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The St. Benedict Middle School reading program uses the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Reading series (copyright © 2005 by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill).
Unit 1: Time of My Life
We sometimes find memorable experiences in unexpected places.
The Wise Old Woman
Summary: An elderly woman uses her lifetime of experiences to complete a difficult task and save her village from destruction.
Comprehension: Problem and Solution
Vocabulary: - banner
- conquered
- prospered
- reluctantly
- scroll
- summoned
Top
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Summary: Three young people travel from their home in England to the magical land of Narnia.
Comprehension: Story Elements
Vocabulary: - approve
- bruised
- convenience
- offend
- presence
- vaguely
Top
Wilma Unlimited
Summary: Wilma Rudolph overcame a series of obstacles to become an Olympic medal winner.
Comprehension: Cause and Effect
Vocabulary: - astounding
- athletic
- bushel
- concentrating
- luxury
- scholarship
Top
The Wreck of the Zephyr
Summary: The dream of becoming the world's greatest sailor leads a boy to take dangerous risks.
Comprehension: Story Elements
Vocabulary: - hull
- ominous
- shoreline
- spire
- timbers
- treacherous
Top
Time for Kids: Tornadoes!
Summary: Scientists use computers, satellites, and other instruments to detect and track tornadoes.
Comprehension: Cause and Effect
Vocabulary: - predictions
- reliable
- detect
- severe
- destruction
- staduim
Top
Unit 2: Building Bridges
Knowing what we have in common helps us appreciate our differences.
The Gold Coin
Summary: A solitary young thief sets out to steal gold from an old woman. As he tries to find her, he meets other people and learns that charity and friendship are more important.
Comprehension: Make Predictions
Vocabulary: - despair
- distressed
- insistent
- shriveled
- speechless
- stifling
Top
John Henry
Summary: After several tall tale adventures, a folk hero with a sledgehammer in each hand and a rainbow around his shoulder challenges a machine to a desperate contest.
Comprehension: Fact and Nonfact
Vocabulary: - acre
- commotion
- dynamite
- grit
- pulverized
- rebuild
Top
It's Our World, Too!
Summary: Young people can make a difference in the lives of others. A boy named Justin builds bicycles and gives them away. A girl named Dwaina makes meals for the homeless.
Comprehension: Main Idea
Vocabulary: - auction
- dangled
- deliveries
- donate
- lecture
- publicity
Top
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Summary: Leigh Botts deals with the ups and downs of his life. After he participates in a writing contest, he gets to meet a famous author, who is just as glad to meet Leigh.
Comprehension: Make Predictions
Vocabulary: - afford
- permission
- rejected
- reserved
- snoop
- submitted
Top
Time for Kids: Digging Up the Past
Summary: Archaeologists uncover the 400-year-old site of colonial Jamestown and find clues to colonial life..
Comprehension: Main Idea
Vocabulary: - violent
- bullet
- starvation
- arrowheads
- fraction
- eventually
Top
Unit 3: Imagine That!
The way we express thoughts and feelings can take different forms.
The Marble Champ
Summary: A twelve-year-old girl longs to win a sports competition in spite of her numerous awards for scholastic endeavors. She proves that any goal is possible through dedicated training and perseverance.
Comprehension: Steps in a Process
Vocabulary: - accurate
- congratulated
- division
- elementary
- glory
- onlookers
Top
The Paper Dragon
Summary: A dragon that is destroying villages challenges an artist to perform three tasks. The artist uses his creativity and knowledge of the past to vanquish the dragon and save his village.
Comprehension: Sequence of Events
Vocabulary: - billowed
- devour
- heroic
- quench
- scorched
- uprooted
Top
Grandma Essie's Coverd Wagon
Summary: The author's grandmother traveled West with her family in a covered wagon in the hope of finding a better life. Along the way they had both happy and sad adventures.
Comprehension: Steps in a Process
Vocabulary: - bashful
- canvas
- cementary
- granite
- orphanage
- tornado
Top
Going Back Home: An Artist Returns to the South
Summary: An artist returns to the South to learn about her heritage. She paints a visual history of her family and her paintings are interpreted by the writer.
Comprehension: Make Predictions
Vocabulary: - afford
- permission
- rejected
- reserved
- snoop
- submitted
Top
Time for Kids: A Mountain of a Monument
Summary: Construction of the world's largest sculpture is taking place not far from Mount Rushmore. The monument is being built to honor a brave Native American.
Comprehension: Sequence of Events
Vocabulary: - sculpture
- awesome
- nostril
- dedicate
- hail
- explosives
Top
Unit 4: Investigate!
We never know where the search for answers might lead us.
