Main Body
The Story of Tommy Douglas
Learning Goals
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand and use new vocabulary words
- Read words ending in -ism and -ist
- Use commas to separate items in a list
- Write a paragraph that tells a story
Get Ready to Read
- Is free health care important to you? Why or why not?
Vocabulary
Figure out what the bold word means by looking at how it is used in the sentence. Match it to the best meaning.
| 1. Tommy joined a socialist party called the CCF because he believed that really important things should be run by government, not business. | a. Someone who believes the government should own everything. People and companies should not own property, like houses or cars. |
| 2. People tried to scare voters by saying Tommy was a communist. | b. The leader of a province |
| 3. Tommy became premier of Saskatchewan in 1944. | c. Someone who believes the government should run health care, schools, and other major services |
| 4. In 1961, Tommy was voted into the federal government. The federal government put many of Tommy’s ideas in place for the rest of Canada. | d. The level of government responsible for things that affect the whole country |
Write a complete sentence to answer each question. Use the word in bold.
- Do you like the premier of your province?
- Would you ever vote for a socialist party?
- Would you ever vote for a communist party?
Word Attack Strategy
Word Patterns
A suffix is an end part of a word.
- A word that ends with –ism is a name given to a set of ideas.
- A word that ends with –ist means “a person who.”
Fill in the blanks with the best words from the box.
| racism | ageism | classist | sexism |
| classism | sexist | racist | ageist |
1. __________________ is the set of ideas that one gender is better than another.
2. __________________ is someone who believes in sexism.
3. __________________ is the set of ideas that rich people are better than poor people.
4. __________________ is someone who believes in classism.
5. __________________ is the set of ideas that some races are better than others.
6. __________________ is someone who believes in racism.
7. __________________ is the set of ideas that young people are better than old people.
8. __________________ is someone who believes in ageism.
Note: Not all words ending in –ism and –ist are negative. An artist is someone who makes art. A pianist is someone who plays piano. A scientist is someone who works in the sciences.
Use Your Reading Skills
Read The Story of Tommy Douglas in your reader. Return to this page when you are done.
Check Your Understanding
Find the Topic and Main Idea
1. What is the topic of this text?
a. Health care
b. Saskatchewan
c. Tommy Douglas
2. What is the main point of this text?
a. This text explains why it is wrong that people who fight for their rights are sometimes beaten and killed.
b. This text explains the disadvantages of letting cats be in politics.
c. This text tells the story of how Tommy Dou