Reading Level:
Y

Word Count:
1915

Pages:
22 

Text Summary
In this exciting interview, Todd Cupell, a wildland firefighter in Arizona, recounts the most intense, frightening, and rewarding moments on the job fighting wildfires. Readers will enjoy the down-to-earth details and adventurous stories of this informative interview. 

Lesson Objectives

Word Work
Prefix un- 

Grammar
Past- and present-tense verbs 

Content Vocabulary
arsonist, bladder bags, brutal, camaraderie, competent, entrapment, fire line, fire-retardant, mesmerized, Nomex, Pulaski, tedious

These words are printed in bold in the text and included in the glossary. You may want to spend some time with these words and encourage students to understand their meaning through context and glossary definitions. 

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as students work to understand the text. The target comprehension strategy for this lesson is: understanding cause-and-effect relationships. 

Before Reading

Build Background
Ask questions to elicit prior knowledge and build background on the topic of wildfires.
Ask: What is a wildfire? What do you think is the major cause of wildfires? What do you think it might be like to fight a wildfire? What kind of qualities do you think you’d need to be a good wildland firefighter? 

Introduce the Book
Give students their books and have them look at the cover illustration and read the title. Talk about the photos and ask students to make predictions based on what they see. Point out the format of the text.
Ask: What kind of text is this? (interview) How is it organized? (questions and answers organized by topic) What are some of the sections in the book? What do you expect to learn from reading this book? 

Set the Purpose
Tell students you want them to read the interview to find out the major causes of wildfires. 

During Reading

Have students read the book independently. You may suggest they stop every few pages to summarize, ask questions, and reread if needed. Then they can reread the book, marking or highlighting words they have trouble with or places where they are confused. 

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Reflect on Reading Purpose
Remind students of their purpose for reading and ask what they found out.
Ask: You were going to read to find out the major causes of wildfires. What did you find out?
Explore cause-and-effect relationships within the text.
Say and ask: I asked you to look for the causes of wildfires in this book. All of the things you found out were the cause parts of cause-and-effect relationships. Sometimes, one effect, such as a wildfire, can have many causes, some of which we found out today. And sometimes, one cause can have many effects, or the effect can have many parts. If we look on page 9, we see that Nature often causes wildfires. Nature is the cause, and the wildfire is the effect. But what effects are there from naturally caused wildfires? A second effect is that they are in the middle of nowhere, and people don't spot them in time.
Give out worksheet 1 and explain to students that they are to fill in the chart using information from the text. They should either find the cause in the book and write its effect, or find the effect in the book and write its cause. They should also write the page number where they found the information. The last question requires the students to use their own knowledge. In the third column, they should write how they know this or where they learned this information. When students have finished the worksheet, discuss their answers. Have students justify their answers by showing evidence from the book. 

Other discussion questions are:

• What kind of person makes a good firefighter?
• What equipment do you need to fight a wildfire?
• What are some ways you can protect your home from a wildfire?
• How can you help prevent wildfires? 

Word Work
Prefix un-
Write the word unfortunately on the board. Ask students to name the root word. Point out that it has the suffix -ly and the prefix un-. Discuss the meanings of fortunate and unfortunate. Explain that when you add un- to a root word, the new word means the opposite of the root word.
Give out worksheet 2. Tell students they are to read the words in the left-hand column and then create words with the opposite meaning by adding the prefix un-. They should use the new words in sentences.

Grammar
Past and Present Tense Verbs
Have students reread "Causes of Fire" and look for the verbs. Have pairs of students find and list the verbs in the first two paragraphs. Write the words Past Tense and Present Tense on the board. Have students tell you the verbs they found and in which column you should write them on the board. Discuss why there are both past- and present-tense verbs in the paragraphs. Make sure students understand that the text talks about events that have already happened as well as events that are ongoing and in "timeless present tense." 

Writing Connection
Have students conduct an interview with family members about their jobs. Have them write questions they want to ask. You may need to help students brainstorm ideas for questions that will tell something about the person's career. They should take the questions home and conduct the interview. Have them write up the answers and present their interviews for the group. 

Reading Independently
Invite students to reread the book independently or with a partner. Students can also take the book home to read with their families. 

Assessment

• Monitor students' responses in the Comprehending the Text section to assess how well they understand the text.
• Review students' completed cause-and-effect charts to determine how well they can identify the cause-and-effect relationships in the book. Note if they can locate information in the text to support their answers. Note if they are able to connect personal knowledge with information in the text to go beyond the facts provided to answer a question.
• Review completed worksheet 2 to assess students' ability to use the prefix un- to create new words. Note if they understand the meanings of the new words and use them correctly in their sentences.