The Decodables - Search for Sounds (Set 1) - Teacher's Guide

The Decodables Teacher's Guides

Search for Sounds

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TABLE OF CONTENTS GENERAL INFORMATION 1–2 Series/Set Descriptions 3 Lesson Components and Resources 4 Series Overview SEARCH FOR SOUNDS 5 SET OVERVIEW 6 Terrific Transportation 13 Wonderful Weather 20 Come to the Farm 26 Wasps, Hornets, and Honeybees 31 Alphabet Authors 34 Oh! Animals 37 Enchanting Nature 43 A Zany Zoo Visit 51 WORKSHEETS

While you’re there, check out our video about

The Decodables, featuring Emily!

She talks about the science of reading, why decodable texts work, and how to use these notes along with the books to further enhance learning in the classroom and at home.

Emily Nudds is a literacy coach and is certified to provide ongoing professional development in the Science of Reading. She holds a Masters degree in Literacy and is certified in childhood education, special education and literacy education and has taught first through fourth grades. She specializes in reading and writing instruction in the primary grades and identification and intervention of struggling readers. She lives with her husband, three children and golden retriever in Pittsford, NY.

N ORWOODH OUSE

P RESS

Introduction Series Description The Decodables series contains books following a systematic, cumulative phonics scope and sequence aligned with the science of reading. Each book allows its reader to apply their phonics knowledge in engaging and relatable texts. The words within each text have been carefully selected to ensure that readers can rely on their decoding skills as they encounter new or unfamiliar words. They also include high-frequency words appropriate for the target skill level of the reader.

The lesson plans in this guide follow the scope and sequence of The Decodables and can be used as a supplement to any core phonics program. The lessons are designed using a phonics lesson plan template that requires explicit instruction. Following similar routines in each lesson allows the student to focus their energy on learning new phonic decoding skills. The lessons are systematic and cumulative, building new skills on skills that have been previously taught. They allow for a gradual release of responsibility (I do, We do, You do). The lessons provide opportunities to build spelling skills and increase vocabulary. The lessons are aligned with standards addressing foundational language and literacy skills. By following these lesson plans, teachers can ensure their students have the skills necessary to accurately, automatically, and fluently read the texts in The Decodables series.

Set Descriptions Search for Sounds — In this set of lessons and texts, students will be introduced to all consonants and vowels that make up our alphabet. They will engage with the text by listening to the story read aloud, listening for words with target sounds in them and identifying the picture of the word that makes the target sound. Teachers and/or caregivers will support students in identifying the letter that makes the target sound. Afterwards, Reading Activities are provided to build vocabulary knowledge, work on comprehension skills and build early reader response skills.

Friends and Family Fun — In this set of lessons and decodable texts, students will be introduced to all five short vowel sounds. They will begin reading consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words and move towards reading CVC words containing consonant digraphs and suffix -s. Following an explicit phonics lesson plan, students will engage their phonological processor through a phonemic awareness warm-up. From there, they will practice decoding and encoding at the word level before moving to the sentence and story level.

Students will apply their phonic knowledge as they fluently read The Decodables.

Things We Like to Do — In this set of lessons and decodable texts, students will be introduced to consonant blends as well the suffixes -ing and -ed. They will read words containing two and three letter blends found at both the beginning and ending of words. Students will continue to build their phonemic awareness skills through segmenting, blending and manipulating phonemes. They will decode and encode individual words before reading and spelling in sentences and stories. Students will apply their cumulative phonic knowledge as they read The Decodables.

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Activities with Friends — In this set of lessons and decodable texts, students will be introduced to long vowel sounds spelled using a vowel-consonant-e (VCe) spelling pattern. Students will increase their phonemic awareness skills, focusing mostly on the advanced phonemic awareness skill: phoneme manipulation.

Students will strengthen their reading and spelling skills at the word, sentence and story level. Students will build automaticity and fluency as they apply their knowledge while reading The Decodables.

Discover Plants and Animals — In this set of lessons and decodable texts, students will be introduced to the many vowel teams of the English language as well as the suffix -y. Students will strengthen their advanced phonemic awareness skills through phoneme manipulation tasks, but will remove all scaffolds. Students will continue to strengthen their reading and spelling skills in multi-syllabic words containing vowel teams, suffix -y and all previously taught phonics skills. Students will continue to apply their cumulative phonics skills as they read The Decodables.

Fables and Folktales — In the final set of lessons and decodable texts, students will learn about r-controlled vowels, diphthongs and complicated vowel teams. Students will continue to strengthen their phonemic awareness skills through blending, segmenting and manipulating phonemes within words without the use of scaffolds. Students will apply their increased phonic knowledge as they decode and encode multi-syllabic words, sentences and stories containing r-controlled vowels, diphthongs, complicated vowel teams and all previously taught skills. They will apply their skills in connected text while reading The Decodables.

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Lesson Components and Resources This section provides an explanation of the instructional routines found in each component of the lesson plans designed specifically for the Search for Sounds texts.

Teacher Notes: • This section describes the pre-teaching that should occur prior to reading the text.

Story Guide: • Teachers will read from this section as students engage with the text.

Vocabulary Development: • Students will learn new content-specific vocabulary as well as comprehension-specific vocabulary.

• Picture sorts are used to develop categorization skills.

Comprehension: • Students practice sharing their understanding of the text by retelling narratives and identifying key ideas and details in informative texts.

Extension Activity: • Students extend their learning through reader response activities that require them to share their learning using a combination of drawing and writing.

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The Decodables — Series Overview The Decodables series contains books following a systematic, cumulative phonics scope and sequence aligned with the science of reading. Each book allows its reader to apply their phonics knowledge in engaging and relatable texts. The words within each text have been carefully selected to ensure that readers can rely on their decoding skills as they encounter new or unfamiliar words. They also include high-frequency words appropriate for the target skill level of the reader.

Within the 6 different sub series, readers grow comfortable with a mix of formats; wordless books and fiction and nonfiction with photos or original art illustration. Readers will also learn various components of books such as chapters, tables of contents, and word lists.

