Beanstalk: The Measure of a Giant

1. Mark the two heights (4 min)

Working in fours, students run the tape measure along the floor. Tear one length of paper tape at 4 feet and one at 20 feet. Tape each down with a strip of painter's tape at both ends. Label the short one Jack and the long one Ray. Read the two sentences that give those numbers aloud before labelling.

Word preview: measure

“I’m 4 feet tall and Ray is 20 feet tall.

“Well, I’m 20 feet tall,” Ray said.

2. Lay four-foot lengths end to end (6 min)

Students tear more four-foot lengths and lay them head to tail along the twenty-foot strip until it is exactly covered. Count aloud as each one goes down — four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty — one number word per length. Stop when the strip is covered and say how many lengths it took.

3. Write the comparison two ways (6 min)

With the strips still on the floor, each student writes two sentences and the equation under each. Ray is 5 times as tall as Jack, 5 × 4 = 20. And Ray is 16 feet taller than Jack, 20 − 4 = 16. Then circle the sentence whose words match the words the book uses, and read that sentence to a partner.

Word preview: times as tall as, taller than

“That’s five times bigger, so I’ll make Ray’s checkerboard 5 times the size of mine.”

4. Compare the two hoops (4 min)

Students take the two hoop heights from the story, 60 feet and 12 feet, and answer one question on the same paper: how many of Jack's hoops stack up to Ray's hoop? Write the equation that shows it. Say aloud what you notice about the number you got.

Word preview: equation

“It’s 60 feet high,” Ray answered.

Then he bent a branch 12 feet from the ground into a circle.

1. Lay four-foot lengths end to end (6 min)

On the two strips already taped down, students lay four-foot lengths along the twenty-foot strip, counting four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty as each one goes down, and stop when it is covered.

Word preview: four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty

2. Write the comparison two ways (3 min)

Each student writes one sentence and its equation — Ray is 5 times as tall as Jack, 5 × 4 = 20 — and reads it to a partner with a hand on the five lengths.

Word preview: times as tall as, taller than

“That’s five times bigger, so I’ll make Ray’s checkerboard 5 times the size of mine.”

1. Read Ray's two numbers (5 min)

Students find the two sentences where Ray gives a number about himself and read them aloud, then write the pair on a card: height 20 feet, hoop 60 feet. Say which number is the person and which is the hoop before anything is computed.

Word preview: height

“Well, I’m 20 feet tall,” Ray said.

“It’s 60 feet high,” Ray answered.

2. Check the three (6 min)

Students test whether three is really the number that carries 20 to 60. Skip count 20, 40, 60 aloud, marking each on a number line drawn on chart paper, then write 3 × 20 = 60 underneath. Say in one sentence what the three counts.

Word preview: three times, skip count

“Your hoop is three times your height,” Jack said.

3. Make Jack's hoop (5 min)

Each pair computes 3 × 4 and writes the equation, then runs the tape measure up the wall from the floor and sticks a strip of painter's tape at that height. One partner holds the tape at the floor, the other marks. Stand next to the mark and say how many times your own height it is.

Word preview: measure

“That’s 4 feet.” Ray said.

Then he bent a branch 12 feet from the ground into a circle.

4. Say the rule for a new player (4 min)

Each pair picks a whole number of feet between 3 and 8 for a new player. Work out that player's hoop height. Say the finished sentence to another pair: this player is ___ feet tall, so the hoop has to be ___ feet high. The other pair checks the arithmetic out loud.

1. Check the three (6 min)

Students skip count 20, 40, 60 aloud on the number line and write 3 × 20 = 60 underneath, then say what the three counts.

Word preview: three times, skip count

“Your hoop is three times your height,” Jack said.

2. Make Jack's hoop (3 min)

Each pair computes 3 × 4, runs the tape up the wall, and sticks a strip of tape at 12 feet.

Word preview: twelve, measure, mark

“That’s 4 feet.” Ray said.

