Genre: H F Teacher’S Guide Ponce de León and the Skills and …€¦ · Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth Sail On, Columbus! Teacher’S Guide Level R/40 Unit at a

1 Two HisTorical FicTion sTories abouT explorers ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCB e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Skills and Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies• Draw conclusions• Identify sequence of events

Genre Study• Recognize genre features• Analyze genre texts• Make text-to-text genre connections

Tier Two Vocabulary• See book’s glossary

Word Study• Antonyms

Fluency• Read with dramatic expression

Writing• Writer’s tools: Interpret figurative

language: Personification• Write a historical fiction story using

writing-process steps

Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth

Sail On, Columbus!

Teacher’S Guide

Level R/40

Unit at a Glance

Day 1 Prepare to Read Day 4 Reread “Sail On, Columbus!”*

Day 2 Read “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth”*

Day 5 Literature Circle Discussion/Reinforce Skills*

Day 3 Read “Sail On, Columbus!”* Days 6–15 Write a historical fiction story using the writing-process steps on page 10

*While you are meeting with small groups, other students can:• read independently from your classroom library• reflect on their learning in reading response journals• engage in literacy workstations

Genre: Historical Fiction

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2 Two HisTorical FicTion sTories abouT explorers ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

• Post this chart in your classroom during your historical fiction unit. Say: As we read historical fiction stories this week, we will come back to this anchor chart. We will look for how these features appear in each story we read.

• Ask students to turn to pages 4–5. Say: The stories in this book tell about real explorers Christopher Columbus and Juan Ponce de León. Let’s read about these explorers.

• Have a student read aloud the biographical information while others follow along.

• Say: Both Columbus and Ponce de León were explorers for Spain. What can you infer, or tell, from this? Allow responses. Prompt students to understand that the country of Spain was determined to expand its territory and establish colonies in the Americas.

Introduce the Tools Writers Use: Personification• Read aloud “Tools Writers Use” on page 5. • Say: Many writers use personification to help

readers form a vivid mental image of an animal or object in a story. Let’s practice identifying personification so we can recognize it in the historical fiction stories we read.

• Distribute BLM 1 (Personification). Read aloud sentence 1 with students.

• Model Identifying Personification: The author of this sentence describes the leaves as if they are people dancing. Dancing is something that people do. The author helps the reader “see” how the leaves blow across the ground by giving them a human ability.

• Ask students to work with a partner or in small groups to identify the examples of personification in the remaining sentences and write a sentence of their own using personification.

• Bring the groups together to share their findings.• Ask each group to read one of the sentences they

wrote. Use the examples to build their understanding of how and why writers use personification. Remind them that recognizing personification can help readers visualize the characters and setting of a story.

• Ask groups to hand in their sentences. Transfer student-written sentences to chart paper, title the page “Personification,” and post it as an anchor chart in your classroom.

Prepare to ReadBuild Genre Background• Write the word genre on chart paper. Ask: Who

can explain what the word genre means? Allow responses. Say: The word genre means “a kind of something.” Painting and sculpture are different kinds of art. Each has its own characteristics that we can use to identify the kind of art. In the same way, we can identify literary genres by their characteristics. As readers, we pay attention to the genre to help us comprehend. Recognizing the genre helps us anticipate what will happen or what we will learn. As writers, we use our knowledge of genre to help us develop and organize our ideas.

• Ask: Who can name some literary genres? Let’s make a list. Allow responses. Post the list on the classroom wall as an anchor chart.

• Draw a concept web on chart paper or the chalkboard. Write Historical Fiction in the center circle of the web.

• Say: Historical fiction is one example of a literary genre. Think of any historical fiction stories you know. How would you define what historical fiction is?

• Turn and Talk. Ask students to turn and talk to a classmate and jot down any features of historical fiction they can think of. Then bring students together and ask them to share their ideas. Record them on the group web. Reinforce the concept that all historical fiction stories have certain common features.

Introduce the Book• Distribute a copy of the book to each student. Read

the title aloud. Ask students to tell what they see on the cover and table of contents.

