Stories
Level J/18
Stories xplorers
Teacher’s Guide For students reading at Literacy Level J/18, including: •• English-language learners •• Students reading below grade level •• Second grade readers •• First graders reading above grade level
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategies •• Analyze character •• Compare and contrast
Metacognitive/fix-up strategy •• Retell what you’ve read
Genre Study
•• Recognize the characteristics of realistic fiction
•• Analyze the story characters
Vocabulary
•• Recognize high-frequency words •• Develop academic content (Tier Three) vocabulary
•• Develop robust (Tier Two) vocabulary
Word Study
•• Recognize suffixes -less and -ful
Language
•• Recognize the sentence structure I play
THEME: World Communities •• A Visit to the United Nations (Level J/18) •• Sharing Our Stories (Level J/18)
_____
•• Identify questions and answers
Phonics
•• Use word parts to problem-solve multisyllable words
•• Recognize contractions
Fluency
•• Read using prosody
Writing
•• Write to a picture prompt •• Write to a text prompt
B
GENRE/SUMMARY: This book is realistic fiction. Allie in Texas and Chanya in Kenya write to one another through their school pen pal clubs. In spite of their different backgrounds, the two girls find that they have a lot in common.
e n c h m a r k
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d u c a t i o n
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o m p a n y
Before Reading Related Resources
The following Benchmark Education Company resources support the skills and strategies taught in this lesson. Early Explorers Partner •A Visit to the United Nations (Nonfiction, Level J/18) Early Comprehension Strategy Poster • Compare and Contrast Fluency and Language Development • Sharing Our Stories Audio CD Text-Dependent Comprehension Resources • S haring Our Stories Comprehension Question Card • Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers • Student Bookmark Assessment •E arly Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook •G rade 2 Comprehension Strategy Assessment Book
Make Connections and Build Background •U se Realia, a Globe, and Drama Display a letter you have received from a friend or family member. Say: We will read a book about two girls who write letters to one another. People you write letters to are called your pen pals. The girls in the story learn about each other through their letters. The girls live in different parts of the world. One girl lives in Texas. The other girl lives in Kenya. Touch both places on a globe and point out how far apart they are. Then invite student partners to act out being pen pals. Ask them to share some of the things they “write” about. •U se a Graphic Organizer Write the phrase Pen Pals on the board and underline it. Read the phrase and ask students to help you list the different pen pal topics they mentioned. As students respond, write the topics under the heading. Then read each entry and ask students to echo-read. Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Pen Pals homes families friends food pets movies sports
Introduce the Book •P review Cover and Table of Contents Give each student a copy of the book. Point to the front and read the title and author. Ask students to echo-read and invite them to tell what they see in the illustration. Repeat the process with the chapter headings and page numbers on the table of contents. Then model how to make a prediction based on the cover and information in the table of contents: The book title has the word stories in it. The first chapter heading is “Pen Pals.” I think this book will be about pen pals who tell each other stories in their letters. Allow time for students to share their predictions about the book. • Introduce Characters and Setting Remind students that characters are the people in a story and the setting is where the story takes place. Ask students to turn to pages 2 and 3, and point to each character as you read the matching name. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo-read. Then help students use the story illustrations to determine that the story has two settings: a ranch in Texas and a farm in Kenya. •P review Illustrations and Vocabulary Take students on a picture walk, emphasizing words such as country, nations, ranch, state, sunset, well, pen pal, farm, and drought as you talk about the illustrations and what is happening in the story. Make sure students can pronounce each vocabulary word. •P review Sentence Structure For students who need additional support, write I play _____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: The words I play are in the book. Page 9 has a sentence with the words I play. Can you find the sentence? Can you read it? Allow time for students to do so, assisting as needed. Then invite them to locate and read additional examples on pages 10 and 11.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-6769-8
2
Stories
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading •U se Graphophonic Cues Write the word someday on the board. Say: Another word in this book is someday. Look at the word someday. Say the word someday. What parts are in someday? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: The word someday has two parts, some and day. Some and day are words, too. We can put the words some and day together to make someday. Ask students to find the word someday on page 9. Then repeat the process with the word everything on page 15. Say: Use word parts to help you when you read. •S caffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say the word club. Ask: Does club sound like a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word club sounds like the Spanish word club. Club and club mean the same thing. The words look the same, too. Write the word club on the board and ask students to locate it on page 4 in the book. Repeat the process with different/ diferente, nation/nación, family/familia, ranch/rancho, part/parte, animal/animal, chocolate/chocolate, football/fútbol, and color/color. Then point out that the words to and too on page 9 sound like the Spanish word tu but do not mean the same thing. Repeat the process with red/red (page 14). Finally, invite students with other first languages to share their cognates.
