Winter to Spring
Winter to Spring
Level H/14
Teacher’s Guide For students reading at Literacy Level H/14, including: •• English-language learners •• Students reading below grade level •• First grade readers
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Compare and contrast
Metacognitive/Fix-Up Strategy
•• Stop, think and write
Vocabulary
•• Recognize high-frequency words •• Develop academic content (Tier Three) vocabulary
Word Study
•• Use antonyms
Language
•• Recognize the sentence structures The _____ is _____ and Do you see _____ •• Use the preposition in
Phonics
•• P roblem-solve by searching all the way through words •• Recognize the initial 3-letter blend spr-
Fluency
•• Read smoothly with minimal breaks
Writing
THEME: Weather •• Summer to Fall (Level F/10) •• Ready for Fall (Level F/10) •• Winter to Spring (Level H/14) •• See You in Spring (Level H/14)
SCIENCE BIG IDEA: Readers learn how seasonal changes in winter and spring affect people, animals, and plants.
•• Write to a picture prompt •• Write to a text prompt
B
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 resources support this lesson. Early Explorers Partner • See You in Spring (Fiction, Level H/14) Fluency and Language Development • Winter to Spring Audio CD Comprehension Resources • Winter to Spring Comprehension Question Card • Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers • Student Bookmark • Compare and Contrast Poster Assessment • Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook • Grade 1 Comprehension Strategy Assessment Book
Make Connections and Build Background • Use Art Say: We will read a book about two seasons—winter and spring. Draw several snowflakes and a snowman on the board. Say: Many places have snow in winter. Invite students to Think/Pair/Share other facts they know about winter. Then draw several flowers on the board. Say: Many places have flowers in spring. Invite students to Think/Pair/Share other facts they know about spring. • Use a Graphic Organizer Write the word Changes on the board and underline it. Read the word and ask students to help you make a list of things that change between winter and spring. As students respond, write their ideas under the heading. Then read each entry and ask students to echo-read.
Copyright © 2007 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.
Changes The air gets warmer. The snow melts. The birds start to sing. The trees get leaves. Flowers come out.
Introduce the Book • Preview Cover and Table of Contents Give each student a copy of the book. Point to the front. Say: This book is about winter and spring. Read the title and author, and ask students to echo-read. Invite them to tell what they see in the photograph. Repeat the process with the title page. Say: The title page in this book has a table of contents. The table of contents lists the name of each chapter. It also lists where to find each chapter. Say: The cover and table of contents get us ready to read the book. Using the think-aloud strategy, model how to make predictions about the book based on the cover and table of contents information: The book title has the words winter and spring. The first chapter heading has the word winter. The next chapter heading has the word change. I think this book will tell about how winter changes to spring. Allow time for students to share their own predictions. • Preview Vocabulary, Photographs, and Text and Graphic Features Revisit the photographs on the cover and title page. Say: Nonfiction books have many photographs. Photographs help us understand the words in the book. They help us learn more, too. Ask students to turn to pages 2 and 3, and point to each photograph as you say its matching label. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo-read. Say: We will see these words in the book. Then take students on a picture walk. Reinforce the meanings of the previewed words as you discuss the photographs. Also talk about the words winter and season, and make sure students can pronounce each one. In addition, point out the following text and graphic features: (Pages 4–5) Say: This book has captions. Do you see the captions by the photographs? Captions tell about photographs. (Page 6) Say: This page has an inset photo. An inset photo is a small photograph inside a bigger photograph. This big photograph shows a chipmunk’s winter home. The small photograph shows the chipmunk in its winter home. (Page 11) Say: This book has labels. Labels name things we see in a photograph.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-6140-5
2
Winter to Spring
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading • Preview Sentence Structures For students who need additional support, write The _____ is _____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: This sentence structure is in the book. Page 4 has a sentence with this structure. Model how to frame the sentence between two fingers. Then read the sentence aloud and ask students to echoread. Invite them to turn to page 8. Ask: Can you frame a sentence with the words The _____ is _____? Assist as needed, and then read the sentence aloud and ask students to echo-read. If they need additional practice, allow them to locate and read the sentence structure on pages 9 and 14. Finally, repeat the process with Do you see _____ on pages 10, 11, and 14. • Use Graphophonic Cues Say: Another word in this book is melt. Say the word melt. What letters do you expect to see after the /m/? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Then ask them to find the word melt on page 8. Say: Search all the way through a word to help you when you read. • Scaffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say the word air. Ask: Does air sound like a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word air sounds like the Spanish word aire. Air and aire mean the same thing. The words look similar, too. Write the word air on the board and ask students to locate it on page 4 in the book. Repeat the process with in on page 4 and en, animals on page 6 and animales, plants on page 10 and plantas, colors on page 10 and colores, and baby on page 15 and bebé. Then point out that the words to and too on page 8 sound like the Spanish word tú but do not mean the same thing. Finally, invite students with other first languages to share their cognates.
