Guided Reading Grade 3
Purpose The purpose of Guided Reading is to help each student, regardless of his or her entry reading level, develop reading strategies so that increasingly difficult texts can be read independently.
Goal Our goal is accelerated progress for our lowest achieving readers, continuous progress for our average achieving readers, and challenge and extension for our highest achieving readers.
Materials A range of books (four to six titles) representing four to six readability levels has been selected for each grade level reflecting a common theme. The number of themes varies from grade level to grade level. Students are assigned these or other supplementary books that they can read independently with 90-94% accuracy.
Instructional Model Students are grouped according to instructional reading levels. Teachers meet with a small group of students for twenty minutes or more while the remainder of the class is working on independent activities. These independent activities include, but are not limited to, centers, independent projects across the curriculum, journal writing, Literature Circles, or reading/writing skills related to Guided or Shared Reading. The lowest achieving readers meet with the teacher every day. Average and higher achieving readers may meet every day or on another appropriate timeline. It is expected that teachers will meet with a minimum of two groups each day.
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Guided Reading
The following themes are not listed in sequential order. You are encouraged to use the materials in any sequence that meets the interests of the students, the range of readability levels in your class, or in support of other curricular areas. For example, the set of books on “Acceptance” might be used at the beginning of the year to foster community building. There is a graphic organizer for Sharing the Theme at the beginning of each theme set. Each student or Guided Reading group should fill this out in preparation for a discussion of the theme’s Guiding Questions, which lead to the Generalizations or Essential Understandings for students.
Materials from other grade levels should be chosen for those students who are unable to read the following Guided Reading books with 90-94% accuracy independently.
Title Author Level Theme Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig Trivizas 24 Folk Tales Goldilocks and the Three Bears Brett 28 Folk Tales Yeh-Shen Louie 30 Folk Tales Flossie and the Fox McKissack 34 Folk Tales Talking Eggs, The Sans Souci 38 Folk Tales Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter Steptoe 40 Folk Tales
Mud Pony, The Cohen 28 Legends Rough-Face Girl, The Martin 30 Legends Legend of the Blue Bonnet dePaola 34 Legends Brave Bear and the Ghosts Dominic 38 Legends Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend Cohlene 38 Legends Buffalo Woman Goble 40 Legends
Buffalo Before Breakfast Osborne 28 Native Americans Young Wolf's First Hunt Shefelman 28 Native Americans Trail of Tears, The Bruchac 30 Native Americans Children of the Earth and Sky Krensky 38 Native Americans If You Lived with the Sioux Indians McGovern 38 Native Americans Children of the Wild West Freedman 40 Native Americans
Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? Sachar 24 Community One in the Middle is a Green Kangaroo Blume 28 Community Haunting of Grade Three Maccarone 34 Community Seven Kisses in a Row MacLachlan 34 Community Sideways Stories from Wayside School Sachar 34 Community Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan Honeycutt 38 Community
Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil Stevenson 28 History Molly's Pilgrim Cohen 28 History Sod Houses on the Great Plains Rounds 38 History Sweetwater Run Glass 40 History Cabin Faced West, The Fritz 44 History Sarah Plain and Tall MacLachlan 44 History
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Busybody Nora Hurwitz 30 Realistic Fiction Boxcar Children Warner 34 Realistic Fiction Hannah Whelan 38 Realistic Fiction Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear Namioka 38 Realistic Fiction J.T. Wagner 40 Realistic Fiction Switcharound Lowry 44 Realistic Fiction
Follow a Raindrop Ward 24 Weather Pink Snow and Other Weird Weather Dussling 28 Weather Weather Words and What They Mean Gibbons 30 Weather Floods Hopping 34 Weather Tornadoes Simon 38 Weather Do Tornadoes Really Twist? Berger 40 Weather
Year of the Panda, The Schlein 30 Bravery Ten True Animal Rescues Betancourt 34 Bravery Barry The Bravest Saint Bernard Hall 38 Bravery Bear Who Heard Crying, The Kinsey-Warnock 38 Bravery Incredible Animal Adventures George 40 Bravery Guinea Pig in the Garage Baglio 44 Bravery
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Skills and Graphic Organizers For Guided Reading Selections
Title Level Skills Graphic Organizers Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig 24 Goldilocks and the Three Bears 28 Yeh-Shen 30 Flossie and the Fox 34 Talking Eggs, The 38 Mufaro's Beautiful Daughter 40
Mud Pony, The 28 Rough-Face Girl, The 30 Legend of the Blue Bonnet 34 Brave Bear and the Ghosts 38 Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend 38 Buffalo Woman 40
Buffalo Before Breakfast 28 Young Wolf's First Hunt 28 Trail of Tears, The 30 Children of the Earth and Sky 38 If You Lived with the Sioux Indians 38 Children of the Wild West 40
Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth? 24 One in the Middle is a Green Kangaroo 28 Haunting of Grade Three 34 Seven Kisses in a Row 34 Sideways Stories from Wayside School 34 Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan 38
Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil 28 Molly's Pilgrim 28 Sod Houses on the Great Plains 38 Sweetwater Run 40 Cabin Faced West, The 44 Sarah Plain and Tall 44
Busybody Nora 30 Boxcar Children 34 Hannah 38 Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear 38 J.T. 40 Switcharound 44
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Year of the Panda, The 30 Ten True Animal Rescues 34 Barry The Bravest Saint Bernard 38 Bear Who Heard Crying, The 38 Incredible Animal Adventures 40 Guinea Pig in the Garage 44
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Guided Reading Overview
Step 1 Gather data about the reading achievements of the students in your class. Achievement information includes reading assessment scores from the previous year, the beginning-of-the-year Basic Reading Inventory, portfolio information, leveling information from last year’s teacher, or information from the reading teacher. You may also want to listen to each of your students read aloud informally, or assess individuals (particularly new students or those students whose assessment information is conflicting) with a fluency check and retelling. Your reading teacher can show you how to do this kind of assessment. For students who are reading way below grade level, take a Running Record (See your reading teacher for information on how to administer this assessment or refer to chapter seven in Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell. Copies of this book are available in each building from the reading teacher.).
