Yukon Adventures Magazine Four Informational Texts
Yukon Adventures Magazine Four Informational Texts Alaska’s Iditarod: A Grueling Test of Person and Dog The Inuit Keep Their Traditions Alive Vocabulary Level U/50
• Use direct definitions to determine word meaning: What does the word mushers mean in this book? Let’s look for clues for the meaning of this word on page 6. (Answer: sled drivers; Clues/Evidence: Seventy-two mushers, or sled drivers)
Find It! Level 1 Comprehension
• Identify facts and details: How many days will it take the first team to cross the finish line of the Iditarod? (at least eight days, page 7)
Look Closer! Level 2 Comprehension medicine put on train
mushers formed relay teams
• Identify sequence of events: What happened after the diphtheria medicine was put on a train at Anchorage? Use a sequence-of-events chart for help in answering the question. (it was delivered to a town called Nenana; from there mushers formed relay teams; they traveled nearly 700 miles [1,126.5 kilometers] by dog sled to get the medicine to Nome, page 9) • Identify cause and effect: How did the Inuit lose their connection with their culture? (Christian missionaries, European fur traders, and American gold miners began to settle in the Yukon; they brought their own ways of life; often the Inuit were forced to give up their own language, traditions, and beliefs, pages 14 and 15)
Prove It! Level 3 Comprehension traveled 700 miles
got medicine to Nome
• Using graphic features to interpret information: What can you tell about Rick Swenson from the chart on page 11? (Answer: he won the Iditarod the most number of times; Clues/Evidence: The chart shows the years that mushers won; it shows that Rick Swenson won in 1977-79-81-82-91; this is five times; the closest number of wins on the chart is four wins for Lance Mackey; five is greater than four; the chart also shows the records; it shows that Rick Swenson holds the record for the most times won.) • Identify unstated main ideas: The third paragraph on page 12 is mostly about . . . (Answer: how the Inuit of Canada live today; Clues/Evidence: They shop in stores and supermarkets; they use trucks, cars, powerboats, and snowmobiles to get around; they live in wood and concrete houses; they watch television and listen to the radio; they read books and use computers; they also remember their past; they honor their history through dancing, singing, storytelling, and art.)
Take It Apart! Level 4 Comprehension
• Evaluate author’s purpose: Why does the writer begin the article with a description of the Iditarod Trail Sled Race on page 6? (to get readers interested in the information they will be reading)
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The Yukon Gold Rush: Surviving the Search for Wealth The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: From Disaster to Recovery Vocabulary • Use description to determine word meaning: What does the word prospector mean in this book? Let’s look for clues for the meaning of this word on page 18. (Answer: a person who searches for gold; Clues/Evidence: if you were a prospector hunting for gold)
Find It! Level 1 Comprehension fishermen didn’t catch fish
• Identify facts and details: How does the writer describe the Chilkoot and White Pass Trails on page 19? (little more than rocky, muddy, icy paths) • Identify facts and details: How many gallons of oil flooded the waters of Prince William Sound in six hours? (10.8 million gallons, page 22)
Look Closer! Level 2 Comprehension shortage for restaurants oil spill tourists stopped coming
• Identify stated main idea: What sentence best tells the main idea of the information on page 23? (the accident caused enormous damage to the environment) • Identify cause and effect: How were Alaskans’ livelihoods affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Use a cause-and-effect chart for help in answering the question. (fishermen didn’t catch as many fish; there was a shortage of seafood for restaurants; many tourists stopped coming to that part of Alaska; hotels lost lots of business, page 25)
Prove It! Level 3 Comprehension hotels lost business
Readers’ & Writers’ Genre Workshop ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This card may be photocopied for classroom use only. Based on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Model developed by Margaret Kilgo.
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• Make inferences: What clues on page 21 help you infer that riding the steamboat along the Yukon River could be dangerous? (sometimes the steamboats caught fire; sometimes they hit ice and sank) • Using graphic features to interpret information: What can you tell about the oil that was recovered and the oil that sank to the bottom of the sea from the circle graph on page 26? (Answer: they are close to the same amount; Clues/Evidence: The graph shows that 14% of the oil was recovered; it also shows that 13% sank to the bottom of the sea; these percentages are close.)
