Lesson 15 — Activity 3: Assignment
Completion requirements
You may use a computer or paper to complete this assignment.
1. You can type your work directly into the assignment box on the next
page by clicking the "add submission" button under the orange box at the
bottom of this page.
2. If you type your work into the attached Word documents, save your documents, and either send them to your teacher as an e-mail attachment or print them off and then hand them in to your teacher so they can be marked.
3. You can also choose to complete a hand-written assignment on a piece of paper. If so, please hand in your assignments to your teacher so they can be marked.
See the Marking Guide below to see how your teacher will grade this assignment.
In this assignment, you will read the story "How Nanabozho Lost His Big Feast." You will practise strategies to understand vocabulary and to understand what you are reading.
Click on the "Reading the Story" tab when you are ready to begin.
1. Read the story, and as you read, try using the vocabulary strategies from the Activity 1 page for any new words you come across.
You may look at those strategies again, if you'd like to:
Word Attack Strategy
When you come to a word you do not know, look closely at it and ask:
- Does it look like another word I know?
- Do I know how to say parts of it?
Try to say the word out loud and ask:
- Do the sounds of the letters spell the word?
- Does it make sense in the sentence if I read the word that way?
Reference Skills
You can use reference skills to find out more about words:
Glossaries:
- are found in most textbooks and nonfiction books
- are listed in alphabetical order with their definitions
You already know that there is a glossary for this course.
Dictionaries:
- are collections of words that are organized in alphabetical order
You also know how to access the dictionary for this course. When you look up a word, you will see an explanation for how to say it.
Context Clues
Context clues are hints in sentences or paragraphs that tell you what words probably mean.
When you come to a word that you do not know the meaning of, read the rest of the sentence and ask:
- What meaning makes sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- Could that be what this word means?
Try to read the sentence and replace the unknown word with one that you think means the same thing. Then, ask:
- does the new word make sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- does the new word probably mean the same as the word I have come up with?
2. And as you read, try using the comprehension strategies from the Activity 2 page.
You may look at those strategies again, if you'd like to.
Monitoring as you read.
Questions to answer:
- What's the main idea of this?
- What specific information supports that main idea?
- What connections can you make?
- What questions do you have?
- Can you say this information in your own words?
3. As well, as you are reading, complete the Identifying the Main Idea page.
When done reading, click on the "Thinking about the Message" tab.
4. Now think about the author's message. Complete the questions on the Thinking about the Message page.
In this assignment, you will read the story "How Nanabozho Lost His Big Feast." You will practise strategies to understand vocabulary and to understand what you are reading.
Click on the "Reading the Story" tab when you are ready to begin.
1. Read the story, and as you read, try using the vocabulary strategies from the Activity 1 page for any new words you come across.
You may look at those strategies again, if you'd like to:
Word Attack Strategy
When you come to a word you do not know, look closely at it and ask:
- Does it look like another word I know?
- Do I know how to say parts of it?
Try to say the word out loud and ask:
- Do the sounds of the letters spell the word?
- Does it make sense in the sentence if I read the word that way?
Reference Skills
You can use reference skills to find out more about words:
Glossaries:
- are found in most textbooks and nonfiction books
- are listed in alphabetical order with their definitions
You already know that there is a glossary for this course.
Dictionaries:
- are collections of words that are organized in alphabetical order
You also know how to access the dictionary for this course. When you look up a word, you will see an explanation for how to say it.
Context Clues
Context clues are hints in sentences or paragraphs that tell you what words probably mean.
When you come to a word that you do not know the meaning of, read the rest of the sentence and ask:
- What meaning makes sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- Could that be what this word means?
Try to read the sentence and replace the unknown word with one that you think means the same thing. Then, ask:
- does the new word make sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- does the new word probably mean the same as the word I have come up with?
2. And as you read, try using the comprehension strategies from the Activity 2 page.
You may look at those strategies again, if you'd like to.
Monitoring as you read.
Questions to answer:
- What's the main idea of this?
- What specific information supports that main idea?
- What connections can you make?
- What questions do you have?
- Can you say this information in your own words?
3. As well, as you are reading, complete the Identifying the Main Idea page.
Word Attack Strategy
When you come to a word you do not know, look closely at it and ask:
Try to say the word out loud and ask:
When you come to a word you do not know, look closely at it and ask:
- Does it look like another word I know?
