Download - Is truth the same for everyone?
Your Anchor BookThere are many good books that would work well to support both the Big Question and the genre focus of this unit. In this unit you will read one of these books as your Anchor Book. Your teacher will introduce the book you will be reading.
Free-Choice ReadingLater in this unit you will be given the opportunity to choose another book to read. This is called your free-choice book.
Unit 1 Genre focus:
Fiction and Nonfi ction
Is truththe same for everyone?
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Group Activity
from “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas
Antonio helped. “It’s about our fi ght, right?”
“Yeah, right.” Felix’s eyes squinted at the rising orange sun.
I’ve been thinking about it too, panín. In fact, since we found out it was going to be me and you, I’ve been awake at night, pulling punches on you,trying not to hurt you.”
“Same here. It ain’t natural not to think about the fi ght. I mean, we both are cheverote fi ghters and we both want to win. But only one of us canwin. There ain’t no draws in the eliminations.”
Felix tapped Antonio gently on the shoulder. “I don’t mean to sound likeI’m bragging, bro. But I wanna win, fair and square.”
Antonio nodded quietly. Yeah. We both know that in the ring the better man wins. Friend or no friend, brother or no…”
from “The Day It Rained Cockroaches” by Paul Zindel
Tarantulas I like. Scorpions I can live with. But ever since I was three years old and my mother took me to a World’s Fair, I have had nightmares aboutcockroaches. Most people remember an exciting water ride this fair had called Shoot-the-Chutes, but emblazoned on my brain is the display thefair featured of giant, live African cockroaches, which look like Americancockroaches except they’re six inches long, have furry legs, and can pinchfl esh. In my nightmares about them, I’m usually lying on a bed in a dark room and I notice a bevy of giant cockroaches heading for me.
Thinking About What You Already Know
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from “Always to Remember: The Vision of Maya Ying Lin” by Brent Ashabranner
In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was involved in a war inVietnam. Because many people opposed the war, Vietnam veterans werenot honored as veterans of other wars had been. Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam veteran, thought that the 58,000 U.S. servicemen and women killed orreported missing in Vietnam should be honored with a memorial. With the help of lawyers Robert Doubek and John Wheeler, Scruggs worked to gainsupport for his idea.
from “Child of the Owl” by Laurence Yep
Phil adjusted his tie uneasily and growled, “What’re you looking at?”
I looked ahead, keeping my eyes on the glove compartment. Barney andme had never talked much about stuff like this. I knew more about racehorses than I knew about myself – I mean myself as a Chinese. I looked at my hands again, thinking they couldn’t be my hands, and then I closed my eyes and felt their outline, noticing the tiny fold of fl esh at thecorners. Maybe it was because I thought of myself as an American and allAmericans were supposed to be white like on TV or in books or in movies, but now I felt like some mad scientist had switched bodies on me like in all those monster movies, so that I had woken up in the wrong one.
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TruthBrainstorm:
Examples from:Exampla. Science
b. Social Studies
c. Math
d. Art-Music
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4 Lesson 1-1
Understanding the Big Question
The struggle to fi nd the truth exists in all content areas. Nonfi ction
deals only with real people, events, or ideas. Fiction can be based
entirely on the imagination, but it can also be inspired by fact. Have
you ever described a piece of fi ction as being “real” or “believable”?
Although the characters, plot, and setting in a piece of fi ction may all
be imagined, fi ction must refl ect some truth for us to keep reading.
Directions To help you start thinking about this unit’s big question,
let’s consider the idea of “truth.”
With a partner, fi rst brainstorm for a list of words and phrases
you associate with the word “truth.”
Next, identify one truth from the subject areas listed below.
Finally, consider whether the ideas you listed below would be
considered by everyone as truth.
Partner Activity Choose one example you have identifi ed. With a
partner, talk about how this idea infl uences another subject area.
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1-1Is truth the same for everyone?
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5Understanding the Big Question
Directions With your partner, read and answer the questions in the
chart that follows. Then, add at least two more questions of your own.
Questions About Truth My Thoughts
Why is truth important to people?
How can the truth for one person be differentfrom the truth for another?
