Like Magic

Plot, vocabulary, inference, key details, text evidence, how a character changes, theme

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Direct students to the illustration on page 15, and invite them to study it. Ask: Where does the boy seem to be going? What do you think he might find inside the house? Point out the subheads and the Pause and Think boxes at the end of each section. Explain that the questions in these boxes will help the students better understand the story.

Set a Purpose for Reading

We have created a fiction package that helps students focus on one important aspect of the story—in this case, plot. The tasks in the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes work together to support this skill focus. Have one student read the task in each box.

Read aloud the first Pause and Think box on page 14. These questions will check basic comprehension. (Students will delve into higher-level work with the close-reading questions, available here and online.)

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

This story includes five vocabulary words highlighted in bold: mansion, blurted, teetering, chandeliers, and muttering.

The words are defined at the bottom of the column in which they appear. Discuss the meanings of the words, looking at how they are used in the story to help students understand them.

Distribute our vocabulary activity for more practice with these words. You can also play our interactive Vocabulary Slideshow.

Reading and Unpacking the Text

First read: Students should read the story one time for general comprehension. Whether your students read as a class, in small groups, or independently, ask them to answer each of the Pause and Think questions throughout the story.

Second read: Distribute the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. (For struggling readers, you can distribute the sheet of Pause and Think questions.) Preview them as a class.

Have students read the story again, pausing to answer the questions.

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)

• Read “Jonah’s Wish.” What led Jonah to the magician’s mansion? (plot) Jonah had a bad fight with his younger sisters. His parents blamed him for the argument. This made him so angry that he ran all the way up the hill that led to the magician’s home.
  
• In the same section, what does Jonah do that makes him a “foolish boy”? Hint! Read the section “Kicked Out” to help you answer. (plot) When Jonah gets very angry, he makes a wish that gives a sneaky magician the chance to steal his family.
• What details in “A Chance to Do Magic” offer hints that the magician might be a villain? (inference; key details) The author describes the magician as a pale, wrinkled man with teeth as sharp as icicles and eyebrows like caterpillars. He lives alone in a creepy, cobweb-filled old mansion on a mountaintop.
• In “A Nasty Surprise” and “Kicked Out,” how does Jonah know that the magician has taken his place? (text evidence) First, he finds the magician relaxing in his room, on his bed! Then Jonah’s sisters point at the magician and call him their brother. Finally, Jonah’s father looks lovingly at the magician before kicking Jonah out of his own home.

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

• What do you think Jonah learns from the events of this story? (theme) Jonah realizes that he does not want his family to disappear, even if they make him angry sometimes. He also learns that he shouldn’t say things he doesn’t mean.

How a Character Changes

Call on a volunteer to read aloud the Think and Write box at the bottom of page 19.

Distribute our Fiction Reading Kit, which focuses on key reading skills, including our featured skill, character. Have students work in small groups to complete it.