Guided Reading DRAMA NP Anansi the Spider Written by Julie Rowe KEY IDEA Anansi wants to buy all the world s stories from Nyame. Nyame tells Anansi that he will never be able to meet his price and sets impossible tasks. Anansi completes the tasks and wins the stories. LITERACY STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THIS PLAN ISBN 978-1-62889-370-0 RL.3.2 RL.3.5 RL.3.7 MAIN FOCUS Key Ideas & Details Sessions 1, 2, 3 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral; and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. MAIN FOCUS Craft & Structure Sessions 2, 3 Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections. MAIN FOCUS Integration of Knowledge & Ideas Sessions 2, 3 Explain how specific aspects of a text s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting). RL.3.9* MAIN FOCUS Integration of Knowledge & Ideas Session 3 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes, topics, characters or plots of two or more stories. *standard adapted from another grade RL.3.10 Range of Reading & Level of Text Complexity By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 2 3 text complexity band independently and proficiently. RF.3.3a Phonics & Word Recognition Additional Instruction Identify and know the meaning of the most common prefixes and derivational suffixes. RF.3.4b Fluency Session 2 Read grade-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression. SL.3.1c Comprehension & Collaboration Sessions 1, 2, 3 Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others. L.3.4a L.3.4d W.3.1 Vocabulary Acquisition & Use Sessions 1, 2 Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase. Vocabulary Acquisition & Use Additional Instruction Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases. Text Types & Purposes Writing Task Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons. W.3.8* Research to Build & Present Knowledge Session 1, 2, 3 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question. *standard adapted from another grade W.3.10 Range of Writing By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grades 2 3 text complexity band independently and proficiently. Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 1
Session 1 Anansi The Spider Learning Focus RL.3.2 Students read closely to recount a play. They cite text evidence to explain how details help them determine the lesson or moral of the text. Previewing the Text 5 minutes Read the title and author credit with students. Today we are going to read a play called Anansi the Spider by Julie Rowe. Look at pages 23 26. Who would like to share something they notice about the text? I see a list of characters and a setting. This text must be a play. I also see a spider in every picture. The title is Anansi the Spider, so the spider s name must be Anansi. Who would like to share a question they have about the play after looking at these pages? I wonder what Anansi is doing with the animals. Let s read to find out. ELL support L.3.4 Vocabulary Support phrases such as What business do you have and Just see if I don t in context using the ELL vocabulary strategies in Getting Started. Corrective Feedback Have students closely reread pages 23 to 24 to figure out what the message of the story might be. Encourage them to silently reread, stopping at key points to think and talk together about their understandings. READING THE TEXT closely 10 minutes Explain the learning focus. Have students read pages 23 24. Check on their application of the focus. Provide support if needed. As we read, we are going to recount, or retell in our own words, important details from the play and think about the message in the play. We re going to look closely at the details and figure out what we are meant to learn from them. Let s read pages 23 24.... Who will retell some important details? Nyame, the Sky God, owns all the world s stories. Anansi wants to buy the stories from Nyame. Yes. Can someone else share another important detail? Nyame laughs at Anansi and tells him that he will never be able to meet his price. Nyame gives him impossible jobs. Anansi makes a plan and finishes one of the jobs. We may not be able to figure out the main message of the play yet, since we just read the beginning, but we can start to think about it. Would someone like to share an idea of what the lesson might be using evidence from the text we just read? Nyame thinks Anansi is just a little spider and won t be able to meet his price. Anansi makes a plan and finishes one of the jobs. I think the lesson is that even though someone is small, he can do anything he puts his mind to. I like the way you re thinking about the evidence from the text and explaining how it helps you figure out the message of the play. If you are satisfied that students can apply the focus, have them continue this thinking to the end of the play. If you are not, prompt students to reread the text segment and think about the details and how they help convey the message. Our work today is to try to figure out the central message of the play. Consider what message the details tell you as you read the rest of the play. Now let s read to the end of the play. 2 AnaNsi the spider