Set a Purpose for Reading •S ay: Now it’s time to read the book. You may whisper-read or read silently to yourself. Assign one or more chapters, depending on available time and the needs and abilities of students in the group. Use the chart to the right to set a purpose for each chapter. Invite students to place self-stick notes on pages where they find topics to add to the list, and look for opportunities to add to the list at each stopping point. If students do not complete the book, orally summarize the previously read chapters and begin at this point in the Teacher’s Guide the next time you meet.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Observe and Prompt Reading Strategies • After the supportive introduction, students should be able to read all or most of the book on their own. Observe students as they read. Take note of the graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues they use to make sense of the text and selfcorrect. Prompt individual students who have difficulty problem-solving independently, but be careful not to prompt English-language learners too quickly. They may need more time to process the text as they rely on their first language for comprehension.
Pages
Purpose for Reading
4–5
Read to find out why Allie and Chanya are pen pals.
6–9
Read to learn more about Allie and Chanya.
10–11
Read to find out what Allie and Chanya like to do.
12–13
Read to find out about what worries Allie and Chanya.
14–16
Read to find out about the good news Allie and Chanya share.
Stories
3
After Reading Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize
Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Retell What You’ve Read
•A sk students to think about their reading. Say: Look at our list. Did Allie and Chanya write about any of these topics? Put a ✟ beside any matching responses. Then ask students to name other topics they read about in the book. Add these to the list and put check marks beside them. Choral-read the checkmarked words. Then ask students to use the graphic organizer to tell the story to a partner.
•R eflect Ask students to think about the parts of the book that were hard for them to understand. Ask: What did you do to help yourself understand what you read?
Pen Pals homes ✟ families ✟ friends food ✟ pets ✟ movies sports ✟ weather ✟ water ✟ games ✟ food ✟ sunset ✟ flowers ✟
Genre Study •S ay: This story is realistic fiction. You could meet people like Allie and Chanya in real life. The things they do could really happen. What are some ways the story is realistic? Guide students to mention story events such as writing letters, living in the country, raising animals, playing soccer, eating chocolate chip cookies, and worrying about the lack of water. Then invite students to share other realistic fiction books they have read and explain why the books are realistic fiction.
4
•S ay: Realistic fiction stories have characters. The characters’ words and actions are what make the story interesting. Who are the two main characters in Sharing Our Stories? Allow time for students to respond. Say: Yes, the two main characters are Allie and Chanya. What can you tell me about Allie and Chanya? What do they like to do? What do they worry about? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: Think about the characters any time you read a story. Think about what the characters say and do. Getting to know the characters helps you understand and enjoy the stories you read. Stories
•M odel Say: I want to make sure I understand what I read. One way is to retell the important parts of the story. I will read page 4 again. (Read the page aloud.) Now I will say this part of the story in my own words: At school, Allie gets a pen pal from Kenya. Allie thinks her pen pal Chanya has a funny name. •G uide Ask students to turn to page 7. Read the page aloud together. Ask the following questions, allowing time for students to respond after each one: Where does Allie live? What does Allie’s family do? What is her part of Texas like? How could you tell about this in your own words? If students have difficulty, model a retelling of your own, such as Allie’s family raises cows on a ranch in a dry part of Texas. •A pply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page. Then ask students to read the page to a partner and retell the important information in their own words. Observe students as they read and retell. If more support is needed, use the prompts in the “Guide” section. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart you can use to assess students’ understanding of the retell what you’ve read monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You can retell anytime you read. Remember to retell to help you understand.
