The Timbisha Shoshone Tribe of Native Americans There are also many animals that have learned to

has lived in this desert area for hundreds of years. adapt to this hot climate. Most are active at night,
In 1849, people heard about the discovery of gold sleeping during the day to avoid the hot desert sun.
Some animals live their entire lives without drinking
in California. Thousands of people began the long
trip to the West. This large desert area was so difficult any water, getting water from the food they eat. D
to cross that some travelers looking for gold gave it If you are planning a trip to Death Valley, winter • Read the Reading Note at the
the name Death Valley. is the best time to visit. The main visitor area has bottom of the previous page aloud
Today, tourists from all over the United States travel nature exhibits, a museum, and a bookstore. Be to the class. Ask students to scan
sure to watch the informative videos on desert life.
to Death Valley to enjoy its natural beauty. There the ­passage quickly and give an
are over one thousand varieties of plants in this After that, you can explore the desert by car, by bike,
or on foot. Park rangers offer programs on desert example of a supporting detail. (For
desert, including many kinds of cactuses and flowers.
Cactuses, with their interesting and unusual shapes, life, the history of Death Valley, and the desert sky example: In the summer, the average
need very little rain. Their roots are close to the at night. If you are planning a trip to Death Valley, temperature in Death Valley is often
surface of the ground so they can quickly collect any don’t forget these four essentials: a sun hat, sun higher than 120 degrees. This detail
rainfall. A few days after the first rain in the spring, block, a lot of water, and a camera. 20
supports the statement that Death
thousands of wildflowers cover the desert.
Valley is the hottest place in North
America.) Tell students that numbers
are a common supporting detail.
D ACADEMIC Write a detail from the reading to support each fact. • Review the instructions and point
out the sample answer.
Statement Supporting Detail

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• Have students complete the exercise
1. Death Valley is the largest park in 1. It is a 3.4-million-acre park.
individually.
the continental United States.

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2. The lowest point is 282 feet below sea level. • Then, review the ­correct answers by
2. It is the lowest place in North America.
­having a ­different ­student write each
3. The highest temperature ever recorded here

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3. It is the hottest place in North America. was 134°. ­supporting detail on the board.
4. It is the driest place in North America. 4. There are some summers when Death Valley
receives no rain. The average yearly precipitation

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is less than two inches.
E
E Match the two parts of each sentence. • Ask students to complete the
c 1. Visitors need to bring sun block
c
a. because it is cooler at this time.
exercise independently.
hi
e b. because it was very difficult to cross.
• Then, have students go back to the
2. Summer is not the best time to visit
passage and underline sentences
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Death Valley c. to protect their skin from the sun. that helped them answer the
a 3. Desert animals are active at night d. millions of wildflowers cover questions. Tell them to write the
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f the desert. ­appropriate question number next to

4. Cactus roots are near the surface
b e. because it is very hot.
the part of the ­passage that answers
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5. This area was named Death Valley

each question.
d 6. After the first spring rain, f. to quickly collect rainwater.
• Review the answers as a class.
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ACADEMIC
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The States 61
Remind students that the use of
supporting details is not just important
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for reading comprehension; it is also

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an important feature to include in

MORE ACTION their own writing, whether they are
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writing a description or opinion. It is

Have students quiz each other about the content of the
also a skill with cross-curricular value
passage by creating questions based on the passage.
that they should aim to develop in
Students can quiz each other on vocabulary and
comprehension. Have students work in pairs. their reading and writing endeavors
in other subject areas.

The States 61

SAMPLE COPY, NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

WRITING OUR WRITING OUR STORIES My State

STORIES: My State
A CIVICS Read the student report about California.
A
• Ask students to look at the photo.
Ask them what they see and ask
them what else they know about
California. Students may mention
beaches, the Pacific Ocean,
bordering states (or countries),
cities, and other geographical
features they know.
• Read the caption, emphasizing
the proper pronunciation of La Jolla
(/lә 'hoiә/).

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• Then, read the report to the class or
have students read it on their own.

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• Ask some simple ­comprehension

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­questions, such as: Are there any
beaches in California? (Yes, there

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are hundreds of miles of beaches
in California.) Where are the deserts? A beach in La Jolla,
(They’re in the southeast.) California.
• Ask students to identify the topic of
c
hi
California is on the west coast of the United Francisco Bay. Tourists visit Chinatown and ride up
each paragraph. (1. Location, capital,
States and it’s the third-largest state. It has borders and down the hills on the cable cars. Los Angeles is
and population 2. Geography 3.
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with Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona in southern California. It is the home of Hollywood
Cities 4. Weather 5. Industries) to the east, Mexico to the south, and the Pacific and the movie industry.
Ocean to the west. Sacramento is its capital. The For most of the year, the weather along the
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population is about forty million. coast is sunny and mild. In the winter, there is
ACADEMIC California is a beautiful state. Its coast has snow in the mountains. In the south, the weather
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hundreds of miles of beautiful beaches. There is hot and dry.

The order of the topics in the reading are two mountain ranges in California, the Sierra Agriculture and tourism are two of the major
in A is the same as the order of the Nevada in the east and the Coast Ranges along the industries. California grows more than half of
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Pacific. There are several deserts in the southeast.

topics in the chart in B. Encourage the nation’s fruits and vegetables. Also, many
Two of the major cities are San Francisco and Californians work in the tourist industry in the
students to look to the reading
Los Angeles. San Francisco is on the hills over San cities, parks, and resorts.
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on California as a model and really

follow the steps in B to develop their
process writing skills. This will help 62 Unit 4
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them produce a more organized,

thorough, and focused piece. if they
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follow through with an editing step as TEACHING TIP

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in C, their writing will also have fewer

errors. Feel free to encourage a peer Discuss with ­students some possible
edit, as a new set of eyes can often resources for finding information for
their report. If possible, accompany
be helpful.
them to the library to locate books
or websites that will help them. You
might also help them to identify
keywords that will help them when
searching online.

