Title: Farmer Boy Days
Laura Ingalls Wilder
ISBN 0-06-442061-2
Literacy Standard:
Standard 4 Objective 2d
Standard 7 Objective 1b
Content Standard:
Standard 2 Objective 1a
Standard 2 Objective 1c
Enduring Understanding: (Purpose for reading)
Family members support each other.
Families change over time.
Genre:
HF
Text Structure:
Narrative Informational
Level:
Q
Language Objective:
Use knowledge of root words and suffixes to decode words.
Discuss the author’s purpose for writing the text.
Essential Questions:
How does your family support you? How do you support people in your family?
How is your family different from and similar families100 years ago?
Before Reading
Vocabulary: Introduce the words and have the students fill out the vocabulary chart.
Name of people in the story: Almanzo, Alice,
Phonics/Mechanics: Every day review words the were read incorrectly from previous reading.
Ch 1- bossy r- sort the words from the list.
Eliza Jane, Royal, Pierre, Louis
Ch 1- sedate, pricked, nuzzle, haymow
Ch. 2 woodshed, calf-yoke, breaking, colts, calves
Ch. 3 – frosty, supple, unfamiliar
Ch. 4 – drive, “full of ginger”, trot, gallop, dawn
Use this song to Old MacDonald to go down the list of each group of words.
“Old Mac Donald had a farm, or, er, ir, ur, ar
And on his farm he had some words or, er, ir, ur, ar”
Ar in farm, ar in barn, ar in hardest.
Old Mac Donald had a farm, or, er, ir, ur, ar”
Ch 2- Review the bossy r words that were tricky for the students.
Ch. 5- pasture, velvety, lathered, shears, loft, eaves, fleece, bleated
Ch. 6- frothy, blossoms, bridles, harness, mare
Ch. 7- bale, creases, suspicious, pocketbook, measly, skinflint
Ch. 8- wheelwright, apprentice, envied, whittled, timber
Activate/Build Prior Knowledge:
Chapter 1- Who has been to a farm before? What types of things might you see on a farm? What types of jobs might you have on a farm?
Discuss the suffix –ful. Write the base word on a dry erase board. After the children have decoded the word add –ful and have the children read the words.
Care, mouth, thought, help, cheer, play
Have the students playing a matching game with the words.
Ch 3- ly
Eagerly, woolly, loudly, slowly, perfectly, finally, sternly, quickly, proudly, exactly
Write the base word on a wipe board. Ask the students what the word would be if ly was added to it. Have the students write the word with the suffix
–ly. When all the words are done and the students

Chapter 2- Is everything in life easy? What is something that you have had to do that was difficult? How did you persevere when things became difficult? Share a personal example.
Chapter 3- Have you ever been doing something fun and it turns into something scary?
Chapter 4- How is money important? Can people survive with out money? How do people get money? If you lived on a farm over a hundred years ago, how would you have earned money?
Chapter 5- Have you ever played a joke on someone? What is the value of laughter in your life?
Chapter 6- Have you ever had to wait for something for a long time? What types of things might a farm boy need to wait for?
What do you think the author’s purpose is for writing this story? To show what life was like on a farm. To document her life. So that others can connect with her stories.
Chapter 7- Share some of Aesop’s fables with the group. Tortoise and the Hare, The Ants and the
Grasshopper. Tell the students that in this chapter, the author’s purpose is to teach the reader a lesson.
Our goal is to find out what lesson is being taught.
Chapter 8- Almanzo is going to need to make a big decision in this chapter. Have you or someone in your family ever had to make a big decision? have a list on their wipe boards, have them read their words as they are erasing them.
Ch. 4- Contractions
They’re, couldn’t, it’s, we’re, shan’t, wasn’t, don’t, what’s, somebody’s, hadn’t, can’t, wouldn’t, shouldn’t
Give the students the contraction- have the students write the contraction equation on their wipe board.
Example—they + are = they’re
Chapter 5- ing vs. ed
Sort the words cards by their endings. Read the words as a group. Play "slap a word:" Put 3 cards in front of two students. Say a word and see who slaps the correct one first.
Comprehension Strategy:
Chapter 6- If the author wants us to connect to the story, perhaps we should write a letter to Almanzo letting him know what this chapter reminds us of from our own lives. Some themes may include: picking berries, waiting for something, doing something our parents have asked us not to do, spending time in the mountains.
Chapter 7 – Author’s purpose for this chapter is to learn a lesson. Almanzo learned that honesty pays off. While earning $200 is not usually the pay off for honesty, everyone has had experiences with honesty being the best policy.
Illustrate and write about an experience you have had with honesty.
Chapter 8- The overall author’s purpose for this story was to show readers what it is like to live and work on a farm. Almanzo decided that he wanted to continue on the path for becoming a farmer. If you had to write a recipe for how to be a farmer, what might you need to include? Good with animals, work hard, baling hay, depend on the weather, etc.
During Reading
Using appropriate Guided reading strategies, students will be reading at their own pace and teachers will be listening to students read, monitoring, giving feedback, taking anecdotal notes and running records.
Suggested Pacing- One chapter a day

Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text:
After Reading
**EVERY CHAPTER- Discuss how the family members supported each other during the chapter.
Discuss how the family from over 100 years ago is similar to your family and how they are different from your family.
Chapter 1- What type of relationship does Almanzo have with his father? Is his father proud of him or disappointed with Almanzo? How do you know?
Chapter 2- What was difficult for Almanzo in this chapter? What would you have done if you had a pair of stubborn calves who wouldn’t move? Why do you think Almanzo is working so hard to do a good job on the farm?
Chapter 3- At the end of the chapter Almanzo tells his father that he needs to break the calves to drive while he rides. Then it says that he did it in the barn. Why do you think Almanzo chose to do this in the kitchen?
Chapter 4- When Ma says, “that Providence had sent the dogs to look over them,” what did she mean?
Why was Almanzo’s family lucky to not have their money stolen, when another family’s money was stolen?
Chapter 5- Were you expecting that Almanzo was playing a joke on the other men? If yes, what were some clues that he might be doing that? Was Almanzo’s joke a “good” joke? i.e. no one got hurt or felt bad, and everyone ending laughing.
Chapter 6- Write the letter for Almanzo
Chapter 7- Why did Almanzo’s father trust him to sell the bales of hay? What lessons did Almanzo learn from his trip to town? Have students write and illustrate an experience that they have had with honesty paying off.
Chapter 8- Have the students create a recipe for being a great farmer.
Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text:
Content Core Integration: (Science, Soc. St., Math, etc.) Social Studies
Assessment: Activities:
Chapter 1- Listen for decoding of bossy r words- make a list of ones the students miss. Review at the beginning of next day’s guided reading lesson.
Letter writing
Honesty is the best policy writing
Write a recipe for how to be a great farmer.
Chapter 2- Listen for decoding -ful words. Make a list of ones the students miss. Review at the beginning of next day’s guided reading lesson.
Chapter 3- Listen for decoding -ly words. Make a list of ones the students miss. Review at the beginning of next day’s guided reading lesson.
Chapter 4- Listen for decoding of contractions- make a list of ones the students miss. Review at the beginning of next day’s guided reading lesson.

Chapter 5- Listen for decoding of –ed and -ing words. Make a list of ones the students miss.
Review at the beginning of next day’s guided reading lesson.
Chapter 6-8- Listen to the students read individually.
See if their letter-writing topic is consistent with what is happening in the story.
Check to see if their recipe for being a great farmer includes ingredients that are part of being a farmer.
Listen for understanding of vocabulary and check on their vocabulary worksheets.
* Not all activities will be done in each lesson. Some lessons may take multiple days to complete.
However, all students should be reading each time you meet.