Answer Text-Dependent Questions •E xplain Remind students that they can answer questions about books they have read. Say: We answer different kinds of questions in different ways. I will help you learn how to answer each kind. Tell students today they will practice answering Vocabulary questions. Say: The answer to a Vocabulary question is in the book. You can define the words if you know what to look for.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
•M odel Use the first Vocabulary question on the Comprehension Question Card. Say: I will show you how I answer a Vocabulary question. First I will read the question: “What does the term pen pal club mean in this book? Let’s look for clues on pages 4–5.” This question asks me to figure out what the words pen pal club mean. I will look for the words pen pal club on pages 4 and 5. Read the first two sentences on page 4 aloud. Then read the first two sentences on page 5 aloud. Say: Page 4 says the students in Texas will write to children in Kenya. Page 5 says the students in Kenya will write to children in Texas. I know what the words pen pal club mean in this book. A pen pal club means students write to other students. This definition answers the question. The answer makes sense. I have found the answer in the text.
•G uide Say: Let’s find another way Allie and Chanya are alike. Look on pages 10 and 11. What sport do both girls play? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, both girls play soccer. I will write about playing soccer in the first column. •A pply Ask students to work with a partner to identify other ways Allie and Chanya are different and similar. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process on pages 7 (Allie lives on a ranch and raises cows), 9 (Chanya lives on a farm and raises goats), 10–11 (both like chocolate chip cookies), 12–13 (both worry about rain), and 14–15 (both are happy when rain comes). Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
•G uide Ask students to answer the other questions on the Comprehension Question Card. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart and Student Bookmark to provide additional modeling as needed. Remind students to ask themselves: What is the question asking? How can I find the answer? Does my answer make sense? How do I know?
Build Comprehension: Compare and Contrast •E xplain Create an overhead transparency of the “Sharing Our Stories” graphic organizer on page 8 or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Stories have characters. Characters are alike in some ways. Characters are different in other ways. Telling how characters are alike is called comparing. Telling how characters are different is called contrasting. Good readers compare and contrast characters to better understand the story. •M odel Say: Let’s figure out how the characters in Sharing Our Stories are alike and different. On page 7, I read that Allie lives in Texas. I will write about Texas in Allie’s column on the graphic organizer. On page 9, I read that Chanya lives in Kenya. I will write about Kenya in Chanya’s column. Now let’s find a way Allie and Chanya are alike. On pages 9 and 10, I read that both girls play jacks. I will write about jacks in the Allie and Chanya column on the graphic organizer.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Teacher Tip Use Benchmark Education Company’s K–2 Early Comprehension Strategy Poster Set to provide additional instruction in comparing and contrasting. Use BEC’s Comprehension Strategy Assessment books to assess students’ ability to compare and contrast in other brief, grade-level texts.
Home Connection • Give students the take-home version of Sharing Our Stories to read to family members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to think of someone they know who lives far away and make a list of ways their lives are different and the same. Encourage students to share their lists with the group.
Stories
5
Writing Connections
Mini-Lessons
Reader Response
Phonics: Contractions
Invite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. Model and use thinkalouds as needed to scaffold students before they try the activities on their own. • Draw a picture of what can happen to plants without rain. • Draw a picture of a beautiful sunset. • Tell about other presents Allie and Chanya might send each other. • Act out how Chanya has to get water when it does not rain. • Write about a connection you made to the story. • Write a letter to Allie or Chanya.
• Explain that a contraction is a short form of two words. One or more letters are replaced by an apostrophe. Write the following sentence on the board: We have joined a pen pal club. Underline the words we have. Tell students that we have can be shortened into one word by replacing the “h” and “a” with an apostrophe. Write the word we’ve under we have and read the sentence using the contraction. Then ask students to locate the word We’ve on page 4. Repeat the process with We will write to children in Kenya (We’ll, page 4) and My dad says we are having a drought this year (we’re, page 7).
Write to a Picture Prompt
• Write the following words on index cards: we, have, we’ve, we, will, we’ll, we, are, we’re. Scramble the cards, and then ask students to work together to match two words to each contraction. Finally, read each group of cards (we have/we’ve; we will/we’ll; we are/we’re) and invite students to echo-read.
