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Read to

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Why 1s e-mailing

so important to

especially Gina,

when she gets

sick? - - - - - - - - - -

The McGraw·Hi/1 Companies

B Macmillan U McGraw-Hill

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STRATEGIES & SKILLS AT A GLANCE

Comprehension

• Strategy: Analyze Story Structure

• Skill: Analyze Character, Setting,

and Plot

Vocabulary

• announced, crackle, envelope,

photograph, soared, starry

Vocabulary Strategy

• Context Clues: Sentence Clues

Word count: 452

A

Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, of McGraw-Hill Education, o division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Two Penn Plaza, New York, New York 10121.

Copyright© by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Printed in the United States of America

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 BSF 10 09 08 07 06

1 by Ellen Dreyer illustrated by Kelly Kennedy

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Gina and Tyra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 2

Spots! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 3

Waiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Comprehension Check . . . . . . . . 16

CHAPTER iOJ Gina and Tyra

It was the first morning of third grade.

Gina's spirits soared as she jumped into

the car. Her best friend Tyra was in

her class!

Gina's mom picked Tyra up. The girls

sat in the back seat.

"Almost there! " Tyra said.

"Yeah! " Gina shouted.

a

That night, Gina logged on to her

computer. She looked at a photograph

of her and Tyro.

Gina decided to send her friend an

e-mail . She wrote:

Hi, T!

Wasn't that the best day ever?

G

Later, Tyro wrote:

Hi, G,

Yeah! We have the best class in the whole

school!

I wonder who's going to get the lead

parts in the play?

Oops-mom's calling me. Got to go!

T

The next day, Mr. Lewis announced the

parts for "Jack and the Beanstalk." He

pulled the names out of an envelope.

Gina was going to play Jack. Tyro was

going to play the giant's wife.

6

After dinner that night, Gina checked

her e-mails.

Hi G,

Wow! Can you believe that we both got

lead parts?

T

Gina answered:

Hi T,

We're going to have the best time!

G

7

CHAPTER @ Spots!

The next morning, Gina had red, itchy

bumps all over her stomach.

"Gina," her mother said gently, "I think

you may have the chicken pox."

"Chicken pox!" Gina groaned.

Gina burst out crying. "I'll m1ss

school!" she said. "I'll miss Tyra!"

Gina's mother held her close and

stroked her hair.

"It will be okay, Gina. You'll get well

soon. But for now, you need to stay

in bed."

Her mother brought her breakfast in

bed. Gina slowly stirred her cereal and

listened to it crackle. She wasn't really

hungry. She read a book for a while.

After that, she napped for a long time.

That evening, she looked outside at

the starry sky. Her face started to itch.

She went over to the mirror. There

were tiny red dots all over her face!

Gina felt like crying again as she sat

down at the computer. But she smiled

when she found a new message:

Hi G,

I miss you. Feel better SOOn!

Love,

Tyra

I Ill

CHAPTER @Waiting The next day, the red spots had spread

to Gina's chest and arms.

"In a few days you'll feel much

better," said her mom.

Gina couldn't wait to get another

e-mail from Tyro.

Late that afternoon she found

25 e-mails!

The e-mails were get-well messages

from everyone in her class.

She answered all the messages. Finally,

she wrote one to Tyra.

Dear Tyra,

You're the best!

Love,

Gina

14

The following Monday, Gina was well

enough to go to school.

Her class was just starting to rehearse

"Jack and the Beanstalk."

The play was a hit!

Comprehension Check Retell the Story

Look back at the pictures in

the book. What do they tell

you about Tyro and Gina? Use

a Character Web to describe

the girls. Then retell the story

in your own words.

Think and Compare

I. Reread page II. Do you think Tyro is

a caring friend? How can you tell?

(Analyze Character, Setting, and Plot)

2. Have you ever missed an

activity or a trip because of

illness? Explain. (Synthesize)

3. Why do today's kids like to send

e-mails to friends? (Apply)

16

Write an E-mail

People talk back and forth using

e-mail all the time. Write out an e-mail

message to a friend or family member.

Tell about something that is happening

to you. Think about how your friend or

family member would reply. Then write

out the reply e-mail.

Make a List

E-mail is a good way to keep

in touch with friends. What are

some other ways e-mail can be

used? How can it be a helpful

tool? ·Make a list. Share it with

the class.

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