Step 2 Assign the students in the class to small groups according to their instructional level. Instructional level is defined as that level at which the student can read 90-94% of the text independently. There is no optimum number of groups. However, there should be no more than 5-6 students in a group. It is likely that four groups may emerge: (1) a group of emergent literacy learners; (2) a group of early literacy learners; (3) a group of independent literacy learners (grade level); and (4) an advanced group of literacy learners. These groups are not meant to describe or define specific grade level or age level standards, but rather the range of expected achievement in any classroom, grades K-5. Exceptional education students must be assigned to an appropriate group unless they are self- contained special education students.
Step 3 Assign the books for each group. Selecting materials is critical for the successful progress of each student and is the responsibility of the teacher. This is not self-selected reading. If you are using one of the class themes designated for your grade level, you will need to decide if the range of books in that Guided Reading set is appropriate for the groups in your class. If not, you will need to check with the curriculum library in your school, your media specialist, the public library, or the AEA to see if other titles with a better readability match to the students in your class are available. Additional titles that support the theme for students to read during independent work time as Self-selected Reading enrich the unit and add choice for student reading. If there is not a book at the group’s instructional level that supports the theme, choose the appropriate leveled book rather than have the students read at an inappropriate level.
Some questions to consider suggested by Fountas and Pinnell (Guided Readers and Writers, 2001, page 224) include: · In what topics or content areas will students need more support in reading? · What topics or content areas especially interest the readers? · What is the quantity/quality of students’ reading vocabulary? · What kinds of words do students solve quickly, with understanding, while reading text? Cause difficulty in decoding or understanding?
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· What kinds of language structures are easy for students to process and what kinds of structures are difficult? · What kinds of settings or plots will students find easy/hard to understand? · What kinds of texts do students find easy/difficult to interpret and extend? · What kinds of connections do they tend to make as they read texts— personal/emotional, literary? · Are other words accessible through students’ current abilities to use strategies such as word analysis and prediction from language structure or meaning? · Does the text offer a few opportunities to problem-solve, search, and check while reading for meaning? · Is the length of text appropriate for the experience and stamina of the group?
Step 4 Plan instructional time. Read each group’s book. Plan the approximate length of time it will take each group to read their assigned book by predicting how many pages each group will be able to read comfortably in daily fifteen-minute segments. Suggested sections (chapters or pages) are included in the curriculum guide. It is likely that groups will not finish books at the same time, i.e., the lowest level will most likely be reading shorter books. The teacher must then decide whether it would be appropriate to have the students read the next book in the set or whether to have them read a different title, perhaps not relating to the theme, but instructionally appropriate.
Step 5 Plan introductions carefully. Story introductions help the readers organize their prior knowledge so they are “ready” for the information presented in the text. According to Fountas and Pinnell (2001, pgs. 230- 231), “A text introduction is an easy, conversational exchange that makes a text accessible to readers.” Rich introductions will make more challenging texts accessible to a group of students. At other times the teacher may need to provide only a short, focused introduction or “a few moves to increase accessibility of a new text” (Clay 1991b, p. 272). Fountas and Pinnell recommend that teachers make notes to remind them of the important ideas that need to be mentioned. Some suggestions include (2001, p. 231): · One or two sentences about the main idea of the book · Page numbers of illustrations that you can use to discuss concepts (If a book has no page numbers, take a pen and quickly number them, because you will need to refer students to specific pages.) · Vocabulary that you want to use in conversation and/or explicitly define as you provide the introduction (See Curriculum Guide.) · Words that might be difficult for readers to solve that you might want to call attention to in the text or write on the board (See Curriculum Guide.) · Information about the author, illustrator, or genre · Processing strategies that you want to reinforce · Something special about the text features that you want to make accessible to readers · The number of pages you want the students to read in this time period · What you want the readers to do when they finish the assigned reading
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“‘Leave the children with one or two clear questions that will drive them into the text and serve as a continuing impulse to seek meaning when they read’ (Holdaway 1979, p. 143).”
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When you introduce a text, you: · Engage the attention of the students and draw them into the activity. · Help them explore and access their knowledge. · Help them attend to critical features of the text. · Anticipate the features that may be difficult. · Make problem solving easier for them.
Introductions are extremely important in Guided Reading and take different forms for different levels of readers. The following chart from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (1996, p. 178) describes how introductions might look at various levels.
Emergent Readers Early Readers Transitional Self-extending Readers Readers
The introduction The introduction The introduction The introduction · is rich, providing · ranges from fully · may involve brief · may be provocative in children with language covering the book to support that enables terms of arousing and patterns of the just providing a brief independent reading interest or questions book overview before of the text in the reader’s mind reading · may draw attention to · focuses on particular · may include less detail · may be geared to frequently used words words by locating but continues to helping children notice them provide a good aspects of text or framework for reading understand the structure of different genres · covers the whole book · introduces unfamiliar · familiarizes readers · may build an language structures with new concepts, understanding of the particular vocabulary importance of words, and unusual previewing a text language structures before reading · as a transition from · provides a strong · assures that students · has the goal of shared reading, may support for meaning are tuned in to the enabling children to include a complete meaning of the introduce books to reading by the teacher, selection themselves with children joining in, before children read on their own
To help the book introduction process, a short synopsis of the story, chapter, or “section” of the story to be presented each day is included in this guide. Just below the synopsis are some Key Concepts and Vocabulary. You may use this information as a guide, or, after reading the selection to prepare for the introduction, may decide to use other ideas that the students in the class need to develop understanding and background knowledge. See the section in Guiding Readers and Writers: Grades 3-6 (2001, pgs. 233-247), “Examples of Text Introductions,” for additional instruction and specific examples.