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.
Strategic Reading Prompts Cue Source
Prompt
Example
Graphophonic
Search all the way cold through the word. Are you blending the right sounds?
Syntactic
You read “Soon, Soon, the days 8 the day are longer.” are longer. Let’s read this sentence together and make it sound right.
Semantic
What do you see in the picture that would make sense in this sentence?
underground
Page 4
6
Set a Purpose for Reading • Direct students’ attention to the list of things that change from winter to spring. Say: Now it’s time to whisper-read the book. Read to learn what happens in winter and spring.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Winter to Spring
3
After Reading Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize • Ask students to think about their reading. Say: Look at our list. Which of these changes did we read about in the book? Put a ✟ beside any matching responses. Then ask students to name other types of changes 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 a partner about the book. Changes The air gets warmer. ✟ The snow melts. ✟ The birds start to sing. ✟ The trees get leaves. ✟ Flowers come out. ✟ Chipmunks wake up. ✟ We see baby animals. ✟
Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Stop, Think, and Write • Reflect 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? • Model Say: I want to make sure I understand what I read. One way is to stop and think about what I read. Then I can write down my thoughts. I might write an important detail I want to remember. I might write something with which I agree or disagree. I might write questions I have about the information. I might write something I want to learn more about. I might even rewrite something in my own words. I will turn back to page 6. I read: “Chipmunks sleep in winter. Chipmunks do not eat or drink.” I’m going to stop and think about that. How can chipmunks go all winter without food or water? I will write down this question. Writing down questions will help me think about the book and find answers.
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Winter to Spring
• Guide Ask students to turn to page 7. Read the page aloud together. Ask the following questions, allowing time for students to stop and think after each one: What did you learn about the birds on this page? What do you notice about the birds in the photograph? What would you like to learn more about? How would you describe the birds in your own words? Finally, invite students to write down one of their thoughts. If they have difficulty, model writing an observation of your own, such as The birds probably have to fly a long way. They must get tired. • Apply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page. Then ask students to read the page to a partner, share a thought aloud, and write it down. Observe students as they stop, think, and write, providing assistance if needed. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart that you can use to assess students’ understanding of the stop, think, and write monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You can stop, think, and write any time you read. Remember to stop, think, and write to help you understand.
Answer Text-Dependent Questions • Explain 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 Prove It! questions. Say: The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer. • Model Use the first Prove It! question on the question card. Say: I will show you how I answer a Prove It! question. I will read the question to figure out what to do. The question says: “Look at page 11. The photograph shows a bud and a branch. What can you tell from the photograph?” This question asks me to interpret information from a photograph. I know because the question has the words What can you tell. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow student responses.) Yes, I need to look on page 11. I need to look at the bud and the branch in the photograph. I can tell that buds have a different color from branches. The
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
evidence in the photograph supports my answer. • Guide 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 • Explain Create an overhead transparency of the “Winter to Spring” graphic organizer on page 8 or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell how things are alike and different. Telling how things are alike is called comparing. Telling how things are different is called contrasting. Good readers try to figure out how things are alike and different. Figuring out how things are different and alike helps readers better understand the information. • Model Say: Let’s figure out how winter and spring are alike and different. Page 4 says winter is a season. Page 9 says spring is a season. Being a season is one way winter and spring are alike. I will write this idea in the Winter and Spring column of the graphic organizer. Now I will think about ways winter and spring are different. Page 5 says the weather gets colder in winter. I will write about it being colder in the Winter column. Page 8 says the weather is warmer in spring. I will write about it being warmer in the Spring column. • Guide Say: Let’s find another way winter and spring are different. Look on page 6. What do some animals do all winter? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, some animals sleep all winter. We can write about animals sleeping in the Winter column. Now let’s look on page 14. The chipmunk has been sleeping all winter. What happens in spring? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, the chipmunk wakes up. We can write about waking up in the Spring column.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to continue comparing and contrasting winter and spring. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process by pointing out the following: Winter and Spring—bring changes to people, animals, and plants (whole book); Winter—snow falls (page 4), people wear warm clothes (page 5), some animals go away (page 7); Spring—snow melts (page 8), flowers bloom (page 10), birds come back (page 12), more food for animals (page 13). Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
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 Winter to Spring to read to family members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to draw a winter scene and spring scene. Invite students to bring their scenes to share with the group.
