FOR
BOOK
C
Graphic
Organizers
eading
R
riting
W
CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.
AND
FOR THE STUDENT
Have you ever wanted a simple way to summarize a story, a poem,
or an article you have read? Or have you ever wanted a better way
to outline your thoughts for an essay you plan to write? Graphic
Organizers for Reading and Writing will show you how!
Graphic organizers are ways of summarizing and organizing material.
Unlike traditional outlines, graphic organizers are complete pictures
of information.
There are several different kinds of graphic organizers. The various
forms in this book are a story map, a setting map, a sequence map,
a character web, a main idea/details chart, an opinion/facts chart,
a cause-and-effect diagram, and a problem/solution chart.
In Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing, you will read
the following selections: a short story, a poem, and two articles.
Each selection is followed by a graphic organizer. You will complete
the graphic organizer to show your understanding of the selection.
A writing assignment based on the selection you read comes next.
You will complete another graphic organizer to plan your writing.
Then you will use that graphic organizer to write a short essay.
Next, you will use an Editor’s Checklist to revise your essay. Your
teacher will be there to help you. When you are done, your teacher
may ask you to score your writing using a Writer’s Rubric. Last, you
will complete an Areas for Improvement chart to track your progress.
Enjoy these reading and writing activities! They will improve your
skills in reading and writing, as well as in social studies and science.
They will also make these subjects easier for you to understand.
Author
Mary Ellen Osowski is a developer of curriculum materials
for elementary school students.
ISBN 0-7609-2554-2
©2004, 1998—Curriculum Associates, Inc.
North Billerica, MA 01862
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means
without written permission from the publisher.
All Rights Reserved. Printed in USA.
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lesson 1: Focus on Story
Page
Part One: Reading
Thinking About the Story: “Old Soldiers” .....................................2
Summarizing the Story: Story Map ................................................7
Part Two: Writing
Planning: Setting Map...................................................................8
Drafting and Revising: Setting Essay .............................................9
Lesson 2: Focus on Sequence
Part One: Reading
Thinking About the Poem: “Sweet Dreams”.................................10
Summarizing the Poem: Sequence Map ........................................11
Part Two: Writing
Planning: Character Web.............................................................12
Drafting and Revising: Descriptive Essay .....................................13
Lesson 3: Focus on Main Idea and Details
Part One: Reading
Thinking About the Article: “Let the Ballet Begin!” .....................14
Summarizing the Article: Main Idea/Details Chart .......................17
Part Two: Writing
Planning: Opinion/Facts Chart....................................................18
Drafting and Revising: Opinion Essay ..........................................19
Lesson 4: Focus on Cause and Effect
Part One: Reading
Thinking About the Article: “Animals in Danger” ........................20
Summarizing the Article: Cause-and-Effect Diagram ....................23
Part Two: Writing
Planning: Problem/Solution Chart ..............................................24
Drafting and Revising: Problem/Solution Essay...........................25
Editor’s Checklist ...................................................................26
Writer’s Rubric.......................................................................27
Areas for Improvement .......................................................29
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
LESSON
4
Focus on Cause and Effect
Part One: Reading
Read this article about how people have put animals in danger.
Thinking About the Article
As you read the article, think about these questions: What are
the three major reasons that animals become endangered?
What can people do to protect endangered animals?
Animals in Danger
Pretend that you are
seeing the earth when
dinosaurs lived. There are no
crowds and no cars. No
humans are polluting the
land or the water. The earth
looks like a great place for
animals to live, doesn’t it?
Why didn’t the dinosaurs
stay around to enjoy it?
The great dinosaurs died
out because of natural
causes. Nothing could have
been done to save them.
The land and the climate
changed. The dinosaurs may
have run out of food
because there were too
many of them.
When an animal dies out,
we say it has become extinct.
Since the time of the dinosaurs,
many other animals have
become extinct. Like the
dinosaurs, some have died out
because of natural causes. But
the loss of other animals was
caused by humans. The loss
could have been prevented.
