april/may 2010 - Storyworks Magazine - Scholastic

Vol. 17 No. 6 ISSN 1068-0292
A SUPPLEMENT TO STORYWORKS
April/May 2010 • Teacher’s Edition • A Complete Teaching Kit
URGENT
NEWS
ABOUT OUR ONLINE
ANSWER KEYS!
You will find the answer keys for
online reproducibles on a separate
Web site: www.scholastic.com
/storyworksanswerkey. This
comes in response to complaints
from many teachers that their
crafty students were finding
answers online. In addition, you
will find the magazine’s answer
key on that Web site, though those
answers are also printed on page
T8 of this Teacher’s Edition.
april/may 2010
•NEW! StoryWorkshops for your interactive
whiteboard. these step-by-step 30-minute lesson plans pull
together Storyworks content, printables, and video resources
into one easy-to-use package! Find them on our Web site.
•Guided Reading Levels now available!
(in this teacher’s edition and on our Web site)
•FREE bonus article for Earth Day! your students will be
fascinated with the story of rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring started the
environmental movement. Find the link on our homepage!
april/may 2010 issuE highlights
• Create a Character Winner and Runners-Up
Nearly 10,000 students entered this year’s contest!
read the story author margaret peterson haddix
wrote about the winning character. it is one of our
all-time favorites. plus: Haiku Contest Winners!
• The Day Aliens Attacked America you and
your students will be shocked and thrilled with this
amazing nonfiction story— part thriller, part science
article, and a wonderful introduction to astronomy
and planet hunting.
• Greek Myth Play ”a Boy Called Nars” is a
hilarious twist on the myth of Narcissus
• Plus: A poem for spring, Grammar Cop,
Write to Win! contests, and more!
Questions about your subscription? Call us! 1-800-SCHOLASTIC (1-800-724-6527)

Major Features
Poetry, p. 3
“There’s Something on
Skreber”
By Ja c k Pr e l u t s k y
Fiction, p. 8
Create a Character Contest:
“The Treasure Hunt”
By Ma r g a r e t Peterson
Ha d d i x
Lexile Level 680L
Guided Reading Lev. R
Nonfiction, p. 18
“The Day Aliens Attacked
America”
Lexile Level 900L
Writing Activity:
Sentence Chef:
Paragraph-writing activity
Play, p. 24
A Boy Named Nars
By sa r i Bo d i a n d
la u r a toffler-co r r i e
Lexile Level 360L
Guided Reading Lev. T
Poetry, p. 32
“The Secret Song”
By Ma r g a r e t Wise Br o W n
Departments and Skills Pages
T2
Crossword Puzzle
Vocabulary
page 4
Sentence Chef
Paragraph Writing
page 23
S T O R Y W O R K S
April/May at a Glance
Language Arts Standards
and Skills Development Web Reproducibles
Primary Standards and Skills:
•Understanding
figurative language
•Vocabulary/Word
study
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Text-to-self
•Critical
Thinking Questions
Other Standards and Skills: reading
comprehension, critical thinking, writing to prompts
Primary Standards and Skills:
•Understanding
setting
•Understanding
plot
•Identifying
cause and effect
Other Standards and Skills: examining story
structure, identifying supporting details, understanding
character, vocabulary, understanding character’s
motivation, critical thinking, identifying plot
elements, writing to prompts
Primary Standards and Skills:
•Reading
for information
•Understanding
details
•Critical
thinking
•Cause
and effect
Other Standards and Skills: understanding
terms/vocabulary, comparing and contrasting, drawing
conclusions, conducting research, writing to prompts
Primary Standards and Skills:
•Understanding
character
•Understanding
plot
•Understanding
genre
Other Standards and Skills: identifying
details, making inferences, understanding character’s
motivation, understanding cause and effect, writing to
prompts
Primary Standards and Skills:
•Understanding
repetition in poetry
•Identifying
topic
•Comparing
and contrasting
•Making
inferences
Other Standards and Skills: illustrating the
poem
Grammar Cop
Possessives
page 5
Word Power
Vocabulary
page 30
Writing Rescue!
Run-on Sentences
page 7
•Using
Exaggeration in Poetry
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Cause/Effect
•How
Setting Affects Character
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Creative
Thinking/
Conducting an Interview
•Research/Sequencing
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Understanding
Genre
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Poetry
Writing
Bubble Test
Test Taking
page 31
Wordworks
Parts of Speech
page 15

Lesson
There’s Something on Skreber p. 3
SUMMARY
Jack Prelutsky delights us
once again, with a poem
about a planet where people
can’t stop laughing. Would
students like to visit it?
