LESSON 12 TEACHER S GUIDE Bettina and the Talent Show by Dale Lundberg Fountas-Pinnell Level M Realistic Fiction Selection Summary All the students in Bettina s class are excited about the talent show, except for Bettina. She doesn t think she has any kind of talent at all. But her teacher, Mr. Enrico, has an idea for her. The night of the big show, Bettina recites a poem in a clear and strong voice. Then, to her surprise, Bettina wins first place! Number of Words: 541 Characteristics of the Text Genre Realistic fi ction Text Structure Organized chronologically Problem presented on fi rst page Content Talent show at school Wide variety of talents described Themes and Ideas Typical childhood experiences and talents Speaking well in front of an audience is a talent. It can take courage to take risks. Language and Conversational language Literary Features Mostly third-person narrator, with some second person interior narration of thoughts: She was good at soccer. You couldn t play soccer at a talent show. Character s attributes shown by what she does, thinks, and says Sentence Complexity Split dialogue and questions in dialogue; Example: I will play the fl ute, he said. What will you do? Variety in sentence length, with some long and complex sentences; One day, Mr. Enrico told his students that they would be having a talent show. Vocabulary Some content-specifi c words introduced: karate, fl ute, fl at notes, poem, presentation Words Many two- to three-syllable words such as presentation, excitement, creative, sprinkled Illustrations Realistic illustrations of school life, such as a classroom, a school bus, and a stage Illustrations match and extend the text. Book and Print Features Twelve pages of text, illustrations on every page Captions under pictures provide information. 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-30704-6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Bettina and the Talent Show Dale Lundberg Build Background Help students use their experience with different kinds of talents to visualize the story. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What is a talent? What kinds of talents do you and your friends have? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that this story is realistic fiction, so the characters are going to act like real people. Introduce the Text Guide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions: Page 3: Explain that this is a story about a girl named Bettina. Her class is going to have a talent show and she must fi gure out what her talent is. Suggested language: Turn to page 3. Here is a picture of Bettina s teacher, Mr. Enrico, telling his class about the upcoming talent show. The kids in the class were ready to erupt in excitement. How do the students feel about the talent show? What about Bettina? Why do you think she is unhappy? Pages 4 5: Explain that Bettina and her best friend Alex are on the bus going home from school that day. They are talking about the talent show. Bettina admits that she can t think of a talent she has. Alex tries to help. He said: Don t worry, Bettina. We ll think of something. Why do you think Bettina is worried about the show? Page 7: Draw attention to the illustration on the page and explain that the children are practicing for the show in different ways. Which talent looks the most creative to you? Why? Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out what happens to Bettina at the talent show. Target Vocabulary certificate an official piece of paper that is given for an achievement charts forms that show information, p. 6 creative able to imagine new ideas, p. 7 educational an object or experience that teaches you something erupt burst suddenly, p. 3 impressive done with great skill presentation a description or performance, p. 12 report n. tell about something 2 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
Read Have students read Bettina and the Talent Show silently while you listen to individual students read. Support their problem solving and fluency as needed. Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy picture what is happening as they read. and use story details to Discuss and Revisit the Text Personal Response Invite students to share their personal responses to the book. Suggested language: How do you think Bettina felt after she was given the first place award? How would you feel? Ways of Thinking As you discuss the text, help students understand these points: Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text Bettina has to decide what to do for the talent show. She does not think she has any talents. Her teacher gives her an idea: to read aloud a poem. At the talent show, she is awarded first prize for her poem presentation. Talent can take many forms. Sometimes people need help to see themselves clearly. 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. The dialogue in the story sounds very realistic, the way children really sound. The ending is a surprise because Bettina wins first place. The author s attitude is that talent can take many forms and they are all of equal value. Choices For Further Support Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to act out. Remind them to pay attention to the punctuation of the split dialogue and to say the conversations as if the characters were really speaking. Comprehension Based on your observations of the students reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas. Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students that they can take apart words with common prefi xes or suffi xes to fi nd the base word. For example, the word excitement on page 3 has the base word excite and the suffi x ment. Ask students for other examples of words with the base word excite such as excited or exciting. 3 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
