A TEACHING GUIDE
Developed by educator Dr. Julie M. Wood, these box sets use a building block approach that gives early readers an immediate sense of achievement as they master each stage of learning how to read.
EACH BOX FEATURES: • Eleven full-color books • One parents’ guide containing tips on reading with your child • Reward stickers
Aligns with Common Core State Standards for Grades K–1
www.icanread.com
SERIES HIGHLIGHTS: ✓V ery first levels of learning to read: Book One begins at the simplest level and each story gradually increases in complexity—ensuring that the beginning reader experiences a continual feeling of success! ✓G uided Reading Levels: Each story takes beginning readers step by step through guided reading levels, starting at level A in Box 1 and going up to level G in Box 3. ✓A ll-encompassing reading approach: Incorporating all the essential elements of learning to read, this scaffolded approach supports children as they learn to read increasingly challenging words, sentences, dialogue, character development, and plot. Lively illustrations support the text.
Photo by Paul Giguere
About Dr. Julie M. Wood, EdD An international educational consultant, Dr. Julie M. Wood, EdD, served as a Director of the Jeanne Chall Reading Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Dr. Julie’s clients include Apple, Disney Interactive, Nickelodeon, and PBS Interactive, where she serves as the Senior Literacy Advisor for new projects. A former public school teacher and editor, she holds an EdM in Technology in Education and an EdD in Language and Literacy from HGSE. She most recently served as the Academic Learning Specialist at the Kingsley Montessori School in Boston. Her coauthored book on integrating new technologies into teaching, with UK educator Nicole Ponsford, is available from Harvard Education Press. www.icanread.com
LEARN TO READ WITH TUG THE PUP AND FRIENDS Box Set 1 (Guided Reading Levels A–C) BEFORE READING: 1. A sk the group: What are some important questions to ask ourselves as we’re reading a book? Instruct students to keep the following questions in mind as the group reads about Tug the Pup and his friends: Where does the story take place? Who are the characters? What happens to the characters? What is the relationship of the characters? Can we learn something from the characters? Is there a problem? Is there a solution? L.K.1d; RL.K.1,10 2. Hold up each book before reading it, and ask students: What can we learn from looking at the cover illustration and title of the book? Flip through the book, and ask: How will the pictures help us understand what is happening in the story? RL.K.7 3. Ask: What do we call the person who wrote the story? What do we call the person who created the pictures? RL.K.6 4. Tell the class you’re going to take them on a book walk. Ask: What things do you as a reader pay attention to during a book walk? After taking a book walk, ask: What information did you find out? Have students give examples. RL.K.7 5. Ask students: What do you think this story is going to be about? (For example, “I think the story is going to be about a pig.”) SL.K.3 6. Ask students: What do we want to find out about as we read? (For example, “I want to find out what the pig is doing in the story.”) SL.K.3 DURING READING 1. Discuss with the group: What are the main questions we want to answer as we read a story? (Who, what, where, when, and why.) RL.K.1 2. Ask the class: What kind of book is this (fantasy, fairy tale, poetry, informational story, etc.)? Tell students: We know that this is going to be a make-believe story/animal fantasy because the animal characters are acting like people. As we read the story, let’s look for evidence of the animals acting like people. RL.K.5 3. Discuss what you already know about the characters and events. Ask students to predict what they think will happen in the story. RL.K.9
