The Astronaut and the Onion

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The Astronaut and the Onion

• By Ann Cameron
• Illustrated by Anna Rich

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(No Transcript)
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MentorS
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The Astronaut and the Onion
Strategy Make inferences and analyze
Skill Character
Genre Realistic Fiction
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This story is called The Astronaut and the Onion.
Sometimes an author connects two things that are
very different. How might an astronaut and an
onion be connected?
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Making an inference
You can make an inference, or informed guess,
based on information you read or know.
Character
Authors provide clues to a characters
personality through the characters thoughts and
interactions with other characters.
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What do you know about astronauts?
Astronauts
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Lets start by reading pages 83 - 85. While we
read we are going to look for character traits,
or the way a character acts.
tests herself
wild and daring
What was wild daring about Glorias actions?
Gloria
Use inferences about Glorias character traits to
fill in two boxes of the Character Web.
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Topic Sentence
What is the topic sentence in the fourth
paragraph on page 84?
Next to me there was a giant Berkbees Baby Food
display.
What are some Tell Me Mores.
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Lets read pages 86 - 89.
Look for a new character introduced at the
end of page 87. Remember some details about her.
She has sparkly brown eyes.
What details about the womans appearance did
Gloria notice?
Earrings that spin around like planets.
Hair is shiny black ringlets.
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The Astronaut and the Onion
What parts of this story so far seem realistic,
or like they could really happen?

• The parts of the story that seem
• realistic are _________.

• The parts of the story that seem
• realistic are the activity in the grocery
• store is realistic and astronauts do orbit
• Earth in space stations.

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Lets continue reading pages 90 - 93.
Be prepared to make an inference about why you
think Gloria shivers when she tries to imagine
what Dr. Street saw.
I think Gloria shivered because __________.
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What do you learn about Dr. Streets character
traits on page 92?
believes in trying to succeed
is realistic
Dr. Street
wants to help by offering advice
What else?
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Character
Gloria is daring. How is Dr. Street daring too?
Dr. Street was afraid in space. When has Gloria
been afraid?
Gloria has a lot of energy. Does Dr. Street have
a lot of energy? Explain.
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Lets finish reading the story.
What does Dr. Street mean when she says, Big
things are really little? (p. 95)
Dr. Street talks about being able to succeed at
things that seem difficult. Difficult things
seem really big when you think you cant do them.
Once someone learns how to do something, it
doesnt seem like such a big thing anymore.
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Using what you have learned about space travel,
take 2 minutes and talk to someone at your table
about whether or not you would enjoy being an
astronaut. Support your decision.