FIFTH-GRADE READING INTERVENTION
Shannon McCarthy-Linn
B.A., California State University, Sonoma, 2008
PROJECT
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
EDUCATION
(Curriculum and Instruction)
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING
2011
FIFTH-GRADE READING INTERVENTION
A Project
by
Shannon McCarthy-Linn
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Elisa Michals, Ph.D.
Date
ii
Student: Shannon McCarthy-Linn
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the project.
, Associate Chair
Deirde B. Sessoms, Ph.D.
Date
Teacher Education Department
iii
Abstract
of
FIFTH-GRADE READING INTERVENTION
by
Shannon McCarthy-Linn
Statement of Problem
While working at Rancho Cordova Elementary school as an intervention teacher,
I found the curriculum provided did not engage students in the learning process. The
intervention group was for fifth-grade students below grade level. By adding
supplemental materials and creating new lessons, I was able to engage students and
improve their vocabulary and comprehension.
Sources of Data
Soar to Success had four books for which I created a curriculum instead of using
the provided curriculum.
Conclusions Reached
This curriculum works with fifth-grade students below grade level in reading
comprehension and vocabulary. Students participated in a four-week long intervention
class that met five days a week for 45 minutes. The students participated in engaging
lessons and were given comprehension strategies they could use even after the
intervention. To help students learn the new vocabulary, they were engaged in several
interactive activities that gave them the opportunity to learn the words in a safe
iv
environment. By the end of the intervention students gained new vocabulary and
comprehension skills that made them stronger students.
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Elisa Michals, Ph.D.
____________________________
Date
v
DEDICATION
To my parents, Godparents, and husband for always supporting me in furthering my
education.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi
Chapter
1. BACKGROUND OF PROJECT .....................................................................................1
Problem Statement ...................................................................................................5
Significance of Study ...............................................................................................6
Methodology ............................................................................................................6
Limitations ...............................................................................................................7
Definition of Terms..................................................................................................7
2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................9
Introduction ..............................................................................................................9
Vocabulary .............................................................................................................10
Comprehension ......................................................................................................15
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) ..............................................................................17
Vocabulary Instruction...........................................................................................20
Intervention ............................................................................................................22
Brain-based Learning .............................................................................................22
Cooperative Learning.............................................................................................31
3. METHOD ......................................................................................................................34
Project Design ........................................................................................................34
vii
Lesson Format ........................................................................................................34
4. REFLECTION...............................................................................................................37
Results ....................................................................................................................37
Reflection ...............................................................................................................37
Appendix. Fifth-Grade Reading Intervention: Vocabulary and Comprehension
Building Activities ...........................................................................................39
References ........................................................................................................................155
viii
1
Chapter 1
BACKGROUND OF PROJECT
Reading curriculum as found in most elementary classrooms today is a relatively
new type of instruction. In the last 300 years, curriculum has evolved from the use of
readers focused on subjects like the Bible to books that use reading to create a betterrounded person. The concept of teachers using specific strategies to effectively instruct
students is also a fairly new concept, beginning in the early 1900s. Considering how
new reading curriculum and teaching strategies for instruction are, it is crucial that we
further the evolution by questioning and refining the methods used in the classroom. By
reviewing the history of reading curriculum, we can better see how reading instruction
has developed and understand what changes still need to occur.
Since the first reading textbook in America was printed in 1685, reading
curriculum has developed greatly since then (Smith, 2002). In 1710, a significant
development occurred in reading. “The early speller combined in one book, alphabet,
primer, spelling and reading, and sometimes geography” (Reeder, 1900, p. 29). The
purpose of the spellers was to give correct and simple instruction for both reading and
writing (Smith, 2002). In 1744, another development occurred. The first book printed
for children, A Pretty Little Pocket Book, by John Newberry, was solely for pleasure
reading instead of instruction. The book included games and a positive moral character
for children to look up to as a role model (as cited in Shannon, 1989). It represented a
2
shift from prior philosophies, which focused less on moral character and more on
instilling the fear of God in children.
At that time, two competing methods, the Word method and the ABC method,
were the standard approaches used in curriculum development. The Word method
focused on comprehension by which students learned the words of a passage or text first
by seeing, hearing, and pronouncing them and having their meaning illustrated to them.
Later, students would learn about the letters that composed the words and how to
analyze them (Smith, 2002). The ABC method focused on students learning the
alphabet first and, after several months of practice, students would then begin to build
words with the letters (Smith, 2002). In the 1840s, graded readers, introduced to
accompany the new development of the new graded school system, focused on reading
to obtain information, and it used the word method to teach reading (Morrison, 1968;
Smith, 2002). Although the readers taught with the word method, the majority of
teachers continued with the ABC method. The word method was considered new and
progressive whereas the ABC method had years of support behind it (Smith, 2002). It
appeared to be a time of debate where reading instruction was either the word method or
ABC method. From 1880 to 1920, publishers started to print teaching guides and
supplemental materials were introduced for reading.
Another development during the time was a change in philosophy. Teachers
tried to instill an appreciation for good literature. Beginning readers shifted from
offering morals towards informative texts compiled from literature selections. No
3
longer were reading skills developed solely for the purpose of reading the Bible, but
were now a way to inform children of the world they lived in and make them more wellrounded people. This was a time of great debate as to which method of reading
instruction, the Word or ABC method was best for student learning and was similar to
the reading wars that occurred in the 1970s.
From 1910 to 1924, research into effective teaching strategies began. Over 400
investigations related to reading were performed during this time period, which is
staggering when considering that prior to 1910, only 34 investigations in reading had
been recorded in the English language (Smith, 2002). The research led to the shift away
from oral to silent reading because it was determined that when children read silently
they understand the meaning of the text more clearly. A shift in strategy to silent
reading meant an increase in the number of textbooks focusing on building students’
silent reading speed. Another strategy used in readers was to incorporate directions at
the beginning of the text. The directions would help guide the student to an
understanding of the subject. A typical example is, “Read this selection and then find
the answers to these questions” (Smith, 2002). With explicit directions provided, the
need for teachers to explain the directions diminished and students were able to be more
independent. A third strategy, phonics, started in the 1920s to help students who
struggled with reading. At that time, students were often grouped by their ability levels
without regard to age. In 1925, John Dewey published Interest and Effort in Education
and Schools of Tomorrow. Dewey recommended that children not learn to read until
4
eight years old. Thus, the idea of reading readiness, which meant not teaching students
to read until they are ready, emerged.
From 1935 to 1950, reading techniques were a primary focus of reading
instruction. Teachers used “context clues” and “structural analysis” to instruct (Smith,
2002). Context clues are still an important ingredient of today’s reading curriculum.
From 1950 to 1965 the challenge of Sputnik not only benefited our space program but
also caused both President Kennedy and President Johnson to invest heavily in
education. This renewed interest in the importance of education in general fostered the
birth of a new generation of books especially to help parents encourage their children to
read.
During the 1970s and the 1980s, the “literacy wars” converged in regard to the
effectiveness of the whole language and phonics approach to reading instruction. The
phonics approach to reading instruction had been the predominate method of reading
instruction; it was associated with students sitting their desks and doing drills to
memorize the alphabet and letter sounds. The whole language approach was introduced
as an alternative to phonics instruction. The whole language approach is based on the
concept that children learn to talk by being surrounded by language; thus, to learn
reading, children need to be surrounded by print (Hoff, 2005). The whole language
approach is dependent upon surrounding children with literature that is engaging and
interesting to them. With curriculum for elementary schools being selected by the
boards of education, it became a political debate of which teaching method to
5
implement. The phonics approach was considered a conservative approach and was
popular among board members, whereas the whole language approach was considered to
be a liberal method of reading instruction. Thus, the reading wars that occurred in the
1840s repeated themselves more than 100 years later.
The evolution of reading instruction continues today as we leverage what we
have learned through experience as the catalyst for more changes. For Example, No
Child Left Behind requires schools to use reading programs that employ scientifically
based methods for reading instruction. In the past several centuries, reading instruction
has taken enormous strides. Many of the strategies incorporated in today’s reading
curriculum were just recently discovered. The development of reading instruction
continues to occur at a rapid pace. Despite the experimentation and application of a
variety of methods and techniques over the years, it is clear that we are far from
finished.
Problem Statement
During the 2009-2010 school year, I held a position as Intervention teacher at
Rancho Cordova Elementary school. My assignment was to implement a reading
intervention program for a group of fifth grade students. The program used several
books and the activities provided with the books from a program called Soar to Success.
The problem was that even though the Soar to Success curriculum does apply reading
strategies to build student comprehension, it does so through the use of rather bland
worksheets. While the worksheets do focus on building individual reading skills, they
6
do not engage the students in a meaningful and thoughtful way. This led me to create
and implement alternative lessons and enrichment activities that were very successful
and that the students enjoyed. More important, however, is that the lessons I
implemented became a template other teachers can now easily use to create their own
successful intervention lessons.
Significance of Study
The context for this project is the creation of curriculum that targets fifth grade
reading intervention. The curriculum is intended to build student vocabulary and
develop reading comprehension through interactive activities that will have them view
the text through a variety of windows. When applied effectively, the curriculum helps
foster a love for reading. There is a direct correlation between success in reading,
literacy, and the ability to become a responsible, productive member of society.
Methodology
The reading curriculum I created is designed for use as a small-group reading
intervention program. The program could be used in an after-school setting or small
group instruction during the regular school day. The students should be selected for this
program by using benchmark test results, oral reading passage comprehension questions,
and teacher recommendation. This intervention runs for four weeks and includes time to
assess the student’s progress after each book. In any given fifth grade classroom,
student reading skill levels will vary. I recommend students first be grouped based on
their reading level and their comprehension ability. Consistent application of this
7
methodology and the curriculum I developed yields students who are engaged with the
material and a significant improvement in reading comprehension and vocabulary. The
curriculum will present four stories that provide students with a better understanding of
different writing genres. The stories they will be reading are Mountain Gorillas in
Danger, Where Does Garbage Go?, Going Home, and The Boy of the Three-Year Nap.
These stories look at the following genres: expository, realistic fiction, and traditional
fiction. Each story will be examined while students participate in activities that build
their understanding of the story.
Limitations
Since this curriculum is designed to cover four weeks and is covering four
stories, there are many limitations. First, the curriculum does not last the entire school
year. Because this four-week plan is flexible and teachers can use many of the same
activities with other books, this limitation is also an advantage. The plan allows a
teacher to use the four-week reading intervention repeatedly throughout an entire school
year. Another limitation of this curriculum is that it is specific to these four stories, but
again a teacher could use the same activities with other stories.
Definition of Terms
ABC method
Children first learn letter names and letter sounds then learn to read
8
Basal Readers
Reading instruction books based on students reading readiness; lesson builds on
each other
Context clues
Using pictures or the use of a word in a sentence to illustrate word meaning; used
to determine the meaning of the text
Graded Readers
Used for reading instruction, uses the word method to teach students how to read
Phonics
Correlating a letter with a specific sound; used to teach reading
Reading readiness
The idea that children at a certain age will be mentally ready to learn to read
Structural analysis
Looking how a word is used in a sentence to determine it’s meaning
Whole language instruction
Children select their own reading material and build their word recognition
Word method
Teaching reading by building word recognition
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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Reading comprehension and vocabulary are the focus of the developed reading
intervention curriculum. Exploring the importance of vocabulary and the various
strategies to teach it will be discussed. When teaching reading, it is common for
teachers to focus on both the vocabulary and comprehension, these two topics have a
strong connection. In this literature review, the connection between vocabulary and
comprehension will be discussed along with effective strategies to teach reading
comprehension.
Besides the strategies teachers implement in the classroom, policies put into
place by lawmakers have a strong effect on education. No Child Left Behind (2002) is a
policy that has had a strong influence on teaching and, specifically, the instruction of
reading. To help students who struggle with reading, teachers implement interventions.
By grouping students by their ability levels, teachers can target their reading lessons to
better build students’ reading skills. In these interventions, strategies such as brain
based learning and co-operative learning become a crucial aspect of success. Teachers
need their lessons to be brain-friendly, but they also need to build a classroom
community in which students feel safe to take risks, thus employing strategies of cooperative learning. All of these topics have a huge influence on the success of the given
reading instruction. Exploring these topics in depth will better explain how best to teach
10
a reading intervention program that successfully engages students and equips them with
the necessary tools to becoming lifelong readers.