- Do I know how to say parts of it?
Try to say the word out loud and ask:
- Do the sounds of the letters spell the word?
- Does it make sense in the sentence if I read the word that way?
Reference Skills
You can use reference skills to find out more about words:
Glossaries:
- are found in most textbooks and nonfiction books
- are listed in alphabetical order with their definitions
You already know that there is a glossary for this course.
Dictionaries:
- are collections of words that are organized in alphabetical order
You also know how to access the dictionary for this course. When you look up a word, you will see an explanation for how to say it.
Context Clues
Context clues are hints in sentences or paragraphs that tell you what words probably mean.
When you come to a word that you do not know the meaning of, read the rest of the sentence and ask:
- What meaning makes sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- Could that be what this word means?
Try to read the sentence and replace the unknown word with one that you think means the same thing. Then, ask:
- does the new word make sense in the sentence or paragraph?
- does the new word probably mean the same as the word I have come up with?
Monitoring as you read.
Questions to answer:
Questions to answer:
- What's the main idea of this?
- What specific information supports that main idea?
- What connections can you make?
- What questions do you have?
- Can you say this information in your own words?
When done reading, click on the "Thinking about the Message" tab.
4. Now think about the author's message. Complete the questions on the Thinking about the Message page.
The Main Idea Page and the Thinking about the Message Page will be handed in for marking.
This is a long story. Read it in parts, monitoring as you go.
"Even though it was early in May, the month of budding, Nanabozho felt very hot. He’d been walking all morning, and because there were no leaves on the birches and maples, the sun shone right down on him.
I think that the lake is just ahead. I could sure use a good drink of water, he thought.
Soon, he saw the sunlight sparkling off the water, and as he got closer, he saw several flocks of ducks swimming around, more than usual. In the springtime, many flocks of ducks would rest at the lake before heading farther north.
Nanabozho realized that he wasn’t just thirsty. He was also extremely hungry. He always liked to eat, and when he could, he’d eat more than he needed. In fact, if he hadn’t gotten so much exercise looking for feasts, he probably would have developed an enormous belly.
There were enough mallards, mergansers, buffleheads and coots on the lake for him to have a bigger feast than he’d ever had before.
But there was a problem. How could he catch as many as he wanted? If he used his bow and arrow, he’d probably be able to shoot only two or three before the rest flew off. And two or three certainly wouldn’t be enough for Nanabozho. If he tried to swim underwater into the middle of a flock to grab some by the legs, he wouldn’t be any more successful. And besides, the lake was still too cold to swim in.
So he sat down on a log and thought. After a few minutes he stood up, took the sack that he always carried with him and started putting dead branches in it. Then he started walking back and forth along the bank, near where a large group of mallards was swimming.
One of the mallards looked up and swam to the shore. “What are you carrying in your sack?” he asked.
“Oh,” Nanabozho answered, “I have a very special dance in here. It’s called the shut-eye dance. I would like to perform it in the village, but I will need many dancers to help me.” He paused and then continued, “Perhaps you could help me, little brother. You and all your brothers and sisters could help. I would be very honoured if you would dance with me. It’s going to be a very important dance.”
The mallard was pleased. Mallards were never asked to take part in anything important. They were usually ignored or ridiculed because they didn’t seem very smart. So the mallard swam out to the other mallards, the mergansers, the buffleheads and the coots to tell them about Nanabozho's invitation.
Soon, there were 50 ducks standing on the sand. More wanted to join the group, but Nanabozho said that for the dance to be well done, there couldn’t be too many. And, he thought to himself, 50 would be enough for the biggest feast I’ve ever had.
His mouth began to water.
“I want you to listen carefully to my instructions,” he told them. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, the dance will be a failure. First, you are to follow me along this trail through the woods until we get to a big clearing. Then, you are to get into four circles. The coots will be on the inner circle, because they’re the smallest, then the buffleheads and mergansers.”
To the mallards, he said, “It is very important that all of you be in the outside circle. Do you understand?” Nanabozho loved roasted mallards.
The ducks nodded their heads and quacked excitedly. “Now comes the most important part. If you don’t do exactly as I tell you, the dance will be ruined, and I’ll have to find another group to join me at the festival. When I start beating on my drum, you must all close your eyes and begin to dance and to sing as loudly as you can. If you open your eyes, I’ll punish you. Your eyes will turn red.”
