​We are going to use context clues to determine the meaning of words.

First, we will look at superstition.

The text states, " I was pretty sure the rain thing was only if you stepped on the spider... and even then it was only a superstition- not a scientific fact.​"

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The definition of superstition is included in this text. Superstition means the scientific fact or a belief based on ignorance or fear. ​

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Next, we will look at preoccupied.

The text states, " I would have set the record straight, but I was a little preoccupied. In a minute we'd be turning the page to chapter two, and my invention wasn't ready yet. "

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Clues from the text can help us determine the meaning of preoccupied. She stated that "she would have set the record straight, but she was preoccupied. So, preoccupied means to be concerned with a situation.

​C-A-R-E-F-U-L she fingered spelled back. Then she started twirling a strand of her shiny black hair around one finger which is always what she does when she's worried. I nodded. Penny was right. Caution was a must.

By reading this text, I realize that ​careful and caution must be synonyms. Caution must mean close care; watchfulness

​In order to determine the meaning of the word pollinate, I will have to look it up in a dictionary the text does not give me the clues I need to determine the meaning.

Pollinate means to transfer pollen from the stamen to the pistil of the same flower or another flower.​

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At the bottom of page 137, the text states "patent pending".​ When something is pending, it means that there is a period of waiting for a decision to be made. Her patent is pending. A patent is a piece of paper issued to a person or company by the government that gives them the right to be the only one to make, use or sell a new invention for a certain number of years.

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​"Or at least in theory it did- unless the clothespin wasn't attached quite right. In which case it might come sproinging off the book and hit someone in the head."

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In the 1st paragraph, Ruby describes what she wanted the page-o- matic to do. This helps me understand that theory is an idea about the way things are or work. ​

​"As Colin kept reading, I went back to work, looping the string on the clothespin more tightly so that I could extend the tension better."

The text tells me that she is making the string tighter. This makes me believe that tension must be the force that affects objects that are pulled or stretched. ​

​"The entire Ruby Goldberg Page-o-Matic smashed to the floor, along with my book and Dominic's pencil case, which spewed markers everywhere."

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From the text and the illustration, I can determine that spewed means to expel. ​

During small group, we will practice summarizing and visualizing our story.

We will use the following sentence stems in a small group. ​