Word Workout. Dear Family Member: WORDS TO KNOW. This Week s Skills SPELLING WORDS. appreciated desperate endured misunderstood neglected obedience

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1 Home-School Connection Word Workout WORDS TO KNOW appreciated desperate endured misunderstood neglected obedience Isn t He Silly Let s use the words to tell about a silly pet. SPELLING WORDS hour lambs thumbs honest answer honesty plumber honor wrapper knives doubt knead wriggle heir wrinkle knew wrench kneel known combs Shhh! No One Can Hear Me I m going to rewrite each spelling word leaving out the silent letters. Then you can complete each word by writing in the missing letter or letters. (fold here) Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Dear Family Member: This week we are reading Dear Mrs. LaRue. It s about a dog named Ike who gets into a lot of mischief. His owner sends him to obedience school, but Ike writes letters back to his owner, telling her how terrible the school is. By reading and looking at the pictures, I m deciding that Ike isn t telling the truth. This Week s Skills Comprehension: draw conclusions Vocabulary: prefixes Spelling/Phonics: silent letters Name 159

2 Funny Endings Look at the cartoons below and on the opposite page. What do you think happened? Draw your own conclusions. Write a funny caption for each cartoon. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill 160

3 Conexión con el hogar Ejercicio de palabras PALABRAS DE VOCABULARIO appreciated desperate endured misunderstood neglected obedience Qué travieso! Vamos a usar las palabras de la lista para formar oraciones sobre un perro travieso. PALABRAS DE ORTOGRAFÍA hour lambs thumbs honest answer honesty plumber honor wrapper knives doubt knead wriggle heir wrinkle knew wrench kneel known combs Las letras mudas no están Voy a volver a escribir cada palabra de la lista sin las letras mudas. Luego completa cada palabra poniéndole la letra o letras que falten. (fold here) Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Queridos familiares: Esta semana estamos leyendo Dear Mrs. LaRue. Trata de un perro llamado Ike que siempre se mete en líos. Su dueña lo manda a clases de obediencia, pero Ike le escribe cartas donde le cuenta lo terrible que es la escuela. Por lo que leo y lo que veo en las ilustraciones, me parece que Ike no dice la verdad. Destrezas de la semana Comprensión: sacar conclusiones Vocabulario: prefijos Ortografía/Fonética: letras mudas Nombre 161

4 Un final cómico Mira los dibujos de abajo y los de la página siguiente. Qué crees que pasó? Saca tus propias conclusiones. Luego escribe una leyenda cómica para cada caricatura. Macmillan/McGraw-Hill 162

5 Comprehension Check Summarize Use the chart to list clues in the story that help you draw conclusions. Then use the chart to summarize the story. Text Clues Conclusion Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Fish Tricks by Sunita Apte illustrated by Carolina Farias Think and Compare 1. Think about the actions Minnie and Maddie take. What conclusions can you draw from them? (Draw Conclusions) 2. Would you enjoy having Minnie as a pet? Explain. (Evaluate) 3. How can pets, even if they are not unusual, transform people s lives? (Apply) Fish Tricks Table of Contents The Pet Store Fish Surprise! The Agreement A Fishy Way to Make Friends Comprehension Check

6 The Pet Store Come on, Maddie s Aunt Irene said to her. Grab your coat. We re going to the pet store. The pet store? Maddie mumbled, surprised. Why? Are you getting a new pet? No, my sweet, you are. Aunt Irene chucked her surprised niece lightly under the chin. I think my favorite niece could use a pet to keep you company until you make some new friends at school. Maddie stole a quick glance at the older woman. Aunt Irene was her father s sister and she and Maddie shared a special relationship. Maddie appreciated the fact that Aunt Irene always seemed to know what was going on. I could have sworn I heard a voice coming from the fishbowl, Aunt Irene said. I must have been dreaming. I guess I m tired. She leaned over and gave Maddie a kiss. Goodnight, honey. Sleep well. Goodnight. As the door closed behind her Aunt, Maddie said softly, And thank you more than you ll ever know. 2 19

7 That night Aunt Irene came over. She went into Maddie s bedroom to say goodnight. Honey, I m so glad that you ve made some friends at school, she told her niece. Your mom said they are nice girls. They are, said a tiny voice from the fishbowl. They are, Maddie said loudly, too loudly, at the same time. She smiled as her aunt looked confused, staring at the orange goldfish swimming serenely in the bowl. It was true that Maddie was feeling lonely at school this year. She was shy and having trouble making friends. Her mother claimed it was because she was an only child and wasn t around other kids very often. Outside the pet store, Maddie stopped her aunt. Did you clear this with Mom? she asked. You know how much she dislikes pets. Aunt Irene smiled. I cleared it with her. I know she dislikes dogs and cats, but you aren t getting that kind of pet. You re going to get a fish. 18 3

8 When the show was over and Minnie was resting in the water, the girls turned to Maddie, amazed. How did you do that? Diamond cried. That was incredible! You must have worked very hard, Rosa said softly. I did, Maddie replied. She didn t mention that her fish could talk, since she and Minnie had agreed that it would be their little secret. Minnie s tricks seemed to break the ice, and after that, Maddie and the other girls hung out and talked for the rest of the afternoon. Maddie forgot to be shy with them, instead feeling as if she had been friends with them forever. A fish! Maddie s face fell. A fish was a ridiculous pet! You couldn t play with a fish and you couldn t pet it. All you could do was watch it swim around. Still, Maddie couldn t help but be fascinated by all the fish in the store. She picked out a gigantic orange goldfish with a big, beautiful fishbowl, and then held the fish in its plastic bag carefully on her lap all the way home. 4 17