Winter to Spring
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Writing Connections
Mini-Lessons
Reader Response
Phonics: Initial 3-letter Blend “spr -”
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. • Choose one of the animals in the book. Draw pictures of the animal in winter and spring. • Do you like winter or spring better? Tell why. • Tell about something you learned from the book. • Rate the book with a 1 (don’t like), 2 (okay), or 3 (like a lot). Tell why you chose that rating. • Write about things you do in winter and things you do in spring. • Write a letter to the author. Tell her about your favorite part of the book.
Write to a Picture Prompt • Retell Tell students they will describe a small part of the book in their own words. Then they will write down their words. Say: I like the pictures in this book. I like to choose one picture and describe that part of the book in my own words. Look at page 6. I can tell about this picture: The chipmunk is sleeping. Chipmunks always sleep when it is cold. What do you notice about the picture? How would you retell this part of the book? Allow time for students to respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best? How would you retell that part of the book? Allow time for students to respond, prompting further if needed. Say: You have described the picture you chose. Now write your description. After you are finished, read your description to a partner.
Write to a Text Prompt • Write a Description Say: Imagine that you are in the park on a warm spring day. Write about things you can see and hear. Write about how you feel, too. When you are finished, read your description to a partner.
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Winter to Spring
for Differentiating Instruction
• Ask students to locate the word spring on page 9. Write spring on the board. Explain that the three sounds at the beginning of the word—/s/, /p/, and /r/—are blended together to make /spr/. Slowly draw your finger under the word as you blend the sounds. Then ask students to do the same in their books. Say: The word spring begins with a 3-letter blend. Three consonants blend together to start the word. Repeat the process with sprout on page 10. • Ask students to brainstorm words that begin with spr-. List the words on the board. If needed, prompt students with clues for words such as spray, sprint, sprinkle, spread, and sprain. • Say: I will act out one of the words. You can guess the word. I will circle the 3-letter blend in the word. Then you will know you guessed correctly. Model the process using one of the words on the list, such as making a peanut butter sandwich (spread). Then invite each student to act out one of the words and circle the spr-.
Vocabulary • Academic Content Vocabulary Review the book with students and write the words winter and spring on the board. Then record the words birds, chipmunk, fly, melt, snow, and season on index cards. Ask students to read the words with you. Mix the word cards and place them facedown on the table. Choose a card, turn it over, read the word, and model an oral sentence using that word and either winter or spring. Finally, invite students to take turns making their own sentences. Continue the game until each student has had several turns with different word pairs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Word Study: Antonyms • Model Say: Authors sometimes use antonyms, or opposites, when they write. I see some antonyms on page 13: “Big and little animals look for food.” The words big and little are antonyms. I can use the words big and little, too. Point to objects in the classroom as you model sentences such as: This pencil is little. This pencil is big. The clock on my desk is little. The clock on the wall is big. The window on the door is little. The windows on the wall are big. • Guide Invite students to read page 6 with you. Ask: Which words are antonyms? (go, stay) Why are go and stay antonyms? (The words have opposite meanings.) Invite students to use the words go and stay in oral sentences and pantomime the actions. • Apply Pair students. Ask partners to find the antonyms on page 14 (awake, sleeping). On the board, write: “I am awake at school. I am sleeping in bed.” Invite a volunteer to underline the antonyms in the sentences. Then repeat the process with cold on page 4 and warm on page 5. Finally, invite the partners to make up an oral sentence using an antonym pair of their own choice.
