The document provides guidance on reading a science textbook, highlighting key features to help with comprehension like headings, highlighted words, and questions. It encourages summarizing important ideas and monitoring understanding by rereading unclear sections. Sample text is included on producers and consumers in an ecosystem, explaining their roles and relationships through diagrams and definitions.

1. 774
“Producers and Consumers” . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784
from Harcourt Science
Summarize
• Review how to summarize the most important ideas in a
text as you read.
Monitor Comprehension: Reread
• Review how to monitor comprehension by rereading text
you do not understand.
“Discovering the Atocha” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776
illustrated by Dave Stevenson
Build Fluency
• Read with accuracy.
• Read with expression.
Build Vocabulary
• Read, write, and learn the meanings of new words.
Review Vocabulary
• Read theme Vocabulary Words in a different context.
INFORMATIONAL
NARRATIVE
SCIENCE
TEXTBOOK
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2. Content-Area Reading
SCIENCE TEXTBOOK
Readers’ Theater
INFORMATIONAL NARRATIVE
775
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3. Reading for Fluency
When reading a script aloud,
• Practice reading each word
correctly until you can read
your lines with accuracy.
• Read with expression that
matches your character’s
personality and emotion.
776
distinguished
verify
discern
dubious
descend
frantically
estimate
vicinity
abruptly
scrutinize
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4. Characters
Narrator 1
Narrator 2
Juan, crew member
Taffi, Mel’s daughter
Minna, crew member
Mel Fisher
Dolores, Mel’s wife
Duncan, Mel’s chief
underwater archaeologist
Kane, Mel’s son
Narrator 1: The story you are about to hear is based on true events.
Narrator 2: In 1985, distinguished treasure hunter and underwater
explorer Mel Fisher, along with his “golden crew,” his dedicated
team of explorers, discovered the wreck of the Spanish galleon
Atocha (uh•TOH•chuh).
Narrator 1: The Atocha sank after being caught in a hurricane in
1622. At the time, the ship was heavily laden with treasure and
bound for Spain.
Narrator 2: For more than 360 years, the wreck and all its treasure
lay hidden beneath the waters just 20 miles west of Key West, Florida.
Narrator 1: Mel Fisher began exploratory dives for the Atocha in 1969,
after reading about it in a guidebook for divers seeking treasure.
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5. Read your lines with
expression to show how
each character is feeling.
Mel: I never give up. All I meant is that
the Atocha isn’t here.
Minna: So where do we search next?
Mel: Where do you think? The rest of the
islands!
Juan: There are 882 islands in the Keys!
Exploring them all would take a
colossal amount of time.
Minna: We can’t keep doing two dives a
day, year after year.
Mel: Don’t worry. I’ve got an idea that
doesn’t involve diving. We’re going to
fly instead!
Narrator 1: Later that day, Mel tells his
family and crew about his plan as they
all fly in a plane above the Marquesas
(mar•KAY•suhz) Keys.
Taffi: I still don’t understand why you
couldn’t tell us your plan on the
ship, Dad.
Narrator 2: His discovery of the Atocha
on July 20, 1985, completed a search
that had lasted more than fifteen years.
Narrator 1: We begin our story in
1975. Mel Fisher and his team are
diving near the Key of Matecumbe
(ma•tuh•KUM•bee), continuing their
search.
Narrator 2: Mel, his daughter Taffi, and
two members of his crew, Juan and
Minna, swim to the surface. They look
frustrated.
Juan: We’ve searched all the waters around
this key.
Taffi: We’ve been at this twice a day for
the past nine months.
Minna: Six coral reefs, hundreds of
starfish, and probably a million fish
. . . but no sign of any treasure.
Juan: There’s no trace of a shipwreck
or even a single gold doubloon down
there.
Mel: I think you’re right. There’s no
shipwreck down there.
Taffi: Dad, you aren’t giving up, are you?
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6. Juan: Flying above the water is certainly
easier than scuba diving.
Mel: I’ve been doing more research about
the hurricane that sank the Atocha.
Juan: Have you learned something new?
Mel: I have a hunch, and flying above
the Keys is the only way I can verify it.
We’re going to take a very close look at
the Marquesas Keys.
Minna: There’s no way the Atocha would
have sailed in the direction of the
Marquesas Keys.
Mel: True, but the hurricane might have
driven the ship there.
Taffi: The Marquesas Keys are in the
middle of nowhere, Dad!
Mel: That’s why no one has ever searched
there before. Take a close look,
everybody!
Dolores: I see a coral reef to the east
and three more to the west. Are there
any more, Kane? You dove in this area
recently.
Kane: There are reefs north and south of
here, also.
Juan: No one would try to sail a small
ship here, let alone a galleon like the
Atocha.
Dolores: Yes, a ship would hit a reef and
sink fast. So what’s your idea, Mel?
Mel: Everyone knows that the hurricane
forced the Atocha off course. If my
hunch is correct, the storm smashed
the ship into the Marquesas Keys!
Kane: Dad, with all the reefs in the
Marquesas Keys, the Atocha would
never have had a chance.
Mel: Exactly! That’s why we’re going to
search for the Atocha right here! Today
may be the day. . . .
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7. Practice reading aloud
unfamiliar words until
you can read them with
accuracy.