Search for Sounds

Friends and Family Fun

Fables and Folktales

Activities with Friends

Things We Like to Do

Discover Plants and Animals

The Decodables — Complete Series Search for Sounds Friends and Family Fun Things We Like to Do Activities with Friends Discover Plants and Animals Fables and Folktales

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Grade K Grade K-1 Grade 1 Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 2

Set 1 (8 books) Set 2 (12 books) Set 3 (8 books) Set 4 (6 books) Set 5 (9 books) Set 6 (9 books)

Search for Sounds — Overview The Search for Sounds series is designed to help students develop phonemic awareness within the context of story and picture. Students are presented with wordless books and have fun finding items in the pictures that highlight target sounds. Each sound’s related letter is also on the page in a clear lowercase font. Cumulative read-aloud texts linked to the pictures are read by the teacher and present social studies and science concepts of interest to young children. Some of the books include recurring characters exploring the topics while others are more typical nonfiction. Interest will be generated as your students work to isolate, identify, and link the sounds to words. The books include lists of suggested words/sounds to search for as well as a note to the caregiver.

Wasps, Hornets, and Honey Bees

Wonderful Weather

Wonderful Weather

The Decodables — Search for Sounds (Set 1)

Phonics Focus

Terrific Transportation Wonderful Weather Come to the Farm Wasps, Hornets, and Honeybees Alphabet Authors Oh! Animals Enchanting Nature A Zany Zoo Visit

Consonants with sound in initial position of letter name Consonants with sound in the final position of letter name Consonants with sounds that overlap another letter Consonants with a name with no sound Short Vowels Short Vowels Short Vowels Review

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Terrific Transportation — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Lesson Plan:

Teacher Notes Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: b, d, j, k, p, q, t, v, z

Vocabulary ● Picture cards of Development various vehicles on pages 9–12

After reading the text, review that transportation means to move someone or something from one place to another. Vehicles are used to move people or things. There are many kinds of vehicles.

Have students brainstorm the vehicles they remember from the text. ● 3-column sorting They may use the book to help them remember. Encourage students to sheet on page 56 use precise vocabulary for each vehicle.

Have students cut out the vehicle picture cards.

Sort the cards into the following categories: vehicles that travel on the ground/in the air/on the water.

After students sort by the categories listed above, challenge them to sort the vehicles in a different way of their choosing. (Categories may include: vehicles for jobs/vehicles for fun -or- vehicles with wheels/ vehicles without wheels).

Comprehension Students should practice retelling the book by identifying the ● The book Terrific characters, the setting, and a few key details.

Transportation ● Characters are who the story is about. Main characters are who the story is mostly about.

Who are the main characters in this text? (Bob, Victor, Zara) ● The setting is where the story takes place or happens.

Look at each page and identify the setting:

P. 2–3: classroom

P. 4–5: city

P. 6: lake

P. 7: sledding hill

P. 8–9: school ● Share about the kinds of vehicles the kids saw throughout the book and what they are used for.

Extension Activity

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● Paper

Reader Response Journal Entry:

● Writing/ Drawing Tools

se a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to U share about a vehicle you learned about today that was new to you.

Terrific Transportation — Story Guide b, t, v Pages 2 and 3 Hi everyone! My name is Bob. I am five years old. I am one of the boys in my kindergarten class.

My class is learning about transportation. Do you know what transportation is? My teacher says it is the way we travel from place to place, or how things are carried from one place to another place. We can walk or run, but usually we use vehicles for transportation.

My teacher put up a poster that shows some vehicles. The poster gave us an idea. My friends Zara, Victor, and I are hunting for transportation toys in our classroom. It is lots of fun. We have found a van, a jet, a bus, a bulldozer, two trucks, two boats, and a digger.

Look at Zara jump! She has found another vehicle. It is a bike. Now we have ten vehicles. Can you name them all?

Keywords:

bike, blocks, boats, Bob, boys, bus, teacher, toys, van, vehicles, Victor

d, p, t Pages 4 and 5 Vehicles can be tools for workers. Construction workers use big vehicles to help them build bridges, buildings, and roads. A digger scoops the dirt out of the ground. This one is making a basement for a new building. A bulldozer can push the dirt to make the ground smooth. A dump truck carries important things to the builders and takes junk away.

Some workers travel a lot in their vehicles. A taxi driver drives around taking people where they need to go. A tow truck driver helps vans, cars, and trucks that get stuck. And a police officer needs a good police car to rush to people who need help.

Some workers travel on water for work. Barges are like water trucks. They carry big loads down a river or lake. Tugboats help other boats get where they need to go.

Many other workers, like bus drivers, use vehicles for work. Can you think of some more?

Keywords:

digger, dirt, dump truck, people, police car, taxi, tow truck, tugboats

k, p, q Page 6 Kids and grownups use vehicles when they are playing and having fun.

When the weather is warm, there are many ways to play on vehicles. Zara and I like to ride our bikes near the lake.

We stop to look at the boats on the lake. Victor is in a kayak with his friend, Quinton. We wave to them, but they are so busy paddling that they don’t see us. Victor’s dad is paddling standing up!

My mother likes to ride her quad bike in the field by the lake. She is having fun with the people on dirt bikes.

Keywords:

kayak, kickstand, paddling, people, quad, Quinton

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t, z Page 7 We can play on vehicles when the weather is cold, too. I went to a winter festival with my family, and I saw lots of vehicles.

Some people had fun sliding down a big hill on their toboggans. They could go very fast.

Other people used the ice rink. They had to stop sometimes to let the Zamboni clear the ice and make it smooth again. I would like to drive a Zamboni when I am big. It looks like fun, and it is an important job.

After we had been outside for a while, we bought hot chocolate and donuts from a man in a tent.

He had other tasty treats to sell, too.

Did you notice that these vehicles don’t have wheels? Sometimes vehicles can slide on the ground instead of turning wheels. I like to slide on the ice in my boots!

