CONTENTS
Main Idea and Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .700
Learn how to recognize main ideas and supporting details
in nonfiction texts.
Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .702
Read, write, and learn the meanings of new words.
“Grand Canyon: A Trail Through Time” . . . .704
by Linda Vieira • illustrated by Christopher Canyon
• Learn the features of narrative nonfiction.
• Learn how to summarize sections of a text to help you
better understand what you read.
“The Rock Cycle”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .716
Read about the rock cycle.
Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .718
• Compare texts.
• Review vocabulary.
• Reread for fluency.
• Write a descriptive paragraph.
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Genr e: N a
ve No
r ra ti
n f ic t ion
Genr e: Exposi t o r y Non f ic t io
n
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L
&
OC
U S3 K IL
Main Idea and Details
You have learned that nonfiction selections have main ideas
supported by details. Sometimes a passage does not clearly state
the main idea in one sentence. You can use details as clues to
figure out the main idea. Ask yourself what important idea the
details tell about.
Detail
Detail
Detail
Main Idea
Group together details on the
same topic to help you determine the
main idea of a passage.
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Read the paragraph below. Then look at the graphic
organizer. It shows how supporting details can help you figure
out a main idea that is not directly stated in the text.
You hike the steep trail to the bottom of
the Grand Canyon. There you come upon a
Havasupai village. You wonder how the
people can live in such a dry area. You
talk with them and learn the answer. For
centuries, the Havasupai have used the
water of the Colorado River to irrigate
crops. Today, they also earn money from
tourism.
Detail
The land at the bottom
of the Grand Canyon is
very dry.
Detail
Detail
The Havasupai live
at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon.
The Havasupai grow
crops with water from
the Colorado River.
Main Idea
The Havasupai have developed a way of life that
allows them to live in a very dry place.
Try This
Reread the paragraph about the Havasupai to find
another detail supporting the main idea.
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
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Build Robust Vocabulary
embedded
distant
cascading
ancient
eroding
glistens
sentries
weary
The Amazing Power
of Rivers
Throughout the world, rivers have created
landforms that amaze travelers.
In the American Southwest,
the Colorado River has
carved the Grand Canyon
out of layers of colorful
rock. It has exposed rock
embedded with fossils.
In East Africa, the Zambezi
River has created another natural
wonder. Visitors to this distant place are
rewarded with an amazing sight. The broad,
gently flowing Zambezi suddenly pours over
cliffs. The cascading waters form Victoria Falls,
one of the largest waterfalls in the world.
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The falling water drops into a deep
canyon. It then roars through a narrow
gorge. Since ancient times, the river has
been eroding the rock there. Sun and
mist create rainbows above the gorge.
Wet rock glistens where sunshine
reaches it.
You can see more than rock and
water near Victoria Falls. Hippos
wallow and antelopes leap. Baboons
patrol paths as if they were sentries.
Lions prowl nearby. You may be
weary after all the hiking you'll be
doing to see it all, but you will always
remember the trip!
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
Word Champion
Word Detective
This week, use the Vocabulary Words outside
your classroom. Keep the list of words in a
place where you can see it. Use as many of
the words as you can when you talk with family members
and friends. For example, you might talk about a distant
land that you would like to visit. Write in your vocabulary
journal the words you used and how you used them.
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N a r r a t ive Non
f ic t ion
Genre Study
Narrative nonfiction tells
about people, things, events,
or places that are real. As you
read, look for
• factual information that tells
a story.
• paragraphs organized by main
idea and details.
Detail
Detail
Detail
Main Idea
Comprehension
Strategy
Pause while you read to
summarize sections of text.
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A predawn storm rumbles over Grand Canyon National
Park. Cracks of lightning shatter the dark sky, flashing above an
enormous plateau of peaks, valleys, and trenches where ancient
mountains once stood. The deepest trench is called the Grand
Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
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Dawn comes, bringing daylight to spires and buttes standing
like sentries on the plateau, worn down by weathering and
erosion. Coyotes teach their pups to hunt for food in thick
forests along the edges of the Canyon.
