Adelina’s

Whales

Text and Photos by Richard Sobol

Study Skills•Genre: Photo Essay

•Comprehension Skill: Fact and Opinion

•Comprehension Strategy: Graphic Organizers

•Comprehension Review Skill: Generalize

•Vocabulary: Homonyms

SummaryAdelina Mayoral lives in La Laguna, Mexico. Each January, the gray whales arrive in the lagoon near La Laguna and stay for three months before migrating farther north for the summer. Whale-watchers, scientists, and photographers visit La Laguna from all over the world to observe and interact with the whales.

Genre: Photo Essay• Photo essays use words

and pictures to tell about someone or something. As you read, notice how the words and images work together to tell about Adelina and her whales.

Comprehension Skill Review –Fact and Opinion TE 313a•A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false by doing research.

Comprehension Skill Review –Fact and Opinion TE 313a•Statements of opinion tell about a

person’s beliefs, feelings, or way of thinking that cannot be proven.

•It often contains a word of judgment, such as best, should, or beautiful.

• It may begin with the words In my opinion or I believe.

Comprehension Strategy – Graphic Organizers TE 292•Good readers organize their

thoughts as they read.

•Jotting down lists or making charts can help you separate statements of fact or opinion.

•Using a graphic organizer can help you to understand what you read.

Comprehension Skill Review: Generalizing TE 301Sometimes as you read, you are given ideas about several things or people.

When you make a statement about all of them together, you are making a generalization.

These are some of the clue words that help locate generalizations: all, none, many, most, always, usually, few, general.

A valid generalization is accurate.

A faulty generalization is not accurate.

Practice Generalization PB1161. This is an example of a generalization. Many birds migrate, or move from one

place to another.2. How do you know this is a

generalization? The word many gives a clue that not all

birds migrate. 3. Here is another generalization.

Some birds will fly the same path each year.

4. How do you know this is a generalization?

The word some gives a clue.

Author’s Viewpoint•The author’s viewpoint is the way an author looks at his or her subject.•Look at statements of opinion an author expresses and the statements of fact the author includes.•Try to figure out the author’s viewpoint even when it is not stated.

Fun Stuff and Practice

• McGraw Hill Activities• 4th Grade Activities

• Video• Cause and Effect On-Line PowerPoint• Compare and Contrast• Compare Contrast PowerPoint• Meet the Author• Verbs and more Verbs • and Linking Verbs on Line

•What patterns in nature guide the lives of animals?

•What is the migration pattern of the gray whales Adelina sees?

•What mysteries of the whales might Adelina try to unlock some day?

•What questions might a scientist ask about migration?

Review Questions1. Give an example of how you know

Adelina has a good understanding of nature.

2. Why do you think the author wrote this selection?

3. Who did the author say was the first person to have a visit from the whales?

4. Why do the mother whales come to the lagoon?

Review Questions1. How do you know the whales are

important to Adelina?

2. How were the people in La Laguna like the people who visited the village?

3. What did Adelina mean when she said, “Laguna is the place where two worlds join together?”

Vocabulary - Say It•bluff

•lagoon

•tropical

•massive

•biologist

•rumbling

More Words to Knowaltitude

ascentswanszone

encounterexhaling

biologist•scientist who studies living things, including their origins, structures, activities, and distribution

lagoon•a pond or

small lake, especially one connected with a larger body of water

bluff•a high, steep slope or cliff

tropical•of or like the regions 23.45 degrees north or south of the equator where the sun can shine directly overhead

massivebig and heavy; bulky

rumbling•making a deep, heavy, continuous sound

exhaling•breathing out

encounter•an unexpected meeting

zone•any of the five great regions of Earth’s surface, bounded by imaginary lines going around Earth parallel to the equator

altitude•high above sea level

swans

•large water birds with long, slender, curving necks

ascent•act of going up; upward movement

Adelina was awakened by a loud, low, rumbling noise.

Adelina was awakened by a loud, low, rumbling noise.

A gray whale was exhaling a blast of hot air as large as a room.

A gray whale was exhaling a blast of hot air as large as a room.

The mother whales come to the lagoon to have their babies.

The mother whales come to the lagoon to have their babies.

The whales lift their massive heads out of the water.

The whales lift their massive heads out of the water.

Adelina’s grandfather was tanned from the bright tropical sun.

Adelina’s grandfather was tanned from the bright tropical sun.

Her grandfather told many stories about his first encounter with the whales.

Her grandfather told many stories about his first encounter with the whales.

Adelina might become a biologist who studies the ocean when she grows up.

Adelina might become a biologist who studies the ocean when she grows up.

Her home is a simple shack on a sandy bluff hugging the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Her home is a simple shack on a sandy bluff hugging the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

The swan is a type of bird that migrates to a milder climate at summer’s end.

The swan is a type of bird that migrates to a milder climate at summer’s end.

The swan gains altitude as he makes his ascent into the air.

The swan gains altitude as he makes his ascent into the air.

Their wings carry them swiftly and surely from zone to zone.

Their wings carry them swiftly and surely from zone to zone.

Writing Assignment -

Write a Friendly Letter TE 313h•Write a letter to a friend about where you live.

•Make a realistic, clear picture in words by using specific details.

•Use exact nouns when describing details.

•Be sure to use commas where needed in a letter.

Spelling Words Homophones

•their•there•wait•weight•passed

•past•allowed•aloud•throne•thrown

Spelling Words Homophones

•beet•beat•bye•by•threw

•through•break•brake•peace•piece

CHALLENGE•stationery

•stationary

•cymbal

•symbol

•principle

•principal

Let’s review our Spelling words. Watch carefully because they will flash on the screen for just a moment. We can clap as we spell the word, or we might just practice reading the words.

piece

peace

brake

break

threw

through

by

bye

beet

beat

throne

thrown

allowed

aloud

passed

past

wait

weight

there

their