Sidebars may appear anywhere on a page and are often set off with a box or a different background color.

Graphic features provide additional information related to important ideas in the text. This visual information can add to readers’ understanding of the text.

Illustrations, diagrams, and maps work with the text to help readers understand the ideas being presented.

Students they will practice using text and graphic features to gain a deeper understanding of key ideas in Energy Island.

Review that a first-person narrator is part of the story. Model first person by sharing a brief story about a familiar event.

Repeat the process for third-person point of view.

Explain that what a first-person narrator “sees” may be different than what a third-person narrator “sees.” The same event could be described in very different ways.

You may view events differently than a narrator, especially when a story is based on actual events like those in Energy Island. Explain that readers do not always agree with everything that story characters do or say.

Practice identifying point of view in Energy Island.

Tell students that in this text structure the author shows or explains a problem. In the paragraphs or sections that follow, the author reveals how a solution came about.

The author of a biography may reveal more about a person by telling about a problem, or conflict, that the person faced. By showing the person’s reaction, and how he or she finds a resolution for the problem, the author helps readers learn about the person and the important events in his or her life.

A text’s structure can help them better understand information in the text- practice identifying text structure in One Plastic Bag.

It is important to stop throughout their reading to make a prediction about what might happen next and then confirm if their prediction was correct as they read on. Good readers make, correct, and confirm predictions throughout their reading to better understand what is happening in the text.

Making predictions means taking a guess about what will happen in a text based on the title, illustrations, or headings in the text. As readers learn more, they may need to correct or adjust their predictions. After reading, students can confirm their predictions, or see if their guesses were correct.

An author’s purpose is usually to inform, to entertain, or to persuade. Identifying the author’s purpose helps readers to understand and analyze the author’s ideas.

Authors think about who will read a text so they can write in a way their audience can understand. Authors choose words, examples, and messages that are familiar, so readers can focus on the purpose of the text.

Guide students to recognize that, for example, an author would write more complex sentences and use more advanced vocabulary in a text that scientists will read. The author of a text about the same topic that is intended for third graders would use more simple sentences that explain key words.

Practice identifying the author’s purpose and intended audience to gain a deeper understanding of Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table.

Authors may want to share information, to have readers think or act in a certain way, or to share a story.

Authors write in different ways for different audiences. For example, a text written for very young children would have shorter sentences and simpler language than a text written for adults. Students should ask themselves these questions as they think about the author’s purpose and the intended audience: Why did the author write this? Who does the author want to read this?

Practice identifying the author’s purpose and intended audience as they read an opinion essay called Let’s Build a Park!

Authors assume that readers have some background knowledge or experience about a topic. Readers keep their own knowledge in mind as they read the text to find evidence that helps them infer ideas or details beyond what the author says. That is how readers make an inference.

They will practice making inferences when they read Energy Island.

Readers make an inference, they use text evidence along with their own background knowledge and experience to understand ideas that the author does not state.

Practice making inferences when they read One Plastic Bag.

I can evaluate details to determine their importance.

I can synthesize information to create a new understanding.

I can discuss the selection, listen actively and make relevant comments.

I can explain relationships among characters.

I can explain the influence of setting on plot.

I can write a response that demonstrates understanding of the text.

I can identify and explain the use of text and graphic features.

I can identify and explain the author's use of imagery and similes.

When you read a text, you can put together what you already know and what you learn from the text to form a new understanding.

Explain to students that when you synthesize, your thinking changes as you read and analyze new information.

Readers learn about characters by paying attention to what they say, think, and do. Characters’ relationships with each other also show what they are like.

A story’s plot is what takes place in the story. A story’s setting can affect what happens in the story.

Similes compare two different things using the word like or as.

Imagery is the use of language that describes how something looks, sounds, feels, smells, or tastes.

By appealing to our senses, imagery uses rich language to draw readers into the story.

Imagery and similes can be used to help readers imagine characters, places and objects, actions, and ideas.