Then he bent a branch 12 feet from the ground into a circle.

1. Find the two shadow numbers (4 min)

Students hunt down the two shadow measurements in the story and write them on a card: Ray's shadow, the beanstalk's shadow. Read both sentences aloud. Say which one belongs to something whose height the book already told us.

It was just about noon, so Ray’s shadow was only 2 feet long.

He measured its shadow. It was 41 feet long.

2. Test the ten on Ray (6 min)

Students write 2 × ___ = 20 and find the missing factor, then check it against Ray's stated height. Say aloud what the missing number counts. Write the finished equation, 2 × 10 = 20, and keep the card where everyone can see it.

Word preview: missing factor, ten times

“Well, I’m 20 feet tall,” Ray said.

3. Run the same ten on the beanstalk (6 min)

Students multiply 41 by 10, showing it as 40 × 10 plus 1 × 10, and write the answer before reading Jack's line. Then read what Jack yelled and mark the paper agree or disagree. Say to a partner what your own arithmetic gave.

Jack yelled up to Ray, “The beanstalk is 410 feet tall!”

4. Say what would change (4 min)

Each student answers one question in writing. If the beanstalk's shadow had measured 40 feet instead of 41, what height would the same ten give? How far off would that be from Jack's number? Show both the product and the difference, then read the sentence to a partner.

Word preview: difference

1. Find the two shadow numbers (3 min)

Students write the two shadow measurements on a card and read both sentences aloud.

Word preview: shadow, measured, feet

It was just about noon, so Ray’s shadow was only 2 feet long.

He measured its shadow. It was 41 feet long.

2. Run the same ten on the beanstalk (6 min)

Students multiply 41 by 10, showing it as 40 × 10 plus 1 × 10, write the answer before reading Jack's line, and mark agree or disagree.

Word preview: forty-one, ten, four hundred ten

Jack yelled up to Ray, “The beanstalk is 410 feet tall!”

1. Count the twelves (4 min)

Students lay four foot-rulers end to end along a desk and count the inch marks in blocks: twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight, sliding a finger to the end of each ruler on each number word. Do it twice, the second time with eyes on the rulers and no finger.

Word preview: inches, count

“So my hoop has to be three times my height, and I’m 48 inches tall.”

2. Match Jack's two numbers (5 min)

Students show why 48 inches and 4 feet name one height. Write 4 × 12 = 48 under the four rulers, then write 48 ÷ 12 = 4 beside it and say which ruler each twelve is. Read Ray's answer aloud and say whether the rulers agree with him.

Word preview: inches, equals

“That’s 4 feet.” Ray said.

3. Build the conversion table (6 min)

Each student rules a two-column table, feet on the left and inches on the right, and fills it for 1 through 6 feet, then adds a row for 10 feet. Fill it by counting on by twelve down the column, not by starting over each time. Trade papers and check one row of a partner's table out loud.

Word preview: table, inches

4. Convert Ray (5 min)

Students take Ray's height from the book and write it in inches, showing the work as 20 × 12 broken into 20 × 10 and 20 × 2. Compare answers around the table; everyone should reach the same number. Say the finished sentence: Ray is 20 feet tall, which is 240 inches.

Word preview: inches

“Well, I’m 20 feet tall,” Ray said.

1. Count the twelves (4 min)

Students count twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight along four foot-rulers laid end to end, sliding a finger to the end of each ruler on each number word.

Word preview: twelve, inches, count

“So my hoop has to be three times my height, and I’m 48 inches tall.”

2. Match Jack's two numbers (5 min)

Students write 4 × 12 = 48 under the rulers and 48 ÷ 12 = 4 beside it, then say whether the rulers agree with Ray's answer.

Word preview: feet, inches, equals

“That’s 4 feet.” Ray said.