Carlos and the Skunk
Summary: In this amusing story set in the Southwest, a young boy named Carlos has an encounter with a skunk and learns that you can't believe everything you hear.
Comprehension: Judgments and Decisions
Vocabulary: - nestled
- peculiar
- stunned
- tortillas
- unbearable
- unpleasant
Top
How to Think Like a Scientist
Summary: This selection offers several short stories designed to illuminate various principles of research and inquiry used by scientists.
Comprehension: Important and Unimportant Information
Vocabulary: - assignments
- automatically
- carelessly
- normally
- observations
- swerved
Top
An Island Scrapbook
Summary: A mother and daughter make fascinating discoveries as they explore a barrier island from dawn to dusk, taking their sketch pads with them.
Comprehension: Fact and Nonfact
Vocabulary: - barrier
- emerge
- fireball
- naturalist
- parallel
- teeming
Top
The Big Storm
Summary: On a beautiful spring morning in late March of 1982, a mass of clouds rolled in off the Pacific Ocean. That was the beginning of a major storm that affected most of the United States.
Comprehension: Judgments and Decisions
Vocabulary: - atmosphere
- collision
- cycle
- data
- injured
- uneven
Top
Time for Kids: Catching Up with Lewis and Clark
Summary: Historians and scientists are learning more about explorers Lewis and Clark and their 1804 journey from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean.
Comprehension: Fact and Nonfact
Vocabulary: - diaries
- former
- journal
- bison
- superb
- glistening
Top
Unit 5: Bright Ideas
Some problems require unusual approaches.
The Riddle
Summary: A charcoal maker with a clever riddle stumps a king and makes a bargain with him. The king will learn in this folk talke that the charcoal maker is full of bright ideas.
Comprehension: Compare and Contrast
Vocabulary: - apologized
- debt
- hasty
- inquired
- lamented
- refreshment
Top
Life in Flatland
Summary: In this fantasy about a two-dimensional world, in which all the characters are Triangles, Circles, and other flat shapes, real-life math plays a pivotal role.
Comprehension: Author's Purpose and Point of View
Vocabulary: - dimensions
- distinguished
- landscape
- thickness
- trifle
- unique
Top
Tonweya and the Eagles
Summary: In this selection, a short biography of the author's father is followed by the legend of Tonweya, a Native American hero. Tonweya faces a number of challenges as he tries to capture two eaglets.
Comprehension: Problem and Solution
Vocabulary: - cleft
- consented
- defiantly
- gratitude
- sacred
- tribute
Top
Breaker's Bridge
Summary: The emperor commands young Breaker, a master bridge builder, to build a bridge across a treacherous river. Can a mysterious stranger help him achieve this difficult task?
Comprehension: Compare and Contrast
Vocabulary: - dismay
- gorge
- immortals
- murky
- piers
- scheme
Top
Time for Kids: Cleaning Up America's Air
Summary: The EPA is attempting to solve the problem of air pollution facing the United States by toughening laws and standards.
Comprehension: Problem and Solution
Vocabulary: - fumes
- regulations
- sticter
- width
- standards
- protective
Top
Unit 6: Crossroads
Decisions cause changes that can enrich our lives.
Amistad Rising: A Story of Freedom
Summary: This well-known story, based on historical events, tells of the trial of Josph Cinque, a captive who led a revolt aboard a slave ship.
Comprehension: judgments and decisions
Vocabulary: - coax
- escroted
- navigate
- nightfall
- perished
- ushered
Top
Rip Van Winkle
Summary: This play is based on Washington Irving's "timeless" tale about the man who slept for twenty years. Irving adapted his story from a European folk tale and set it during Revolutionary times in the Catskill Mountains.
Comprehension: casue and effect
Vocabulary: - husking
- keg
- landlord
- oblige
- rascals
- sprawled
Top
Sea Maidens of Japan
Summary: A Japanese girl struggles to follow in her mother's footsteps and become an ama, a deep sea diver of Japan. Then a sea turtle she had once helped gives her courage.
Comprehension: sequence of events
Vocabulary: - cove
- disgrace
- driftwood
- flail
- host
- sizzle
Top
The Silent Lobby
Summary: In this story- first published in the anthology The Big Book for Peace- a boy and his father travel from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to lobby congress before it votes on an important civil rights issue.
Comprehension: judgments and decisions
Vocabulary: - interpret
- pelted
- persuade
- register
- shabby
- soothing
Top
Time for Kids: Amazon Alert!
Summary: Large areas of the Amazon rain forest have been lost. This article explores ways to protect this valuable and largely unexplored ecosystem against further destruction.
Comprehension: sequence of events
Vocabulary: - tropical
- variety
- lush
- wonderland
- confirmed
- isolated
Top
Last Update: July 30, 2005
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