How can stories that are untrue help meunderstand the truth about life?
Question.” These questions appear at the end of certainlessons. As you read, remember that although nonfictionis about real people, events, or ideas, it may not alwaysbe entirely accurate or objective. Also, remember that thereis always some truth in the invented stories and charactersof fiction.
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Lesson 1-16
Introduction to
Fiction and Nonfi ction
Elements of FictionFiction began as oral storytelling. It was how people entertain
another. It was also the way a culture shared its history, belief
values. All works of fi ction share certain basic elements.
Fictional works can include make-believe people or anim
called characters. A character faces a problem, or confli
must be overcome. The made-up series of events that d
how the confl ict progresses is called the plot.
The setting is where and when the story takes place. Dg
of setting—particularly, descriptive words and images
establish the mood. Mood is the overall feeling that a
work conveys to the reader.
A speaker, called the narrator, tells the story. The nar
the story from a certain perspective, or point of view
person point of view is the perspective of a charactw
story. Third-person point of view is the perspectivw
narrator outside the action of the story.
All the elements of fi ction work together to help com
the work’s theme, which is its central message.
Types of Fiction
Short stories are brief works of fi ction. They usually focus on one main plot structured around one main confl ict and can be read in one sitting.
Novels are longer works of fi ction. Inaddition to its main plot, a novel may containsubplots, or related stories.
Novellas are works of fi ction that are shorter than novels but longer than short stories.
Historical fi ction is literature that draws in part on real people and events to tell inventedstories.
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Getting Ready for Your Anchor Book
You will start reading your Anchor Book soon. The next few pages in this book give you some background information plus a reading skill.
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Introduction to Fiction and Nonfi ction 7
Nonfi ctionNonfi ction is writing about real people, places, or events that explains
ideas. Nonfi ction must be true.
Types of Nonfiction
Biographies tell the story of someone’s lifeand are told from the perspective of another writer.
Autobiographies and memoirs tell thestory of the author’s life and refl ect the writer’s thoughts and feelings about events.
Letters are written forms of communication from one person to another. A letter mightshare information, thoughts, or feelings.
Journals and diaries are records of daily events and the writer’s thoughts and feelingsabout them.
Essays and articles are brief written worksabout a specifi c topic. Their purpose might be to explain, persuade, or inform.
Informational texts are the writtendocuments we come across in everyday life. Examples include textbooks, applications,instructions, and articles.
Nonfi ction shares some elements with fi ction, but it also has special
features that set it apart from fi ction.
• Tells about made-up people and events and can retell historicalevents through an imagined perspective.
• Told from the point of view of a fi ctional character, an all-knowing narrator,or limited narrator.
• Have a setting, a timeand place.
• Convey a mood, or overall feeling.
• Feature the writer’s unique style, a characteristic way of usinglanguage and expressing ideas.
• Deals exclusively with real people, events, or ideas. Nothing is made upor invented.
• Almost always told from the point of view of the writer, who is a real person.
Fiction Nonfi ction
Strategies for Reading Fiction and Nonfi ction Use this strategy as
you read fi ction and nonfi ction.
Visualize Picture the characters, setting, or other elements of the text in
your mind. Allowing yourself to “see” what you are reading will help
you to understand it better.
Both
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8 Lesson 1-2
1-2 Reading SkillsMaking Predictions
Academic Vocabulary
Word Meaning Example Sentence
anticipate v.Related words: anticipating, anticipation
to look forward to, expectI anticipate that Tommy will join ethe team.
modify v. Related words:modifi ed, modifying
to changeBecause of these new details, I have tomodify my original prediction.y
verify v.Related words:verifi ed, verifying
to confi rmI had to bring my license to verify myyidentity.
Making predictions helps you make connections between events and
actions. When you predict, you anticipate future events and possible
outcomes.
How to Make PredictionsPreview the selection by looking at graphic representations and w
text structures such as the title, chapter titles, captions, photos,
organization, and headings to anticipate what the selection will
be about.
Formulate a prediction by using what you know about the topic
of the selection, related personal life experiences, and knowledge
of other similar selections.