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
•Understanding
figurative language
•Vocabulary/Word
study
•Text-to-self
MAIN TEACHING OBJECTIVES
After reading this poem, students
should be able to:
•Explain
how the poet uses figurative
language to describe someone’s laughing
•Unscramble
the anagram in the
poem’s title
•Relate
the poem to personal experience
The Secret Song p. 32
SUMMARY
A petal falls from a rose,
the sunset flashes on a
bird, and only the animals
see it. Margaret Wise
Brown captures some of nature’s
secrets in this poem.
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
•Understanding
repetition in poetry
•Identifying
topic
•Comparing
and contrasting
•Making
inferences
MAIN TEACHING OBJECTIVES
After reading this poem, students
should be able to:
•Identify
repetitions and patterns
•Discuss
how the poem is about nature
•Explain
the meaning of the poem’s
title
Reproducibles
Skills and Test-Prep Online
Go to www.scholastic.com/storyworks
to print out the following activities
that can be used with these poems:
Poetry
BEFORE READING
Explain to students that Skreber is an
imaginary planet. It comes from Jack
Prelutsky’s collection The Swamps of
Sleethe: Poems from Beyond the Solar
System. The name “Skreber” is an
anagram for a word that describes the
planet.
DURING READING
Vocabulary: As students read, make
sure they know the meanings of these
words in the poem’s context: unabated:
without stopping; expire: die.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/
WRITING PROMPTS
•Why
do people laugh on Skreber?
(reading comprehension) They laugh for
no reason; nothing there is actually funny.
•Which
lines of the poem use figurative
language? (understanding figurative
language) “You laugh yourself crazy / You
BEFORE READING
Author study: Ask students if the
name Margaret Wise Brown is familiar.
Point out that she wrote The Runaway
Bunny and Goodnight Moon.
DURING READING
Tell students that just as artists can
use patterns in painting, poets can use
patterns with words. As they read the
poem, ask them to look for patterns in
it. What words are repeated in every
verse? Is there a repeating rhyme
pattern? What subject or ideas come
up in every verse?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
•Each
verse of this poem starts with
a question. What are all the questions
about? (identifying topic) They all ask
about witnessing an event in nature.
THERE’S SOmETHIng On . . .
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Using
Exaggeration in Poetry
laugh yourself blue” and “You laugh till
you wish / You’d expire of laughter.”
•What
is funny about the end of the
poem? (critical thinking) In real life,
you wouldn’t really want to “expire” from
laughter, but in this poem you do.
•If
you unscramble the letters in
“Skreber,” what word do you get that
describes the planet? (word study)
berserk
AFTER READING
Text-to-self: Students have probably
had the experience of laughing uncontrollably.
Invite them to write about a
time when they couldn’t stop laughing.
What made them laugh—or were they
laughing for no reason? Where were
they? Did they have to hide their laughter?
How did they stop laughing?
•Who
answers these questions? How
are the answers similar? (comparing and
contrasting) Different animals answer
each one, saying they are the only one who
saw the natural event.
•Why
do you think the title of this
poem is “The Secret Song”? (making
inferences) The poem describes beautiful
events in nature that only creatures present
see, as if they happened in secret.
AFTER READING
Illustrating the poem: Ask students
which verse is illustrated in the magazine.
The first verse is illustrated. Then
have them choose another verse and
create their own illustrations for it. Can
they capture the simple beauty of the
poem in their pictures?
THE SECRET SOng
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Poetry
Writing
A p R I l / m A Y 2 0 1 0 T3

Lesson
SUMMARY
Each year we are thrilled to bring you
the result of our annual Create a Character
contest. This year, 11-year-old
Lora Galich of Chicago, Illinois, created
the character of Bobby Murksimie,
a boy who longs for adventure. Awardwinning
author Margaret Peterson Haddix
created the story that lets Bobby
follow his dreams.
