HomeMy WebLinkAboutRead Aloud Book Gr. 3-Lesson 28Joseph hated the idea of starting at another new school. He had moved many
times, and he still found it hard to make friends. He thought it was because he wasn’t
interesting.
But Joseph promised himself that this time would be different. He would offer the
kids a much more interesting version of himself. In his mind, Joseph made up a list of
things to tell the kids. Now he couldn’t wait to make new friends!
At recess, kids gathered around Joseph. They asked where he was from.
“I used to live in New Hampshire,” Joseph answered. “I was born on a farm.”
That got the kids’ attention! “Really? Did you have animals?” they asked.
“Dozens of animals!” Joseph lied. “We had cows, horses, sheep, and pigs. And do
you know what else?” He spoke as if he was disclosing his biggest secret. “Our farm
had no electricity! We lit our house with candles.”
By the next day, however, the other kids seemed to have forgotten about Joseph and
his farm. So Joseph lied a little more. He told the kids that he didn’t have running water
on the farm. Then he told them about fi ghting a forest fi re. Using words, Joseph created
a picture of this forest fi re. But these pictures were just mirages—they weren’t real.
Joseph kept making his stories more exciting, but the other kids stopped believing him.
Soon rumors spread that Joseph lied about everything. Nobody wanted to talk to him.
Joseph knew it was time to tell the truth. At lunch, he acknowledged that he had
made some stuff up. “I wasn’t precisely telling the truth,” Joseph admitted. Then he
decided to tell the whole truth. “Nothing I said was valid. I lied about everything.”
Joseph appeared genuinely sorry. One boy asked, “Why did you pick a farm to lie
about, anyway?”
Joseph answered that he loved animals.
“That’s cool!” another boy exclaimed. “I have a pet goat. Do you want to come
over after school?”
And Joseph realized that starting school was different this time. He only had to be
himself. That was better than any cool kid he could ever pretend to be.
COMPREHENSION What does Joseph do to make friends? What words help
you talk about Joseph’s experience of starting at a new school?
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Have you ever seen a sculpture? These pieces of art can be found in
museums. Also, many cities and towns have sculptures in front of buildings or
in parks. Sculptures can look like famous people. Or they can be have strange
shapes. In fact, they can look like just about anything.
Sculptures can be formed from many different things. They can be made of
wood. They can be made of stone. They can also be made of metal. One of
the most famous sculptures produced from metal is the Statue of Liberty.
But how does an artist fashion a sculpture? An artist can forge a metal
sculpture in a special workshop. First, the artist must ignite a special tool called
a blowtorch. The artist uses the hot fl ame from the blowtorch to heat a piece of
metal. The metal becomes soft. Then the artist uses a hammer or other tools to
shape the metal. The metal might be so hot that it can be pierced with a sharp
tool.
A sculpture will often be made in pieces. An artist can use a blowtorch to
join the pieces of the sculpture together. At fi rst, the pieces might not fi t. They
might have to be adjusted until they fi t tightly together. Some artists spend years
learning the skills they need to manipulate their sculptures into shape.
Once a sculpture is ready, it can be set up in a place where people can see
it. But not every sculpture is meant to last for a long time. Some sculptures
are made of things that won’t last long, such as ice. Every year in Fairbanks,
Alaska, there is a competition called the World Ice Art Championships. Teams
from all over the world compete to make the best ice sculpture. Contests such
as this show that making sculptures can be both artistic and fun.
COMPREHENSION Which words help you understand how people make
sculptures? What are some of the things sculptures are made of?
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