Keywords:

tent, toboggans, Zamboni, zigzag

b, j, p Pages 8 and 9 My school is a busy place. There are lots of kids and everyone must use transportation to get to school. We also need to get from place to place in the building.

I walk to school with my big brother, so I don’t use a vehicle. My transport is walking. Today I have on my boots because it is wet outside.

J ackie comes to school in a special van. It lowers her wheelchair to the ground so she can go right into the playground.

A lot of people come on buses. The buses line up. A teacher watches to make sure everyone gets off safely. Then they go to the schoolyard.

Zara just got out of a truck. She grabs her backpack and waves goodbye to her dad. He was her driver today. Sometimes her big brother drives her instead.

Zara and I will go to the kindergarten playground to meet Victor and our other friends. We can play with toys or dig, or just run around until the bell rings. Then we will jump, skip, or run to line up.

Keywords:

backpack, Bob, boots, brother, buses, Jackie, jump, people, playground

b, d, j, k, p, q, t, v, z Pages 10 and 11 We have learned so much about transportation in my kindergarten class. We learned that some kinds of transportation work on land. Other kinds of transportation work in water or in the air.

We’ve learned about moving from place to place using our bodies and using vehicles.

Today, Victor, Zara, and I are painting transportation pictures. We are each painting four of our favorite vehicles. I am painting a land picture. Zara is painting an air picture. Victor is painting a water transportation picture.

When we are done, our teacher will help us write the names of each vehicle. I can write a letter for the first sound I hear and she will help me with the rest. Why don’t you look at our pictures and see what vehicles we like the best? Do you have other favorites?

Keywords: balloon, Bob, bulldozer, dirt, drawing, dump truck, jet, jet ski, kayak, pirate ship, poster, quad bike, teacher, tugboat, vehicle, Victor, Zamboni, Zara

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Wonderful Weather — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Lesson Plan:

Teacher Notes Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Vocabulary Development

Focus Letters: f, l, r, s, x

● Picture cards of After reading the text, review that weather is what the air and sky various weather are like outside of our homes. It refers to the temperature and the on pages 16–19 precipitation. People have to choose different clothing depending on the weather. ● Sorting sheets on

pages 55 and 56

Have students recall the different types of weather from the text. (rainy, snowy, windy, sunny, hot, cold, etc.)

Have students cut out the clothing picture cards.

Sort the cards into categories of what would be worn in different weather situations. Students must describe why they sorted their cards the way they did. ● The book Wonderful Comprehension Students should practice retelling the book by identifying key ideas and Weather details. The teacher will provide the key idea for each set of pages and students will listen for and share details that support the key idea. ● Key Idea: There are many different types of weather.

– Details: sunny, windy, rainy, snowy, stormy ● Key Idea: Meteorologists are scientists who study the weather.

– Details: They use tools to see what is happening in the sky. They predict what the weather will be. They are sometimes on TV. ● Key Idea: We have to choose the right clothes to wear depending on the weather.

– Details: Mittens and fluffy hats are used to keep warm when it’s cold out. Sun hats, shorts, swimsuits and T-shirts are worn to keep cool when the sun is hot. ● Key Idea: Tools are needed when weather is “messy”.

– Details: Snow plows and shovels clear snow. Rain boots, rain hats, and umbrellas keep us dry when it’s raining. ● Key Idea: Animals protect themselves from the weather.

Extension Activity

● Paper

– Details: Some animals build nests in trees or in the ground. Some animals dig tunnels in the ground. Some animals migrate to another part of the country or world. Some animals hibernate through the winter.

Reader Response Journal Entry:

● Writing/ Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to Drawing Tools share about your favorite season, the type of weather found during that season and what you wear.

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Wonderful Weather — Story Guide f, l, r, s Pages 2 and 3 What do you think of when you hear the word weather?

Rain? Snow? Sunny days? Weather is what the air and sky are like outside of our homes and buildings.

The weather can be wet messy things like rain or snow, but it can also be the temperature. Temperature tells us how warm it is outside. Is it hot? Is it freezing? Is it just right? The weather can also cause amazing sights and sounds like beautiful rainbows or flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder.

Wind is another important part of the weather. Wind is air moving across the Earth. Sometimes the wind is soft and gentle. Other times it is very fast and powerful.

We think about the weather every day. It helps us know what to wear when we go outside. It helps grownups decide when to do certain jobs or to go different places. Weather is all around us!

Keywords:

flower, fog, lamp, lightning, rain, rainbow, rug, sky, snow, snowman, snowsuit, sunny f, m, s, x

Pages 4 and 5 Meteorologists are the scientists who study and learn about the weather. They use different tools to see what is happening high in the sky. Then they forecast or say what they think the weather will be. They may forecast a sunny day or a rainy day, or they may tell us there will be mist in the morning. Meteorologists also forecast the temperature so we know if it will be freezing or warm.

Many meteorologists have a weather box that holds some of the weather tools.

Some meteorologists are weather forecasters on TV or on the Internet. They show people what they think will happen that night and the next day. They also forecast the weather for each day of the week from Monday to Sunday.

Forecasters tell people when it is very foggy or if big storms are coming so people can be safe. You don’t want to be outside in a big storm. You and your grownups can get ready if the meteorologists say a storm is coming.

Keywords: axe, box, foggy, forecaster, forest, man, meteorologist, mist, mother, mountain, snow, storm, sun, sunny, swings, symbol f, m, r, s Pages 6 and 7 Do you wear your swimsuit to build a snowman? No? Why not? Do you wear your snowsuit to swim at the beach? No? Why not? Do you use your umbrella to shovel snow? No? Why not?

Children and grownups must think about the weather when they decide what to wear or do.

Some clothing helps us keep warm. We wear mittens and fluffy hats. We wear jackets and thick socks. We want our skin to be cozy.

Other clothing helps us stay cool and can protect us from the sun. We wear sunhats and shorts or swimsuits and T-shirts. We want our skin to be cool in the air and safe from the hot sun.