Vocabulary
Why is Vocabulary Important?
Vocabulary development is a crucial aspect of reading comprehension, students
need to be able to identify and understand the words they are reading. “Unfortunately,
illiterate adults account for more than 75% of unemployed Americans. In addition, 85%
of adjudicated juveniles, 60% of incarcerated individuals, and nearly 40% of minority
youth are functionally illiterate” (Maynard, Pullen, & Coyne, 2003, p. 209). The need
for reading intervention is clear when reading Maynard et al.’s words. For students to
be proficient in all subjects, they need to be able to read. Educating students and
intervening when extra support is needed is crucial because illiterate children turn into
illiterate adults. As adults, there are many reasons why reading is a crucial skill. For
example, making an educated vote, performing well at a job, and being able to take care
of oneself are dependent on capable reading skills. Making reading intervention a
priority and decreasing the number of illiterate students will decrease the number of
illiterate adults. With a decreased number of illiterate adults, the number of unemployed
Americans would go down, since they would be able to perform the available jobs. To
decrease illiterate individuals we need to have reading intervention that focuses on
vocabulary and comprehension skills.
11
Biemiller and Slonin (2001) demonstrated that about 95% of students can read
more words than they can define or explain, thus indicating the importance of
early vocabulary development. In order to comprehend text, students require
both fluent word recognition skills (i.e., decoding) and an average or greater
vocabulary. (Maynard et al., 2003, p. 210)
Building students’ vocabulary will allow them to read more. Building
recognition skill will help to build a more fluent reader. Having a strong vocabulary
from an early age will help students be able to understand what they are reading. Giving
students a strong vocabulary will help them comprehend what they are reading. For
students to understand what they are reading, they must have a strong vocabulary
(Maynard et al., 2003). Vocabulary and comprehension have a strong connection;
students need a foundation in both to be successful readers. Vocabulary knowledge is a
large portion of the reading process. Increasing a student’s vocabulary will increase the
number of reading materials they can read and comprehend.
Consequently, vocabulary knowledge is critical to the reading process.
Scarborough (1998, 2001) demonstrated that developed vocabulary size in
kindergarten is an effective predictor of reading comprehension in the middle
elementary years. In addition, orally tested vocabulary at the end of first grade is
a significant predictor of reading comprehension 10 years later (Cunningham &
Stanovich, 1997). Finally, children with restricted vocabulary in third grade have
12
declining comprehension scores in later elementary years. (Maynard et al., 2003,
p. 210)
Intervening with both vocabulary and comprehension together will increase a
student’s ability to read. It is clear that the earlier students build a strong vocabulary, the
better reading comprehension they will have. Vocabulary is a large portion of reading
and reading comprehension. By teaching fifth graders skills to acquire vocabulary, the
number of illiterate adults will decrease over time.
Vocabulary Assessment
Knowing that vocabulary is an important part of reading and reading
comprehension, it is important we look at how to assess vocabulary. “Often vocabulary
is assessed at the end of a unit using a multiple-choice task, a fill-in-the-blank task or
matching task. These modes of vocabulary assessment are shallow metrics of possible
word knowledge” (Dougherty Stahl & Bravo, 2010, p. 566). A multiple-choice task, a
fill-in-the blank task, or matching tasks is a common source of assessment for students
when it comes to vocabulary. Those assessment tasks show a very basic understanding
of a student’s knowledge of vocabulary.
In Contemporary Classroom Vocabulary Assessment for Content Area
(Dougherty Stahl & Bravo, 2000), Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) is discussed as
an alternative for vocabulary assessment. The VKS is an assessment on which students
rate how well they know a word before they begin working with it. Using the VKS
assessments allows students to self-report how well they know a word before they begin
13
working with it. The VKS model uses a five-point scale model to have students identify
their familiarity with a word (Dougherty Stahl & Bravo, 2010). Using the VKS model
allows the teacher to learn the student’s background knowledge before doing direct
instruction of the vocabulary.
Another assessment discussed is Vocabulary Assessment Magazine (VAM).
VAM consists of two sections. The first section has students read passages and answer
open-ended questions connected to the passage. The second portion of the test consists
of students drawing a picture and labeling a picture related to a science term (Stahl &
Bravo, 2010). This form of assessment would be an applicable way to assess students’
understanding of certain words.
The third form of assessment discussed in Contemporary Classroom Vocabulary
Assessment for Content Area is the Vocabulary Recognition Task (VRT). VRT is a
yes/no task on which students self-report their recognition of the vocabulary words. In
this assessment, a list of 25 words is presented to the students and only 18 of the words
were related to the content area. Students then have to place those words into a graphic
organizer. Students are discouraged from guessing because it will lower their score
(Dougherty Stahl & Bravo, 2010). Using this model for vocabulary assessment,
students have to identify as well as organize the vocabulary words, which show an
ability to connect multiple words to a single concept.
The above three assessments each show a different aspect of vocabulary
acquisition. The VKS shows students’ background knowledge before they start learning
14
the vocabulary. The VAM shows students’ understanding after they have learned the
vocabulary words and illustrates their understanding of what they learned. The VRT
shows students’ ability to connect the vocabulary words and put the entire concept
together. These assessments can be adapted for various content areas, which make them
part of an ideal vocabulary assessment program for teachers to learn. Adapting the
assessments to work for the reading intervention teachers will be able to see a new
alternative to vocabulary assessment.
Connection Between Comprehension and Vocabulary
Vocabulary and reading comprehension have a strong connection. For students
to be able to understand what they are reading, they need to have a strong vocabulary. If
they are reading material with too many words that are unknown to them, their
understanding of the material will be inaccurate. By teaching vocabulary, we can
increase comprehension of text if the instruction of vocabulary provided builds
meaningful association to the student’s existing knowledge (Mckeown, Beck, & Blake,
2009). In other words, when we do teach vocabulary, we need to connect the new
material with a student’s prior knowledge. By making connections to students’ prior
knowledge, the chance is increased that they will have a better opportunity to learn the
information and use it.
Anderson and Freebody (1981) discuss three types of links between vocabulary
knowledge and comprehension: (a) instrumental (i.e., knowing more words
makes you a better reader), (b) knowledge (i.e., prior knowledge; one's stored
15
concepts and relation-ships among them drive comprehension), and (c) aptitude
and abilities (i.e., the ability to make inferences and have a common set of
abilities; metalinguistic skills). (Maynard, Pullen & Coyne, 2003, p. 210)
Having an intervention that focuses on both vocabulary and reading comprehension
gives students the necessary tools to be successful readers. Teaching students skills to
acquire vocabulary and check their comprehension while reading will encourage them to
become stronger readers.
Comprehension
Teaching Strategies
Reading comprehension is a crucial aspect of reading. Being able to understand
what you are reading, make inferences, and question the material are all tools that
students will use over and over again. Teaching them these strategies and how to selfreport on their reading comprehension can make them stronger readers. Some specific
strategies that have been proven to build students’ comprehension are summarizing,
questioning, clarifying, and predicting (Mckeown et al., 2009). McKeown et al. (2009)
discuss that, in addition to teaching those skills, there is a benefit to teaching students to
evaluate, plan, and regulate. Teaching students to evaluate, plan, and regulate
encourages self-monitoring while they are reading. Giving students the skills to
summarize, question, clarify, predict, evaluate, plan, and regulate will help students
build a strong foundation of comprehension skills.
16
According to the National Reading Panel (NRP) report, the National Institute of
Child’s Health and Human Development (NICHHD, 2000) found that there are seven
strategies that have been proven to improve comprehension (as cited in McKeown et al.,
2009). The strategies they found were comprehension monitoring, cooperative learning,
creating graphic and semantic organizers, question answering, question generation, story
structure, and summarization (McKeown et al., 2009). The findings of the NICHHD
have some strategies that can easily be facilitated by the teacher and others students need
to learn and use themselves.
It is easy for teachers to facilitate the use of graphic organizers and story
structure analysis. To facilitate students’ use of monitoring, question answering,
generating questions, and summarization, it is ideal to have them take these on as jobs
while reading in a small group. The skills work together to help students build a strong
understanding of the text they read. Having students working to build such skills
requires students to be actively engaged with the reading. In a small group setting, it is
ideal to give students each one of the skills to focus on. Focusing on one skill at a time
lets students feel comfortable with that skill and allows the teacher to see how well
students are doing with the skills. McKeown et al. (2009) emphasize the importance of
explicit instruction of the strategies as well as direct explanation of them for students to
understand how to use the skills. “Studies by Watts and Anderson (1971) and Rothkopf
(1966, 1972) suggested that when students respond to questions during reading, their
understanding of the text is stronger than it is if they simply read the text” (McKeown et
17
al., 2009, p. 44). Giving students the tools for working with the text while they are
reading will help them have a stronger understanding of the reading. Taking the skills
that have been discussed and teaching students to use those skills while they are reading
will make them better equipped to read and understand the reading.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Background Knowledge and Improvements Resulting from NCLB
President Bush signed No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as a law January 8, 2002.
The goals of NCLB were to decrease the achievement gap by race, class, first language,
and learning abilities. All children were to reach academic proficiency in reading and
math by 2014. Each state sets its own proficiency benchmark, which makes it difficult
to look at information on a national level (Price, 2010). With the passage of NCLB,
many schools have felt the pressure to emphasize math and English. NCLB has resulted
in some improvements. Math scores on average have improved and the gap between
African American and White students has slowly converged (Price, 2010). There has
also been a great deal of improvement with primary grades overall, whereas secondary
schools have seen little improvement (Price, 2010). Less progress has been seen for
disadvantaged students such as Latinos, limited English proficient students, and students
of American Indian ancestry (Price, 2010).
With the passage of NCLB, reading research was brought to the forefront of
education (Price, 2010). This is a logical move since proficiency was expected for all
18
students in both math and English. It was clear that answers needed to be found as to
why students were not proficient readers.
For NCLB to be successful, schools must empower students with the necessary
tools to become proficient in math and reading. When looking at teachers, it has come
down to teacher quality versus teacher experience. Looking at quality of teacher
experience is a larger factor (Price, 2010). Another factor that determines a school’s
success is the principal’s ability to empower teachers, staff, and students’ families to be
successful and support students (Price, 2010). NCLB has changed the classrooms and
how schools operate. There is a sense of urgency when looking at math and English for
primary through secondary school.
NCLB Issues
NCLB has forced schools to focus on facts not teaching students to think
(Gallaher, 2010). According to a 2006 report on adolescents literacy by National
Council of Teachers English shows that U.S. students’ lack reading proficiency and have
a general disinclination to read (Gallagher, 2010). The 2004 National Assessment of
Educational Progress found that secondary school students are reading at a below grade
level standards (Gallagher, 2010). “In addition The Alliance for Excellent Education
points out that of 8.7 million secondary students-one in four-are unable to read and
comprehend the material in their textbook” (Gallagher, 2010, p. 37). “The 2005 ACT
College Readiness Benchmark for Reading found that only one-half of the students
tested were ready for college-level reading. Reading scores were the lowest in a
19
decade”(Gallagher, 2010, p. 37). Looking at those statistics it is clear that there is a large
issue with the way we are teaching reading and encouraging reading. Students are rarely
inclined to pick a book even for pleasure. As students are getting ready to go off to
college they are underprepared to encounter the reading that will be required of them.