Today, hundreds of types
of animals are endangered.
People can prevent some of
these endangered animals
from becoming extinct.
20
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
What puts so many
animals in danger? People,
who are also one of the
earth’s animals, are the main
cause! The number of
people on the earth goes up
every year. As the number of
people goes up, the number
of other animals goes down.
More people need more
places to live. As people
move into new areas, they
squeeze other animals out of
their habitat. The land that
once gave animals food and
shelter is cleared for farming.
Towns and cities are built.
When the animals have no
place to live or when they are
living in an area much
smaller than they had, they
can become endangered.
They cannot find enough
food to live.
Some animals that are in
danger of losing their lands
today are the jaguar, the
grizzly bear, the whooping
crane, and the spotted owl.
People are taking over the
habitats of these animals.
People have also hunted
and killed too many animals
for goods people want.
Hundreds of thousands of
African elephants have been
killed for their ivory. Siberian
tigers have been hunted for
their beautiful coats. Black
rhinoceroses have been
hunted for their horns.
Today, all of these animals
are endangered.
21
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
Animals can also be
harmed by people’s lack of
care. As the number of
people on the earth grows,
it becomes more and more
difficult to keep the earth
clean. People dump waste
and throw litter on the land
and in the water. Today we
use chemicals that may
poison all of us. Thousands
of factories and millions of
cars pollute the air.
Many animals are harmed
because people pollute. Sea
animals, such as seals,
turtles, pelicans, and whales,
die because of trash that
people throw into the ocean.
If the pollution is spread over
large areas, whole groups of
animals can become
endangered.
At one time, eagles and
falcons were endangered
animals. Many were dying
because of chemicals that
people were using. Now,
the use of those chemicals
has stopped in the United
States. The number of these
birds is once again rising.
Other types of wildlife are
making a comeback too.
Many animals that hadn’t
been seen for a very long
time are now being spotted
again.
22
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
Summarizing the Article
The article you have just read discusses the three major causes
of animals becoming endangered. Complete this cause-and-effect
diagram to show how well you understood the article.
Write one cause in each box. (The effect is given to you.)
Cause:
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
Cause:
________________________
Effect: Animals
become
endangered.
________________________
________________________
________________________
Cause:
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
23
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
Part Two: Writing
In the cause-and-effect diagram, you identified three causes of
danger for animals. What do you think people can do to protect
endangered animals? Write your answer in a short essay.
Planning
Complete this problem/solution chart to plan your essay.
On the next page, you will follow this chart as you write your essay.
The Problem
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Causes of the Problem
Solutions to the Problem
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
The Result
____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
24
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
Drafting and Revising
Now you are ready to write your essay. Follow your problem/
solution chart as you write. In one or two paragraphs,
explain what you think people can do to protect animals.
State the problem first. Then state the three causes of
the problem and a solution for each cause. Last, tell what
result you expect from your solutions.
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Check your essay against the Editor’s Checklist on page 26.
Make any necessary changes. Then write your revision on
separate paper.
25
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
EDITOR’S CHECKLIST
Use this checklist to guide your revisions. For each question
that you answer yes, put a check (✓) in the box.
Lessons
1
2
3
4
1. Have you included all the
important points?
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
2. Did you include examples
from the reading selection,
if examples were asked for?
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
3. Does your writing have
a good beginning, middle,
and ending?
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
4. Do you use clear, complete
sentences?
7. Are words spelled correctly?
❑
❑
❑
❑
8. Were capital letters used
where needed?
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
9. Are punctuation marks used
correctly?
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑
5. Does your writing make sense?
6. Did you use proper grammar?
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
❑
26
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Think about some ways that you could improve your writing.
Write your ideas here.
Lesson
Content
(What you say)
Style
(How you say it)
Mechanics
(The basics)
1
2
3
4
29
Graphic Organizers for Reading and Writing - Book C—CURRICULUM ASSOCIATES®, Inc.—www.curriculumassociates.com—800-225-0248