Language Development: Preposition “in” • Model Say: Sometimes authors use phrases that begin with the word in. I see a sentence on page 5 with the word in: The weather gets colder in winter. The words in winter explain when the weather gets colder. I use the word in, too. Pantomime some simple actions and make up a sentence about each one, such as: I wake up in the morning. I rake leaves in October. I go swimming in summer.
• Guide Say: Sometimes the word in tells us “where” instead of “when.” Invite students to read the last sentence of page 4 with you. Ask: Where does snow cover the ground? (in some places) Ask questions such as the following, allowing time for students to respond to each one: Where are our books? (in the tub) Where is the school secretary? (in the office) Where do we have P.E. class? (in the gym) • Apply Pair students. Ask partners to make up sentences using the structure I like to _____ in _____. As they share their sentences with the group, write them on the board in two columns headed When and Where. Circle the phrases that begin with in. Remind students that a phrase beginning with the word in can tell when or where something happens.
Fluency: Read Smoothly with Minimal Breaks • Say: Good readers do not pause or stop between words. Instead, good readers read smoothly. They blend one word into the next. They pause or stop only when they see punctuation marks. They quickly fix mistakes and move on. Reading smoothly helps the reader focus on what the author has to say. Reading smoothly also helps the listener enjoy the story. • Ask students to turn to page 10. Read the page in a choppy, word-by-word manner. Discuss how this makes the listener feel. Say: Now I will read the words smoothly. The punctuation will show me when to pause or stop. Read the sentences again, stopping at the question mark and periods and pausing at the comma. Then invite students to echo-read the page with you. • Ask students to turn to page 4. Choral-read the page with them, reading smoothly. Stop only at the punctuation marks. • Invite students to take turns rereading Winter to Spring with a partner. Remind them to read smoothly, pause or stop at punctuation, and quickly fix any mistakes so they can keep on reading.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Winter to Spring
7
NAME
DATE
Winter to Spring Compare and Contrast Winter and Spring
8
Winter to Spring
Winter
Spring
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Level H/14
Teacher’s Guide For students reading at Literacy Level H/14, including: •• English-language learners •• Students reading below grade level •• First grade readers
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Compare and contrast
Metacognitive/Fix-Up Strategy
•• Stop, think and write
Vocabulary
•• Recognize high-frequency words •• Develop academic content (Tier Three) vocabulary
Word Study
•• Use antonyms
Language
•• Recognize the sentence structures The _____ is _____ and Do you see _____ •• Use the preposition in
Phonics
•• P roblem-solve by searching all the way through words •• Recognize the initial 3-letter blend spr-
Fluency
•• Read smoothly with minimal breaks
Writing
THEME: Weather •• Summer to Fall (Level F/10) •• Ready for Fall (Level F/10) •• Winter to Spring (Level H/14) •• See You in Spring (Level H/14)
SCIENCE BIG IDEA: Readers learn how seasonal changes in winter and spring affect people, animals, and plants.
•• Write to a picture prompt •• Write to a text prompt
B
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 resources support this lesson. Early Explorers Partner • See You in Spring (Fiction, Level H/14) Fluency and Language Development • Winter to Spring Audio CD Comprehension Resources • Winter to Spring Comprehension Question Card • Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers • Student Bookmark • Compare and Contrast Poster Assessment • Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook • Grade 1 Comprehension Strategy Assessment Book
Make Connections and Build Background • Use Art Say: We will read a book about two seasons—winter and spring. Draw several snowflakes and a snowman on the board. Say: Many places have snow in winter. Invite students to Think/Pair/Share other facts they know about winter. Then draw several flowers on the board. Say: Many places have flowers in spring. Invite students to Think/Pair/Share other facts they know about spring. • Use a Graphic Organizer Write the word Changes on the board and underline it. Read the word and ask students to help you make a list of things that change between winter and spring. As students respond, write their ideas under the heading. Then read each entry and ask students to echo-read.
Copyright © 2007 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.
Changes The air gets warmer. The snow melts. The birds start to sing. The trees get leaves. Flowers come out.
