Unit

1THEME: Mysteries

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

The Case of the Blurry Board Vocabulary/Comprehension: Problem and Solution . . . . 18

The Mystery of the Missing Lunch Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

by Johanna Hurwitz, illustrated by Joe Cepeda

Putting Together the Pieces of the Puzzle Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

by Eric Michaels

Writing: Personal Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

THEME: Adapting to Survive

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Living in AlaskaVocabulary/Comprehension: Main Idea and Details . . . .46

A Walk in the Desert Informational Nonfiction . . . 48by Rebecca L. Johnson

Cinquains Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66by Polly Peterson

Writing: Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

THEME: Our National Parks

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

A Prehistoric ParkVocabulary/Comprehension: Main Idea and Details . . . . 72

Animals Come Home to Our National Parks Nonfiction Article . . . . . . . . . . 74

Saving a National Park Science . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Writing: Extended Response to Literature . . . . . . . . 80

4

THEME: Astronauts

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Astronauts in Training Vocabulary/Comprehension: Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

The Astronaut and the Onion Realistic Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

by Ann Cameron, illustrated by Anna Rich

The Solar System Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102by Thomas Morabito

Writing: Personal Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

THEME: Wildlife Watchers

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Rafting—Ready or NotVocabulary/Comprehension: Character, Setting, Plot . . 110

The Raft Realistic Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112by Jim LaMarche

Into the Swamp Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138by Elizabeth Schleichert, photographs by C. C. Lockwood

Writing: Personal Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Test Strategy: Think and Search

A Walk on the Beach Drama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

5

Unit

2 Take a Stand

THEME: Baseball

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

Women Pick Up the Ball Vocabulary/Comprehension: Author’s Purpose . . . . . . . 150

Mighty Jackie Historical Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152by Marissa Moss, illustrated by C. F. Payne

Baseball Greats Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170by Liz Ray

Writing: Persuasive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

THEME: New Places, New Faces

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Mexico: My New HomeVocabulary/Comprehension: Make Inferences . . . . . . . . 178

My Diary from Here to There Realistic Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

by Amada Irma Pérez, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez

Immigrants in the Northeast Social Studies . . . . . 202

Writing: Persuasive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

THEME: Focus on China

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Welcome to ChinaVocabulary/Comprehension: Fact and Opinion . . . . . . . 210

Stealing Beauty Nonfiction Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

So Far from Home Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . .216

Writing: Personal Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

6

THEME: Bright Ideas

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

He Made the World Brighter Vocabulary/Comprehension: Problem and Solution . . . 222

How Ben Franklin Stole the Lightning Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

by Rosalyn Schanzer

Light Bulb and Lightning Bolt Poetry . . . . . . . . . . 244by Joan Bransfield Graham

Writing: Persuasive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

THEME: Snakes

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Name That ReptileVocabulary/Comprehension: Make Inferences . . . . . . . .250

Dear Mr. Winston Humorous Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . 252by Ken Roberts, illustrated by Nicole E. Wong

Snakes Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Writing: Persuasive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Test Strategy: Think and Search

Protect Our Valuable Oceans Informational Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

7

Unit

3 Making a Difference

THEME: Friend or Foe?

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Roadrunners: Surprising Birds Vocabulary/Comprehension: Author’s Purpose . . . . . . . 278

Roadrunner’s Dance Folk Tale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280by Rudolfo Anaya, illustrated by David Diaz

Flycatcher and Coyote Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . 298by Gillian Reed

Writing: Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

THEME: People Who Made a Difference

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

It Took CourageVocabulary/Comprehension: Author’s Purpose . . . . . . 306

My Brother Martin Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308by Christine King Farris, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet

Dear Mrs. Parks Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324by Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed

Writing: Poem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

THEME: Kids Get It Done

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Their Way All the Way!Vocabulary/Comprehension: Compare and Contrast . . 332