62 Unit 4

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 B ACADEMIC Write a report.
1. Choose a state in the United States. Each student should choose a different state. B
2. Draw a map of the state. Show the borders, the capital, and major geographical features. • Read through the instructions with
3. Complete the chart below. Look up information online. the class.
4. Write a short report. You will use this information later for a class presentation. • Then, have students choose a state.
Make a list of the states students
State have chosen so that each ­student
Location has a different state.
Borders • Have students look at the chart.
Capital Tell them that their report should
focus on those topics. If you have
Population
time, take students to the library to
Geography conduct research.
Two major cities • Remind students that they will
Weather ­present their reports and will need
Industries to draw a large map of their state.

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Have them read the steps listed in
WRITING NOTE the English in Action section for this

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Capital Letters unit (next page) so they can start
Use capital letters for the names of specific locations and geographical features: planning for their presentation.

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Country names: the United States, Mexico Mountain ranges: the Rocky Mountains
State names: Alaska, New York Parks: Grand Canyon National Park
C

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City names: Chicago, San Diego Tourist attractions: the Statue of Liberty
Bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean • Read the locations in the Writing
Note and ask which words are not

C Edit the paragraph. c ­capitalized (articles and prepositions).

hi
Explain that it is important to
U S capitalize place names because they
Florida is the most popular tourist destination in the united states. During the winter, visitors enjoy a break
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A O G are proper nouns that are ­different

from the cold and snow. Florida offers hundreds of miles of beaches along the atlantic ocean and the gulf
M D W U S S W from regular nouns. ­Capitalizing
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of mexico. Families enjoy tourist attractions, such as disney world, universal studios, and sea world. Cities in
M T F L locations is a way of making them
Florida, such as miami, tampa, and fort lauderdale, offer great restaurants and exciting night life. Florida’s stand out from the rest of the text.
E N P
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most popular park is everglades national park, where visitors can birdwatch, fish or take boat tours, and see • Set a time limit for ­students to find
alligators and crocodiles. and ­correct the mistakes. You may
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want to introduce an element of

competition by asking who can find
the most mistakes.
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• Invite volunteers to come to the

The States 63 board and each write a sentence
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from the paragraph with their

corrections.
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MORE ACTION
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Another way to practice capitalization of names is to

use the text in Exercise A on the previous page as a
dictation. After writing the sentences, students can
check their work against the book and correct their
capitalization at the same time. Alternatively, you can
dictate sentences about places in your town or city and
then correct students’ capitalization.

The States 63

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 ENGLISH IN ACTION Giving a Class Presentation
ENGLISH IN ACTION:
Giving a Class Presentation
A ACADEMIC Read the steps for giving a successful class presentation about the state
you researched.
A 1. Prepare your materials: large map, notes, two or three photos from the internet.
• Explain that the ­purpose of this
2. Practice your presentation.
exercise is to practice giving a class
3. Stand in front of the class and look at your classmates.
presentation.
4. Use your notes, but do not read directly from them.
• Read the steps aloud to the class.
5. Speak loudly, clearly, and slowly.
• Explain that students will need notes 6. Show the map to the class. Tell your classmates the name of the state and explain the location.
for their presentation. They will not 7. Point to the capital. Spell the capital. Tell the class the population of the state.
read from their ­reports directly. They
8. Point to two places of interest on the map. Tell the class one or two things that people can
will have to look at the ­audience and enjoy at each location as you show the class your photos.
speak ­directly to them when ­giving
their presentation. B Listen to one student’s report. Discuss the questions. 21 Answers will vary.

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• Have students prepare their notes 1. How did this student prepare?
and practice their presentations in
2. How large was the map? Could the students see the words on the map?
pairs or in small groups.

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3. How many times did the student repeat the population?
• Move around the room and provide
4. What two places of interest did the student talk about?

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support and encouragement.
5. How long was the presentation?

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6. How do you feel when you stand in front of a group?
B 21 7. How can you best prepare to talk in front of the class?
• Play the audio and ­discuss the
content of the presentation.
c
hi
• Use the discussion ­questions to C AT WORK Give a classroom presentation about the state you researched. As you listen to your
classmates’ presentations, take notes about each state. Answers will vary.
highlight the skills of giving a good
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presentation that you ­discussed State:

earlier. Capital:
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Population:

C An interesting fact:
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• Invite students to come to the front I researched Ohio. Ohio Here’s the
of the class to give their presentation. has a population of…
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capital of…
• While listening to each student, the
other ­students should fill out the
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information in the chart.

• Encourage students to ask questions,
64 Unit 4
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especially if there is anything that

they did not hear or understand.
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• You may want to make audio or

AT WORK
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video recordings of the presentations

for giving feedback later. Discuss with your class why giving and presentation to be more effective
listening to presentations are much communicators. You may want to
more than just ­using ­language skills. prepare a list of criteria for giving a good
Good presentation skills are important presentation with your class or design a
for conveying information clearly and poster with guidelines for how to give
engaging the audience—and making a good presentation. Good listening
your point. These skills include ­being and note taking skills are important for
confident, speaking clearly and slowly, following along in meetings at work,
looking at the audience, and using and keeping track of information for
visual aids. Students may use these later use.
skills even if they are not giving a formal

64 Unit 4

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