Verify your predictions as you read, andy modify them y
when necessary.
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9Making Predictions
Previewing a TextDirections Preview the excerpt from a social studies textbook below
and observe how a student completed the chart after previewing text
features. Then, make a prediction based on the previewed information.
Throughout this book, you will see student models, like the one below,
that show you what applying a skill looks like.
Student Model
My Prediction:
29.2%
35%
35.7% 39.8%
34.4%
25.7% 42.4%
33.9%
23.8%
45 years and over18-44 years0-17 years
1960 2007 2050
Percent of Total U.S. Populations by Age Group, 1960-2050
A Changing Society
The face of aging in the United States is changing, according to a new U.S.
Census Bureau report. Higher levels of education, which are linked to better
health, higher income, more wealth and a higher standard of living continue
to increase among people 65 and older. Today’s older Americans are living
longer and more active lives. Future generations of the elderly will further
challenge our understanding of what “being old” means.
Tell(s) Me
Title Society is changing
Images Chart shows elderly population is growing
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10 Lesson 1-2
Directions Now that you have learned how to make predictions,
try it for yourself with the selection on the next page. Preview the
selection and then make predictions in the chart below. If you have
background knowledge related to the topic, use it to help you.
Text Feature to Preview Tell(s) Me
Title
Captions
Images
My Predictions:
Prediction 1
Prediction 2
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The memorial had been authorized by Congress “in honor
and recognition of the men and women of the Armed Forces
of the United States who served in the Vietnam War.” The law,
however, said not a word about what the memorial should be or
what it should look like. That was left up to the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Fund, but the law did state that the memorial design and
plans would have to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior,
the Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning
Commission.
What would the memorial be? What should it look like? Who
would design it? Scruggs, Doubek, and Wheeler didn’t know,
but they were determined that the memorial should help bring
closer together a nation still bitterly divided by the Vietnam War.
It couldn’t be something like the Marine Corps Memorial showing
American troops planting a fl ag on enemy soil at Iwo Jima. It
couldn’t be a giant dove with an olive branch of peace in its beak.
It had to soothe passions, not stir them up. But there was one thing
Jan Scruggs insisted on: The memorial, whatever it turned out to be,
Preview the various text features, such as the title, introduction, and conclusion. Then, read this magazine article. Guiding Question: What is the most important
truth in this article that you would share with someone?
Always to Remember:
The Vision of Maya Ying Lin by Brent Ashabranner
In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was involved in a war in Vietnam. Because many people opposed the war, Vietnam veterans were not honored as veterans of other wars had been. Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam veteran, thought that the 58,000 U.S. servicemen and women killed or reported missing in Vietnam should be honored with a memorial. With the help of lawyers Robert Doubek and John Wheeler, Scruggs worked to gain support for his idea.
Making Predictions 11
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� The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
12 Lesson 1-2
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Jan C. Scruggs, President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and Project Director Bob Doubek, display the final design for the memorial with Maya Ying Lin.
Mall. Remarking upon the “simple and forthright”
materials needed to build the winning entry, the
report concludes:
This memorial, with its wall of names,
becomes a place of quiet refl ection, and a tribute
to those who served their nation in diffi cult
times. All who come here can fi nd it a place of
healing. This will be a quiet memorial, one that
achieves an excellent relationship with both the
Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument,
and relates the visitor to them. It is uniquely
horizontal, entering the earth rather than
piercing the sky.
This is very much a memorial of our own
times, one that could not have been achieved
in another time and place. The designer has
created an eloquent place where the simple
meeting of earth, sky and remembered names
contain messages for all who will know this place.
The eight jurors signed their names to the report,
a unanimous decision. When the name of the winner
was revealed, the art and architecture worlds were
stunned. It was not the name of a nationally famous
architect or sculptor, as most people had been sure
it would be. The creator of Entry Number 1,026 was
a twenty-one-year-old student at Yale University.
Her name unknown as yet in any field of art or
most important design competitions ever held?
How could she beat out some of the top names
in American art and architecture? Who was Maya
Ying Lin?
The answer to that question provided some
of the other answers, at least in part. Maya Lin,
reporters soon discovered, was a Chinese-American
girl who had been born and raised in the small
midwestern city of Athens, Ohio. Her father,
Henry Huan Lin, was a ceramicist of considerable
reputation and dean of fi ne arts at Ohio University
in Athens. Her mother, Julia C. Lin, was a poet and
professor of Oriental and English literature. Maya
Lin’s parents were born to culturally prominent
families in China. When the Communists came to
power in China in the 1940’s, Henry and Julia Lin
left the country and in time made their way to the
United States. Maya Lin grew up in an environment
of art and literature. She was interested in sculpture
and made both small and large sculptural fi gures,
one cast in bronze. She learned silversmithing and
made jewelry. She was surrounded by books and
read a great deal, especially fantasies such as The
Hobbit and t Lord of the Rings.1
But she also found time to work at McDonald’s.
“It was about the only way to make money in the
summer,” she said.
the Rings mythical novels by the, J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), chroni-
n various good and evil kingdoms for g that can shift the balance of power
13Making Predictions
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15Making Predictions
Thinking About the Selection
Always to Remember: The Vision of Maya Ying Lin
Verify Look at your predictions. Were you right? Identify thedetails that supported or contradicted your predictions.
Connect Before reading this selection, did you have prior knowledge about the Vietnam War Memorial? How did this knowledge, or lack thereof, affect your predictions?
Predict Based on Maya Ying Lin’s accomplishments, what do you predict will happen to her next? What might she do?
Evaluate What was the author’s purpose in writing thisarticle? How well did the author fulfi ll this purpose?
Conclude Why is reading informational materials important? What can you gain from reading articles such as this one?
Write Answer the following question on a separate piece of paper.
6 Assess What is the most important truth in this article thatyou would share with someone?
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About the AuthorVisit: PHSchool.comWeb Code: exe-8101
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Lesson 1-316
1-3 Vocabulary Building StrategiesPrefi xes and Suffi xes
Prefix Root Suffix
A prefi x is one or moresyllables placed before the root to change its meaning.
A root is the basic meaningof a word.
A suffi x is added to the end of a root to change its meaning or part of speech.
Common Prefixes
pre- before,e in advance predict: to tell in advance
re- back, k again renew: make new again
ex- from, out extract: take out
in- in, into indent: bite into
inter- between international: between nations
mis- wrong misunderstand: understand incorrectly
Common Suffixes
-yzeThe suffi xes -yze and -ize change words to verbs.
When you make an analysis, you analyze something.e
-ize When you make your decision fi nal, you fi nalize it.e
-tionThe suffi xes -tion and –sionchange verbs to nouns.
When you educate people, they receive aneducation.
-sion When you persuade someone, you use persuasion.
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17Prefi xes and Suffi xes
Directions Figure out the meaning of each word below. Identify the prefi x or suffi x, then write your guess on the fi rst line. Check your answers by looking up each word in either a bound or online dictionary, and write the defi nition on the second line.
misinterpret
My guess:
Dictionary meaning:
inflame
My guess:
Dictionary meaning:
location
My guess:
Dictionary meaning:
What to Do When You Encounter Unknown WordsDon’t be held prisoner by words whose meaning you don’t know. Remember that you have many tools, or strategies, to help you.
Skip it! The word’s meaning may be explained later.
Still struggling with the word? Try one of these steps.
Use what you know about letters, sounds, and phonics to sound the word out to see if it is a word you know.
Read the paragraph the word appears in aloud. See if you can use cueing systems, like context clues, to help you decode the word’s meaning.
Think about what you are reading. How might this word connect to the topic?
Use the sentence structure to decide what part of speech the word may be.
Associate the parts of the word (prefi xes, root words, suffi xes) with words you know.
Is not knowing the word’s meaning preventing you from under-standing the main idea of the reading?
Look it up! Use a dictionary, thesaurus, glossary, or online resource to help you identify the word’s meaning and pronunciation.
You may wish to keep a list of new words you have learned and identify connections among them (such as synonym, antonyms, or words used to describe the same concept).
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