DISCUSSING THE TEXT 10 minutes Invite students to recount the play, pointing out text evidence and discussing how it helps them figure out the play s central message. Encourage students to stay on topic and link their comments to the remarks of others. As we talk together, make sure you stay on topic and listen carefully to each speaker so that you can link your ideas to theirs. Who would like to retell the play, including the key details? Anansi wants to buy all the world s stories from Nyame. Nyame is willing to sell the stories and gives Anansi jobs he thinks will be too hard to do. Anansi makes a plan. Would someone like to continue? He gets Onini, Mmoboro, and Osebo and brings them to Nyame. Nyame says that Anansi is worthy to be the keeper of the stories and gives them to him. Now let s use these details to think about the central message. What message or lesson do we learn from the play? Even though someone is small, he can do anything he puts his mind to. I can tell recounting important details helped you understand the message in the play. We should do that often in the texts we read. Draw attention to the word gourd on page 25. The narrator says that Anansi filled a hollow gourd with water. Let s read page 25 closely and look for context clues that will help us figure out the meaning of this word. Who can tell us some clues they see? I think the words filled and water are clues. Would someone like to share another clue to the meaning of the word gourd? I think the word emptied is a clue. Can someone share what these clues make you think the word gourd means? I think it means a cup or bowl. Yes. A gourd is a cup or bowl made from dried shells of a kind of fruit. Confirm students good use of the focus and encourage them to keep it in mind whenever they read other plays. You did a good job recounting the events in the play and using the details to figure out the central message. Keep the work we have done in mind as you read other plays. E-RESOURCE Formative Assessment: Comprehension Using the Quick Start Planner, note this session s learning focus. Observe each student s articulation and use of text evidence to evaluate effective use of the learning focus. CHOICE COMPREHENSION: CENTRAL MESSAGE OR LESSON E-RESOURCE Formative Assessment Have students use the blackline master on page 10 to identify the key details as well as the central message or lesson in the text they are reading. Review students answers as you evaluate their mastery of the learning focus. SL.3.1c DISCUSSION Collaborative COMPREHENSION SHARE Recounting a story means telling the story in your own words. Think about the beginning, middle, and end. Take brief notes so you can remember the most important parts. L.3.4a VOCABULARY discussion tip Encourage students to elaborate on the remarks of others as they pose and respond to specific questions. You can interject questions such as, What can we add based on what said? RL.3.2 COMPREHENSION Central Message or Lesson CHOICE Constructed Response: Collect Text Evidence E-RESOURCE Summative Assessment Have students use the blackline master on page 11 as they read. Students will collect details from the text to answer the question: What steps did Anansi take to solve his problem? Use text evidence to support your answer. Review students collected evidence as you evaluate their mastery of the learning focus. W.3.8*, RL.3.2 WRITING Gather Information Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 3
Session 2 Anansi the Spider Learning FocusES RL.3.2, RL.3.5, RL.3.7 Students return to text to read closely and discuss how the parts of the play work together to build meaning while citing text evidence that contributes to the central message of the play. Students examine illustrations to add to their understanding of the play. ELL support RL.3.2 Discussing the Text Ask questions at students language proficiency levels and provide the following sentence frames for student responses: First,. Then,. Next,. The message/lesson/ moral is. I know because. COMPREHENSION SHARE Think about the differences between stories, plays, and poems. Make a chart that lists the features of each. For example, poems can have verses, stanzas, and rhythm. Plays usually have casts of characters, settings, lines of dialogue, and stage directions. Listing these features will help you use the right terms when speaking about a selection. Returning to the Text 5 minutes Ask students to reflect on the text read previously. Guide them to recall how they applied the learning focus to their reading. Let s quickly review our discussion from the last session. We read the play Anansi the Spider. It was about a spider who wanted to buy the world s stories from Nyame. Nyame doesn t want to sell them, so he gives Anansi impossible jobs in order to win the stories. We talked about the details in the play and how they help us figure out the message that no matter how small you are, you can accomplish your goals. Reading the Text closely 10 minutes Explain the learning focuses. Invite students to reread pages 23 26. Check in to see how well they have understood the focuses. If you are satisfied that students can apply them, have them read the balance of the selection. If not, provide corrective feedback as suggested on page 2 of this plan. Today as we read, we are going to think about the different parts