Thousands of visitors from all over the world have come to
view the splendor of the Grand Canyon. In campgrounds and
lodges near the north and south rims, they prepare for the day’s
activities.
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The morning sun climbs above distant mountains, revealing
cliffs hanging over the Colorado River at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon. The river took almost six million years to carve
the Canyon, creating a channel about one mile deep and more
than 275 miles long. Wind and water wore down its steep sides,
widening the chasm between the cliffs. A raven glides across
the opening, making lazy circles over the river far below.
The sun chases away shadows on the craggy rocks
thousands of feet below the rims. Pack mules begin a five-hour
trip down to the deepest part of the Canyon. They follow each
other along a twisted, ten-mile trail to the riverbed. Clouds of
dust follow them as voices from the top fade away.
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Canyon visitors along the trail peer with curiosity at
symbols of people and animals that were painted on a
boulder by Havasupai Indians long ago. Havasupai still live
in the Canyon today, tending their flocks and farms in the
summertime, hunting small game and gathering nuts and berries
in the winter months.
As the sun moves higher in the sky, smaller side canyons
with rocks layered like multicolored ribbons come into view.
Bighorn sheep walk easily along the steep walls of the canyons,
looking for food in hidden pockets of soil. Wildflowers stand
around them in patches of purple and pink.
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The mules continue down the trail to the inner gorge. They
carry their riders past layers of rock that display millions of
years of the Earth’s geologic history. A canyon wren looks
for bits of brush to line its nest, hidden in a rocky crevice just
off the trail. It searches for twigs and grasses up and down the
Canyon walls, flying past fossils of fish teeth and seashells.
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The noonday sun glistens on a hidden creek near a granary
built into the Canyon wall by Anasazi Indians almost 1,000
years ago. Squirrels chase through the now-empty granary,
where crops and plants had been stored for food and trade.
A lizard scurries off the trail. It climbs over fossils of
prehistoric trilobites, embedded in layers of shale millions of
years ago when the land was covered by a primeval sea. After
the mules pass, the lizard creeps out from its hiding place to
soak up the warmth of the sun.
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The afternoon sun hangs low in the sky. A white-breasted
nuthatch flies above beavertail cacti along the rocky banks of
the Colorado River. Its song drifts over ancient pink, white, and
gray rocks at the river’s edge, the roots of the mountains that
stood there almost two billion years ago. The water tumbles
over cascading rapids, while trout search for quieter streams in
which to spawn.
A ringtail cat drinks from a slower side stream, watching for
predators up and down the red rocks and along the river nearby.
Laughter echoes from a bunkhouse, as weary riders and hikers
share stories of their descent into the Canyon.
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The endless cycles of eroding rock and moving water carved
the Grand Canyon millions of years ago. Blustering wind and
pounding rain continue to widen it, grinding down rocks that
used to be mountains and volcanoes. The rushing Colorado River
deepens this natural wonder, dragging rocks and mud along its
path through ancient plains and lava flows.
The mules rest for the night in a corral near the river, awaiting
tomorrow’s seven-mile trip back up to the top. Weather and
erosion make tiny changes every day in the rocky walls along the
trail. Millions of years into the future, the same forces of nature
will continue to reshape the Grand Canyon, digging even deeper
into the history of our planet.
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1
Reread the first paragraph on page 713. What is the main
idea of this paragraph? What details helped you figure out
MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS
the main idea?
2
How do weather and water erode rock?
3
Why do you think the author wrote the selection? How do
you think she feels about the Grand Canyon? AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
CAUSE AND EFFECT
AND PERSPECTIVE
4
Think about a visit you have made to a natural area or a
park. How do you think the effects of weather may change
that area over time? PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
5
WRITE What can you learn about Earth’s history from
the Grand Canyon? Use details and information from the
selection to support your answer. SHORT RESPONSE
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Linda Vieira says she has been
writing her entire life. When she
was younger and had a hard time
understanding something, she
would write it down to make it
easier. Later, as an elementary
school teacher, she would do
the same for her students. Linda
Vieira enjoys writing books, such
as Grand Canyon, that combine
science and history. Grand
Canyon is the second book she
has worked on with illustrator
Christopher Canyon.
