Intermediate Guided Reading Lesson Plan
Title: Nature’s Green Umbrella
Genre:
Tropical Rain Forests
NF
by: Gail Gibbons
Harper Collins
Literacy Core Objective:
3rd Grade 4000703: Recognize features of
informational text:
c: identify information from pictures,
captions, diagrams, charts, graphs and table
of contents, index, glossary.
Text Structure:
Narrative
Content Core Objective:
3rd Grade Standard I objective 2 a: describe
the major world ecosystems
b: identify important natural resources of
world ecosystems
ELL Strategies:
Draw a picture of a rain forest.
Label the canopy of the rain forest Draw in
5 kinds of animals that would live in the rain
forest.
“I Can Statements” - Essential Questions:
Level: Q
Informational
Enduring Understanding: Purpose for reading
The rain forest has layers and is the tropic region of
the world.
The rain forest has natural resources of plants and
animals


I can describe the ecosystem of the rainforest
with its layers
I can name some natural resources from the
rain forest ecosystem
Pacing:
This book should take 4-5 days to complete at the guided reading table.
Day 1: Introduction, vocabulary and read.
Day 2: more vocabulary, graphic organizer and read
Day 3 graphic organizer and read
Day 4: Poster and discuss
Day 5: Finish up and assess.
Before Reading
Vocabulary:
moist
transpire
ecosystem
photosynthesis
selective
tropics
epiphytes
parasitic
leached
canopy
species
chlorophyll
nutrients
emergent
lianas
buttress
reserves
Activate/Build Prior Knowledge:
This book is written by Gail Gibbons an author who loves to write nonfiction. She had made sure
that there are plenty of text features for you to look at in the book.
Browse through the book. Look for some items that have labels and diagrams. Notice that the book
has maps for you to look at. Many of her definitions for difficult vocabulary are right on top of the
diagrams. Browse and look, what kind of things do you know about the rain forest before you even
begin reading?
Comprehension Strategy: Determining Importance
Now as you begin reading, your purpose today is to find the big ideas of the rain forest. Write them
on your sticky note. Try to write your big ideas as a key word. ONE word that describes or tells
what the big idea is about. Then after you have written your big idea. Write some important words
that support or tell about the big idea. When the topic changes, write a new sticky note
Watch as I do one: Read the 1st 5 pages. When you get to the map of South America, stop. I am
going to tell you why I chose these the words I put on my note:
Rain Forests [what are they? (Big idea)]

Equator (tropics)

70-90 degrees

Green

Transpiration

Lots of rain 200 days a year and 240 inches
yr.

Amazon

Millions of species
Now let’s do one together: Read the next page 6. Here I see that the author has changed the topic
just a bit. It has something to do with what all the plants and animals make up. I think the big idea
is Ecosystem. Read the next page: What supporting details can we put on under our big idea on our
sticky note? (sun, air, water, soil, plats, bacteria etc.) Notice that you could also put some ideas
from the diagrams and pictures. The author intends for you to get some ideas from her illustrations.
Try the next section on your own. See if you can come up with a BIG idea and then give some
supporting key words to go with the idea. Use the text for help. You will have to go back and
reread. You will probably finding your self reading and then reading the page again. I will be here
to help you if you need.
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.
Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text:
After Reading
What do your sticky notes look like? Let’s post them on a poster. IF you have notes that have the
same big ideas let’s group them together. See if we came up with the same ideas.
In your reader’s notebook, record your new knowledge about the rain forest.
Attend to Comprehension Within, Beyond, & About the text:
Content Core Integration:(Science, Soc. St., Math, etc.)
Assessment:
Activities:
Draw on a poster the layers of the rainforest.
Include some plants and animals with labels.
Write a summarizing statement about the
resources that come from the rainforest.
Explain your poster to your teacher or your
guided reading group.
Draw the layers of the rainforest. Use your
sticky notes to aid you. Can you make a
diagram that would be important to a book about
the rain forest like Gail Gibbons?
Do an author’s study. Read about Gail Gibbons
at:
http://www.gailgibbons.com/
Try to look at the rainforest from the perspective
of a leaf cutter ant. Make one aspect of the
rainforest very large. Try drawing or painting it
on a paper so that it bumps the edges of the
paper. Perhaps you will only show the wing of a
toucan or the eyes of a gigantic beetle.
Then write a description of the entire creature.
See if the students in your class can guess what
your larger than life size item belongs to. Be
sure you are using your knowledge of the
rainforest.
*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.