of a play, and how each part leads to the next. We will also think about how illustrations add to our understanding of the play. We re familiar with the details and the message of the story. Who can recount key details from the beginning of the play that help us figure out the message? Anansi makes a plan to catch the hornets. He tells them it is raining and to jump into a gourd to protect themselves. He traps the hornets. This shows how even if you are small, you can think about how to reach your goal, work hard, and be successful. Draw students attention to how each part of the play builds on earlier sections. Now we ll reread to see if the play is put together in a way that helps us understand how the details fit together. Let s talk about what we find out on the first page of the play. We find out that there are six characters in the play and what their names are. The play is taking place in the sky and the jungle. Anansi wants the world s stories, and Nyame gives him impossible jobs. Would someone like to share what happens on the second page of the play? Anansi makes a plan and ties Onini the python to a pole. Can someone share how the first part of the play leads to the second part of the play? The first part tells what jobs Nyame wants Anansi to do. The second part tells how he finishes each one of those jobs. So each part keeps developing the story and showing you more details about Anansi. Focus on explaining how aspects of illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the text. Let s talk about page 24. What do you learn about Anansi on this page? We learn that he has a plan and is smart. He tricks Onini into stretching out on the pole. 4 AnaNsi the spider
Look at the picture. What do you notice about Anansi in this picture? He is very small, and he is using his silk to tie Onini to the pole. What does the illustration help you understand about Anansi? He is much smaller than the animals, but he is very smart. He figures out a way to bring the python to Nyame even though he is tiny. We can put together information from the text and the illustrations to learn more about the characters. Formative Assessment: Fluency Listen to each student read a portion of the text. Pay close attention to accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression. If students need additional practice with fluency, provide the necessary support at the end of the session. Discussing the Text 10 minutes Guide a discussion in which students recount key details to explain how the message is conveyed. Have them describe how parts of dramas build on earlier parts. Also, have them explain how illustrations contribute to the play. Who can recount key details from the parts of the play that help us figure out the message? I read how Anansi trapped the jaguar but tricked him into thinking he is helping the jaguar. This helped me figure out the message because it shows how the tiny spider could catch a big jaguar. Continue the discussion, describing how each part of the play builds on earlier sections and how illustrations contribute to the meaning of the text. Let s talk about how the parts of the play work together. What did you find out on the third page of the play? Anansi pours water over the hornets and tricks them into hiding in the gourd to get out of the rain. He plugs the opening and traps them inside. Can someone recount what happens on the next page? Anansi catches the jaguar, the last of the animals, and carries all of the animals to Nyame. Great, so each part keeps developing the story and giving more details about Anansi. Let s also think about what we see in the text that adds to our understanding of the play. What do you see in the illustration on page 25? It shows Anansi holding up the gourd with the hornets flying inside. Would someone like to share what the picture on this page helps us understand? This helped me understand what a gourd looks like and how the hornets were trapped inside. Draw attention to the word dangling on page 26. We can use context clues in the text and illustrations to help us figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words. Look at the word dangling on page 25. Who can tell us some clues they see in the text? I see the words hung and from the branch. Would someone share clues from the picture? The jaguar is hanging from a tree branch. What do these clues make you think the word dangling means? I think the word means hanging from something. Yes. You used clues in the text and the picture to help you figure out what a word means. SL.3.1c DISCUSSION Collaborative L.3.4a VOCABULARY Context Clues Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 5