According to Gallagher (2010) there are four contributing factors that have
influenced those statistics, schools value test takers, schools are limiting authentic
reading experiences, schools are over teaching books, and teachers are under teaching
books. Valuing test takers more than the development of readers; teachers are teaching
too many standards and not going in depth with them (Gallagher, 2010). Students are
being asked to complete worksheets and assignments out of textbooks instead of having
them read the newspaper or having them engage in a real-world critical reading
(Gallagher, 2010). Teachers are over teaching the books by teaching too many
standards at a time, forcing them into great pieces of literature, which then makes it
impossible for students to enjoy the books (Gallagher, 2010). On the other hand with
other books they are just giving the books to students and saying read it with no
guidance, in that respect teachers are under teaching books (Gallagher, 2010). Gallagher
does bring up some strong points that are true about the education system today and how
English is taught. Students are overly prepared for the tests and it is not uncommon for
teachers to be teaching to the test, not to mention the time that is taken by taking the
tests. It is also very common for students to be completing practice book upon practice
book of pages. Although these pages can be useful and help students to better
20
understand what they are reading when piled upon each other they become monotonous
and loose their effectiveness. As with the over and under teaching of books, there is a
great deal of truth there, teachers are required to cover a lot of standards in a short
amount of time. Many districts have implemented pacing guides to ensure all the
standards are covered by the end of the year. If a teacher stops to take more time a
specific standard or story it is likely that she/he will fall behind on the pacing guide. So
many standards are covered that it seems to be impossible to teach them in depth. From
Gallagher’s article it is clear that we need to put tests on the back burner and start
focusing on teaching students in a more engaging way that builds their enjoyment of
reading. Schools need to shift the focus away from the tests and towards making life
long readers.
Vocabulary Instruction
How to Teach Vocabulary?
Explicit instruction is beneficial for students, especially when teaching
vocabulary because students become equipped with the necessary skills to learn the
word. According to Maynard et al. (2003), interventions that focus on explicit
instruction of vocabulary through shared storybooks have been shown to be effective. In
addition to explicit instruction, students need to be provided with scaffold instruction,
multiple opportunities for practice and feedback, and opportunities for them to be
exposed to multiple contexts of vocabulary words (Maynard et al., 2003). Adding the
above elements to vocabulary instruction help students learn the words carefully, then
21
explore the words during practice activities. Giving high quality feedback on students’
practice book pages is crucial to ensuring students have a strong understanding of the
words. Giving students explicit instruction that is scaffolded and then followed up with
some form of independent application is crucial to ensuring that students know how to
properly apply the vocabulary words.
In addition to using explicit instruction, students also need other forms of
instruction to truly master vocabulary. Teaching students how to recognize and analyze
word parts will help engage students as well as serve to make their understanding of the
text more comprehensible (Van Keer & Varharghe, 2005). Equipping students with the
tools to recognize and analyze words will expand their vocabulary, help them
understand the relationships between new and existing words, and eventually help them
learn the meanings of new words (Van Keer & Varharghe, 2005).
In conclusion, Maynard et al. (2003) summarize it best by saying that to decrease
the gap between good and poor readers, teachers need to explicitly teach vocabulary
words, use rich vocabulary instruction that engages students, directly teach complex
words, and repeatedly use oral readings that include substantial explanations of the
words. By implementing such strategies, students will be able to clearly follow the
instruction and learn the skills necessary to break words down. Students need to be
exposed to the words as frequently as possible and in as many contexts as possible. The
more students see the words, the more familiar they will become with them and the more
their vocabularies will expand.
22
Intervention
Response to Intervention (RTI)
Response to Intervention (RTI) is the idea of structuring instruction to meet the
different ability levels in a given classroom and make the most of the available
instructional time (Sansosti, Notlemeyer, & Goss, 2010). RTI is a program developed to
ensure that all levels of learners were being instructed in any given classroom. With the
implementation of RTI, teachers group their students based on the their ability levels.
By grouping students by their ability level, teachers are able to target lessons to the skills
that students are either lacking or are weak in. “Recent data have suggested that RTI
approaches not only prevent academic failure, but also improve academic outcomes for
students” (Sansosti et al., 2005). With the implementation of RTI, students are receiving
the individualized instruction so they can become successful academically.
Brain-based Learning
Background of Brain-based Learning
Recently, there have been more and more studies on how our brains work when
we are learning. The studies shed new light on effective teaching methods that engage
students in the learning process. According to Wilmes et al. (2008), “heredity provides
30-60 percent of our brain while 40-70 percent is due to environmental factors” (p. 659).
Teachers have the opportunity to mold 40-70% of students’ brains. By engaging
students in the learning process and making a classroom as brain-friendly as possible,
students will have a better chance at understanding information.
23
How the Brain Works
Students come to school and are required to learn the information presented.
Understanding how that information gets absorbed and stored will better help teachers to
engage students in the lessons. Information comes in the thalamus, which is located in
the middle of the brain. The thalmus filters the information that is received and. discards
unnecessary information and sends the rest on to be further processed. The thalamus
sends the information to the amygdala, a small almond shaped cluster of nuclei, which
controls the emotional response to learning (Kennedy, 2006). If the information
survives this journey, it is then sent to the frontal cerebral cortex, which is where the
brain begins to understand and process information. If the information is considered
meaningful, it is stored in a specific location of the cerebral cortex. The hippocampus is
the part of the brain capable of creating new neuronal connections. By understanding
how the brain works and how best to attract students to new information educators can
better tailor their lessons.
Where Language is Processed
The two hemispheres of the brain are connected by the corpus callosum. As the
brain develops, it is the corpus callosum that is responsible for transferring information
from one hemisphere to the other. When reading words, the left eye will see the word
and so the right hemisphere will send the information to the left hemisphere so that it
can be processed by the language centers (Kennedy, 2006). It is necessary that both
hemispheres work together for learning to occur.
24
Language information is generally processed on the left side of the brain. Within
that, there are several areas that have information related to language. Language is
unique in that it can move from different cells on opposite sides of the brain when
needed, unlike vision or touch, which stay in specific areas of the brain (Stenklyft,
2010). Children who have normal language abilities have a lopsided brain; the left side
is bigger than the right since that is where the information is being processed (Stenklyft,
2010). Children who have a language disorder have a balanced brain. Language itself is
broken into two categories, grammar and words. Each is stored in different parts of the
brain and is developed at different times (Wasserman, 2007). More specifically, Broca’s
area is in the left frontal lobe of the brain and is used for creating speech sounds
(Kennedy, 2006). Wernicke’s area is known for forming meaning from words and
creating sentences, it is located in the left temporal lobe (Kennedy, 2006). Working
together these two areas of the brain are both needed to bring a sentence together.
Language and Early Child Development
Talking to infants is a large part of furthering their mental development. Babies
whose mothers talked to them had a bigger vocabulary. A 20-month baby knew 131
more words than a baby whose mother spoke less often (Stenklyft, 2010). A study
performed in Kansas City consisted of 43 families. The study looked at the connection
between the amount of time to which children were spoken and their IQ scores. The
study found that children who were spoken to often had a much higher IQ score (150
versus 75) (as cited in Stenklyft, 2010). The gains seen in the babies remained stable at
25
the age of nine. The findings also showed the parents who talk to their babies and
children tended to praise accomplishments more, give responses to questions, share
guidance (as opposed to commands), and use many different words in various
combinations (Stenklyft, 2010). The importance of talking to an infant and to children is
clear from the studies. When a child is developing, it is crucial the child is exposed to a
wide vocabulary.
An example of the importance of talking to infants come from the findings of a
Chinese two-year-old girl who was to be adopted by a family in the United States. For
bureaucratic reasons, the adoption got held up for a year. During that year the young
girl stayed at the orphanage. The staff at the orphanage did not interact or talk to the
little girl very much because they knew she was leaving. A year later the little girl
arrived in the United States to her new parents. The parents had learned basic Chinese
to help her transition, but the little girl did not respond to their Chinese. After meeting
with doctors, it was decided she was unable to make the necessary synaptic connections
that commonly form for infants. Since she did not have many interactions, the parts of
her brain delegated to language were not properly developed. She is slowly gaining the
skills to communicate and has made use of sign language and a language board
(Wasserman, 2007). Although this is not a common case, it does show the importance
of language to infants and how crucial it is to expose children to a wide vocabulary from
an early age.
26
Making Your Classroom Brain-friendly
To make a classroom brain-friendly one needs to become aware of all senses.
Moving around the room and alternating distances between students is beneficial. In
addition to walking around the room while speaking, use other visuals aides such as
displays to show content, authentic objects related to the topic, color coding student
materials, and occasionally turning the lights off for introspection (Wilmes et al., 2008).
Creating a welcoming classroom that invites students to learn is also a key part of brainbased learning. Bright colors increase creativity as well as energy, while dark colors
decrease stress and evoke feelings of peacefulness. Specific colors, yellow, light orange,
beige, and off-white, are ideal for learning because they appear to elicit positive feelings
(Wilmes et al., 2008).
A classroom that encourages students to feel positive and be creative is a great
atmosphere in which students can learn. In addition to having a colorful room that
encourages learning, students’ sense of smell also can affect their brain. “Certain
aromas are linked to increased performance. Peppermint and lemon scents are known to
energize…Vanilla, chamomile and pine are great for performance jitters before tests to
create a relaxing atmosphere” (Wilmes et al., 2008, p. 664). Research has also shown
that having the same scent present on the day of an assessment as when concepts were
introduced, students do better on the test. The rationale behind this is that there is a
connection between memory and scent. Having the same scent present evokes the
memory of what was being taught on that same day.
27
Brain Conclusion
Brain research has taken off over the past decade. With new technology being
created, scientists are able to get a better sense of how the brain works. For educators, it
is an exciting time. With more information on how the brain works, teachers can know
about how best to teach students, finding ways to help students store the information
being taught. By making information meaningful to students (and by relating it to their
own lives) students’ brains will be more likely to process the information. As
previously discussed, enriched experiences increase neural growth. By introducing
information in a rich way, such as through games, students’ brains will be more likely to
process the information and then store it in the cerebral cortex. It is crucial the
information presented makes it to the cerebral cortex so the information can be stored
and retrieved when needed later.
The curriculum that has been created gives students several opportunities to learn
the new vocabulary. Reviewing vocabulary with students on several occasions is a key
way to make learning vocabulary more brain-friendly. This gives students several
opportunities to absorb the information and become more familiar with the new
information. Once the vocabulary is introduced, students have several occasions in
which to interact with the new words using various activities. By working with the
vocabulary throughout the week, students will have a better chance of expanding their
vocabulary and enhancing their abilities to read. Students not only get to interact with
the vocabulary words for several occasions, but they also interact with each other.
28
Hearing their classmates use the vocabulary words in different ways also benefits
students and helps them better understand the words. The curriculum also introduces the
vocabulary in fun ways. Students get to interact with words on several different
occasions and while they engage in various activities.
A great deal of research has shown the importance of developing vocabulary
early on with infants (Stenklyft, 2010). From the research previously discussed, it is
clear that exposing infants to a vast vocabulary is crucial for increased brain
development. By exposing infants to a vast vocabulary, their left brain will begin to
process the information and build their vocabulary early on. The more words to which
infants are exposed, the more they will be familiar with words when they begin to read.
Looking at the case of the adopted Chinese girl brings new light to the importance of
interacting with babies on a verbal level. By not hearing conversations or being spoken
to frequently for a year her brain redirected the parts of itself dedicated to language.
When she came to the United States, she was unable to verbally communicate with her
new parents because she had not heard how to converse. Conversing with an infant or
child has a large impact on their language development. As educators, it is important to
encourage parents and caregivers to expose infants to as much vocabulary as possible.
In addition to encouraging parents and caregivers, teachers should also interact with
students as much as possible. The responsibility of exposing children to a wide
vocabulary falls on teachers as well as parents.
29
Building vocabulary for infants and children will enable them to become more
fluent readers. Having a strong vocabulary increases students’ abilities to comprehend
the material they are reading. Working together, parents or caregivers and teachers can
help children learn new words. With their expanded vocabulary, they will be more
successful in comprehending the material they read. In the classroom, teachers need to
create enriched experiences for students because such experiences increase the amount
of neural growth, as do learning experiences with greater stimulation (Kennedy, 2006).
Additionally, students’ learning is affected by their emotional and physical well-being,
so as a teacher, it is important to nurture students and care for each individual. The
created curriculum will help to increase students’ fluency by building their vocabulary.
The brain research has influenced the lessons. In the curriculum, students play various
interactive games that require them to move around the classroom as well as interact
with each other. By moving around and working on vocabulary, students are using both
sides of their brains. Students also create movements to help remember the new
vocabulary and its meaning. This is helpful for recalling the information for which they
not only have the verbal memory, but also the physical. By engaging both sides of the
brain, students have a better chance of remembering the new vocabulary.