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Step 6 Anticipate skill instruction for the group. Skill work is determined as students encounter difficulties with the selection or is based on your knowledge of the students’ needs. However, some books naturally lend themselves to teaching certain skills. Because the readings are at an instructional level, this is a good time to reinforce both word analysis and comprehension skills in simple, direct mini-lessons. Vocabulary development is a priority through introductions and discussions of content. Vocabulary words are listed for each section of the book. During the introduction, be certain to mention names of people and places. You will probably need to write them on a chalkboard or white board for “needs” and “meets” kids to see before they get into the text. Proper nouns are often troublesome for less-efficient readers. General word analysis skills, which would be appropriate to teach in the context of the book, are listed at the end of some of the selections. The words listed under the various word analysis categories are found in the book for which they are listed. Most of the instruction during Guided Reading is based on the teacher’s observations as students read aloud or discuss the story. As you listen to a student read, note errors. These errors are the springboard for mini-lessons (3-5 minutes), either at the end of the session or the beginning of the next.
Assessment Comprehension suggestions are also given at the end for some books. These may be done through discussion during Guided Reading time or may be used for independent work while other students have Guided Reading with you. Some are intended to be ongoing throughout the book; others are appropriate for end-of-the-book assessment. Some graphic organizers are included; others are available in the Graphic Organizer binder.
Writing Written responses related to the reading assignment are excellent independent work activities, either ongoing throughout the book or as an end-of-the-book assessment. Some questions could require a one-page essay to answer while others may be answered with only one sentence. Establish your criteria (rubric) before you give the assignment. Some examples are included. Having students defend their responses with quotes from the book or specific examples is a more sophisticated task than simply a “pat” answer.
Step 7 Teach the following strategies as described in “Reciprocal Teaching Improves Standardized Reading-Comprehension Performance in Poor Comprehenders” in The Elementary School Journal (Lysynchuk, Pressley, and Vye, May 1990) to help students become independent readers:
1. Predicting - involves finding clues in the structure and content of the story that might suggest what would happen next · Readers think about what they already know and compare it with what they have already learned in the story. This motivates reading the story to determine if predictions are correct. · Students are told to use the title to make initial predictions and use clues in the story to make predictions as reading proceeds.
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2. Summarizing - includes one or two sentences that tell the most important ideas. A good summary does not include details or information that are not important · It can aid understanding and memory of what is read. · Students are told to think of what the paragraph is mostly about and to construct a sentence that reflects the most important information in the paragraph.
3. Clarifying - discerns when there is a breakdown in comprehension and taking steps to restore meaning · It is important for students to know at what point the story no longer makes sense to them. · Students are instructed to be alert to occasions when they do not understand the meaning of text and to process text additionally when there are problems. For instance, if a word does not make sense, students are told to try to discover the meaning of the word by reading sentences before and after it. Sometimes “or” signals the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Students are instructed to be certain they know what referents such as “them,” “it,” and “they” refer to. If, after rereading, something is still not clear, students are instructed to ask for assistance.
4. Questioning - asks about important information in the text rather than about unimportant details · Readers can self-test to determine whether they really understand the text. · By asking questions, readers must identify what is important in a story. · Students are told to select important information from text and use the words “who,” “where,” “when,” “why,” “what,” and “how” to make up questions. · When “trying” an unfamiliar word… Þ Does that make sense? Þ Does that sound right? Þ Does what I’ve “read” match the letter sounds I see or the word parts I know?
Posters for these Reciprocal Teaching skills are on the next few pages. Once students have been instructed in how to do each of these four components, they can become the daily assignment for students to complete during their independent work time. When students come to the Guided Reading group, randomly select one of the students to “summarize” what happened in the section the group was assigned to read; ask another to ask a question from the section of the group; and another might be asked to read his or her prediction for what will happen next.
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Strategies for Reading Successfully
Predict Think about what will happen in the story or what you may learn.
Question Think of a question to ask after reading for others to answer.
Clarify Think about words or phrases you read that were not clear, that you did not understand.
Summarize Think about what you read and tell the others in two or three sentences.
These may be done in any order.
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Making Predictions While We Read
Good readers make predictions as they read. These predictions are guesses about what will happen next in the story, how the author will resolve a problem, what the characters will do or say, or what information will be given that can answer a question the reader has. Good guesses are those which readers make using what they already know about the sense of story, the topic, or previous experiences when reading. When predicting, readers use the following clues: ¨ illustrations ¨ the title ¨ chapter or section headings ¨ previous knowledge ¨ facts and ideas from the text ¨ new information ¨ validating or changing previous predictions
Discuss the following questions with the students. Remind them as needed to use these strategies. 1. What are some of the ways to predict? 2. What clues does an author give us to help us make our predictions? 3. Why are some predictions more likely to be true than others? 4. How do sophisticated readers think and predict?
A prediction chart can help improve predicting skills. Students record their predictions for each chapter or section of a book. As each subsequent chapter is read and discussed, students review and correct previous predictions. This procedure helps students focus on predictions and to review the stories.
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Prediction Chart
Name ______
Answer the following questions at the end of each chapter or section of the text.
What characters What is the What are Why did you make have been met? conflict in the story? your predictions? those predictions?
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Summarizing Text
1. Start simply. Use easy material.
2. Provide direct instruction, i.e., teach students how to summarize. The following six steps have been used in research with students of various ages. Step 1. Delete trivial material.
Step 2. Delete material that is important but redundant.
