Lesson 4: A Card Trick

Getting Started

Questions to Explore

  • How does the environment affect living things?

Facts and Definitions

  • Sentences end in periods, question marks, or exclamation marks.
  • An exclamation mark shows excitement, surprise, or other strong feelings.

Skills

  • Locate and discuss examples of an author's use of declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences. (LA)
  • Write sentences with subjects and verbs. (LA)
  • Produce a summary of a text. (LA)

Materials

  • Tornado by Betsy Byars, Doron Ben-Ami
  • crayons or colored pencils
  • deck of playing cards
  • journal

Introduction

Materials: deck of playing cards
Tell your child that the next chapter in the book is about cards. Ask your child if she has ever played cards. Look at a deck of cards and explain the numbers and suits.
Reading and Questions
Materials: Tornado by Betsy Byars, Doron Ben-Ami
Let your child read Chapter 3 independently and then ask her the following questions.
Questions
  1. Describe what happens in this chapter.
    Pete tells a story about how he found out Tornado could do a card trick. Tornado could pick the three of hearts out of a deck of cards.
  2. Do you think Tornado poked Pete's leg because he wanted to play cards? Why or why not?
    Answers will vary.
  3. Do you think Tornado knew a card trick? Why or why not?
    Answers will vary.
  4. How do you think Pete taught Tornado to play cards?
    Answers will vary.
  5. Why did Tornado drop the card when Pete's dad told him to but not when Pete told him to?
    Pete's father was more commanding.
  6. Was Pete's dad impressed by the card trick?
    Answers will vary.
  7. Have you ever seen a dog do a trick? What was the trick?
    Answers will vary.