4. Ask: When we read a book, where do we begin? Point to the first word on the page. Say: Take your finger and show me the direction that we will go as we read. Instruct students to listen to you as you read and watch as you point to each word on the page. RF.K.1a,1b,1c 5. Ask: What information can we get from the pictures? How do the words and pictures connect? (For example, “I see an egg cracking. The words say, ‘It is Peg.’ I know that Peg has hatched. She is Pen Hen’s baby chick.”) RL.K.7 6. Tell the students that you will read the story again. Suggest: Let’s read together as we point to each word. RL.K.10; RF.K.1c AFTER READING 1. Discuss with the group: Why is it important to remember details about a story? RL.K.2 2. Ask: What was the story about? Go back to question # 1 in “Before Reading” and discuss the students’ answers. Have students go back into the book to pinpoint where they found the answers. (For example, “The book was about buddies. It takes place on the Little Blue Farm. All the friends like different things, but they are still friends.”) RL.K.1 3. Discuss the theme of friendship and the connections students made to the story. SL.K.1,2 4. Ask: What does it mean to retell a story? Model one of the Tug the Pup stories on chart paper with the group. Remind the students to think about the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Books 1–5 can be retold using a sequence of events describing things that the character can do or likes to do; books 6–11 will have a plot with a beginning, middle, and end. RL.K.2; RF.K.4 5. Instruct students to retell one of the stories in their own words. Have them use the illustrations to show what happened, supporting their version of the story. RL.K.2; L.K.2a,2b,2c,2d; SL.K.5 6. Ask students: Who were the characters in the story? Have students describe them. RL.K.9 7. Create a character chart and display it in the classroom for students to see. Add information as the relationships of the characters on the Little Blue Farm develop through the stories. RL.K.3
www.icanread.com
LEARN TO READ WITH TUG THE PUP AND FRIENDS Box Set 2 (Guided Reading Levels C–E) BEFORE READING:
DURING READING:
1. Discuss with the group: What do good readers do before reading a book? (For example, “Look at the cover illustration to learn about the characters in the story,” “Look at the title to understand what the story will be about,” etc.) Ask students why this helps readers to understand the story. L.1.7; SL.1.1 2. Ask: What information can we get from the cover of the book? How can this help us understand what we are going to read? Discuss the author, illustrator, title, and cover illustration. RL.K.6 3. Choose one story from the box. Read students the title, and then discuss the main idea. Explain that the main idea tells readers what the story is mostly about and that the details support the main idea. Talk about how the title can give us clues to the main idea of the story. For example, read the title Tug the Pup Is Brave and ask students, “What do you think this story will be mostly about?” RL.1.1,2; SL.1.1,1b 4. Ask students: Are you familiar with the characters in the story? What do you already know about them? You can refer to the character charts students created after reading Box Set 1. RL.1.3 5. Tell the class you’re going to take them on a book walk. Ask: What things do you as a reader pay attention to during a book walk? SL.1c,4 6. Ask students: What predictions have you made about what you are going to read? What evidence do you have? (For example, “I think Tug is going to help his friend Big Pig, because I saw in the picture that Big Pig is stuck in the water and Tug is standing at the water’s edge.”) Have students write out their predictions. RL.1.1,7; W.1.1 7. Have students write a question about something from the story that they want to find out about. (For example, “How is Tug the Pup brave?”) RL.1.1; W.1.8
1. Ask the group: What are questions we ask ourselves as we read a story? (Who, what, where, when, and why.) RL.1.1 2. Ask: What kind of book is this (story, poem, informational text, fairy tale, etc.)? How do you know? Find a place in the book with evidence to support your answer. (For example, “This story is fantasy because animals cannot bake a pie in real life.”) RL.1.5 3. Instruct students to listen as you read the story and follow as you point to each word on the page. RF.K.1a,1b,1c; RF.1.1 4. Ask: What do good readers do when they come to a word they do not know? We go back and reread, look at the pictures, and decode. (For example, if we’re trying to figure out the word knit: There is a picture of yarn and knitting needles. Pen Hen “knits a hat.” Kn makes an /n/ sound, and we can sound out “it.”) RF.1.3; L.1.4 5. Discuss the main idea and details as you read. For each story, ask: What is this story about? Let’s find proof in the details. RL.1.1; RF.1.4 6. Talk about the characters, events, problem, and solution of each story. Ask students to predict what they think will happen as the plot unfolds. RL.1.3; RF.1.4 7. Discuss the concept of “theme” with the group. What is the theme of each story? How can we relate the theme to our own