5 1 1 this is the way we go to school TG

This Is the Way
We Go to School
SUMMARY

Students from Miss Jacobson’s
class present three reports on education in
the United States in 1725, in 1830, and in
1925. The class learns about the history of
public education in this country.

LESSON VOCABULARY

etiquette
podium
segregation

expenses
quills
tutors

INTRODUCE THE BOOK
INTRODUCE THE TITLE AND AUTHOR

Discuss with
students the title and the author of This Is
the Way We Go to School. Ask students to say
what they think the book will be about, based
on the title.

BUILD BACKGROUND

Invite students to share
what they know about the history of education
in this country. Ask: What is public education?
When did it start? Ask them what they know
about education in colonial America. Ask: How
do you think education might have differed in
various regions of the country?
PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES

Have
students preview the book by looking at the
illustrations. Ask students to discuss how
these text features give an idea of what the
book will be about. Ask what they think the
students in the story will learn about.

READ THE BOOK
SET PURPOSE

Have students set a purpose
for reading This Is the Way We Go to School.
Students’ interest in the history of education
in this country should guide this purpose.

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5.1.1
CHARACTER AND PLOT
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

STRATEGY SUPPORT: PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Invite
students, as they skim the text, to jot down
headings to help them understand the
organization and content of the selection.
Invite them to jot down notes about places in
the text they would like to return to and reread
to learn new information.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

PAGE 3 What do you notice about Ben’s
character? (He is very eager to ask questions,
but he forgets to raise his hand.)
PAGE 6 Why did Lizzie and Haley tell so much
about Katie’s chores at home? (to show that
Katie didn’t have much time for education)
PAGES 7-9 How did a boy’s education differ
from a girl’s in Connecticut in 1725? (Girls
go to dame school, learn knitting, sewing,
etiquette, math, reading, religious texts. Boys
learn to read, spell, write, do arithmetic in
primary school; wealthy boys have tutors,
learn Greek, Latin, science, algebra, geometry,
geography, history, and read religious texts.)
PAGE 12

What state first passed a law requiring public education? What was that law?
(Massachusetts; towns of 50 families or more

must provide school for education of children.)

PAGE 15

How did public education change
between the 1720s and the 1830s? (By
1830s, boys and girls both attended public
school.)

PAGES 17-18

Why was education in the South
different from education in New England?
(New England towns were close together so
there were more schools; in the South, towns
were spread out, and it was harder for people
to create schools.)

This Is the Way We Go to School

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REVISIT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE

1. Responses will vary.
2. Possible response: Did Know: Responses

will vary; Now Know: Segregation was a
set of laws in the South that prevented
blacks and whites from mixing together in
public places; Want to Know: when these
laws were first passed and when they were
removed.
3. segregate; to separate or set apart from
others
4. Answers will vary. Students might say that
they would have spent the money they had
on books that would help them learn.
EXTEND UNDERSTANDING

Have students review
the illustrations in this selection. Ask them to
explain how the illustrations on pages 8, 11,
16, 18, and 24 help them better understand
information explained in the text.

RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING

Challenge students to write a journal
entry from the point of view of a student in
1725, in 1830, or in 1925. Challenge them
to include specific details about their school,
the other students, the teacher, and what they
learn. Encourage them to base their writing on
what they learned in this selection, as well as
on prior knowledge.

Invite students to tell what they
know about education in their native country.
Challenge them to explain what is similar and
what is different education there and here.

SOCIAL STUDIES
CONNECTION
Students can go to
the library or use the
Internet to learn more
about courageous students and
their families who challenged segregation laws
in the 1960s. Invite them to research the
Supreme Court ruling, Brown vs. the Board of
Education, and other legislation that ended
segregation in public education.

Skill Work
TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY
To help students understand the meaning of
etiquette, have them read the last paragraph
on page 6. Ask: What words help you
understand the meaning of etiquette?

TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
CHARACTER AND PLOT Remind students
that a character is a person who takes part
in the events of a story. Challenge students,
as they read, to look for clues—such

as words and actions—that reveal what
characters are like. Remind them that the
plot is an organized sequence of events.
Authors use flashbacks to talk about events
from the past and foreshadowing to hint
at events to come. Invite them to find
flashbacks and foreshadowing in the plot.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Remind students
that prior knowledge is what a reader knows
about a given topic, from reading and from
personal experience. Invite students to skim
a piece of writing to get an overall idea of
what it is about. Challenge them to scan
the book to find particular information to
determine what information they would like
to focus on. Explain: Prior knowledge may
help you understand the characters and the
plot in the story.

ADDITIONAL SKILL INSTRUCTION
GRAPHIC SOURCES

Remind students that
graphic sources include charts, diagrams,
tables, lists, time lines, pictures, and art.
Explain: In addition to understanding the
information in a graphic, you should begin
to be able to recognize an author’s purpose
for including a specific graphic in a text.
Challenge students to ask themselves how

different graphics in the book help them
understand events and information in
the story.

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The Way We Go to School

Name

Character and Plot
• A character is a person who takes part in the events of a story.
• The plot is an organized sequence of events. Authors often use flashbacks to tell about
something that has already happened and foreshadowing to hint at events to come.

Directions Fill in the graphic organizer below. Under Plot, include flashbacks and foreshadowing.
Title
Characters

Setting

Problem

© Pearson Education 5

Plot

Solution

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The Way We Go to School

Name

Vocabulary
Directions Draw a line from each word to its definition.

Check the Words You Know
etiquette
podium
segregation

expenses
quills
tutors

1. etiquette

separation of people based on race

2. expenses

feather pens

3. podium

household budget

4. quills

wooden lectern

5. segregation

special teachers

6. tutors

good manners

© Pearson Education 5

Directions Write a paragraph about the history of education in America. Use as many vocabulary
words as you can.

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