RI 6.8 Station Information (Math Conference)

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RI 6.8

The 12 Power Words (Trace and Evaluate)

Trace	List in steps; outline
Infer	Read Between the lines
Analyze	Break apart
Evaluate	Judge
Formulate	Build and Create
Describe	Tell all about
Support	Back up with details
Explain	Tell how/why
Summarize	Give me the short version
Compare	All the ways they are alike
Contrast	All the ways they are different
Predict	What will happen next

  

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RI 6.8

Chronological Order

JUST EXACTLY WHAT does the word chronological mean? It helps to know that the Greek root chron means “time” and logical means “valid or true.” So chronological means “in true time order” or sequence.

We do everything in sequence, one step at a time. First, you wear your clothes, then you wash them, dry them, fold them or hang them up, and put them away. Authors often use words like first, second, next, last, before, after, then, now, later, or finally as signals that the events in a story are being told in sequence.

Example

Before the concert, we were excited because we had awesome front row seats. Then the show began, and for awhile, it was great. But soon I couldn’t even hear the music over the screams of the audience! After the concert, when we could hear again, we had pizza and listened to some quiet rock!

But sometimes the author doesn’t use signal words, and readers must figure out the sequence from details in the text.

Example

I’m so glad to be home now, where it’s quiet! Yesterday I went to a concert and it was unbelievable… not in a good way. The music and the crowd were so-o-o loud! At the beginning, I thought I was lucky because I got front row seats. Boy was I wrong!

The sequence of getting front row seats for a concert, suffering through the loudness of music and concertgoers, and coming home are the same, but they aren’t spelled out in step-by-step order. The ability to recognize chronological order can help you understand what you read. A sequence chain can help you organize the events in a selection and help you remember what you read.

get front row seats                    go to concert                   music and crowd loud                  go home to quiet

Besides using time order, an author may sequence things by ranking them in order of importance, speed, size, age, and so on.

 Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RI 6.8

Cause and Effect

THINGS DON’T JUST happen; living things and forces make them happen.

Whatever or whoever makes something happen is the cause; what happens is the effect. For example, a singer hits a very high note and a glass shatters. Vibrating sound waves are the cause; broken glass is the effect.

As you read, look for clues to what makes things happen. Authors may use words to signal a cause-and-effect text structure. Words like because or since may indicate a cause, and so or therefore indicate an effect.

Examples

I missed the bus because I overslept.

I overslept, so I missed the bus.

In the examples above, the signal words point out that oversleeping was the cause and missing the bus was the effect. But sometimes there are no signal words. Readers must figure out the cause-and-effect relationship from the text.

Example

A car drove through a huge puddle and splashed water all over me!

In this example, tires splashing water are the cause; a wet person is the effect. A cause may have more than one effect and an effect more than one cause.

Example

I was late for school because I overslept and a car splashed water on me on my way to school, so I had to go back home and change clothes! As you read, use a cause-and-effect chart to keep track of how things or people affect others.

Cause	Effect
It rained all day.	The parade was cancelled.
I didn’t study.	I failed the exam.

Think about it. Couldn’t you predict that, since it rained all day, that parade would be canceled, and if someone didn’t study, he or she might fail an exam? Figuring out why something happened and thinking about what might possibly happen next gets you involved and helps you better understand what you read.

Extension Activity for RI 6.8

Use a Flowchart to trace the claims presented in the article.  List the information in chronological/sequential order.  Evaluate which claims are valid or invalid.

RL 6.7 - RI 6.7 Station Information (Math Conference)

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RL 6.7

Compare and Contrast

SOME AUTHORS USE a compare-and-contrast text structure to organize ideas. To compare, they tell how things are alike; to contrast, they tell how things are different. Words like same, different, some, all, every, also, but, both, or many signal to readers that the author is using a compare-and-contrast structure.

Compare: Every student in the school wore the same blue uniform.

Contrast: They may have to wear uniforms, but we don’t!

Authors don’t always use signal words. Then, readers must figure out what’s being compared or contrasted.

Example

The DJ played classic rock and everyone agreed the music was cool . . . or as some put it, “fierce!” How could I tell my new friends that I preferred country-western?