Studies for Movement and Language
Knowing how the brain works and the most effective way for students to acquire
new information is key for any teacher. The relationship between movement and
language has been closely examined. A school district in Massachusetts increased
30
physical education time for students to study its affect on student’s Math and Language
Arts test scores. Three hundred and eleven students participated in the two month long
study. The findings were that students who received more physical education time had
an improved score on the Language Arts assessment (Tremarche, Robinson, & Graham,
2007).
Movement and language have a strong connection. Although, increasing the
physical education time for students did not influence student’s results in Math there
was an impact on Language Arts scores. There is a clear connection between Language
Arts and the amount of time students spend in physical education classes. By physically
engaging students while they are learning new vocabulary they will have a stronger
connection to the new words. In Understanding a Brain Based Approach to Learning
and Teaching the concept of learning through movement is further supported. The
article states, “Vocabulary can be ‘experienced’ through skits…Success depends on
making use of all the senses by immersing the learner in a multitude of complex and
interactive experiences” (Caine & Caine, 1990, p. 69). Caine and Caine suggest using
this information and having students be physically active while they are becoming
familiar with new words. Having students create skits or even act out the vocabulary
words will increase their understanding of the vocabulary words. Students will not only
have the memory of speaking the new word, but also acting it out in a physical motion.
Eric Jensen is known for his work with brain-based learning. He has studied the
science between brain-based learning and has seen the connection between learning and
31
movement. In Brain Based Learning: The new paradigm of teaching, Jensen states,
“Amazingly, this part of the brain [cerebellum], which processes balance, posture, and
movement, is the same part that processes much of our learning too…Research suggest a
strong connection between motor and cognitive processes” (Jensen, 2008, p. 16). The
cerebellum is the part of the brain that is in charge of motor control, but is also know for
some cognitive processing. It is clear that there is a connection between movement and
learning and by tapping into knowledge student’s can learn the greatest amount of
information. Engaging students’ minds and bodies at the same time optimizes learning
for students.
Cooperative Learning
Why Implement Cooperative Learning?
Cooperative learning is having students work in small groups together to
complete a task or collaborate on a given assignment. In A Collaborative Approach to
Reading Workshops in the Middle Years, Elizabeth Myer (2010) explains that
cooperative learning is effective because it builds comprehension strategies. Meyers
goes on to explain that it requires students to think through comprehension of the text at
a deeper level because they have to explain their ideas to their peers. Using cooperative
learning for reading interventions is beneficial because it requires students to share their
thought processes as well as listen to how peers comprehend pieces of literature. Myers
also explores the benefits cooperative learning provides for teachers. The method
provides teachers with a better understanding of students’ abilities to decode words and
32
their meanings, their use of comprehension strategies, their ability to make connections
between stories, and their critical competence (Myer, 2010). Furthermore, cooperative
learning “Provides students with greater input and ownership over their own learning
(Myer, 2010).
Cooperative learning is a beneficial teaching practice for several reasons. It
requires students to collaborate with one another and think on a deeper comprehension
level than normal when involved in whole class instruction. Students feel a greater
sense of ownership for their learning and teachers are able to see students’ thinking.
How to Teach/Implement Cooperative Learning?
With any teaching strategy, it is important for teachers to model cooperative
learning to students. Myer describes a format to encourage cooperative learning and for
students to share their thoughts during the reading process. To begin, teachers need to
model thinking aloud while they are reading, modeling reading strategies like predicting,
questioning, clarifying, making connections and commenting about the text (Myer,
2010). It is also important to encourage students to mark their text with questions,
connections, and other notes.
Once students have read the text, they are asked to write one question,
considered their burning question, on a sticky note. Burning questions are usually more
literal questions seeking clarification of events, facts, or vocabulary. After posting their
burning questions, students are asked to post a question on a wondering wall. The
wondering wall is a place for students to reflect on things from the text about which they
33
wonder. Finally, students are asked to make clever connections wherein they post the
last of their three stickies. The clever connections are connections students make
between the story and other readings, experiences, or things they have seen or heard.
Once students have posted all three stickies, they are asked to sort the stickies into
categories by which they can find the answers in the text, in their heads, or somewhere
else. Having students sort their questions and then work together to find the answers
incorporates reading comprehension strategies with cooperative learning. Furthermore,
“Research has shown that question-answer relationship (QAR) is an evidence-based
approach that improves reading comprehension” (Myer, 2010). By incorporating this
cooperative learning strategy into the reading intervention students will learn to selfmonitor as they read and reflect on the reading.
34
Chapter 3
METHOD
Project Design
The created curriculum, Fifth-Grade Reading Intervention: Vocabulary and
Comprehension Building Activities, is to be used in the form of a reading intervention
for students below grade level reading comprehension standards. This curriculum has
been created for fifth grade students and, therefore, it is designed to meet fifth grade
reading comprehension and vocabulary standards. Although the curriculum was created
with fifth grade standards in mind, it is not limited to this grade level. The teaching
strategies implemented can easily be transferred to other grade levels. The intervention
is designed to operate with a small group of students (anywhere from five to seven).
With a smaller group of students, each individual can receive a more personal
experience with the teacher and the text. The curriculum is to be used in addition to
students’ current language arts curriculum.
Lesson Format
For each book, a week will be allowed to introduce, read, and reflect on the
book. The lessons are designed to take 45 minutes each day. Students review the
vocabulary words and review the events in the story. The purpose of the vocabulary
review is to ensure that students understand the new vocabulary and are familiar with the
new terms. The more opportunity they have to work with the words, the more likely
they will be to use them outside of the classroom.
35
The teacher will then read a selection of the story to the students while they
follow along. Students will have a job while the teacher is reading. The jobs include the
following: reading, questioning, clarifying, summarizing, predicting, and evaluating.
For the first week, students are introduced to each job and learn the tasks that go along
with each job. The questioner asks questions from the text that mentioned in the
reading. The clarifier looks for words or phrases he/she is not sure what they mean and
asks for clarification at the story breaks. Using context clues, the meaning of the word is
determined. The summarizer quickly retells the main events of the story that have been
read so far. The predictor uses clues from the story and the pictures to guess what will
happen next in the story. The evaluator looks to see if there was anything left out or
added that was not needed in the story. Students may alternate jobs, but it is
recommended that students have an opportunity to do each job a minimum of two times
throughout the intervention. The purpose of the reading jobs is to give students the tools
they lack. Good readers have already learned to do the five jobs while they read. By
targeting each job, students will start to learn the characteristics of each job and begin to
do them while they read independently.
At the end of each week, an assessment is given for both vocabulary and
comprehension. The vocabulary assessment gives students the opportunity to draw a
picture that represents the word and then explain the picture and how it relates to the
word. The purpose of this activity is that it requires students to have a strong enough
understanding of the word so they are able to explain the meaning through a picture as
36
well as a sentence. For comprehension, students are asked to write about the main
events of the story. By having students write about the main events, they have to retell
their understanding of the story, which requires good comprehension of the story.
37
Chapter 4
REFLECTION
Results
While teaching the intervention, there was an increase in student growth. Using
the data collected from the interventions, students averaged a 4 out of 10 on the pre-test
for vocabulary. On the vocabulary post-test, the average score was 8 out of 10. For
comprehension, students received an average score of 8 out of 10. Students showed
growth on the vocabulary and a better understanding of the vocabulary words by the end
of the week. With comprehension, students showed a strong understanding of the main
events that occurred in the story.
Reflection
In the future, it would be ideal to run a study using this curriculum. The results
shared are from the intervention I ran and were not formally collected. The results are
also influenced because students were added to the intervention group halfway through
the four weeks. Student attendance also affected the results.
A future study would be beneficial to show the progress students can make if
they partake in such an interactive and engaging intervention. For the student it would
be ideal to select seven students who struggle with vocabulary and comprehension to
participate. By having seven students participate, the study will still have enough
participants even if a student is absent or leaves the school. This study would assess the
38
curriculum’s success in engaging students in learning both vocabulary and
comprehension.
39
APPENDIX
Fifth-Grade Reading Intervention: Vocabulary and Comprehension Building Activities
40
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Introduce
vocabulary
for
Mountain
Gorillas in
Danger
Review
vocabulary, go
over reading
jobs, and read
pages 4-8
Review
Review
vocabulary,
vocabulary,
read pages 9- read pages 1918, and make a 28, and make a
graphic
graphic
organizer
organizer
Review
vocabulary, story,
and give
assessment for
vocabulary and
comprehension
Introduce
vocabulary
for Where
Does
Garbage
Go?
Review
vocabulary, go
over reading
jobs, and read
pages 4-8
Review
vocabulary,
read pages 1122, and
complete
KWL chart
Review
vocabulary,
review story,
finish reading
story if
needed, and
complete
graphic
organizer
Review
vocabulary, story,
and give
assessment for
vocabulary and
comprehension
Introduce
vocabulary
for The Boy
of the Three
Year Nap
Review
vocabulary, go
over reading
jobs, and read
pages 4-7
Review
vocabulary,
read pages 818, and fill in
the Character
Details chart
Review
vocabulary,
read pages 2032, and fill in
the Character
Details chart
Review
vocabulary, story,
and give
assessment for
vocabulary and
comprehension
Introduce
the
vocabulary
for Going
Home
Review
vocabulary, go
over reading
jobs, and read
pages 5-8
Review
vocabulary,
read pages 1021, and fill in
the Sequence
of Events
sheet
Review
vocabulary,
read pages 2232, and fill in
the Sequence
of Events
sheet
Review
vocabulary, story,
and give
assessment for
vocabulary and
comprehension
41
The Plan
Day 1
Mountain Gorillas in Danger by Rita Richie
Standards
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as
historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary
and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
Prep
Hang vocabulary words around the classroom
Vocabulary Sheet copies for each student
½ sheets of paper for each student
PowerPoint for vocabulary
Vocabulary Words
Inactive
Graze
Habitat
Injure
Patrol
Adapt
Infect
Mate
Threaten
Crop
Lesson
42
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Walk Around Vocabulary Rating
Students will walk around the classroom with a partner rating how
well they know the vocabulary words. They will record their response
the Vocabulary Rating sheet (see Appendix 1, page 92) Before
students get up to walk around, explain the rating scale:
1 = never heard the word before
2 = may have heard it but are not familiar with the word
3 = sounds familiar but are unsure of the meaning
4 = heard the word, know the meaning and occasionally use it
5 = heard the word, know the meaning and use it a lot
While students go around the classroom, walk around and monitor
conversations. Ask students questions like What do you think it
means? Where have you heard it? Do you remember how it was
used? How would you use it in a sentence?
15 minutes
Vocabulary PowerPoint
Have students look at their vocabulary-rating sheet while you go
through PowerPoint (see Appendix 1, page 94). The PowerPoint
should show the word, then a picture, and then the definition. This
will give you time as a group to discuss the meaning of the words
before the definition is given. Students should write down the
definition of the words. As class discusses, how can you complete the
example sentences? If possible, have students come up with an action
to go with each word. This will help them to remember the words.
10 minutes
Snowball
Pass out a half sheet of paper. Students should pick one of the
vocabulary words and write a sentence using it. (No names on their
paper, this makes it a “safe” activity.) Have student crumble the paper
into a small ball and form a circle. Put a target in the middle of the
circle and have students throw their snowball into the middle (be
creative with ways to group students, for example if you are wearing
white shoes throw your snowball into the circle). Once all the papers
are in the middle, have groups of students pick a snowball; each
43
student will take turns sharing the sentence on their paper. As each
sentence is read, discuss the sentence and whether the word was used
correctly and repeat the meaning of the word.
5 minutes
Vocabulary Review - Simon Says
Have students act out the hand motion or body motion you created for
each word as you say the list of vocabulary. If time, after you have
reviewed you can play Simon Says with the vocabulary words. For
example, Simon says “Act out injure,” Simon says “Act out adapt.”
