Introduction
Our main character, Kino, is fortunate to discover a sizable pearl as he is diving for pearls. Pearl diving is a fairly common occupation for the men in Kino’s tribe, although few divers ever discover a pearl of great value. The author describes the process of a pearl’s birth briefly, stating:
(Packet)
"The pearls are made by accident. A small piece of sand hurts the flesh of the oyster. The oyster then covers the piece of sand with smooth plaster. This plaster becomes hard like rock and turns into a pearl. If the oyster covers it again and again, the pearl becomes bigger and more valuable." (Pg. 11)
(Book)
"An accident could happen to these oysters, a grain of sand could lie in the folds of muscle and irritate the flesh until in self-protection the flesh coated the grain with a layer of smooth cement. But once started, the flesh continued to coat the foreign body until it fell free in some tidal flurry or until the oyster was destroyed." (Pg. 16)
In the following activity you are going to take a deeper look at pearls and how they are made.
(Packet)
"The pearls are made by accident. A small piece of sand hurts the flesh of the oyster. The oyster then covers the piece of sand with smooth plaster. This plaster becomes hard like rock and turns into a pearl. If the oyster covers it again and again, the pearl becomes bigger and more valuable." (Pg. 11)
(Book)
"An accident could happen to these oysters, a grain of sand could lie in the folds of muscle and irritate the flesh until in self-protection the flesh coated the grain with a layer of smooth cement. But once started, the flesh continued to coat the foreign body until it fell free in some tidal flurry or until the oyster was destroyed." (Pg. 16)
In the following activity you are going to take a deeper look at pearls and how they are made.
Activity
You are to read the following story that discusses the formation of pearls and the difference between pearls that form naturally to pearls that form by humans. If you are reading the packet version of the story, click on the first link. If you are reading the book version, click on the second link.
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Now that you have finished reading, you need to grab the worksheet that corresponds to your reading. They are located on the front table or in the worksheet copies page on this website. The worksheets ask you some basic comprehension questions and to recreate visually the formation of a pearl.