Fantasy Becomes Fact
Today you are a reading detective and a writer. You will read a biography of a science fiction writer named Arthur C. Clarke, who imagined inventions before they existed. Then you will write a paragraph that answers a question using text evidence.
The big question at the end: How did the author help us understand Clarke's idea for a wireless system? Include text evidence.
Your path
- Vocabulary — learn the 8 Words to Know (about 8 minutes)
- Close Read — read pages 64–67 three times, each time looking for something new (about 15 minutes)
- Student Example — study how Evan built his paragraph on page 72 (about 8 minutes)
- Your Turn — write your own paragraph, one piece at a time (about 15 minutes)
Open your Reading/Writing Workshop book to page 62. Keep it open the whole time — the site tells you where to look, but the words are in your book.
Words to Know
Tap a card to flip it. Read the meaning, then find the word in your book (the page is on the back). When you have flipped all 8, the quick check unlocks.
0 of 8 flipped
Which word fits?
Choose the best Word to Know for each sentence. You get feedback right away.
Close Read: three passes
Good readers read a text more than once. Each pass has a different job:
- Pass 1 — What is it about? Read pages 64–67 once. Just understand the story of Arthur's life.
- Pass 2 — How is it built? Look at the headings and the order of events. Biographies are usually told in sequence (time order).
- Pass 3 — Hunt for evidence. Reread page 66 slowly and mark every sentence about the wireless system. This is the evidence you will use in Station 4.
Want to hear the text read to you? Your online book can read it aloud. Here's how to get there:
- Click the button. It opens Clever in a new tab. Sign in the way you always do at school.
- On your Clever page, find the McGraw Hill tile (your Wonders book) and click it.
- Open the Reading/Writing Workshop book, then go to Unit 1, Week 4 and find "Fantasy Becomes Fact."
- Press the Listen button (the headphones or speaker icon) and follow along in your paper book on pages 64–67.
- Come back to this tab when you're done. Your work here is saved.
Stuck? Ask a neighbor first, then raise your hand.
Check what you understood
Put the events in order
The author tells Arthur's life in time order. The section headings are your road map: Inventing the Future → Science at an Early Age → Predicting the Future → Can Science Fiction Come True? Number these events 1–5 in the order they happened.
Find the wireless system
Reread "Predicting the Future" on page 66. The author does four things to help you understand Arthur's idea. Find each one in the book, then click to reveal the clue and check yourself.
How Evan built his paragraph
Open to page 72. Evan answered a different question: What was the author's purpose in writing "Fantasy Becomes Fact"? His answer is a student model. We are not copying his words — we are copying his moves.
Evan's four moves: 1 state the answer in the first sentence · 2 use precise words · 3 use signal words to show sequence · 4 give facts from the text as evidence · and then end with a strong closing sentence.
Pick a color, then click the sentence that does that job
Here are the key sentences from Evan's model (read the whole model on pp. 72–73). Choose a label below, then click a sentence to color it. Check your labels when you're done.
Why it works
- First sentence answers the question. A reader never has to guess what Evan thinks.
- "Inspire" is a precise word. It is stronger than "wants people to like science."
- "Then" is a signal word. It shows the order of events, which matches how the biography is written.
- Facts from the text are the evidence. The telescope at thirteen and the radar in the war both come from pages 65–66. Evan names them; he does not just say "there is evidence."
- The closing sentence connects back to the claim. Big dreams → worthwhile to have big dreams.
Your Turn
Prompt (page 73): How did the author help us understand Clarke's idea for a wireless system? Include text evidence.
Notice the question is about the author — what the writer did to help you, the reader. Your answer should name the author's moves (explaining the steps, telling what already existed, showing what happened later) and prove each one with words from page 66.
You revealed these in Station 2. Use the clue boxes here as you write — quote a few words or put the idea in your own words and say "On page 66, the author…"
Write one piece at a time. The sentence starters are there to help — you may change them.
Your paragraph
0 words
Editing checklist
- ☐ My first sentence answers the question.
- ☐ I used at least two pieces of evidence from page 66.
- ☐ I used a signal word (first, then, also, finally, later).
- ☐ I named the author or the text ("the author," "on page 66").
- ☐ I have a closing sentence.
- ☐ I combined two short sentences with a conjunction (and, but, so, because).
Nice work, detective-writer.
You learned 8 words, read a biography three times, studied a student model, and wrote a paragraph with text evidence. That is exactly what strong readers and writers do.
Last step: type your paragraph into your writing assignment online (Go Digital on page 73), and use your editing checklist one more time.