•W rite Dialogue Tell students that they will think and write about something they would like to say to a character in the story. Say: Sometimes I pretend I’m in a picture in the book. I think about what I would say to the characters. Look at page 12. I will pretend I’m pumping water with Allie. I would say: I will take turns pumping with you. Then maybe your family will have enough water. What would you say to Allie? Allow time for students to respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best? What would you say to a character in that picture? Allow time for students to respond, prompting further if needed. Say: You have thought of something to say to a character in the picture you chose. Now write your dialogue. After you are finished, read your dialogue to a partner.
Write to a Text Prompt •A nalyze Characters’ Feelings Say: Think about Allie. What is she worried about? How do her feelings change during the story? Write about Allie’s changing feelings. When you are finished, read your ideas to a partner.
6
Stories
for Differentiating Instruction
Vocabulary •A cademic Content Vocabulary Review the story with students and record the words country, nations, ranch, state, sunset, well, pen pal, farm, and drought on index cards. Read the cards together. Then invite students to use the words in oral sentences to retell a situation or event from the story. •R obust Vocabulary Say: On page 15, Chanya says the rain soaked everything. Soaked means the rain made everything wet through and through. Chanya says the rain came down like a waterfall. No wonder everything was soaked! Say the word with me: soaked. Here are some ways people or things get soaked: You are stepping out of a canoe. You slip and fall into the lake. You are playing basketball on the playground. You get caught in a rain shower. Now, tell about a time you have been soaked. Try to use the word soaked when you tell about it. You could start by saying, “I got soaked when _____.” (Allow time for each student to respond, assisting if needed.) What is the word we’ve been talking about? Yes—soaked. Let’s try to use the word soaked many times today. We can use the word at school and at home.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Word Study: Suffixes -less and -ful •M odel Say: Word parts can help me figure out what words mean. A word part added to the end of a word is called a suffix. Each suffix has a special meaning. Look at page 9. Chanya says: “We’ve had many rainless days, too.” I know what rain is. The suffix -less means without. Rainless means “without rain.” •G uide Ask students to read the second sentence on page 14 with you. Say: Think about the word hopeful. The suffix -ful means full of. What does hopeful mean? (full of hope) Why is Allie’s mom full of hope? (Some rain fell. Allie’s mom thinks perhaps more rain will fall.) Ask students to find two words with the suffix -ful on pages 14 and 15 (wonderful, colorful). Then invite students to describe things that are wonderful or colorful in oral sentences. •A pply Invite students to think of other -ful and -less words. Record their responses in two lists on the board. Then ask pairs of students to use one word from each list in an oral sentence.
Language Development: Questions and Answers •M odel Say: Sometimes a story character asks a question. Let’s turn to page 9 and read the last sentence of Chanya’s letter together: “How do you have fun?” This sentence begins with the word How. I see a question mark at the end. These clues show me Chanya is asking a question. Let’s see if Allie answers Chanya’s question. On page 10, Allie writes: “I play with jacks, too!” Ask students to put their fingers on the question and the answer. Then say: I can ask questions, too. Listen to each question. Use your finger to make a question mark in the air. Then whisper the answer to a partner: Where are you going after school? What is your favorite dessert? What do you do when the weather is very hot?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
•G uide Invite students to read page 12 with you. Ask: Does Allie ask a question in her letter? How do you know? What does Allie ask? Who answers Allie’s question? What is the answer? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. •A pply Tell students that the author asks the reader a question in this book, too. The same question appears twice. Invite pairs of students to find both of the questions (pages 5 and 16). Challenge students to identify which question has an answer (page 16). If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process.
Fluency: Read Using Prosody •S ay: Characters are important in fiction books. We especially like to hear what the characters say. Good readers think about who is talking. Good readers think about what the characters are saying. Then good readers try to talk like the characters. The reader and listener get more out of the story this way. • Ask students to turn to page 15. First, read Chanya’s letter in a low voice, flatly, and with no expression. Discuss how this makes listeners feel. Then read the page again using a voice appropriate for a happy, excited girl. Ask students to echo-read. • Ask students to turn to page 13. Choral-read Chanya’s letter with them using a sad, thoughtful voice when she talks about the water and a warmer voice when she talks about her goat. • Invite students to take turns rereading Sharing Our Stories with a partner. Remind them to think about what Allie and Chanya are saying and how their voices would sound if they read their letters aloud.