• Ask students to turn to pages 2–3. Say: This week we are going to read historical fiction stories that will help us learn about this genre. First we’re going to focus on this genre as readers. Then we’re going to study historical fiction from a writer’s perspective. Our goal this week is to really understand this genre.

• Ask a student to read aloud the text on pages 2–3 while others follow along. Invite a different student to read the web on page 3.

• Point to your Historical Fiction web on chart paper. Say: Let’s compare our initial ideas about historical fiction with what we just read. What new features of this genre did you learn? Allow responses. Add new information to the class web.

Day 1

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.ISBN: 978-1-4509-0010-2

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©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC 3Two HisTorical FicTion sTories abouT explorers

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Write one or more of the following

questions on chart paper. What is a literary genre, and how can understanding

genres help readers and writers? What did you learn today about the historical fiction

genre? How can readers recognize the technique of

personification? Ask partners or small groups to discuss their ideas

and report them back to the whole group as a way to summarize the day’s learning.

Before ReadingIntroduce “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth”• Reread the Historical Fiction anchor chart or

the web on page 3 to review the features of a historical fiction story.

• Ask students to turn to page 6. Ask: Based on the title and illustrations, what do you predict this story might be about? Allow responses.

• Invite students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (tranquil, frigid, elderly, grave, roiling, despair). Say: As you read, pay attention to these words. If you don’t know what they mean, try to use clues in the surrounding text to help you define them. We’ll come back to these words after we read.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the story, focusing on the

genre elements they noted on their anchor chart. They should also look for examples of personification and think about how the author’s use of personification helps them visualize and appreciate the setting.

Read “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask students to read the story silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.

• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.

Management TipAsk students to place self-stick notes in the margins where they notice examples of personification or features of the genre.

After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Draw Conclusions• Lead a student discussion using the “Analyze

the Characters, Setting, and Plot” questions on page 13. Then, use the following steps to provide explicit modeling of how to draw conclusions about a historical fiction story.

• Explain: We learned yesterday that historical fiction focuses on a problem that one or more real or fictional characters faced in the past. The author uses the setting, characters, and plot to bring the historical time to life. However, the

Day 2

Name Date

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCTwo NaTivE amEriCaN Fairy TaLEs BLm 1

PersonificationDirections: Read each sentence. Write the examples of personification. Then, underline the name of the animal or object each word or phrase personifies.

1. With each gust of wind, the leaves dance across the grass. dance

2. The angry ocean threw huge waves against the shore. angry,threw

3. The squirrel enjoyed a take-out dinner of acorns and birdseed.

enjoyed,take-outdinner

4. The flag waved proudly to everyone who passed by. proudly

5. The mailbox opened its mouth wide and swallowed the mail. openeditsmouth,swallowed

Directions: Write your own sentence using personification.

6.Sentenceswillvary.Example:Theflowerspaintedthegardeninbright,cheerfulcolors.

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Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment• Remind students that when they answer questions

on standardized assessments, they must be able to support their answers with facts or clues and evidence directly from the text.

• Use the Comprehension Question Card with small groups of students to practice answering text-dependent comprehension questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Find It! questions. The answer to a Find It! question is right in the book. You can find the answer in one place in the text.

• Model. Read the second Find It! question. Say: When I read the question, I look for important words that tell me what to look for in the book. What words in this question do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I’m looking for the words attacked and colony. On page 10, I read “The colony was only a few days old when Native Americans from the Calusa tribe attacked.” This sentence answers the question.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Find It! questions.

Focus on Vocabulary: Antonyms• Explain/Model: Antonyms are words with opposite

meanings. For example, proceed means “go ahead,” and halt means “stop.” The words proceed and halt are antonyms. Sometimes readers can figure out an unfamiliar word by looking for an antonym in the text.

• Practice. Ask students to think of antonyms they already know, such as forward/backward, huge/tiny, and always/never. List the antonyms on the board.

