Day
Shared Reading
“The Oregon Trail”
13
Key Idea In the early 1800s, half a million mostly white settlers followed in the wake of
Lewis and Clark, making the arduous, and sometimes fatal, journey from St. Louis to the
Pacific, often using the 2,100-mile Oregon Trail.
LEARNING FOCUS
RI.4.3
Students will explain events in a historical text, including what happened and why, based on
specific information in the text.
Previewing the Text
3 minutes
Today we’ll read a new text that involves some of the historical facts you’ve
learned previously in this theme. We’ll mainly use the first strategy we practiced
during this theme: explaining historical events by finding specific information in
the text. This is a short text, and you’ve had practice using this strategy, so let’s
begin right away.
Close Reading of the Text
7 minutes
Let’s reread the title together and then read the first paragraph. As we
read, let’s look for the events that happen and for information on why they
happened. . . . Who’d like to start us off by stating what event this paragraph
informs us about?
Let’s have someone else expand on that. Who’ll give us a specific piece of
information about the westward journey?
Let’s also look for the why of the event. What information does the paragraph
give you about why people made the westward journey?
Let’s continue finding information about what events happened and why they
happened. We’ll read the next two paragraphs together. . . . Who’ll share events
that they read about in this section?
I have a why question about what you just said: Why did they leave the river and
start journeying by land, which was much more difficult?
Now let’s read the final paragraph.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 4 • Theme 9 1
Discussing the Text
10 minutes
Let’s discuss the whole text. Remember that one of the best ways to share your
ideas about a text is to ask questions about it. When you or your classmates
answer a question, everyone in the group benefits. Who would like to share an
event in the text that they have a question about?
Who’d like to suggest an answer, using information from the text?
Lava is a word that you’ll find in some science courses, such as Earth Science.
What can you learn about its meaning in the third paragraph of this text?
That’s an excellent beginning for a definition of lava. What doesn’t it tell you
about lava?
Who can tell us where you could find that information?
Let’s find it now. . . . Who’ll tell us, based on the definition in the reference
materials?
Yes. The word lava can also refer to the same rock after it cools and becomes
solid again.
Who would like to share some other information that they learned in the text?
Who would like to add to that? What does the article suggest about why
diseases occurred on the trail?
2 Westward Ho!
Day
Shared Reading
“The Oregon Trail”
14
Learning FocusES
RI.4.3, RI.4.5, RI.4.7
Students will describe the structure of events as they interpret information presented visually
and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text. They continue to
explain what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
Returning to the Text
3 minutes
Before we reread “The Oregon Trail” today, will someone remind us what it’s
about?
Close Reading of the Text
7 minutes
Today we’ll explain what happened and why, examine the structure of the text,
and see how the visual information in the article helps us understand the text.
Let’s reread the first paragraph now. In our previous session, we looked at the
information in it. Now let’s look at the structure. Does this paragraph have a
chronological structure—does it go in the order of events? Who’ll tell us?
Does this paragraph discuss causes and effects? Does it state a problem and
give a solution? Let’s have someone try to describe how the paragraph is
organized.
All in all, the paragraph has a logical structure. You’ll find that that’s true in the
text as a whole.
Let’s read the next two paragraphs and look carefully at the map. How does the
map help you with the text?
Compare what you learn from the text and the map together, and what you
would have learned from just the text without the map. Who’ll share their views
on that with us?
We’ll finish the text by reading the final paragraph. As you read, notice the
information. Notice what happened to the people on the Oregon Trail, and
why. Also, think about how this paragraph provides a strong conclusion to the
text’s structure. And think about how reading the map helps you appreciate the
information in this paragraph.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 4 • Theme 9 1
Discussing the Text
10 minutes
Let’s combine the strategies we’ve been practicing. Will someone share their
experience of how the article’s concluding paragraph helped them appreciate
the information they read?
And can you, or someone else, say how the map helped you appreciate the
importance of the journey west?
2 Westward Ho!