Kid Reporters at Work Nonfiction Article . . . . . 334

Child Labor in the U.S.A. Social Studies . . . 338

Writing: Persuasive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

8

THEME: Great Plains Indians

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

History at Your Feet Vocabulary/Comprehension: Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

Mystic Horse Legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346by Paul Goble

The Black Hills Powwow Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . 368by Peter Lightfoot

Writing: Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

THEME: Precipitation

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

Let It Snow Vocabulary/Comprehension: Summarize . . . . . . . . . . . . 376

Snowflake Bentley Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian

Haiku Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402by Hashin, Joso, Matsuo Basho, and Kobayashi Issa

Writing: Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

Test Strategy: Right There

How to Change a Flat Tire on a Bike How-to Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

9

Unit

4 Viewpoints

THEME: Man’s Best Friend

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Puppy Trouble Vocabulary/Comprehension: Draw Conclusions . . . . . . 412

Dear Mrs. LaRue Fantasy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414by Mark Teague

Dog Amazes Scientists! Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438by Kim Christopher

Writing: Explanatory Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442

THEME: Creative Solutions

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Through Elizabeth’s EyesVocabulary/Comprehension: Draw Conclusions . . . . . 446

The Blind Hunter Realistic Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448by Kristina Rodanas

Make Life Easier for Everybody Social Studies . . 464by Adam Alexander

Writing: Explanatory Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

THEME: Energy: Power Source

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Clean as a BreezeVocabulary/Comprehension: Persuasion . . . . . . . . . . . .472

The Power of Oil Nonfiction Article . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Windmills on the Prairies Science . . . . . . . . 478

Writing: Fictional Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

10

THEME: Whales

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482

A Whale of a Trip! Vocabulary/Comprehension: Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . 484

Adelina’s Whales Photo Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486by Richard Sobol

Limericks Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504by Doreen Beauregard

Writing: Explanatory Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

THEME: The Sea

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Coral ReefsVocabulary/Comprehension: Compare and Contrast . . 510

At Home in the Coral Reef Narrative Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .512

by Katy Muzik, illustrated by Katherine Brown-Wing

Poseidon and the Kingdom of Atlantis Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

retold by Gillian Reed

Writing: Explanatory Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Test Strategy: Author and Me

Silent Spring No Longer: Rachel Carson Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536

11

Unit

5 Relationships

THEME: Going to the Library

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

A Library Card for Emilio Vocabulary/Comprehension: Summarize . . . . . . . . . . . .542

Because of Winn-Dixie Realistic Fiction . . . . . . 544by Kate DiCamillo

I Love the Look of Words Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558by Maya Angelou

Writing: Descriptive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560

THEME: Putting on a Play

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

The Frog PrinceVocabulary/Comprehension: Make Judgments . . . . . . .564

Ranita, the Frog Princess Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Renato Alarcão

Presenting the Puddlejump Players Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586

by Liz Ray

Writing: Descriptive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

THEME: Explorations

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Back in Time with Spanish Explorers Vocabulary/Comprehension: Fact and Opinion . . . . . . .594

Exploring the Undersea Territory Nonfiction Article . . . . . . . . . 596

Lords of the Seas Social Studies . . . . . . . . . . . 600

Writing: Extended Response to Literature . . . . . . . 602

12

THEME: Artists at Work

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Secondhand Art Vocabulary/Comprehension: Character . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Me and Uncle Romie Realistic Fiction . . . . . . . . . 608by Claire Hartfield, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue

Making a Collage Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628by Claire Hartfield

Writing: Descriptive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630

THEME: Wild Horses

Talk About It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632

The Wild Ponies of ChincoteagueVocabulary/Comprehension: Cause and Effect . . . . . . .634

Wild Horses Narrative Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636by Cris Peterson, photographs by Alvis Upitis

The Tale of Pecos Bill Language Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652retold by Gillian Reed

Writing: Descriptive Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

Test Strategy: Think and Search

What Is a Shark?/Getting to Know Sharks Poetry, Informational Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

13