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
•Understanding
setting
•Understanding
plot
•Identifying
cause and effect
MAIN TEACHING OBJECTIVES
After reading this story, students should
be able to:
•Describe
the setting of Cowsgill and
its impact on the characters
•Identify
cause and effect relationships
•Identify
key elements in the story’s
plot
BEFORE READING
Create a Character: Explain to
students that this issue’s fiction is a
result of the Storyworks annual Create a
Character contest. Have them turn to
page 13 and read about fifth-grader Lora
Galich and author Margaret Peterson
Haddix. Ask students how their own
feelings about writing are similar to or
different from those of Lora and Ms.
Haddix. What can they predict about
Bobby or the events of the story?
DURING READING
Examining story structure: To help
students follow the events of the story,
have them read it in three sections,
pausing between each to check comprehension.
The first section runs from the
beginning up to the bolded “N” on
p. 10. This introduces the characters
and provides background on Cowsgill.
The second continues up to the bolded
“G” on p. 12. This describes Bobby
and Georgia’s treasure hunt. The third,
through the end of the story, tells the
outcome of the action for the town and
the characters.
T4
S T O R Y W O R K S
Fiction
Create a Character Contest:
The Treasure Hunt
LEXILE LEVEL 680L; GUIDED READING LEVEL R
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/
WRITING PROMPTS
•What
details in the beginning of the
story tell you what Cowsgill is like?
(identifying supporting details) Everyone,
including children, has to guard the
grimberry trees; everything is serious; no
one owns any toys or has fun.
•What
does Bobby want to be when he
grows up? What does this tell you about
him? (understanding character) He
wants to be an adventurer. This shows he
has his own independent spirit, despite his
bleak surroundings.
•What
does “dour” mean? How does
it apply to Cowsgill? How did people
become that way? (vocabulary/understanding
setting) Dour means “sullen”
or “harsh.” Everyone in Cowsgill acts
dour, and children are taught to be that
way. They became dour because the town’s
founder was always serious about raising
the grimberry trees.
•What
event started Bobby and Georgia’s
adventure? (understanding plot)
Bobby finds an “ancient” treasure map in
a tree.
•Why
did Bobby get angry at Georgia
when he found out she made the map?
Do you think he had a good reason to
be angry? (understanding character’s
motivation) He felt tricked; answers will
vary.
•What
effect did the treasure maps
have on Cowsgill? (identifying cause
and effect) Everyone started having fun.
•Why
do you think Bobby and Georgia,
and eventually the town, knew
how to have fun even though they had
never done it before? (critical thinking)
Answers will vary, but students might suggest
that it is part of human nature.
AFTER READING
Identifying cause and effect: Students
can find a number of cause and effect
relationships in this story. Provide
students with either the cause or effect
in the pairs that follow, and ask them to
complete the pair: 1. George Livingston
Cowsgill discovered the grimberry
tree./He kept the town from starving. 2.
Mr. Cowsgill became strict and serious
guarding the trees./Everyone else in
town became strict and serious.
p. 8
3. Bobby’s parents were killed by a
tornado while guarding the trees./
Bobby lives with Aunt Mabel. 4. Bobby
follows a treasure map he found./Bobby
discovers fun. 5. Bobby had become
grim like everyone else in town./Georgia
made the treasure map. 6. Bobby
and Georgia made treasure maps for
everyone./The whole town changed
into a fun, laughing, singing place.
Identifying plot elements: Use the plot
pyramid found at www.scholastic.com/
storyworks to help students identify
the main problem, rising action, climax,
falling action, and conclusion of this
story.
Designing a treasure map: Have students
work individually or in groups to
design their own treasure maps for fun.
Ask them to choose your classroom,
school, or somewhere in your community
as a setting, and include step-bystep
instructions for where to go and
what to do.
WRITING PROMPTS
letter: Have students imagine they
are citizens of Cowsgill. Have them
write a letter to an out-of-town relative
describing how their lives have changed
since the treasure hunts began.
persuasive: Ask students to imagine
they are the town grump of Cowsgill,
who can’t have fun even with a treasure
map. Have them write a newspaper editorial,
trying to persuade the town that
Dour Day is better than Delightful Day.
Reproducibles
Skills and Test-Prep Online
Go to www.scholastic.com
/storyworks to print out the
following activities that can
be used with this story:
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Cause/Effect
•How
Setting Affects Character

Lesson
SUMMARY
Throughout history, people have pondered
the starry sky, contemplating what
it might hold. Science has unlocked
many of its mysteries, but people still
seek to find out whether there is other
life in the universe.