Narrator 1: Our story now moves forward five
years, to 1980. Mel and his crew have spent
those years searching the Marquesas Keys.
Narrator 2: Juan, Dolores, Minna, Kane, and
Duncan are scuba diving. Mel and Taffi are
aboard Mel’s ship, the Dauntless, waiting for
them to surface. When the divers come out of the water, they
look frustrated.
Dolores: The water is really murky.
Kane: I keep thinking I’m seeing shapes, but they’re just illusions from
all the silt floating around.
Duncan: My metal detector senses something in the sand.
Minna: The water is so cloudy that we can’t discern anything!
Narrator 1: Mel lugs a box to the edge of the boat. A long hose
is attached to it.
Mel: This should help with the silt.
Duncan: And just what is that?
Dolores: That’s the contraption Mel’s been perfecting for
years now.
Narrator 2: Duncan points at the box in Mel’s hand, a dubious
look on his face.
Duncan: It looks like a mailbox with a hose attached.
Mel: It should help us see better underwater.
Juan: Tell him how it works, Mel.
Mel: A motor inside pumps clear water down to the part
of the ocean floor we’re searching.
Duncan: Let’s give it a try. Anything will help at this
point.
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8. Juan: It’s very rusty. It’s been eroding underwater for a long time.
Duncan: I estimate that this piece has been underwater for at least a
century—maybe much longer.
Minna: Could it possibly be from the Atocha?
Mel: Let’s go back down and take a closer
look. Maybe the shipwreck is in the
vicinity. Today may be the day!
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9. Use expression to show
the excitement of the
characters.
away. Something golden glistens in the
water.
Narrator 1: The divers swim back to the
surface.
Juan: You were right, Minna! That isn’t part
of the reef . . . it’s a block of solid gold!
Kane: And the sand dune we were
standing on . . . it’s not a dune!
Minna: We must have been standing on
the wreck of the Atocha!
Juan: We’ve got to tell Mel right away!
Narrator 2: Meanwhile, back in his
office, Mel sits at his desk, studying
a map of the Keys. Suddenly, his
two-way radio crackles to life.
Kane: Hello, Unit 1, this is Unit 11. Dad,
are you there?
Mel: Go ahead, Kane.
Kane: Put away the charts. We’ve got the
782
Narrator 1: It is now 1985. Juan, Kane,
and Minna continue to make dives. Mel
works from their home base, recording
the crew’s findings. Dolores, Taffi, and
Duncan are with him.
Narrator 2: When Juan is below, he stops
abruptly. He signals with his hands to
the other divers, pointing above them.
The others nod their heads, and they
all swim up to the surface.
Juan: Something went wrong with my
metal detector. It won’t stop beeping.
I was scanning the coral reef, and the
machine began beeping like crazy.
Minna: We should go down and scrutinize
that reef again.
Juan: I think you’re right. Let’s look
again.
Narrator 1: Minna, Kane, and Juan
dive down to the coral reef. They see a
square object. Then the metal detector
begins beeping.
Narrator 2: The divers push the sand
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10. Mother Lode!
Mel: The whole wreck? Where? Where are
you?
Narrator 2: Dolores, Taffi, and Duncan
rush into the office.
Dolores: Mel, what’s happened? Is
something wrong?
Mel: They found the wreck!
Taffi: Where are they, Dad?
Mel: They’re aboard the Dauntless.
Dolores: This is great! Mel, your dream
has come true! You’ve overcome all
obstacles.
Mel: We’ve all been after this goal for a
long time.
Duncan: Yes, and we’ve had many
memorable adventures!
Taffi: We certainly have!
Mel: You all know, though, that the work
is just beginning.
Duncan: You’re right. There’s so much
to learn from everything that’s down
there.
Dolores: The artifacts will have to be
restored and preserved, too. We have to
share all of this with the world.
Narrator 1: The lengthy search was over,
but the journey of discovery was just
beginning. To this day, artifacts and
treasures from the Atocha are being
recovered, analyzed, and preserved.
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11. 784
Reading a Science Textbook
Bridge to Content-Area Reading Science textbooks
are examples of expository nonfiction. Expository
nonfiction explains facts and information about a topic.
The notes on page 785 point out some features of a science
textbook, including headings, highlighted words, and
questions. How can you use these features to skim and scan
a science lesson?
Review the Focus Strategies
If you do not understand what you are reading, use the
comprehension strategies you learned about in this theme.
Summarize
As you read, pause to summarize the most important ideas
in the text. You can summarize after reading a paragraph, a
section of text, or a complete text.
Monitor Comprehension: Reread
Monitor comprehension while you read. Reread any sections
of text that you did not understand.
As you read the pages from a science textbook on pages
786-789, think about where and how you can use
comprehension strategies.
Lesson 30
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12. HIGHLIGHTED WORDS
Important vocabulary to know is
highlighted.
QUESTIONS
Questions help you check your
understanding of the text.
HEADINGS
Headings give the topic of each
section of text.
785
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13. Apply the Strategies Read these pages about producers
and consumers from a science textbook.As you read, use
comprehension strategies, such as rereading, to help you
understand the text.
786
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14. Go back and reread any parts of this text that you had trouble
understanding. MONITOR COMPREHENSION: REREAD
787
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15. 788
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16. Pause to summarize the important ideas in the text.
SUMMARIZE
789
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