Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 24
Word Count: 1,753 

Book Summary
Have you ever thought about mysteries such as Bigfoot sightings or the Bermuda Triangle disappearances? These mysteries, among others, are described in the book Believe It or Not? As readers learn about the events, they can develop their own theories about whether each happening is real or a hoax. Photographs and illustrations support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Ask and answer questions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand text
• Main idea and details
• Identify and understand the use of adverbs
• Identify the meanings of suffixes -ly and -ous

Materials

• Book -- Believe It or Not? (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Ask and answer questions, main idea and details, adverbs, suffixes worksheets

     Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: archeologist, decompose, evidence, extraterrestrial, hoax, hover, intricate, node, Pharaoh, reclusive, retract

Build Background

• Show students different pictures of crop circle sightings. Write the words Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster on the board. Ask students to describe what they see and know about these topics. Discuss the definition of hoax (an action meant to trick soneone into thinking somehting is real when it is not). Ask them to state whether these creatures are real or hoaxes.
• Invite students to share what they know about other mysteries.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what type of book it is and what it might be about.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss with students how asking and answering questions while reading can help readers understand and remember the information in a book.
• Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and the way in which it is organized. After previewing the table of contents, use it to model asking questions.
• Think-aloud: I can use the table of contents to help me think of questions I'd like to have answered about this book. For example, I see sections titled "Bigfoot," "Crop Circles," and "Bermuda Triangle." I wonder whether anyone has ever found remains of an actual Bigfoot. I also wonder what a crop circle is and what about it might not be believable. If a ship enters the Bermuda Triangle and is found later, does it look the same or has the ship been damaged? As I read, I enjoy looking for answers to my questions, which often spark further curiosities and questions to answer as I continue to read.
• Have students look at the other section titles. Invite them to share questions they have about the topics of the book that spark their curiosity based on the table of contents and the covers of the book. Invite them to share their questions aloud. Introduce and explain to students the ask and answer questions worksheet. Create a replica of the worksheet on the board. Write student responses on the class chart and have them copy their questions onto their worksheet.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, including the photos, captions, and the glossary on page 24. Invite them to share any additional questions they might have about the topics of this book. Write their responses on the class chart and have them copy the questions onto their worksheet.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

• Write the following list of sentences on the board: Sam said good-bye to his friends. His family packed all their belongings in boxes. They loaded all the boxes and furniture onto the truck. Sam's family sold their house. Ask students to tell what these sentences relate to (moving to a new home). Show them how these details help identify the main idea. (Sam and his family are moving to a new home.)
• Explain that sometimes there is so much information on a topic that it is grouped into sections, each section with its own main idea.
• Have students read pages 4 through 9. Then read aloud these pages to students. Model how to identify the main idea and details of the section titled "Bigfoot."
  Think-aloud: As I read the section titled "Bigfoot," most of the sentences focus on the reported encounters with Bigfoot and its physical features. In addition to Native Americans, other people have reported encounters with Bigfoot, such as railway and forestry workers, hikers, travelers, and people who live in remote areas. The section also tells readers about cryptozoologists and other curious people who have spent a great deal of time and money to find out whether Bigfoot exists. Based on what I've read, I think the main idea of this section of the book is: Many people have reported encounters with a creature known as Bigfoot.
• Write the main idea on the board. Ask students to identify the details from the book that support this main idea (Native Americans have told stories about encounters with Bigfoot for hundreds of years; Bigfoot encounters report its size, description, and odor; Albert Ostman claims to have been abducted by a family of Bigfeet; and so on). Write these details on the board.
• Introduce and explain the main idea and details worksheet. Have students write the main idea and details from the board on their worksheet.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the following content vocabulary words on the board: evidence, extraterrestial, hoax, relic. Read the words aloud with students. Ask them to share what they know about the meaning of each word.
• Divide students into small groups. Have each group write what they know about the meaning of each word and write a definition on a separate piece of paper. Ask each group to share their meaning and definition for each word.
• Review the definition of each word that students wrote. Create a definition based on each group's knowledge and write it on the board under each word.
• Have volunteers read the definitions for the words from the glossary in their book. Compare students' definitions with the glossary definitions. Use the comparison to modify the definition for each word on the board.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out more about mysteries. Encourage them to ask and answer questions while reading. Remind students to also think about the main idea and details of each section as they read.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read from page 10 to the end of page 14. Remind them to read for information that will answer their questions on their worksheet and provide more information about the section's main idea. Encourage students who finish early to go back and reread.
• When students have finished reading, have them circle any questions on their worksheet that were answered in the text and add any new questions that they generated.
• Model answering a question and filling in the second column of the ask and answer questions chart on the board.
  Think-aloud: Before reading, I had many questions that I wanted answered about the topics in the book. One question I had was whether anyone had ever found remains of an actual Bigfoot. I found out that no evidence of any Bigfoot remains or skeleton has been discovered. I also wondered what a crop circle is and what about it might not be believable. Section Three explained that crop circles are patterns in fields of crops where the plants are bent over, not crushed. I also learned that many crop circles are made by humans, which might make it difficult for some to believe that they are formed by unknown forces. I was also curious about whether a ship that enters the Bermuda Triangle and is found later will look the same or will have damage. I have not read about the Bermuda Triangle yet, so I cannot answer this question. If I think of any further questions while reading, I will write them on my ask and answer questions chart.
• Ask students to write answers to their circled questions and write additional questions they raised on their ask and answer questions worksheet. Invite them to share information they learned and the questions they thought of as they read the book.
• Model identifying the main idea and details.
  Think-aloud: As I read the section titled "Crop Circles," I read that flattened plants were reported as early as 1590. As I read, I realized that most of the section was about these mysterious occurrences, and that only a few people have ever claimed to have witnessed during formation. However, I also learned that many crop circles are made by some people as tricks or by others who claim to be "crop artists." There are many theories on how the circles are made. I think the main idea of the section is: Many crop circles have been discovered through the years, and no single source can be identified as the force that creates them.
• Write the main idea of the section on the board. Ask students to look back in the section and identify the details that support the main idea (plants flattened as early as 1590, most crop circles form mysteriously in the night, few people report seeing them formed, declared that "unknown forces" made the circles, and so on). Write these details on the board. Have students write the main idea and details from the section on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Ask students to read the next section, titled "The Curse of the Mummy." Invite them to share the information they felt was important about the section. Write these details on the board. Have students work in pairs to decide the main idea and details of this section. Ask volunteers to share their information, and write it on the board. Have students write the main idea and details from the section on their worksheet.
• Have students circle any questions on their ask and answer worksheet that were answered. Ask them to write answers to any circled questions and to write additional questions they raised on their worksheet. Invite them to share the information they learned and the questions they generated while reading.