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS
•Reading
for information
•Understanding
details
•Critical
thinking
•Cause
and effect
MAIN TEACHING OBJECTIVES
After reading this story, students should
be able to:
•Discuss
the possibility that some form
of life exists beyond Earth
•Understand
terms and ideas about
astronomy
•Be
familiar with current projects to
explore our universe
•Understand
why Orson Welles’s “War
of the Worlds” broadcast was a historical
event
BEFORE READING
Class discussion: Invite volunteers to
describe what they like about looking up
at the sky at night. What do they see?
What do they think is out there? Do
they think there is life beyone Earth?
If so, what might it be like? If not, why
not?
DURING READING
Understanding terms/Vocabulary: As
students read, they will come across a
number of terms dealing with astronomy
and space exploration. Here is a glossary
to help answer their questions:
solar system: the sun, or another star,
and the planets that revolve around it.
galaxy: a very large group of stars and
the bodies—such as planets, moons,
meteoroids, and comets—associated
with them.
telescope: an instrument used to see
objects that are very far away.
light-year: the distance light travels in
one year, or about 5.88 trillion miles;
light travels at about 186,000 miles per
second.
orbit (verb): to move in a circular path
The Day Aliens Attacked America
Nonfiction p. 18
LEXILE LEVEL 900L
around an object.
orbit (noun): the path of one object revolving
around another, such as Earth’s
path around the sun.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/
WRITING PROMPTS
•Why
do you think people have always
been fascinated by space? (critical
thinking) Answers will vary, but students
might suggest that it is mysterious or it
seems like anything could happen there.
•What
details in the story illustrate
how large the universe is and what a
small part our planet is? (understanding
details) Our sun is one of 200 billion stars
in the Milky Way; there are 70 sextillion
stars; many have planets orbiting them.
•According
to scientists, in what ways
would a planet that supports life probably
be similar to Earth? (comparing and
contrasting) It would have a rocky surface,
liquid water, and be the right distance
from its sun.
•How
does the Hubble Space Telescope
help astronomers learn about the
universe? (reading for information) It
circles the Earth above the atmosphere, taking
photographs and sending them back for
scientists to study.
•What
is the goal of the Kepler mission?
(reading for information) Its goal
is to find other planets similar to Earth that
could harbor life.
•Why
is the discovery of a planet that
is mostly covered by water important?
(drawing conclusions) It shows that other
planets could have the same features as
Earth and could support some form of life.
•What
was the effect of Orson Welles’s
radio broadcast of “The War of the
Worlds”? Why do you think so many
people believed it was true? (cause and
effect) Thousands of people panicked
because they believed that Martians were
attacking New York. Many didn’t hear the
introduction explaining that it was fiction,
and an invasion seemed believable to them.
listening to the broadcast: Play part
of Orson Welles’s broadcast for students
from www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w
f5TpVz56A&feature=related. (Stop
once they have gotten an idea of what
it sounded like.) What are students’ im-
pressions of the broadcast? Does it sound
realistic? Do they think they would have
believed Martians were invading if
they tuned in to it? Who do they think
was more at fault for the panic: Orson
Welles or the listeners?
Conducting research: Humans have always
had a fascination with space. Have
students find out more about the history
of astronomy by doing research on a
person or society’s contribution. They
could explore Copernicus, Galileo,
Johannes Kepler, or ancient Egyptian,
Greek, Mayan, or Arabic discoveries.
Have them prepare a document with at
least five bullet points including time
period, main ideas, or achievements.
Or, download our reproducible at www.
scholastic.com/storyworks.
Imagining life: Arrange students in
groups, and ask them to come up with
a description of what they think a form
of life on another planet might be like.
What would it look like? How would it
move or act? How would it communicate?
Then invite groups to share their
visions with the class.
WRITING PROMPTS
narrative: Invite students to write a
story about a journey to explore space,
using all five senses.
persuasive: Ask students to write a persuasive
essay about whether they believe
there is life on planets other than Earth.
Have them explain why they hold their
belief and present arguments for it.