We have special tools we use when the weather is messy, too. Some grownups drive snowplows or snowblowers to move heavy snow. Some grownups use snow shovels to clear it away.

People use umbrellas and waterproof clothing to keep dry when it rains. Many children who live in rainy places have rain boots, raincoats, and rainhats. Fishermen who work hard on the ocean have rain clothes, too.

Keywords: fish, fishermen, man, mittens, mom, rain boots, raincoats, rainhats, skin, snow, snowblower, snowman, snowplow, sprinkler, street, sun, sunhats, sunscreen, swimsuit

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f, m, n, x Pages 8 and 9 Animals find ways to be safe when the weather changes. Many animals make nests in trees.

Nuthatches and other birds may huddle in their nests when it rains. Other animals, like some squirrels, make nests high in trees, too. The branches help keep the bad weather away.

Some animals, like mink, build dens in logs to stay dry and warm. They can live in them all year long. A fox will dig a den, too. They are cozy in their dens. Leaves can be a good shelter for small animals that want to stay dry and hidden.

Other animals make their nests under the ground. Moles dig tunnels. They put grass in their tunnels to make nests. This keeps them safe from bad weather and other animals.

Some animals like rainy weather and they don’t have to hide. Flamingos and frogs think rain is fun.

Keywords:

flamingos, fox, frog, mink, mole, nest, nuthatches m, n

Page 10 Many animals must protect themselves from winter weather. Some, like monarch butterflies and mourning doves, migrate to warm places to get away from the freezing snow. This means they fly a very long way to a winter home. Then, in the spring, they fly back.

Other animals crawl into a den or hole and sleep through the winter. They stay out of the snow and sleet. Marmots are furry animals that often live around mountains. A big family of marmots will crawl into their cozy nest in October and won’t come out for at least six months!

Some newts sleep all winter in nests under logs, in leaf piles, or in holes.

Keywords:

marmot, monarch butterflies, mountains, mourning doves, nest, newt f, l, r, s, x

Page 11 Animals must be careful of the sun, too. Wild animals don’t have sunhats or sunscreen, but they have ways to stay safe.

Some reptiles, like snakes and lizards, hide under rocks or in holes when it is very hot. Many fish will swim down to cooler water when it gets too hot. They will swim back up later in the day.

People wear warm clothes in the winter and put on cooler clothes in the summer. Many furry animals change their clothes, too. Rabbits and foxes are two of the animals that shed their winter fur for lighter summer fur. A fox who is shedding his fur has a very messy coat.

Changing weather is part of life. People and animals have all learned ways to enjoy the weather and be safe, too.

Keywords:

fish, flowers, fox, fur, lizard, log, rabbit, rocks, snake, sun, sunny, swim

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Come to the Farm — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: hard and soft c and g

Vocabulary Development

Comprehension

● Picture cards of characters and settings from the story on pages 23–25

Narrative stories have characters and a setting (or settings). The characters are who the story is about. The setting is the place or places where the story happens.

● 2-column sorting sheet on page 55

Have students cut and sort the picture cards into two columns: characters/settings

● The book Come to the Farm

Have students recall the characters in the story and the different places on the farm they visited. They may use the book for support.

Students should retell the parts of their story in the order they occurred from beginning to middle to end.

They may use the pictures in the story for support as needed.

Encourage students to use characters’ names and specific language to describe the setting and events.

Extension Activity

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● Paper

Reader Response Journal Activity:

● Writing / Drawing Tools

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to share about all of the things that can be found on a farm.

Come to the Farm — Story Guide Hard g Pages 2 and 3 Hi! I am Gale and I am a girl in my kindergarten class. Today we are visiting the farm. I am so excited. We explore the farm in our groups. I am in a group with my friends Zara, Victor, and Bob. Every group has a grownup. Our grownup is Victor’s dad, Mr. Grant! He is fun.

First, we are going to see the goats. Mr. Grant says we must be careful when we go through the gate. Some of the goats like to try and escape. They can get into trouble outside their pen. They might run on the road or eat something gross. Did you know that goats will even look in the garbage to see if they can find food they like?

Keywords:

Gale, girl, goats, (Mr.) Grant, gravel, green, group, grownup Hard c

Pages 4 and 5 The goats were fun, but now we are looking at big fields full of crops. Crops are the plants the farmers grow. They have a lot of crops here. I can see some of my favorites, like corn and cabbage and carrots.

We can see a funny scarecrow in the corn field. The farmer told us the scarecrow scares away crows and other birds that eat their crops. But I see a crow sneaking past the scarecrow! I wonder if it will get some corn.

We each got to pull up a carrot to eat. We had to wash off the dirt, but now it is crunchy and delicious.

Keywords:

cabbage, carrot, corn, crops, crow Hard c and g

Pages 6 and 7 While we were eating our carrots, Mr. Grant took our group over to the fence to see the cows.

They look big to me, and they just stand there and chew grass.

A big white goose is walking around the cows. The goose is gobbling. It looks and sounds funny.

Maybe they are friends.

We kept walking past all the cattle to look at some of the big machines the farmers use. There is a big tractor with a cultivator behind it. A cultivator digs up the soil between the growing crops so that weeds can’t grow.

Mr. Grant showed us some grain in a big barrel. He said that grain was being used to feed the horse and her little colt. The colt is cute. He is galloping in the field.

Keywords:

carrots, cattle, colt, cows, crops, cultivator, galloping, girl, goose, grain, grass, group

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Soft c and g Pages 8 and 9 Mr. Grant took us past a garden that has celery growing in it.

We are sitting down near the celery to wait for our turn to have a ride on a wagon. The wagon is pulled by a giant horse. It is much bigger than the colt.

There are two plastic circles on the ground. Mr. Grant gives us some pictures of animals to put in the circles. If the animal could live on a farm, like a hen or a pig, it goes in the red circle. If the animal could live in a zoo, a circus, or in the wild, like a giraffe or a lion, it goes in the blue circle.