• Say: Let’s find the boldfaced words in this story. What can you do if you don’t know what these words mean? Allow responses. Say: Besides looking in the glossary or a dictionary, you can look for clues in the text to help you define the unfamiliar word. One strategy is to look for an antonym nearby.

• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the “Focus on Words” activity on page 13 using BLM 3. Explain that they should read the sentences around the boldfaced word to find an antonym that helps define the word. Then, they should explain how they know a word is an antonym.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Ask groups of students to share their findings. Then challenge students to make up a sentence using a target word and its antonym. Ask other students to listen carefully and identify the antonyms in the sentences. Encourage students to tell how the antonym makes the meaning of the target word clear.

• Ask students to save their work in their genre studies folders to continue on Days 3 and 4.

Day 2 (cont.)author does not reveal every detail about these story elements. As readers, we must watch for clues from which to draw conclusions about the story.

• Distribute copies of BLM 2 (Draw Conclusions) and/or draw a chart like the one below.

Story Details Conclusion

• The families are moving to Florida.

• They plan to set up a farming colony.

• They hope they will never be poor or hungry again.

The settlers want a better life for themselves and their children.

• Sanchez owns a plantation. • He is one of the most trusted and

influential men in the New World.• He is asked to help finance and

become a leader in a new colony. • He smiles broadly when he thinks

about his accomplishments.

Sanchez is happy that his family made the decision to travel with Ponce de León, and he is proud and pleased with his life in the New World.

• Ponce de León hopes to find the fountain of youth.

• He says this foundtain is the greatest treasure.

• He sailed with Columbus 28 years earlier.

Ponce de León is getting older and wants to become young again.

• When the Calusa tribe attacks, the settlers retreat to the ship.

• The soldiers try to fight back, but soon return to the ship.

• They leave many of their horses and other possessions behind.

• They keep the children below decks as they sail for Havana.

Ponce de León and the soldiers do not want to risk the lives of the settlers, so they leave quickly and set sail for a safe port.

• Model: As I read the story, I drew a conclusion about why Alonzo Sanchez’s family was willing to leave their home and sail to Florida with Ponce de León. The author says that about 200 people were leaving to start a farming colony in Florida. I learn that the children’s parents hope to never be poor or hungry again. I can conclude that the Sanchez family was moving to Florida in the hope of making a better life for themselves.

• Guide Practice. Work with students to draw other conclusions based on story details. Guide them to identify clues and evidence that will help them better understand the characters, setting, and plot. Then, discuss how drawing conclusions makes the story more interesting and vivid.

• Have students keep BLM 2 in their genre studies folders.

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Page Word Antonym How do you know?

7 tranquil noisy and busy

It was so noisy and busy in the port that the children were taken away to a tranquil place.

8 frigid hot The water is hot even on frigid nights.

8 elderly young An elderly person becomes young again.

8 grave silly The children did not laugh when Ponce de León was grave, but they laughed when he was silly.

9 roiling smoothly Ships would not sail smoothly in a roiling storm.

10 despair joy and hope Their joy and hope turned to despair. Turned to shows that they no longer have hope.

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

reread the “Features of Historical Fiction” web on page 3 and decide whether all of these features are present in “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth.” Ask groups to share and support their findings.

Fluency: Read with Dramatic Expression• You may wish to have students reread the story with

a partner during independent reading time. Have them focus on reading with dramatic expression to reflect the characters’ feelings. Model how the children might speak in the last two paragraphs on page 7 using gestures, pacing, tone, and volume to express excitement. Then, ask students to read page 8 to convey Ponce de León’s shift from serious to silly to amused, as well as the children’s excited response.

Before ReadingIntroduce “Sail On, Columbus!” • Ask students to turn to page 14. Say: This story

is written in a different format from the other historical fiction story we read. Notice the notes in the margins. First, we will read to understand the story. Tomorrow, we will read this story like a writer and think about how the notes in the margin can help us write our own historical fiction stories.

• Say: Let’s look at the title and illustrations of this historical fiction story. What do you predict it might be about?

