The Fabulous Perpetual Motion Machine

5th Grade

Big Question

How do inventors inspire our imaginations?

Sequence

• Sequence is the order that events happenin a selection. When you read, think aboutwhat comes first, next, and last.

• Several events can occur at the same time.Words such as meanwhile and during giveclues that two events are happening at thesame time.

• You can remember sequence by makinga time line.

Vocabulary

Applauds

Browsing

Fabulous

Inspecting

Project

Applauds

• Shows approval by clapping hands, shouting, etc.

Browsing

• Looking here and there

Fabulous

• Wonderful; exciting

Inspecting

• Looking over carefully; examining

Project

• A special assignment planned and carried out by a student or group of students

Explore

• Where do inventors get their ideas?

• What makes a good invention?

• What do you think inventors do if their

first plan fails?

Drama

• Is a story written to be performed in front of an audience. Like other forms of fiction, drama includes such elements as characters, setting, plot, and theme. In the text of a drama, the dialogue, or the words the characters say, is labeled with the same name of the character who is speaking. Stage directions, which

• usually appear in italics, to indicate where the characters are moving on the stage.

Guide Questions

• What do we learn about the characters in the exposition?

• In this play, we do not hear from a narrator—only the characters themselves. How would adding a narrator change what you know about the characters?

• Reread the stage directions on p. 332. How does the author use the setting to foreshadow what may happen later in the play?

Guide Questions

• How did the twins find their idea for the science project?

• What strategies the twins use to build suspense around their project?

• Reread the stage directions that appear in the parenthesis on p.334. Why do you think the author has the twins bow, cheer, and applaud so much?

• At the bottom of page 335, Joyce pulls the sheet off the science project. How do you think that event will help move the story forward?

• What are Lily’s and Carlos goal for the Science Fair Project?

Guide Questions

• Lily and Carlos invited friends to see the machine before testing it themselves. Do you think that was a good plan? Why or why not?

• What do the twin’s friends say about the machine on page 336? Compare and contrast the way they felt about the project before it was turned on with how they felt after?

• Think about what you know about how machines work. Do you think the twins have actually built a perpetual motion machine? Explain

Guide Questions

• Reread the stage directions at the top of page 338.What has happened since we last saw the characters? How does knowing this help you understand how the characters are feeling?

• At the bottom of page 338, Larry says his watch is running slow. Why do you think the author would include an ordinary experience like this in the play?

• Based on what you know about how businesses work in the real world, why do you think the twins won’t tell how the machine works just yet?

Guide Questions

• Reread dialogue on page 340-341. Summarize how the different characters feel about the twin’s invention. Be sure to paraphrase only the most important points in your summary.

• Reread Lee Comer’s lines on P. 341. What can you infer about the way she would write her article? Will article include facts and opinions about the invention?

• The machine has been running for three hours. Do you think that is long enough to know it will run forever? Why or why not?

Guide Questions

• On page 343, what cause the lights to flicker?• If the twin’s invention actually worked that way

they said it would, what effects do you think it would have on people?

• If the play continued, what do you think Carlos would say next? Why?

• Why do you think the author chose an indoor setting for this play?

• What is the function of Domingo’s character? How does he resolve a conflict within the play?