44
Day 2
Mountain Gorillas in Danger by Rita Richie
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Write vocabulary words on the board
Books for each student
Post the reading jobs on the board
Have post-its for wrap-up activity
Vocabulary Words
Inactive
Crop
Graze
Infect
Habitat
Threaten
Injure
Patrol
Adapt
Mate
45
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Have a list of the vocabulary words up on the board. Ask students if
they remember the vocabulary movements the class came up with
yesterday. Have a volunteer stand up and act out the vocabulary
movement. Students may call out once they think of the vocabulary
word being acted out. Have students act out each word until you have
gone through the entire list. If they cannot remember the movement,
have students use the word in a sentence or give the meaning of the
word.
To enhance the activity, have students use each word in a sentence as
they are guessed.
15 minutes
Reading Jobs
Each student will have a job while the story is being read. The jobs
are questions, clarify, summarize, predict, and evaluate. As the class
talks about what each of these words means and from their list, guide
them to what it means to do that as a job while reading. If you have
more then five students you can double up jobs.
Questions: Asks questions from the text that has been told in
the reading. For example, Who is the main character? Where
does the story take place? Who else is in the story?
Clarify: Looks for words or phrases they are unsure of what
they mean and ask for clarification at the story breaks. For
example, he is such a wet noodle, meaning he is so pessimistic.
Summarize: Quickly retells the main events of the story that
has been read so far.
Predict: To use clues from the story and the pictures to guess
what will happen next in the story.
Evaluate: To see if there was anything left out or things added
that weren’t needed in the story.
Then have students sign up for a job and pass out books to each
46
student.
10 minutes
Reading
Cover page:
Have the predictor predict what they think the story is going to be
about from the cover page and share what led them to that conclusion.
Contents page:
Have students read through the contents. Have the questioner come
up with a few questions for which the answer can be found on this
page. Have the predictor make another prediction based on the
information on the contents page.
Read pages 4-8 out loud to the students, make sure they are following
along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their jobs. You may need to help
students with their jobs until they get used to reading with it in mind.
Questions While You Read
Page 4:
 Where do the mountain gorillas live? The Virunga Mountains.
 Describe the Virunga Mountains. It is made of six inactive
volcanoes in central Africa. It is filled with rain forest and it is
cool and damp there with frequent rain.
 How many mountain gorillas are left? About 400.
 Why did the author include the map of parts of Africa? To
show what countries border the Virunga Mountains.
Page 5:
 (Using the captions of page 5) What is a plant that grows in the
Virunga Mountains? The heather plant.
Page 7:
 How has the mountain gorillas adapted to living in the
mountains? They have thicker hair, shorter arms and legs, and
a larger chest than gorillas that live in the lowlands.
 How are gorillas like humans? They travel in family groups.
47
Page 8:
 What dangers do mountain gorillas face? Mountain gorillas face
danger from nature, humans, and other gorillas because it takes
them several years to become an adult.
 Why does it hurt the mountain gorilla’s population that they are not
adults for several years? This hurts their population because they
cannot mate until they are adults nor defend themselves until then,
therefore it is less likely that a gorilla will make it to adulthood.
5 minutes
Wrap Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then give
students a post it note on the post-it students will write one interesting
fact they learned from the story and use a vocabulary word in a
sentence (this should be a different vocabulary word then the one they
used yesterday).
48
Day 3
Mountain Gorillas in Danger by Rita Richie
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Have vocabulary posted to help students remember all the words
Graphic organizer on an overhead, or smartboard, or posted
Whiteboards for students
Definitions of words for teacher
Vocabulary Words
Inactive
Crop
Graze
Infect
Habitat
Threaten
Injure
Patrol
Adapt
Mate
49
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Read definitions of the vocabulary words and/or act out the
movements selected by the class. Students will write down the
vocabulary word that matches on their white board. The winner will
get to pick their job for reading first. Each person should keep a record
and they will pick in ranking order.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday. Students can add in details that are left out if
needed.
25 minutes
Reading
Read pages 9-18 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the graphic organizer as a class (see Appendix 1,
page 100). Keep the organizer and add the following day to it too.
*Optional: If the reading ends early have students work on the book
search with a partner. (Appendix 1, page 101).
Questions While You Read
Page 11:
 Why does the gorilla family grow so slowly? The mother is
pregnant for nine months and then nurses for three years.
While she is nursing she cannot get pregnant. Many gorilla
babies die from diseases or accidents.
Page 13:
 How have farmers made mountain gorillas’ lives harder? Much
of the Virunga Mountains has been turned into farmland,
which means less food for the gorillas. Also cattle graze in
50
much of the forest, they eat the gorillas’ food, tear up the land
with their hooves and dirty their land.
Page 14:
 How do poachers endanger the lives of the mountain gorillas?
Some poachers take infants to sell to the zoos. Poachers also
set up traps for other animals but end up getting injured or
injuring the mountain gorillas.
Page 16:
 Why might a leader kill all the infants? This will make the
females mate with him. He does this when there is danger near
because he wants his own babies quickly.
Page 18:
 How can people help mountain gorillas? Tell people about
them, teachers educate students about them, and movies are
made of them to educate the villagers about them.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Review the main events that were read today having students guide
the review. Prompt them by saying first, then what, next, and so on.
51
Day 4
Mountain Gorillas in Danger by Rita Richie
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Vocabulary words each on a 3x5 card that can easily be taped to student’s back when
they walk in
Graphic organizer on an overhead, or smartboard, or posted
Vocabulary Words
Inactive
Mate
Graze
Crop
Habitat
Infect
Injure
Threaten
Patrol
Adapt
52
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Place a vocabulary word card on the back of each student as they
come in the classroom. Students are to walk around helping each other
figure out which vocabulary word is on their back without saying the
vocabulary word. Have students come and get another vocabulary
word if they finish early.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday, students can add in details left out if needed.
25 minutes
Reading
Read pages 20-27 out loud to the students and make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the graphic organizer as a class (see Appendix 1,
page 100). Keep the organizer to help students remember the key
points of the story.
*Optional: If the reading ends early have students work on the book
search with a partner. (Appendix 1, page 101).
Questions While You Read
Page 21:
 How have guards helped the mountain gorillas? They patrol the
mountains looking for traps and snares, they free animals that
are caught in the traps or snares, they arrest poachers they find,
drive out the cattle that graze in the forest, and fine the farmers
for allowing their cattle to go there.
Page 22:
 How does the forest help the farmers? The tree roots of the
forest hold the soil in place, the soil soaks up the rain and then
53
the water runs into nearby streams, which help farmers.
Page 25:
 How has the endangerment of the gorillas created jobs? Guards
work to keep cattle and poachers away, trackers find traps,
porters carry loads, and guides show tourists the forest so they
can see the gorillas.
Page 26:
 Why is it important to study the gorillas? Since gorillas and
humans are both primates we can learn things about ourselves
from them.
Page 28:
 By protecting the mountain gorillas’ habitat what has happened
to their population? The number of mountain gorillas is slowly
getting larger.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students reflect on the story and share what they think they
would like to do to help the mountain gorillas (it can be what they
would like to do if they lived there).
54
Day 5
Mountain Gorillas in Danger by Rita Richie
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Test copied for students
Post-its for wrap-up
Vocabulary Words
Inactive
Crop
Graze
Infect
Habitat
Threaten
Injure
Patrol
Adapt
Mate
55
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Review of Story
Have students stand in a circle with their books. Each student will
share one part of the story until all the main events are covered.
Students may look at their book to remind themselves of all the
events. To make this an even more challenging activity students can
only say 5 words and then it goes onto the next student. It will require
students to finish each other sentences.
Review of Vocabulary
Students will continue in the circle, each student can only say 5 words
at a time. As a group you will say a story that includes all the
vocabulary words. If a student uses a vocabulary word incorrectly the
story starts over. (Have vocabulary words posted on the wall so
students can check them off as they are added to the story.)
25 minutes
Assessment
Students are to complete both portions of the assessment. The
vocabulary assessment is having students draw pictures of the
vocabulary words and then write a sentence that explains the picture.
(Have vocabulary words on the board for students to use as a
reference.) For comprehension, students are writing either a summary
or filling in the graphic organizer that shares the main points of the
story.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students write on a post-it note what they liked and disliked
about the story. This is there ticket out the door.
56
Day 1
Where Does Garbage Go? By Isaac Asimov
Standards
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as
historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary
and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level appropriate words.
Prep
Hang vocabulary words around the classroom
Vocabulary Sheet copies for each student
PowerPoint for vocabulary
Post-its for each student
Vocabulary Words
Toxic
Waste
Chemical
Enrich
Landfill
Pesticide
Produce
Recycle
Appliance
57
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Walk Around Vocabulary Rating
Students will walk around the classroom with a partner rating how
well they know the vocabulary words. They will record their
responses on the Vocabulary Rating sheet (see Appendix 1, page 106).
Before students get up to walk around, explain the rating scale:
1 = never heard the word before
2 = may have heard it but are not familiar with the word
3 = sounds familiar but are unsure of the meaning
4 = heard the word, know the meaning and occasionally use it
5 = heard the word, know the meaning and use it a lot
While students go around the classroom, walk around and monitor
conversations. Ask students questions like What do you think it
means? Where have you heard it? Do you remember how it was used?
How would you use it in a sentence?
15 minutes
Vocabulary PowerPoint
Have students look at their vocabulary-rating sheet while you go
through PowerPoint (see Appendix 1, page 108). The PowerPoint
should show the word, then a picture, and the definition. This will
give you time as a group to discuss the meaning of the words before
the definition is given. Students should write down the definition of
the words. As a class, discuss how you can complete the example
sentences. If possible, have students come up with an action to go with
each word. This will help them remember the words.
15 minutes
Vocabulary Guessing Game
One student sits in front of the class with their back to the whiteboard.
Write one of the vocabulary words on the whiteboard and students
will give clues to help guess the word. Students can give up to 5 clues
before the word will be reviewed. Then have a new student come up
and sit facing their classmates.
58
To make this a more challenging game you can only allow one-word
clues from students, (the majority of the clues will end up being
synonyms).
2 minutes
Ticket Out the Door
Have students use one of the words that is new to them in a sentence
on a post-it note they can post on a wall on their way out of the
classroom.
59
Day 2
Where Does Garbage Go? by Isaac Asimov
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Post-its from previous lesson
Write vocabulary words on the board
Books for each student
KWL chart posted and copied for each student
Vocabulary Words
Toxic
Recycle
Waste
Appliance
Chemical
Enrich
Landfill
Pesticide
Produce
60
Lesson
Time
Activity
5 Minutes
Snowball
Using the post-its from day 1, have students grab a post-it and
crumble it up. Students need to form a circle and have them throw
their post-it into the middle of the circle. Have students pick a
snowball and then have them take turns reading their sentence to the
group. After each sentence, discuss whether the word was used
correctly and ask students to share the meaning of the vocabulary
word.
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Have a list of the vocabulary words up on the board. Ask students if
they remember the vocabulary movements the class came up with
yesterday. Have a volunteer stand up and act out the vocabulary
movement. Students may call out once they think of the vocabulary
word being acted out. Have students act out each word until you have
gone through the entire list. If they cannot remember the movement,
have students use the word in a sentence or give the meaning of the
word.
To enhance the activity, have students use each word in a sentence as
they are guessed.
5 minutes
Reading Jobs
Review the reading jobs with the class. If you have more than five
students you can double up jobs.
Questions: Asks questions from the text been told in the
reading. For example, Who is the main character? Where does
the story take place? Who else is in the story?
Clarify: Looks for words or phrases for which they are unsure
of the meaning and asks for clarification at the story breaks. For
example, he is such a wet noodle, meaning he is so pessimistic.
Summarize: Quickly retells the main events of the story that
have been read so far.
Predict: To use clues from the story and the pictures to guess
61
what will happen next in the story.
Evaluate: To see if there was anything left out or things added
that were not needed in the story.
Then have students sign up for a job and pass out books to each
student.
5 minutes
KWL Chart
Fill in the KWL chart (see Appendix 1, page 114) with what students
already know about garbage and where it goes. Ask students What is
garbage? What is recycling? Why do we recycle? Where does garbage
go?
Then have students brainstorm what they would like to know about
where our garbage goes.