• Ask students to scan the text and look for the boldfaced words (deceptive, agitated, miserable, roam, overcast). Ask: What do you notice about these words? Why do you think they appear in boldfaced type? (All of these words are specific and vivid.)

• Say: As you read, try to figure out the meanings of these words by looking for antonyms in the text.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Ask students to read the story, focusing on

how each story element contributes to a main character’s problem and its solution. Encourage them to notice the author’s use of personification.

Read “Sail On, Columbus!”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask students to read the story silently, whisper-read, or read with a partner.

• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and their use of fix-up strategies.

After ReadingBuild Comprehension: Draw Conclusions• Say: Yesterday we drew conclusions using details

about the characters, settings, and plot of “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth.” What conclusions can we draw about the sailors on Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas? Who is Rodrigo and what does he do? What do the leaders of the voyage discuss? Write responses on a whole-group chart like the one below.

• Discuss Story Elements Across Texts. Lead a discussion using the following questions: How are ships a part of the settings for both stories? How are the main characters in the two stories alike and different? Are characters in the story real or made up? Why do you think so? Where has the author used personification? How do these examples of personification help you better appreciate the characters and settings?

Day 3

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from the picture. After the group identifies the word correctly, the artist uses the word in a sentence that describes the drawing. Continue until all words have been illustrated and used in sentences.

Page Word Antonym How do you know?

14 deceptive honest People think Columbus is not an honest man, but a deceptive one. Not and but are clue words indicating antonyms.

16 agitated calm Columbus tried to make the agitated sailors calm again.

17 miserable joyous Columbus wanted the pep talk to make the miserable sailors think of more joyous times ahead.

18 roam stay Since the narrator cannot stay in bed, he roams about.

19 overcast crystal-clear

The night is overcast because the moon is hiding behind a cloud. A crystal-clear night would not be cloudy.

Reflect and Review • Turn and Talk. Ask partners or small groups to

discuss the following questions and report their ideas to the whole group. What historic event does the story present? How does the story help you understand the risks that Columbus and the sailors took? How does the author use personification to help set the mood of the story?

Fluency: Read with Dramatic Expression• Have students reread the story with a partner,

focusing on reading with dramatic expression. Discuss with students how they can use gestures, facial expressions, pacing, tone, and volume to bring the characters to life. Model how you would change expression in the dialogue on pages 16–17 to reflect what the characters say and feel. Then, ask students to choose a dramatic passage from the story to read aloud.

Day 3 (cont.)

Story Details Conclusion

• The sailors have been at sea for five weeks without sighting land.

• None have ever spent longer than a week without seeing land.

• Everyone is afraid.• Some sailors are getting restless.

The sailors fear they will run out of food and water before finding land.

• Rodrigo is a young sailor.• This is Rodrigo’s first voyage.• Columbus did Rodrigo’s father a great

favor by allowing Rodrigo to sail on the voyage.

Rodrigo’s father and Columbus must be good friends for Columbus to accept such an inexperienced sailor.

• The leaders of the voyage have a meeting.

• The Pinta is the fastest ship. • The captain of the Pinta wants all

officers, food, and water put on his ship.• The Pinta will then run away from the

other ships.

The captain of the Pinta is willing to sacrifice the lives of ordinary sailors to save his own life.

• Rodrigo is posted in the crow’s nest after dinner on October 11, 1492.

• He is assigned there until dawn.• Rodrigo sees land when it is amost

time for him to come down.

Rodrigo spots land in the early morning of October 12, 1492.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card to practice

answering text-dependent questions.• Say: Today we will answer Look Closer! questions.

The answer to a Look Closer! question is in the book. You have to look in more than one place. You find the different parts of the answer. Then you put the parts together.

• Model. Read the second Look Closer! question. Say: This question asks me to identify cause and effect. I know because it has the clue word since. Now I need to look for other important information to find in the book. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I’m looking for what the narrator has to do when he is the messenger on duty. On page 16, I read that the narrator is the messenger on duty, so he carries the notes that the groups send one another. I have found the answer in the book.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Look Closer! questions.

