Unit 2: Snapshots of BC Culture
All Together Now: BC Festivals
Reading Strategy
In Unit 1, you learned about pre-reading strategies. Another way you can build your reading skills is to build your vocabulary. In this chapter, you will learn to build your vocabulary. Your vocabulary is the group of words that you know.
You can build your vocabulary by keeping track of words that are new to you. You might see new words in newspapers or hear them on TV. Find out what they mean. Then remember and use your new words.
Learning new words helps you because:
- You will understand more difficult readings.
- You will be able to express yourself more clearly.
- You will be able to retell things in your own words.
Try this
Here are some vocabulary words. Which ones are new for you?
1. Rate each word based on how well you know it. Give it a…
1 – if you do not know it
2 – if you sort of know it
3 – if you know it well
| Do not know | Sort of know | Know well | |
| tradition | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| celebrate | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| journey | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| kilometre | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| mammal | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| national | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| championship | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| ceremony | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| festival | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| sculpture | 1 | 2 | 3 |
2. Now ask your instructor for a Vocab Builder sheet, or open and print one from the link.
3. Choose three words that you rated a 1. Add each word to the middle of its own Word box.
4. Look up your three words in the dictionary. Sometimes a word has more than one meaning. The most common meaning will be given first. Under Dictionary Definition, write down the most common meaning for your three words.
5. For each word, complete all the other boxes in the Vocab Builder.
Word Attack Strategy
Often we can figure out a new word without looking in a dictionary. We can use our word attack skills.
One word attack strategy is to look for a suffix. A suffix is part of a word. It is put at the end of the word to change the meaning. In this chapter, you will learn about these suffixes: –er, –or, –ar, and –est.
Word Patterns
When you see the suffix –er, –or, or –ar at the end of a word, it often means “a person who.”
For example:
- A baker is a person who bakes.
- An actor is a person who acts.
- A liar is a person who lies.
Answer these questions
1. What is a visitor?
A visitor is a person who ____________________.
2. What is a racer?
A racer is a person who ____________________.
3. What is a sculptor?
A sculptor is a person who ____________________.
Word Patterns
The suffix –est means “the most.”
For example:
- Fastest means the most fast.
- Strongest means the most strong.
- Lightest means the most light.
Answer these questions
4. What does longest mean?
Longest means the most ______________.
5. What does oldest mean?
Oldest means the most _______________.
6. What does largest mean?
Largest means the most _______________.
Use Your Strategies
The title of the next reading is All Together Now: BC Festivals. Think about any festivals you have been to. What did they celebrate? What kinds of events were there? Guess what festivals will be talked about in this reading. When you are ready, begin reading.
Check Your Understanding
The subject of the reading in this chapter is festivals of British Columbia. The reading is divided into six paragraphs. Each paragraph is about a different, but closely related topic.
Find the topic
1. What is the topic of the second paragraph?
a. Whales
b. Festivals in British Columbia
c. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival
2. What is the topic of the third paragraph?
a. Bathtubs
b. Nanaimo’s World Championship Bathtub Race
c. Vancouver Island
3. What is the topic of the fourth paragraph?
a. The Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver
b. Dragons
c. China
4. What is the topic of the fifth paragraph?
a. The Vernon Winter Carnival
b. Sculptures
c. The Rocky Mountains
Fill in the blanks with a word that makes sense
| cultures | journey | jail | serious |
5. The Pacific Rim Whale Festival celebrates the _____________________ of the grey whale.
6. The World Championship Bathtub Race started as a silly event but is now a _________________________ sport.
7. The Dragon Boat Festival celebrates the many different ______________________ of the people in Vancouver.
8. At the Vernon Winter Carnival, people are put in ______________________ to raise money.
Grammar
If we learn the rules about capital letters, we can help our readers understand what we write. You already know to use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. This helps our readers understand that we are starting a new idea. Here are some more rules about capital letters.
Grammar Rule
Use a capital letter for:
- Names of people
- Titles of books, movies, newspapers, and so on
- Places and landmarks
- Days of the week and months of the year
- Holidays and special events
- The word I
Why do these words have capital letters?
Match each word to the correct capital letter rule using the number from the box above. The first one is done for you.
1. Arctic Answer: 3
2. Mexico
3. Expo 86
4. Rocky Mountains
5. Nanaimo
6. March
7. Vernon Winter Carnival
8. Dragon Boat Festival
9. China
10. February
11. Pacific Rim National Park
These sentences are missing capital letters
Rewrite these sentences and add capital letters where needed.
12. albert ostman said he was kidnapped by a sasquatch.
13. ginger goodwin hid on alone mountain near comox lake.
14. there is a movie about bill miner called the grey fox.
15. are you going to the kamloopa powwow?
16. yes, i am leaving on friday, and i will be back on sunday.
Writing
Writing Task
Think of a festival you know about. Create a poster or ad to let people know about the event. If you want to, you can invent your own festival.
Include:
- The name of the festival
- Details about the events
- The dates
- The address
You can make up the details, such as where and when the next one will take place.
When you have finished:
- Check that you used capital letters correctly.
- Use the dictionary to check your spelling.
- Hand it in to your instructor.
Answer Key
| Word Attack Strategy | |
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| 1 | visits |
| 2 | races |
| 3 | sculpts |
| 4 | long |
| 5 | old |
| 6 | large |
| Check Your Understanding | |
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| 1 | c |
| 2 | b |
| 3 | a |
| 4 | a |
| 5 | journey |
| 6 | serious |
| 7 | cultures |
| 8 | jail |
| Grammar | ||
| QUESTION | ANSWER | |
| 1 | 3 | answer given |
| 2 | 3 | |
| 3 | 5 | |
| 4 | 3 | |
| 5 | 3 | |
| 6 | 4 | |
| 7 | 5 | |
| 8 | 5 | |
| 9 | 3 | |
| 10 | 4 | |
| 11 | 3 | |
| 12 | Albert Ostman said he was kidnapped by a sasquatch. | |
| 13 | Ginger Goodwin hid on Alone Mountain near Comox Lake. | |
| 14 | There is a movie about Bill Miner called The Grey Fox. | |
| 15 | Are you going to the Kamloopa Powwow? | |
| 16 | Yes, I am leaving on Friday and I will be back on Sunday. |