The Best Find
In This Grade 3 The Best Find 19 Eva’s Eggflip 35 Gramma’s Favorite 51 Knights’ Day 67 “Michael Spreckle! 83 Payback Where Have You Been?” 99 The Enemy 115 The Save 131 The Tarantulas of Pie Town 147 Walking for My Life
RL.5.1: Quote text when explaining what it says and when drawing inferences from the text RL.5.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text RL.5.3: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama RL.5.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text RL.5.5: Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fit together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem RL.5.7: Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text RF.5.3 a: Use knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology to read accurately RF.5.4 a: Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding
161 Zaki’s Challenge 177 Catching Andromeda’s Light 193 Raising Gorilla Babies 209 The Seal Is a Sneaky Swimmer
RF.5.4 c: Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding SL.5.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions SL.5.1 c: Pose and respond to questions by making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others SL.5.1 d: Review key ideas and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from discussions SL.5.2: Summarize written text read aloud or presented in diverse media and formats
When Justin goes on a treasure hunt with his sister and father, an unexpected challenge arises.
A scientist caught it saving energy
225 Copernicus, King of Craters
U nit Author: Pat Hansen Illustrator: Mike DeSantis
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Have you ever gone hiking in the woods? If you could go on a treasure hunt, what kind of treasure would you want to find? Why? In what ways do you use smart devices to help you?
waypoint steep
muttered treasure
lagged whine accurately
creek location comment
terrain foliage
trudged foreign
• What guesses can you make about this story based on the picture and the title? • Have you ever gotten lost? How did you find your way? • Do you think we rely on technology too much? Why? Why not?
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“You’re on.” Justin started down the narrow path. “Watch out,” he called over his shoulder as he nearly fell. “The pine needles make the ground really slippery.”
“Bet I’ll find the geocache first,” teased Molly.
Justin piled pine needles on the ground while he waited. “Can I input the waypoint for this geocache?” Justin asked. “Sure,” Dad said. He read the latitude and longitude from his smartphone. “OK,” Justin called out. “Five hundred seventy-five feet toward 9 o’clock.” The electronic arrow of the GPS unit pointed directly to his left. He handed the GPS to Dad. “It looks as if this geocache will take us down some pretty steep terrain,” Dad said. “I hope we can find the path through all the trees.”
Geocaching is a kind of high-tech treasure hunt. Participants use a GPS and clues to find their way to a specific location, where a container of trinkets has been hidden. Each person chooses a trinket and replaces it with another one.
“Bet I’ll find it first,” teased Justin’s older sister, Molly. “First one to it gets the first pick of the treasure.” 6
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“First one to the geocache rocks, Justin,” Molly said. “You should just give up now,” Justin said, smiling. “Dad, how far are we from the geocache?” Dad looked at the GPS. “Twenty-five feet toward 4 o’clock,” he said. Justin tried not to slide as he walked ahead. Dad and Molly lagged behind, watching their footing carefully. After a little bit, Justin stopped to let them catch up. He piled pine needles on the ground while he waited. “Uh-oh,” Dad said when they reached him. “That’s poison ivy growing up that tree. Don’t touch any foliage.” Justin walked gingerly after that, careful not to touch
Justin hurried down the path to the small creek he’d heard. He knew 25 feet was about as accurately as their GPS could pinpoint a geocache. They were now on their own to find it. He walked up the bank of the creek, looking under every pile of rocks. Nothing. He headed toward Dad and Molly. “I found it!” Molly yelled. “It’s inside this rock shaped like a bowl.” Justin groaned. Molly always found geocaches first. “Remember - finders pickers,” Molly said happily.
anything green. Sweat trickled down his back. His legs were getting tired, but he didn’t want to whine. “Hey, I hear water running,” he exclaimed after they’d hiked for what seemed like hours. “What’s the clue for this geocache?” Molly asked. Dad looked at the smartphone. “This one will really ‘rock’ you,” he read.
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“Remember - finders pickers,” said Molly.
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“I see pine-needle piles up ahead!” “I know, I know,” muttered Justin. Molly twisted the cap off the plastic jug and turned it upside down. Treasures fell out. After Molly chose a foreign coin, Justin picked out a yo-yo. Dad wrote a comment in the notebook stored in the jug. They added a mini car and a super-bounce ball for the next geocachers, then carefully re-hid the jug in the same place.