9 Maddie made a hand signal and Minnie began swimming madly around the bowl, leaping out of the water. The other girls watched, fascinated, as Maddie made more hand signals and Minnie leapt through a hoop, fetched tiny misplaced toys from the bottom of her bowl, and did a series of back flips. Fish Surprise! At home, Aunt Irene helped Maddie set up the fishbowl in Maddie s bedroom. They filled it with water and carefully poured in some fish food. Don t overdo the food, Aunt Irene warned Maddie. If you overfeed your fish, you can harm it, but make sure your fish is not neglected, either. Pay attention to it every day. Maddie admired her new fish while Aunt Irene chatted with Maddie s mom in the kitchen. But she soon lost interest, since all the fish did was swim around. She had been right the first time fish were a snooze. 16 5

10 Maddie sighed and sat down at her desk, thinking that she might as well begin her homework until Aunt Irene came in to say goodbye. She bent over her math book, humming under her breath. But it was hard to concentrate. She kept getting distracted by a splashing sound. Was something falling into the fishbowl? Maddie looked over at the fishbowl. Her goldfish appeared to be swimming in rapid circles around the bowl, but nothing strange had fallen in. Maddie sighed and returned to her math. Several afternoons later, Maddie arrived home with her two classmates. After a quick snack in the kitchen, she led them into her bedroom. I got a new pet fish a few weeks ago, Maddie said shyly. Want to see it? Diamond sniffed. A pet fish? Fish are boring. What is there to see? Maddie pointed to Minnie in her bowl. This isn t just any pet fish. Minnie is special because I taught her to do tricks. 6 15

11 For the next few weeks, Maddie practiced with Minnie every day after school. Minnie endured hours of training until she could do various tricks. She could jump through a hoop and fetch miniature toys thrown into her fishbowl. She could clap her fins and do a back flip. Eventually, Maddie and Minnie agreed that Minnie was ready to perform for others. Maddie decided to invite two girls from her class that she really liked Rosa and Diamond. Splash! She heard it again. Maddie looked up at the fishbowl, just in time to see her new fish leap out of the water and dive back down. Splash! Then Maddie stared, startled, as the fish waved a fin at her. Hey, what s going on? Maddie wondered aloud. I m just showing you my tricks, said a tiny voice. A stunned Maddie leaned toward the fishbowl. Did you just talk? Yeah, that was me, the tiny voice said again. My name is Minnie. I was just presenting a few of my tricks. I really am a good pet, you know, because I can do all sorts of things. 14 7

12 Of course, Minnie added, I would improve greatly with a little training. Do you think you might be interested in training me? Let me get this straight. Maddie paused for a long moment. You re a fish, but you talk and do tricks. And you think you could do even better tricks if I trained you? Yeah, Minnie said eagerly. That s it precisely. I heard you and your aunt talking in the car about the hard time you ve been having in school, so I know you want to make friends. What if you trained me to do tricks and then invited your classmates over to watch? You could really impress them and make a lot of friends that way. A Fishy Way to Make Friends The next day, Maddie burst into her bedroom after school. Hey, Minnie, she announced, I got a book to train you with, but the only problem is, it s for dolphins. It s called Dolphin Obedience Training, but I think we can make it work. Minnie swam eagerly up to the surface of the water. A book of tricks? Oh, wow, I m so excited, I can t wait. I m desperate to get started. Let s hurry! Okay, Maddie dumped her bag on the bed and opened the book up. Chapter one Jumping Through Hoops. 8 13

13 Aunt Irene gave her niece a big hug. I m so glad, honey. I m sorry that it couldn t be a bigger pet, like a cat or a dog, since I know fish don t do much, just swim around. Maddie had to work hard to suppress a smile. That s okay, Aunt Irene, I don t really mind. Goodnight. As Maddie closed the door behind her aunt, she heard a tiny, outraged voice from the fishbowl. Fish just swim around, huh? Minnie sniffed. She is so misinformed. Wait until she sees the tricks I m going to learn to do. The Agreement Maddie couldn t really believe she was holding a conversation with a fish her own pet fish, in fact. She leaned over the bowl. No offense, she began, But I have to say I find this talking fish tricks thing a little, well fishy. Why should I train you? Minnie sighed. We fish are so misunderstood, she muttered under her breath. She swam a little closer to Maddie. You should train me because your classmates will be amazed by my antics. Haven t you noticed how big fish are lately? 12 9

14 Minnie raised a fin and waved it in the air. What about Legend of the Lone Shark or Batfish to the Rescue? We fish are movie stars! And, anyway, look at all the things I can already do, like the backstroke. To demonstrate, Minnie swam backwards, fin over fin. And I can play dead see? Minnie rolled over and froze in the water, belly up. Maddie held up her hand. All right, all right. I ll look for a book and train you, and maybe, if you master some amazing moves, I ll invite some kids over to watch you. Oh, thank you, thank you! Maddie wasn t sure what super grateful fish were supposed to look like, but she was pretty confident that Minnie s expression nailed it. Just then, Aunt Irene knocked on the door, and Maddie dove back to her desk and her math problems. For some reason, she didn t want her aunt to discover the truth about Minnie. Maddie, honey, I m leaving now, Aunt Irene said from the other side of the door. Can I come in and say good night? Sure. Maddie looked up and smiled as her aunt opened the door. Thanks for the fish, Aunt Irene. I really love it