1. I Love Guinea Pigs Genre: Expository Nonfiction
Author’s Purpose: Inform
Skill: Text Structure
Compiled by Terry Sams, Piedmont
By: Dick King-Smith

2. Summary
  Guinea pigs aren't pigs, although the males are called boars and the females are called sows.  These chubby rodents, originally from South America, make great pets.  They live a long time (for rodents) and they're not fussy.  They eat and "talk" a lot.  And if you treat them well, they can become fond of you.  Are they the perfect pet?  Dick King-Smith, the author of I Love Guinea Pigs, sure thinks so!

3. Genre: Expository Nonfiction
Nonfiction is writing that is based on fact instead of on imaginary events. It is a type of literature that deals with real people, events, and experiences. It explains the nature of something, or tells what something is like. It uses definitions, examples, classifications, and comparisons.

4. Comprehension Skill - Text Structure
Knowing how a piece of text is organized helps the reader to make better sense of the information.
Fiction is often organized in the order things happen.
Nonfiction can be organized by patterns such as sequencing, cause and effect, fact and opinion, compare and contrast, and main ideas and details.

5. Comprehension Skill – Review Fact and Opinion
A fact is a true statement. Some facts never change. But some facts can change.
A fact that can change: The food is hot
An opinion is a statement that tells what someone thinks. Opinions also can change.

6. Practice Text Structure – Fact and Opinion TE 195b
Facts
Opinions
Personal Experience
Guinea are
pigs
rodents.
Guinea pigs are such sensible animals.
I’ve had hundreds of guinea pigs over the last 50 yeas.
They have special front teeth that are great for gnawing.
They’re awfully easy to keep, because they aren’t fussy.
I used to give my guinea pigs lots of others kings of foods.

7. Now you Practice – Fact and Opinion TE 195b
Statement
Fact or Opinions?
How Do You Know?
They don’t like the cold, of course, or the damp. . . (p.187)
Guinea pigs need plenty of food. (p. 189)

8. Vocabulary Skill - Homographs
Homographs are words that are spelled the same and sound the same. They can be pronounced differently.
Examples –
read – read record present
sow – sow record present
Homophones (homonyms) are spelled differently but pronounced the same.
there – their – they’re
your – you’re
too – to - two

9. Literary Device – Onomatopoeia TE 195i
Words that imitate the sounds they describe are called onomatopoeia.
Onomatopoeia makes meaning clearer.
Onomatopoeia makes writing livelier and more interesting.
Examples: Compare guinea pigs make noises with guinea pigs say putt, chut, and tweet.

10. Practice Onomatopoeia
Go to page 191 to locate words that imitate the sounds guinea pigs make.

11. Research Skills – Charts/Tables TE 195j
When doing research you may find information in charts or tables.
Charts and tables show information “at-a-glance” rather than with words.
Charts organize information in a way that is easy to follow.
A table is a kind of chart that presents information in rows and columns.

12. Weekly Fluency Check Go to pages 188-189 “I once had a . . .” or
Go to page 191, “Another nice. . .”
Read with Accuracy – Use your knowledge of word structure to pronounce words correctly.
The word cauliflower can be broken down into 4 parts and sounded out. Look for and decode any difficult or many syllabled words in the passage as you read.
(The teacher will listen to you read.)

13. Review
How are guinea pigs and pigs alike and different?
What does the author think about guinea pigs?
How does the author know so much about guinea pigs?

14. Review 2
What does an owner need to do to make his guinea pig friendly and tame?
What does the author want you to remember the most about guinea pigs?
Why will the author never forget King Arthur and Beach Boy?

15. Writing Assignment
Write a paragraph explaining what you have learned about guinea pigs from this selection. Be sure to proofread for correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar. You may use the information on the table on Workbook p for information.

16. More Good Stuff Guinea Pigs Reading Test Spelling Test
Interesting Facts
More About Guinea Pigs
Guinea Pigs
Reading Test
Spelling Test
ABC Spelling Words

17. Say It!
boars
fond
gnawing
sow
varieties

18. More Words to Know
ancestors
cavy
conversation
guinea pig
rodents

19. fond
loving and liking

20. boars
male pigs or hogs

21. gnawing
biting and wearing away

22. varieties
different kinds, types, or sorts

23. sow
a fully grown female pig

24. ancestors
persons from whom one is directly descended

25. conversation
friendly talk

26. cavy
any of the family of South American rodents

27. guinea pig
a small, fat animal with short ears and a short tail or no tail

28. rodents
any of a group of animals with large front teeth used for gnawing

29. The dog was gnawing on the shoe.

30. The dog was gnawing on the shoe.

31. There are so many varieties of guinea pigs to choose from.

32. There are so many varieties of guinea pigs to choose from.

33. These rodents are from the cavy from South America.

34. These rodents are from the cavy from South America.

35. The guinea pig males are called bears.

36. The guinea pig males are called boars.

37. The ancestors of the guinea pig came from Dutch Guiana many years ago.

38. The ancestors of the guinea pig came from Dutch Guiana many years ago.

39. Rats and mice are also rodents.

40. Rats and mice are also rodents.

41. The guinea pigs like for you to have a friendly conversation with them.

42. The guinea pigs like for you to have a friendly conversation with them.

43. A sow can have babies several times a year.

44. A sow can have babies several times a year.

45. Have you ever had a guinea pig for a pet?

46. Have you ever had a guinea pig for a pet?

47. Terry is fond of her guinea pig.

48. Terry is fond of her guinea pig.

49. Spelling Words Compound Words
classroom
anyway
newspaper
something
sometimes
baseball
basketball
upstairs
myself
highway

50. Spelling Words Compound Words
softball
weekend
classmate
doorbell
driveway
chalkboard
earrings
nighttime
motorcycle
downstairs

51. This Week’s Word Wall Words
Click and type your own words for this week:

52. Let’s review our words. Watch carefully because they will flash on the screen for just a moment. We will clap as we spell the word.

53. baseball

54. basketball

55. upstairs

56. myself

57. highway

58. classroom

59. anyway

60. newspaper

61. something

62. sometimes

63. chalkboard

64. earrings

65. nighttime

66. motorcycle

67. downstairs

68. softball

69. weekend

70. classmate

71. doorbell

72. driveway

73. GREAT JOB!