LESSON 25 TEACHER’S GUIDE A Hero Weighs Informs.hmhco.com/.../grade/L25_a_hero_weighs_in_S.pdf · LESSON 25 TEACHER’S GUIDE A Hero Weighs In by Barbara A. Roenz Fountas-Pinnell
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L E S S O N 2 5 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E
A Hero Weighs Inby Barbara A. Roenz
Fountas-Pinnell Level SScience FictionSelection SummaryDex and his family live in special domed space station on Mars. As a young teenager, Dex is expected to work outside the dome, in an airless environment. To prepare for this, Dex has to complete a weightless training program, but his fear prevents him from doing it. Dex fi nally overcomes this fear and he becomes a hero in the end.
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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Science fi ction
Text Structure • Third-person narrative • Plot with detailed episodes• Details help the reader to determine the author’s purpose
Content • Life in a space station on Mars • Weightlessness• Overcoming fear
Themes and Ideas • Fear can prevent you from trying something new or accomplishing a goal.• People have different ways of approaching new experiences.
Language and Literary Features
• Descriptive language important to understanding setting and characters • Complex plot, creating suspense, leading toward confl ict resolution • Setting distant in time and space
Sentence Complexity • A mix of short and complex sentences• Multiple items in series• Questions in dialogue
Vocabulary • Many vocabulary words that require use of context or dictionary, such as encased, essential, virtual
Words • Many words with affi xes, such as allergic, weightlessness, Martian, disconnectedIllustrations • Lively drawings add interest.
Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text with illustrations• Italics for emphasis and to highlight characters’ thoughts
average – typical or normal, p. 7calculated – worked with
numbers to fi nd an answercenturies – periods of one
hundred years, p. 2dispute – to state that something
is not true, p. 3
insert – to put one object inside another, p. 13
inspector – a person who checks to make sure that things are working as they should be, p. 6
mechanical – a machine with movable working parts, p. 3
progress – improving, p. 4superior – better than other
things of its type, p. 6waste – to spend or throw things
away thoughtlessly, p. 4
A Hero Weighs In by Barbara A. Roenz
Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge of space exploration to visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What do you think you would enjoy about living on another planet? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Explain that this story takes place in the far-distant future on the planet Mars. Tell students that this story is science fi ction, a fantasy in which events are based on a combination of imagined and scientifi c ideas.
Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Tell students that a boy named Dex and his family live in a protective dome on the space station. Suggested language: Turn to page 2 of this book. Here is a picture of Dex and his teacher Ms. Luna. What is Dex wearing? Look at Dex’s face. How would you describe his expression?
Page 3: Explain that outside the dome, there is no gravity on Mars. Ask: What might it feel like to be in a space without gravity? Tell students that Dex has just been practicing being in a space unit without gravity. Then read this sentence Dex was scared! Ask: What do you think the problem in this story might be?
Page 4: Tell students that people wanted to learn to grow plants on Mars.Ask: Why would growing plants be important?
Page 5: Read this sentence: Now, however, a century of research had made it possible to plant and harvest crops in greenhouses. Explain that teenagers had to help plant and harvest crops outside the dome. Ask: What might they need to know, and have, to work in this space?
Page 8: Explain that the boy in the illustration is Dex’s younger brother, Jace. Suggested Language: Look at the picture of Dex’s brother Jace. Ask: What do you think Jace might be thinking about?
Now turn back to the beginning and read about how Dex faces his fear.
4_306124_OL_LRTG_L25_Hero.indd 2 11/5/09 12:05:18 AM
ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Question Strategy and to think of questions as they read.
Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the story. Suggested language: How do you think Dex managed to overcome his fear? How do you think Dex will act in the future when confronted with situations that frighten him?
Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• Dex lives on a space station on Mars and is required to work in a place without gravity.
• Dex hasn’t been able to pass the training requirement because he’s scared of being in the anti-gravity unit.
• After he helps his brother get out of the anti-gravity unit, Dex realizes that he’s not afraid of being in it anymore.
• Fear can prevent someone from trying to do something new or different.