Focus on Vocabulary: Antonyms• Ask students to work with a partner to complete the

“Focus on Words” activity on page 21 using BLM 3. Have groups of students share their findings.

• Transfer Through Oral Language. Students work in small groups. Each student illustrates a target word. Other group members try to guess the word

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Before ReadingSet a Purpose for Rereading• Have students turn to page 14. Say: Until now, we

have been thinking about historical fiction from the perspective of the reader. Learning the features of historical fiction has helped us be critical readers. Now we are going to put on a different hat. We are going to reread “Sail On, Columbus!” and think like writers. We’re going to pay attention to the annotations in the margins. These annotations will help us understand what the author did and why he did it.

Reread “Sail On, Columbus!”• Place students in groups based on their reading

levels. Ask students to reread the story silently or whisper-read.

• Confer briefly with individual students to monitor their understanding of the text and annotations.

After ReadingAnalyze the Mentor Text• Explain to students that the text they have just read

is a mentor text. A mentor text is a text that teaches. This text is designed to help them understand what writers do to write historical fiction and why they do it.

• Read and discuss each mentor annotation with students. Encourage them to comment on the writer’s development of setting, character, and plot and use of dialogue and literary techniques such as personification.

Practice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with small

groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Prove It! questions. The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer.

• Model. Read the first Prove It! question. Say: I will show you how I answer a Prove It! question. This question asks me to make an inference. I know because it says, “What clue tells you.” Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I need to look on page 15 to find out what happened at the meeting. I read that the leaders of the voyage are meeting in the captain’s quarters, and their talk gets loud and ugly. Arguments are often loud and ugly. I have located the clues I need.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop the other Prove It! questions.

Analyze the Writer’s Craft• Ask students to turn to page 22. Explain: Over

the next few days, you will have the opportunity to write your own historical fiction story. First, let’s think about how the author wrote “Sail On, Columbus!” When he developed this story, he followed certain steps. You can follow these same steps to write your own stories.

• Read step 1. Say: The first thing you’ll do is decide on a time and place in history as the setting for your story. Let’s turn back to pages 7 and 14 and notice details about the settings. (Write the settings on chart paper.) What time and place would you like to explore? For example, I might like to write a story set during the moon landing in 1969. What other settings could we explore? Allow responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 2. Say: In the stories we read, the characters were explorers for Spain. Who could our characters be? Let’s make a list of characters who could depict important events in a particular period and place in history. Remember, the characters in historical fiction are real people or people who could be real. Allow time for responses. Write down students’ ideas on chart paper.

• Read step 3. Say: Before you’re ready to write, you need a plot. “Sail On, Columbus!” examines the problems of a young sailor aboard the Pinta. He is torn between loyalty to Columbus and threats from the crew as well as dealing with his own fears. The problem is resolved when the sailor finally sees land. What plot, or actions, will help reveal your characters and their problems in the time period you have chosen? Choose one of the settings and some of the characters the class has brainstormed, and work as a group to construct a possible plot.

Build Comprehension: Identify Sequence of Events• Explain: Authors of historical fiction usually tell

about events in the order, or sequence, in which they happen. As readers, we pay attention to the clues the author provides that help us know when things happened. Dates and clue words and phrases such as first, next, then, today, later, this evening, and in the afternoon help readers follow the sequence of events in a story.

• Model: In “Sail On, Columbus!,” the author uses dates to help sequence events aboard the ship after many weeks at sea. He mentions the first date, Wednesday, October 10, 1492, in the first sentence of the story. He then recounts activities aboard the ship that day, using words and phrases such as tonight, then, and in the morning to sequence the events.

Day 4

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Analyze & SynthesizePractice Text Comprehension Strategies for ELA Assessment • Use the Comprehension Question Card with small

groups of students to practice answering text-dependent questions.

• Say: Today I will help you learn how to answer Take It Apart! questions. To figure out the answer to a Take It Apart! question, you must think like the author.