Stories
7
NAME
DATE
Sharing Our Stories Compare and Contrast
Allie and Chanya
8
Stories
Allie
Chanya
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Stories xplorers
Teacher’s Guide For students reading at Literacy Level J/18, including: •• English-language learners •• Students reading below grade level •• Second grade readers •• First graders reading above grade level
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategies •• Analyze character •• Compare and contrast
Metacognitive/fix-up strategy •• Retell what you’ve read
Genre Study
•• Recognize the characteristics of realistic fiction
•• Analyze the story characters
Vocabulary
•• Recognize high-frequency words •• Develop academic content (Tier Three) vocabulary
•• Develop robust (Tier Two) vocabulary
Word Study
•• Recognize suffixes -less and -ful
Language
•• Recognize the sentence structure I play
THEME: World Communities •• A Visit to the United Nations (Level J/18) •• Sharing Our Stories (Level J/18)
_____
•• Identify questions and answers
Phonics
•• Use word parts to problem-solve multisyllable words
•• Recognize contractions
Fluency
•• Read using prosody
Writing
•• Write to a picture prompt •• Write to a text prompt
B
GENRE/SUMMARY: This book is realistic fiction. Allie in Texas and Chanya in Kenya write to one another through their school pen pal clubs. In spite of their different backgrounds, the two girls find that they have a lot in common.
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Before Reading Related Resources
The following Benchmark Education Company resources support the skills and strategies taught in this lesson. Early Explorers Partner •A Visit to the United Nations (Nonfiction, Level J/18) Early Comprehension Strategy Poster • Compare and Contrast Fluency and Language Development • Sharing Our Stories Audio CD Text-Dependent Comprehension Resources • S haring Our Stories Comprehension Question Card • Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers • Student Bookmark Assessment •E arly Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook •G rade 2 Comprehension Strategy Assessment Book
Make Connections and Build Background •U se Realia, a Globe, and Drama Display a letter you have received from a friend or family member. Say: We will read a book about two girls who write letters to one another. People you write letters to are called your pen pals. The girls in the story learn about each other through their letters. The girls live in different parts of the world. One girl lives in Texas. The other girl lives in Kenya. Touch both places on a globe and point out how far apart they are. Then invite student partners to act out being pen pals. Ask them to share some of the things they “write” about. •U se a Graphic Organizer Write the phrase Pen Pals on the board and underline it. Read the phrase and ask students to help you list the different pen pal topics they mentioned. As students respond, write the topics under the heading. Then read each entry and ask students to echo-read. Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Pen Pals homes families friends food pets movies sports
Introduce the Book •P review Cover and Table of Contents Give each student a copy of the book. Point to the front and read the title and author. Ask students to echo-read and invite them to tell what they see in the illustration. Repeat the process with the chapter headings and page numbers on the table of contents. Then model how to make a prediction based on the cover and information in the table of contents: The book title has the word stories in it. The first chapter heading is “Pen Pals.” I think this book will be about pen pals who tell each other stories in their letters. Allow time for students to share their predictions about the book. • Introduce Characters and Setting Remind students that characters are the people in a story and the setting is where the story takes place. Ask students to turn to pages 2 and 3, and point to each character as you read the matching name. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo-read. Then help students use the story illustrations to determine that the story has two settings: a ranch in Texas and a farm in Kenya. •P review Illustrations and Vocabulary Take students on a picture walk, emphasizing words such as country, nations, ranch, state, sunset, well, pen pal, farm, and drought as you talk about the illustrations and what is happening in the story. Make sure students can pronounce each vocabulary word. •P review Sentence Structure For students who need additional support, write I play _____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: The words I play are in the book. Page 9 has a sentence with the words I play. Can you find the sentence? Can you read it? Allow time for students to do so, assisting as needed. Then invite them to locate and read additional examples on pages 10 and 11.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-6769-8
2
Stories
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading •U se Graphophonic Cues Write the word someday on the board. Say: Another word in this book is someday. Look at the word someday. Say the word someday. What parts are in someday? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: The word someday has two parts, some and day. Some and day are words, too. We can put the words some and day together to make someday. Ask students to find the word someday on page 9. Then repeat the process with the word everything on page 15. Say: Use word parts to help you when you read. •S caffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say the word club. Ask: Does club sound like a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word club sounds like the Spanish word club. Club and club mean the same thing. The words look the same, too. Write the word club on the board and ask students to locate it on page 4 in the book. Repeat the process with different/ diferente, nation/nación, family/familia, ranch/rancho, part/parte, animal/animal, chocolate/chocolate, football/fútbol, and color/color. Then point out that the words to and too on page 9 sound like the Spanish word tu but do not mean the same thing. Repeat the process with red/red (page 14). Finally, invite students with other first languages to share their cognates.
