Storytown Grade 6 Lesson 19

CONTENTS
Make Judgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .486
Make judgments about a text.
Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .488
Read, write, and learn the meanings of new words.
“Buildings in Disguise” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .490
by Joan Marie Arbogast
• Learn the characteristics of expository nonfiction.
• Learn to self-correct as a strategy for monitoring
comprehension.
“Statue of Liberty” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .506
by J. Patrick Lewis
Read a poem about a famous landmark.
Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .508
• Compare texts.
• Review vocabulary.
• Reread for fluency.
• Write a letter to the editor.
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Genr e: Ex
pos
Non
itor y
f ic t ion
G e n r e : Po e t r y
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Make Judgments
Remember that careful readers of nonfiction make judgments,
or assertions, about information in the text. Assertions are valid
if they can be supported by text evidence. Facts, examples, and
quotations are kinds of evidence that can be used to support an
assertion. Reliable evidence makes your assertions convincing.
As you read, use the steps below to evaluate the text.
• Think about the evidence the author presents.
• Think about how reliable the evidence is.
• Make an assertion based on the evidence.
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Judgment/Assertion
To determine whether evidence
is reliable, think about whether it can
be confirmed in another source.
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Read the paragraph below. Then look at the graphic
organizer. It shows an assertion based on information
in the paragraph and the evidence that supports it.
People disagree about the safety
of amusement parks. According to the
amusement park industry, visiting these parks
is safer than many other leisure activities.
Every year, more than 300 million people
visit amusement parks and attractions in the
United States. Only about 6,500 visitors suffer
injuries. Far more people get hurt each year
while bicycling or playing basketball.
Evidence
Visiting an amusement park
is safer than many
other leisure activities.
Evidence
Only 6,500 out of 300
million visitors are injured at
amusement parks.
Evidence
More people get hurt
while bicycling or playing
basketball.
Judgment/Assertion
People shouldn’t worry about amusement park
safety any more than they worry about safety
in other leisure activities.
Try This
What kind of information could be added to support the
evidence that more people are hurt each year while bicycling
or playing basketball? In your opinion, would the evidence
become more or less reliable?
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
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Build Robust Vocabulary
Puppy Love
eager
beloved
humongous
abandoned
neglected
demolished
severe
On Valentine’s Day 2005, eager spectators
gathered to witness the return of a beloved
community symbol. The Doggie Diner head,
a humongous sculpture of a smiling dachshund
wearing a white chef’s hat, was proudly
displayed in its new home near Ocean Beach
in San Francisco, California.
The 700-pound dachshund head was
one of many such sculptures that once drew
customers to the Doggie Diner restaurant
chain. When the restaurant chain went out of
business in 1986, its diner near the beach was
abandoned.
After the Doggie Diner
near Ocean Beach
closed, the neglected
dachshund head became
chipped and faded. Its
nose was damaged in a
storm.
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In the year 2000, residents
learned that the old diner might
be demolished. Community leaders
planned to rescue the Doggie Diner
head and move it to a new home.
Unfortunately, in April 2001, severe
winds toppled the sculpture. It
smashed onto a phone booth as it
fell, and its nose was badly damaged.
Luckily, the giant dachshund
head was saved. City workers
repaired it, and today it has a new
permanent home near the San
Francisco Zoo.
Dozens of people turned out to see the
unveiling of the repaired Doggie Diner head.
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
Word Champion
Your challenge this week is to use the
Vocabulary Words outside the classroom.
Post the words where you will see them
often. Use as many of the words as you can when you talk
with family members or friends. For example, you might
tell a friend about a humongous insect you saw. At the end
of each day, write in your vocabulary journal the words you
used. Tell how you used them.
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Exposi t o r y Non f ic t ion
Genr e B a nne r Tex t
Genre Study
Expositor y nonfiction presents
and explains facts about a topic.
As you read, look for
• headings that tell the topic of
each section.
• main ideas supported by details.
Detail
Detail
Detail
Main Idea
Comprehension
Strategy
Monitor comprehension as
you read. Stop and self-correct
mistakes that change the
meaning of the text.
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by Joan Marie Arbogast
Some buildings don’t look like buildings. They look like
oversize elephants, beagles, or ducks. These buildings
are meant to grab your attention, and they usually do.
Architects call these structures mimetic because they
mimic other objects.
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Lucy, the Margate Elephant
As engineer and land-developer James V. Lafferty, Jr., admired his
very unusual building, he knew people would come to see it. But
that was only part of his plan. The other was to convince people
to purchase parcels of his land along the Atlantic coast.
That was back in 1881—and his idea worked! His plan, after
all, had been simple. Make it big. Make it fun. Make it in disguise.
And that’s exactly what he did. With the help of an architect
and a crew of burly builders, Mr. Lafferty constructed a oneof-a-kind, sixty-five-foot-tall elephant-shaped building near the
growing seaside resort of Atlantic City, New Jersey. People came
from miles around to see his extraordinary building.