• Model. Read the second Take It Apart! question. Say: This question asks me to think about the text structure. I know because I must find an example of personification. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? Allow responses. Say: Yes, I need to look for a description of the moon on page 19. I find this sentence: “The moon is just a sliver, half-smiling mischievously behind a cloud.” I know this is an example of personification because the moon can’t smile—people smile.

• Guide Practice. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart to help you develop other Take It Apart! questions.

Summarize & Make Connections Across Texts• Engage students in a discussion about the historical

fiction stories in this book. Invite a different student to summarize each story. Encourage other students to add their ideas and details.

• Ask students to turn to the inside back cover of the book. Say: Good readers think about how literary works are related. We know, for example, that both of these stories share certain features. They both have settings that reflect real periods in history. They both have characters who were real people or could be real people. What else do they have in common? Allow responses. Say: Today we will think about the points of view, settings, characters, problems, and solutions in the stories. We’ll think about how these story elements are alike and different and what we can learn from them.

• Ask students to work individually or in small groups to complete BLM 4 (Make Connections Across Texts).

• Class Discussion or Literature Circles. Facilitate a whole-class discussion or keep students in their small groups for a literature circle discussion. If you choose to conduct literature circles, share the rules for good discussion below. Each group should discuss and be prepared to share its ideas about the following prompts. From what point of view is each story told? How does the point of view help you understand the historical events? How are the settings different? How are they alike? How are the main characters like a person you might

• Guide Practice. Divide students into two groups. Ask one group to identify the sequence of events in “Sail On, Columbus!” and the other group to identify the sequence of events from the middle of page 7 through the first two paragraphs of page 12 of “Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth.” Ask each group to summarize the plot events in sequence.

Reflect and Review • Ask and discuss the following questions.

How is analyzing historical fiction as a reader different from analyzing it as a writer? How is it similar? What new words have you added to your vocabulary this week? How have you used these new words in your own conversation or writing? Which character do you think was most interesting? Why? How can you use antonyms and personification as a writer?

Fluency: Read with Dramatic Expression• You may wish to have students reread the story with

a partner during independent reading time, focusing on reading with dramatic expression. Encourage them to choose a passage in which they can portray the story’s mood and the characters’ emotions. Remind them to vary their tone, volume, and pacing and use facial expressions and gestures as they read.

Day 4 (cont.) Day 5

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Reinforce SkillsIf time permits, choose from the following activities to reinforce vocabulary and fluency.

Reinforce Vocabulary: Antonym Match• Write each target word and its antonym on

separate index cards. Give each student a card. • Each student should locate the person with the

antonym for the word he or she is holding. • Have students with matching antonyms create

a sentence using both words to share with the group.

Reread for Fluency: Oral Reading Performance• Discuss the problems the main characters in the

historical fiction stories had to solve. • Say: The author uses dialogue, descriptions,

actions, and literary techniques such as personification to help readers understand the characters, settings, and events. When you read stories aloud, you can demonstrate your understanding of these story elements through dramatic expression. This will help listeners better understand and enjoy the story.

• Invite individual students to read a section of one of the stories with expression that helps listeners understand the character’s emotion and the mood of an event.

• Encourage students to have fun with their readings and to make them as dramatic as possible.

• As a whole class, discuss each reader’s interpretation. Think about alternate ways to interpret the emotions.

Review Writer’s Tools: Personification• Ask students to look for other examples of

personification in titles from your classroom library or the school’s library. Each student should select one title at his or her independent reading level. Ask students to read pages specifically to find an example of personification.

• Invite students to share their examples with the class. Encourage students to discuss how the personification helps them better visualize characters and settings. Point out that not all students will have found examples in the books they chose. Personification is not a tool all writers use all of the time.

meet today? How are they different? Why? What problems do the characters face? How are the problems resolved?

• Tell students that at the end of their discussion, you will ask them to share the important text-to-text, text-to-world, and text-to-self connections they have made.

• While each small group of students discusses the book, confer with individual or small groups of students. You may wish to revisit elements of the genre, take running records, or model fluent reading skills.

