Unit 3: Lesson 12
“The Earth Dragon Awakes”
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Learning Objectives
Genre
Historical Fiction: the story is made up (fiction) but is set in the past and sometimes borrows true characteristics of the time period it is set in.
You will encounter historical fiction writing in textbooks, magazines, and many other types of readings.
This text uses a fictional story to relate it to the historical events of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Fluency: rate
Informational text should be read aloud fairly slowly so that listeners can absorb the information. Fiction can be read at a faster rate. Stories are easier to understand and people listen to them for enjoyment, not to learn and remember facts.
Good readers read at a rate that is not too fast and not too slow for the type of material they are reading.
They read at a rate so that listeners can understand clearly what is being read.
If a reader readers too fast, the words run together and there is little expression. If readers read too slowly, the listeners have a hard time following and understanding.
Target Skill
As you read, notice the sequence, or order in which events take place.
Just like cause and effect from last week, this is a text structure, which is a way to organize text.
Notice that the main sequence of events is interrupted once to tell the story from another point of view.
To keep track of the sequence look for details including dates and times of day, and signal words such as when, now, then, and again
Target Strategy
When you visualize, you use details in a text to form a clear mental picture of characters, settings, and events.
Use the visualize strategy to help you follow this story.
Using text details, form pictures in your mind of the important events that will help you remember the sequence of those events.
Terms About Literature
sequence of events: the order in which events occur
conclusion: a reasonable judgment you make after looking at facts
generalization: a conclusion that is based on a small amount of information and that may or may not be true in all cases
word choice: the author’s use of exact words in writing
Turn your Text Book to page 348.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
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Why doesn’t Ah Sing seem worried when the earthquake first strikes?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
He may have been through small earthquakes before or he does not want to alarm his son.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Where in the building do you think the unseen timbers are located?
What evidence supports your answer?
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Answer:
Underneath the floors
The text says the timbers are beneath the room, and that the floor tilts up when they crack.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Visualize Strategy
Reread the last two paragraphs.
I picture the wooden supports under the floors breaking, causing the room to tilt. The tilt causes Chin and Ah Sing to slide downward. Those images help me understand why Chin feels like a doll. It’s because he has no control over his movements.
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Why does Ah Sing decide to push Chin under the table?
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Answer:
To protect both of them from being hurt by glass and objects bouncing around the room and because he cares deeply about his son.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
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Why do horses and cattle “stampede in terror”?
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Answer:
They are frightened by the ground’s movement. They are desperate to get away from it.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Why do the buildings on Valencia Street get pulled underground?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
The buildings were built on top of a landfill- dirt and rocks dumped along shorelines and into creeks or ponds. During the Earthquake, the water underneath the landfill mixes with the solid materials, becoming a liquid and pulling the buildings under the ground.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Why do you think the author switches from the events happening in Ah Sing’s tenement to the scene on the street?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
To show what is happening outside the building and around the city.
This was the author’s word choice, to help you visualioze what is happening.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Similes
Similes compare two different things, using the words like or as.
Authors use similes to make their writing more interesting and to more clearly describe ideas to readers.
EXAMPLES: The earthquake makes the ground bounce up and down, twisting it back and forth like an old towel.
The soil becomes like quicksand and sucks entire houses down.
Even on more solid ground, buildings collapse like houses of cards.
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How does the author signal the switch back to Chin and his father?
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Answer:
He inserts a note with the time, date, and location.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Which details on p. 354 suggest Chin and his father are in trouble?
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Answer:
They cannot move or see; it is hard to breath because of all the dust; the space becomes a tiny cave, burying them alive.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
How does the author create feelings of both hope and despair in his description of Chin and Ah Sing’s situation?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
They are alive because of the protection of the table.
But, they are buried.
They hear footsteps and voices, but they cannot be heard.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
10
Sequence of Events
What happens after Chin and his father realize that they are buried alive?
How might this influence future events?
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Answer:
They hear voices, and the footsteps running away; they yell but no one responds so they begin to dig themselves out; it is likely that they will have to help themselves if they are to survive.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
11
In what way are Chin’s and Ah Sing’s reactions to being trapped similar? How are they different?
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Answer:
Similar: both try desperately to free themselves
Differences: Chin gets very frightened and panics when he hears someone outside cry “fire”; Ah Sing remains calm and tries comforting Chin, telling him not to panic.
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Why does the feeling of a breeze cause Chin to have a renewed burst of energy?
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Answer:
It proves to Chin that there is an unblocked path for air to travel from outside to him and Ah Sing.
�It offers hope of escape.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Visualize
Use this strategy to put a picture in your mind of what is happening in the story.
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Conclusions
Authors don’t always explain what characters are like.
Readers use details and examples in the text, such as what characters think, say, and do, to make inferences to reach conclusions about the characters and events.
Chin’s father urges him to save himself, saying, “you’re the important one.” What decision does Chin face at this point?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
Chin is afraid of dying in the rubble. He does not want to leave his father behind, but if he can get out he may be able to get help to save his father.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
What will happen now that Chin has been found? Why do you think so?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
He will be rescued and find a way to help his father. They have been together from the start; his father has tried to protect him.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
What conclusion can you draw about Ah Sing from what he says to Chin and why? Use text evidence.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
Ah Sing is brave, unselfish, and loving. He puts Chin’s safety and survival ahead of his own.
Ah Sing tells Chin, “Save yourself.” “You’re the important one.” Chin would be scared to be left alone in the darkness.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
What generalizations can you make about Ah Sing as a father?
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Answer:
Ah Sing is a caring father who is willing to make great sacrifices for Chin.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
From what point of view is the story told and how can you tell?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
It is told in third-person because the narrator is outside the story.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
How would the story be different if it were told from first-person point of view?
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Answer:
One of the characters, Chin or Ah Sing, would have to be telling the story using I and me. We would see the events happening through that character’s eyes.
Copyright © 2011 Tiffany Thayer
Sequence of Events
Identifying the sequence of events is a good way to check your understanding of a story.
How did you do?