Editorial Development: Bonnie Brook Communications

When you have finished reading, think about what 
the characters will most likely do next. Think about what you know and what you learned 
about the characters and setting to make accurate predictions. 
Then remind students of the 
Make Connections 
strategy. Say: 
You can learn more about how a character might be feeling by 
thinking about how you would react if you were in the story. Making connections will help you 
better understand the author’s ideas.
When students have finished reading, direct them to 
complete the skill and strategy practice activities. Review the answers together.
DAY
5
Tell students they will practice both the 
Cause and Effect 
and 
Prediction
skills as they read about 
a large, dangerous forest fire. Remind students of the 
Ask Questions 
strategy. Say: 
Pause after 
you read the first paragraph to write a question in the strategy practice activity section. Then 
continue reading. 
When students have finished, direct them to complete the skill practice 
activity. Review the answers together. 
Cause and Effect
Students practice identifying cause-and-effect relationships by looking for 
what happens (the effect) and why it happens (the cause).
Prediction
Students practice using clues from a passage to predict what will happen next.
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10/31/12 7:35 AM

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© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3458 • Daily Reading Comprehension 
179
Name: 
WEEK 29
DAY 1
READ THE PASSAGE
As you read the passage, look for causes and effects.
Pioneer Do-It-Yourselfers
Pioneers on the American frontier were the ultimate DIYers, or do-it-yourselfers. They had to be. 
Often, pioneers lived miles away from their nearest neighbors, and few of them had the money to buy 
goods or services. Even if they did, merchants and craft workers did not generally go to areas with sparse 
populations. Pioneer families usually arrived at their homesteads with few belongings, so they had to make 
new household goods as they settled in to their new homes. 
Pioneers used raw materials that were readily available in their new environments. On the prairies, 
where trees were scarce, settlers built sod houses. In forested areas, they built log cabins. They could 
whip up crude tables by cutting large logs in half and fastening on smaller branches for legs. For 
dinnerware, many homesteaders carved cups, bowls, and plates from wood. They sometimes made their 
own pottery with clay dug up from the ground. After they shaped the clay into various types of containers, 
they hardened the containers by baking them for hours in open fires. 
Making clothing was a very long process. Pioneers got wool from the sheep they raised and grew 
cotton and flax plants for fibers. They spun the wool or fibers into yarn, and then wove the yarn into cloth. 
It was only then that they could make clothing, such as simple shirts, pants, and dresses. 
Pioneers had to buy certain products from skilled craft workers. Blacksmiths pounded hot iron into 
horseshoes and ax blades. Woodworkers made cabinets, dressers, tables, and chairs. Tanners treated 
animal hides to make leather, and tinsmiths made household items from tin-coated steel, called tin plate. 
Living on the frontier was not easy, but the pioneers persevered and were ultimately successful.