Introduce the Book • Preview Cover and Table of Contents Give each student a copy of the book. Point to the front. Say: This book is about winter and spring. Read the title and author, and ask students to echo-read. Invite them to tell what they see in the photograph. Repeat the process with the title page. Say: The title page in this book has a table of contents. The table of contents lists the name of each chapter. It also lists where to find each chapter. Say: The cover and table of contents get us ready to read the book. Using the think-aloud strategy, model how to make predictions about the book based on the cover and table of contents information: The book title has the words winter and spring. The first chapter heading has the word winter. The next chapter heading has the word change. I think this book will tell about how winter changes to spring. Allow time for students to share their own predictions. • Preview Vocabulary, Photographs, and Text and Graphic Features Revisit the photographs on the cover and title page. Say: Nonfiction books have many photographs. Photographs help us understand the words in the book. They help us learn more, too. Ask students to turn to pages 2 and 3, and point to each photograph as you say its matching label. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo-read. Say: We will see these words in the book. Then take students on a picture walk. Reinforce the meanings of the previewed words as you discuss the photographs. Also talk about the words winter and season, and make sure students can pronounce each one. In addition, point out the following text and graphic features: (Pages 4–5) Say: This book has captions. Do you see the captions by the photographs? Captions tell about photographs. (Page 6) Say: This page has an inset photo. An inset photo is a small photograph inside a bigger photograph. This big photograph shows a chipmunk’s winter home. The small photograph shows the chipmunk in its winter home. (Page 11) Say: This book has labels. Labels name things we see in a photograph.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-6140-5
2
Winter to Spring
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading • Preview Sentence Structures For students who need additional support, write The _____ is _____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: This sentence structure is in the book. Page 4 has a sentence with this structure. Model how to frame the sentence between two fingers. Then read the sentence aloud and ask students to echoread. Invite them to turn to page 8. Ask: Can you frame a sentence with the words The _____ is _____? Assist as needed, and then read the sentence aloud and ask students to echo-read. If they need additional practice, allow them to locate and read the sentence structure on pages 9 and 14. Finally, repeat the process with Do you see _____ on pages 10, 11, and 14. • Use Graphophonic Cues Say: Another word in this book is melt. Say the word melt. What letters do you expect to see after the /m/? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Then ask them to find the word melt on page 8. Say: Search all the way through a word to help you when you read. • Scaffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say the word air. Ask: Does air sound like a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word air sounds like the Spanish word aire. Air and aire mean the same thing. The words look similar, too. Write the word air on the board and ask students to locate it on page 4 in the book. Repeat the process with in on page 4 and en, animals on page 6 and animales, plants on page 10 and plantas, colors on page 10 and colores, and baby on page 15 and bebé. Then point out that the words to and too on page 8 sound like the Spanish word tú but do not mean the same thing. Finally, invite students with other first languages to share their cognates.
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.
Strategic Reading Prompts Cue Source
Prompt
Example
Graphophonic
Search all the way cold through the word. Are you blending the right sounds?
Syntactic
You read “Soon, Soon, the days 8 the day are longer.” are longer. Let’s read this sentence together and make it sound right.
Semantic
What do you see in the picture that would make sense in this sentence?
underground
Page 4
6
Set a Purpose for Reading • Direct students’ attention to the list of things that change from winter to spring. Say: Now it’s time to whisper-read the book. Read to learn what happens in winter and spring.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Winter to Spring
3
After Reading Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize • Ask students to think about their reading. Say: Look at our list. Which of these changes did we read about in the book? Put a ✟ beside any matching responses. Then ask students to name other types of changes 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 a partner about the book. Changes The air gets warmer. ✟ The snow melts. ✟ The birds start to sing. ✟ The trees get leaves. ✟ Flowers come out. ✟ Chipmunks wake up. ✟ We see baby animals. ✟
Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Stop, Think, and Write • Reflect 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? • Model Say: I want to make sure I understand what I read. One way is to stop and think about what I read. Then I can write down my thoughts. I might write an important detail I want to remember. I might write something with which I agree or disagree. I might write questions I have about the information. I might write something I want to learn more about. I might even rewrite something in my own words. I will turn back to page 6. I read: “Chipmunks sleep in winter. Chipmunks do not eat or drink.” I’m going to stop and think about that. How can chipmunks go all winter without food or water? I will write down this question. Writing down questions will help me think about the book and find answers.
