The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald

Guided Reading Mystery 810L The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald Written by Gary Alan Wassner and illustrated by Adam Gustavson Key IDEA An encounter with a red-headed stranger is the beginning of a mysterious adventure for Cristopher and Erica. Little do they know that the strange meeting is just the first in a series of events that lead them into an unsolved mystery right in Cristopher s backyard. Session 1 Text Selection: pp. v 8 key idea: Text Selection In the prologue, we meet a family fleeing their home just before it catches fire. Chapter 1, set in a modern-day diner, introduces a strange man, a waitress, and two young children and their father, which sets the scene for this book. Session Learning Focus/Standards Students RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. Comments for future instruction: = demonstrated/articulated X = not demonstrated/not articulated PREVIEWING THE TEXT 5 minutes Read the back cover quietly and take a look at the front cover. What do you think this mystery will be about? Let s start reading to see if we can solve the mystery along with the main characters. READING THE TEXT CLosely Mysteries usually pose many questions. Look for the answers in the text as we try to solve the mystery. Sometimes the answers are explicit, or stated directly in the text. Other times, we have to figure out, or infer, the answers. Why do you think this is true? Mondo Bookshop Grade 4 1

As we read page v, pay attention to details that tell us precisely what is happening and give us clues about the characters and other events in the story. What does the author explicitly tell us on the first page of this book? What can we infer from this information? As we read, we ll continue to look for information that the author states explicitly and draw our own inferences from this text. I wonder who these people are and why they are sneaking out. Let s read through page 8 to find out. DISCUSSING THE TEXT As we discuss the story, let s take turns citing explicit examples from the text and using that information to draw inferences. Try to build on each others ideas. What does the author tell us explicitly on pages 3 and 4? Who made some inferences they d like to share? Remember, citing text evidence makes your inference stronger. Authors sometimes use figurative language to make descriptions clear for readers. One type of figurative language is called imagery. Writers use imagery to appeal to readers senses. Who can find an example of imagery on page vi? What images does this bring to your mind? How does this description help you visualize the scene? You re doing a great job explaining the events and characters described in the text and using that information to draw your own inferences. Remember to continue to draw inferences as you read the rest of this mystery. 2 The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald

Guided Reading Mystery 810L The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald Written by Gary Alan Wassner and illustrated by Adam Gustavson Key IDEA An encounter with a red-headed stranger is the beginning of a mysterious adventure for Cristopher and Erica. Little do they know that the strange meeting is just the first in a series of events that lead them into an unsolved mystery right in Cristopher s backyard. Session 2 Text Selection: pp. v 8 Session Learning Focus/Standards Students RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RL.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology. RL.4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text. SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. Comments for future instruction: = demonstrated/articulated X = not demonstrated/not articulated RETURNING TO THE TEXT 5 minutes Let s review our discussion from the last session. Many of you found specific details that allowed you to support your inferences with evidence from the text. Mondo Bookshop Grade 4 1

READING THE TEXT CLOSELY During our last session we read the Prologue and met the main characters in this story. We also paid attention to details and examples that the author states explicitly and how we can use these details to help us make inferences about the characters and events. Today we are going to look carefully at the words and illustrations the author and illustrator use to tell us this story. Let s focus on page 3. Can anyone tell us how you figured out the meaning of a word you weren t sure of at first? How can we check to see if this is correct? Great idea. What did you find? Let s reread the sentence to see if our definition makes sense. Let s look at the illustration on page 6. What part of the text do you think it illustrates? Let s share how this drawing helps you to understand the story. What inferences can you draw about the characters from the illustration? How could this illustration be improved? As you read, continue to look for details in the illustrations that help explain the text and details in the text that could improve the illustrations. This will help you better understand what you read. DISCUSSING THE TEXT Let s take a closer look at pages 5 8 and discuss what is happening at this point in the mystery. This will help you identify explicit details and examples from the text. Those are good details from the text. Let s use those details to draw inferences about the story. The explicit details we reviewed helped us draw inferences about the characters and the events. We were able to support our inference with details from the text. What about new words? Were there any that you could not figure out from the context clues? Who has an idea they d like to share? What can you infer about the man from this information? Let s reread the fourth paragraph on page vii. In a simile, an author compares two items using like or as to suggest a similarity. What two items does the author compare in this simile? What does this comparison tell us about the trees? We ve discussed how we can determine the meaning of words and phrases from the context clues and how we can cite explicit details from the text and illustrations and use them to draw inferences. How does listening to and building on others ideas in a group discussion help you understand the story? Now let s break into small groups so you can share more ideas about this mystery. 2 The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald

Guided Reading Mystery 810L The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald Written by Gary Alan Wassner and illustrated by Adam Gustavson Key IDEA An encounter with a red-headed stranger is the beginning of a mysterious adventure for Cristopher and Erica. Little do they know that the strange meeting is just the first in a series of events that lead them into an unsolved mystery right in Cristopher s backyard. Session 3 Text Selection: pp. 9 29 key idea: Text Selection Cristopher and Erica decide to look for a crystal in the backyard, and their imaginations turn the search into an amazing adventure. Session Learning Focus/Standards Students RL.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. RL.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology. RL.4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text. SL.4.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. Comments for future instruction: = demonstrated/articulated X = not demonstrated/not articulated RETURNING TO THE TEXT 5 minutes As we discussed the characters and events in this story, we also defined unknown words and phrases. How does discussing new words help you understand the story? READING THE TEXT CLOSELY Today we re going to continue explaining explicit and implicit details. Who would like to share important details from Chapter 2? Mondo Bookshop Grade 4 1

What inferences can you make about the characters? Did you come across any challenging vocabulary words as you read? Remember to look for context clues that help you define unknown words. DISCUSSING THE TEXT Let s discuss pages 20 22. Think about the details in the text and the illustrations that add to our understanding of the story. As we talk, be prepared to share examples from the text to support your ideas. What can you infer about the characters? How did the illustration on page 21 add to the story? How does this support the text? You ll finish this book on your own. You should take notes about explicit and implicit details you find in the text and illustrations and inferences you make so you can refer to them in your discussions. 2 The Mystery of the Jubilee Emerald