Step 3. Substitute superordinate terms for a list of items or actions. If the text has a list of animals (cats, dogs, goldfish, gerbils, parrots), substitute the term pets.
Step 4. Similarly, substitute a superordinate action as John went to London, for a list of subcomponents of that action, e.g., John left the house. John bought a ticket.
Step 5. Select a topic sentence for each paragraph.
Step 6. If there isn’t a topic sentence, invent your own.
3. Provide feedback about the reader’s effectiveness of summarization.
4. Provide direct instruction about where and when to use the strategy.
5. Provide training, lots of practice in many types of materials (stories, different content subjects of varying lengths and complexity).
From: “Learning to Learn: On Training Students to Learn From Texts” by Ann Brown, Joseph Campione, and Jeanne Day, Technical Report 189 from the Center for the Study of Reading in Champaign, Illinois.
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Clarify
When you clarify, you reread or think about words and information that were not clear to you—which you did not understand.
When you come to a word you don’t know:
è Read to the end of the sentence. Try a word you think makes sense. Then check to see if the sounds you say in the word match the letters you see in the word.
$ Look for word parts you know. Say the part you know aloud. Think about the rest of the words in the sentence. Does the part you know make a connection to any of the other words in the sentence? Remember to look for beginnings and endings that you can take off easily like ing, ed, re, sub, un.
& If you say the word aloud and it still doesn’t sound right, but the letters you say match the letters you see, check the dictionary. You may have met a brand new word to you.
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Step 8 Plan how to monitor the progress of each student on a regular basis. Plan to listen to each student read aloud a short passage of text (1-2 minutes or 100-200 words) at least once a week. In addition to this informal assessment, more formal documentation should occur at least every 4-6 weeks for high-achieving students, every 2 weeks for average readers, and low-achieving readers should be assessed weekly. The Running Record is a tool that records what the student is doing when reading text. It provides not only a record of the progress of the student in developing reading behaviors, but also gives valuable information on the appropriateness of the text selected for the group. It is particularly appropriate for at-risk students when the teacher needs specific information about how students are processing text. Fluency checks may be more efficient for average and above average readers. The purpose of this frequent assessment is to monitor growth and the appropriateness of the assigned texts. If students are given text that is too difficult, neither fluency nor the processing of print material will improve.
Assessment can be done during self-selected reading time, as students arrive in the morning, at the beginning or end of the Guided Reading time, while the rest of the group is reading from previously read texts, etc. Fluency checks or running record sheets can be kept on a clipboard for easy access. Sample forms are found on pages 215-225 in Guided Reading (Fountas and Pinnell, 1996).
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Guided Reading Daily Planning Guide
Day 1+ If you are using a class theme with leveled books, introduce the theme to the whole class and determine how the class will share information from the various books with each other. If not using books that fit a theme, meet briefly with each small group to introduce the book they will be reading (pre-exposure). If the theme supports the social studies or science concept-based curriculum, you may want to spend some time as a whole class with a K— What I Think I Know; W—What I Want to Find Out; L—What I Learned; or another introductory pre-exposure strategy. You may also want to start by posting the Guiding Questions from a concept-based unit of study. These can help students focus on what to learn from their reading. When they think they have discovered an answer, it can be logged or recorded on a chart. Comparing responses from the different texts adds perspective and depth to the generalizations being formed.
If a study trip were used to introduce the concept, writing about the experience would be an appropriate way to begin. A process strategy useful for study trips is to have students write about what they think they will learn or see before going on the study trip; write immediately upon return what they saw/learned; and then compare the two. It is ideal if a video camera can be taken on the study trip to record the experience. Students can then check what they think they saw with a second viewing.
The introduction to a theme could also be done during the traditional social studies or science time or during Shared Reading. A companion book to the theme may be the teacher read-aloud and used to build background and to expose students to the vocabulary, the setting, the time period, the topic, or the genre in the theme set.
Day 2 Assign books to each group. Plan to work with the at-risk group first. Other groups may be assigned a predicting or questioning activity for independent work while working with the at-risk group.
Introduce the entire book on the first day, which may take the entire twenty minutes. Use the illustrations; introduce the characters, setting, or topic; and highlight any literary elements (such as dialect) or do a mini-lesson on a word analysis skill students will need to successfully decode unknown words in the book. Teach the students how to use clues in the pictures or the words in the title to make predictions. Then have the students predict what the book is about or what will happen in the story. Record the predictions so they can be verified or rejected as the book is read. Talk about why the predictions make sense or do not make sense.
After finishing with the at-risk group, give them an independent activity such as summarizing, questioning, or reading a self-selected book to do while you work with a second group. Many of the independent activities for comprehension including graphic organizers, retelling, summarizing, and predicting should be modeled with the whole group during Shared Reading before assigning as independent work. After students have been taught how to use story maps, Venn Diagrams, character maps, cause and effect forms, etc., you may wish to put blank sheets of these organizers in file folders and let the students
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choose which one they want to use to demonstrate their knowledge of their reading. These could be done for chapters or sections as well as for the entire book.
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Day 3 Review an assigned graphic organizer, briefly discuss the text read the previous day, or use a strategy such as reciprocal teaching described below to build comprehension and competence in self-monitoring strategies.
Summarize Have students summarize what happened in the part of the book read the previous day. When first introducing this activity, model it carefully and write the summary on a chart so that it can be added to each time the group reports back. Summaries should relate significant events from the story and should be limited to two or three sentences depending on the length of the passage that was read. Students summarize and the teacher records. This will take more time at the beginning, but will go faster and smoother as students become proficient with it. Later, you will give that task to students to do during their independent work time.
Summarizing is one of several “jobs” that students should learn how to do. Before assigning these tasks to students, you will need to model each of the following strategies and guide students in practicing the skill so that each can do the task. Review these tasks frequently and model as needed.