“We’ll do as you say, Nanabozho,” said the birds. Nobody wanted to be left out.
When they reached the clearing, Nanabozho pulled a little drum out of his bag and started to beat it slowly. The ducks closed their eyes, began stepping slowly to the beat and chanting. Gradually, he beat the drum louder and faster. The ducks moved their feet more quickly and began chanting louder and louder. Soon there was such a noise of quacking and chanting that they could hardly hear the drum.
Nanabozho moved closer to the outer circle, the one with the mallards in it. He put his drum down, stepped up to one of them, grabbed it, and wrung its neck. Then he grabbed another and wrung its neck, and another, and another.
He’d gone almost all the way around the circle, when one of the coots in the inside circle opened its eyes. “Help,” he screamed. “Nanabozho is killing us. Fly, brothers and sisters, fly.”
The ducks began to flap their wings and to run along the ground.
Nanabozho ran after the coot that had shouted the warning and grabbed its feet just as it began to fly. “Your eyes will be red for the rest of your life,” he said angrily. “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to let you go so you can tell everyone what happens when you disobey Nanabozho. And because you seem to be having trouble getting into the air, I’m going to give you some help.” Then he kicked the coot into the air.
And that’s why, even to this day, coots have red eyes and waddle as if someone has kicked them in the behind.
Part Three:
Nanabozho looked at the pile of mallards on the ground. There were enough to feed five or six ordinary people. “I guess this will have to do,” he sighed as he emptied the sticks out of his sack and built a fire. He began to pluck the feathers of the birds and to clean them. Soon there was a pile of embers at just the right heat for roasting mallards. He carefully arranged the carcasses at the outer edge of the fire and raked the coals around them.
As he sat gazing into the embers and inhaling the delicious aromas of the roasting mallards, he was startled by a voice from the edge of the clearing. “Hello, brother. Do you mind if I sit for a few minutes and rest beside your fire?”
It was Coyote. Nanabozho knew he should invite her to join him and share his meal. But he wasn’t very happy about it, because he thought there was barely enough for himself.
When he noticed that Coyote was limping as she came toward the fire, he had an idea. “These ducks won’t be cooked for some time,” he told her. “While we’re waiting, why don’t we amuse ourselves with a race around the lake? The exercise will be good for us; it will give us a good appetite.”
“But my leg is very sore; I can hardly walk. You’ll beat me easily.”
“Here’s what I’ll do,” Nanabozho replied. “To make it fair, I’ll tie this branch to my leg to slow me down, and I’ll give you a head start.”
He planned to wait until Coyote was out of sight, untie the branch and then take a shorter path around the lake. He’d get back to the fire first, and then he’d have time to eat most of the ducks before Coyote returned.
Coyote limped off into the woods. But as soon as she was out of sight, she crept slowly back to the edge of the clearing and hid behind a very large white pine. She saw Nanabozho untie the branch and start running as fast as he could.
When he’d disappeared into the trees, Coyote walked back into the clearing, not limping at all, pulled all the ducks out of the fire, let them cool for a few minutes and ate every one of them. Then, she took the leg bones and carefully placed them into the ashes beside the fire. It looked like all of the ducks were still roasting.
Coyote licked her lips, stood up and walked into the woods. She hid behind the white pine and waited for Nanabozho to finish the race.
When Nanabozho ran into the clearing, he was gasping for breath. “I’m really hungry now,” he said to himself as he sat down beside the fire. “I’m sure glad that I won’t have to share all my feast with that old coyote.”
He reached for the first pair of duck legs and pulled them out of the fire. A surprised look spread across his face. There was no meat on the bones. Maybe they were too close to the heat, and all the meat fell off and burned, he thought. He reached for another pair of legs, and then another, and then another, without finding any meat. By the time he’d reached the end of the circle of legs, Nanabozho was very angry. If he’d been wearing a shirt, he’d have been hot under the collar.
“You tricked me, Coyote,” he yelled. “You are the greediest person I know, and selfish, too. You should have left some of the food for me. I’m going to get you.”
Just then, Coyote stepped out from behind the tree. “Catch me if you can,” she called out and then laughed. “My leg is all better!”
Nanabozho started after her, but Coyote ran very fast and soon disappeared into the forest.
