LESSON 3 TEACHER S GUIDE by August Gaudino Fountas-Pinnell Level S Realistic Fiction Selection Summary The school board asks Mrs. Blaine s class to present a suggestion for improving the school. The class brainstorms ideas and votes for two: Yadira s idea for an after-school program and Robbie s idea to replace sports equipment. Then Alvin suggests a compromise that they all like, an after-school program featuring sports for little kids. Number of Words: 2,569 Characteristics of the Text Genre Realistic fi ction Text Structure Third-person narrative, told in chronological order Paragraphs of dialogue Content Safety issues from outdated sports equipment Working parents need for after-school programs for young children Themes and Ideas Brainstorming is an effective way to generate ideas. Help others when you have a chance. When a dispute reaches an impasse, try compromise. Language and Informal language and natural dialogue, including some slang Literary Features Characters revealed primarily through dialogue Descriptive details; similes Sentence Complexity A mix of simple and complex sentences, some fragments Many short sentences within dialogue Use of dashes; italics for emphasis Vocabulary Terms associated with school and school sports: school board, gym, cafeteria, fl oor hockey, basketball, mitts, laptop, hockey, puck, T-ball, four square Words Accessible vocabulary, many one-syllable and two-syllable words Colloquialisms: Get serious, yeah, OK, for real, cheesy, pretty cool, high-fi ves Illustrations Realistic color illustrations support the text Book and Print Features Seventeen pages of text, 11 with illustrations 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. 978-0-547-30869-2 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.
by August Gaudino Build Background Help students use their knowledge of making improvements to schools to visualize the selection. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: Suppose a genie offered to grant your class one wish for an improvement to your school. What would you wish for? What might your classmates wish for? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Explain that this book is realistic fiction. It is a present-day story that could take place in real life. 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 2: Call attention to the heading. Suggested language: The school board has challenged Mrs. Blaine s class to present a suggestion on how to improve the school. There will be multiple suggestions to discuss and debate. How will they reach a decision on which idea to choose? Page 4: Have students locate the word warehouse at the top of the page. One student thinks the cafeteria in his school looks like an old warehouse. What do you think he means? Describe how that cafeteria might look. Page 6: Page 6 shows Yadira at home talking to her mother. This scene must be an important to be part of the story. What might they be discussing? What do you think Yadira s mother might suggest? Pages 10 11: Point out the illustration of Robbie presenting his idea to the class on page 10 and Yadira presenting hers on page 11.Yadira feels a little shaken by Robbie s strong presentation. Describe what it feels like to lose a little of your confi dence, to feel shaken. Now turn back to the beginning and read to fi nd out what suggestions the students offer on how to improve the school and which suggestion turns out to be the winner. Target Vocabulary beckoned signaled with a movement of the hand, p. 8 debate a formal public discussion about an issue, p. 2 decorated had things added to make it more attractive, p. 4 gradually done slowly over a period of time, p. 14 hesitated paused before continuing, p. 10 inflated filled with air, p. 6 prodded encouraged, p. 5 scanned looked around quickly, p. 14 shaken upset, p. 11 stalled halted, p. 11 2 Lesson 3:
Read Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their understanding of the text as needed. Remind students to use the Infer/Predict Strategy to figure out what the author means or what might happen next. and to use text clues Discuss and Revisit the Text Personal Response Invite students to share their personal responses to the story. Suggested language: If you were in Mrs. Blaine s class, which idea would you have voted for? Why? 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 The class generated many ideas because Mrs. Blaine encouraged them to brainstorm and express their thoughts freely. Mrs. Blaine s class compromised and combined two good ideas into one better idea. The class voted against impractical suggestions and those that would just help their class. A school board is a group of people elected to manage a school or school system. Brainstorming freely can produce creative thinking. The class practiced principles of democracy as they came up with ideas, debated them, voted on them, and selected those that would benefit the most people. 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. The story s problem is presented immediately, in the second paragraph of the story. The story ends with an openended question, leaving it up to the reader to decide: Why couldn t there be two presenters? Dialogue is used to develop characters and advance the plot. Choices for Further Support Fluency Invite students to choose a passage of dialogue from the text to read aloud. Ask them to read the character s lines as a play, reading each speech as that character would say it. Or, assign parts to be read aloud by different students. 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 Remind students that prefi xes are added to base words and root words to modify their meanings. Ask them to identify the prefi xes in infl ated (p. 6) and defl ated (p.12) and explain their difference in meaning. Then have them analyze the prefi xed words mismatched (p. 8), discovered (p. 15), and replaced (p. 15). 3 Lesson 3:
