Unit 2: Snapshots of BC Culture
Spread the Word: First Nations Languages in BC
Reading Strategy
In the last chapter, you learned how to build your vocabulary with synonyms. In this chapter, you will learn to build your vocabulary with antonyms.
Antonyms are words with opposite meanings. For example, old and young are antonyms. Dead and alive are antonyms.
Find the pairs of antonyms in this list
| better | sleeping | destroy | help | right |
| awake | harm | wrong | worse | save |
Words can have many antonyms. The antonyms for renew are in the grey parts of the circle.
Try this
1. Ask your instructor for an ANT Circles sheet, or open and print one from the link.
2. Create an Antonym Circle for each of the words below. Use a thesaurus to find antonyms. Choose words you can sound out.
| die | sick | connect | grow |
Word Attack Strategy
When you first began to read, you mostly learned words with three letters, such as hop, pin, and cod.
The first letter is a consonant. The second letter is a vowel. The third letter is a consonant. These words are called consonant-vowel-consonant words. We call them CVC words for short.
Words and syllables with this pattern often have a short vowel sound. Read these words. See if you can hear the short vowel in each list.
| rat | hid | not |
| gap | dim | rod |
| mad | pin | mop |
Word Patterns
Now you will study a new word pattern. This pattern is like the CVC pattern, but it has an e on the end. So we call them CVCE words. Here are some examples:
- bone
- cake
- bike
Check that each word above has the consonant-vowel-consonant-e pattern.
The e on the end of these words is sometimes called the bossy e or the magic e. That’s because the e tells the other vowel to make a long sound.
Read the CVCE words again and notice the long vowel sound. A long vowel sound is when the vowel says its own name.
Now read these words. Make sure you read them with a long vowel sound.
| rate | hide | note |
| gape | dime | rode |
| made | pine | mope |
Practice reading these CVC and CVCE words together
| rat | rate |
| gap | gape |
| mad | made |
| hid | hide |
| dim | dime |
| pin | pine |
| mop | mope |
| rod | rode |
| not | note |
The words in the box are from the reading for this chapter
| man | home | time | his |
| did | safe | made | wave |
| can | save | like | kid |
1. Make a list of the CVC words.
2. Make a list of the CVCE words.
Underline the CVCE pattern in these words
3. white
4. these
5. place
6. stage
The CVCE rule is also useful for reading words with more than one syllable.
Underline the CVCE pattern in these words
7. rewrite
8. alive
9. taken
Use Your Strategies
Now you are ready to read Spread the Word: First Nations Languages in BC. You will come across many of the antonyms you have looked at. You will also read many CVCE words, which will be in bold. Use what you have learned to understand and enjoy the text.
Check Your Understanding
Choose the best answer
1. What is the subject of this reading?
a. First Nations people in Canada
b. First Nations languages in British Columbia
c. Skwomesh language
2. What is the main idea of this reading?
a. First Nations languages are at risk, but together we can keep them strong
b. Khelsilem is a good person.
c. Hardwood forests renew themselves.
3. How many First Nations languages are spoken in British Columbia?
a. 10
b. Over 30
c. 102
4. Why are First Nations languages at risk?
a. The government tried to get rid of First Nations languages through laws and schools.
b. Language is not important to First Nations people.
5. Why does Khelsilem want Skwomesh culture and language to be like a hardwood forest?
a. He wants the Skwomesh culture and language to reach a point where it renews itself.
b. He thinks forests are very beautiful.
Write a short answer to these questions
6. Name two ways Khelsilem is helping to keep the Skwomesh language strong.
7. What are some ways First Nations people can learn their language?
8. What is a settler?
9. How can settlers help First Nations languages stay strong?
Grammar
Look at this quote from Spread the Word: First Nations Languages in BC. Is it talking about the past, present, or future?
First, the flowers will come back. Then the grasses and weeds will return. Then the shrubs and berry bushes will grow. Next, the softwood trees will come. Finally, the hardwood trees will return. Now the hardwood forest will renew itself. Each stage made way for the next stage. Khelsilem hopes to set up the next wave of Skwomesh people so they will be like that hardwood forest.
This quote is talking about the future.
Grammar Rule
To talk about the future, use will + the base form of a verb. The base form of a verb does not have an ending on it.
Example: The flowers will come back. Then the grasses and weeds will return.
Which of these sentences are written in future tense?
1. Khelsilem is 24 years old.
2. Khesilem learned his traditional language.
3. Khelsilem will build a school.
4. Khelsilem will help others learn Skwomesh.
5. He is like a shrub.
6. One day, the shrub will become a forest.
Writing
Khelsilem hopes to set up the next wave of Skwomesh people so their language will be like a hardwood forest. Their language will not be at risk. It will renew itself. To do this, he lives in a house where Skwomesh is spoken every day. He will also build the Skwomesh Language Academy.
In your life, what will you do to help your community?
Writing Task
Write a paragraph about this topic:
In your life, what will you do to help your community?
Here are some ideas you might write about:
- Take a bus
- Plant a garden
- Fix things that are broken
- Know my neighbours
- Pick up litter
- Vote
- Use cloth bags
- Raise good kids
- Share my skills
- Buy local
- Bake extra and share
- Greet people
Here is an example paragraph:
There are many things I will do to help my community. I will take the bus, ride a bike, and walk rather than drive a car. This will help keep the air clean. I will vote. Then government will have to think about the needs of my community. I will be a good teacher. This will help my community be creative and solve problems. In these ways, I will help keep my community strong.
- Make a web to plan your ideas. Ask your instructor for a Make a Web sheet, or open and print one from the link.
- Write a topic sentence.
- Add the best ideas from your web to your paragraph.
- Write a concluding sentence.
When you have finished:
- Make sure you correctly use future tense.
- Are there any words you could change for a more interesting word?
- Did you include a topic sentence, details, and a conclusion?
- Hand in your first copy for feedback.
- Make changes based on your instructor’s feedback.
- Hand in your web with your first and final copy.
Answer Key
| Reading Strategy | |
| help/harm, save/destroy, better/worse, sleeping/awake, right/wrong | |
| Word Attack Strategy | |
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| 1 CVC words | man, did, can, kid, his |
| 2 CVCE words | home, time, safe, made, wave, save, like |
| 3 | white |
| 4 | these |
| 5 | place |
| 6 | stage |
| 7 | rewrite |
| 8 | alive |
| 9 | taken |
| Check Your Understanding | |
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
| 1 | b |
| 2 | a |
| 3 | b |
| 4 | a |
| 5 | a |
| 6 | Khelsilem learned his language. He lives in a house where he speaks his language every day. He is building a school to help others learn the language. |
| 7 | First Nations people can learn their language in a pre-school, at camp, and by spending time with elders. |
| 8 | A settler is a person who came to British Columbia from somewhere else. |
| 9 | Settlers can listen to people speak their language, learn about the First Nations land where they live, and support First Nations language learning in their area. |
| Grammar | |
| The sentences written in future tense are 3, 4, and 6. |