Keywords:

celery, centipede, circle, giant, giraffe c and g review

Pages 10 and 11 The farm is so big and there is so much to see. But we must go back to school soon, so we start to walk back to the bus.

On our way, we walk past a cellar where the farmer keeps some of the crops to eat in the winter.

Then we pass the chicken coop, where lots of chickens and their babies peck at grain on the ground.

We walk towards a gate while the horses and cows graze on soft green grass. Goodbye farm. What a great day!

Keywords:

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cellar, coop, cows, crops, gate, giant, girl, goose, grain, grass, graze, green, ground

Wasps, Hornets, and Honeybees — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: w, h, y

Vocabulary Development

● Picture cards of insect and noninsect creatures on pages 29–30 ● 2-column sorting sheet on page 55

Comprehension

● Venn Diagram on page 54

Insects are bugs with 6 legs. Wasps, hornets and honeybees are types of insects.

Have students cut and sort the pictures of bugs into creatures that are insects and those that are not. (They should pay attention to the number of legs).

Students should share the facts they learn about wasps, hornets and honeybees by comparing and contrasting them.

Using a Venn Diagram, the teacher should record the similarities and differences between two of the insects. The similarities should be placed in the area of the diagram where the two circles intersect. The differences should be placed in the areas where the circles do not intersect.

Extension Activity

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● Paper

Reader Response Journal Activity:

● Writing / Drawing Tools

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to share how wasps, hornets, and honeybees help the environment.

Wasps, Hornets, and Honeybees — Story Guide w Pages 2 and 3 Insects live all around us. We see ants crawling on the ground. We feel mosquitoes creeping up our arms, looking for a tasty place to bite. We hear flies buzzing about the kitchen. And we often see wasps in many different places.

Wasps live all around the world except where it is extremely cold. They don’t live in water, but they are often near water so they can drink. Wasps can be found in the woods and open places. They can hide in grass, in the ground, or under porches and behind sheds.

There are many kinds of wasps. Some are very big and some are teeny tiny. Because wasps are insects, they have six legs. Many of them have wings. Wasps also have a very skinny part in their body that is sometimes called their waist. Many years ago, some women wore special clothes so they could have a wasp waist, too!

Wasps are not bees and they don’t make honey, but they are very busy.

Keywords:

waist, wasp, water, wings, woods h

Pages 4 and 5 There are many kinds of wasps. Some wasps are called hornets. Hornet nests can be found in many places. Some are built hanging from the roof of a house. Some are built in house attics. Others are built in holes in the ground, or hollow trees and logs in the woods.

A hornet queen will start to build a nest. The nest looks like it is made of paper because it is made with chewed-up wood. Some nests are as big as a basketball! This will be the home for all her eggs and, later, for the grownup hornets. All hornets will protect their home, so people and animals should leave them alone.

Hornets can be good for people’s gardens. They like to eat other insects that would eat the garden plants.

People are often afraid of hornets because they can sting you and it hurts. One hornet can sting you more than one time, too. So be careful.

Keywords:

hamburger, hand, hat, head, hearts, holes, hornet, house, hurts y

Pages 6 and 7 Yellowjackets are another common type of wasp. They like to eat sweet things, so they might bother you at a picnic or BBQ. They might come for your yogurt or soda or fruit.

Like all wasps, a yellowjacket queen lays eggs. Tiny yellowjacket eggs have yolk to feed the growing insects, but yellowjacket eggs do not look like a chicken egg and yolk!

Yellowjackets have sharp stingers. If you get stung by a yellowjacket, you will probably let out a big yell! Just try to stay away from them. Don’t wave your hand at a yellowjacket. Doing so might scare it, causing it to sting you. Leave it alone and ask a grownup for help.

Keywords:

yell, yellow, yellowjacket, yogurt, yolk

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h Pages 8 and 9 Honeybees might look a bit like yellowjackets and other wasps, but they are not wasps. Honeybees are hairy and wasps are not hairy. Honeybees have waists and wings, but honeybees are not as skinny as wasps. And honeybees don’t come to BBQs or picnics!

Honeybees live in a hive with many other honeybees. The queen is the boss of the hive. Worker honeybees get food, build honeycombs, and protect the hive. Sometimes they need to find a new home and a big swarm of honeybees will fly together to set up a new hive.

Honeybees are very important. They pollinate flowers, fruits, and vegetables. When a honeybee leaves a flower, bits of pollen stick to her. Then, when she goes to the next flower, she leaves some pollen behind. The new pollen helps the second plant grow seeds and fruit. Butterflies and hummingbirds help pollinate plants, too.

Keywords:

hairy, hedge, hive, honeybee, hummingbirds w, h, y

Pages 10 and 11 Wasps can sometimes be pests, but we need honeybees. They are pollinators and they make the honey that we love to eat.

Bees like blue, purple, and yellow flowers. The flowers that the honeybees visit can make honey have different tastes and colors. Honey can be yellow, golden, orange, or even brown.

Beekeepers make hives for honeybees. The honeybees have safe, warm homes where they can make enough honey for the bees to eat, as well as some for the beekeeper to collect and sell.

Inside the hive, the bees make beeswax. The beeswax is used to make honeycombs. Honeycombs are rows of little hexagon-shaped pockets that can hold honey, pollen, and eggs.

The beekeeper makes sure the honeybees have enough honey for the winter. Then the extra honey is put in bottles and sold to people who want a yummy treat.

Keywords:

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hexagon, hive, honey, honeybees, honeycombs, wagon, wasps, wheels, white, yellow

Alphabet Authors — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: a, i

Vocabulary Development

● The book Alphabet Authors

angry- To feel or show strong feelings of being mad or upset.

In this story, the alligator and the impala become angry for different reasons.

Talk about why each character becomes angry and how they overcome their anger.

Allow students to share about times that they felt angry, what caused their anger and how they overcame their anger.

Comprehension

● The book Alphabet Authors

Students should retell the parts of their story in the order they occurred from beginning to middle to end.

They may use the pictures in the story for support as needed.

Encourage students to use characters’ names and specific language to describe the setting and events.