Award-winning illustrator
Christopher Canyon loves to draw,
read, and make music. He says
creating children’s books is a way
to do his favorite things. When
not working on a book, he loves
playing guitar and singing with
his family. He also visits schools
and libraries to share his art with
others. His advice to young artists
is to have fun and celebrate their
creativity. He lives in Columbus,
Ohio, with his wife, Jeanette, and
their cat, Goppy.
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
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Science
Exposi t o r y Non f ic t ion
You might think that rocks never move or change, but did
you know that rocks are always changing and moving?
Forces of nature, such as heat and erosion, have created
mountains, canyons, and volcanoes. If you look closely at
the layers that make up the walls of the Grand Canyon,
you can see different types of rocks. Read on to learn
how nature formed these rocks.
Halite is a type of
sedimentary rock. It is the
natural form of table salt.
Granite and
obsidian are types of
igneous rocks.
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
Sediment is pieces of rock that have
Igneous rocks form when melted rock
been broken down and moved. Water,
cools and hardens. Deep inside Earth,
wind, and ice break down rock and
it is so hot that some rock is liquid, like
then carry the sediment. When the wind
syrup. This melted rock is called magma.
or water slows down, the sediment falls
Inside Earth's crust, magma cools slowly.
to the surface. It piles up in layers. The
Volcanic eruptions release magma. When
layers get pressed together. Water,
magma reaches Earth's surface, it is
carrying minerals, moves through the
called lava. When the lava cools and
sediment. Over time, the minerals cause
hardens, it becomes igneous rock.
the sediment to stick together.
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MAGMA
(molten rock)
cooling and
becoming solid
IGNEOUS
METAMORPHIC
(cooled,
hardened lava)
(changed by
heat, pressure)
weathering
and movement
pressure and
heat
settling and
pressing together
SEDIMENT
SEDIMENTARY
(tiny bits of rock)
(compacted sediment)
Marble and slate are
metamorphic rocks.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
Metamorphic rock is rock that has changed from another type
of rock. It can form from any other type of rock, including other
metamorphic rock.
Heat and pressure form this type of rock.
For example, when mountains form, plates that
make up Earth's surface push together. Rock
near the surface can get pushed down during
this process. Pressure on the rock squeezes it. If
the pressure is great enough, minerals in the rock
change, forming metamorphic rock.
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Comparing Texts
1. How would you describe the Grand Canyon to
someone who has never seen or read about it?
2. How is “Grand Canyon: A Trail Through Time”
similar to and different from “The Rock Cycle”?
3. If you could visit any distant place, where would you
go and why?
Vocabulary Review
ancient
Word Webs
Write a Vocabulary Word in the center of a word
web. Around the word, write related words and
phrases. Tell how each word or phrase is related to
the Vocabulary Word.
far off
remote
distant
out of
reach
in the
distance
distant
sentries
glistens
embedded
cascading
weary
eroding
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Fluency Practice
Par tner Reading
Work with a partner. Choose four
paragraphs from “Grand Canyon:
A Trail Through Time.” Take turns
reading aloud the paragraphs. Give each
other feedback about the accuracy of your
reading. Reread the paragraphs aloud until
you can both read with accuracy.
Writing
Write a Descriptive Paragraph
Imagine that while visiting the Grand
Canyon, you saw one of the animals
mentioned in the selection. Write a
descriptive paragraph about the animal
and its habitat.
Detail
Detail
Main Idea
Detail
Sentence Fluen
cy
✔ I used a grap
to plan my w
✔
✔
hic organizer
riting.
I used inform
ation from
mor e than on
e resource.
I used differ en
o f sentences
t types
to keep my
writing intere
sting.
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