Clarify Have one or more students point out an example of when he or she had to clarify a word or passage of text for meaning. He or she may have had to read beyond the word and then, using that information, self-correct or figure out the unfamiliar word. The student may also clarify a paragraph or several sentences by rereading, checking for picture clues, or reading for more information and then going back to make meaning.
Predict Have one student tell what he or she thinks will happen next in the story and why.
Question Have one or more students ask a question about the information in the section or chapter read. Teach students the “question” words: who, where, when, why, what, how. The student asking the question must determine if the student answering is correct. If other students in the group challenge the response, have them document the answer in the text.
Introduce the Next Text Selection Use the information in each section summary and your own knowledge of what your students will need to be exposed to in order to understand the passage to develop the introduction. Keep this as brief as possible so that students will have time to read the passage. Have “Meets” and “Exceeds” students start reading silently. Then, one by one, have each student read several sentences aloud to you as a way of determining if they will be able to read the material independently. If so, they can be given time to read the passage at their desks. Before sending them back to their seats, remind them that they should be prepared to do all of the strategies explained above. “Needs’” students may need to find a quiet place to read aloud to themselves. Hearing the text can help them note errors. You can then move from student to student to listen to them read a portion orally.
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Retelling or Summary Be certain that students understand the difference between a summary and a retelling. Retelling is an excellent comprehension writing activity that students should be assigned on a somewhat regular basis. Retellings are excellent assessment assignments and extremely effective when students are reading material at their instructional level. It provides a vehicle for vocabulary development as students use the words from the story in their retelling. Summaries are only two or three sentences that highlight the main idea of the passage. Summarizing takes consistent practice and teacher guidance.
Day 4 Review the Previous Day’s Reading Randomly ask students to share orally one of the four tasks described above. You may do this by having students draw slips of paper or ice cream sticks with the jobs listed on them. Have each member of the group contribute to the discussion. Depending on the number of students, you may need to have two students ask questions instead of one, or two students to clarify. You may also wish to collect the writing assignments on a rotating basis to grade. At the beginning, it is important to assign only one task, e.g. questioning, and then to check each student’s work daily to make certain all students understand what they are to do.
Introduce the Next Section
Have Students Read Assess one or more students orally by listening to them read aloud ten to twelve lines of text (There are usually 8-10 words per line, giving you about 100 words to listen to.) Remember that if students can read 100 words with six or fewer errors, the book is probably at the appropriate instructional level (The concept load is a separate factor which should be considered and monitored through the comprehension activities to see if students understand what is happening in the text.).
Day 5+ Repeat the cycle until the book is completed.
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Theme: Folk Tales Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Yeh-Shen, Flossie and the Fox, The Talking Eggs, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughter
Generalizations Over time, cultures develop from shared values and beliefs of individuals. Stories reflect a community and/or its culture. Folk tales often teach a lesson. Different cultures around the world have folk tales that evolved from and represent them. The state of Iowa is made up of many cultures. The various cultures in Iowa celebrate their diversity in many ways.
Concepts Diversity Commonality
Guiding Questions What is a culture? How do you recognize a culture different than your own? Why is culture important? How do cultures develop beliefs? How do the beliefs held by individuals develop cultures? How do folk tales reflect a community and/or its culture? Why do folk tales reflect a community and/or its culture? Why do people tell stories? How do stories come about, and how are they passed from generation to generation?
Introducing the Theme Display a map of the world on a bulletin board so that you can label countries of origin for folk tales and connect them to the city or county in Iowa that reflects that culture.
Read aloud a favorite folk tale such as The Frog Prince. Explain the origins of the folk tale. For example, The Frog Prince originated in Germany. Stretch a piece of yard from the country of Germany to the Amana Colonies in Iowa. Talk about the history of the Amana Colonies. You may then wish to read aloud The Frog Princess by Laura Cecil and discuss the similarities and differences of the two stories using a Venn Diagram or T-Chart.
Divide the students into small groups and assign a well-known folk tale to each group. Give each group 5 minutes to practice pantomiming the folk tale. Then have each group take turns pantomiming for the entire class. Viewers try to guess the name of the folk tale. Include the following as background for the books to be read: The Three Little Pigs; Cinderella; The Ugly Duckling; Little Red Riding Hood; Goldilocks and the Three Bears as well as other favorites. Discuss the common elements of these folk tales.
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Each succeeding day of the unit a new folk tale is read. After locating the country of origin, a city in Iowa which is known for this culture will be located by stretching apiece of yarn from country to city. A flag with the name of the folk tale will be placed on the city. Below are examples:
Jack and the Beanstalk (Steven Kellogg) from England City in Iowa: Le Mars
The Twelve Months (Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Czechoslovakia by Virginia Haviland)from Czechoslovakia City in Iowa: Cedar Rapids
Why Hare Is Always on the Run (Tales Alive by Susan Milord) from Africa City in Iowa: Davenport
The Dancing Wolves (Twenty-two Splendid Tales Told From Around the World by Pleasant DeSpain) from American Indians City in Iowa: Tama
The Magic Purse (Twenty-two Splendid Tales Told From Around the World by Pleasant DeSpain) from Ireland City in Iowa: Emmetsburg
Nail Soup (Twenty-two Splendid Tales Told From Around the World by Pleasant DeSpain) from Norway City in Iowa: Decorah
Lindy and the Forest Giant (Twenty-two Splendid Tales Told From Around the World by Pleasant DeSpain) from Sweden City in Iowa: Swedesburg
The Two Wishes (Legends and Folk Tales of Holland by Adele DeLeeuw) from Holland City in Iowa: Pella
Learning Activities Divide the class into small groups to explore Iowan magazines and brochures from the Iowa Welcome Center. The magazines contain many articles about cultural events and celebrations in Iowa. Assign each group one of the cultures listed above. The group is then responsible for reporting their findings to the rest of the class.