1. Draw the lines the book names (4 min)

Each student takes a sheet of grid paper and draws seven straight lines across it, evenly spaced, then seven more running the other way, square to the first set. Use the ruler for every line. Read the two sentences that name the lines before starting, and check a partner's sheet has seven lines each way.

Word preview: parallel, perpendicular

On a big sheet of paper, he drew seven parallel lines.

Then, to make squares, he drew seven perpendicular lines.

2. Count the rows and the columns (5 min)

Students number the bands of the sheet down the left edge and across the top, then say aloud how many rows and how many columns the seven-and-seven lines made. Anyone who wrote seven counts again with a finger in each band. Write the two counts at the top of the sheet.

Word preview: rows, columns

3. Write the equation and shade (6 min)

Students write 8 × 8 = 64 under the grid, then shade the squares red and black in an alternating pattern. Check the equation by counting the shaded squares in eights — eight, sixteen, twenty-four, and on to sixty-four — one row per number word.

He painted the squares red and black.

4. Predict for six lines (5 min)

Before drawing anything, each student writes down how many squares six lines each way would make and why. Then draw it on a fresh corner of the sheet and count. Say to a partner whether the prediction held and what the count of lines has to do with the count of bands.

1. Draw the lines the book names (3 min)

Students draw seven straight lines across a sheet of grid paper with a ruler, then seven more square to the first set.

Word preview: parallel, perpendicular, seven

On a big sheet of paper, he drew seven parallel lines.

Then, to make squares, he drew seven perpendicular lines.

2. Write the equation and shade (6 min)

Students number the bands, write 8 × 8 = 64 under the grid, shade the squares red and black, and count the rows in eights to sixty-four.

Word preview: array, equation, sixty-four

He painted the squares red and black.

1. Read the two line sentences and say what they promise (6 min)

Students read the two sentences describing how Jack drew the board, then say to a partner what the second set of lines is for, in the book's own words. Copy both sentences onto the bottom of a fresh sheet before drawing anything.

2. Draw seven lines each way and count the bands (5 min)

Each student rules seven evenly spaced lines across the sheet, then seven more square to them, and counts how many bands the sheet is now cut into in each direction, numbering them along the two edges.

3. Multiply and state the number (4 min)

Students write the multiplication for the rows and columns they numbered and work out the product, then say the number aloud to a partner. Any pair whose numbers disagree recounts the bands together before going on.

4. Say the number with the sentence that proves it (5 min)

Each student reads aloud the copied sentence they leaned on and then gives their number, in that order, to a partner who has to say whether the sentence really settles it. Written on the sheet, the two sit together: the line, then the count.

1. Multiply and state the number (4 min)

Students write the multiplication for the rows and columns they numbered and work out the product, then say the number aloud to a partner. Any pair whose numbers disagree recounts the bands together before going on.

2. Say the number with the sentence that proves it (5 min)

Each student reads aloud the copied sentence they leaned on and then gives their number, in that order, to a partner who has to say whether the sentence really settles it. Written on the sheet, the two sit together: the line, then the count.

1. Collect the four numbers (5 min)

Students find the four measurements the argument needs — each boy's height and each boy's hoop — reading each line aloud as it is found and entering it in a four-row table. No comparing yet; just get all four on the paper with their labels.

2. Run both comparisons (6 min)

Each student works both comparisons for both boys and writes all four equations: how many times his own height each hoop is, and how many feet above his own head each boy must send the ball. Circle the two numbers that come out different.

3. Take a position and rehearse it aloud (4 min)

Students decide which comparison fairness means here and say their position to a partner who has been asked to take the other one, using at least one of their circled numbers. Each partner says back what the other's number was before replying.

4. Write the argument with its numbers in it (5 min)

Each student writes two or three sentences to the partner who disagreed, naming the position and putting at least two computed numbers inside the sentences. Trade papers; a paper with no number in it comes back to be rewritten.

1. Take a position and rehearse it aloud (4 min)

Students decide which comparison fairness means here and say their position to a partner who has been asked to take the other one, using at least one of their circled numbers. Each partner says back what the other's number was before replying.