COMPREHENSION SHARE As you read, look carefully at the illustrations. Think about what they add to the story. They can help you discover more about a character, setting, or what is happening in the story. Help students understand the benefits of asking questions to check their understanding. We ve talked about the message of the play, how the different parts fit together, and how illustrations add to the meaning. How did asking questions help us during the discussion? It helped me figure out what confused me. We talked about how Anansi tricked the jaguar. I didn t understand how he did that. I asked a question, and the answer helped me understand that he built the hole. Asking questions helps us check our understanding of a discussion. E-RESOURCE Formative Assessment: Comprehension Using the Quick Start Planner, note this lesson s learning focus. Observe each student s articulation and use of text evidence to evaluate effective use of the learning focus. RF.3.4b FLUENCY Expression W.3.8*, RL.3.2 WRITING Gather Information RL.3.10 READING Independent or Guided CHOICE fluency follow-up Guide students to read with expression to support comprehension. Structure a Readers Theater by having students perform the play. CHOICE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE: COLLECT TEXT EVIDENCE E-RESOURCE Formative/Summative Assessment Have students continue to use the blackline master on page 11 for collecting evidence as they read. Students will continue to collect details from the text to answer the question: What steps did Anansi take to solve his problem? Use text evidence to support your answer. Students may need multiple copies of the organizer. Review students collected evidence as you evaluate their mastery of the learning focus. CHOICE cross-text reading: INDEPENDENT OR GUIDED In preparation for Session 3 (Teacher s Choice), have students read the short text selection Crafty Coyote on page 27 of the Themed Text Collection. Remind students to think about the learning focuses from prior sessions as they read. Alternatively, if your observations indicate that students might be unable to read the text independently, use the text to conduct a guided reading session. Before our next session together, I would like you to read Crafty Coyote on your own. As you ve done before, think about the different parts of a story, and how each part leads to the next. Think about how illustrations add to your understanding of the play and how key details help you figure out the message. 6 AnaNsi the spider
Session 3 Anansi the Spider and Crafty Coyote Key Idea No matter what your size or what the situation is, quick thinking can help you solve your problems. REFLECTING ON THE TEXTS 5 minutes Ask students to reflect on what they learned over the past sessions. Invite them to review and reflect on both texts. We have read a play and a story and thought about how the details, including illustrations, helped us understand the meaning. Who would like to share another reason why this is important? That s how we can figure out the message. We also discussed how parts of the play and the story fit together. Can someone share why it is important to think about that? It helps us understand how the story is developing. Learning FocusES RL.3.2, RL.3.5, RL.3.7, RL.3.9* Students compare and contrast texts to read closely and cite text evidence to recount key details that help explain the central message. Students analyze how the parts of the play work together to build meaning while examining illustrations to add to their understanding. CROSS-TEXT ANALYSIS 10 minutes Guide students to compare and contrast the two texts. Let s think about both texts we read and talk together about how they are alike or different. Both texts have animals as characters who are clever and trick other characters. The play is different because Anansi has a goal and figures out how to reach his goal. The coyote in the story doesn t have a goal. He just lets the man do his work for him. Guide students to synthesize character and plot elements across both texts. The analysis should lead to connections and new understandings based on both texts. Let s think about how discussing the two texts together helps you understand both more deeply. Turn and talk with a partner about that. Try to come up with a possible central message for the two. Who d like to share? Use your brain to get what you want. I also noticed a theme across both texts. Things aren t always what they seem. SL.3.1c DISCUSSION Collaborative integrating the learning 10 minutes Invite students to integrate the information from both texts and clearly state the big ideas across both texts. When we read, we try to say what a text was mostly about the big idea in one sentence. Now we re going to think through key parts of these two texts to find a big idea for both of them in one or two sentences. Turn and talk with a partner. Think about how we can state a big idea that would go with both texts.... Who would like to start? No matter what your size or what the situation is, quick thinking can help solve your problems. Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 7
