WEEK 1

The Search for El Dorado

Before your read, skim through the text to locate unfamiliar words and use SCUBA-D to de-
code these words.

Sound it out
Check for clues in the sentence
Underline the smaller words within the word
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Read the Story. Then complete the Book Report.

Have you ever wondered how we got here? Were

we really needed here? What attracted various
peoples to Guyana? The tale of El Dorado is the first
idea that comes to mind. Although it is a myth now,
it was a huge deal back in the 1500s. The legend of
El Dorado was passed down from one group to
another through oral storytelling. This caused
several European groups to arrive on the shores of
South America. A long time ago, information was passed on through stories that were
told from one group to another as they travelled from one place to the next.

El Dorado was referred to by many explorers as a city of gold. The Spanish word for "the
golden" is El Dorado. In the original tale, there was a character known as El Hombre
Dorado (Spanish for "The Golden Man") or El Rey Dorado (English for "The Golden
King"). The story tells that, once a year, the chief would cover himself from ‘head to toe’ in
turpentine and gold dust. Thus the name "el dorado", which translates as "the golden one"
was derived. This mythical tribal chief or king would then submerge himself in the river
to be washed. His attendants threw objects made of gold, emeralds, and precious stones
into the river when he was in it.
 WEEK 1

The Search for El Dorado continued

The location of El Dorado remains a secret until this day and still is the biggest mystery
of all. All around Europe, explorers were drawn to the legend. Each explorer aspired to
be the one to conquer this illustrious region. As a result, they made several excursions to
South America, particularly to Guyana, where they travelled inland using the
Essequibo River. They looked everywhere, from the savannahs of the Rupununi to the
Amazon rainforest but, found no Golden City.

The British and Portuguese are said to have engaged in a stalemate in Rupununi, the
Yupukari Village, while searching for the city of El Dorado. They kept looking because
of the stunning scenery. Yet, their respective searches came up empty. Now, though,
here we are! Still living with the myth about the El Dorado. What are your thoughts?
 My Book Report WEEK 1

NAME …………………………………………………………………………………………………....
TITLE OF THE TEXT ………………………………………………………………………….

Rating: (Indicate the number of stars out of five.)

Identify one cause and effect mentioned in the story.

Write about something you found to be very fascinating about the story.

Write one fact and one opinion from the text.

Recommended to others?
Yes No
 WEEK 2
The New Haircut
Before your read, skim through the text to locate unfamiliar words and use SCUBA-D to
decode these words.

Sound it out
Check for clues in the sentence
Underline the smaller words within the word
Break the word into parts
Ask for help
Dive into the Dictionary
Read the Story. Then complete the Book Report.
“I look like a joker!” Joel thought desperately. He quickly pulled tight the drawstrings of his hoodie
to cover his head. He walked with speed to put a long distance between himself and the watchful
people of the barbershop. A thought popped into his mind, Did the barber deliberately give him a
messed-up haircut? The barber had seemed friendly. Maybe he had offended him in some mysterious
way and this jacked-up hairstyle was the haircutter's revenge?

By the time Joel arrived at the gate of his home, he had convinced himself that this horrifying
haircut was the barber's way of ‘dissing him’. Shaking his head in self-pity, he bounced up the steps of
the small bungalow and unlocked the front door. His mom yelled to him from the brightly lit kitchen,
"Joel, is that you? Come and show me your new hairstyle!"

Joel, sighing heavily, walked stiffly into the kitchen. He scowled as he approached his mom and then
slowly, dramatically, pushed the covering from his head to reveal his travesty of a haircut. His mother
gasped as she looked at her son and absorbed the uneven line at the front, the patchiness on the sides,
and the angry face underneath it all.

"Oh dear," she said. "What happened?"

Joel stewed silently as Mom paused for a moment. Then she added, "You know what, sweetheart?
You can just go back and get it fixed before school starts on Monday."

Joel's anger had been simmering and now his words poured out in a lava-hot stream of self pity and
blame. "What happened?" he screeched. "I'll tell you, Look at my head, Mom! There's no fixing this!"

With one look from his mother, he paused, adjusted his tone, and took a deep breath.
"Mom," he started, "I was wrong. I'm sorry."
 WEEK 2
The New Haircut Continued

His mom cut him off. "Thanks for saying that. But you watch your tone the next time you have
something to say to me or your haircut will be the least of your problems."