Take It Apart! Level 4 Comprehension • Analyze text structure and organization: The writer shows the amount of supplies prospectors had to carry with them on page 19. What text structure does she use? (a chart) • Evaluate author’s purpose: Why did the writer probably include the quote on page 24? (to tell what a witness of the oil spill had to say about the damage it caused)
8/27/10 10:16:05 AM
• Use direct definitions to determine word meaning: What does the word mushers mean in this book? Let’s look for clues for the meaning of this word on page 6. (Answer: sled drivers; Clues/Evidence: Seventy-two mushers, or sled drivers)
Find It! Level 1 Comprehension
• Identify facts and details: How many days will it take the first team to cross the finish line of the Iditarod? (at least eight days, page 7)
Look Closer! Level 2 Comprehension medicine put on train
mushers formed relay teams
• Identify sequence of events: What happened after the diphtheria medicine was put on a train at Anchorage? Use a sequence-of-events chart for help in answering the question. (it was delivered to a town called Nenana; from there mushers formed relay teams; they traveled nearly 700 miles [1,126.5 kilometers] by dog sled to get the medicine to Nome, page 9) • Identify cause and effect: How did the Inuit lose their connection with their culture? (Christian missionaries, European fur traders, and American gold miners began to settle in the Yukon; they brought their own ways of life; often the Inuit were forced to give up their own language, traditions, and beliefs, pages 14 and 15)
Prove It! Level 3 Comprehension traveled 700 miles
got medicine to Nome
• Using graphic features to interpret information: What can you tell about Rick Swenson from the chart on page 11? (Answer: he won the Iditarod the most number of times; Clues/Evidence: The chart shows the years that mushers won; it shows that Rick Swenson won in 1977-79-81-82-91; this is five times; the closest number of wins on the chart is four wins for Lance Mackey; five is greater than four; the chart also shows the records; it shows that Rick Swenson holds the record for the most times won.) • Identify unstated main ideas: The third paragraph on page 12 is mostly about . . . (Answer: how the Inuit of Canada live today; Clues/Evidence: They shop in stores and supermarkets; they use trucks, cars, powerboats, and snowmobiles to get around; they live in wood and concrete houses; they watch television and listen to the radio; they read books and use computers; they also remember their past; they honor their history through dancing, singing, storytelling, and art.)
Take It Apart! Level 4 Comprehension
• Evaluate author’s purpose: Why does the writer begin the article with a description of the Iditarod Trail Sled Race on page 6? (to get readers interested in the information they will be reading)
Y07203_CTDR.indd 1
8/27/10 10:16:04 AM
The Yukon Gold Rush: Surviving the Search for Wealth The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: From Disaster to Recovery Vocabulary • Use description to determine word meaning: What does the word prospector mean in this book? Let’s look for clues for the meaning of this word on page 18. (Answer: a person who searches for gold; Clues/Evidence: if you were a prospector hunting for gold)
Find It! Level 1 Comprehension fishermen didn’t catch fish
• Identify facts and details: How does the writer describe the Chilkoot and White Pass Trails on page 19? (little more than rocky, muddy, icy paths) • Identify facts and details: How many gallons of oil flooded the waters of Prince William Sound in six hours? (10.8 million gallons, page 22)
Look Closer! Level 2 Comprehension shortage for restaurants oil spill tourists stopped coming
• Identify stated main idea: What sentence best tells the main idea of the information on page 23? (the accident caused enormous damage to the environment) • Identify cause and effect: How were Alaskans’ livelihoods affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill? Use a cause-and-effect chart for help in answering the question. (fishermen didn’t catch as many fish; there was a shortage of seafood for restaurants; many tourists stopped coming to that part of Alaska; hotels lost lots of business, page 25)
Prove It! Level 3 Comprehension hotels lost business
Readers’ & Writers’ Genre Workshop ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This card may be photocopied for classroom use only. Based on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Model developed by Margaret Kilgo.
Y07203_CTDR.indd 2
• Make inferences: What clues on page 21 help you infer that riding the steamboat along the Yukon River could be dangerous? (sometimes the steamboats caught fire; sometimes they hit ice and sank) • Using graphic features to interpret information: What can you tell about the oil that was recovered and the oil that sank to the bottom of the sea from the circle graph on page 26? (Answer: they are close to the same amount; Clues/Evidence: The graph shows that 14% of the oil was recovered; it also shows that 13% sank to the bottom of the sea; these percentages are close.)
Take It Apart! Level 4 Comprehension • Analyze text structure and organization: The writer shows the amount of supplies prospectors had to carry with them on page 19. What text structure does she use? (a chart) • Evaluate author’s purpose: Why did the writer probably include the quote on page 24? (to tell what a witness of the oil spill had to say about the damage it caused)
8/27/10 10:16:05 AM