2. Write the argument with its numbers in it (5 min)

Each student writes two or three sentences to the partner who disagreed, naming the position and putting at least two computed numbers inside the sentences. Trade papers; a paper with no number in it comes back to be rewritten.

1. Lay the two heights side by side (5 min)

Pairs tear a 4-foot strip and a 20-foot strip of paper tape, tape them down parallel on the floor, then lay more 4-foot strips along the long one until it is covered, counting aloud as each goes down.

2. Say the relation forward (4 min)

With a hand on each strip, students say the sentence the book's own words point at — Ray is 5 times as tall as Jack — and write it with 5 × 4 = 20 underneath. Partners check the hands are on the right strips as the sentence is said.

3. Turn the sentence around (5 min)

Students say and then write the same fact from the other end, keeping it true: five of Jack's heights make one of Ray's. Say both sentences one after the other while pointing at the one arrangement of strips that makes both of them true.

4. Do it again with the two hoops (6 min)

Pairs take the two hoop heights, 60 feet and 12 feet, compute the difference, and write the relation both ways. Here the reversal forces the word to change: higher than in one direction, lower than in the other. Read both sentences to another pair, who say whether each is still true.

1. Say the relation forward (4 min)

With a hand on each strip, students say the sentence the book's own words point at — Ray is 5 times as tall as Jack — and write it with 5 × 4 = 20 underneath. Partners check the hands are on the right strips as the sentence is said.

2. Turn the sentence around (5 min)

Students say and then write the same fact from the other end, keeping it true: five of Jack's heights make one of Ray's. Say both sentences one after the other while pointing at the one arrangement of strips that makes both of them true.

1. Read the ending and name the other story (5 min)

Read the printed closing sentence aloud twice. With your pencil, underline the words inside the parentheses. Then tell a partner which older story you already know about a boy named Jack and a beanstalk, and say one thing that happens in the version you know.

Word preview: parentheses, version

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.

2. Mark what this retelling does differently (6 min)

Read the two printed passages. In the first, circle every word the boy giant uses that you have heard in the older tale. In the second, underline what this giant actually wants. On your difference chart, write one sentence naming a difference between this giant and the giant in the tale you know.

Word preview: retelling, giant

He looked up, but instead of rain clouds he saw a huge boy crying. The boy wiped his eyes and sniffed, “Fee fi foe foy, I smell the scent of a human boy.”

Jack stepped out into the open and said, “Hi. I’m Jack. What’s the matter?” “I don’t have any friends,” the giant boy said. “Aren’t there any kids around here your age and umm . . . size?” asked Jack. The giant boy shook his head from side to side.

3. Compare how the two Jacks treat the giant (5 min)

Read the printed passage. Highlight the sentence in which Jack decides what the giant is really like. With a partner, say aloud what the Jack in the older tale does when he meets a giant, and then say what this Jack does instead. Write the two actions side by side on your difference chart.

Word preview: compare

Jack ducked behind a leaf and watched the giant boy. After a minute, Jack said right out loud, “He may be big, but he seems like any other kid.” The giant stopped crying. “Who’s there?” he asked.

4. State the comparison in one sentence (4 min)

Reread the printed closing sentence. On lined paper, write one sentence that begins with the frame on the sentence-frame display and names one thing this retelling keeps from the older tale and one thing it changes. Read your sentence to your partner and listen for whether they named the same change.

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.

1. Read the ending and name the other story (3 min)

Read the printed closing sentence aloud. With your pencil, underline the words inside the parentheses and tell a partner which older Jack story you already know.

Word preview: parentheses, version

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.

2. Mark what this retelling does differently (6 min)

Read the two printed passages. Circle the chant words that come from the older tale, then underline what this giant actually wants. On your difference chart, write one sentence naming a difference between the two giants.