Leave the last column open. This is where you will put information
that you learn while you read.
10 minutes
Reading
Cover page:
Have the predictor predict what they think the story is going to be
about from the cover page and share what led them to that conclusion.
Contents page:
Have students read through the contents. Have the questioner come up
with a few questions for which the answer can be found on this page.
Have the predictor make another prediction based on the information
on the content page.
Read pages 4-9 out loud to the students, and make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
62
Questions While You Read
Page 4:
 Why is garbage harmful? The garbage that is produced pollutes
our environment (land, water, and our air).
 What does environment mean? The things that surround you
such as forests, land, lakes and rivers.
Page 7:
 How can we create less garbage? By reusing things and not
buying things we do not need.
Page 9:
 How do communities deal with their garbage? Some dump it
into the ocean, some burn it in an incinerator, or it goes to a
landfill.
 What happens to garbage at a landfill? Garbage is spread out in
layers, smashed down, covered with dirt, shaped into rolling
hills, and trees and grass are planted on the hills.
5 minutes
Wrap Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask
students to share what they have learned from the reading so far about
garbage. Record the information on the KWL chart.
63
Day 3
Where Does Garbage Go? By Isaac Asimov
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Have vocabulary posted to help students remember all the words
KWL chart on an overhead, or smartboard, or posted
Whiteboards for students
Definitions of words for teacher
*Book search copies for students (optional)
Vocabulary Words
Toxic
Produce
Waste
Recycle
Chemical
Appliance
Enrich
Landfill
Pesticide
64
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Read definitions of the vocabulary words and/or act out the
movements selected by the class. Students will write down the
vocabulary word that matches on their white board. The winner will
get to pick their job for reading first. Each person should keep a record
and they will pick in ranking order.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday, students can add in details left out if needed.
25 minutes
Reading
Read pages 11-22 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the KWL chart with things that they learn while
reading.
*Optional: If the reading ends early have students work on the book
search with a partner. (Appendix 1, page 119).
Questions While You Read
Page 11:
 What are some of the drawbacks to dumping garbage into the
ocean? The garbage dumped in the ocean can wash back to
shore. Burned garbage can release harmful chemicals and the
ashes pollute the land and are harmful.
Page 12:
 What is a drawback to putting garbage in landfills? Chemicals
that are harmful can leak out and pollute our water supply.
Page 13:
 How has the problem of harmful chemicals been solved? By
65
placing a layer of plastic to line the area that the garbage is
dumped.
Page 14:
 What are some places that might have toxic waste? Hospitals,
factories, and other businesses have toxic waste.
 What are some examples of toxic waste? Pesticides and
radioactive waste are both toxic waste.
 Is there a safe way to dispose of it? They haven’t found one yet.
Page 17:
 What are some things that should not be put in the garbage?
Why? Old batteries, motor oil, dried up bottles of nail polish
because they are harmful and can pollute our landfills or if
burned pollute our air.
Page 18:
 What are the steps to recycling? Cleaning of the old material,
shredding the material, melting the material down, and
forming it back into the same material again.
Page 19:
 What is composting? It is a way to recycle old food scraps and
yard waste.
Page 20:
 How can we help the garbage problem? By throwing out less,
recycling, trying not to waste paper, and composting with yard
waste.
Page 22:
 How will reducing the amount of garbage we create make our
environment better? Our environment will stay cleaner and
health risks from chemicals will be reduced.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask
students to share what they have learned from the reading so far about
garbage. Record the information on the KWL chart.
66
Day 4
Where does Garbage Go?
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently synonyms, antonyms, and homographs used.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Vocabulary words each on 3x5 cards that can easily be taped to a student’s back when
they walk in
Graphic organizer on an overhead, or smartboard, or posted
KWL chart posted
Post-its for wrap-up activity
*Book search copied for students (optional)
Vocabulary Words
Toxic
Enrich
Landfill
Waste
Pesticide
Produce
Chemical
Recycle
Appliance
67
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Place a vocabulary word card on the back of each student as they
come in the classroom. Students are to walk around and help each
other figure out which vocabulary word is on their back without
saying the vocabulary word. Have students come and get another
vocabulary word if they finish early.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday. Students can add in details left out if needed.
Review the KWL chart to see what information was learned from
reading this story.
Reading
If you were unable to finish reading the story, finish the story today.
*Optional: If the reading ends early, have students work on the book
search with a partner (Appendix 1, page 119).
20 minutes
Have students work either by himself/herself or with a partner to fill in
the graphic organizer (see Appendix 1, page 105). For each way that
we dispose of garbage, students are to list what kind of garbage is
disposed in this way, the steps the garbage goes through, and any
drawbacks there are to our environment. Students will then come
together and share what they found, students will write down the
information to fill in their sheet.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students reflect on the reading and how they would like to help
reduce their garbage. Students can write their ideas on a post-it note
and post it on a wall on their way out.
68
Day 5
Where Does Garbage Go? By Isaac Asimov
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Vocabulary posted
Test copied for each student
Post-its for wrap-up activity
Vocabulary Words
Toxic
Enrich
Landfill
Waste
Pesticide
Produce
Chemical
Recycle
Appliance
69
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Review of Story
Have students stand in a circle with their books or worksheets from
yesterday. Each student will share one part of how garbage is disposed
of until all the ways it is disposed of are shared. Students may look at
their book or worksheet to remind themselves of all the events. To
make this an even more challenging activity, students can only say 5
words and then it goes onto the next student. It will require students to
finish each other’s sentences.
Review of Vocabulary
Students will continue in the circle. Each student can only say 5 words
at a time. As a group, you will say a story that includes all the
vocabulary words. If a student uses a vocabulary word incorrectly the
story starts over. (Have vocabulary words posted on the wall so
students can check them off as they are added to the story.)
25 minutes
Assessment
Students are to complete both portions of the assessment. The
vocabulary assessment is having students draw pictures of the
vocabulary words and then write a sentence that explains the picture.
(Have vocabulary words on the board for students to use as a
reference.) For comprehension, students are writing either a summary
or filling in the graphic organizer that shares the main points of the
story.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students write on a post-it note what they liked and disliked
about the story. This is there ticket out the door.
70
Day 1
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder
Standards
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as
historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary
and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
Prep
Hang vocabulary words around the classroom
Vocabulary Sheet copies for each student
PowerPoint for vocabulary
½ sheet of paper for each student for snowball activity
Vocabulary Words
Eager
Consent
Ashamed
Muttered
Elegant
Impressed
Pester
Dusk
Fierce
Grim
71
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Walk Around Vocabulary Rating
Students will walk around the classroom with a partner rating how
well they know the vocabulary words. They will record their response
the Vocabulary Rating sheet (see Appendix 1, page 126). Before
students get up to walk around, explain the rating scale:
1 = never heard the word before
2 = may have heard it but are not familiar with the word
3 = sounds familiar but are unsure of the meaning
4 = heard the word, know the meaning and occasionally use it
5 = heard the word, know the meaning and use it a lot
While students go around the classroom, walk around and monitor
conversations. Ask students questions like What do you think it
means? Where have you heard it? Do you remember how it was used?
How would you use it in a sentence?
15 minutes
Vocabulary PowerPoint
Have students look at their vocabulary rating sheet while you go
through the PowerPoint (see Appendix 1, page 120). The PowerPoint
should show the word, then a picture, then the definition. This will
give you time as a group to discuss the meaning of the words before
the definition is given. Students should write down the definition of
the words. As a class, discuss how you can complete the example
sentences. If possible, have students come up with an action to go with
each word. This will help them remember the words.
10 minutes
Snowball
Pass out a half sheet of paper. Students should pick one of the
vocabulary words and write a sentence using it. (No names on their
paper, this makes it a “safe” activity.) Have students crumble the
paper into a small ball and form a circle. Put a target in the middle of
the circle and have students throw their snowball into the middle (be
creative with ways to group students, for example if you are wearing
72
white shoes throw your snowball into the circle). Once all the papers
are in the middle have groups of students pick a snowball, each
student will take turns sharing the sentence on their paper. As each
sentence is read discuss the sentence and if the word was use correctly
and repeat the meaning of the word.
5 minutes
Vocabulary Review-Simon Says
Have students act out the hand motion or body motion you created for
each word as you say the list of vocabulary. If time, after you have
reviewed you can play Simon Says with the vocabulary words. For
example, Simon says “Act out injure,” Simon says “Act out adapt.”
73
Day 2
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap By Dianne Snyder
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Write vocabulary words on the board
Books for each student
Character Details handout copied for each student
Vocabulary Words
Eager
Fierce
Consent
Grim
Ashamed
Muttered
Elegant
Impressed
Pester
Dusk
74
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 Minutes
Vocabulary Guessing Game
Students work with a partner. One student sits in front of their partner
with their back to the whiteboard. Write one of the vocabulary words
on the whiteboard and students will give clues to help guess the word.
Students can give up to 5 clues before the word will be reviewed.
Then have the partners switch.
To make this a more challenging game you can only allow one-word
clues from students (the majority of the clues will end up being
synonyms).
5 minutes
Reading Jobs
Review the reading jobs with the class. If you have more than five
students you can double up jobs.
Questions: Asks questions from the text told in the reading. For
example, Who is the main character? Where does the story take
place? Who else is in the story?
Clarify: Looks for words or phrases for which they are unsure
of the meaning and asks for clarification at the story breaks. For
example, he is such a wet noodle, meaning he is so pessimistic.
Summarize: Quickly retells the main events of the story that
have been read so far.
Predict: To use clues from the story and the pictures to guess
what will happen next in the story.
Evaluate: To see if there was anything left out or things added
that were not needed in the story.
Have students sign up for a job and pass out books to each student.
75
10 minutes
Reading
Cover page:
Have the predictor predict what they think the story is going to be
about from the cover page and share what led them to that conclusion.
Read pages 4-7 out loud to the students, and make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
Questions While You Read
Page 4:
 Why is a cormorant? (Have students use context clues to figure
out the meaning of the term.) A type of bird.
Page 6-7:
 What do we know about the characters so far? There is a widow
who sews kimonos for ladies in town. She has a son named
Taro who is very healthy, but is very lazy.
 Why was he called “The Boy of the Three-Year Nap”? People
said that he would sleep for three years at a time if no one
woke him.
5 minutes
Wrap Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask
students to share what characters have been introduced so far and
what we know about them. Fill this information in the Character
Details handout in Appendix 1, page 130.
76
Day 3
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap By Dianne Snyder
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Vocabulary Words and Definitions handout cut out and glued onto 3x5 cards for each
partnership
Vocabulary Words
Eager
Consent
Ashamed
Muttered
Elegant
Impressed
Pester
Dusk
Fierce
Grim
77
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Matching
Play a matching game with the vocabulary words and their definitions.
Have both vocabulary words and their definitions written on 3x5
cards. (Cut Vocabulary Words and Definitions handout in Appendix
1, page 128 and glue them onto 3x5 cards.) Place all the cards down
on a table so students cannot see the writing on the card. Students will
pick two cards at a time and need to decide if the definition matches
the vocabulary word. If they match it, they get to keep the pair.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what characters
were introduced yesterday and what was learned about them.
25 minutes
Reading
Read pages 8-18 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the character chart with things they learn while
reading.
Questions While You Read
Page 8:
 What was Taro’s impression of his new neighbors and how do
you know? Taro was impressed with his neighbors. He would
sneak into his neighbor’s garden in between his naps to watch
him and his family. Taro said “’Ah, what a life?” suggesting
that he was jealous of his neighbor’s life.
Page 10:
 Why does Taro’s mother want him to work? To help take care
of things around the house, the roof is leaking, the walls are
falling apart and they don’t have food.
 What does Taro ask from his mother? To make him a black
78
kimono and a hat like a priest wears.
Page 12:
 What does Taro’s mother think he might want to become? She
initially thinks he wants to be a priest, but didn’t think it would
fit his lifestyle.
 What do you think Taro’s plan is? Answers will vary, but have
students support their plan with evidence from the story.
Page 14-15:
 What does the merchant think of Taro? He thinks he is lazy and
needs a smack on his bottom to motivate him.
