• Students use this interactive, multiple-choice activity to become familiar with lesson vocabulary words.

• In each exercise, students read a sentence containing a vocabulary word, then use context clues from the sentence to select the best definition for that word.

• Students must select the correct definition for the current exercise in order to move to the next exercise.

 

1. distressed: troubled or upset

2. colony: an area that is ruled by a distant country

3. timepiece: an instrument that keeps or shows the time, such as a watch or clock

4. almanacs: books published once a year that contain information about the weather, tides, and sunrises and sunsets, as well as many other facts, figures, and charts

5. outspoken: honest or open with one's opinions

• Students are reminded that our country's history includes the stories of many heroes.

• Students are invited to think of American heroes whom they admire. Students list three historical figures and write a sentence or two about why each person was important.

• Students learn about three American heroes whom they may or may not have listed: Abigail Smith Adams, Frederick Douglass, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

• Students are directed to print out or copy the worksheet (if needed) before proceeding to the reading selection.

"Benjamin Banneker"

• (Skill: Sequence)

• Students read a biography of Benjamin Banneker, an early American scientist and mathematician who also helped survey the city of Washington, D.C.

• Students complete a worksheet. They are then asked to put various events from the biography in the correct order.

Skill Reminder: The events in a story or biography generally take place in a particular order, or sequence. To understand what is happening, it is important to know the sequence of events. In order to figure out the sequence, readers can use various clues, such as dates, the tense of verbs, and such signal words as first, next, or afterward.

The correct order of events is as follows:

1. Banneker first became interested in mathematics at school.

2. Joseph Levi gave Banneker a pocket watch.

3. After examining a watch and reading a few books, Banneker constructed a clock that kept near-perfect time for decades.

4. Using his knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, Banneker predicted a solar eclipse.

5. The architect Pierre L'Enfant was fired and took the plans for the city of Washington, D.C., with him.

6. Banneker wrote down the plans for the city of Washington, D.C., from memory.

Students use this self-evaluation to assess their performance in the reading lesson.

• Students print a worksheet to take home. The worksheet asks students to work with a family member to think of someone from the present who they think will be remembered as an important figure in years to come. Students are invited to write a brief paragraph about the person, explaining why they think she or he will be remembered. Students are encouraged to cut out or draw a picture of the person to go with their paragraphs.

• You may want to invite the class to create a bulletin board display entitled "A Patchwork Quilt of American Voices." Students could cut out pictures or make drawings of the people they listed in the Before You Read: Heroes of the Past activity. They could use these images as "quilt panels" in a section of the display entitled "Voices from the Past." They then could use the paragraphs and pictures from the activity they completed at home in a section of the display entitled "Voices of the Future."

As you review students' paragraphs, check to see that they have explained why they think the person will be remembered in the future, including some remarkable things he or she has done.