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Winter to Spring
• Guide Ask students to turn to page 7. Read the page aloud together. Ask the following questions, allowing time for students to stop and think after each one: What did you learn about the birds on this page? What do you notice about the birds in the photograph? What would you like to learn more about? How would you describe the birds in your own words? Finally, invite students to write down one of their thoughts. If they have difficulty, model writing an observation of your own, such as The birds probably have to fly a long way. They must get tired. • Apply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page. Then ask students to read the page to a partner, share a thought aloud, and write it down. Observe students as they stop, think, and write, providing assistance if needed. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart that you can use to assess students’ understanding of the stop, think, and write monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You can stop, think, and write any time you read. Remember to stop, think, and write to help you understand.
Answer Text-Dependent Questions • Explain 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 Prove It! questions. Say: The answer to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer. • Model Use the first Prove It! question on the question card. Say: I will show you how I answer a Prove It! question. I will read the question to figure out what to do. The question says: “Look at page 11. The photograph shows a bud and a branch. What can you tell from the photograph?” This question asks me to interpret information from a photograph. I know because the question has the words What can you tell. Now I need to look for other important information in the question. What information do you think will help me? (Allow student responses.) Yes, I need to look on page 11. I need to look at the bud and the branch in the photograph. I can tell that buds have a different color from branches. The
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evidence in the photograph supports my answer. • Guide 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 • Explain Create an overhead transparency of the “Winter to Spring” graphic organizer on page 8 or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell how things are alike and different. Telling how things are alike is called comparing. Telling how things are different is called contrasting. Good readers try to figure out how things are alike and different. Figuring out how things are different and alike helps readers better understand the information. • Model Say: Let’s figure out how winter and spring are alike and different. Page 4 says winter is a season. Page 9 says spring is a season. Being a season is one way winter and spring are alike. I will write this idea in the Winter and Spring column of the graphic organizer. Now I will think about ways winter and spring are different. Page 5 says the weather gets colder in winter. I will write about it being colder in the Winter column. Page 8 says the weather is warmer in spring. I will write about it being warmer in the Spring column. • Guide Say: Let’s find another way winter and spring are different. Look on page 6. What do some animals do all winter? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, some animals sleep all winter. We can write about animals sleeping in the Winter column. Now let’s look on page 14. The chipmunk has been sleeping all winter. What happens in spring? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, the chipmunk wakes up. We can write about waking up in the Spring column.
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• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to continue comparing and contrasting winter and spring. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process by pointing out the following: Winter and Spring—bring changes to people, animals, and plants (whole book); Winter—snow falls (page 4), people wear warm clothes (page 5), some animals go away (page 7); Spring—snow melts (page 8), flowers bloom (page 10), birds come back (page 12), more food for animals (page 13). Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
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 Winter to Spring to read to family members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to draw a winter scene and spring scene. Invite students to bring their scenes to share with the group.
Winter to Spring
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Writing Connections
Mini-Lessons
Reader Response
Phonics: Initial 3-letter Blend “spr -”
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. • Choose one of the animals in the book. Draw pictures of the animal in winter and spring. • Do you like winter or spring better? Tell why. • Tell about something you learned from the book. • Rate the book with a 1 (don’t like), 2 (okay), or 3 (like a lot). Tell why you chose that rating. • Write about things you do in winter and things you do in spring. • Write a letter to the author. Tell her about your favorite part of the book.
Write to a Picture Prompt • Retell Tell students they will describe a small part of the book in their own words. Then they will write down their words. Say: I like the pictures in this book. I like to choose one picture and describe that part of the book in my own words. Look at page 6. I can tell about this picture: The chipmunk is sleeping. Chipmunks always sleep when it is cold. What do you notice about the picture? How would you retell this part of the book? Allow time for students to respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best? How would you retell that part of the book? Allow time for students to respond, prompting further if needed. Say: You have described the picture you chose. Now write your description. After you are finished, read your description to a partner.
Write to a Text Prompt • Write a Description Say: Imagine that you are in the park on a warm spring day. Write about things you can see and hear. Write about how you feel, too. When you are finished, read your description to a partner.
