21 teacher’s guide riding with the pony...

Number of Words: 2,773

L E S S O N 2 1 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Riding with the Pony Expressby Ian Ward

Fountas-Pinnell Level THistorical FictionSelection SummaryMining for gold with his Uncle Charlie is boring for Ned Benson. He convinces his uncle to let him apply for work as a Pony Express rider. Luckily, Ned gets the chance and proves himself a capable rider.

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Historical fi ction

Text Structure • Third-person narrative; plot developed through detailed episodes • Setting described through text and illustrations, including a map

Content • Mining in Gold Rush–era California • Responsibilities and challenges of Pony Express riders• Dangers of the Pony Express route

Themes and Ideas • Doing work you enjoy• Working to prove one’s worth and responsibility• Honesty and courage as important values

Language and Literary Features

• Complex plot creates suspense• Language specifi c to 1800s California setting: goldfi elds, highwaymen• Figurative language: in no time fl at; as big as cherries

Sentence Complexity • Mix of short and complex sentences• Wide range of declarative, imperative, and interrogative sentences

Vocabulary • Words and phrases associated with mining for gold: sluice box, prospectors, nuggets• Words related to horses and riding with the Pony Express: saddle sores, mustangs, spurs

Words • Spanish words—mochila, cantinas—defi ned in text• Multisyllable words: ridiculed, furiously, highwaymen• Some easy compound words: saddlebag, snowdrifts

Illustrations • Illustrations refl ect the setting, time period, support text, add interestBook and Print Features • Seventeen pages of text with illustrations on approximately half of the pages

• Italics for characters’ thoughts and for emphasis© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Target Vocabulary

evident – very easy to see or perceive, p. 6

factor – something that brings about a result, p. 5

mirage – an image in the distance that appears to be real, but is not, p. 15

pace – the rate at which something is done, p. 9

salvation – something or someone that saves or rescues, p. 5

seep – to pass slowly through small openings, p. 12

shuffl ed – walked without lifting your feet p. 10

stunted – growth stopped or slowed, p. 5

undoubtedly – not questioned, p. 2

vain – no chance of success, p. 16

Riding with the Pony Express by Ian Ward

Build BackgroundHave students share what they know about the subject to help them visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What do you know about the Pony Express? Read the title and author and talk about the illustration on the cover. Explain that this is an example of historical fi ction that is set in the mid-1800s in California.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Pages 2–3: Have students look at the illustration on page 2. Explain that the main character, Ned Benson, is pouring water into a sluice box. Suggested language: Ned works for his Uncle Charlie, prospecting for gold. The text on page 3 says that Ned likes horses, and that’s one reason he wants to ride for the Pony Express. Ask: What reasons, besides loving horses, might a boy have for wanting to work on the Pony Express mail delivery route?

Page 5: Look at the sentence in the middle of the page with the italicized word. Ned says, “I’m the right size—they want boys with stunted growth like me. Finally, being small is a factor in my favor.” Why might stunted growth not be a problem for a Pony Express rider?

Page 6: Explain that the Pony Express rider being helped off his horse has been shot in the shoulder by highwaymen, which is a name for a type of 19th-century robber.

Page 9: Have students locate the word pace in the second paragraph and read the sentence aloud (At this pace, they’d reach Sportsman’s Hall well before noon.). Ask: What does Ned mean when he says “at this pace”?

Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out what challenges Ned faces as a young Pony Express rider.

2 Lesson 21: Riding with the Pony ExpressGrade 5© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed.

Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy as they read. Tell them to picture in their minds how Ned handles the challenge of being a Pony Express rider.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text.Suggested language: What did Ned have to do to convince others that he could ride with the Pony Express? Which of his words or actions do you think were most important?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Ned Benson loves riding horses and wants to ride with the Pony Express.

• When another rider is injured, Ned gets the chance to prove himself as a rider.

• Ned braves stormy weather and dodges highwaymen on a ride from Placerville to Sacramento to deliver the mail on time.

• Believing in yourself and following your dreams can help you be successful.

• People and animals can form a strong, successful team.

• Chronological order of events makes the story easy to follow.

• Descriptive details help readers visualize characters, setting, and events.

• Although the characters and events are fi ction, the details about the Pony Express are authentic.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text for a readers’ theater in

which they demonstrate phrased fl uent reading. Remind them to use punctuation to guide phrasing; to emphasize italicized terms; and to vary tone, pitch, and volume in giving expression to the different voices in the story.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Point out the word prospectors on page 3. Explain that the suffi x –or has been added to the base word prospect to form prospector, meaning “one who mines,” or “a miner.” Remind students that looking for base words, suffi xes, and prefi xes can help them fi gure out the meaning of unfamiliar words. Have students use this strategy for other words in the story, such as undoubtedly (p. 2), dismounted (p. 10), amazingly (p. 12), and steepest (p. 15).



