We are learning to…
I am able to…
When we read a new story, we can use the strategy of making predictions to get started.
Explore the following cover page and use the following questions to guide you.
Record your answers in a method of your choice or complete the “Before reading predictions” column.
Note: Save your work. You will revisit the following document again during this learning activity.
Complete the fillable and printable Predictions Organizer in your notebook or using the following document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.
Press Sample Answer to reveal an example of a before reading prediction.
I notice a child and a dog on the cover page. It looks like the character is wearing a superhero costume, and they are in thinking pose. Since the title is “What’s My Superpower?” I predict that the story will be about this character trying to find their own superpower.
As we explore new texts, we can use our predicting strategy before, during and after reading. We can also use specific resources within the text to support our understanding and take the time to practice our reading fluency so that we pick up any words or phrases that are unfamiliar.
Taking the time to use strategies and resources can help us make connections and get a deeper understanding of the characters, plot, main message and setting of a story.
As we get ready to read What’s My Superpower? let’s take a bit of time to think about during reading predictions, glossaries, and a few reading fluency strategies.
Ava shares, 'Making predictions might be helpful in reading and understanding texts because:
Making predictions during reading can help us make connections to the story, the characters and help us understand the main message. You can use context clues to help you make predictions.
Some examples of context clues are:
As you read, record your answers in a method of your choice or complete the ‘During reading predictions’ column of the fillable Predictions Organizer from the Minds On.
You may use the following questions to help guide you:
One way that an author can support their readers to understand their text is by including a glossary. A glossary is like a dictionary and lists important words found in the text. Oftentimes, the glossary is found at the end of a text and the words are listed alphabetically. A glossary is especially helpful when there technical or subject specific words that might be new to the reader or words in other languages.
In What’s My Superpower? the glossary can be found at the end of the book, and includes words in the Inuktitut language, with definitions of what each word means. You might also notice that each Inuktitut word also includes the pronunciation beside it.
Before exploring the story, take a moment to review the glossary. You can continue to refer to the glossary as you read the story.
Try the following as you read to help you improve your reading fluency:
Check off which strategies worked best for you! Now that we have reviewed a few different tools and reading strategies, let’s learn a bit about the author of What’s My Superpower? and read the story.
What’s My Superpower? was written by Aviaq Johnston. Aviaq Johnston is an Inuk author from Igloolik, Nunavut. She loves reading, writing, and studying. Aviaq won two awards for a short story she wrote called, "Tarnikuluk" in 2014. She enjoys traveling and spends her time living between Iqaluit and Ottawa.
What's My Superpower?What's My Superpower?
In a little house in the very middle of a small town where winter is always longer than summer, a little girl named Nalvana lived with her mother.
Nalvana loved everything about her small town. She loved the quiet roads with lots of space to play hide-and-seek, and tag, and street hockey. She loved to ride her bike without worrying about cars coming down the road like big monsters.
“Anaana,” Nalvana said to her mother one day, “if I had a superpower, I could fight big monsters, you know?”
“Yes, Panik,” her mother replied, as she stroked Nalvana’s hair.
“Do you think I’ll ever have a superpower?” Nalvana asked. “I don’t know, Panik. Maybe,” her mother said with a smile.
Nalvana always thought about what it would be like to have superpowers. Everywhere she went, she wore a yellow cape made from a blanket and a pair of snowmobiling goggles resting on her head.
On the first day of school, Nalvana was in gym class when a boy named Davidee ran into the gym so quickly he was just a blur. All the other kids tried to race him, but he was faster than all the kids in the class.
“Davidee, you have a superpower!” Nalvana excitedly told him. “You can run faster than a Ski-Doo!”
“Do you think that’s true?” Davidee asked her, beaming.
“I know it’s true!” said Nalvana. “But I wonder what my superpower is.”
Nalvana went home after school and told her mom all about Davidee.
“He was so fast he almost burned the floor of the gym!” Nalvana told her. “He was like the wind on a blizzardy day.”
“Wow, he really must have super speed,” her mother replied.
“If Davidee has a superpower, does that mean I can have a superpower, too?” Nalvana asked.
“I’m sure we will find out soon,” her mom said.
Nalvana imagined herself flying in the sky, or talking to animals, or even breathing underwater.
The days began to grow colder, but that did not stop Nalvana from going to the playground to play with her friends.
One day, Nalvana saw her friend Maata swinging so high that it looked like she was going to loop around the swing set. Nalvana and her friends all stared at Maata, amazed.
Then suddenly, Maata was flying from the swing! She landed so far away that Nalvana was sure that Maata had flown through the air.
“You can fly! You can fly!” Nalvana said. Maata smiled widely. “Really?” she asked.
“Of course!” Nalvana said. “If you keep practising, someday you’ll be able to fly all the way around the world!”
When Nalvana went home that day, she told her mom about the amazing flying girl she had seen at the playground.
“She was flying?” her mom asked.
“Well, she was jumping very far,” Nalvana explained. “But I think she’ll be able to fly for real if she keeps trying.”
Nalvana started jumping around the house, off the couch and the tables, trying to see if she could be like Maata.