Word preview: retelling, giant

He looked up, but instead of rain clouds he saw a huge boy crying. The boy wiped his eyes and sniffed, “Fee fi foe foy, I smell the scent of a human boy.”

Jack stepped out into the open and said, “Hi. I’m Jack. What’s the matter?” “I don’t have any friends,” the giant boy said. “Aren’t there any kids around here your age and umm . . . size?” asked Jack. The giant boy shook his head from side to side.

1. Meet the word in its own sentence (5 min)

Read the printed passage aloud. Underline the word towered. Say aloud what the beanstalk is doing to the house in that sentence, then write your best guess at what towered means without using the word tall.

Word preview: towered

Jack rushed outside. An enormous beanstalk towered over the house. “Did this grow from those beans I got?” asked Jack. “Must have!” his mother replied. “With these big beans, we won’t go hungry.”

2. Use the clue words around the unknown word (6 min)

Read both printed passages. In the first, underline elongated and box the words stretched toward the horizon that appear nearby. In the second, underline scurried and box the words as quick as a mouse. Write in your log what each boxed clue tells you about the underlined word.

Word preview: elongated, scurried

The sun sank lower in the sky as the boys told each other about their homes. Then Ray said, “Let’s play shadows.” “I look as big as you!” Jack said, looking at his elongated shadow. “But I’m still bigger,” Ray said as his shadow stretched toward the horizon. They made shadow shapes until it was time for Jack to go home.

Jack scurried down the beanstalk as quick as a mouse. He measured its shadow.

3. Test a meaning by swapping it in (5 min)

Read the printed passage and underline chuckled. Choose one of the three words on the swap-word display and read the sentence again with your choice swapped in for chuckled. Tell a partner whether the sentence still sounds like a mother who thinks the idea is funny, and record the word you kept.

Word preview: chuckled

“You’ll never guess what I did today!” Jack said when he got home. He told his mother all about Ray. “Tomorrow, I want to show him how to play checkers.” “You and the giant playing checkers?” his mother chuckled. “To him, a checker would be no bigger than a bean.”

4. Write the four meanings from evidence (4 min)

Reread the printed passage. Finish your word-meaning log by writing a short meaning for towered, elongated, scurried and chuckled, and next to each one copy the exact words from the book that helped you decide.

Jack rushed outside. An enormous beanstalk towered over the house. “Did this grow from those beans I got?” asked Jack. “Must have!” his mother replied. “With these big beans, we won’t go hungry.”

1. Meet the word in its own sentence (3 min)

Read the printed passage aloud and underline towered. Write your best guess at what towered means without using the word tall.

Word preview: towered

Jack rushed outside. An enormous beanstalk towered over the house. “Did this grow from those beans I got?” asked Jack. “Must have!” his mother replied. “With these big beans, we won’t go hungry.”

2. Use the clue words around the unknown word (6 min)

Read both printed passages. Underline elongated and box stretched toward the horizon; underline scurried and box as quick as a mouse. Write what each clue tells you about the underlined word.

Word preview: elongated, scurried

The sun sank lower in the sky as the boys told each other about their homes. Then Ray said, “Let’s play shadows.” “I look as big as you!” Jack said, looking at his elongated shadow. “But I’m still bigger,” Ray said as his shadow stretched toward the horizon. They made shadow shapes until it was time for Jack to go home.

Jack scurried down the beanstalk as quick as a mouse. He measured its shadow.

1. Find what the character does before he speaks (5 min)

Read the printed passage. Underline every action the boy giant's body performs before he says anything. Tell a partner what those actions alone tell you about how he feels, and write that feeling word on your character evidence chart.

Word preview: motive, trait

He looked up, but instead of rain clouds he saw a huge boy crying. The boy wiped his eyes and sniffed, “Fee fi foe foy, I smell the scent of a human boy.”

2. Add what the character says about himself (6 min)

Read the two printed passages. In the first, underline the sentence in which the giant boy names his own problem, and circle the answer he gives with his head instead of his voice. In the second, underline what Jack offers and what the giant does with his body right afterward. Add two rows to your character evidence chart: one line of evidence and one feeling word for each.

