3.1.1: Welcome to Unit 1

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In these pages, you will take a walk into the history of British Columbia. You will read about some of the great mysteries of our province. Along the way, you will learn many new skills that will help you be a stronger reader and writer.

Learning Goals

In Unit 1, you will:

See your strengths as a learner
Use pre-reading strategies
Use word attack strategies
Practice filling out forms
Define subject and verb
Write complete sentences
Write using the simple past tense

Learning Strategy: Know Your Strengths

A strength is something you are good at. Everyone has something they are good at. Learners who know their strengths and use them are more likely to do well.

Living outside

Read this story about Mitch. He has lived through some hard times. But he uses his strengths to get by. What are Mitch’s strengths?

My name is Mitch. I am from the Ojibway Nation. When I was a kid, I got a head injury. It made it hard to read and write. So I left school when I was 9. Even though I was just a kid, I went to work. I got jobs cleaning, fixing fences, and digging holes. There was no job I couldn’t do. One day when I was 16, the police said I stole a car. I didn’t. But they put me in jail anyway. I felt so angry. When I got out, it was hard to find work. I have lots of skills. I am good with tools. I can build and fix just about anything. I’m friendly and honest. But it’s hard to find work when you can’t read and write. So these days I live outside. I tried to stay in a shelter once. But it felt too much like jail. At night, I sleep in a tent in the park. In the summer, it’s not so bad. In the winter, the nights are long and cold. One day, I will be a carpenter. I won’t just build houses. I will live in one. In the meantime, I go to school twice a week. I am learning how to read and write. My teacher says I have a positive attitude. My positive attitude is how I get by.

Writing Task

Write the title Know Your Strengths at the top of the page in your notebook. On a new line, answer these questions:

What are Mitch’s strengths? Make a list.
What are your strengths? Make a list.

In this unit, you will read about some mysteries in British Columbia’s history. As you go through each chapter, think about ways you can use your strengths to do your best work.

Attribution

Living outside
Saturday Night Lights by Luke Detwiler is used under a CC-BY 2.0 license.