Page 17:
 What does the ujigami tell the merchant he must do? He must
wed his daughter to Taro.
 What is the merchant’s reaction? Why? The merchant does not
want his daughter to marry Taro because he is lazy and
wouldn’t provide well for his daughter.
Page 18:
 What does ujigami threaten to do to the merchant’s daughter if
he delays? Turn her into a clay pot.
 What do you think Taro’s plan is? Answers will vary, but have
students support their plan with evidence from the story.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask the
students to go back and add to the Character Details chart.
79
Day 4
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap? By Dianne Snyder
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Definitions of words for teacher
Post-its for wrap-up activity
Vocabulary Words
Eager
Dusk
Consent
Fierce
Ashamed
Grim
Muttered
Elegant
Impressed
Pester
80
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Read definitions for the vocabulary words and/or act out the
movements selected by the class. Students will write down the
vocabulary word that matches on their whiteboard. The winner will
get to pick their job for reading first. Each person should keep a record
and they will pick in ranking order.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday. Students can add in details left out if needed.
Review the Character chart to see what characters are in the story.
Reading
Read pages 20-32 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the character chart with things they learn while
reading.
Questions While You Read
Page 20:
 What does the merchant do? He goes to the widow’s house and
asks for her son to marry his daughter.
Page 22:
 What does the widow do once she figures out what her son is
up to? She tells the merchant that she and Taro are too poor to
marry his daughter and that the house is in no condition to
have her live there.
 What does the merchant do? He says he will send a man to fix
the cracks and leaks in the house.
81
Page 24-25:
 What is the widow’s next reason for not having Taro marry the
merchant’s daughter? The house is too small so the merchant
says he will send carpenters to expand the house.
Page 26:
 After all the work is done what is the last condition the widow
says to the merchant? Taro doesn’t have a job so the merchant
says he will have him be a storehouse manager. Then the
widow gives her consent.
Page 28:
 Was having a job part of Taro’s plan? How do you know? No it
was not because he leapt out of bed and was not happy.
Page 30:
 How has Taro changed from the beginning of the story? He is
no longer the laziest man in town, now he has to work for his
father-in-law.
Page 31:
 How did Taro’s plan not go as he expected? His mother figured
out what he was up to and had the merchant give him a job. He
was no longer able to be lazy.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have the summarizer share a summary of the story. Ask students to
add any new characters or new information learned about characters to
their Character Detail chart. Students can write their ideas on a post-it
note and post it on a wall on their way out.
82
Day 5
The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Slip Game Review cut out and put in a baggie for each partnership
Test copied for each student
Post-it note for wrap-up activity
Vocabulary Words
Eager
Pester
Consent
Dusk
Ashamed
Fierce
Muttered
Grim
Elegant
Impressed
83
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Slip Game Review of Story
Have students work together and pull out a slip of paper from a
baggie. On each slip will be a description of an event that happened in
the story. Once all the slips are out, students will work together to put
the events in the right order (see Appendix 1, page 131).
Review of Vocabulary
Students will continue in the circle. Each student can only say 5 words
at a time. As a group, you will say a story that includes all the
vocabulary words. If a student uses a vocabulary word incorrectly, the
story starts over. (Have vocabulary words posted on the wall so
students can check them off as they are added to the story.)
25 minutes
Assessment
Students are to complete both portions of the assessment. The
vocabulary assessment is having students draw pictures of the
vocabulary words and then write a sentence that explains the picture.
(Have vocabulary words on the board for students to use as a
reference.) For comprehension, students are writing either a summary
or filling in the graphic organizer that shares the main points of the
story.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students write on a post-it note what they liked and disliked
about the story. This is there ticket out the door.
84
Day 1
Going Home By Eve Bunting
Standards
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students use their knowledge of word origins and word relationships, as well as
historical and literary context clues, to determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary
and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words.
Prep
Hang vocabulary words around the classroom
Vocabulary Sheet copies for each student
Power point for vocabulary
Post-its for each student
Vocabulary Words
Battered
Burro
Scattering
Oxen
Opportunity
Giggles
Bulge
Stammer
85
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Walk Around Vocabulary Rating
Students will walk around the classroom with a partner rating how
well they know the vocabulary words. They will record their
responses on the Vocabulary Rating sheet (see Appendix 1, page 135).
Before students get up to walk around, explain the rating scale:
1 = never heard the word before
2 = may have heard it but are not familiar with the word
3 = sounds familiar but are unsure of the meaning
4 = heard the word, know the meaning and occasionally use it
5 = heard the word, know the meaning and use it a lot
While students go around the classroom, walk around and monitor
conversations. Ask students questions like What do you think it
means? Where have you heard it? Do you remember how it was used?
How would you use it in a sentence?
15 minutes
Vocabulary PowerPoint
Have students look at their vocabulary rating sheet while you go
through the PowerPoint (see Appendix 1, page 136). The PowerPoint
should show the word, then a picture, then the definition. This will
give you time as a group to discuss the meaning of the words before
the definition is given. Students should write down the definition of
the words. As a class, discuss how you can complete the example
sentences. If possible have students come up with an action to go with
each word. This will help them remember the words.
15 minutes
Vocabulary Guessing Game
One student sits in front of the class with their back to the whiteboard.
Write one of the vocabulary words on the whiteboard and students
will give clues to help guess the word. Students can give up to 5 clues
before the word will be reviewed. Then have a new student come up
and sit facing their classmates.
86
To make this a more challenging game you can only allow one-word
clues from students, (majority of the clues will end up being
synonyms).
2 minutes
Ticket Out the Door
Have students use one of the words that is new to them in a sentence
on a post-it note they can post on a wall on their way out of the
classroom.
87
Day 2
Going Home By Eve Bunting
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Post-its from previous lesson
Write vocabulary words on the board
Books for each student
Sequence of Events handout copied for each student
Vocabulary Words
Battered
Bulge
Burro
Stammer
Scattering
Oxen
Opportunity
Giggles
88
Lesson
Time
Activity
5 Minutes
Snowball
Using the post-its from day 1, have students grab a post-it and
crumble it up. Students need to form a circle and have them throw
their post-it into the middle of the circle. Have students pick a
snowball and then have them take turns reading their sentence to the
group. After each sentence, discuss whether the word was used
correctly and ask students to share the meaning of the vocabulary
word.
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Have a list of the vocabulary words up on the board. Ask students if
they remember the vocabulary movements the class came up with
yesterday? Have a volunteer stand up and act out the vocabulary
movement. Students may call out once they think of the vocabulary
word being acted out. Have students act out each word until you have
gone through the entire list. If they cannot remember the movement,
have students use the word in a sentence or give the meaning of the
word.
To enhance the activity, have students use each word in a sentence as
they are guessed.
5 minutes
Reading Jobs
Review the reading jobs with the class. If you have more than five
students you can double up jobs.
Questions: Asks questions from the text told in the reading. For
example Who is the main character? Where does the story take
place? Who else is in the story?
Clarify: Looks for words or phrases for which they are unsure
of the meaning and asks for clarification at the story breaks. For
example, he is such a wet noodle, meaning he is so pessimistic.
Summarize: Quickly retells the main events of the story that
have been read so far.
Predict: To use clues from the story and the pictures to guess
89
what will happen next in the story.
Evaluate: To see if there was anything left out or things added
that weren’t needed in the story.
Then have students sign up for a job and pass out books to each
student.
10 minutes
Reading
Cover page:
Have the predictor predict what they think the story is going to be
about from the cover page and share what lead them to that
conclusion.
Read pages 4-8 out loud to the students, make sure they are following
along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an opportunity
for students to do their job. You may need to help students with their
job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
Questions While You Read
Page 5:
 How do you think the children in the book are feeling? What
clues in the text helped you to think that? They are feeling
nervous because they don’t feel like Mexico is their home. In
the text, a child says they are not sure and that Mexico was
where they were born not where they live.
Page 6:
 Do you think that the family in the story has a lot of money?
What clues from the text helped you to think that? They are
poor because it says they have an old station wagon, a battered
cooler, and they don’t own their house.
Page 8:
 How are the children feeling as they cross the border? Why?
They are feeling nervous because they are not sure if they will
be returning home and they are concerned about having all the
right paperwork.
90
5 minutes
Wrap Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask the
students what events have happened so far in the story, fill in the chart
with the class so they can see the sequence of events (see Appendix 1,
page 141).
91
Day 3
Going Home By Eve Bunting
Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Have vocabulary posted to help students remember all the words
Vocabulary Words
Battered
Burro
Scattering
Oxen
Opportunity
Giggles
Bulge
Stammer
92
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Review
Read definitions of the vocabulary words and/or act out the
movements selected by the class. Students write down the vocabulary
word that matches on their whiteboard. The winner will get to pick
their job for reading first. Each person should keep a record and they
will pick in ranking order.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what characters
were introduced yesterday and what was learned about them.
25 minutes
Reading
Read pages 10-21 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the character chart with things they learn while
reading.
Questions While You Read
Page 10-11:
 What opportunities do you think the father is talking about?
Work that is available for the parents and the schooling that is
available for the children.
Page 12:
 How do you think the children feel on the drive? Anxious to see
what La Perla looks like since they only saw it when they were
born.
 What is your first impression of La Perla? Answers will vary;
encourage students to reference the text. It is decorated for the
holidays and it is a small town.
93
Page 21:
 How do the children’s reactions to meeting their family vary?
Dolores pokes fun by saying that one of her relatives looks like
an umbrella, Nora is shy and the narrator receives hugs from
her relatives.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have the summary person summarize the story so far. Then ask the
students what events have happened so far in the story. Fill in the
chart with the class so they can see the sequence of events (see
Appendix 1, page 141).
94
Day 4
Going Home By Eve Bunting
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Vocabulary Words and Definitions handout cut out and glued onto 3x5 cards for each
partnership
Vocabulary Words
Battered
Bulge
Burro
Stammer
Scattering
Oxen
Opportunity
Giggles
95
Lesson
Time
Activity
10 minutes
Vocabulary Matching
Play a matching game with the vocabulary words and their definitions.
Have both vocabulary words and their definitions written on 3x5
cards. (Cut out the table in Appendix 1, page 142 and glue them onto
3x5 cards.) Place all the cards down on a table so students cannot see
the writing on the card. Students will pick two cards at a time and
need to decide if the definition matches the vocabulary word. If they
match it, they get to keep the pair.
5 minutes
Review of the Story
Have the summarizer from yesterday remind students what happened
in the story yesterday, students can add in details left out if needed.
Review the sequence of event chart to remind students of the
storyline.
Reading
Read pages 22-32 out loud to the students; make sure they are
following along as you read. Pause throughout the reading to give an
opportunity for students to do their job. You may need to help
students with their job until they get used to reading with it in mind.
As you read, fill in the character chart with things they learn while
reading.
Questions While You Read
Page 22:
 What is the relative’s impression of the children being able to
speak English? They think the children are smart because they
can speak English.
Page 25:
 What is the children’s reaction to La Perla? They think it is nice
but thought it would be more special.
 Why do the parents like it so much? La Perla is special to the
96
parents because their family lives there.
Page 30:
 How do the children feel after they see their parents dancing
and so happy about living in America? They feel guilty
because they know that their parents moved for them to get a
good education. They know that their parents have to work
very hard in America.
Page 32:
 Why do the parents sacrifice their happiness? So that there
children can have opportunities to be successful. By living in
American they can learn English and have more opportunities
when they get older.
 Have your parents made a sacrifice for you? Answers will vary.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up-Journal Writing
Fill in the sequence of events table and then have students write in
their journals. Have students reflect on the reading and what they
think about making sacrifices so other people can have an opportunity.
97
Day 5
Going Home By Eve Bunting
Standards
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.3
Understand and explain frequently used synonyms, antonyms, and homographs.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
2.3
Discern main ideas and concepts presented in texts, identifying and assessing
evidence that supports those ideas.
2.4
Draw inferences, conclusions, or generalizations about text and support them with
textual evidence and prior knowledge.