And the next day he walked to the barbershop. The barber welcomed him. "I'm so glad you came
back, man," he told Joel.

"I know I did a terrible job on your head, but I was distracted. I had just heard some bad news when
you sat in my chair. I'm sorry, man. Let me fix it, no charge."

"Thank you," said Joel.

 My Book Report WEEK 2

NAME …………………………………………………………
TITLE OF THE TEXT ………………………………………………………………………….

Rating: (Indicate the number of stars out of five.)

Identify the story elements below.
Setting:

Characters:

Problem:

Resolution:

Describe a similar experience you have had to the main character.

Recommended to others?
Yes No
 WEEK 3
Surviving!
Before your read, skim through the text to locate unfamiliar words and use SCUBA-D to
decode these words.

Sound it out
Check for clues in the sentence
Underline the smaller words within the word
Break the word into parts
Ask for help
Dive into the dictionary

Read the Story. Then complete the Book Report.

Savitri awoke with a severe headache. She

carefully opened her eyes while making as
little head movement as possible. She was
gazing sideways at a scene of a green jungle as
her cheek was crushed against the dirt ground.
Savitri, still half asleep, paused to consider what
she was witnessing. The lush, deep green foliage
of the trees, the gentle sound of various birds
chirping and calling to one another, and the
lovely aroma of flowers and moist earth that hung in the dense, heated air were all soothing.
When she realized that she was looking at a rainforest rather than her suburban home,
reality struck. Her heart thumped in anxiety as she instantly sat up, wide awake.

She spoke aloud, "Where am I?" The sudden sound of a human scared the birds, who flew to
make a good escape. The noise then grew louder and continued. Savitri struggled to recall
her most recent location because she could not recall the previous twenty-four hours.
 WEEK 3
Surviving! (continued)
She got to her feet, dusted her clothes, and looked about. There was a road that led deeper
into the woods to her right. It had a gloomy appearance. A river and a meadow that was
much less hazardous than the dense woodland was to her left. Since the river was raging with
rapids, Savitri had never been a confident swimmer. She alternately focused on the river and
the jungle.

Savitri said, "I need to find more individuals.” Even her own voice was comforting to hear. The
sound gave her more vigor. "What should I do now, then? I am not able to swim across the
river. I do not want to explore the forest any farther. As cities are typically built along rivers,
I'll follow it downstream hoping to find some indication of civilization."

Savitri made a left turn and gently moved downstream alongside the river. Tall reeds and
marshland surrounded the water's edge. Every time she lifted her foot, mud squelched and
stuck to her shoe. Whatever lay beneath the tall grass was hidden, but Savitri could see
things scurrying about her feet from the movements in the underbrush that followed each
step. Savitri calculated that she had only covered two miles in the three hours. She still had
not seen anyone else, but she was certain someone was keeping an eye on her. When
she arrived at a clearing, she discovered a tent settlement. She was overjoyed to have found
people.
 My Book Report WEEK 3

NAME …………………………………………………………………………………………………....
TITLE OF THE TEXT ………………………………………………………………………….

Rating: (Indicate the number of stars out of five.)

Describe the most exciting part of the story?

Write an ending where Savitri makes a different decision about how to

leave the jungle.

Write a beginning to tells how Savitri got to the jungle.

Recommended to others?
Yes No
 WEEK 4
The Process of Crude Oil Refining

Before your read, skim through the text to locate unfamiliar words and use SCUBA-D to
decode these words.

Sound it out
Check for clues in the sentence
Underline the smaller words within the word
Break the word into parts
Ask for help
Dive into the dictionary

Read the Story. Then complete the Book Report.

After crude oil is taken out of the ground, it needs to be transported and refined to
create petroleum products that are useful. Large-scale industrial complexes known as
petroleum refineries turn crude oil into marketable petroleum products. Three types of
chemical processes can be used to categorize the refinery's fundamental operations:
• Distillation is the process of separating things according to how volatile they
are. The earliest and most fundamental step in the refinement process comes
before cracking and reforming.
• Cracking is the process of dissolving dense molecules into hydrocarbons that
are lighter and more useful.
• Reforming entails altering the chemical composition of hydrocarbons to give
them the desired physical qualities (as well as to boost their commercial worth).

Distillation is the process of heating and feeding crude oil onto a distillation column,
which separates it into several components known as "fractions". Cracking and
reforming are terms used to describe the second and third phases.

