Section Three - Humphrey the Lost Whale by Wendy Tokuda and Richard Hall pp.3-34

Humphrey was a humpback whale who lived in the Pacific Ocean with his other humpback pals.  Once a year, their migration route would take them very close to the shores of California.  One year, Humphrey got too close to the coastline and ended up getting lost.  He swam halfway up the Sacramento River before he realized he was no longer in salt water.  He ended up getting stuck in the shallow waters and was in serious trouble when he found it too difficult to turn around in the narrow bay river.  Teams of volunteers ran to the rescue to try to find a solution for the whale they nicknamed "Humphrey".  They knew he would die if he did not get back to the salty water of the ocean.  After a few days, and a few trials and errors, the team was able to help Humphrey find his way back to the Pacific Ocean and reunite with his friends.  This true story happened in 1985.  It made national news headlines and the news of the lost whale brought many people out to see the bizarre events that took place in order to rescue Humphrey.  Because of the close interactions that rescuers were able to have with Humphrey, they learned a lot of vital information about this threatened animal.  This adapted children's version is both informative and descriptive about the events that took place in October 1985 in the San Francisco Bay area.
 
 

Discussion Director
The discussion director’s job is to develop questions for the group members to discuss about this section of the book.  The focus is on important ideas and issues in this section and designing questions that address them.

Your job is to ask the following types of questions:

2 MCEOG

1 Setting

1 Effect/Cause

1 Hero/Heroine
 
 

Passage Picker

The Passage Picker's job is to select significant passages from the selections being read; determine why those passages are important; call other group member's attention to the passage; and lead a discussion about the passage.
   Steps:
        1.    Pick out a passage you would like to share.
        2.    Write down the page and paragraph number.
        3.    Write down the first two words and the last two words of your passage.
        4.    Write down the reason you chose the passage, and explain why!  (Descriptive, surprising, it contains figurative language, or it is  important)
        5.    Ask a question about your passage, and give an answer.
        6.    Write down the Author’s Purpose:  To Describe, To Entertain, To Inform, or To Persuade.

Your job is to choose:

2 important passages

2 surprising passages
 
 

Word Wizard
The Word Wizard's job is to search the section being read for words that are key to understanding what is happening in the story; note the page and sentence where it can be found; check the dictionary meaning of the word; lead a discussion about the meaning and intent of the word from context and what the word contributes to the importance of the passage.
Steps:
    1.  Write down the word, the page and paragraph number.
    2.  Copy the sentence from the book in which the word appears.
    3.  Write down the part of speech the word is in (noun, verb, adjective, or adverb) and what you think the word means.
    4.  Using the context clues from the sentence and the dictionary definition, write in your own words the
        definition of the word.
    5.  Tell how this word adds meaning to the story.
    6.  Make your Word Wizard card.  Be sure to include in big print, your word and the page and paragraph
        number.  On the other side of the card should be a picture, the word, and the definition of the word.

Your words are:

pod - p.4 par.1

spectacular - p.8 par.2

flustered - p.21 par.1

pilings - p.23 par.1

urge - p.25 par.1
 
 

Character Sketcher
The Character Sketcher's job is to develop a character map of major characters in the section of text being read.
Steps:
1.  Pick out a character that interests you.  Choose three words to describe this character.  These should be implied character traits; that is, they are not directly stated within the text.
2.  For each trait, you will give proof (an example) from the book (write down page and paragraph).
3.  Write out the character's goal, problem, and solution (page and paragraph).
4.  Last, you will draw a picture of your character.

Your character for this job is Humphrey
 
 

Travel Tracer

 The Travel Tracer's job is to track where the action takes place during the reading and describe each setting in detail.
 
 

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