To prevent others from copying his idea,
Mr. Lafferty applied for and received a
patent on his building in 1882.
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Statistics: Lucy, the Margate Elephant
Location: Margate, New Jersey
Built: 1881
Materials used: Nearly 1 million pieces of wood, 200 kegs of nails, 4 tons
of bolts and beams, 12,000 square feet of tin
Main room: 18' by 18', a little smaller than a two-car garage
Height: 65' tall, which means if Lucy were hiding in the woods, her howdah
could be seen above most of the trees
Ears: 17' long, 10' wide, roughly the size of a full-size car
Glass eyes: 18" diameter, the size of a beach ball
Number of windows: 17
Curious customers climbed the spiral staircases to the howdah,
or canopied carrier, on the elephant’s back. There they viewed the
lots for sale. Some eager land-buyers even sealed their deals inside
the elephant’s belly.
Two years later, Lafferty built Elephantine Colossus in Coney
Island, New York—the amusement park of its time. This spectacular
building towered 122', nearly twice the height of Lucy. Visitors paid
to view its innards of seven floors and thirty-one rooms. But in
1896, a fire leveled the mammoth pachyderm.
A third elephant, Light of Asia, was
constructed in 1884 by a gentleman
who purchased the building rights from
Lafferty. It stood in Cape May, New
Jersey—one of the most popular seaside
resorts of the mid-1800s. It was shorter
than Lucy by twentyfive feet, and it never
attracted the attention
that Lafferty’s elephants
did. In 1900, the neglected
elephant was torn down.
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In 1887, Mr. Lafferty sold his original elephant to Anton Gertzen,
who’d helped construct the unusual building. The Gertzen family
owned and operated the elephant as a tourist attraction for nearly
eighty years. It was his daughter-in-law, Sophia Gertzen, who named
the elephant Lucy, though no one seems to know why.
During the early 1900s, tourists paid ten cents to enter the
awesome structure. People traveled the states and sailed the sea
to examine this remarkable building. You can see for yourself by
examining the guest list below. Notice how many different states
are represented. How many countries? Do you recognize any of the
names?
Though Lucy survived severe storms along the Atlantic coast for
eighty years, the terrible storm of 1962 left her tattered and torn.
Years of saltwater mists had already weakened her wooden “bones.”
Years of sandy winds had worn her tin “skin” thin. No longer safe
for curious tourists, Lucy’s doors were locked to the public.
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A National Historic Landmark is a building, structure, or object that has
been recognized as having played a significant role in American history.
Afraid that their unusual
landmark would be toppled to
make room for condominiums,
concerned citizens formed the
Save Lucy Committee, which
sprang into action in 1969. Even
children pitched in to protect the
aging elephant. The group raised enough money
to move their beloved pachyderm to a safe spot
in a city park farther from the water’s edge.
Though Lucy moved only two short blocks,
it took nearly seven hours to inch her down
the road. Once secured in her
new location, lengthy repairs and
restorations began. Then, in 1976,
Lucy was honored as a National
Historic Landmark.
Today Lucy welcomes guests
through her doors as she did when
she was young. People still climb to
the howdah on Lucy’s back, where
they can view the seascape and the
city of Margate, New Jersey, that Lucy
helped to create.
Lucy is our nation’s oldest
functioning example of mimetic
architecture. She’s also our oldest
zoomorphic (animal-shaped)
structure. Both are designed to
grab your attention. And Lucy has
for more than 120 years!
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Statistics: The Big Duck
Location: Flanders, Long Island,
New York
Built: 1931
Height: 20', equal to three minivans
stacked on top of each other
Width: 15', equal to two minivans
parked side by side
Length: 30', equal to two minivans
parked end to end
Materials used: Wood, wire mesh,
concrete
Original eyes: Taillights from a
Model T Ford
Patented in 1932
Listed on National Register of
Historic Places
Ducks are structures
where the building
is the advertisement
or sign; often these
buildings are shaped like
the products they sell.
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The Big Duck
While vacationing in California, duck farmers Martin and Jeule
Maurer visited a coffee shop shaped like a super-sized coffeepot.
That’s when they decided to construct a head-turner of their own.
That was back in 1931, when three-fourths of the nation’s
duck business was located on New York’s Long Island, where the
Maurers lived. When the couple returned from vacation, they hired
a carpenter and two brothers to construct a “duck” to increase the
sales of their ducks and eggs.
First, the men studied one of the Maurers’ Peking ducks. Then
they constructed a wooden skeleton, added wire mesh, and applied
tons of concrete. Finally, they painted the bird and placed taillights
from an old Model T Ford into its head for its eyes. Even on the
darkest of nights, the red glowing eyes could be seen from down the
road. The duck gained so much attention that it was featured in the
November issue of Popular Mechanics in 1932.