      Have students make a question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read each word and figure out its meaning.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps readers interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find answers to their questions and helps them understand and remember what they have read.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know whether a ship that enters the Bermuda Triangle and is found later will look the same or will have damage. I learned that in 1881, a merchant ship discovered a ghost ship without a crew in this area. As a crew boarded the ghost ship, a fog emerged and the two ships lost contact. When the fog disappeared, the crew on the ghost ship was gone. Although the ghost ship did not appear to have any damage, the crews mysteriously disappeared.
• Remind students that all of their questions may not have been answered in this text. Discuss as a class other sources they might use to locate additional information that answers their questions.
• Independent practice: Ask students to complete their ask and answer questions worksheet. Invite them to share their responses.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Discuss with students how stopping to review the important details helped them remember the facts and better understand the information in the book.
• Independent practice: Divide students into groups. Assign each group the section of the book titled "Bermuda Triangle." Have students complete the main idea and details worksheet using this section Challenge students to use the main idea and details to write a summary of their section. Discuss as a class what they learned.
• Enduring understanding: People have interpreted unsolved mysteries in different ways to come up with several different theories. Now that you know this information, why is it important to consider a number of possible interpretations rather than just one when learning of an event?

Grammar and Mechanics: Adverbs

• Write the following sentence on the board: In the 1980s, the number of crop circles increased dramatically. Have students identify the verb in the sentence (increased). Ask students to identify the word that describes how the number of crop circles increased (dramatically).
• Explain that the word dramatically is an adverb, which is a word that describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb by telling how, when, or where something happens. Point out that many adverbs end in -ly, such as calmly, rapidly, badly, and happily.
• Write the following sentence on the board: Most crop circles form mysteriously in the night. Ask volunteers to identify the verb and the adverb in the sentence (form, mysteriously). Erase the word mysteriously from the sentence. Ask students to suggest other adverbs to replace the word mysteriously.

      Check for understanding: Ask students to turn to page 21 in their book. Have them underline the adverbs and circle the verbs they describe (suddenly, partially, finally; swirled, lost, managed). Discuss their responses.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the adverbs worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Word Work: Suffixes -ly and -ous

• Write the following sentence on the board: Michelle told a humorous joke. Ask students to explain the meaning of the word humorous (amusing or funny).
• Erase the suffix -ous from the end of the word humorous to create the root word humor. Have students explain or locate in a dictionary the meaning of the root word (the ability to see or enjoy something funny). Discuss how the meanings of the two words are different.
• Write the sufffix -ous on the board and discuss its meaning (possessing or full of). Point out that suffixes alter the meanings of words.
• Have students locate the word with the -ous suffix in the second paragraph on page 21 (mysterious). Ask students to identify the base word (mystery). Ask them to explain the meaning of the word mysterious (full of mystery).
• Write the following sentence on the board: The turtle walked slowly across the road. Point out the word slowly. Ask students to explain the meaning of the word (possessing the characteristic of being slow).
• Ask students to identify the base word (slow). Discuss its meaning with students (not moving quickly). Point out how the meanings of the words slowly and slow are different.
• Write the suffix -ly on the board and discuss its meaning (having the characteristic of).
• Have students locate the words with the -ly suffixes on page 21 (suddenly, partially, finally). Ask students to identify the base words (sudden, partial, final). Ask them to explain the meaning of each word (happening unexpectedly, not complete, after a long duration of time).
• Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board: desperatly, various. Have students identify each base word (desperate, vary). Then have them use the meaning of the base word and suffix to identify the meaning of each word (having a characteristic of being desperate, an assortment).
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the suffixes worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, partners can take turns reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have them discuss their theory about the mysteries discussed in the book with someone at home.

Informational Report Writing Connection
Provide students with additional print and Internet resources to further research any of the four topics discussed in the book Believe It or Not? Have them create a multimedia presentation on their findings, including their theory on whether the occurrence is real or a hoax.

Elements of Nonfiction Connection
Discuss the maps on pages 5 and 19. Invite students to reflect on the captions for each map. As a class, discuss the purpose of incorporating maps into text and the importance of the information (to provide clarification; to draw conclusions from the text). Ask students to explain why it is valuable to have visual aids such as maps, charts, and photographs in the text. Ask students why it is important to study the maps, charts, and photographs in text as they read.