Set a Purpose for Reading •S ay: Now it’s time to read the book. You may whisper-read or read silently to yourself. Assign one or more chapters, depending on available time and the needs and abilities of students in the group. Use the chart to the right to set a purpose for each chapter. Invite students to place self-stick notes on pages where they find topics to add to the list, and look for opportunities to add to the list at each stopping point. If students do not complete the book, orally summarize the previously read chapters and begin at this point in the Teacher’s Guide the next time you meet.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Observe and Prompt Reading Strategies • After the supportive introduction, students should be able to read all or most of the book on their own. Observe students as they read. Take note of the graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues they use to make sense of the text and selfcorrect. Prompt individual students who have difficulty problem-solving independently, but be careful not to prompt English-language learners too quickly. They may need more time to process the text as they rely on their first language for comprehension.
Pages
Purpose for Reading
4–5
Read to find out why Allie and Chanya are pen pals.
6–9
Read to learn more about Allie and Chanya.
10–11
Read to find out what Allie and Chanya like to do.
12–13
Read to find out about what worries Allie and Chanya.
14–16
Read to find out about the good news Allie and Chanya share.
Stories
3
After Reading Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize
Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Retell What You’ve Read
•A sk students to think about their reading. Say: Look at our list. Did Allie and Chanya write about any of these topics? Put a ✟ beside any matching responses. Then ask students to name other topics they read about in the book. Add these to the list and put check marks beside them. Choral-read the checkmarked words. Then ask students to use the graphic organizer to tell the story to a partner.
•R eflect Ask students to think about the parts of the book that were hard for them to understand. Ask: What did you do to help yourself understand what you read?
Pen Pals homes ✟ families ✟ friends food ✟ pets ✟ movies sports ✟ weather ✟ water ✟ games ✟ food ✟ sunset ✟ flowers ✟
Genre Study •S ay: This story is realistic fiction. You could meet people like Allie and Chanya in real life. The things they do could really happen. What are some ways the story is realistic? Guide students to mention story events such as writing letters, living in the country, raising animals, playing soccer, eating chocolate chip cookies, and worrying about the lack of water. Then invite students to share other realistic fiction books they have read and explain why the books are realistic fiction.
4
•S ay: Realistic fiction stories have characters. The characters’ words and actions are what make the story interesting. Who are the two main characters in Sharing Our Stories? Allow time for students to respond. Say: Yes, the two main characters are Allie and Chanya. What can you tell me about Allie and Chanya? What do they like to do? What do they worry about? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: Think about the characters any time you read a story. Think about what the characters say and do. Getting to know the characters helps you understand and enjoy the stories you read. Stories
•M odel Say: I want to make sure I understand what I read. One way is to retell the important parts of the story. I will read page 4 again. (Read the page aloud.) Now I will say this part of the story in my own words: At school, Allie gets a pen pal from Kenya. Allie thinks her pen pal Chanya has a funny name. •G uide Ask students to turn to page 7. Read the page aloud together. Ask the following questions, allowing time for students to respond after each one: Where does Allie live? What does Allie’s family do? What is her part of Texas like? How could you tell about this in your own words? If students have difficulty, model a retelling of your own, such as Allie’s family raises cows on a ranch in a dry part of Texas. •A pply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page. Then ask students to read the page to a partner and retell the important information in their own words. Observe students as they read and retell. If more support is needed, use the prompts in the “Guide” section. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart you can use to assess students’ understanding of the retell what you’ve read monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You can retell anytime you read. Remember to retell to help you understand.
Answer Text-Dependent Questions •E xplain Remind students that they can answer questions about books they have read. Say: We answer different kinds of questions in different ways. I will help you learn how to answer each kind. Tell students today they will practice answering Vocabulary questions. Say: The answer to a Vocabulary question is in the book. You can define the words if you know what to look for.