Later, in 1972, the duck became more famous when architects
Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown, and Steven Izenour wrote
about it in their book, Learning from Las Vegas. Suddenly buildings
shaped like the products they sold were nicknamed “ducks.”
But fame alone can’t save buildings from destruction. Much like
Lucy the Elephant, the duck’s future was doomed when the land on
which it perched was sold.
Without the aid of the local community, this famous Long Island
landmark would have been demolished in
1987. But the community sprang into action
and raised enough money to move the giant
Peking duck to the entrance of the Sears
Bellows County Park, a few miles away. Today
“The Big Duck” doubles as a visitors’ center
and gift shop, operated by Friends for Long
Island’s Heritage.
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Entertainment Complexes
Castles and palaces have stood for centuries, but not in the United
States. So when the people of Mitchell, South Dakota, decided to
construct a palace-like building back in 1892, it caused quite a stir.
And that’s exactly what they wanted to do.
When Lewis and Clark traveled through the southern Dakota
plains in 1804 and again in 1806, they noted in their journal that
sections of the plains were “naked” and “void of Timber” though
other sections were lush with life. Afraid that outsiders might view
the area as uninviting, the people of Mitchell constructed a very
unusual building to attract people into town. This building, they
decided, would showcase their abundant crops and hopefully attract
settlers, too. Much like Lucy
the Elephant in Margate, New
Jersey, Mitchell’s “palace” drew
people from miles away.
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Not only were goods displayed
inside the building, they were also
displayed on its walls. The palace
attracted so many people that a larger
one was built in 1905 and another in
1921, which still stands today.
Every summer the designs and
murals are replaced with new ones.
The process takes nearly all summer
to complete. It also takes 3,000 bushels
of grasses and grains plus more than
275,000 ears of corn. Each ear of corn
is cut in half lengthwise, then nailed to
the building’s wooden panels.
Today’s Corn Palace continues to
attract folks to Mitchell, South Dakota,
where they can enjoy sporting events,
stage performances, and concerts inside
this one-of-a-kind mimetic structure.
Statistics: Corn Palace
Location: Mitchell, South Dakota
Built: 1892 - the original wooden
structure was built, known as The
Corn Belt Exposition
1905 - a larger wooden Corn Palace was
built
1921 - the current structure was built,
minus the turrets and domes
1937 - 2 turrets and 5 domes were added
Designed by the same architects who
designed Radio City Music Hall in New
York City, Rapp and Rapp from Chicago
Materials used: steel, brick, wood-paneled
walls to hold decorations
Wall decorations include black, blue,
red, brown, calico, white, and yellow corn,
plus oats, rye, sour dock (a grass) and milo
(a grain used for cattle feed)
Size: Width equal to ½ city block
Depth equal to 1 city block
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This structure mimics a medieval castle. It
is found in the Enchanted Forest in Turner,
Oregon. Guests enter Storybook Lane by
way of this “castle.”
By the early 1950s, storybook
parks opened from east to west.
Complete with buildings and
characters borrowed from childhood
stories, these parks brought nursery
rhymes and fairy tales to life. Fairy
tale–type castles that welcomed
guests to their parks years ago still
welcome guests today.
At Story Land in Glen, New
Hampshire, Cinderella greets guests
outside the Cinderella castle. Guests
can even arrive at the castle by way
of a pumpkin carriage!
Story Land has several mimetic
structures throughout its park. As
young visitors climb in and out of
a walk-in shoe house, it’s easy to
see how mimetic structures bring
nursery rhymes to life.
There was an old woman
who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children
she didn’t know what to do.
Young guests who visit DUTCH
WONDERLAND® Family Amusement
Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,
can attend story hour inside this
mimetic castle. That humongous
black spider appears in the fall as
the park prepares for spooktacular
fun. This forty-foot-tall building
has been around since 1963.
®
DUTCH WONDERLAND
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Long before storybook
parks opened, amusement
parks used mimetic
buildings to attract
guests. This oversize shoe
once stood in Luna Park
in Cleveland, Ohio, during
the early 1900s. Notice the
chutes (slides) on either
side of the shoe.
Believe it or not, this giant-size shoe holds three
bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a living
room! Built by millionaire “Colonel” Mahlon N. Haines
in 1948, the odd-shaped building provided roadside
advertisement for his shoe-selling business.
Though this “shoe” once served as a guest house,
it is now a museum, with an ice-cream parlor tucked
into its heel. The Haines Shoe House sits on a hill
overlooking US 30 (Lincoln Highway) in York County,
Pennsylvania.
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Some mimetic buildings were originally built as museums. This monstrous
muskie looks like a sculpture. But it’s really one of the buildings that
house The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin.
Though other fish pose in the Hall of Fame’s Sea of Fishes, this is the only
one you can enter.