lives? RF.1.4; RL.1.2 AFTER READING: 1. Ask students to explain the main idea of each story. Have them go back to the books and find the details that support the main ideas. (For example, “The main idea of Peg the Chick and the Balloon is that Peg the chick rides on a balloon. The details tell us everything she saw. The book says, ‘Peg sees the butterflies,’ ‘Peg sees the trees,’ etc.) RL.1.2; SL.1.1,1b,1c 2. Ask: What was the theme of each story? Discuss the underlying theme of friendship in all of the books and how they demonstrate that friends work together and help each other. Create a chart showing examples of the friendship theme in each of the titles. RL.1.2,9; SL.1.4 3. Have students compare and contrast the adventures of Tug and his friends in different stories. Students should write a sentence and draw a picture for each story. RL.1.9; W.1.3; SL.1.5
www.icanread.com
LEARN TO READ WITH TUG THE PUP AND FRIENDS Box Set 3 (Guided Reading Levels E–G) BEFORE READING: 1. Discuss with the group: What do good readers do before reading a book? Ask students to think about what questions they can ask themselves to help them better understand the story. SL.1.1c,4 2. Ask: What information can we get from the book cover? How can this help us understand what we’re going to read? Discuss the title and cover illustration, and talk about the roles of the author and illustrator. RL.K.6; RL.1.7 3. Ask: What do good readers do when they come to words or phrases they do not understand? We go back and reread, look at the pictures for clues, and decode. L.1.4,4a; RF.1.2,3,4 4. Explain that sometimes authors use words in an unusual or imaginative way, and that we call this “figurative language.” Create a figurative language chart that includes simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, alliteration, idiom, and onomatopoeia. Discuss the meaning of each type of figurative language and how it can be used, and come up with examples of each to fill in the chart. L.1.5 5. Write the phrase “story elements” on the board, and have a group discussion about the elements that all fiction stories have in common: plot (what happens), character (who), conflict (problem/solution), theme (idea or message), and setting (when/where). Ask: Why do you think it is important to identify the “story elements” when reading fiction? Use a book from Box 3 as an example, and find the elements of the story as a group. RL.1.1,3; SL.1.1,1b,1c,2,4
5. Ask: How can we use evidence from the story to demonstrate our understanding of the story elements? Have students provide specific examples from the book(s) that support each of the story elements. RL.1.1,2,3 AFTER READING: 1. Select one book to use as an example, and ask: Why do you think Dr. Julie M. Wood wrote this book? What kind of person do you think she is? Why? Use examples from the story to support your answer. RL.1.1; SL.1.1,1b 2. Have students go back to one of the books and write down the plot, characters, setting, conflict, and theme using evidence from the story. W.1.3,8 3. Ask students: How do the pictures contribute to the meaning of the text? RL.1.7 4. Choose one book, and ask: How did the characters feel in the beginning of the story? How did they feel at the end? How did the friends work together to solve a problem? Tell what one of the characters did and said to show that he or she is a good friend. RL.1.2,3 5. Choose one book, and ask students: What is the lesson of the story? How can you relate the lesson or theme to your own life? Have you ever felt like a character in the story? Explain. RL.1.2; W.1.8 6. Ask students to write opinion pieces stating who is their favorite character and why. W.1.1
DURING READING: 1. Tell students they will be reading with a partner. Discuss effective ways of partner reading. RF.1.4,4a,4b 2. Instruct students to pay attention to words and phrases the author uses in an unusual or imaginative way (figurative language). L.1.4,4a 3. Tell the students they will be reading a book to understand the story elements: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. Ask them to think about how the author and illustrator use pictures and details to develop each of the story elements. RL.1.1,3,7 4. Have the pairs of students read at least one story uninterrupted. RF.1.4,4a
www.icanread.com
