Fifth Grade Unit 6 Week 2

1. The Mystery of Saint Matthew Island Fifth Grade Unit 6 Week 2

2. Main Idea and Details • The main idea of a selection is the most important idea about the topic of that selection. • Sometimes the author states the main idea in a single sentence. When the author does not state the main idea, the reader must figure it out. • Active readers ask, “What is this selection all about?” To check your main idea, ask, “Does it cover all the important details?”

3. Strategy:Text Structure • Text structure is the way a writer organizes a selection. For example, the piece may describe events in a start-to-finish sequence, or may use a cause-and-effect pattern or a series of main ideas and details. Active readers use text structure tohelp them understand the selection’s main idea. As you read, look for text structure.

4. Plants can be endangered by human actions. Plants are threatened if the insects that pollinate them are killed by human chemicals. Plants are threatened when land is taken over for buildings and roads. Farming and logging can endanger plants. Pollution of land and water can endanger plants.

5. bleached scrawny Words to Know carcasses starvation decay suspicions parasites tundra

6. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra parasites living things that live on or in others; from which they get food, often harming the others in the process

7. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra decay process of rotting

8. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra carcasses bodies of dead animals

9. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra scrawny having little flesh; lean; thin; skinny

10. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra starvation suffering from extreme hunger

11. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra bleached whitened by exposure to sunlight or the use of chemicals

12. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra tundra a vast, treeless plain in arctic regions

13. bleached carcasses decay parasites scrawny starvation suspicions tundra suspicions beliefs; feelings; thoughts

14. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? We need to bleach the surface. dye remove the color from

15. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? We smelled the carcasses from a distance. tiny insects bodies of dead animals

16. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? The detective had a suspicion that the old man committed the crime. proven idea idea that something might be true

17. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? A few people from the camp were battling starvation. a lack of food a serious disease

18. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? The kitten was scrawny. bony timid

19. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? The dentist found some decay in a few teeth. wearing away restoring

20. Which means the same thing as the underlined word? They viewed the tundra. ice-covered valley cold treeless land

21. The Mystery of Saint Matthew Island Fifth Grade Unit 6 Week 2

22. The Mystery of St. Matthew Islandp. 660-661 • What is the main idea of the first two paragraphs on p. 660? • Find details in the text tosupport the main idea of paragraph 3, that because Saint Matthew Island is difficult to reach, it took Dr. Klein over a year to get there. • What conclusions can you draw about Dr. Klein and the other investigators? Support your conclusions with details from the text.

23. The Mystery of St. Matthew Islandp. 662-663 • Identify the base word and ending of the word carcasses on p. 662 and identify its meaning. • How does this selection remind you of “Jane Goodall's 10 Ways to Help Save Wildlife"? How is it different?

24. The Mystery of St. Matthew Islandp. 664-665 • Why did the illustrator use a cut-away of a reindeer bone on pp. 664–665? • Dr. Klein studied the reindeer bones and believed the animals had starved to death. What event took place before this discovery that led him to this conclusion?

25. The Mystery of St. Matthew Islandp. 664-665 • Why do authors use line graphs like the one on p. 666? • How has Dr. Klein's work contributed to our understanding of the natural world?