Extension Activity

● Paper

Opinion Writing Activity:

● Writing / Drawing Tools

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to answer this question: Do you think the impala had a right to be angry with the iguana? Tell why or why not.

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Alphabet Authors — Story Guide a Pages 2 and 3 Hi! I am Zara and I am in kindergarten. We are making alphabet books in our class. Our big reading buddies are helping us write our stories. My reading buddy is Alice. She is in fifth grade, so she can write a lot of words. Our story is about an alligator!

One day the alligator went for a walk on the avenue beside his river. He saw some books in the grass beside the avenue. One book was an atlas. An atlas is a book full of maps. The alligator looked at the maps. Another book was an alphabet book. The alligator looked at the alphabet book. He saw food in the book.

The alligator said, “I am hungry. Where is an animal for me to eat?” But all the animals, like rabbits, raccoons, and a cat, were running to hide from the alligator. He kept walking on the avenue.

Keywords:

Alice, alligator, alphabet, atlas, avenue, cat, maps a

Pages 4 and 5 Soon the alligator came to a garden. Abby was picking asters in her garden. When she saw the alligator, Abby ran to her apple tree and climbed up. An apple fell on the alligator’s head. He was angry. Then he looked at the apples on the ground and began to eat them. Soon he had a tummy full of apples and he fell asleep.

Abby looked at the alligator. He snored. Abby crept down from the apple tree and ran quickly to her house. She didn’t want to meet an alligator with a tummy ache!

Keywords:

Abby, alligator, apple, asters, axe i

Pages 6 and 7 Hi! I am Victor and I am in kindergarten, too. My reading buddy is Isabel. She can write a lot of words. Our story is about an impala and an iguana.

One day an impala was eating grass in a field. An iguana climbed up the impala and put itchy powder on his back. The iguana thought it was funny but it was mean. The impala jumped and rolled and ran. He rubbed his back on a tree. But his back was too itchy!

Then the impala rolled in a puddle of ink. He rolled and rolled until the itch stopped.

Keywords:

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iguana, impala, inchworm, ink, insect, Isabel, itchy

i Pages 8 and 9

The impala marched over to the iguana. He put his nose one inch from the iguana. He said, “That was mean.”

The iguana said, “It was a joke. It was funny.”

The impala said, “It was not funny. You should go far, far away. I don’t want to see you anymore.

You are not my friend.”

The iguana was surprised. She did not want to be mean. She left the impala and all their friends.

She went far, far away so she could think and think and not be mean. It got cold and dark, so the iguana crawled into an igloo and stayed there until spring.

Then she went back to the impala and said, “I am sorry. Itchy powder is not fun. Can we be friends?” And they were friends again.

Keywords:

igloo, iguana, impala, insect a, i

Pages 10 and 11 We wrote funny stories. They have lots of animals in them. We will make some a and i animal pages for our alphabet book. Let’s list the animals we thought of: an albatross bird, alligator, alpaca, iguana, inchworm, insect, and impala.

Can you think of more?

Keywords:

albatross, Alice, alligator, alpaca, alphabet, iguana, impala, inchworm, insect, Isabel

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Oh! Animals — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: o, u

Vocabulary Development

● The book Oh! Animals

Fact -v- Opinion

Comprehension

● The book Oh! Animals

Students should practice retelling the book by identifying key ideas and details. The teacher will provide the key idea for each set of pages and students will listen for and share details that support the key idea.

Nonfiction authors often share their opinion about a topic and use details to support their opinion. An opinion is an idea or feeling that someone has about a topic. A fact is a statement that is true. As you read the text, explicitly point out the facts as well as the author’s opinions.

● Key Idea p. 2-3: Octopuses are amazing animals.

– Details: They swim backwards. They can crawl on the bottom of the ocean. They can swim up, down, left and right. They use suction circles to pull food to their mouths. They can change color. ● Key Idea p. 4-5: Ostriches are interesting birds.

– Details: They are taller than a man. They run but cannot fly. They can kick hard enough to hurt a lion. They lie on the ground to hide. ● Key Idea p. 6-7: Umbrellabirds are rainforest birds.

– Details: They have black and red feathers. They lay eggs. They hop from branch to branch. ● Key Idea p. 8-9: Otters are cute animals that live in water.

– Details: They can live in rivers, lakes and oceans. They build dens in the water to live in. Mother otters teach their babies to swim.

Otters eat food found in water like crabs, snails and clams. ● Key Idea p.10-11: Oxen are cattle that do work.

– Details: They pull plows or lug loads. They wear a yolk to help pull. Owners can teach oxen commands like “whoa!” Oxen work together.

Extension Activity

● Paper ● Writing / Drawing Tools

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Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to share the animal you read about that you think is the most interesting.

Share why you think it is so interesting.

Oh! Animals — Story Guide o, u Pages 2 and 3 Have you ever seen an octopus? They are amazing animals. They live underwater in the ocean. An octopus has eight long arms. It also has big bulgy eyes and a round body.

An octopus swims backwards. It can also crawl on the bottom of the ocean, looking for food. An octopus often swims up and then down in the water. It can be upside down or right side up.

An octopus likes to eat other ocean animals like shrimp and lobster. It uses the suction circles on its arms to pull the food to its mouth.

An octopus can change its color. When it is on top of some sand or a rock, it can change color so it is camouflaged.

How does an octopus keep track of all its arms? Just imagine putting an undershirt on eight arms!

Keywords:

gull, lobster, octopus, rock, undershirt, underwater o

Pages 4 and 5 Ostriches are huge birds. They are taller than a man. They are odd birds because they can’t fly, but they can run very fast. Ostriches also have strong legs and claws. An ostrich can kick hard enough to hurt a lion!

They live in dry grassy places in Africa with lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs, giraffes, zebras, and other animals.

A mother ostrich lays her eggs in a hole in the ground after it is dug by the father ostrich. The mother sits on the eggs all day waiting for the eggs to hatch. The father sits on the eggs all night.