“We need to find our way back before it gets dark,” Dad said. “Uh-oh,” Dad said, pressing buttons on the GPS. “I forgot to mark the van’s location in the GPS before we left, so we have nothing to guide us back. We need to find our way to the van before it gets too dark.” Dad led the way back up the trail, followed by Molly and Justin. They climbed in silence, panting as the trail grew steeper. “Keep going, kids. We’re getting there,” Dad said. Justin thought he heard a crack of worry in Dad’s voice.
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They trudged on. Justin’s legs were starting to ache. “Hey, Dad,” Justin said, “this doesn’t seem right. I don’t see any poison ivy like we saw on the way down.” He didn’t mention that he was having a harder time seeing the path as it got darker. “I thought I saw another trail a little ways back,” said Molly.
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1. Write the number of the definition for the vocabulary word in the blank.
Justin backtracked down about 50 feet, then squinted to look up the other path. “I see pine-needle piles up ahead!” he called to Dad and Molly. “I made those piles earlier, while I was waiting for you!” They scrambled up the other path, stopping several times to catch their breath. Finally, they dragged themselves up the last slope and saw the van pop into view. “That van is the best find of the day,” Molly said. “You rock, Justin!”
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_______ a. waypoint
1. the physical features of a piece of land
_______ b. steep
2. a natural stream of water
_______ c. lagged
3. fell behind
_______ d. whine
4. from a different place
_______ e. accurately
5. a specific place
_______ f. terrain
6. made unclear sounds or words
_______ g. foliage
7. complain with a high-pitched voice
_______ h. creek
8. a stopping point on a route of travel
_______ i. foreign
9. give exact information
_______ j. location
10. a collection of leaves
_______ k. muttered
11. a note or remark giving an opinion
_______ l. treasure
12. walked continuously with effort
_______ m.trudged
13. having a rapid decline or increase
_______ n. comment
14. collection of precious things 13
2. Fill out the Problem and Solution Chart with details from the story.
Character(s)
3. Place the letter of the events on the timeline in chronological order.
a. Dad wrote a comment in the notebook stored in the jug. b. Justin saw pine-needle piles up ahead. c. Dad realized he forgot to mark the van’s location in the GPS.
Problem
d. Justin input the waypoint for the geocache. e. Justin piled pine needles on the ground while he waited.
Events 4. Answer the questions about the story.
Events
Events
Solution
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a. How was Dad’s smartphone helping to find the geocache?
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
b. How does the clue “This one will really ‘rock’ you.” help them know where to look for the geocache?
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
c. Look at your timeline above and use it to write a short summary of the story.
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
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5. Underline the part of the sentence that is true. Circle the part that is false. Write the correction on the lines.
a. Dad read a description of the trees’ arrangement at the location of the geocache from his smartphone.
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
b. The pine needles on the ground kept them from sinking into the dirt.
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
c. The clue to finding the geocache was “You can use me to get a cool drink of water from the creek.”
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
d. After Molly chose a super-bounce ball from the geocache, Dad picked out a foreign coin.
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
e. Justin saw poison ivy on the tree, which is how he knew they were on the correct trail.
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
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6. Use these questions to discuss the story in more depth.
a. Justin used his own skills to get the family out of the woods. What skills did he use? b. If Dad had not forgotten to mark the van’s location in the GPS, do you think Justin would have thought about how to get back to the van? c. Why was the van the “best find of the day”? How many “finds” did the family have that day? 17
Story Connection About the Illustra
Retell
tor
Mike DeSantis lives near Cleveland, Ohio with his wond erful wife, three adorable children, and two barking dogs. He is a regul ar contributor to children’s maga zines. He has illustrated many ch ildren’s stories.
Use your own word s to retell The Best Find. First Next Then Last
To Student: Find a picture of the illustrator on the internet. Print, cut, and paste here.
Illustrator�s Purp
ose
Mike DeSantis illus trated a story that tells about how using your brainpower for pro blem-solving can be rewarding. Draw a picture of a treasure you would like to find. How would you find it? Write abou t it.
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Text Evidence 1. Why was the fa mily in the woods? What even ts happened that would later be of value? Plot 2. What was the re ason they had to find their own way back? Key Detail 3. How did Justin g et them back to the van? Solution