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•M odel Use the first Vocabulary question on the Comprehension Question Card. Say: I will show you how I answer a Vocabulary question. First I will read the question: “What does the term pen pal club mean in this book? Let’s look for clues on pages 4–5.” This question asks me to figure out what the words pen pal club mean. I will look for the words pen pal club on pages 4 and 5. Read the first two sentences on page 4 aloud. Then read the first two sentences on page 5 aloud. Say: Page 4 says the students in Texas will write to children in Kenya. Page 5 says the students in Kenya will write to children in Texas. I know what the words pen pal club mean in this book. A pen pal club means students write to other students. This definition answers the question. The answer makes sense. I have found the answer in the text.
•G uide Say: Let’s find another way Allie and Chanya are alike. Look on pages 10 and 11. What sport do both girls play? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, both girls play soccer. I will write about playing soccer in the first column. •A pply Ask students to work with a partner to identify other ways Allie and Chanya are different and similar. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process on pages 7 (Allie lives on a ranch and raises cows), 9 (Chanya lives on a farm and raises goats), 10–11 (both like chocolate chip cookies), 12–13 (both worry about rain), and 14–15 (both are happy when rain comes). Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
•G uide Ask students to answer the other questions on the Comprehension Question Card. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart and Student Bookmark to provide additional modeling as needed. Remind students to ask themselves: What is the question asking? How can I find the answer? Does my answer make sense? How do I know?
Build Comprehension: Compare and Contrast •E xplain Create an overhead transparency of the “Sharing Our Stories” graphic organizer on page 8 or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Stories have characters. Characters are alike in some ways. Characters are different in other ways. Telling how characters are alike is called comparing. Telling how characters are different is called contrasting. Good readers compare and contrast characters to better understand the story. •M odel Say: Let’s figure out how the characters in Sharing Our Stories are alike and different. On page 7, I read that Allie lives in Texas. I will write about Texas in Allie’s column on the graphic organizer. On page 9, I read that Chanya lives in Kenya. I will write about Kenya in Chanya’s column. Now let’s find a way Allie and Chanya are alike. On pages 9 and 10, I read that both girls play jacks. I will write about jacks in the Allie and Chanya column on the graphic organizer.
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Teacher Tip Use Benchmark Education Company’s K–2 Early Comprehension Strategy Poster Set to provide additional instruction in comparing and contrasting. Use BEC’s Comprehension Strategy Assessment books to assess students’ ability to compare and contrast in other brief, grade-level texts.
Home Connection • Give students the take-home version of Sharing Our Stories to read to family members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to think of someone they know who lives far away and make a list of ways their lives are different and the same. Encourage students to share their lists with the group.
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Writing Connections
Mini-Lessons
Reader Response
Phonics: Contractions
Invite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. Model and use thinkalouds as needed to scaffold students before they try the activities on their own. • Draw a picture of what can happen to plants without rain. • Draw a picture of a beautiful sunset. • Tell about other presents Allie and Chanya might send each other. • Act out how Chanya has to get water when it does not rain. • Write about a connection you made to the story. • Write a letter to Allie or Chanya.
• Explain that a contraction is a short form of two words. One or more letters are replaced by an apostrophe. Write the following sentence on the board: We have joined a pen pal club. Underline the words we have. Tell students that we have can be shortened into one word by replacing the “h” and “a” with an apostrophe. Write the word we’ve under we have and read the sentence using the contraction. Then ask students to locate the word We’ve on page 4. Repeat the process with We will write to children in Kenya (We’ll, page 4) and My dad says we are having a drought this year (we’re, page 7).
Write to a Picture Prompt
• Write the following words on index cards: we, have, we’ve, we, will, we’ll, we, are, we’re. Scramble the cards, and then ask students to work together to match two words to each contraction. Finally, read each group of cards (we have/we’ve; we will/we’ll; we are/we’re) and invite students to echo-read.