When the chicks hatch, they stay with their mom and dad. Sometimes ostrich parents make shade with their wings to keep their babies out of the rain or hot sun.

Sometimes an ostrich will lie on the ground to hide. It stretches its long neck and lies still. Its feathers match the sandy ground so it is hard to see.

Keywords:

dogs, hot, log, mom, ostrich u

Pages 6 and 7 An umbrellabird is a bird that lives in the rainforest. They are mostly black, but some have red feathers, too. They have a feather tuft on top of their heads that looks like an umbrella. Some people think the tuft of feathers is funny.

Umbrellabird moms make nests for their eggs. The nests are high up in the tree to keep the eggs safe.

Umbrellabirds are big birds and they can’t fly very far. They often hop between branches. When they sleep, they look like black mops. Their heads are under their umbrella feathers and their feet are under their wings.

Keywords:

bug, mud, sun, tuft, umbrella, umbrellabird

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o, u Page 8 Otters are cute animals. There are different kinds of otters. Some live by lakes and rivers. Some live in the ocean.

River otters can run on land and swim in the water. They have their babies in dens under the ground. The pups stay in the den until they learn to swim and hunt. Sometimes the mother will push a pup into the water to give him a swimming lesson.

River otters like to play with each other. They play in the snow, splash water, and wrestle on land and in the water.

Keywords:

log, mom, otters, pup, under o, u

Page 9 Sea otters are much bigger than river otters. They float on the ocean waves in groups. Mother otters raise their pups without the father helping. The pup will often lie on mom’s chest and tummy to sleep or snuggle.

Sea otters go under the water to hunt for food like crabs, snails, and clams. After it catches the food, the otter will lie on its back and use its chest like a table.

Keywords:

mom, otter, pup, snuggle, tummy o, u

Pages 10 and 11 Oxen are cattle that are taught to do work. They pull plows or lug big loads.

An ox learns to wear a yoke. It is made of wood and sometimes leather. The yoke goes under the ox’s neck and on its shoulders. The ox owner puts the yoke on the ox when it is time to work and takes it off when the ox is finished working. The owner can hang it up for the next time.

The owner teaches the ox a few words. When the person says “whoa,” the ox will stop.

Oxen often work together. Two oxen will share a big yoke. This helps them move together.

People take good care of their oxen. They feed them and brush them and let them out in the field to graze and rest.

Keywords:

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jug, ox, oxen, pull, sun

Enchanting Nature — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letter: e

Vocabulary Development

● Picture cards of various animals on pages 40–42 ● 3-column sorting sheet on page 56

This text names many different kinds of animals from all over. After reading the text, ask students to name as many animals as they can remember from the text. They may use the book to help them remember. Encourage students to use precise vocabulary for each animal.

Have students cut out the animal picture cards.

Ask students to work in pairs to sort the animals using categories of their choosing. (ex- land animals/water animals/sky animals)

Comprehension

● The Book Enchanting Nature

In partners, have students share what they learned about animals.

Model the use of sentence starters for students to use as they share their learning.

“I learned that…”

“I knew that… but learned that they…” (ex- I knew elephants were large, but learned they can be larger than ten teachers.)

“I never realized…”

Give students the opportunity to share one new fact they learned about an animal.

Extension Activity

● Paper ● Writing/ Drawing Tools

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, labeling and/or writing to share the new facts you learned about an animal of your choice.

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Enchanting Nature — Story Guide e Pages 2 and 3 The kids had arrived! They were on a class trip to the Nature Museum. Everyone exited the bus.

They were very excited.

Inside the museum entrance was a place for kids to hang up their coats and lunch boxes. Then they walked over to the escalator. Up they went to the museum exhibits! The exhibits used models, statues, and drawings to teach people about nature.

Keywords:

entrance, excited, exited, men e

Pages 4 and 5 The first room was the Africa Room. The children saw so many interesting animals. The biggest animal of all was the elephant. The elephant model was in the middle of the room. The children learned that African elephants are the biggest land mammals on Earth today. They flap their ears to cool themselves. Their ears are just like fans. Elephants like to live together. They all look after the babies. Elephants eat grass, fruit, leaves, twigs, and tree bark. Their legs are so big and strong.

The children decided the elephant was bigger than ten children!

After they looked at the elephant, lions, and other amazing animals, they went out the exit and into the North America Room.

Keywords:

elephant, exit, legs, ten e

Pages 6 and 7 The North America Room had some big animals, too. The grizzly bears were very tall and the bison were amazing. But some of the children liked the elk the best.

Elk are members of the deer family but they are bigger than deer. They eat grasses in the summer and woody plants, like cedar twigs, in the winter.

Ed was so amazed by the elk that he didn’t look where he was walking. He bumped into Zara and fell right by the elk’s neck.

The children then left the North America Room and entered the Bat Cave. They walked under all the pretend bats hanging from the roof of the cave. Some children did not like the Bat Cave and they grabbed their teachers’ elbows or hands. The bat squeaks made echoes all around them. The class walked through the Bat Cave to the exit at the other end.

Keywords:

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Ed, elbows, elk, exhibit, exit, fell, neck

e Pages 8 and 9 The next room was very huge. It showed many kinds of forests. First the children looked at trees you could find in the United States, like oak trees, elm trees, and many kinds of evergreens. There were little animals hiding in the trees, too. It was fun to look for squirrels, porcupines, and birds.

Then they saw amazing trees from the wet South American rainforest. They were so tall and green!

They found animals in those trees, too, like an emerald tree boa and an umbrellabird.

Keywords:

elm, emerald (tree boa), evergreen, vest e

Pages 10 and 11 The next room made everyone laugh. It was an egg room. The displays showed that many animals hatch from eggs. There were reptile eggs, like alligator and iguana. There were insect eggs, like ant and bee. There were bird eggs, like tiny hummingbird eggs, chicken eggs, and even a giant ostrich egg.

In one corner, the museum people set up a pretend egg. It wasn’t an egg. It was an eggplant. An eggplant is the fruit of a plant and it doesn’t have a yolk. The children laughed when they saw the eggplant.