Writing About Reading Have students complete the questions on BLM 12.7. Responding Have students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill. Target Comprehension Skill Story Structure Remind students that they can think about a story character or a problem faced by the character by looking at what happens in the story. Model the skill, using this Think Aloud : Think Aloud Bettina has a problem. She doesn t think she has a talent, so what will she do at the class talent show? How does she solve her problem? Her teacher gives Bettina an idea. At the talent show, Bettina recites a poem. When she wins first prize, Bettina realizes that she had a talent all along! Practice the Skill Have students write two sentences telling what they learned about Bettina from what she does in the story. Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what the characters do and why they act as they do. Assessment Prompts In the last sentence in the dialogue on page 8, fi nd the word that means almost the same as idea. Tell one word that best describes Bettina. What is page 6 mainly about? 4 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
English Language Development Reading Support Give English learners a preview of the text by holding a brief small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire group. Idioms/Cognates Explain the meaning of the term sprinkled with some flat notes (page 11) making sure that students understand the meaning of the musical terminology. Also, you can mention the Spanish cognates for the following target vocabulary words: report/ reporte; presentation/ presentación; erupt/ erupcionar; educational/ educacional; certificate/ certificado; impressive/ impresionante; examined/ examinó. Oral Language Development Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student. Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced Speaker 1: What is the girl s name in the story? Speaker 2: Bettina Speaker 1: Where does the story take place? Speaker 2: at her school Speaker 1: What does Bettina have to do? Speaker 2: perform at the talent show Speaker 1: What is Bettina s talent? Speaker 2: Bettina reads a poem aloud. Speaker 1: What happens at the end of the talent show? Speaker 2: Bettina wins first place in the show. Speaker 1: Why does Bettina win first place at the talent show? Speaker 2: She wins first place because speaking well in front of a crowd is a real talent. Name Date Lesson 12 BLACKLINE MASTER 12.7 Read and answer the questions. 1. Think within the text What are some of the things Bettina is good at? Bettina and the Talent Show Possible response: Bettina is good at playing soccer and making charts. She s also good at reading. 2. Think within the text What kinds of talents do the other students at Bettina s school have? Possible response: Lisa can sing. Roger can dance, and Alex plays the flute. 3. Think beyond the text Do you think Bettina should have won the talent contest? Responses will vary. 4. Think about the text What is the main problem in the story and how does it move the plot along? Bettina doesn t know what she can do for the talent show. The plot shows her trying to find something she can do for the show. Making Connections Bettina in Bettina and the Talent Show reads a poem for the show. Think about a time when you had to perform in front of others. What did you do? How did people respond to you? Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook. Read directions to students.. All rights reserved. 9, Unit 3: Learning Lessons 5 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
Name Date Bettina and the Talent Show Thinking Beyond the Text Write a paragraph answering the following questions: On the last page of the story, Bettina wins first prize at the talent show for reading a poem aloud. Why do you think she was given this prize? Why didn t Bettina know that she had this talent? Use details from the story in your answer. 6 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
Name Read and answer the questions. Date Lesson 12 BLACKLINE MASTER 12.7 Bettina and the Talent Show 1. Think within the text What are some of the things Bettina is good at? 2. Think within the text What kinds of talents do the other students at Bettina s school have? 3. Think beyond the text Do you think Bettina should have won the talent contest? 4. Think about the text What is the main problem in the story and how does it move the plot along? Making Connections Bettina in Bettina and the Talent Show reads a poem for the show. Think about a time when you had to perform in front of others. What did you do? How did people respond to you? Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook. 7 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show
Student Date Bettina and the Talent Show LEVEL M Lesson 12 BLACKLINE MASTER 12.11 Bettina and the Talent Show Running Record Form page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections 8 Bettina went to talk to Mr. Enrico. He said, Hello, Bettina. What do you plan to do for the show? I don t think I have any talents, Bettina said. Well, I don t know about that, said Mr. Enrico. I have a plan. 9 At last, it was the night of the big show. Everyone was waiting for it to begin. Lisa Larken was first to go on. She was going to sing. 10 Lisa s song was very nice, but she forgot some of the words. Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/83 100) % Total Self- Corrections Behavior Code Error Read word correctly cat 0 Repeated word, sentence, or phrase Omission cat 0 cat 1 Behavior Code Error Substitution cut cat 1 Self-corrects cut sc cat Insertion the ˆcat 1 Word told T 1 cat 0 1414108 8 Lesson 12: Bettina and the Talent Show