Word preview: evidence

Jack stepped out into the open and said, “Hi. I’m Jack. What’s the matter?” “I don’t have any friends,” the giant boy said. “Aren’t there any kids around here your age and umm . . . size?” asked Jack. The giant boy shook his head from side to side.

“I’ll be your friend,” Jack offered. “Okay,” the giant boy smiled and sat down so he was closer to Jack’s size. “My name’s Ray,” he said.

3. Track what changes by the end (5 min)

Read the printed passage. Underline the words Ray uses to explain why he and Jack get along. Compare that line with the first feeling word on your character evidence chart and tell a partner what changed for Ray between the two passages.

Word preview: change

“That’s because we have a lot in common,” Ray said. “We figured out how to do things together even though I’m so much taller.”

4. Write the character claim with its evidence (4 min)

Reread the printed passage. On lined paper, write two sentences about Ray: the first names a trait or feeling, and the second begins I know this because and copies exact words from a printed passage. Read both sentences to your partner, who checks that the second sentence quotes the book.

“I’ll be your friend,” Jack offered. “Okay,” the giant boy smiled and sat down so he was closer to Jack’s size. “My name’s Ray,” he said.

1. Find what the character does before he speaks (3 min)

Read the printed passage and underline every action the boy giant's body performs. Write one feeling word on your character evidence chart.

Word preview: motive, trait

He looked up, but instead of rain clouds he saw a huge boy crying. The boy wiped his eyes and sniffed, “Fee fi foe foy, I smell the scent of a human boy.”

2. Add what the character says about himself (6 min)

Read both printed passages. Underline where the giant names his problem and where Jack makes his offer. Add one line of evidence and one feeling word for each to your character evidence chart.

Word preview: evidence

Jack stepped out into the open and said, “Hi. I’m Jack. What’s the matter?” “I don’t have any friends,” the giant boy said. “Aren’t there any kids around here your age and umm . . . size?” asked Jack. The giant boy shook his head from side to side.

“I’ll be your friend,” Jack offered. “Okay,” the giant boy smiled and sat down so he was closer to Jack’s size. “My name’s Ray,” he said.

1. Mark who is talking (5 min)

Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, one of you as Jack and one as Ray. Using your two highlighters, highlight every pair of quotation marks in one colour and underline the speaker tag that names who said it on your dialogue marking sheet. Count how many separate turns of talk the passage holds.

Word preview: quotation marks, speaker tag

“So, what games do you like to play?” asked Jack. “I like hoopball,” Ray said. “Hoopball is the best!” Jack agreed. “Let’s play.” Ray got his ball. It was almost as big as Jack. “I think we have a problem,” Jack said.

2. Find the tag that does more than say (6 min)

Read the two printed passages. Circle every speaker tag verb. Sort the circled verbs on your dialogue marking sheet into a said column and a tells-you-more column, and write beside each verb in the second column what extra thing it tells you about the speaker.

Word preview: dialogue, verb

The next day, Jack climbed the beanstalk and knocked on Ray’s door. The giant who opened it looked down and smiled. “Hello,” she said. “I have a present for Ray!” He gave her the game. “How nice,” she replied. “I’m Ray’s mother. I’ll take you to his room.” Jack ran to keep up with her. “I feel like I’ve shrunk,” he said as he took a shortcut under a table.

“You’ll never guess what I did today!” Jack said when he got home. He told his mother all about Ray. “Tomorrow, I want to show him how to play checkers.” “You and the giant playing checkers?” his mother chuckled. “To him, a checker would be no bigger than a bean.”

3. Notice where the comma goes (5 min)

Read the printed passage. Draw a box around the punctuation mark that sits just before each closing quotation mark. On your dialogue marking sheet, note which mark appears when the tag follows the words and which appears when the sentence is a question, pointing at the printed line each time.