•W rite Dialogue Tell students that they will think and write about something they would like to say to a character in the story. Say: Sometimes I pretend I’m in a picture in the book. I think about what I would say to the characters. Look at page 12. I will pretend I’m pumping water with Allie. I would say: I will take turns pumping with you. Then maybe your family will have enough water. What would you say to Allie? Allow time for students to respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best? What would you say to a character in that picture? Allow time for students to respond, prompting further if needed. Say: You have thought of something to say to a character in the picture you chose. Now write your dialogue. After you are finished, read your dialogue to a partner.
Write to a Text Prompt •A nalyze Characters’ Feelings Say: Think about Allie. What is she worried about? How do her feelings change during the story? Write about Allie’s changing feelings. When you are finished, read your ideas to a partner.
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for Differentiating Instruction
Vocabulary •A cademic Content Vocabulary Review the story with students and record the words country, nations, ranch, state, sunset, well, pen pal, farm, and drought on index cards. Read the cards together. Then invite students to use the words in oral sentences to retell a situation or event from the story. •R obust Vocabulary Say: On page 15, Chanya says the rain soaked everything. Soaked means the rain made everything wet through and through. Chanya says the rain came down like a waterfall. No wonder everything was soaked! Say the word with me: soaked. Here are some ways people or things get soaked: You are stepping out of a canoe. You slip and fall into the lake. You are playing basketball on the playground. You get caught in a rain shower. Now, tell about a time you have been soaked. Try to use the word soaked when you tell about it. You could start by saying, “I got soaked when _____.” (Allow time for each student to respond, assisting if needed.) What is the word we’ve been talking about? Yes—soaked. Let’s try to use the word soaked many times today. We can use the word at school and at home.
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Word Study: Suffixes -less and -ful •M odel Say: Word parts can help me figure out what words mean. A word part added to the end of a word is called a suffix. Each suffix has a special meaning. Look at page 9. Chanya says: “We’ve had many rainless days, too.” I know what rain is. The suffix -less means without. Rainless means “without rain.” •G uide Ask students to read the second sentence on page 14 with you. Say: Think about the word hopeful. The suffix -ful means full of. What does hopeful mean? (full of hope) Why is Allie’s mom full of hope? (Some rain fell. Allie’s mom thinks perhaps more rain will fall.) Ask students to find two words with the suffix -ful on pages 14 and 15 (wonderful, colorful). Then invite students to describe things that are wonderful or colorful in oral sentences. •A pply Invite students to think of other -ful and -less words. Record their responses in two lists on the board. Then ask pairs of students to use one word from each list in an oral sentence.
Language Development: Questions and Answers •M odel Say: Sometimes a story character asks a question. Let’s turn to page 9 and read the last sentence of Chanya’s letter together: “How do you have fun?” This sentence begins with the word How. I see a question mark at the end. These clues show me Chanya is asking a question. Let’s see if Allie answers Chanya’s question. On page 10, Allie writes: “I play with jacks, too!” Ask students to put their fingers on the question and the answer. Then say: I can ask questions, too. Listen to each question. Use your finger to make a question mark in the air. Then whisper the answer to a partner: Where are you going after school? What is your favorite dessert? What do you do when the weather is very hot?
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•G uide Invite students to read page 12 with you. Ask: Does Allie ask a question in her letter? How do you know? What does Allie ask? Who answers Allie’s question? What is the answer? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. •A pply Tell students that the author asks the reader a question in this book, too. The same question appears twice. Invite pairs of students to find both of the questions (pages 5 and 16). Challenge students to identify which question has an answer (page 16). If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process.
Fluency: Read Using Prosody •S ay: Characters are important in fiction books. We especially like to hear what the characters say. Good readers think about who is talking. Good readers think about what the characters are saying. Then good readers try to talk like the characters. The reader and listener get more out of the story this way. • Ask students to turn to page 15. First, read Chanya’s letter in a low voice, flatly, and with no expression. Discuss how this makes listeners feel. Then read the page again using a voice appropriate for a happy, excited girl. Ask students to echo-read. • Ask students to turn to page 13. Choral-read Chanya’s letter with them using a sad, thoughtful voice when she talks about the water and a warmer voice when she talks about her goat. • Invite students to take turns rereading Sharing Our Stories with a partner. Remind them to think about what Allie and Chanya are saying and how their voices would sound if they read their letters aloud.
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NAME
DATE
Sharing Our Stories Compare and Contrast
Allie and Chanya
8
Stories
Allie
Chanya
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