The Beach

by Rosa Álvarez illustrated by Linda Graves HOUGHTON MIFFLIN

by Rosa Álvarez illustrated by Linda Graves Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers, Attn: Permissions, 6277 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, Florida 32887-6777. Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-0-547-02704-3 ISBN-10: 0-547-02704-4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0940 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt School Publishers retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Amelia knocked on her cousin’s door. “Get up, Maya! Now is the best time to go to the beach!” 2

Maya put on her clothes, but she still felt cold. She was not sure that today was a good day for the beach. It was too cold to swim. So what would they do? 3

Maya and Amelia walked on the beach. Maya saw some red, blue, and green things stuck in the sand. She picked one up. “That is sea glass,” said Amelia. “Sand and water have made it smooth.” 4

Then Amelia got down and dug in the sand. She found a round, flat shell. She kept digging and found another. “What are these things?” asked Maya. “Sand dollars,” said Amelia. 5

“See these holes on top?” “Yes,” Maya said. “The sand dollar’s feet used to stick out of them.” “Wow,” said Maya. “That’s cool.” 6

A hermit crab ran across the sand. Maya tried to grab it. “Ouch!” she said. “Did it bite you?” asked Amelia. Maya laughed. “I’m okay, it was just a little nip. I guess I shouldn’t pet hermit crabs!” 7

Amelia pointed out a red starfish under some seaweed. “Dip your hand in the water and pick it up,” said Amelia. “A starfish is safe to pet.” “It may not bite, but it feels rough!” said Maya. 8

Maya and Amelia walked on. They filled their pockets with sea glass and sand dollars. Then the girls put all the bits of sea glass in a pile. Amelia’s mom showed them how to make bracelets with the glass. 9

“So,” said Amelia. “What do you think of our beach?” “I love it!” said Maya. “Thanks for showing it to me.” “We’re not done,” said Amelia. “There’s a lot more beach to see!” 10

Responding TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events What do Amelia and Maya do first at the beach? What do they do next? What do they do last? Make a chart. Write About It Text to World Draw a picture of a beach. How do people have fun at the beach? What do they see? Write three sentences about your picture. 11

her WORDS TO KNOW now our today nip she would LEARN MORE WORDS pile TARGET SKILL Sequence of Events Tell the order in which things happen. TARGET STRATEGY Analyze/Evaluate Tell how you feel about the text, and why. GENRE Realistic fiction is a story that could happen in real life. 12

Level: J DRA: 18 Genre: Realistic Fiction Strategy: Analyze/Evaluate Skill: Sequence of Events Word Count: 292 1.2.8 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN Online Leveled Books ISBN-13:978-0-547-02704-3 ISBN-10:0-547-02704-4 1032734