SHARED READING
Reference:
Curtis, P.C. (1999). Bud, not buddy. New York, New York: Delacorte Books.
SS4B04
Interpret past, explain present and predict future consequences of economic decisions.
R1G04
During reading, utilize strategies to
a. determine meaning of unknown words
b. self-monitor comprehension
c. question the text
d. infer
e. visualize
f. paraphrase
g. summarize
Text- Bud, Not Buddy
Teacher Script During Think
Aloud
Strategies Modeled
and Practiced
"I know you don't
understand what it means,
but there's a depression
going on all over this
country. People can't find
jobs and these are very,
very difficult time for
everybody."
"This section of text is describing
the Great Depression. By knowing
this what can we conclude about
the time period this story is written
in? Since the Great Depression took
place from 1929-1941 it must be
somewhere in between."
Activating
background
knowledge and
inferrencing from
contextual clues.
"'Toddy? Toddy boy, are
you all right?' She looked
over to where I was
peeking from under the
bed. 'You little cur, what
have you done to Toddy?'"
"Does anyone know what the word
cur means? Let's take another look
at the context and see if we can
figure it out. Todd's mother seems
to be pretty upset with Bud by the
tone in her voice. Todd has just
gotten caught beating up on Bud
and when his mom entered the
room he acted like he was hurt.
From the context I would say the
word 'cur' is a derogatory
reference. My guess would be that
it means 'low life' or 'despicable'
Let's take a moment to look up this
term in the dictionary to confirm
our assumption. The dictionary
says 'cur' means ' a mongrel.
A contemptible man.' From this we
can see that just by using
contextual clues we can very
accurately figure out the definition
of unknown words"
I modeled how to
use context clues to
identify the meaning
of vocabulary
words.
"When I'd jerked up in bed
and opened my eyes Todd
was standing next to me
with a yellow pencil in his
hand. He was looking at it
like it was a thermometer
and said 'Wow! You got all
the way up to the R' He
turned the pencil toward
me, crunched up against
the headboard. I saw
TICONDEROGA printed on
the yellow wood. The
whole room smelt like
rubber..."
“How many times have Todd
picked on Bud already? 2, yes, and
in a very short amount of time. And
every time Todd’s mother seems to
catch them in a fight, but believes
her son is completely innocent!
Does it seem like Todd's mother
likes this idea of bringing in a foster
kid anymore? Do you think Bud will
be there much longer?
Modeled making a
prediction from the
text.
Boy,' Mrs. Amos said, 'I'm
not the least bit surprised
at your show of
ingratitude. Lord knows I
have been stung by my
own people before. In the
morning I'll be getting in
touch with the Home, and
you shall be returning.'
"From this piece of text, it confirms
our prediction that Bud was not
going to be staying with the Amos'
much longer. What other
contextual clue can we take from
this text that gives us a better
visualization of the Amos family? In
the text Mrs. Amos mentions being
stung by her own people. Since we
know that Bud is an African
American, we can also take away
from this that the Amos family is to.
Modeled
confirmation on
prediction, and used
contextual clues to
enhance
visualization.
Summary: This approach in the classroom shows students how they can use numerous
strategies during reading and think aloud. This type of shared reading could be used when
discussing any text in the classroom. You should always think aloud so students learn to be
master readers. This approach also allows you to connect with students in a “reader to
reader” setting in order to get a deeper understanding of the text. Students participate in
activating their prior knowledge to help form new knowledge. This is a great way for
students to learn in a constructivist setting. I could use this strategy in all areas of the
classroom.