Word preview: comma

“I invited Ray for lunch,” Jack said to his mother. “I hope it’s okay.” “Sure,” his mother said. Then looking at Ray’s size, she added, “It’s such a nice day, why don’t we eat outside?”

4. Write two turns of your own (4 min)

On lined paper, write two turns of talk between Jack and Ray about what to play next. Punctuate each turn the way the printed passage does: quotation marks around the spoken words, a comma or question mark inside them, and a speaker tag that names who is talking. Trade with a partner and check each other's marks against the printed passage.

“So, what games do you like to play?” asked Jack. “I like hoopball,” Ray said. “Hoopball is the best!” Jack agreed. “Let’s play.” Ray got his ball. It was almost as big as Jack. “I think we have a problem,” Jack said.

1. Mark who is talking (4 min)

Read the printed passage aloud in parts. Using your two highlighters, highlight every pair of quotation marks on your dialogue marking sheet and underline the speaker tag that names who said it.

Word preview: quotation marks, speaker tag

“So, what games do you like to play?” asked Jack. “I like hoopball,” Ray said. “Hoopball is the best!” Jack agreed. “Let’s play.” Ray got his ball. It was almost as big as Jack. “I think we have a problem,” Jack said.

2. Find the tag that does more than say (5 min)

Read both printed passages and circle every speaker tag verb. Sort them into a said column and a tells-you-more column on your dialogue marking sheet.

Word preview: dialogue, verb

The next day, Jack climbed the beanstalk and knocked on Ray’s door. The giant who opened it looked down and smiled. “Hello,” she said. “I have a present for Ray!” He gave her the game. “How nice,” she replied. “I’m Ray’s mother. I’ll take you to his room.” Jack ran to keep up with her. “I feel like I’ve shrunk,” he said as he took a shortcut under a table.

“You’ll never guess what I did today!” Jack said when he got home. He told his mother all about Ray. “Tomorrow, I want to show him how to play checkers.” “You and the giant playing checkers?” his mother chuckled. “To him, a checker would be no bigger than a bean.”

1. Find the moment a word is missing (5 min)

Read the printed passage aloud. Underline the sentence in which Jack's mother says a word is needed, and underline the sentence that describes what the missing word would have to mean. Tell a partner, in your own words, what kind of word the family is looking for.

Word preview: coin, name

“There should be a word for that,” Jack’s mother said. “A word for the relationship between the size of two things.”

2. Find where the new name comes from (6 min)

Read the printed passage. Circle the two words the characters join together to build their new name, and underline the sentence that says who the name honours. Write on your log who the word is named after and why the characters chose that person.

Word preview: origin

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.

3. Compare the invented name with the real word (5 min)

Reread the printed passage and box the two spellings the sentence gives for the same idea. Say both aloud and tell a partner what stays the same when you hear them and what changes when you see them. Write one sentence on your log explaining why the book keeps both.

Word preview: spelling

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.

4. Name something and explain the name (4 min)

Choose something in your classroom that has no good name and invent one built from a person's name or a word you already know. Write two sentences on your log: one giving the new name and one explaining where it came from, using the frame on the sentence-frame display. Read both sentences to your partner, who checks the explanation names a real source.

“There should be a word for that,” Jack’s mother said. “A word for the relationship between the size of two things.”

1. Find the moment a word is missing (3 min)

Read the printed passage aloud and underline the sentence in which Jack's mother says a word is needed. Tell a partner what kind of word the family is looking for.

Word preview: coin, name

“There should be a word for that,” Jack’s mother said. “A word for the relationship between the size of two things.”

2. Find where the new name comes from (6 min)

Read the printed passage. Circle the two words joined to build the new name and underline who the name honours. Write on your log who the word is named after and why.

Word preview: origin

From that day on Jack and Ray were best friends (though some people tell a different story) and the relationship between two numbers is still called a “Ray show,” but today we spell it ratio.