Prep
Slip Review with slips in a baggie for each partnership
Test copied for each student
Post-its for wrap-up activity
Vocabulary Words
Battered
Bulge
Burro
Stammer
Scattering
Oxen
Opportunity
Giggles
98
Lesson
Time
Activity
15 minutes
Slip Game Review of Story
Have students work together and pull out a slip of paper from a
baggie. On each slip will be a description of an event that happened in
the story. Once all the slips are out, students will work together to put
the events in the right order (see Appendix 1, page 143).
Review of Vocabulary
Students will continue in the circle. Each student can only say 5 words
at a time. As a group you will say a story that includes all the
vocabulary words. If a student uses a vocabulary word incorrectly, the
story starts over. (Have vocabulary words posted on the wall so
students can check them off as they are added to the story.)
25 minutes
Assessment
Students are to complete both portions of the assessment. The
vocabulary assessment is having students draw pictures of the
vocabulary words and then write a sentence that explains the picture.
(Have vocabulary words on the board for students to use as a
reference.) For comprehension, students are writing either a summary
or filling in the graphic organizer that shares the main points of the
story.
5 minutes
Wrap-Up
Have students write on a post-it note what they liked and disliked
about the story this is there ticket out the door.
99
Appendix 1
VOCABULARY SHEET
Mountain Gorillas in Danger
Target Word
inactive
in●ac●tive
(adjective)
1 2 3 4 5
Meaning
Name: __________________
Example
The computer screen was black because it
was ____________.
graze
graze
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
habitat
hab●i●tat
(noun)
1 2 3 4 5
The cows grazed on grass
injure
in●jure
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
I injured myself when I
patrol
pa●trol
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
Police cars patrol the neighborhood looking for
________________________.
adapt
a●dapt
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
When I moved to Alaska I had to adapt to the
_____________
_______________________.
mate
mate
(noun)
1 2 3 4 5
I found the mate to my shoe.
_________________________.
The natural habitat of a fish is
_________________________.
_________________________.
100
crop
crop
(noun)
1 2 3 4 5
People who grow crops have to
infect
in●fect●ed
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
The doctor said that the bacteria had infected
threaten
threat●en
(verb)
1 2 3 4 5
The forest fire threatened the
_________________________
_________________________
the cut on my hand.
_______________________.
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
Graphic Organizer
Adaptations
Reproduction
Mountain
Gorillas in the
Virunga
Mountains
Dangers
How to Help
108
109
Name_________________
Mountain Gorillas in Danger
Book Search
Glossary
1. What page is the glossary on? ________________________
2. What is the meaning of Rain Forest?
_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. What word means the following: a trap set to catch an animal?
__________________
Index
4. What page is the index on? __________________
5. What pages can I find more information about silverbacks? ______________
6. What pages can I find more information about the Hutu tribe?
__________________
Table of Contents
7. Go to the Table of Contents. If I want to find more information on how people
can help, what page would I go to? _______________
8. What page can I find more information about gorillas in danger? ______
Text
9. Read page 7 and tell me one interesting fact about Gorillas.
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
110
Vocabulary Assessment for Mountain Gorillas in Danger
Directions:
In each box draw a picture that represents each of the vocabulary words listed on the
board and then write a sentence explaining your picture and how it relates to the
vocabulary word.
111
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
112
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
Comprehension Assessment for Mountain Gorillas in Danger
Directions: Please write a summary or fill in the graphic organizer to share the main
points of the story.
113
114
Graphic Organizer
Reproduction
Adaptations
Mountain
Gorillas in the
Virunga
Mountains
Dangers
How to Help
115
Building Vocabulary Where Does Garbage Go?
Target Word
toxic
to●xic
(adjective)
1
2
3
waste
waste
(verb)
1 1
2
3
chemical
chem●i●cal
(adjective)
1
2
3
enrich
en●rich
(verb)
1
2
Meaning
4
Name: _______________
Example
Since a toxic chemical was in the air
the people had to
________________________.
5
There was a lot of waste
_________________________.
4
5
Many chemicals are used to
________________________.
4
5
Cereal is enriched with vitamins to
______________________.
3
4
environment
en●vi●ron●ment
(noun)
1
2
3
4
5
An animal’s environment is
_______________________________
5
landfill
land●fill
(noun)
____________________________
The garbage is picked up and taken to
a landfill where it is
_____________________.
1
2
3
4
5
pesticide
pes●ti●cide
(noun)
Pesticides were sprayed on to the
plants to ____________
_______________________.
1
2
3
4
5
116
produce
pro●duce
(noun/verb)
1
2
3
At the grocery store you can buy
produce such as
4
5
recycle
re●cy●cle
(verb)
________________________.
I recycle paper so that it can
_______________________
_______________________.
1
2
3
4
5
appliance
ap●pli●ance
(noun)
Many people have appliances in their
home such as,
_________________________.
1
2
3
4
5
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
KWL Chart for
Where Does Garbage Go?
What I Know
About Garbage?
What I Want to
Know About
Garbage?
What I Have
Learned About
Garbage?


















125
Disposal of Waste
Directions: Work on one of the ways we dispose of garbage. List what kind of garbage
is disposed in this way, the steps the garbage goes through and any drawbacks there are
to our environment. You will be sharing this information with your classmates so make
sure you are an expert on the information.
Garbage and Toxic Waste
Recycling and Reusing
126
Vocabulary Assessment for Where Does Garbage Go?
Directions:
In each box draw a picture that represents each of the vocabulary words listed on the
board and then write a sentence explaining your picture and how it relates to the
vocabulary word.
127
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
128
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
Comprehension Assessment for Where Does Garbage Go?
Directions: Please write a summary about what happens to garbage when it goes to a
landfill. Also, discuss what toxic waste is and where it might come from. Finally,
discuss recycling and reusing waste, share what we can reuse or recycle and what
happens when we recycle.
129
Name__________________
Where Does Garbage Go?
Book Search
Glossary
1. What page is the glossary on? ________________________
2. What is the meaning of decompose? ___________________________
_______________________________________________________
________________________________________________
3. What word means the following: a dull soft, poisonous metal?
__________________
Index
4. What page is the index on? __________________
5. What pages can I find more information about landfills? _____________
6. What pages can I find more information about the production of garbage?
__________________
Table of Contents
7. Go to the Table of Contents. If I want to find more information on reusing
and recycling, what page would I go to? _______________
8. If a word is printed in boldface where can I find the definition of that
word? _____________________________________
9. What pages can I find more information about toxic waste? ___________
Text
10. Look at all the pictures in the story. Which picture is most interesting to
you and WHY?
______________________________________________________
___________________________________________
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
Building Vocabulary The Boy of the Three-Year Nap Name: _____________
Target Word
eager
ea●ger
(adjective)
1
2
3 4
consent
con●sent
(verb)
1 2
3
ashamed
a●shamed
(adjective)
1
2
3
muttered
mut●ered
(verb)
1
2
3
elegant
el●e●gant
(adverb)
1
2
3
impressed
im●pressed
(noun)
1
2
3
pester
pest●er
(verb)
1
2
dusk
dusk
(noun)
1
2
Meaning
Example
The children were eager to go to
_____________________.
5
My parents gave their consent for me
to ________________.
4
5
The student was ashamed for not
____________________.
4
5
I muttered to myself that I would be
late if I ___________.
4
5
The museum had a display of elegant
__________________.
4
5
The height of the___________
impressed me.
4
5
Please do not pester me for any
more_________________________
3
4
5
________________.
At dusk we had to go inside and for
________________.
3
4
5
137
fierce
fierce
(adjective)
1
2
3
grim
grim
(adjective)
1
2
3
___________ are shy animals, but
4
5
they can be fierce.
He had a grim expression on his face
because ______________________
4
5
______________.
138
Vocabulary Words and Definitions
Directions: Cut out all of the vocabulary and definitions and glue them to 3x5 cards. Use
for the Vocabulary Matching game.
eager
Wanting very much to do something.
consent


ashamed
Upset or feeling guilty because one has done
something wrong or silly.
delay
 To make late
 To slow down
muttered
To speak in a low unclear way with the
mouth almost closed.
To give permission
Agree
Rich and fine in quality
elegant
impressed
To have a strong effect on the mind or
feelings
139
pester
dusk
dusk (noun)
1. To trouble or bother
2. Annoy again and again
The time of day just before the sun goes
down
Likely to make violent attacks
fierce
grim
1. Stern, frightening and harsh.
2. Refusing to give up, very stubborn.
140
Character Details
Character Name
Taro
Widow
Merchant
Merchant’s Wife
Merchant’s Daughter
Ujigami
Character Details
141
Story Review Slips
Directions: Cut out these descriptions of the stories and have students put them in order.
Taro is lazy and his mother wants him to help out.
The merchant and his family moved in and Taro was impressed with his wealth.
Taro’s mother pesters Taro to go get a job and tells him the merchant his looking
for someone to work for him.
Taro asks his mother to make him a black kimono and a hat like a priest.
Taro dresses in the black kimono and hat like a priest and paints his face with
charcoal.
Taro frightens the merchant and tells him he must have his daughter wed Taro or
the ujigami will turn the merchant’s daughter into a pot.
The merchant goes to the widow and tells her what the ujigami said.
The widow tells the merchant that her house is in no condition for the daughter to
live there and so she cannot wed Taro. The merchant says that he will fix it up.
The work on the house is done, but the widow has one more condition, that Taro
needs a job. The merchant says that Taro can work for him as a storehouse
manager.
Taro finds out what his mother has done. He weds the merchant’s daughter and is
no longer the laziest man in town.
142
Vocabulary Assessment for The Boy of the Three-Year Nap
Directions:
In each box draw a picture that represents each of the vocabulary words listed on the
board and then write a sentence explaining your picture and how it relates to the
vocabulary word.
143
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
144
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
Comprehension Assessment for The Boy of the Three-Year Nap
Directions: Please write a summary of the main events that occurred in the story.
145
Building Vocabulary Going Home
Target Word
battered
battered
(adjective)
1
2
3
burro
burro
(noun)
1 2
3
scattering
scattering
(verb/noun)
1
2
3
Meaning
bulge
bulge
(noun)
1
2
Example
The book was battered from
_________________________.
4
5
The man guided the burro full of
_________________________.
4
5
She scattered the papers so
_________________________.
4
oxen
oxen
(noun)
1
2
3
4
opportunity
opportunity
(noun)
1
2
3
4
giggles
giggles
(verb)
1
2
Name: ________________
5
The oxen chased the man down
___________________.
5
I had the opportunity to ______
_________________________.
5
The students let out a giggle when the
______________________________
3
4
5
_________________.
He went to the gym everyday so that his
arms would bulge with muscles.
3
stammer
stammer
(verb)
1
2
3
4
5
She stammered when she asked for
_________________
4
5
_________________________.
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
Sequence of Events
Directions: Fill this table in with the main points of the storyline as you read.
153
Vocabulary Words and Definitions
Directions: Cut out the target words and meanings and glue to 3x5 cards. Turn cards
with words face down and play a matching game with them.
Target Word
Meaning
battered
burro
1. Damaged from use or age
2. Injured from repeated hits
A small donkey used to carry
things
To separate in different directions
scattering
An adult bull
oxen
opportunity
A chance for progress or
advancement
To laugh in repeated short sounds
giggles
An outward curve or swelling
bulge
stammer
To speak with involuntary pauses
and repetitions
154
Slip Game Review of Story
The family packs up the car and says goodbye to their friends. They are on their
way to Mexico.
The children are worried about having the right paperwork so they can go back into
the United States.
They sleep in the car and outside, Carlos and his father talk about La Perla.
They drive through several villages. Each time Nora asks if it is La Perla.
On the fourth night they come to La Perla.
Relatives come out to greet the family.
They go into Grandfather’s house and catch up with family.
The children sleep in the car and the cow pokes his head into the car while they
sleep.
The parents come out to check on the children and dance.
The children talk about their parents coming back to live in La Perla
155
Vocabulary Assessment for Going Home
Directions:
In each box draw a picture that represents each of the vocabulary words listed on the
board and then write a sentence explaining your picture and how it relates to the
vocabulary word.
156
Vocabulary Assessment Continued
157
Comprehension Assessment for Going Home
Directions: Please write a summary of the main events that occurred in the story.
158
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