Unit 3: Wild BC
The Rare Spirit Bear
Reading Strategy
People often try to change the way we think. Sometimes they want to sell us things. Sometimes they want us to support a cause. It is important that we can make up our minds for ourselves.
One way people try to change the way we think is by making their opinion sound like a fact. Can you tell the difference between fact and opinion? If you can, you will be better able to make careful decisions.
A fact is something that you know is true. You can prove it. An opinion is something that you think or believe is true. But you cannot prove it, and people might disagree. For example:
| In 2006, the BC government made the spirit bear a provincial symbol. | That is a fact. You can check if it is true with research into BC history. |
| The spirit bear is a kind of black bear that has white fur. | That is a fact. You can prove it with science. |
| The spirit bear is cute. | That is an opinion. You cannot prove it. People disagree on what is cute. |
| People should not hunt bears for sport. | That is an opinion. People disagree about what is right and wrong. Also, the word should is a clue that the statement is an opinion. |
Try this
Write down fact or opinion for each statement. You do not need to go back to the reader to see if these are true or false. Just look at the statement.
| 1. The sasquatch is real. | fact or opinion? |
| 2. Ginger Goodwin died in 1918. | fact or opinion? |
| 3. Bill Miner was handsome. | fact or opinion? |
| 4. People should not race in bathtubs. | fact or opinion? |
| 5. There are over 30 different First Nations languages in British Columbia. | fact or opinion? |
| 6. Sook-Yin Lee was in a band called Bob’s Your Uncle. | fact or opinion? |
Word Attack Strategy
Word Patterns
The letter y can make lots of different sounds, depending on where it shows up in a syllable.
A syllable that begins with y usually makes a /y/ sound like in yellow. Read these words:
- yam
- your
- yesterday
- yell
A one syllable word that ends in y usually makes a long /i/ sound, like in cry. Read these words:
- by
- my
- try
- fly
If the word has more than one syllable and ends in a y, the y usually makes a long /e/ sound, like in baby. Read these words:
- funny
- lady
- plenty
- cozy
What three sounds can y make? Look at the words in the above Word Patterns box and say them out loud.
Make a chart like this
| Sounds of Y | ||
| /y/ like yellow | long /i/ like cry | long /e/ like baby |
|
|
Fill in your chart
1. Sort these words into your chart
| many | fry | yet | why | carry |
| empty | fifty | yes | sky | jelly |
| very | yard | handy | shy | year |
These words are split up into syllables
2. Put the syllables together to make a word. Write the word on the line. Then sound it out.
| com – pan – y | __________________________ |
| most – ly | __________________________ |
| Jan – u – ar – y | __________________________ |
| Feb – ru – ar – y | __________________________ |
How many syllables are in these words