Compile a list of addresses of travel and tourist agencies. Consult libraries, travel magazines, newspaper travel sections, and telephone directories for the addresses. Invite the children to write letters to agencies requesting free materials from different cities. Have the children use their home addresses to receive materials. As they receive booklets and brochures, bring them to class to discuss and display.
With special appreciation to Barb Smith who created this Iowa Cultures unit as part of her student teaching assignment
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and gave us permission to share it.
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Exploring Ethnic Traditions
Name______
Ask a family member or friend who can tell you stories about your past or give you leads to other sources of information the following questions.
What are your parents’ names? What are What languages do your parents speak? their ethnic origins? What languages do/did your grandparents speak?
What are your parents’ occupations? What were your grandparents’ occupations?
What do you know about the origin of your What were your parents’ school experiences last name? Do you know what it means? Did like? it undergo changes coming from another country to the United States?
What kinds of things did your parents do for What traditions and/or customs does your fun when they were your age? family observe?
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Sharing the Theme Name ______Book ______
As you read your book, respond to the following questions.
What is the “lesson” to be learned from your Who were the “good” characters in your book? book?
Who were the “bad” characters in your book? What was the “magic” in your book?
What was the conflict in your book? How was the conflict resolved in your book?
What things changed in your story? How were the “bad” characters punished at the end of the book?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 27 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
Synopsis Three little wolves go out into the world to build a house that will protect them from the big bad pig. But neither bricks nor concrete, not even armor plates, can stop the persistent porker- -until a chance meeting with a flamingo provides an unexpected solution to the wolves' problem. This is a hilarious retelling of the traditional story. Oxenbury's enchanting watercolor illustrations, full of delightful details, will entertain all ages.
Author Eugene Trivizas
The Author, 11/26/97: PIGS AND WOLVES—EXCLUSION, ESCALATION, AND STEREOTYPING My book, The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig, is not just an irreverent play with a traditional theme. The story offers an alternative way of looking at certain important issues. Indeed it was my experience as a criminologist and criminal law specialist that prompted me to write the story. In the traditional story the wolf demolishes two houses made of straw and wood. Only when the little pigs build a third house made of brick, they are really safe. The big bad wolf is unable to blow it down and his desperate attempt to violate their sanctuary by entering through the chimney ends in his horrific death in a kettle of boiling water. What does this story tell us? What messages does it transmit to the contemporary reader? The first message conveyed by the original story is that if you want be secure you should retreat to and be surrounded by progressively stronger and stronger structures. The recommended policy is exclusion, isolation, distrust, and prevention of communication. The problem with this attitude is that exclusion often leads to escalation. This has clear parallels not only in the arms race debate, but also in the area of criminal justice. Each and every method of protection leads to corresponding ways of circumventing and neutralizing it. Weapons are getting progressively more lethal and violence more dangerous. Exclusion is detrimental also for the potential victims. We have reached the point instead of imprisoning or imposing house arrest to the criminal , we do it for the victim. As Linda Phillips Ashour points out in the New York Times in her review of the TLW - this is a reminder ''on how many of us live today with fear and 37 padlocks.'' Moreover by excluding, stigmatizing and isolating we may reinforce or even create whatever danger we are afraid of. Isolation and segregation make illegal activities even more attractive for the offender. In my version of the story an alternative message is conveyed. The three little wolves erect first a solid brick house.
The big bad pig comes along and when huffing and puffing fails to work, he uses a sledgehammer to bring the house down. Next the wolves build a home of concrete. The pig demolishes it with his pneumatic drill. The three little wolves choose an even stronger design next time round. They erect a house made of steel, barbed wire, armor plates, and a video entry system, but the pig blows it up with dynamite. It is only when the wolves construct a rather fragile house made of flowers, that the pig pauses to smell the lovely scent, has a change of heart, realizes how horrible he has been, undergoes a radical transformation, and
Grade 3 Guided Reading 28 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002 he becomes a good big pig. The wolves invite the pig inside the house and the story ends with a party with strawberries and wolfberries (the summary is composed of review extracts). Instead of confrontation, exclusion, and destruction, this version of the story advocates communication, reintegration, inclusion, and restoration of trust. The message is not only that beauty facilitates change, and sometimes tenderness may work better than toughness, but that by being open we may be able to win over our adversary. There is no denying that this way of responding to adversaries in certain circumstances is appropriate, in others inappropriate and certainly it has its risks and dangers, but so does the attitude recommended in the original story.
The second message conveyed by the original tale is that there are clearly differentiated good and evil characters. In my reworking of the story, instead of the three little pigs and a big bad wolf, we have three cuddly little wolves and a nasty big bad pig. That is not only a deliberate reversal of the bad press given to wolves but a reversal of good and evil characters in general. Wolves are not necessarily the embodiment of evil, nor always something to be loathed. Indeed it may be easier to make friends with a wolf than a pig. An educator, Joyce Wakenshaw, wrote to me from Switzerland raising, among others, the point that this role reversal is confusing. “For generations, the wolf has been used in children’s stories to depict evil, something to be feared and what is wrong with that? If the child listens to the story in a safe environment he or she can come to terms with fear. Why not let the wolf represent all that is bad?” Because I wanted to move away from good and evil characters to a distinction between good and evil acts. My story is indeed an attempt to overcome the stereotyping of good and bad. It is important, as B. Thomson points out to teach ''children to consider acts rather than stereotypes. There are good and bad deeds no good and bad persons. Not all pigs are bad and not all wolves are good. There is good and bad in everyone. Stereotyping character rather than acts is sometimes dangerous because it excuses corruption, promotes persecution of minorities, and carries the risk of the so-called 'self-fulfilling prophesy'.” One of the difficulties of the present way of looking at things is that it establishes a false dichotomy not between good and evil but people who are defined as good or bad. Children, B. Thomson remarks, have often far more to fear in their domestic setting than from outsiders. ''Many children have had to suffer abuse 'in silence because they were unable to convince anyone that their good parents or other persons in positions of trust were abusing them - precisely because everyone believed in the good character stereotype’.” If we treat people as representatives of stereotypes rather than as individuals, a religious commentator remarked, ''we are responding less to what the other person did and more to the image of the other person that is called upon by the name we have give him. This dichotomy further deepens the gulf between offender and society and makes it even more difficult to achieve the aim of bringing him back to the community.” A child told me the other day: Everybody knows why wolves are bad. Because they is eating pigs. - So do humans, I answered. Are we also all bad?