Inspired by his childhood memories of Lucy the Elephant, Claude
Bell constructed this 140-foot Apatosaurus in Cabazon, California.
Creating it in his spare time, it took him nearly a dozen years to
complete. Though it was designed to hold a dinosaur museum, it now
holds a gift shop in its belly. Curious customers enter through the
door in its tail. The Tyrannosaurus Rex in the background was built
by Bell, too. But it’s not open to the public.
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Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Though Lucy the Elephant is our oldest example of mimetic architecture,
these structures have been around for centuries. They date back to
ancient times with the Trojan Horse. But it wasn’t until the invention
of the affordable automobile that this form of architecture took off
by leaps and bounds. During the 1920s and 1930s, roadside businesses
mushroomed. But when faster-paced superhighways bypassed smaller
towns, many of these roadside businesses saw fewer and fewer guests.
Eventually, many of these buildings were abandoned and have since
toppled to the ground. Fortunately, during the 1970s preservation groups
spread across the country. They’ve worked tirelessly to save historic
buildings and landmarks, including a number of mimetic buildings.
Today concerned citizens continue to work to save buildings that
serve as symbols of our country’s past, like this coffeepot located along
the Lincoln Highway in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
The Coffee Pot was saved from the wrecker’s ball in December of
2003 when it was moved a short distance down the road to the Bedford
County Fairgrounds, where it will be restored to its original beauty.
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1 What are mimetic buildings? MAIN IDEA
2 Why was the Save Lucy Committee formed? Was it successful?
Explain.
DRAW CONCLUSIONS
3 Are mimetic buildings worthy of restoration? Use evidence from the
selection to support your answer.
MAKE JUDGMENTS
4 If you were to design a mimetic building, what object would your
building mimic?
MAKE CONNECTIONS
5 WR ITE Compare the ways two mimetic buildings mentioned in the
selection are used.
SHORT RESPONSE
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Joan Marie Arbogast
When Joan Marie Arbogast was growing up, she liked to ride
bicycles, climb trees, and roast marshmallows over a campfire. She
also did some things that most young people don’t do. Because
her father was an architect, she looked at many building plans and
models, and she regularly visited construction sites. As a result, she
developed an interest in architecture at a very young age. Today, she
writes articles and books from her home in Stow, Ohio.
www.harcourtschool.com/storytown
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Social Studies
Po e t r y
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by J. Patrick Lewis
DATE: Arrived from France on July 4, 1884
LOCATION: New York, New York
ARCHITECT: Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
PHYSICAL FACT: The foundation alone required 24,000
tons of concrete. It took six months to
mount the statue to her base.
My nose is four and a half feet long,
My mouth is three feet wide,
My head’s ten feet from ear to ear . . .
I’m a gal you can step inside.
My hand is over sixteen feet.
I’m the first stop on the tour.
My index finger’s eight feet long.
I’m America’s signature.
My waist is thirty-five feet thick.
In tons, I’m two twenty-five—
I’m the biggest lady ever known
To keep freedom alive.
One hundred years after America’s War of Independence, which the French
did so much to help win, France presented the U.S. with a lasting monument
to commemorate the two countries’ abiding friendship and love of freedom.
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Comparing Texts
1. What mimetic buildings from “Buildings in Disguise” or
other landmarks would you like to visit?
2. The selection “Buildings in Disguise” and the poem both
describe architectural landmarks. Compare their treatments
of a similar subject.
3. Give some examples of buildings that people treasure, such
as government buildings, historic homes, schools, and sports
stadiums. What do these buildings represent?
Vocabulary Review
Positive
Negative
Word Sor t
Sort the Vocabulary Words into two categories,
Positive and Negative. If you think some words belong
in both categories, put them in both. After you finish,
work in a small group. Compare the contents of your
categories with those of the rest of your group. Take
turns explaining why you categorized each word as
you did. Then choose two Vocabulary Words from
each category. Write a sentence for each word, showing
it as positive or negative.
eager
beloved
humongous
abandoned
neglected
demolished
severe
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Fluency Practice
Tape-Assisted Reading
You have learned that pace refers to the
consistency of speed with which you read.
Listen to the beginning of “Buildings in
Disguise” on Audiotext 4. Follow along
in your book, tracking the print as
you read along, matching the pace
of the reader in the recording.
Repeat this procedure
until you have a good
sense of the pace.
Writing
My Writing Che
Write a Letter to
the Editor
Evidence
Sentence Fluen
cy
I used a graphi
c organizer to
plan my writi
ng.
Identify a building or another landmark
in your area that has historic or cultural
importance. Then write a letter to the
editor of your local paper that explains
why your community should protect
that building or landmark.
Evidence
cklist
I used convinci
ng evidence to
support my as
sertions.
I used differen
of sentences.
t kinds
Evidence
Judgment/Assertion
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