By Laura Ingalls Wilder

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The Swimming Hole
Genre Classic Historical Fiction Authors
Purpose Inform, Entertain Reading Skill
Theme

• By Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Illustrations by Garth Williams

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Summary

•   Laura loves wading in the creek of her
  prairie home.  But when Ma and Pa take her to the
  swimming hole, she realizes that she loves
  swimming even more.  Laura knows that she is
  never supposed to go to the swimming hole without
  a grownup to take her.  One hot day, though, she
  just can't resist heading for the swimming hole's
  cool water.  One thing that stops her from going
  in the water is a fierce badger that snarls at
  her and frightens her into returning home.

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Genre Historical Fiction

• Historical Fiction is fiction that takes place in
  the past.
• The author makes up the characters and events,
  but the characters and events seem real.
• The setting is important, and the problems and
  events are based on things that really did or
  could have happened during the time period.

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Comprehension Skill - Theme

• Theme is the underlying
• meaning or big idea of
• a story.
• Sometimes an author states the theme directly.
• Sometimes readers have to figure out the theme on
  their own, using evidence from the text to
  support their big idea.

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Vocabulary Skill Antonyms

• Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings.
• Many writers create sentences in which a known
  word may be used as a clue to the meaning of an
  antonym.
• Examples
• Im not happy, Im distraught.
• She waded through the shallow creed because it
  wasnt too deep to cross.

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Comprehension Review Cause and Effect

• An effect is something that happen
• Ask yourself the question What happens?
• A cause is something that makes an effect happen
  
• Ask yourself Why did it happen?

Click on the words Cause and Effect to practice
the skill.
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More Good Stuff

• Vocabulary Word Search
• Vocabulary Hang Man
• Vocabulary Matching
• Internet Workshop
• Learn About Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Scavenger Hunt

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More on Fables

• Listen to Fables
• Aesop's Fables
• More Aesops Fables Webquest

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Writing Assignment

• Write a paragraph telling whether you are
  more like Mary or more like Laura. Give specific
  reasons for your answer. Be sure to proofread
  for punctuation and grammar.

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Weekly Fluency Check -Read with Expression

• Students should match the tone of voice to the
  tone of the piece. In this passage the tone of
  the story is light and cheery. But soon the tone
  becomes more serious when Laura gets dunked. This
  change should reflect in the readers voice.
• Go to pages 203-204, beginning with
  Everything was watery. . .

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Say It!

• bristled
• dugout
• jointed
• naughty

• punish
• rushes
• shallow

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More Words to Know

• badger
• tableland
• frightful

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bristled

• had one's hair stand up straight

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dugout

• a shelter formed
• by digging into the
• side of a hill

Click on the word to see real pioneer dugouts.
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rushes

• grasslike plants with hollow stems that grow in
  wet places

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jointed

• having places where two parts join together
  having joints

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naughty

• bad not behaving well

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punish

• to discipline cause pain for doing something
  wrong

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shallow

• not deep

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badger

• a gray hairy animal that feeds at night and lives
  in a hole

Click on the word badger to hear his sound! Give
it time to load.
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tableland

• a high plain a plateau

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frightful

• causing fear or terror

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Long hair bristled along the animals back.
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Long hair bristled along the animals back.

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Laura lived in a dugout.
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Laura lived in a dugout.
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The jointed rushes swayed in the wind.
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The jointed rushes swayed in the wind.
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The naughty girl slapped William.
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The naughty girl slapped William.
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They passed a high, almost straight-up wall of
earth called a tableland.
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They passed a high, almost straight-up wall of
earth called a tableland.
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The man said, I will have to punish you for
hitting her.
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The man said, I will have to punish you for
hitting her.
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The pool is to shallow to swim in.
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The pool is too shallow to swim in.
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That was a frightful experience when I heard that
awful sound.
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That was a frightful experience when I heard that
awful sound.
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I waded out into the water where the rushes grew.
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I waded out into the water where the rushes grew.
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Review Questions

• Why do you think Laura and Mary are told never to
  go near the hole?
• How does Laura act at the swimming hole?
• What does this say about her character?
• Do you think Laura really understands why being
  good could never be as hard as being watched?
  Why or why not?
• Why do you think Mrs. Wilder chose the prairie as
  the setting of her books?

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Review Questions 2

• What part does the badger play in the story?
• Why do Ma and Pa not want the girls to go to the
  swimming hole?
• What is the theme (big idea) of this story?
• What troubled Laura the most after returning home
  after going near the swimming hole?
• How does Laura probably feel about her parents?

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Spelling WordsHomophones

• their
• there
• theyre
• your
• youre

• wood
• would
• too
• two
• to

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Spelling WordsHomophones

• close
• piece
• peace
• thrown
• throne

• beat
• beet
• break
• brake
• clothes

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Lets review our words. Watch carefully because
they will flash on the screen for just a moment.
We will clap as we spell the word.Dont be
fooled this week. You have to get the correct
homophone in the sentence!
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throne
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thrown
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peace
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piece
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close
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clothes
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brake
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break
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beet
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beat
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youre
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your
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theyre
59
there
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their
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to
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two
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too
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would
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wood
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GREAT JOB!