Many times things can be alike in one or more ways but still be different. In the preceding example, rock and country-western are alike because both are kinds of music, but they are different in style and rhythm. A Venn diagram can help you keep track of likenesses and differences as you read.

Example

Marissa and Matthew are twins, but she has dark hair and he’s a blond. Everyone in their family has brown eyes. Matthew plays drums and Marissa plays guitar in the school band. They both sing and want to start a rock group.

Marissa

girl

dark hair

plays guitar

Both

brown eyes

in band

sing

want rock group

Matthew

boy

blond

plays drum

  

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RI 6.7

Summarizing

A SUMMARY IS a short retelling of a story or an event. You summarize every time you tell friends about your vacation or a movie you saw. You can’t tell everything, so you tell what’s most important: the main idea and a few details.

Usually, you can do this in just a few sentences. Here’s an event and summary:

What Happened

Sara goes shopping at the mall over the weekend. She runs into an old friend, Chris, who’d moved away last year. They have lunch together and Sara discovers that Chris’s family will be moving back to town next month, so he’ll be going to her school again. Chris says he hopes he’ll be able to get back on the school soccer team since he’s on a winning team where he’s been living.

Sara’s Summary: Guess who I ran into at the mall, whose family’s moving back to town? Chris . . . and he thinks he’ll probably be back on our soccer team!

You can summarize a story or article; or just a part of it.

Text

Archaeologists learn about the past by studying things ancient people left behind. The people can be grouped by the technology they used: Stone Age people used stone tools; Bronze Age people first made metal tools. A painting or carving may show people in carts. That’s technology. Scraps of material are clues to how people used technology to make clothing. And written journals tell how people used technology to make medicines from plants.

Summary: Scientists find evidence of how people used technology during their lifetimes. Different technologies were used at different times in history to make tools, clothing, art, vehicles, and medicines.

Posters, book covers, and ads are summaries. They give all the most important information about something in a small space! Sometimes you have to write or give an oral book report, and on many tests, you’re asked to write a short essay about a selection. That’s why it’s important to learn to look for the most important facts and sharpen your summarizing skills!

 Extension Activity for RL 6.7

In a Venn Diagram – Compare and Contrast the experience of Reading The Absolute Value of Mike vs. the experience of Listening to The Absolute Value of Mike.

Reading The Absolute Value of Mike                      Same                     Listening to The Absolute Value of Mike

 Extension Activity for RI 6.7

Complete a Journal Entry connecting a song or video to the article (in your folder).  Explain how the song or video relates to the article.

Example

____________Journal Entry

      (Date)

One song or video that relates to ___________________ is _____________because__________.

                                                    (Name of Article)                (Name of Song)           (Explanation)

RL 6.6 - RI 6.6 Station Information (Math Conference)

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RL/RI 6.6

Point of View

·         A NARRATOR IS a person who tells a story.

·         The narrator may be one of the characters in the story, so readers learn what happened from that character’s point of view.

·         This is called the first-person point of view. The narrator uses words like I, me, my, we, and our.

1^st Person Example # 1

As soon as I walked into the room, I could tell something was wrong with my computer. I took off my coat and sat down.

1^st Person Example #2

As soon as Maria and I walked into the room, we could tell something was wrong with our computer. I took off my coat and sat down.

·         Sometimes the narrator isn’t a character in the story, but just someone looking in from the outside and reporting what happened.

·         This is called the third person point of view. The narrator uses words like he, she, they, and their.

3^rd Person Example

As soon as Maria and Mark walked into the room, they could tell something was wrong with their computer. She took off her coat, hung it up, and sat down.

·         There is a second-person point of view, but it’s not used very often in literature.

·         The narrator talks directly to a character in the story and uses words like you and your.

2^nd Person Example

As soon as you walk into the room, you can tell something is wrong with the computer. You take off your coat, hang it up, and sit down.

·         Literary works most commonly use either first- or third-person points of view.

·         Using a second-person point of view to tell a story tends to get tiresome.

·         So second-person is used more for giving directions, in personal letters, and sometimes in advertisements.

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RL/RI 6.6

Author’s Purpose

AN AUTHOR’S PURPOSE is why he or she wrote something. It might be to:

• inform readers.

Informative Example

Every president except George Washington has lived in the White House. However, Washington did help design the building.