Have students reflect on the strategies they learned for comparing two texts with a similar theme. Let s recap what strategies we used to deepen our understanding of both stories. We recounted key details from the text and used them to find the central message. We said paying close attention to how the parts of the text work together to build meaning helps us understand the message of the text. W.3.8*, RL.3.2 WRITING Respond to Question CHOICE constructed Response: Write to source E-RESOURCE Formative/Summative Assessment Have students continue to use the blackline master on page 11 as they finish reading. Then ask them to write a response on a separate sheet of paper that answers one of the following questions: What steps did Anansi take to solve his problem? or How did the coyote solve his problem? Use text evidence to support your answer. Have students use the text evidence they collected to support their writing. CHOICE Writing Task: Opinion W.3.1 WRITING Opinion E-RESOURCE Summative Assessment Review with students what makes a strong opinion piece. Students will work independently to write an opinion paragraph that tells which animal in the stories they thought was more clever. Guide them to use the planner on page 12 as they organize text evidence for their writing task. Students may wish to share their paragraphs. Now that you ve collected lots of evidence about how Anansi and the coyote solved their problems, let s write an opinion about which animal you think is more clever. These opinion pieces will answer the question: Which animal was more clever? Use details from both texts to plan your paragraph. Let s quickly review what makes a strong opinion piece before we get started. We need a clear statement of what we think, which is our opinion. Then we need to say why. Then we say what we think again. 8 AnaNsi the spider
CHOICE Additional Instruction Optional Guided Reading: Crafty Coyote Prior to Session 3, for students needing additional guidance, you may want to conduct a guided reading lesson with the short text, Crafty Coyote. Use the learning focuses from Sessions 1 and 2 to reinforce the standards and the learning. Today we will recount details from the text and illustrations and use them to figure out the central message of the story. We will also describe how parts of the story build on earlier parts. Think about key details in the text and illustrations and how parts build on each other as you read the text. CLOSE READING OPTION: LION AND MOUSE E-RESOURCE Summative Assessment Print the online blackline master for independent close reading. Ask students to read the selection indicated on the page and respond to the prompts (summarize author s message, identify critical vocabulary, respond to constructed response questions) before returning for a discussion. VOCabulary Use a Dictionary Discuss with students the word sensation on page 27. Guide students to use a digital dictionary to understand the meaning of the word. In this story, the narrator says that the coyote was enjoying the sensation of being carried. This might be the first time we have seen this word. We can look up the word sensation in a digital dictionary to find its meaning. Who can share how to find the word sensation in a digital dictionary? I look for a box to type in the word I want to find. I type the word and click on Go or Search. Yes. Would someone like to share the meaning of the word sensation using a digital dictionary? It means a feeling you get from one of your senses. Yes. Can someone share what sensation the coyote might be feeling? He is probably comfortable. Remember that when you read a word you don t know, you can look for its meaning in a digital dictionary. Word Recognition Suffixes Focus on the word tasty on page 27. Let s read the second paragraph on page 27. Who can share a word that has a suffix? The word tasty has a suffix. Can someone tell me what the suffix is in tasty? The suffix is -y. And what does that suffix mean? The suffix -y means having or being. Can someone share the base word? The base word is taste. Who would like to share what the word tasty means? It means having a good flavor. Could someone share what Iktomi is thinking about the coyote by using the word tasty? He thinks that the coyote will be a dinner that has a good flavor. RL.3.2, RL.3.5, RL.3.7 COMPREHENSION Central Message, Text Structure, and Illustrations RL.3.10 READING Independent L.3.4d VOCABULARY Use a Dictionary VOCABULARY TIP If students do not understand the meaning of a word or phrase, have them look for a definition in sentences around the unknown word or phrase. RF.3.3a WORD RECOGNITION Suffixes Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 9
Name Date Comprehension: Central Message or Lesson We can use key details to find the central message or lesson of a story. Write down important details about the characters and events from Anansi the Spider. Then use the details to tell about the central message or lesson in the story. Character/Event Important Details from Text What is the central message or lesson in this story? Mondo Publishing 10 AnaNsi the spider Score:
Name Date Collect Text Evidence Check the question you are responding to. Write details from the text that help you answer the question. Be sure to include page references. You may need more than one copy of this sheet. What steps did Anansi take to solve his problem? how did the coyote solve his problem? Details from Text Page Number Mondo Publishing Score: Mondo Bookshop Grade 3 11
Name Date Writing Task: Planning Your Opinion Use the chart below to plan an opinion paragraph that tells which animal in the stories you thought was the most clever. Use text evidence you have collected to support your writing. Character Clever Actions The most clever animal is because Write your opinion paragraph on a separate piece of paper or on a computer. Remember to read your writing when you are done and make any necessary revisions. Mondo Publishing Score: 12 AnaNsi the spider