Reviews Kirkus Never mind the other incarnations of this tale—classic, fractured, rapped; this inversion will have children giggling from the outset. Sent into the world by a mother who wears hair curlers, three “cuddly” wolves build a brick house, then try to fend off a snarling thug of a pig who demolishes it with a sledgehammer. Their next place is concrete; the pig has a pneumatic drill. They construct a metal fortress, complete with steel chains and Plexiglas; the pig goes for dynamite. Then they build a house of flowers and the pig pulls a “Ferdinand,” not only reforming but making it a happy m‚nage…quatre. This latter-day plea for a peaceable kingdom reckons once and for all with the question at the core of this familiar tale—why must pigs and
Grade 3 Guided Reading 29 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002 wolves be enemies? Oxenbury provides dauntingly well-executed watercolors, offering such charming contrasts as an angular modernistic concrete home in an otherwise pastoral setting.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 30 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Introduction Predict what is happening on the cover. Make connections to the “Three Little Pigs.” Describe the wolves as shown in the illustrations on the front cover. Look at the back cover and describe the pig. How do these illustrations reflect the title? How are they different from the traditional story’s illustrations?
Reading
Pages 1-9 The three little wolves’ mother sends them out into the world to build a house for themselves. A kangaroo gives them some red and yellow bricks. The big bad pig comes by and the little wolves run inside and lock their door. Because he can’t blow the house down, the pig gets his sledgehammer and knocks the house down. The three little wolves barely escape.
Key Concepts: stereotypes, fear
Vocabulary: cuddly, prowling, croquet, fetched, sledgehammer, managed, crumbled
Pages 10-15 The three little wolves decide they will have to build a strong house. A beaver gives them some concrete to build a house. The big bad pig comes by and tries to blow the house down. When it doesn’t, he gets a pneumatic drill and bores the house down. Again, the three little wolves barely escape.
Key Concepts: fear, strength
Vocabulary: concrete, slurry, battledore, shuttlecock, pneumatic drill
Pages 16-21 The wolves get barbed wire, iron bars, armor plates, heavy metal padlocks, Plexiglas, and reinforced steel chains from a kindhearted rhinoceros. Once again, the big bad pig comes along. This time he uses dynamite to blow the house in.
Key Concepts: determination, security
Vocabulary: Plexiglas, reinforced, rhinoceros, determined, barbed, securest, scorched
Grade 3 Guided Reading 31 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 21-30 The three wolves decide to try something different and build a house of flowers that were given to them by a flamingo. Once again the big bad pig comes by, but when he starts to huff and puff he takes a deep breath and smells the soft scent of the flowers. The scent is so lovely, he sniffs deeper and deeper until his “heart grew tender” and he decides to become a big good pig.
Key Concepts: change, peace
Vocabulary: flamingo, pleasure, marigolds, daffodils, fragile, fragrant, scent, tarantella
Grade 3 Guided Reading 32 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Sequencing List what happened first, second, next, then, and finally.
Noting Details Make a list (or drawing) of tools or building materials mentioned or illustrated in the story.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why didn’t stronger and stronger houses protect the three little wolves? 2. What caused the change in the big bad pig? 3. Why did the three little wolves decide a change in building materials was needed? 4. What lesson(s) can be learned from this story? 5. Why were the three little wolves afraid of the big bad pig? 6. Why did the mother wolf send the three little wolves out into the world?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 33 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Multisyllabic Words Explain to the students that all of the words below have vowel digraphs—two vowels that come together to stand for one sound. Remind students that longer words can be divided into syllables and that each syllable must have a vowel sound. Have them underline the two vowels that are together and then look at the word to see if there is another vowel that will create another syllable. Then pronounce the words, having the whole group clap each syllable as the word is spoken.
kangaroo wheelbarrow certainly croquet beaver sooner pneumatic because heavy generous kindhearted building pleasure ceiling daisies beautiful
Hard and Soft g Point out that g before the vowels a, o, or u can stand for a hard g sound and that g before the vowels e, i, or y can stand for the soft g sound. Explain that the letters dge also stand for the soft g sound. Practice on these words from the story.
Hard Soft gray sledgehammer go manage big generous pig fragile give kangaroo garden grunted Plexiglas marigolds fragrant games
Grade 3 Guided Reading 34 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
Name ______
In this “construction” story, the three little wolves use various materials to build their homes. The big bad pig also uses various ways to destroy these homes. Use the text and illustrations to complete the chart below.
Construction Materials Construction Tools Destroyed by… First House
Second House
Third House
Fourth House
Write a paragraph telling what you think the lesson in this story is.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 35 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Synopsis Lost in the woods, a tired and hungry girl finds the house of the three bears where she helps herself to food and goes to sleep. Jan Brett’s illustrations are superb. The borders are decorated with mice and other small creatures that readers will enjoy studying.
