Sailing Home: A Story of a

Childhood at Sea

by Gloria Rand illustrated by

Ted RandCompiled by:

Terry Sams PES

Practice Author’s Purpose PB 203

Before Reading After Reading

Prediction of Author’s Purpose

Reasons for Prediction

Author’s Actual Purpose

1. Persuade 2. Title sounds like an advertisement.

3. I see facts about the ship and opinions

4. Persuade

Comprehension Skill• Author’s Purpose is the author’s reason

or reasons for writing this story. An author might have more than one reason for writing.

• Authors don’t usually tell you this. You have to figure the reasons out.

• It might be to inform or teach, to entertain, to express their feelings or ideas, and to persuade or convince you.

Question of the WeekTE 516m

•What is it like to live at sea?

Vocabulary - Say It

•stern•cargo•celestial•conducted

•dignified•navigation•quivered•bow

stern•The rear part

of a ship or boat

cargo•load of goods carried by a ship, plane, or truck

celestial•of the sky or outer space

conducted•directed; managed

dignified•having dignity; noble; stately

navigation•skill or process of finding a ship’s or aircraft’s position and course

quivered•shook; shivered; trembled

bow•the forward part of a ship, boat, or aircraft

Day 2 - Question of the Day•What would you like

about life at sea? What would you miss from your life now?

Vocabulary Skill:Homonyms and

Homographs•When reading, you may find a

familiar word used in a new way. It may be a homonym or a homograph.

•Homonyms are spelled and pronounced the same, but have different meanings and histories

•Homographs are spelled the same but are pronounced differently and have different meanings.

Comprehension Skill- Sequence

•Sequence means the order in which things happen.

•Dates, times, and clue words such as first, then, next, and last can help you understand the order of events.

•Sometimes two or more events happen at the same time. Words such as meanwhile and during can show this.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Historical fiction is made up of stories that take place in a certain time and place in the past. Real historical figures and settings may be included in a fiction story.

Historical fiction is based on real events I history, but it is a story to which the author has added details from his or her imagination.

Information for Page 522

•Dagmar, Albert, and Matilda grew up aboard the John Ena, a sailing ship that carried cargo (freight) all over the world.

•The only time the family wasn’t on the ship was when the cargo was coal. Coal was very dangerous ,because it could catch on fire.

Page 523• The children had various animals. These

animals were probably found when they visited other countries.

• Baby sister Ena is born. The children enjoy playing on the deck of the ship. Children with homes enjoy playing in their backyards.

• Mother seems to be very practical. She knows that many animals are needed for food.

Page 524

•Father taught the children celestial navigation. Celestial navigation means heavenly course. The students would use the stars in the heavens to find their way.

•The children would send messages from the stern (rear or back) to the bow (front) of the ship.

Page 525•Miss Shipman was the ship teacher,

or tutor. •Albert didn’t enjoy school or Miss

Shipman. He would often skip school. •Miss Shipman was a good teacher.

The children knew more about geography than she did because they had traveled the world.

Page 526

•The crew on the ship was like a family. They worried about the children. They would make sure that the children were behaving.

Page 527

•One Christmas the family tied up their furniture to the railing to prepare for the storm on the China Sea.

• If they hadn’t tied the furniture and other items up they would have broken in the storm.

Page 528

•Miss Shipman still has class during the heavy storm. Like Miss Shipman Albert is strong minded , or stubborn.

•The waves could cause the windows to crack and break.

Page 530

•The John Ena quivered a strange quiver and slowly righted herself. This mean that the boat shook and then straightened back up.

•Mom and Dad were both brave so the children wouldn’t be worried.

Page 531

•The children had a great Christmas after the storm. This proves that children can be happy growing up in many types of places.

Pages 532-533

•The author probably wrote this story to entertain about children who grew up on a boat.

•After Captain Madsen became a steamship captain the children lived on land.

•They chose Hawaii as a place to live because it was surrounded by water.

Review Questions1. What is an important theme of this

story?

2. Why id the author include the “Afterword”?

3. Why do you think they chose Hawaii for their home?

4. What happened when the ship “quivered a strange quiver and slowly righted herself?

5. How would you describe the mother?

Review Questions1. How was the crew like a family to the

children?

2. What happened after Captain Madsen became a steamship captain?

3. What was the author’s purpose for writing this story?

4. Where did the children probably get their animals?

5. Who were Miss Shipman and Albert alike?

•How is a ship like and unlike other types of homes?

Day 3 - Question of the Day

SummaryCan you imagine eating, sleeping, playing, and going to school all at sea? that’s exactly what the Madsen family children did aboard their father’s cargo ship, the John Ena. the Madsen family shared many memorable events on the ship, from surviving frightening storms to celebrating the holidays.

Fun Stuff and Practice

•Other Books by Gloria Rand•Pronouns •Homophones•More Homophones and

Homographs•More Practice