Probable Passage 1

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Reading Skills

• Establishing a purpose for reading
• Making predictions
• Using prior knowledge
• Analyzing chronological order

Overview of the "Probable Passage" Strategy

This strategy can be adapted for use prior to the students' reading any section of the novel. The lesson will give students practice in predicting what a passage will be about. They will also learn to activate prior knowledge when they approach a reading assignment. They will further develop their skill at monitoring their own reading comprehension and will develop their understanding of narrative conventions.

The teacher chooses a passage, analyzes it, and selects 10 to 15 important words and phrases from the passage that the students will need to understand. The teacher then constructs a "probable passage" that uses the selected words and summarizes/condenses some of the ideas in the actual passage. The teacher makes a fill-in-the-blanks version of the probable passage by deleting the selected words and phrases and replacing them with blanks. After discussing the list of key words with the students, the teacher asks them to insert the key words and phrases into the blanks. The students then compare their filled-in probable passages to the actual passage. 

Activity for the "Probable Passage" Strategy 

1. Before the students read chapter 30 of Wish You Well, present them with a list of key words. Review the words, and discuss the definitions of any that are unfamiliar (e.g., fretted, lard.) (See #1 on the blackline master.)
2. Ask students to arrange the words into categories on the chart provided. (See #2 on the blackline master.)
3. Distribute the probable passage from which the key words have been deleted, and ask the students to insert the words into the blanks. (See #3 on the blackline master. Note: You may wish to refer to the categories in your probable passage. However, since the passage is from chapter 30, the students should already be familiar with most of the ideas from having read chapters 1 through 29 and may not need such prompts.)
4. Ask the students to read their probable passages and discuss their choices.
5. Assign the reading of chapter 30.
6. Ask the students to compare their probable passages to the actual passage.

Blackline Master
Probable Passage 1 - Wish You Well, Chapter 30
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1. Read and discuss the following list of key words and phrases:

2. Categorize each of the words in one of the columns in the chart below:

3. Probable Passage: Place the key words from your chart in the probable passage below. Change word categories at this point if you wish.

   In ______________ (time), food was abundant, and it was time for _________________, _________________, and the children to harvest their crops. They _____________________________ they picked and made into jams and preserves. They shucked the corn and picked beans, tomatoes, and fruits. All this they _______________________ and stored under the stairs. Turnips, rutabagas, carrots, and potatoes were dug for winter storage. While Louisa and her family had plenty of food, they also thought of those who had ____________________________. This included ______________________ and his family. One dark summer ________________, Billy brought a wagon to Louisa's farm. Lou was surprised when her grandmother and Eugene began loading ________________________________, ______________________, and all sorts of food into the wagon. Billy then drove the __________________ home with food for his mother and his brothers and sisters. Lou learned that Louisa had been secretly ____________________ the food she _______________ with the Davis family for many years. Louisa told her granddaughter that George Davis "never once ________________ about where the bounty come from."

4. Read the first section of chapter 30 of Wish You Well. Briefly discuss the differences between the actual passage and your probable passage.
5. Suggested journal topic: Imagine that you are Lou, and describe how you would you feel if you learned that your grandmother had been giving food to George Davis's family.

Assessment

Use the following rubric to assess the students' work:

• ACCOMPLISHED: (Score 3): Can predict exactly what will happen in the actual text.
• DEVELOPING (Score 2): Can predict some of the events that will occur in the actual text.
• BEGINNING (Score 1): Cannot predict, based on the context clues, what will happen in the actual text.

Answer Key for the Preceding Probable Passage

In late summer (time), food was abundant, and it was time for Louisa, Eugene, and the children to harvest their crops. They filled lard buckets with berries they picked and made into jams and preserves. They shucked the corn and picked beans, tomatoes, and fruits. All this they canned in jars and stored under the stairs. Turnips, rutabagas, carrots, and potatoes were dug for winter storage. While Louisa and her family had plenty of food, they also thought of those who had nothing to eat. This included Billy Davis and his family. One dark summer night, Billy brought a wagon to Louisa's farm. Lou was surprised when her grandmother and Eugene began loading buckets of potatoes, bags of cornmeal, and all sorts of food into the wagon. Billy then drove the heavy wagon home with food for his mother and his brothers and sisters. Lou learned that Louisa had been secretly sharing the food she harvested with the Davis family for many years. Louisa told her granddaughter that George Davis "never once fretted about where the bounty come from."