“I don’t think your superpower is flying, Panik,” her mom said. “But don’t worry, we’ll figure out what your special talent is soon.”
The next day, Nalvana and her friends brought their sleds to the big hill next to their school to go sliding.
Nalvana’s cousin, Joanasie, was already at the top of the hill building an inuksuk. All across the top of the hill, there were snow sculptures of animals and snowmen, and even a whole iglu!
“Joanasie, did you make these?” Nalvana asked.
“Yup,” he said. “All of them. Even that polar bear right there. It was easy!”
“What else can you make?” she asked.
“Anything! I can make a caribou, and maybe even a monkey. I can make things out of rocks and even ice!”
“Is it your superpower to make things?” Nalvana asked. “Can you build whatever you can think of?”
“Yup,” he replied. “I can build anything!”
Nalvana told her mom all about Joanasie’s superpower.
“Panik, didn’t you know that Joanasie’s dad has that superpower, too? Joanasie is going to be a carver just like his father.”
“Does that mean I might have that superpower, too?” Nalvana asked. “I’ve never tried to build anything before!”
“Why don’t you try it out?” her mom said.
Nalvana tried to build an inuksuk out of her blocks, but it fell over. She tried to make a house out of her Legos, but it was too hard. She sighed. “I guess it’s not my superpower.”
Her mom hugged her tight. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon, Panik.”
Nalvana kept finding friends who had superpowers whenever she went out to play.
When she went swimming in the spring, she met a boy named Adamie who could hold his breath underwater longer than anyone else!
They were playing games in the water, and Nalvana wanted to see who could hold their breath the longest. She thought she had been under the water for minutes, but after she ran out of breath and came up to the surface, Adamie stayed underwater for much longer.
When he finally came up, Nalvana said, “You can hold your breath for a really long time! That must be your superpower!”
“Do you think so?” Adamie said.
“I know so!” Nalvana said.
“Cool!” Adamie said. “It’s like I’m half fish!”
Nalvana was happy for her friends. They had all found the things that they were good at. She liked to tell them they had superpowers, and she liked to see them smile. They all seemed so happy to have a special talent.
But Nalvana wished she knew what her superpower was.
“Anaana,” Nalvana said when she came home from school one day. “I still don’t know what my superpower is. Am I ever going to figure it out?”
Her mom gave her a big smile.
“I think I know what your superpower is, Panik,” she said.
Nalvana looked up at her mom, excited but confused. “What is it? Can I fly like Maata? Or am I really strong?”
“No, Panik, can’t you see?” her mother asked as she hugged Nalvana close. “Your superpower is making people feel good about themselves.”
Nalvana smiled. “I think that’s a good superpower to have,” she said.
Now that you have read the story, review the predictions you made in the Minds On section based on the book cover and record your thoughts in the “After reading predictions” column of the fillable Predictions Organizer.
You may use the following questions to help guide you:
Pause and Reflect
What did you think was the main message or lesson in the story?
Were you able to identify or connect with any of the characters in the story?
What specific information about Inuit culture and traditions did you learn from Nalvana and her community?
How did listening to the story in Inuktitut make you feel?
An adjective is a word that describes something by telling us more about it. It can describe how something looks, feels, sounds, tastes, or acts.
Some adjectives are also used to tell us who or what the noun belongs to. These adjectives are called possessive adjectives. They describe ownership.
Let’s explore a few examples of sentences from the story What’s My Superpower? Try and identify the possessive adjective in each of the following sentences.
One day, Nalvana saw her friend Maata swinging so high that she looked like she was going to loop around the swing set.
Press Answer to reveal the possessive adjective in the sentence.
One day, Nalvana saw her friend Maata swinging so high that she looked like she was going to loop around the swing set.
When she went swimming in the spring, she met a boy named Adamie who could hold his breath underwater longer than anyone else!
Press Answer to reveal the possessive adjective in the sentence.
When she went swimming in the spring, she met a boy named Adamie who could hold his breath underwater longer than anyone else!
“I still don’t know what my superpower is. Am I ever going to figure it out?”
Press Answer to reveal the possessive adjective in the sentence.
“I still don’t know what my superpower is. Am I ever going to figure it out?”
Investigate
Return to the story What’s My Superpower? and find two more examples where possessive adjectives are used.
How do you know they are possessive adjectives?
Explain and record your answers using a method of your choice.
We have explored different tools and strategies that help us develop our reading comprehension. Now, it’s time to try creating your own tool to support another reader as they explore the story What’s My Superpower?
The tool you will create is a glossary!
Press Sample to revisit the glossary from the story What's My Superpower? before you begin.
Design and create your own glossary for the following words that are used in the story:
Hint: A glossary is like a dictionary which lists important words found in the text. Oftentimes, the glossary is found at the end of a text and the words are listed alphabetically. A glossary is especially helpful when there technical or subject specific words that might be new to the reader or words in other languages.
Use a dictionary, thesaurus or ask a trusted adult to help you find the meaning of each word. Next, write out the definitions using your own words.
Which type of tool or reading strategy helped develop your understanding most as you were exploring the text What’s My Superpower??
How might you use this reading strategy for another task in your everyday life?
Why might it be important to read stories about people all around the world?
How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next four sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.