• You may have to take risks in order to overcome a fear.
• People who are different from each other can learn from each other.
• The suspense builds throughout the story until the problem is solved at the end.
• The author uses italics to stress some words and to highlight the characters’ thoughts.
• The author includes lots of details about science to help the reader understand the story.
Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to use for readers’ theater.
Encourage them to stress words written in italic print, read at a rate that is not too fast or too slow, and to use expression that would sound as if each character was actually speaking.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Draw student’s attention to these words on page 5: weightless, breathless, and airless. Point out that all three words contain the suffi x -less. Have students explain the meaning of the suffi x and the meaning of each word. Then discuss how the addition of the suffi x –less changes the nouns weight, breath, and air to adjectives.
Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 25.8.
RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension SkillAuthor’s Purpose
Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that they can determine an author’s
purpose for writing a story by looking at and analyzing details in the story. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
On page 5, the author writes “Unfortunately, the marvels of Martian agriculture frightened Dex breathless!” On page 9, it states that Granddad had told Dex a story about a man whose weightless suit failed and he ended up as the “man in the moon.” Both of these details are entertaining. Add these details to the chart to contribute to the author’s purpose of entertaining.
Practice the SkillHave students share an example of another story in which text details demonstrated that the author’s purpose was to entertain the reader.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts• Why is Dex opposed to the weightlessness training requirement?
• Which words in the last paragraph on page 7 help the reader understand what exaggerating means?
• When the author says that the “adults’ eyes were glued to the screen,” on page 10, she means
was the author’s purpose in writing this book? What other text details support her purpose? Copy and complete the chart below.
Text detailStudents were demonstrating Planetary Pizza, made from a cheese called Mars Moos.
Text detail?
Text detail?
Write About It
Text to World Imagine that you had to write a paper on life in another country. Brainstorm topics that would be important to include. Organize the topics into correct outline form.
1. Think within the text How are Jace and Dex different?
2. Think within the text What is the purpose of the required
training Ms. Luna is giving Dex?
3. Think beyond the text What features of this story make it
science fi ction? How is it like or unlike other science fi ction
stories you’ve read?
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author includes
Granddad’s story? What does it tell the reader about Dex?
Making Connections In this story, many things are done differently in the Mars colony. Think of an activity you like to do. Invent a new way to do the same activity on Mars in the future.
English Language DevelopmentReading Support Check regularly on students’ oral reading to determine accuracy, fl uency, and comprehension.
Idioms The story includes idioms that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meaning of expressions such as population had mushroomed (page 3), stop bouncing off the walls (p. 8), and eyes were glued to the screen (page 10).
Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is this story mainly about?
Speaker 2: Dex
Speaker 1: How does Dex feel about being in the anti-gravity unit?
Speaker 2: scared
Speaker 1: How does Dex become a hero?
Speaker 2: by saving Jace
Speaker 1: What is Dex’s problem in this story?
Speaker 2: Dex is afraid of being in the weightless training unit.
Speaker 1: Why does Dex need to go into the weightless training unit?
Speaker 2: He needs to be able to help with farming activities outside the protective dome.
Speaker 1: How does Dex overcome his fear of the anti-gravity unit?
Speaker 2: Dex’s little brother Jace goes into the anti-gravity unit on his own and panics. When Dex sees Jace, he knows that he has to save him. He puts on a spacesuit and goes into the unit. He saves Jace and realizes that he wasn’t even scared.
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
In this story, Dex becomes a hero. Why would you call Dex a hero? Do you think it was difficult for Dex to become a hero? Why or why not? Include details to support your answer.
1. Think within the text How are Jace and Dex different?
2. Think within the text What is the purpose of the required
training Ms. Luna is giving Dex?
3. Think beyond the text What features of this story make it
science fi ction? How is it like or unlike other science fi ction
stories you’ve read?
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author includes
Granddad’s story? What does it tell the reader about Dex?
Making Connections In this story, many things are done differently in the Mars colony. Think of an activity you like to do. Invent a new way to do the same activity on Mars in the future.