6. Read and Comprehend • Read pages 408-409. • Think about: • What generalization can you make about overcoming fears? Use the story and your experience to answer. • On page 408, Kyoko sees her brother running toward her. What would her brother say, using our dialect? • Kyoko swam at the same beach on the same afternoon as her experience. What does this tell you about her character? • Why does Kyoko tell her mother she would love some ice cream? • Answer the critical thinking questions on page 410.

7. Read and Comprehend Fluency Practice Turn to page 399. Read it out loud with your group. Stay together – listen to the other people in your group as you read with expression.

8. Read and Comprehend Study Strategies Give an example of each KWL chart SQP3R Tables When is it helpful to use a KWL chart? What advantage does a table have over written notes? Which strategy would be best if you were going to be tested on your understanding of a text?

9. Language Arts • Verbs, Objects, Subject Complements • A direct object tells who or what receives the action of the verb. • An indirect object tells to whom or what the action of a verb is done. • A subject complement follows a linking verb and tells who or what the subject is or is like. • Find the direct object, indirect object or subject complement in these sentences: • My mother bought me a new bathing suit. • I am a good swimmer!

10. Language Arts Spelling Practice Quiz your partner with the spelling words. Start with words you (or your partner) misspelled.

11. Language Arts Autobiographical Sketch Turn to pages 412-413. Read over the sample. What do you notice about this piece? What do you like? Write your rough draft. Be sure to follow the correct sequence of events.