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 21.8.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillSequence of Events

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that they can use signal words,

dates, and times to help them identify and follow the sequence of events. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

On the ride from Placerville to Sacramento, Ned travels a muddy, slippery downhill road. By late afternoon, he is riding a roan stallion and past the hardest part of the trail when he feels a bullet shot by highwaymen whistle past his ear. Ned slaps the stallion on the rear, and it races away at full speed. Getting shot at and escaping from the highwaymen on the stallion are two more events that happen in sequence after the fi rst event.

Practice the SkillHave students share their examples of other places in the story where identifying the sequence of events helped them understand the plot.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Assessment Prompts• What does Ned say on page 5 to convince Uncle Charlie to let him try riding with the

Pony Express?

• Which sentences from page 9 of the story show that Ned is a natural rider?

• What can the reader conclude about the challenges of riding for the Pony Express as described in this story? Why do you think that?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What does Ned want to do instead of

working the goldfi elds?

2. Think within the text What happens to Ned after he arrives at

Sportsman’s Hall at 11:15?

3. Think beyond the text Why do you think Ned wants to ride with

the Pony Express?

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author includes the

stories of the other Pony Express riders, such as Sam Hamilton and

Warren Upson?

Making Connections Pretend you want to get a job riding with the Pony Express like Ned. Write a short letter explaining why you want to be one of their riders.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

10Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 8

Grade 5, Unit 5: Under Western Skies

Name Date

Riding with the Pony ExpressCritical Thinking

ride for the Pony Express

Ned gives the station keeper his mochila; the station keeper asks

Ned to go back to Placerville; Ned eats his meal; Ned gets a fresh

horse with a new mochila and rides off.

The stories of those riders’ challenges gives the reader an idea of

how dif� cult it is to be a Pony Express rider. The stories also set

the story up for Ned’s own struggles to come.

He may want to do something he feels is important or that is more

interesting than working the gold� elds.

Possible responses shown.

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First Pass

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Give English learners a “preview” of the text by holding a brief small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire group. Remind students that when another Pony Express rider is injured, Ned gets the chance to prove himself.

Vocabulary The story includes terms that refer to different horses, such as mustangs, chestnuts, and roans. Explain that a mustang is a type of wild horse, descended from the horses brought to North America by Spanish soldiers. The terms chestnut and roan refer to a horse’s coloring.

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: Who is the story about?

Speaker 2: Ned Benson

Speaker 1: What animals does Ned like?

Speaker 2: horses

Speaker 1: What do Pony Express riders carry?

Speaker 2: mail

Speaker 1: Why does Ned get a chance to be a Pony Express rider?

Speaker 2: Another rider is shot by highwaymen and can’t ride.

Speaker 1: What challenges does Ned face as a Pony Express rider?

Speaker 2: He faces challenges such as stormy weather, hilly places, and highwaymen.

Speaker 1: Why does Ned want to see Uncle Charlie at the end of the story?

Speaker 2: He wants to tell him about his adventure while riding from Placerville to Sacramento. He wants Uncle Charlie to know that he can do the job, and that he likes it.



Name Date

Riding with the Pony ExpressThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

On page 17, after leaving the roan stallion in Sacramento, Ned feels as if he were leaving a friend. What does this show you about Ned? What kind of person is Ned? What kind of job do you think Ned might want to have if he lived today? Use details from the story to explain your answer.



Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 8

Name Date

Riding with the Pony ExpressCritical Thinking


Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What does Ned want to do instead of

working the goldfi elds?

2. Think within the text What happens to Ned after he arrives at

Sportsman’s Hall at 11:15?

3. Think beyond the text Why do you think Ned wants to ride with

the Pony Express?

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author includes the

stories of the other Pony Express riders, such as Sam Hamilton and

Warren Upson?

Making Connections Pretend you want to get a job riding with the Pony Express like Ned. Write a short letter explaining why you want to be one of their riders.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.


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332

Student Date Lesson 21

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 1 2

Riding with the Pony Express LEVEL T Running Record Form

Riding with the Pony Express

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

9 As Ned rode, he thought about what lay ahead. He’d read every

news story he could find about the Pony Express. He knew

about the first ride to Sportsman’s Hall by Sam Hamilton.

Nothing stopped him—not rain or sleet, not even having to run

on foot when his horse stumbled on the icy trail. Ned had also

read about Warren Upson, who took that first mail from

Hamilton and plunged through the deep snowdrifts over the

mountains. Ned even knew about “Pony Bob” Haslam, who

rode 380 miles by himself when Indian raids scared off all the

other riders and horses.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/101 ×

100)

%

Total Self- Corrections



21 teacher’s guide riding with the pony...

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