WORD WORK BOX SET 1 (GUIDED READING LEVELS A–C) 1. Choose a word from one of the stories (some options are Big, Pig, Nat, Cat, Tug, Pup, and Hen). Ask students: What is the beginning sound in this word? As a group, think of other words that have the same beginning sound. Ask: What is the ending sound in this word? List other words that have the same ending sound. RF.K.3a 2. As a group, name some words from the stories that rhyme, and then think of other words that rhyme with the story words (for example, Pen/Hen, Nat/Cat, Peg/egg, etc.) RF.K.2a 3. As a group, create word families starting with words from the story (for example, Tug, bug, rug, mug, lug, thug). RF.K.2c; RF.K.3d 4. Create flash cards for the class with sight words from the story (for example, he, she, can, like, the, friend, says). RF.K.3c 5. Discuss word relationships from the story. For example, introduce the idea of compound words using fireflies from book #6. Explain that compound words are two words put together to make a new word. Ask students to figure out what the compound word means. L.K.5, 5b 6. Introduce the idea of quotation marks using book #7, The Snowflake. Model on chart paper as the students complete the following sentence: “I like to __________,” said ___________. Have each student write his/her own sentence on an individual piece of paper and illustrate it. Create a class book. L.K.2,2b,2d,6; W.K.1,2,3 7. Have students compare and contrast themselves with one of the characters in the story in terms of things they like to do. W.K.8 8. Introduce the word verb. Explain that a verb is an action word. Have students find the action words in one of the stories. L.K.1b BOX SET 2 (GUIDED READING LEVELS C–E) 1. Have students recall the names of the characters they have read about, and write the names on the board: Tug the Pup, Pen Hen, Crab, Big Pig, Nat the Cat, and Peg the Chick. In pairs, ask students to find the middle sound for each word and give 3 examples of other words with the same sound (/u/ for Tug the Pup, /e/ for Pen Hen, etc.). Ask the students to change the first letter to make a new word. Then ask students to change the last letter to make a new word. RF.1.2,2c
2. Give students a list of words from the stories (some options include pig, hit, tree, play, fun, and hop). Point out the digraphs /tr/ and /pl/. As a group, find other words with these sounds (track, trip, truck, trap, plan, plot, plant, plow, please, etc.). Have each student write a simple sentence for each word. RF.1.2,2b 3. Using the original list of words from activity #2, find the word family for each (-ig, -it, -ee, -ay, -un, and -op). As a group, create a word family chart. RF.1.3 4. Have fun with rhyming words like the characters in Rhyme Time do. Ask each student to think of a fun rhyme to share, then have them take turns saying their rhymes for the group. RF.1.2 5. Have students find an exclamation point used in one of the stories. Ask them to read the sentence to figure out why the author used this end punctuation. RL.1.4; RF.1.1,1a; L.1.2b 6. Ask each student to write an exclamatory sentence that shows an emotion . Have students illustrate their sentences and share them with the group. The group should guess what emotion the writer wanted to convey. W.1.2; SL.1.5; L.1.1j BOX SET 3 (GUIDED READING LEVELS E–G) 1. Have students go back to one or several of the stories and find examples of figurative language. Hint: The author uses onomatopoeia (sound words) and alliteration (a series of words with the same beginning sound). L.1.5 2. Have students create and illustrate a sentence using onomatopoeia. (For example, “The snake made a loud HISSSSSSS.”) Then have them write and illustrate examples of alliteration. (For example, “Lazy lizards lying like lumps.”) RF.1.1,1a; SL.1.5; L.1.5 3. Have students find verbs in the story, and ask them to think of a synonym for each. L.1.5,5d 4. Have students find nouns in the story and make a list of them, being sure to capitalize the proper nouns. L.1.1,2,2a 5. Have students go through the stories and find words and phrases that suggest feelings. Then ask them to think of synonyms (for example, happy/glad) and antonyms (for example, happy/sad). RL.1.4; L.1.5,5d Teaching guide prepared by Marla Conn, a reading specialist, educational consultant, and workshop presenter who specializes in Fountas and Pinnell’s Guided Reading approach and Common Core State Standards alignment. To order, please contact your HarperCollins sales representative, call 1-800-C-HARPER, or fax your order to 1-800-822-4090. Art by Sebastien Braun, © by HarperCollins Publishers. Permission to reproduce and distribute this piece granted by the copyright holder, HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
www.icanread.com