Title: Across the Wide Dark Sea by Jean Van Leeuwen
1Across the Wide Dark Sea by Jean Van Leeuwen
2Awards
- New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading
and Sharing
- Washington Irving Childrens Choice Book Award
3Genre Historical Fiction
- A historical fiction story is about realistically
(could happen in real life, but they arent real)
recreates a past time and is based on a true
story.
4Summary
- A young boy tells of his voyage on the Mayflower
and of the settlement of Plymouth once the ship
arrives in the new land.
5Background Information
- Pilgrims are people who go on a long journey to
find a new place to live.
- The people we usually call Pilgrims left their
homes in England-and then Holland-to come to
America for religious freedom.
6Key Concept
7Key Vocabulary
- anchor
- cramped
- journey
- seeping
- settlement
- survive
- weary
8anchor
a heavy metal hook attached to a ship and dropped
overboard to hold the ship in place
9cramped
Crowded not enough room to move about
10journey
a trip from one place to another
11seeping
slowly leaking oozing
12settlement
a small community in a new place
13survive
to stay alive to hold up or withstand
14weary
tired needing rest
15Strategy Focus Question
- We question to help us understand what we see
and/or read.
- As you read about the Pilgrims, think of
questions about
- the journey
- the people
- and the challenges they encountered
16Strategy Focus Question
Lets try it!
- What problems did the Pilgrims have on the ship?
or
How did the new settlement defend itself?
17Comprehension Skill Focus Making Inferences
- When you make an inference, you are using story
clues and your own background knowledge to make a
reasonable guess about the story.
- Inferences are made after you read to help you
understand parts of the story not specifically
stated.
18Graphic Organizer
Fill in the organizer with details from the story.
Was being a Pilgrim hard work?
Story clues I know
__________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
My inference is that being a Pilgrim was TONS of
hard work!
19Meet the Author
- As a child, Jean Van Leeuwen always had a book
in her hands when
- visiting, in the car, or even under her bed
covers. She started to write
- her first book, a horse story, in the sixth
grade. She didn't have a plan
- for the book, though, so she gave up on it
after only a few chapters. It
- was a long time before she began to write
children's stories again.
- Jean Van Leeuwen often makes a rough plot
outline before she starts
- writing a book. Then she plans the action.
She says, "Most people don't
- realize how long it takes to complete a
manuscript some days I write only
- one page. I spent two days one week trying
to figure out just one paragraph."
- Jean Van Leeuwen works in her home in
Chappaqua, New York. Her office
- used to be her children's playroom. Her
hobbies are traveling,
- gardening, and reading. When her children
were young, she sometimes used them as
"advisers." Her son once told her that a scene
she had written about a school food fight wasn't
disgusting enough. He suggested that she have the
kids throw - spaghetti with meat sauce and chocolate
pudding. (from www.eduplace.com)
20Link to Houghton Mifflin
- If you enjoyed reading Across the Wide Dark
Sea and would like to check out some more
information and activities, click below to go to
www.eduplace.com, Houghton Mifflins web site.
Click Here!