Then their teacher told them it was time to get on the elevator and go to eat lunch. After lunch, they would be able to see some other eggs, as well as some amazing bones. They would be going to the dinosaur exhibit. Everyone was excited! What a wonderful day!

Keywords:

egg, eggplant, elevator, escalator, excited, exhibit

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A Zany Zoo Visit — Teacher Notes Component:

Materials:

Teacher Notes

Lesson Plan: Search for Sounds books are meant to build phonemic awareness and to begin matching initial phonemes to graphemes (sounds to letters).

Focus letters and their corresponding sounds should be introduced and practiced prior to engaging with this text.

Focus Letters: all consonants and vowels

Vocabulary Development

● Word Cards w/ animals (including their picture)from the book on pages 46–50 ● Alphabet Arc on pages 51 and 52

alphabetize- To arrange words in alphabetical order.

It’s important to know the order of the letters in the alphabet. We use alphabetical order when we: ● Look for books in the library. ● Search for files on our computer. ● Look up words in a dictionary or glossary.

Have students organize the animal word cards in alphabetical order, using the alphabet arc as a resource.

Comprehension

● The book A Zany Zoo

A summary is a brief retelling of the major points in a story. Model how to summarize.

Ex: A group of students went on a class trip to the zoo. They had to find something at the zoo to represent each letter in the alphabet.

As they explored the zoo, they were able to find something for each letter! The kids are ready to go to first grade.

Have students tell a summary in their own words.

Be sure to provide feedback if they are focusing on specific details rather than summarizing.

Extension Activity

● Alphabet Arc on pages 51 and 52 ● Paper ● Writing/ Drawing Tools

Go on an alphabet hunt around the classroom. Working with a partner, try to find an item that begins with each letter in the alphabet. Record each item on your paper using words or pictures. Be sure to write the beginning letter for each item.

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A Zany Zoo Visit — Story Guide a, b, c, d, e Pages 2 and 3 We are on a class trip to the zoo. Soon we will be in first grade, not kindergarten. We learned a lot in kindergarten. So, our teacher asked us to look around the zoo and find something for every letter of the alphabet. My team includes Gale, Victor, Zara, and me, Bob. We got started right away. Look what we found! Can you see our alligator, bison, camel, dolphin, and elephant? Zara said we should list Bob for b, but I don’t think that counts because I don’t live here. She also said we could use the centipede we saw on the ground and have two sounds for c, but I like the camel.

Keywords:

adult, alligator, bison, Bob, camel, centipede, dolphin, elephant f, g, h, i, j

Pages 4 and 5 We found lots of animals that start with the next alphabet letters. We saw a shiny fox, a hippopotamus, and a jellyfish. We even saw a beautiful green inchworm. We picked the gorilla for the letter g. Victor said we should put giraffe, too, because g has two sounds. I like gorilla because that is the sound of my name, Gale.

Keywords:

fence, fox, Gale, giraffe, gorilla, grass, head, hippopotamus, inchworm, jellyfish k, l, m, n, o, p

Pages 6 and 7 I liked the animals we found for the middle part of the ABCs. Lots were from Australia. We picked kangaroo for k (although the koalas were cute, too), a lizard for l, and the marsupial mole for m.

Marsupial moles live mostly underground, just like the moles who live near me. We had to look for a little while to find an animal that starts with n, but finally saw a newt sitting near a pond. It was easy to pick the octopus for o because they are so amazing to look at. Near the octopus we found a penguin for p. They are so funny when they walk.

Keywords:

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kangaroo, koalas, lizard, mole, newt, octopus, path, penguin, pond

q, r, s, t, u Pages 8 and 9 I thought q would be hard because we don’t use q very much, but the zoo had lots of quails.

We liked the hippos for h, so we picked the rhinoceros for r. They are both big animals. There were a lot of s animals, but we picked a swan. I didn’t know there were black swans as well as white swans. I thought we should try to find a T-rex for t, but everyone told me that wouldn’t work because they are extinct, so we picked a tiger. They are special, too. It was fun to find an umbrellabird because we had just learned about them in class.

Keywords:

quail, rhinoceros, rock, swan, T-rex, tiger, tree, turtle, umbrellabird v, w, x, y, z

Pages 10 and 11 Next, we found a walrus for w and yellowjackets for y. We thought we might find a vulture or use Victor for v, but then we saw a vet and some X-rays of a zebra at the animal hospital. Hooray! We found all the letters of the alphabet at the zoo and we didn’t have to use any of our names. We are ready for first grade!

Keywords:

vet, Victor, walrus, wooden, X-rays, yellow, yellowjackets, Zara, zebra

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alligator

bison

camel

centipede

dolphin

elephant

fox

giraffe

gorilla

hippopotamus

inchworm

jellyfish

kangaroo

koala

lizard

mole

newt

octopus

penguin

quail

rhinoceros

swan

T-rex

tiger

turtle

umbrellabird

walrus

yellowjackets

zebra

Alphabet Arc

Objective The student will name and match letters of the alphabet.

Materials • Alphabet Arc • 12” x 18” construction paper Enlarge Alphabet Arc and glue to 12” x 18” construction paper.

• Set of uppercase letters (e.g., foam or plastic) Activity Students match letters of the alphabet to the Alphabet Arc. 1. Place the Alphabet Arc and the set of letters on a flat surface.

2. The student chooses a letter, names it (e.g., “p”), and places it on the corresponding letter on the Alphabet Arc. 3. Continue until all letters are matched.

4. Self-check

Extensions and Adaptations • Match lowercase alphabet letters to the Arc. • Complete partial Alphabet Arc on page 53.

• Select a letter with eyes closed and try to identify it by its shape. Open your eyes, name the letter, and place it on the corresponding letter on the Alphabet Arc.

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52

53

Name:

Date: Venn Diagram

54

Name:

Date: Sorting Sheet

55

Name:

Date: Sorting Sheet

56