Nanabozho walked to the lake and sat down. He gasped for breath, and his legs ached. He hadn’t had a drink of water all day. He was thirsty, as thirsty as he’d ever been. As he waded into the water, the ducks saw him and, quacking with alarm, flew off over the trees.
Nanabozho filled his stomach with water and started walking.
“I’m afraid that I’m going to starve to death,” he muttered to himself.
His stomach rumbled.
Part One:
"Even though it was early in May, the month of budding, Nanabozho felt very hot. He’d been walking all morning, and because there were no leaves on the birches and maples, the sun shone right down on him.
I think that the lake is just ahead. I could sure use a good drink of water, he thought.
Soon, he saw the sunlight sparkling off the water, and as he got closer, he saw several flocks of ducks swimming around, more than usual. In the springtime, many flocks of ducks would rest at the lake before heading farther north.
Nanabozho realized that he wasn’t just thirsty. He was also extremely hungry. He always liked to eat, and when he could, he’d eat more than he needed. In fact, if he hadn’t gotten so much exercise looking for feasts, he probably would have developed an enormous belly.
There were enough mallards, mergansers, buffleheads and coots on the lake for him to have a bigger feast than he’d ever had before.
But there was a problem. How could he catch as many as he wanted? If he used his bow and arrow, he’d probably be able to shoot only two or three before the rest flew off. And two or three certainly wouldn’t be enough for Nanabozho. If he tried to swim underwater into the middle of a flock to grab some by the legs, he wouldn’t be any more successful. And besides, the lake was still too cold to swim in.
Part Two:
So he sat down on a log and thought. After a few minutes he stood up, took the sack that he always carried with him and started putting dead branches in it. Then he started walking back and forth along the bank, near where a large group of mallards was swimming.
One of the mallards looked up and swam to the shore. “What are you carrying in your sack?” he asked.
“Oh,” Nanabozho answered, “I have a very special dance in here. It’s called the shut-eye dance. I would like to perform it in the village, but I will need many dancers to help me.” He paused and then continued, “Perhaps you could help me, little brother. You and all your brothers and sisters could help. I would be very honoured if you would dance with me. It’s going to be a very important dance.”
The mallard was pleased. Mallards were never asked to take part in anything important. They were usually ignored or ridiculed because they didn’t seem very smart. So the mallard swam out to the other mallards, the mergansers, the buffleheads and the coots to tell them about Nanabozho's invitation.
Soon, there were 50 ducks standing on the sand. More wanted to join the group, but Nanabozho said that for the dance to be well done, there couldn’t be too many. And, he thought to himself, 50 would be enough for the biggest feast I’ve ever had.
His mouth began to water.
“I want you to listen carefully to my instructions,” he told them. “If you don’t do exactly as I say, the dance will be a failure. First, you are to follow me along this trail through the woods until we get to a big clearing. Then, you are to get into four circles. The coots will be on the inner circle, because they’re the smallest, then the buffleheads and mergansers.”
To the mallards, he said, “It is very important that all of you be in the outside circle. Do you understand?” Nanabozho loved roasted mallards.
The ducks nodded their heads and quacked excitedly. “Now comes the most important part. If you don’t do exactly as I tell you, the dance will be ruined, and I’ll have to find another group to join me at the festival. When I start beating on my drum, you must all close your eyes and begin to dance and to sing as loudly as you can. If you open your eyes, I’ll punish you. Your eyes will turn red.”
“We’ll do as you say, Nanabozho,” said the birds. Nobody wanted to be left out.
When they reached the clearing, Nanabozho pulled a little drum out of his bag and started to beat it slowly. The ducks closed their eyes, began stepping slowly to the beat and chanting. Gradually, he beat the drum louder and faster. The ducks moved their feet more quickly and began chanting louder and louder. Soon there was such a noise of quacking and chanting that they could hardly hear the drum.
Nanabozho moved closer to the outer circle, the one with the mallards in it. He put his drum down, stepped up to one of them, grabbed it, and wrung its neck. Then he grabbed another and wrung its neck, and another, and another.
He’d gone almost all the way around the circle, when one of the coots in the inside circle opened its eyes. “Help,” he screamed. “Nanabozho is killing us. Fly, brothers and sisters, fly.”
The ducks began to flap their wings and to run along the ground.