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Winter to Spring
for Differentiating Instruction
• Ask students to locate the word spring on page 9. Write spring on the board. Explain that the three sounds at the beginning of the word—/s/, /p/, and /r/—are blended together to make /spr/. Slowly draw your finger under the word as you blend the sounds. Then ask students to do the same in their books. Say: The word spring begins with a 3-letter blend. Three consonants blend together to start the word. Repeat the process with sprout on page 10. • Ask students to brainstorm words that begin with spr-. List the words on the board. If needed, prompt students with clues for words such as spray, sprint, sprinkle, spread, and sprain. • Say: I will act out one of the words. You can guess the word. I will circle the 3-letter blend in the word. Then you will know you guessed correctly. Model the process using one of the words on the list, such as making a peanut butter sandwich (spread). Then invite each student to act out one of the words and circle the spr-.
Vocabulary • Academic Content Vocabulary Review the book with students and write the words winter and spring on the board. Then record the words birds, chipmunk, fly, melt, snow, and season on index cards. Ask students to read the words with you. Mix the word cards and place them facedown on the table. Choose a card, turn it over, read the word, and model an oral sentence using that word and either winter or spring. Finally, invite students to take turns making their own sentences. Continue the game until each student has had several turns with different word pairs.
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Word Study: Antonyms • Model Say: Authors sometimes use antonyms, or opposites, when they write. I see some antonyms on page 13: “Big and little animals look for food.” The words big and little are antonyms. I can use the words big and little, too. Point to objects in the classroom as you model sentences such as: This pencil is little. This pencil is big. The clock on my desk is little. The clock on the wall is big. The window on the door is little. The windows on the wall are big. • Guide Invite students to read page 6 with you. Ask: Which words are antonyms? (go, stay) Why are go and stay antonyms? (The words have opposite meanings.) Invite students to use the words go and stay in oral sentences and pantomime the actions. • Apply Pair students. Ask partners to find the antonyms on page 14 (awake, sleeping). On the board, write: “I am awake at school. I am sleeping in bed.” Invite a volunteer to underline the antonyms in the sentences. Then repeat the process with cold on page 4 and warm on page 5. Finally, invite the partners to make up an oral sentence using an antonym pair of their own choice.
Language Development: Preposition “in” • Model Say: Sometimes authors use phrases that begin with the word in. I see a sentence on page 5 with the word in: The weather gets colder in winter. The words in winter explain when the weather gets colder. I use the word in, too. Pantomime some simple actions and make up a sentence about each one, such as: I wake up in the morning. I rake leaves in October. I go swimming in summer.
• Guide Say: Sometimes the word in tells us “where” instead of “when.” Invite students to read the last sentence of page 4 with you. Ask: Where does snow cover the ground? (in some places) Ask questions such as the following, allowing time for students to respond to each one: Where are our books? (in the tub) Where is the school secretary? (in the office) Where do we have P.E. class? (in the gym) • Apply Pair students. Ask partners to make up sentences using the structure I like to _____ in _____. As they share their sentences with the group, write them on the board in two columns headed When and Where. Circle the phrases that begin with in. Remind students that a phrase beginning with the word in can tell when or where something happens.
Fluency: Read Smoothly with Minimal Breaks • Say: Good readers do not pause or stop between words. Instead, good readers read smoothly. They blend one word into the next. They pause or stop only when they see punctuation marks. They quickly fix mistakes and move on. Reading smoothly helps the reader focus on what the author has to say. Reading smoothly also helps the listener enjoy the story. • Ask students to turn to page 10. Read the page in a choppy, word-by-word manner. Discuss how this makes the listener feel. Say: Now I will read the words smoothly. The punctuation will show me when to pause or stop. Read the sentences again, stopping at the question mark and periods and pausing at the comma. Then invite students to echo-read the page with you. • Ask students to turn to page 4. Choral-read the page with them, reading smoothly. Stop only at the punctuation marks. • Invite students to take turns rereading Winter to Spring with a partner. Remind them to read smoothly, pause or stop at punctuation, and quickly fix any mistakes so they can keep on reading.
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Winter to Spring
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NAME
DATE
Winter to Spring Compare and Contrast Winter and Spring
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Winter to Spring
Winter
Spring
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