Fountas-Pinnell Level RHistorical FictionSelection SummaryMinnie’s family is on the last leg of its journey on the Oregon Trail. When they reach the Columbia River, they cannot afford the ferry. Minnie solves the family’s problem in a unique way.
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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Historical fi ction
Text Structure • Third-person continuous narrative• Comparison/contrast of Indians’ canoe with a raft• Sequenced geographic information traces the characters’ journey
Content • Oregon Trail and the Columbia River• Helping others and rewarding those who help
Themes and Ideas • Look for solutions instead of giving up when problems arise.• Help sometimes comes from unexpected sources.
Language and Literary Features
• Simile—like a herd of horses stampeding in the distance• Character confl icts: Nature (e.g., crossing the river); other characters; internal (helping the
Indian boy despite parents’ warning)• Dialogue and main character’s thoughts develop plot and characterization
Sentence Complexity • Simple and complex sentencesVocabulary • Many place names, such as St. Louis, Missouri
• Precise verbs such as surged and balked may be understood within context.• Sensory words, such as roar, dark blue, muddy, and splash
Words • Present participle verbs and -ing verbals: stampeding, traveling, pluckingIllustrations • Historically accurate illustrations of setting and clothing
• Captions reiterate or summarize important text informationBook and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text, with illustrations on all pages
balked – to have stopped and refused to go on, p. 6
beacon – something that acts as a guide or warning
disadvantage – a situation that makes it harder to do something, p. 6
fared – how one performed or progressed
lectured – to have given a long, serious scolding, p. 7
mishap – an unfortunate accident, p. 7
quaking – shivering or shaking
rustling – a soft scratching or rubbing sound
surged – to have moved with gathering force, p. 2
torment – mental or physical suffering
Down the Columbia by A. K. Marina
Build BackgroundHelp students use their understanding of pioneers in the West to visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What do you know about travel on the Oregon Trail? Read the title and author, and talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that this story is historical fi ction, which means that the characters aren’t real but that the events are of a kind that might have happened to real people. Explain that the Oregon Trail is a real land and river route that Americans in the 1800s followed to settle in the Northwest.
Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:
Pages 2–3: Explain that Minnie, the main character, is a pioneer girl who is traveling with her family to Oregon. Suggested language: Look at the picture on pages 2 and 3. Notice how the artist drew the Columbia River. On page 2, the author says that water surged against sharp rocks, spraying white foam into the air. Read the caption on page 3: Minnie and her parents see the daunting Columbia River for the fi rst time. Ask: Why is the river daunting?
Page 6: Explain that Minnie’s parents, who are thinking of ways to cross the river, consider building their own raft. Pa says that they have a big disadvantage because they’ve never built a raft before. Why does that put them at a disadvantage?
Pages 8-9: Have students look at the pictures and read the captions. Explain that Minnie’s parents have warned her to stay away from Indians. The text says Minnie sees the boy fall and hit his head, lying facedown in the stream. What do you think will happen next?
Now turn back to the beginning and read to fi nd out what happens to Minnie and her parents.
ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.
Remind students to use the Analyze/Evaluate Strategy and to think about the actions of the characters as they are reading.
Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the story. Suggested language: Have you ever found an unexpected solution to a diffi cult problem that you faced? What unexpected solution do Minnie and her family fi nd?
Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• Minnie’s family is traveling to Oregon and must cross the Columbia River, but they can’t afford to take a ferry.
• Minnie sees an Indian boy in danger of drowning and helps him.
• The boy’s family takes Minnie’s family across the river.
• People should consider all possible solutions to a problem before choosing one.
• Repay kindness with kindness.
• Solutions sometimes come from unexpected sources.
• The language sounds realistic, the way the pioneers used to talk.
• The author includes details about pioneer life to make the story more interesting.
• The illustrations of traveling west make the historical aspect easier to understand.
Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to participate in a readers’ theater. Choose a passage that
contains dialogue. Encourage students to fi rst think about what is happening in the scene and then to pay close attention to punctuation so that their voices accurately portray the characters’ emotions.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students that syllables are single-vowel sounds that cause the jaw to drop. Explain that morphemes must “make sense” when they stand alone: morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a word. For example, the word balked (page 6) has one syllable and one morpheme; however, the word lectured (page 7) has two syllables (lec·tured) but only one morpheme.
Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 24.7.
RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinfornce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension SkillCause and Effect
Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that one event in a story usually leads
to, or causes, another. Cause and effect can be seen in what happens next in a story or how a character changes as a result of an event. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
Minnie thinks about disasters she has seen on her journey. She remembers that some were caused by frightened oxen, others by muddy hillsides, and still others by spoiled food and bad water. List these details as causes. The disasters are the effects.
Practice the SkillEncourage students to identify other examples of cause and effect in the story.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the writing prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts• What is an important message in the story?
• Which sentences on page 10 support the idea that Minnie is an independent thinker?
• What can the reader conclude about Pa shaking hands with the Indian man?
1. Think within the text Where is Minnie’s family going?
2. Think within the text Why does Minnie’s father not want to take
the land trails?
3. Think beyond the text The journey to Oregon was long and
diffi cult for pioneer families. Why do you think so many families
chose to face these hardships and go west?
4. Think about the text What causes the little boy to fall in the
water?
Making Connections Have you ever had to look hard for a solution to a problem? What was the problem? How did you eventually solve it? What did you learn from the experience?
It was an exciting adventure and maybe they hoped for a chance
to fi nd better jobs than they had.
He slips while jumping from rock to rock in the water.
Possible responses shown.
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English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair advanced and intermediate readers to read the story softly, or have students listen to the audio or online recordings. Remind students that this story is about learning to trust others.
Cognates The story includes many English words that look similar in Spanish. For example, a Spanish word for disadvantage is desventaja. The word surge in Spanish is surgir. Family in Spanish is familia. Point out that the Spanish word for river is río, which helps to explain why some rivers in the United States have río as part of their names (e.g., Río Grande, or Large River).
Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is the main character?
Speaker 2: Minnie
Speaker 1: Why is Minnie traveling?
Speaker 2: to move to Oregon
Speaker 1: Why doesn’t Minnie’s family board the ferry?
Speaker 2: They don’t have enough money to pay the ferry operator.
Speaker 1: Why does Pa say the ferry operator is a scoundrel?
Speaker 2: The man is a scoundrel because he overcharges people who have no other way to cross the river.
Speaker 1: Why do Minnie’s parents tell her to stay away from Indians?
Speaker 2: Minnie’s parents are afraid of Indians and warn her to stay away from all Indians.
Speaker 1: Why doesn’t Minnie share her parents’ fear of Indians?
Speaker 2: Minnie has never heard of a mishap caused by Indians.
Speaker 1: Why are Minnie’s parents willing to leave behind their wagon?
Speaker 2: The family is determined to get to Oregon City, and a better life.
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Despite being warned by her parents to stay away from Indians, Minnie decides to help the injured Indian boy. How does she make up her mind? Based on the way their characters are presented in the story, do you think Minnie’s parents would have done the same to help the boy, in spite of their fears? Why or why not?
1. Think within the text Where is Minnie’s family going?
2. Think within the text Why does Minnie’s father not want to take
the land trails?
3. Think beyond the text The journey to Oregon was long and
diffi cult for pioneer families. Why do you think so many families chose
to face these hardships and go west?
4. Think about the text What causes the little boy to fall in the
water?
Making Connections Have you ever had to look hard for a solution to a problem? What was the problem? How did you eventually solve it? What did you learn from the experience?