Writing about Reading Have students complete the questions on BLM 3.8. Responding Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill. Target Comprehension Skill Compare and Contrast Remind students that when you compare two things, you tell how they are alike. When you contrast two things, you tell how they are different. Compare and contrast is a useful skill to use to analyze characters in a story. Characters may be alike in some ways but different in others. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a Think Aloud like the one below. Think Aloud The statement in the space for Both tells one way Yadira and Robbie are alike. What is one way they are different? Yadira wants an afterschool program. Robbie wants new sports equipment. List those statements in the spaces for Yadira and Robbie in the chart. Practice the Skill Have students share another example of a realistic fiction book in which they can compare and contrast characters. 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 their personal knowledge to reach new understandings. Assessment Prompts Which sentences from page 10 show that Robbie is popular at school? Robbie holds up a broken hockey stick and lopsided puck to show that. How is Yadira s idea different from Robbie s idea and from Alvin s idea? 4 Lesson 3:
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. Cultural Support Students may be not be familiar with some of the colloquial or figurative expressions in the story. Help them use context to figure out the meanings of back to earth (p. 2), started to fly (p. 3), cool (p. 5), ace that (p. 7), high-fives, cleared a frog from her throat (p.11), having a heart (p. 14), and sore loser (p. 16). 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 did Robbie want the school to get? Speaker 2: sports equipment Speaker 1: What did Yadira want for the school? Speaker 2: an after-school program Speaker 1: Why did Alvin want to combine Yadira s and Robbie s ideas? Speaker 2: They were both good ideas. Speaker 1: What did the school board request from Mrs. Blaine s class? Speaker 2: They asked the class to present an idea for how to improve the school. Speaker 1: Why didn t Mrs. Blaine say that Robbie s idea had won? Speaker 2: Both ideas were good, and Robbie s won by only one vote. Speaker 1: What were the arguments Yadira used in trying to convince the class to vote for her idea? Speaker 2: She pointed out that her idea would help kids and dozens of families who needed help the most, and that it was better to be known for having a heart, rather than having great floor hockey players. Name Date Lesson 3 BLACKLINE MASTER 3.8 Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown. 1. Think within the text How is Robbie briefly described in the text? He is a natural leader. 2. Think within the text What makes Yadira feel like a deflated balloon? The crowd doesn t respond the way she hopes. 3. Think beyond the text Compare and contrast Yadira s initial attitude toward her classmates ideas and her attitude later on. Initially, Yadira feels that she is the only one who takes the task seriously. Later, she realizes that it is okay to have fun, and that many of her classmates also need afterschool child care. 4. Think about the text Why does the author end the selection with Mrs. Blaine smiling instead of telling who would be presenting? Sometimes it is more interesting to have readers figure out an implied ending or to guess at one. Making Connections The fifth graders have a chance to improve something in their school. Write about an idea that you have to make your school better. Include the steps you would take to implement your plan. Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook.. All rights reserved. 10, Unit 1: School Spirit! 5 Lesson 3:
Name Date Thinking Beyond the Text Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs. Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings. Imagine that you are in charge of writing an ad to convince parents to enroll their children in the after-school program at Emerson School. What specific details would you use to inform parents about the program? How would this information convince parents to choose this program? Use examples from the story to support your answer. 6 Lesson 3:
Name Date Lesson 3 BLACKLINE MASTER 3.8 Read and answer the questions. 1. Think within the text How is Robbie briefly described in the text? 2. Think within the text What makes Yadira feel like a deflated balloon? 3. Think beyond the text Compare and contrast Yadira s initial attitude toward her classmates ideas and her attitude later on. 4. Think about the text Why does the author end the selection with Mrs. Blaine smiling instead of telling who would be presenting? Making Connections The fifth graders have a chance to improve something in their school. Write about an idea that you have to make your school better. Include the steps you would take to implement your plan. Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook. 7 Lesson 3:
Student Date Lesson 3 BLACKLINE MASTER 3.12 LEVEL S Running Record Form page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections 7 The next morning there were 16 new emails in Yadira s inbox, all applauding the idea. We re on to something, Yadira thought. She arrived at school early and told the other members of her group about the idea. At first, they were a little unsure. Reading is my worst subject! Hank complained. You can help little kids! Yadira nudged him as they walked into class. You can ace that. 8 Robbie and Ben had also gotten to school early. With the coach s permission, they sorted through boxes of sports equipment, trying to get a sense of what shape it was in. Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/99 100) % 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 0 Insertion the 1 Word told T 1 cat 1414283 8 Lesson 3: