LESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE Who Are the Three Musketeers? · PDF fileLESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE Who Are the Three Musketeers? ... Who Are the Three Musketeers? ... the author states

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L E S S O N 2 1 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Who Are the Three Musketeers? by Ken Van Gorder

Fountas-Pinnell Level VNonfictionSelection SummaryThe Three Musketeers, set in Paris in 1625, is a famous book in French literature. Written by Alexandre Dumas and published in 1844, it chronicles the adventures of three swordsmen named Porthos, Athos, and Aramis. These soldiers, assigned to protect the royal family, have exciting adventures as they carry out their duties.

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Nonfi ction

Text Structure • Third-person narrative• Summary of the plot of the novel interwoven with information about the author of the

novel and the historical setting of the novelContent • Author Alexandre Dumas and how he wrote

• Adventures of his characters, three French swordsmen • Information about the historical setting of the novel

Themes and Ideas • The Three Musketeers is a timeless tale.• Alexandre Dumas crafted three distinct “musketeer” characters • A united team is stronger than one of the individuals alone.

Language and Literary Features

• Complex narratives told in simplifi ed style

Sentence Complexity • A mix of simple and complex sentences• Exclamations

Vocabulary • Some French military terms: musketeer, Royal Academy, duel• French names followed by phonetic pronunciation

Words • Many multisyllable words: eventually, exhilaration, jeopardy• Many sentences begin with next, soon and other sequence signal words

Illustrations • Realistic color illustrations of author and his charactersBook and Print Features • Fourteen pages of text

• Headings, insets© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Target Vocabulary

abrupt – taking place suddenly, without warning, p. 2

blurted – spoke suddenly without thinking, p. 11

comprehension – full understanding, p. 12

eventually – some time in the future, p. 6

exhilaration – a feeling of extreme excitement, happiness, or joy, p. 13

jeopardy – a source of danger, p. 11

oracle – someone who can predict or see the future and who tells others, p. 10

scrounged – gathered from whatever happens to be nearby, p. 12

spiteful – wanting to deliberately say or do something to hurt someone else, p. 9

stable – strong and unlikely to break down or change, p. 6

Who Are the Three Musketeers? by Ken Van Gorder

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge of adventure books to visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What do you like about adventure stories? Read the title and author and talk about the cover. Explain Alexandre Dumas (doo Mah) was a French author whose books were translated into many languages.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and nonfi ction features. Help with unfamiliar language so they can read the text successfully. Give special attention to target vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:

Page 2: Have students read the heading and locate the highlighted word. Suggested language: The text tells us that in real life and in stories in books, “events can often take an abrupt turn.” What is another word for abrupt? What are some things that might happen when an adventure story takes an abrupt turn?

Page 4: Explain that a French author named Alexandre Dumas (doo Mah) wrote The Three Museketeers in 1844. Turn to page 4. The heading says “The Man Behind the Musketeers.” Read the fi rst sentence. Explain that “Alexandre” is pronounced “Alexander” and point out the phonetic pronunciation of “Dumas.” Tell them to say his name aloud with you. Ask: What other book by Dumas is listed on this page?

Page 6: Read the caption. Have students fi nd the word stable. The text tells us that the the government of this king was “not very stable.” If steady is another word for stable, what does it mean that a government was “not very stable”?

Pages 10–11: Point out the picture of Athos on page 10. On these pages we learn about the oldest musketeer. We’re told that he never blurted his feelings and that he wasn’t afraid to put his life in jeopardy. Describe these qualities of Athos in your own words.

Now turn back to page 2 to begin reading about the adventures of the three musketeers!

2 Lesson 21: Who Are the Three Musketeers?Grade 6© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


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 Infer/Predict Strategy and to use text clues to fi gure out what the author means or what might happen in the future.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text. Suggested language: Which of the musketeers was your favorite? Why?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• The Three Musketeers is a fi ction book written in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas.

• The musketeers are named Porthos, Athos, and Aramis.

• They guard the French king and his family.

• Exciting adventure stories are timeless.

• Descriptions of characters and settings help readers understand the plot.

• Stories about friendship and loyalty have a long-lasting appeal.

• Sidebars provide historical information.

• Realistic color illustrations enable readers to visualize characters.

• Short captions describe people and actions depicted in illustrations.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to read aloud with a

partner. Suggest that they choose their favorite part of the book to read expressively.

• 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. Remind students that compound words are formed by joining two words, as in swords and men form swordsmen. Provide other examples from the book such as horse and back make horseback, story and book make storybook, and nick and name make nickname.



Writing about ReadingVocabulary PracticeHave students complete the Vocabulary questions on BLM 21.1.

RespondingHave students use their Reader’s Notebook to complete the vocabulary activities on page 15. Remind them to answer the Word Teaser on page 16. (Answer: stable)

Reading Nonfi ctionNonfiction Features: Headings and Illustrations Remind students that nonfi ction has many features to help readers fi nd and understand important information. Headings and illustrations are two of these features. Explain that headings can be short phrases, as in this book, or complete sentences. Headings announce what the text that follows will be about. Reading the headings in a nonfi ction book is a good way to preview the book before reading the main text. Have students rewrite a heading in their own words.

Illustrations are another important source of information. They help readers visualize the people, places, and events in the text. Have students look again at the illustration on page 3. Ask what information they can learn from the illustration (one man is ready to pull out his sword and fi ght; the three others look relaxed as they watch him; they do not look interested in fi ghting). Then have students choose an illustration in the book and write—in words that are different from those of the caption—what they see in the picture.

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• How is page 4 important to the book?

• On page 10, the author states that Athos serves as the oracle for the group. What does that mean?

• Why do readers and moviegoers continue to be interested in the characters that Dumas created?



Target VocabularyFill in an example and a non-example for abrupt in theFour-Square Map below. Then create your own Four-Square Mapsfor two of the remaining Target Vocabulary words.

blurtedeventuallyexhilarationjeopardy

spitefulcomprehensionoracle

scroungedabruptstable

Vocabulary

Definitionsudden and blunt

Examplethe sound of an alarm clock in a quiet room

SentenceWhen a dog ran in front of his car, the driver came to an abrupt stop.

Non-examplesoft music playingin the background

abrupt

Target Vocabulary© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 1

Grade 6, Unit 5: Taking Charge of Change

Who Are the Three Musketeers?

Target Vocabulary

Name Date

3

stopping in the middle of a sentence

an echo

Possible responses shown.

21.01_6_246260RNLEAN_Target Voca3 3 12/28/09 11:49:15 AM

Confirming Pages

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair beginning and intermediate readers to read the text softly, or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Or have beginning speakers read the captions.

Cultural Support French history and culture may be unfamiliar to many students. Tell them France is located in western Europe. Point it out on a map. Provide more background if necessary. Explain that when Louis XIII was 8 ½ years old, his father was killed, and the boy became king of France in 1610. Explain that his own mother, the queen, tried to seize power (p. 6). Louis XIII needed constant protection. Guarded by the musketeers, Louis became a powerful ruler.

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 wrote The Three Musketeers?

Speaker 2: Alexandre Dumas

Speaker 1: What did the musketeers do?

Speaker 2: protected King Louis XIII and his family

Speaker 1: Is the Dumas’ book The Three Musketeers fi ction or nonfi ction?

Speaker 2: It is fi ction.

Speaker 1: Where and when did the story take place?

Speaker 2: It took place in France in 1625, during the reign of Louis XIII.

Speaker 1: What did the musketeers do for King Louis XIII?

Speaker 2: They protected him from his enemies.

Speaker 1: With what weapon were the musketeers experts?

Speaker 2: They were experts with swords.



Name Date

Who Are the Three Musketeers?Thinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Why can it be important in tough situations for friends to stick together? On page 9, the caption states, “The motto of the Three Musketeers is ‘All for one and one for all.’” What do you think this motto means? How could the musketeers use this motto when they’re in trouble? Why do you think it was important for the musketeers to stick together?


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Target VocabularyFill in an example and a non-example for abrupt in theFour-Square Map below. Then create your own Four-Square Mapsfor two of the remaining Target Vocabulary words.

blurtedeventuallyexhilarationjeopardy

spitefulcomprehensionoracle

scroungedabruptstable

Vocabulary

Definitionsudden and blunt

Examplethe sound of an alarm clock in a quiet room

SentenceWhen a dog ran in front of his car, the driver came to an abrupt stop.

Non-examplesoft music playingin the background

abrupt

Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 1


Target Vocabulary

Name Date



1414272

Student Date Lesson 21

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 2 3


Running Record Form

Who Are the Three Musketeers? • LEVEL V

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

2 Books are like time machines. They can take readers back

in time or far into the future. One of the most famous books of

all time takes place in 1625. Its title is The Three Musketeers.

In this novel, a young swordsman named D’Artagnan

(DAHR tan yuhn) has just arrived in Paris. He wants to be a

soldier who protects the king and queen. These special

soldiers are known as musketeers. They carry guns called

muskets.

D’Artagnan has had a hard journey. Thieves attacked him

and stole his money. Even worse, they stole an important

letter.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/96 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections


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LESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE Who Are the Three Musketeers? · PDF fileLESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE Who Are the Three Musketeers? ... Who Are the Three Musketeers? ... the author states