1. Reading
Unit: 2 Lesson: 14
Module: A
Objectives:
Define and use close-reading vocabulary words.RL.4.4
Refer to details and examples when explaining a text. RL.4.1
Today we will be doing a
Close Reading
of pages 68 – 69.
Essential Questions:
How does a reader identify themes?
How does a writer develop and organize writing that matches purpose and
audience?
How does a writer use internal and external dialogue to develop the theme
of the story?

2. Recall what you’ve read so far in
First Read
Let’s explore the text!
Recall what you’ve read so far in
the tall tale “John Henry.” Then preview the next part of the text to gather information about how John Henry develops as a character.

3. Focus: What is the “gist” of the text?
Read Aloud Routine
Focus: What is the “gist” of the text?
I will begin reading John Henry while you follow along in your book. Then, you will continue reading up to page 69 silently on your own. Focus on recalling and understanding the key details that help you understand what is happening and why it is happening.
Be prepared to discuss the following questions when you are done with the reading:
• Based on details in the text, why was John Henry
motivated to beat the steam drill?
• Based on the text, why was the salesman more
excited about the steam drill than John Henry was?
• What questions do you have?

4. Second Read When you reread the text, focus on key details
about main characters and events.
Be prepared to discuss the following questions when you are done
with the reading:
1. Do a close read of pp. 68–69 to better understand John Henry’s character. What do you learn about John Henry from these paragraphs?
2. A grizzly bear has a white or silver color on the tips of the darker fur on its back. In the sentence “…said the railroad boss, rubbing his grizzly jaw,” what might grizzly mean?
3. On p. 69, the author says that John Henry sees “men robbed of their dignity and robbed of their families.” What does the author mean by saying the men will be “robbed” of these things?
4. What clues help you understand what is at stake, or could be lost, in the contest?

5. Focused Reading Vocabulary Routine: Text-Based Vocabulary
• dignity, p. 69
Vocabulary Routine:
1. Read the sentence containing the word.
2. Identify context clues about its meaning within the passage.
3. Look up the word in a dictionary and read the definition.
4. Use the word in other ways.
*After we review these words, write your sentences on p. 104 in your Reader’s and Writer’s Journal.*

6. Text-Based Conversation
Focused Reading
Text-Based Conversation
The author claims that John Henry is the best steel driver in the whole country, then offers several details to support this claim. Some of the details are exaggerated ones that would only be found in a tall tale, such as the description of John Henry working so fast that his hammer becomes overheated and its handle wears out. Others are realistic, like the railroad bosses all wanting John Henry to work for them. Taken together, the details help me understand what a good worker John Henry is.
Examine other places in this part of the story where the author provides descriptive details that help the reader understand a character better.

7. Focused Reading Team Talk Routine
Do you think the railroad boss does the right thing to propose having a contest between John Henry and the steam drill? Use details from the text to support your opinion.

8. Reading Analysis Character Motivation
To figure out a character’s motivation, readers should examine the text for details that explain why a character might act the way he or she did. Review the dialogue and descriptions the author
has included that show how a character responds and reacts to a situation.

9. Reading Analysis KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
Use a Web graphic organizer to record the possible motivations for a character’s actions. Focus on p. 69 of “John Henry” and think about John Henry’s motivations for competing with the steam drill.
• When John Henry pictures the future, what descriptions does the author provide of what he sees?
• What does John Henry say when he decides to participate in the contest?
• How does each piece of information help the reader understand this character’s motivation for taking this action?

10. Writing in Response to Reading
Independent Reading
Reading Analysis
Work independently to pick another character action from p. 68–69 and complete a Web graphic organizer to identify the character’s motivations for this action.
Writing in Response to Reading
What are some ways that John Henry shows what is most important to him? Include details that support your explanation of this relationship.

11. Small Groups It’s time to get into our groups!
Please see me if you don’t know what group you belong in.

12. Writing Objectives: Narrative Writing
Use dialogue and description in writing.
Understand frequently confused words.

13. Writing Narrative Writing
When writing a narrative, a writer develops characters through dialogue, or words that characters say to each other. A writer may also use description to develop experiences and events and to show the responses of characters to situations. Dialogue and description both help to enrich a narrative and help readers understand characters and events.
A character’s traits are the character’s qualities. A character’s motivations are a character’s reasons for acting.
When writing, what dialogue can I use to help reveal a character’s traits?
How can I use dialogue to show how characters react to situations?

14. Writing
Analyze the Text
Let’s take a look at how the author of “John Henry” uses dialogue and description to portray characters and situations.

15. Writing
Conventions Focus: Frequently Confused Words
Be aware of words that sound the same but that have different meanings. Be sure to use the correct form of words that are pronounced the same or that are similar to one another. They may have different meanings.
“There was a lot of work for the men to do that summer. John Henry tried to protect their jobs.”
Notice that there is an adverb and their is a
possessive pronoun.

16. concrete words and sensory details to describe characters
Writing
Independent Writing
Add one to two paragraphs to the narrative you began in Lesson 13. Focus on adding dialogue and descriptions
to develop the experiences of their main characters. Remember to punctuate dialogue correctly and to use
concrete words and sensory details to describe characters
and events.