• teach readers how to do something.

Teaching Example

To do a waltz jump, take off from the outside edge of one skate, make a half turn, and land on the outside edge of the other blade.

• entertain or amuse readers.

Entertaining Example

The cat leaped just as Pam came in with a bowl of milk. Pam went down and the milk went up and then down, on her head!

·         persuade readers to do something.

Persuasive Example

Good citizens donate old clothes to charity. It may be hard to give up a favorite outgrown sweater, but we have needy people in our community. Why not let your old sweater keep another kid warm this winter instead of hanging it in the back of your closet?

·         Sometimes an author has more than one purpose, such as wanting to inform readers but be entertaining at the same time!

·         To identify an author’s purpose, ask yourself questions like:

o   Did I find out something new?

o   Did I learn how to do something?

o   How did this make me feel happy, sad, scared, or excited?

o   Did the author try to get me to do something or think a certain way?

  

Extension Activity for RL 6.6

·         Rewrite a scene from The Absolute Value from the viewpoint or perspective of one of the characters that we have previously studied (for example - Freak, Mike, Tony, Joel, Jonas, Petra, and Calder). 

·         You do not have to select a major character, you can also select a minor character if you would prefer. 

 Extension Activity for RI 6.6

·         Create a Point of View or Author’s Purpose Game based on the article (in your folder).

·         Be sure to include:

o   Directions

o   Rules

o   # of Participants

o   Materials/Supplies/Equipment

RL 6.5 - RI 6.5 Station Information (Math Conference)

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RL/RI 6.5

Text Features

TEXT FEATURES ARE special ways authors present information to help their readers better understand the material. You might say these features are like maps—they help you find your way through a maze of information!  Fiction selections have features.  However, text features are more commonly found in nonfiction.

SOME COMMON NONFICTION TEXT FEATURES

boldface words	dark type used to emphasize important vocabulary
bulleted list	listing of important facts set off from regular text
caption	text with a graphic that gives details about it
contents	lists each book chapter in sequence and the page on which it starts
glossary	mini-dictionary at the end of a book that defines each boldface word
heading	name of a selection, chapter, or section
index	alphabetical list at the back of a book identifying important ideas in the book and pages on which each idea is mentioned
italicized words	slanted italic type used for book titles, foreign words, a word as an example of a word (the word word), or for emphasis
sidebar	information placed beside the main text, often in a box, that expands on an idea in the text
subhead	divides a selection into parts and tells what each part is about
title	name of a whole book

Skim and scan books and articles for any features before you begin to read.  They can help you predict what the selection is about and what you can expect to get out of reading it. Planning ahead like this as an active reader can help you not only increase your understanding of what you read, but retain the information longer.

Essential Skills/Concepts Related to RL/RI 6.5

Graphics

IN THE LAST lesson, you saw how authors use text features to help you understand what you read. Well, authors also use graphic features to help clarify ideas or give readers additional information to that given in the text. Here are some common graphic features you may find in fiction and nonfiction:

COMMON GRAPHIC FEATURES

chart	list of information
diagram	drawing that shows arrangement and labeled parts of a whole
flowchart	series of boxes and arrows to show step-by-step progression
graph	shows the relationship between numbers of things
illustration	drawing of people, a place, an object, or an event
map	drawing of part of Earth to show features like oceans, countries, mountains, or roads
photo	printed image of people, a place, an object, or an event
realia	detailed photo of a real historical object, like a poster, map, or newspaper article
table	a systematic arrangement of data in rows and columns
timeline	lists facts along a line in the order in which they happened

Before you read a book or article, skim and scan to look for graphics. Use them to try to predict what the material is all about.

Extension Activity for RL 6.5

Create a Graphic based on The Absolute Value of Mike.  You can utilize any of the Graphics listed below or any other Graphic that you can recall.

Chart

diagram

flowchart

graph

illustration

map

photo

realia

table

timeline

 Extension Activity for RI 6.5

·         In a paragraph, discuss how Text Features and Graphics enhance or could enhance the article (in your folder).  Your paragraph should include which Text Features/Graphics are present or should be present in the article.  Your paragraph should be 5-6 sentences.

·         Bonus – What is the point of view for these directions?