Letters Home from Yosemite

1. Letters Home from Yosemite Unit 1 Week 5

2. Genre – Narrative Nonfiction • Narrative Nonfiction tells the story of real people, places, or events. The narrator, or teller of the story, presents information in sequence.

3. Vocabulary Strategy –Word Structure- Suffixes • Readers can use suffixes to help determine the a word’s meaning. • If a word ends in –ist, it means “one who is an expert in that topic”. Ex: biologist –an expert in biology • The suffix –ive can make a word mean “tending or inclined to do something”. Ex: active – tending to act • If you are not sure about a word, try covering up the suffix with your finger to see what the base word is. This can help you determine the meaning of words.

4. Comprehension Skill – Main Idea and details • The topic is what a story is all about. • The MOST IMPORTANT THING the author has to say about the topic is the MAIN IDEA. • The little pieces of information telling more about the main idea are supporting details.

5. Comprehension Strategy --Graphic Organizers • Active readers often use graphic organizers to help them understand what they read. • Graphic organizers can be used before, during, or after reading. • Graphic organizers help readers to determine the main idea and details.

6. Vocabulary • Glacier • Species • Impressive • Naturalist • Slopes • Preserve • Wilderness

7. Wilderness • Place that is in a natural state, like a forest

8. Naturalist • Person who studies living things

9. Preserve • To save something or keep it as it is

10. Impressive • Amazing

11. Species • Types of things

12. Slopes • Sides of mountains or hills

13. Glacier • Huge sheet of ice

14. Which is an opinion? • I knew we were in for an exciting vacation. • I’d been reading about Yosemite for a while. • Yosemite is America’s 3rd National park.

15. Which of these lets you know that this story takes place in recent times? • Native Americans were the only people living there. • The narrator traveled in an airplane. • The first group of tourists arrived.

16. Why are there headings throughout this story? • To give directions for traveling to different places in the park • To make the selection more interesting to read • To group the facts about different main topics

17. In 1855 the only way to get to Badger Pass was by… • Raft • Car • Horseback

18. Which is a main idea from the story? • Yosemite’s first visitors arrived in 1855. • Yosemite is a popular place to visit. • Most visitors go to Yosemite in the summer.

19. Which is an opinion? • One of the prettiest waterfalls is Bridalveil Fall. • More than half of America’s highest waterfalls are in Yosemite. • Bridalveil Fall is 620 feet high.

20. Where did the author go to immediately after visiting Glacier Point? • Badger Pass • Tioga Pass • El Capitan

21. Which detail supports the main idea that visitors have to be careful around the animals in Yosemite? • The young bears are as cute as teddy bears. • Mule deer graze near the roads. • Bears will rip open a tent if they smell food.

22. Which is a fact? • I could also see El Capitan and Half Dome. • I like the way light reflected off the bare rock surfaces. • The view from Glacier Point was totally awesome.

23. Why do the trees at Tioga Pass stay small? • The soil is not very fertile. • There is not enough rain. • The elevation is very high.

24. What is a theme from the story? • Yosemite has many natural treasures that are worth preserving.

25. How can you tell that the author’s main purpose for writing this selection was to inform? • The author includes mostly facts about Yosemite, with is a real place.