Nanabozho ran after the coot that had shouted the warning and grabbed its feet just as it began to fly. “Your eyes will be red for the rest of your life,” he said angrily. “I’m not going to kill you. I’m going to let you go so you can tell everyone what happens when you disobey Nanabozho. And because you seem to be having trouble getting into the air, I’m going to give you some help.” Then he kicked the coot into the air.
And that’s why, even to this day, coots have red eyes and waddle as if someone has kicked them in the behind.
Part Three:
Nanabozho looked at the pile of mallards on the ground. There were enough to feed five or six ordinary people. “I guess this will have to do,” he sighed as he emptied the sticks out of his sack and built a fire. He began to pluck the feathers of the birds and to clean them. Soon there was a pile of embers at just the right heat for roasting mallards. He carefully arranged the carcasses at the outer edge of the fire and raked the coals around them.
As he sat gazing into the embers and inhaling the delicious aromas of the roasting mallards, he was startled by a voice from the edge of the clearing. “Hello, brother. Do you mind if I sit for a few minutes and rest beside your fire?”
It was Coyote. Nanabozho knew he should invite her to join him and share his meal. But he wasn’t very happy about it, because he thought there was barely enough for himself.
When he noticed that Coyote was limping as she came toward the fire, he had an idea. “These ducks won’t be cooked for some time,” he told her. “While we’re waiting, why don’t we amuse ourselves with a race around the lake? The exercise will be good for us; it will give us a good appetite.”
“But my leg is very sore; I can hardly walk. You’ll beat me easily.”
“Here’s what I’ll do,” Nanabozho replied. “To make it fair, I’ll tie this branch to my leg to slow me down, and I’ll give you a head start.”
He planned to wait until Coyote was out of sight, untie the branch and then take a shorter path around the lake. He’d get back to the fire first, and then he’d have time to eat most of the ducks before Coyote returned.
Coyote limped off into the woods. But as soon as she was out of sight, she crept slowly back to the edge of the clearing and hid behind a very large white pine. She saw Nanabozho untie the branch and start running as fast as he could.
When he’d disappeared into the trees, Coyote walked back into the clearing, not limping at all, pulled all the ducks out of the fire, let them cool for a few minutes and ate every one of them. Then, she took the leg bones and carefully placed them into the ashes beside the fire. It looked like all of the ducks were still roasting.
Coyote licked her lips, stood up and walked into the woods. She hid behind the white pine and waited for Nanabozho to finish the race.
Part Four:
When Nanabozho ran into the clearing, he was gasping for breath. “I’m really hungry now,” he said to himself as he sat down beside the fire. “I’m sure glad that I won’t have to share all my feast with that old coyote.”
He reached for the first pair of duck legs and pulled them out of the fire. A surprised look spread across his face. There was no meat on the bones. Maybe they were too close to the heat, and all the meat fell off and burned, he thought. He reached for another pair of legs, and then another, and then another, without finding any meat. By the time he’d reached the end of the circle of legs, Nanabozho was very angry. If he’d been wearing a shirt, he’d have been hot under the collar.
“You tricked me, Coyote,” he yelled. “You are the greediest person I know, and selfish, too. You should have left some of the food for me. I’m going to get you.”
Just then, Coyote stepped out from behind the tree. “Catch me if you can,” she called out and then laughed. “My leg is all better!”
Nanabozho started after her, but Coyote ran very fast and soon disappeared into the forest.
Nanabozho walked to the lake and sat down. He gasped for breath, and his legs ached. He hadn’t had a drink of water all day. He was thirsty, as thirsty as he’d ever been. As he waded into the water, the ducks saw him and, quacking with alarm, flew off over the trees.
Nanabozho filled his stomach with water and started walking.
“I’m afraid that I’m going to starve to death,” he muttered to himself.
His stomach rumbled.
You may use a computer or paper to complete this assignment.
When you are done, review for
spelling and punctuation.
Please do one of the following:
1. You can type your work directly into the assignment box on the next
page by clicking the "add submission" button under the orange box at the
bottom of this page.
2. If you type your work into the attached Word documents, save your documents, and either send them to your teacher as an e-mail attachment or print them off and then hand them in to your teacher so they can be marked.
3. You can also choose to complete a hand-written assignment on a piece of paper. If so, please hand in your assignments to your teacher so they can be marked.
See the Marking Guide below to see how your teacher will grade this assignment.