Directions: Fill in the chart. Use it to compare and contrast the two historical fiction stories.


Sail On, Columbus!

Point of View first person first person

Settings the 1500s; St. Augustine, Florida; port of San Juan; aboard ship at sea; the coast of Florida

1492; aboard ships at sea

Main Characters

Alonzo Sanchez, Juan Ponce de León

Rodrigo de Triana, Christopher Columbus

Problem Sanchez is a boy when he and his family sail to Florida with Ponce de León, who dies without finding the fountain of youth or establishing a settlement in Florida.

Rodrigo is torn between his loyalty to Columbus and fear for his life if he does not help sailors who may be planning a mutiny.

Solution Sanchez grows up and becomes a wealthy and effective leader. He helps establish St. Augustine on the Florida coast and realizes that the true fountain of youth is bravely going forth to discover what there is to be discovered.

Rodrigo spots land, so the mutiny will not occur.

Rules for Good Discussion• Pay attention to the person who is talking and

do not interrupt him or her.

• Think about what others are saying so you can respond and add to their ideas.

• Allow and encourage everyone in the group to speak.

• Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Day 5 (cont.)

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10Two HisTorical FicTion sTories abouT explorers ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Write a Historical Fiction Story• Use the suggested daily schedule to guide

students through the writing-process steps. Allow approximately 45 to 60 minutes per day. As students work independently, circulate around the room and monitor student progress. Confer with individual students to discuss their ideas and help them move forward. Use the explicit mini-lessons, conferencing strategies, and assessment rubrics in Using Genre Models to Teach Writing for additional support.

• Before students begin planning their historical fiction stories, pass out copies of BLM 5 (Historical Fiction Checklist). Review the characteristics and conventions of writing that will be assessed. Tell students that they will use this checklist when they complete their drafts.

• This daily plan incorporates the generally accepted six traits of writing as they pertain to historical fiction.

Days 6–7: Plan • Ask students to use BLM 6 (Historical Fiction Planning

Guide) to brainstorm the characters, setting, and plot for their stories.

• Encourage students to refer to the “Features of Historical Fiction” web on page 3 and to the steps in “The Writer’s Craft” on pages 22–23 of the book.

• Confer with individual students and focus on their ideas. Did students begin their story with an actual historical figure or event in mind? Did they support the historical aspect through the setting and plot?

Days 8–9: Draft • Tell students that they will be using the completed

Planning Guides to begin drafting their stories. • Say: Remember that when writers draft their ideas,

they focus on getting their ideas on paper. They can cross things out and make mistakes in spelling. What’s important is to focus on developing your characters, setting, and plot. You will have an opportunity to make corrections and improvements later.

• Confer with students as they complete their drafts. Use the Historical Fiction Checklist to draw students’ attention to characteristics of the genre that they may have overlooked. Focus on how students have organized their ideas and the voice of the writer. Did students introduce the time and place at the beginning of the story? Did they set up a problem and then show a resolution? Does the story have a strong voice? Will the voice keep readers interested?

• Pair students for peer conferencing.

Days 10–11: Edit and Revise • Based on your observations of students’ writing,

select appropriate mini-lessons from Using Genre Models to Teach Writing.

• Remind students to use the Historical Fiction Checklist as they edit and revise their stories independently.

• Confer with students focusing on sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions. Did students include both long and short sentences? Do the sentences read smoothly? Have students used interesting words and phrases? Did they use examples of personification? Did they use appropriate spelling, punctuation, and grammar?

• You may want students to continue their editing and revision at home.

Days 12–13: Create Final Draft and Illustrations • Ask students to rewrite or type a final draft of their

stories.• Invite students to illustrate their final drafts with one

or more drawings that depict specific characters or events in their stories.

• Confer with students about their publishing plans and deadlines.

Days 14–15: Publish and Share• Explain: Authors work long and hard to develop

their works. You have worked very hard. And one of the great joys of writing is when you can share it with others. Authors do this in many ways. They publish their books so that people can buy them. They make their work available on the Internet. They hold readings. We can share our writing, too.

