Vocabulary 1
What does the word mentor mean?
A wise teacher, advisor, or coach who helps or guides a person who is younger.
What does the word miraculous mean?
Amazing, lucky, or incredible.
What clues tell you that the author's purpose is to persuade?
The author is trying to convince you to do something or believe something. The author is giving their opinion. Examples include commercials and advertisements.
What clues tell you that the author's purpose is to inform?
The author is teaching you something by giving you a lot of facts and information. The author is not giving you an opinion, only things that are true no matter what (FACTS). Examples include recipes, steps for how to do something, and nonfiction articles and books that teach you about a topic.
When did Jerry Spinelli know he wanted to be a writer?
When the poem he wrote after the football game was published in the paper and everyone loved it.
What does the word employed mean?
To make use of or apply.
What does the word tumult mean?
Noisy, loud confusion or chaos.
What clues tell you that the author's purpose is to entertain?
The author is telling you a story just for fun. The author may be using a lot of characters that are talking to each other (dialogue) or it might be a poem with rhymes. There might also be jokes or puns in the text. Examples include poems, graphic novels, fairy tales, Anime, and other fictional stories.
What is the author's purpose for writing the passage below?
"Elsa!" Anna called. "Do you want to build a snowman?"
"I can't today, I'm making a scarf with Olaf," Elsa replied.
To entertain. The author is telling a story with characters that are talking to each other. They are not teaching you anything or trying to get you to do/believe anything, so it's just for fun/for your entertainment!
Why do you think Jerry Spinelli wrote books from the point of view of children?
Since the books were made for kids, kids were reading the books. If the main characters were also kids and the story was told from their point of view, readers could understand the characters' feelings and relate to them since they're also kids and have probably been in similar situations.
What does the word culprit mean?
A guilty person who committed the crime or wrongdoing. "The bad guy!"
What does the word deprived mean?
Lacking or not having/missing something that you need.
What is the author's purpose for writing the passage below?
The Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in many European and Latin American countries. The holiday celebrates the souls of loved ones who have died. People pray, eat food, and give gifts to their loved ones who have passed away.
What is the author's purpose for writing the passage below?
Sharks are really scary because they can bite your legs off.
To persuade because it is the author's OPINION that sharks are scary, it is not a fact. Other people may think that sharks are not scary.
How do we know that the kid who stole Jerry Spinelli's chicken wings knows what s/he did was wrong?
They put the chicken bones back in the bag rather than throwing them out and they didn't confess to him that they ate them.
What does the word grimly mean?
Very serious or in a depressing manner; unsatisfied.
What does the word pursuit mean?
Chasing or following.
What is the author's purpose for writing the passage below?
Buffalo, NY gets several feet of snow each year. In fact, it is one of the snowiest cities in the United States! This makes it a great place to go in the winter if you love sledding and building snowmen. If you like snow, you should come for a visit. It's a lot of fun!
To persuade because the author is giving you their opinion about Buffalo - that it is a fun, great place to be in the winter. They want you to believe their opinion and visit Buffalo in the winter. Even though they give facts at the beginning about how much snow Buffalo gets, they are using those facts to persuade you.
What is the author's purpose of the passage below?
Look at that!
There is a cat
Who is wearing a hat
And is going to swing that bat!
To entertain because it's a poem with rhymes.
Why did Jerry Spinelli write this story?
To tell us about why and how he became a writer.
He told the football story because that's when he first realized he wanted to be a writer.
He told the chicken bones story because that's when he started writing books from a kid's point of view and it helped him write his first book that was published and sold.
What does the word contested mean?
Competing in a competition or fighting/arguing; not agreeing.
What does the word scholastic mean?
Having to do with school or an achievement in school.
What is the author's purpose for writing the passage below?
NEWS ALERT:
The blizzard is going to bring 2 feet of snow to Buffalo tomorrow so all schools will be closed for a snow day.
To inform because the author is giving information about the weather and school closures. There are no opinions in it.
What was Jerry Spinelli's purpose for writing Knots in My Yo-Yo String?
To inform and entertain.
Jerry Spinelli was writing to inform readers about why he became a writer while also entertaining readers with stories he wrote.
He told the football story because that's when he first realized he wanted to be a writer.
He told the chicken bones story because that's when he started writing books from a kid's point of view and it helped him write his first book that was published and sold.
Why does Jerry Spinelli say that he “rummages through the attic of his memories”?
(Look on the last page of the story)
Jerry Spinelli uses his memories to help him write his stories. He doesn't really have an attic in his brain. He's using figurative language to give us a picture of how he goes into his brain to find memories of things that happened to him as a kid that he can use to write his books.