Reproducibles
Skills and Test-Prep Online
Go to www.scholastic.com
/storyworks to print out the
following activities that can be
used with this article:
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Creative
Thinking/
Conducting an Interview
•Research/Sequencing
A p R I l / m A Y 2 0 1 0 T5
T E A C H E R ’ s E D i T i o N

Lesson
T6
S T O R Y W O R K S
Play
A Boy Named Nars
LEXILE LEVEL 360L; GUIDED READING LEVEL T
SUMMARY
•What
is Echo like in the beginning
Our Storyworks original play introduces of the story? (understanding character)
students to the myth of Narcissus and She is very talkative, confident, and high-
Echo—in a hilarious modern reinterpreachieving.tation! •How
does Echo change when Nars
looks her in the eye? What happens when
LANGUAGE ARTS STANDARDS Nars rejects her? Why do you think this is
•Understanding
character
the consequence of his rejection? (under-
•Understanding
plot
standing plot) Echo falls in love with Nars;
•Understanding
genre
she can only repeat others’ words after he
rejects her. Perhaps this is her punishment for
MAIN TEACHING OBJECTIVES talking about herself rather than listening.
After reading this play, students should •Why
do Nars’s parents want to prebe
able to:
vent him from joining the swim team?
• Identify the main ideas of the
(identifying details) When he was a baby,
cautionary tale
a prophet warned them that he would fall in
•Describe
the characters of Nars, Echo, love with his reflection if he saw it; they’re
and Nemesis, and identify their goals afraid he’ll see himself in the water.
•Compare
the play to the original myth •What
role do the Fan Girls play? How
of Narcissus
does Echo become similar to them? What
•Discuss
the consequences of the main message do you think readers can get
characters’ actions
from these characters? (making inferences)
The Fan Girls do nothing but follow
BEFORE READING
Nars around. Like them, Echo loses her own
greek myths and drama: This play character and independence in her pursuit of
combines elements of Greek mythology Nars. Readers can infer that it’s silly to spend
and drama. Review features of each genre time fawning over someone instead of just
with your students:
being yourself.
myth: explains a natural phenomenon or •What
does Nemesis think about Nars?
human behavior; has gods and goddesses. In Greek mythology, Nemesis is the god-
Drama: main character has a flaw that dess of vengeance. Why does she want
leads to an unhappy ending; features a to get revenge on Nars? (understanding
chorus that comments on the action; character’s motivation) Nemesis thinks
reflects human life and shows right from Nars is stuck up and wants to get revenge for
wrong; often based on myths.
his heartlessness; he makes girls fall in love
with him and never loves them back.
DURING READING
•How
do Nars’s faults lead to his down-
If I were there . . . Throughout the play, fall? (understanding cause and effect) He
characters act foolishly and make mis- is so wrapped up in himself that he finally
takes that will later harm them. Pause at falls hopelessly in love with himself and with-
points to ask students what they would do ers away.
or say if they were in the scenes.
•Why
does the play have an unhappy
ending for both Nars and Echo? (under-
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS/
standing genre) It is modeled on a Greek
WRITING PROMPTS
drama, where the characters suffer for their
•What
words would you use to describe
Nars? Is he a likeable character? Why or
flaws.
why not? (understanding character) Ar- Explaining the cautionary tale: Have
rogant, conceited, self-absorbed, and good- students write a paragraph explainlooking
describe Nars. Students will probably ing why this play is a “cautionary tale.”
say he is unlikeable because he is conceited. What do they think it teaches about how
people act?
p. 24
Reviewing the original myth: There are
many versions of the Narcissus myth.
Download one at http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu
/students/mmarassa/mythology/echo.
html, or find another you prefer. Read it
to your students. What is similar between
it and the play? What is different?
Role reversal: Arrange students in
groups, and have them rewrite Scene I
or IV, making Nars a female character
and Echo a male. Encourage them to be
creative and witty. Have them read their
scenes for the class.
FOR YOUNGER OR STRUGGLING
STUDENTS
Like countless Greek myths, Narcissus
has been interpreted by many artists.
Print or project Caravaggio’s painting of
him, found at http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Caravaggio/narcissus.
jpg. What might he be thinking? What
would students like to say to him to take
his attention off himself?
WRITING PROMPTS
narrative: Have students imagine that
at the end of the play, Nars and Echo are
given one chance to change their behavior
and, therefore, their outcomes. Invite
them to write a story about what they do.
Expository: Explain to students that the
word “narcissistic” comes from this myth;
it means being completely wrapped up
in yourself. Have students write about a
time they were narcissistic. What was the
outcome? Do they wish they had behaved
differently?
Reproducibles
Skills and Test-Prep Online
Go to www.scholastic.com/storyworks
to print out the following activities
that can be used with this play:
•Comprehension
Quiz
•Critical
Thinking Questions
•Vocabulary
•Understanding
Genre
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