Cracking is used to separate the molecules in the heaviest fractions, such as gas oils
and residual oils, which have lesser value than some of the lighter fractions. Reforming
is often applied to lower-value light fractions, and the hydrocarbon chain's
composition is changed during the reforming process.
 WEEK 4

The Process of Crude Oil Refining (continued)

The production of final petroleum products differs from refinery to refinery, but in
general, oil refineries are engineered to produce as much gasoline as possible due to
high demand from the transportation sector.

The supply chain for petroleum products is divided into three parts: upstream
operations, midstream activities, and downstream activities. Upstream operations in-
volve exploring crude oil deposits and producing crude oil, while midstream activities
involve distributing crude oil to refiners, refining crude oil into marketable products,
and distributing goods to wholesalers and retailers. Retail sales of petroleum products
are part of a downstream activity, while companies that distribute heating oil or
propane are also downstream. Gas stations are likely to be the most noticeable.
Adopted from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme801/node/470
 WEEK 4
My Book Report

NAME …………………………………………………………………………………………………....
TITLE OF THE TEXT ………………………………………………………………………….

Rating: (Indicate the number of stars out of five.)

Identify one cause and effect mentioned in the text.

Write three facts you have learnt from the text that .

Recommended to others?
Yes No
 WEEK 5
Art Class
Before your read, skim through the text to locate unfamiliar words and use SCUBA-D to
decode these words.

Sound it out
Check for clues in the sentence
Underline the smaller words within the word
Break the word into parts
Ask for help
Dive into the dictionary

Read the Story. Then complete the Book Report.

When Pamela was little, she started taking classes at Miss Azeez's School for Art.
Charcoal drawing came easily to Pamela, and she loved watching the lines spread un-
evenly across the page as she moved the bits of charcoal back and forth over the paper.
Anita, the best artist in the school, sat down and set up her easel next to Pamela in the
room. Pamela groaned and felt nervous.
"Hello class," Miss Azeez said.
"Hello, Miss Azeez," everyone in the room said in unison.
"We'll continue to work on the projects we began last week," Miss Azeez said. "Charcoal
drawing. A more sophisticated form of visual art. We continue to learn the fine art of
shading." The class was silent, watching Miss Azeez move around.
"Please take your charcoal drawings and continue," she said. "Please maintain the same
themes you were working on."
Pamela had already picked up her drawing and was now sitting, staring miserably at
the paper pinned to the wooden easel . Anita returned to her seat and smiled nervous-
ly at Pamela.
 WEEK 5
Art Class (continued)
"I like your drawing," she said, pointing at Pamela's easel.
Pamela blushed and mumbled, "Thanks."
Anita slowly pinned her drawing to her easel, and Pamela gasped. Anita tried to draw
a landscape scene, then tried to turn it into a boat sitting upside down in a meadow. It
was a mess.
"I couldn't decide what to do," Anita said defensively.
"Yeah," Pamela said. She turned back to her drawing, gazing at the shading around the
eyes appreciatively. Anita looked at her own failed landscape.
"I've totally been there," Pamela said. She didn't look at Anita.
But Anita smiled. "That's really nice of you to say," she said, "You're so good, sometimes I
feel bad in comparison."
Pamela laughed and looked to see if Anita was joking, but she seemed serious. Pamela
was shocked. "What are you talking about?" she said. "I'm not talented. Miss Azeez
never compliments me. You're the best one in our class!"
Anita raised her eyebrows a little bit. "I might be a good copier of the stuff that Miss
Azeez wants us to draw, but I have no idea what to do when it comes to making up my
own images. You're so wonderful at that!"
“Seriously," Anita whispered. "You are so great at making new things out of old stuff we
look at."
"I never thought about it that way," Pamela said slowly.
Pamela looked at Anita’s drawing and gave her some pointers to improve it. Pamela
smiled and turned back to her drawing, looking every so often at Anita's work, only to
see that she was taking her advice, down to the last linear swoop.

Adopted from: blob:https://www.readworks.org/51bc4e4f-e692-4446-ade0-5a27fcf3f521

 WEEK 5
"

My Book Report

NAME …………………………………………………………………………………………………....
TITLE OF THE TEXT ………………………………………………………………………….

Complete the 5Ws Chart by writing questions, based on the text.

What

Where

When

Who

Why

Recommended to others?
Yes No