• Use one or more of the ideas below for sharing students’ work: Make a class display of students’ completed historical fiction stories. Hold a class reading in which students can read their stories to one another and/or to parents. Create a binder of all the stories and loan it to the library so that other students can read them.

Create a binder of all the stories for your classroom library.

Days 6–15

rEviEws oF Two moviE musiCaLs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCBLm 5

Name Date

Title: Title:

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No 1. My story has a strong lead. 2. My story is told in first or third person. 3. My story has a real historical setting with time and place. 4. The characters could have lived in this setting. 5. My story events could have happened in my setting. 6. At least one character deals with a conflict. 7. I tell the problem at the beginning of the story. 8. I have 3 to 5 events in my story. 9. My story has a solution to the problem. 10. My story has a believable ending. 11. I used figurative language in my story.

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No I looked for and corrected . . .

• run-on sentences • sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • correct verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling • indented paragraphs

Historical Fiction Checklist

Name Date

Two NaTivE amEriCaN Fairy TaLEs ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCBLm 6

Historical Fiction Planning Guide

Directions: Use the steps below to plan your own historical fiction story.

1. Decide on a time and place in history.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Brainstorm characters.

Characters Traits, Goals, ChangesCharacter 1:

Character 2:

Character 3:

Character 4:

3. Brainstorm plot.

ProblemEventsSolution

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Name Date

Two HisTorical FicTion sTories abouT explorers ©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCblM1

PersonificationDirections: Read each sentence. Write the examples of personification. Then, underline the name of the animal or object each word or phrase personifies.

1. With each gust of wind, the leaves dance across the grass.

2. The angry ocean threw huge waves against the shore.

3. The squirrel enjoyed a take-out dinner of acorns and birdseed.

4. The flag waved proudly to everyone who passed by.

5. The mailbox opened its mouth wide and swallowed the mail.

Directions: Write your own sentence using personification.

6.

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Name Date


Draw ConclusionsDirections: Write details from the story. Use the details to draw conclusions about the characters, setting, or events.

Story Details ConclusionPonce de León and the True Fountain of Youth

Sail On, Columbus!

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Name Date


Focus on Description

Directions: Reread each story. Find an antonym for each word. Tell how you know it is an antonym.

Page Word Antonym How do you know?Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth

7 tranquil

8 frigid

8 elderly

8 grave

9 roiling

10 despair

Sail On, Columbus!

14 deceptive

16 agitated

17 miserable

18 roam

19 overcast

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Name Date


Make Connections Across TextsDirections: Fill in the chart. Use it to compare and contrast the two historical fiction stories.


Sail On, Columbus!

Point of View

Settings

Main Characters

Problem

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Name Date


Title:

Features of the Genre Checklist Yes No

1. My story has a strong lead. 2. My story is told in first or third person. 3. My story has a real historical setting with time and place. 4. The characters could have lived in this setting. 5. My story events could have happened in my setting. 6. At least one character deals with a conflict. 7. I tell the problem at the beginning of the story. 8. I have 3 to 5 events in my story. 9. My story has a solution to the problem. 10. My story has a believable ending. 11. I used figurative language in my story.

Quality Writing Checklist Yes No

I looked for and corrected . . .

• run-on sentences • sentence fragments • subject/verb agreement • correct verb tense • punctuation • capitalization • spelling • indented paragraphs

Historical Fiction Checklist

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Name Date


Historical Fiction Planning Guide

Directions: Use the steps below to plan your own historical fiction story.

1. Decide on a time and place in history.___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

2. Brainstorm characters.

Characters Traits, Goals, ChangesCharacter 1:

Character 2:

Character 3:

Character 4:

3. Brainstorm plot.

ProblemEventsSolution

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Documents

Genre: H F Teacher’S Guide Ponce de León and the Skills and …€¦ · Ponce de León and the True Fountain of Youth Sail On, Columbus! Teacher’S Guide Level R/40 Unit at a