Fountas-Pinnell Level PNonfictionSelection SummaryTsunamis are caused by earthquakes on the ocean fl oor. The energy from the earthquake creates small waves that grow much larger and move very quickly. The largest earthquake in 200 years created a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people and destroyed countless homes and buildings.
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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Nonfi ction
Text Structure • Third-person narrative• Multiple accounts of tsunamis under general topic of dangerous waves
Content • Tsunamis• Destruction and rebuilding after tsunamis• Warning System for tsunamis
Themes and Ideas • Nature is hard to predict.• Early warning systems can save lives.
Language and Literary Features
• Figurative language: like a freight train, as fast as an airplane• Descriptive language
Sentence Complexity • Simple, compound, and complex sentences• Compound predicates
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Target Vocabulary
affection – a feeling of fondness p. 10
bond – a feeling of close friendship, p. 11
charged – moved quickly, p. 7chief – the most important or
largest, p. 12
companion – a friend or someone who spends time with another person, p. 10
enclosure – an area that is closed in for a special purpose , p. 8
exhausted – tired with no energy, p. 12
inseparable – always together, p. 11
intruder – someone or something that comes without permission, p. 6
suffered – felt great pain or sadness, p. 9
Dangerous Waves by Pam Zollman
Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge of natural disasters by asking a question such as the following: What kind of natural disasters can you think of? Tell students that this text provides facts about a tsunami, a kind of natural disaster that begins with an earthquake and then brings a giant ocean wave.
Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and nonfi ction features. Help with unfamiliar language so they can read the text successfully. Give special attention to target vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that the table of contents shows how the book is organized and what topics it covers. Suggested language: Read the table of contents. What kind of questions about tsumanis will this book answer?
Page 7: Explain to students that tsunamis are caused by earthquakes that occur along a crack, or fault. Waves develop and charge, or move quickly, toward the shorelines. Suggested language: Look at the picture on page 7. How would this scene be different if a wave were charging the beach?
Page 9: Read the caption with students. Ask: What kind of losses do you think people suffered from such high water?
Page 11: Direct students to the photograph at the bottom of the page that describes the destruction on an island where people’s bond made them inseparable until they were rescued. Point out that captions can give clues about information in the text. Suggested language: Why would a natural disaster make the bond between people stronger? Why might they become inseparable when in danger?
Go back to the beginning to read and fi nd out more about tsunamis and what causes them.
ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the selection as needed.
Remind students to use the Analyze/Evaluate Strategy and to think about the text and then form an opinion about it.
Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text.Suggested language: How did the tsunami change things for the people who live in areas around the Indian Ocean?
Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• An earthquake creates energy that can cause the dangerous and powerful waves known as tsunamis.
• Because there was no warning system in 2004 to tell people a tsunami was coming, many lost their lives.
• After a tsunami occurs, rescuing people is the chief concern.
• Many of the people who survived the 2004 tsunami faced extreme hardship until they could be rescued.
• The new tsunami warning system should help more people survive when a tsunami hits.
• The author uses a map and a diagram with labels to help readers understand how a tsunami occurs.
• The photographs and captions give readers a sense of the areas that have been affected by these dangerous waves.
Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choral read a passage from the text to demonstrate
phrased fl uent reading. Remind them to use multiple sources of information, including language structure, meaning, and fast word recognition, to support phrasing and fl uency.
• 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. Point out that two target vocabulary words (affection, companion) end in –ion. Tell students that words that end this way are usually nouns. Have students fi nd other words in the selection that end in –ion. (vacation, sections, observation).
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Writing about ReadingVocabulary PracticeHave students complete the Vocabulary questions on BLM 24.1.
RespondingHave students use their Reader’s Notebook to complete the vocabulary activities on page 15. Remind them to answer the Word Teaser on page 16. (Answer: charged)
Reading Nonfi ctionNonfiction Features: Photographs and Diagrams Remind students that nonfi ction has many features to help readers fi nd and understand important information. Photographs and diagrams are two of these features. Have students look at the photograph and caption on page 11. Ask what the photograph can tell them about the kind of destruction a tsunami can cause. Direct them to the photo on page 12. Ask what this photograph and caption tell about why tsunamis are dangerous. Then have students add a line to the caption on page 11 that explains why the islands disappear as a result of a tsunami.
Diagrams are another important source of information. They often help the reader visualize the information that is provided in the text more clearly. Have students look at the diagram on page 4. Ask what information they can learn about how tsunamis are formed (the movement of the ocean fl oor at a nearby fault causes the earthquake and the tsunami). Then have students fi nd a section or detail in the book that could be further explained with a diagram.
Writing Prompt: Thinking About the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind students that when they think about the text, they refl ect back on the text. They notice and evaluate language, genre, literary devices, and how the text is organized.
Assessment Prompts• The main purpose of the selection is to
__________________________________________.
• On page 4, which words explain what a fault means?
• What can readers tell about tsunamis from reading page 5?
English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair English-speaking and English language learners so that they can check their understanding with each other.
Idioms The text includes some idioms and phrases that may be unfamiliar, such as wave train (p. 4), and wall of water (p. 11).
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: What is a tsunami?
Speaker 2: a giant wave
Speaker 1: What causes a tsunami?
Speaker 2: an earthquake on the ocean fl oor
Speaker 1: What happens when a tsunami hits the beach?
Speaker 2: destruction
Speaker 1: What is a tsunameter?
Speaker 2: It is a warning buoy that is attached to the ocean fl oor.
Speaker 1: What is the chief concern after a tsunami occurs?
Speaker 2: The chief concern is rescuing people.
Speaker 1: What does the ocean on the beach look like when a tsunami is coming?
Speaker 2: The ocean pulls away from the shoreline. It also may foam and look as if it is rising.
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think about the text, you reflect back on the text. You notice and evaluate language, genre, literary devices, and how the text is organized.
Dangerous Waves gives many details about tsunamis and where they have occurred. Review the table of contents. It tells you that you can expect information to be presented in time sequence. What words in the chapter headings tell you that? What part of the book is about specific places?
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