Author Jan Brett was born on December 1, 1949 in Hingham, Massachusetts. She went to school at Colby Junior College from 1968-1969 and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School in 1970. Today, she lives in the seacoast town of Norwell, Massachusetts and spends her summers in the mountains where she does a lot of work on her books. She writes her own books and also adapts and illustrates folktales. As an illustrator, she does the illustrations of books by other authors as well. She spends many hours on illustrating the detailed pictures in her books. It takes her about a year to finish one book. Jan Brett loved to draw when she was a child. By the time she was six years old, she knew she wanted to be a children's book illustrator. She was shy as a child and liked to use her drawings as a way to express herself. Her very first "all her own" book to be published was Fritz and the Beautiful Horses in 1981. She wrote the book and drew the pictures. She loves animals and had many pets when she was a child. Now she puts them in her books. Most of her books have something to share about animal or nature. She also uses very old folktales from other countries in her books. In illustrating her books, her trademark is using detailed borders and side panels in her pictures. She includes lots of details, which add to the story in her borders. She has said that these borders and side panels hold her "overflow of thoughts." Jan Brett likes to travel with her family. She uses some of her experiences in her writing. She also uses libraries to do research on the things about which she is writing. Her husband, who works at the Boston Symphony Orchestra, also likes to travel with her. He was her inspiration for the book, Berlioz, the Bear.
Web Site Jan Brett’s Home Page http://www.janbrett.com
Reviews Amazon.com Children find the story of Goldilocks delightful for so many reasons. There's a trespassing little girl, for starters, who barges into the bears' house uninvited and not only snoops around, but eats the bears' food! The suspense of wondering whether she'll get caught only adds to the thrill of the trespassing itself, and the repeated lines about the three bears with their three distinct voices, bowls, chairs, and beds further endear this tale to the preschool set. In Jan Brett's Goldilocks, the bears and the slightly audacious flaxen-haired heroine all sport traditional (Black Forest?) costumes with detailed embroidery, and the wooden furniture is carved with bears, birds, and flowers. (Intricate borders—carved wooden panels in this book—are Jan Brett's special signature). Brett is the illustrator of many well-known folk tales, fairy tales, and poems, such as The Mitten and Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. Of her exquisite interpretation of this beloved story, Booklist writes, "This is perfection." (Ages 3 to 6).
Grade 3 Guided Reading 36 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Ingram Everybody loves the story of the curious little girl named Goldilocks, who made herself quite at home in the house of the three bears. Jan Brett's faithful retelling brings new life to this all-time favorite nursery tale. A Horn Book Recommended Paperback for Folklore, 1990. A Booklist Children's Editors' Choice. Full color.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v41 p112 F 1988 Although the retelling of a favorite nursery tale has some passages that are flat, the text is adequate. The illustrations are stunning in the romantic fairytale tradition…Architectural details, artifacts, and clothing are ornate, but they escape being obtrusive because they are so deftly balanced and fused. Zena Sutherland
The Horn Book v64 p75 Ja/F 1988 Sharp-eyed children will be delighted with this new edition of an old favorite, faithfully and smoothly adapted…Full-color, double-page spreads burst with action that can barely be contained by the elaborate borders…Children will look for the mice scampering about the pages and will be attracted to the Scandinavian-style costumes of Goldilocks and the three bears. The paintings are so clearly reproduced that the bears' fur looks as if it could be touched. Large enough to share with groups but with enough detail to withstand repeated individual readings, the book infuses the old nursery tale with new life. Ellen Fader
School Library Journal v34 p70 D 1987 These well-heeled Scandinavian-looking bears live in a house that would put yuppy collectors of country homes and folk art to shame, and the elaborate, imaginative, and richly colored designs bear repeated viewings…Personality emerges nicely. The 'little, small, wee' bear bumbles into everything, and the great huge bear is alternately gentle and gruff, but the middle-sized bear attracts little direct attention. Goldilocks is somewhat less successful…Overall, some readers might wish for less decorations and some imaginative space, and may be overwhelmed by the amount of detail, but Brett's fans will be delighted.
Background Jan Brett adapted the text for this folktale from Andrew Lang’s The Green Fairy Book. This tale is told in the traditional manner.
Introduction Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a folktale. A folktale is a story that has been told by word of mouth for many generations. Each time the tale is told, the storyteller may change or vary the story to fit the audience. Have you heard this tale before? What do you remember about the Goldilocks story you have heard? There is not a right or wrong version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. All versions you have heard or read are correct. Look at the illustrations. What can you predict by looking at the illustrations? What do the illustrations tell you about the story?
Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 37 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reading
Pages 2-5 These pages describe the three bears: their size, their porridge bowls, their chairs, and their beds.
Key Concepts: repetitious pattern, family members
Vocabulary: wee, huge, porridge, middle-sized
Pages 6-9 Bears went for a walk while their porridge was cooling. While the Bears were walking, a little girl came to the house and went inside.
Key Concepts: family activity, stranger enters house uninvited, trusting nature of bears to leave home unlocked, trespassing
Vocabulary: breakfast, porridge, Goldilocks, keyhole, latch, peeped
Pages 10-11 Goldilocks sees porridge on the table, tastes all three bowls, and eats all the porridge in the small, wee bowl.
Key Concepts: hot, cold, just right, hunger, selfishness, lack of consideration and respect for property of others
Vocabulary: steaming, roasted, tempting
Pages 12-13 Goldilocks sits in all three chairs and breaks the small, wee chair.
Key Concepts: too hard, too soft, just right, lack of consideration and respect for property of others
Vocabulary: neither, bottom, plump
Pages 14-15 Goldilocks tries all three beds and falls asleep in the bed of the small, wee bear.
Key Concepts: too high at the head, too high at the foot, just right, lack of consideration and respect for property of others
Vocabulary: upstairs, upon, covered, comfortably, herself
Grade 3 Guided Reading 38 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 16-17 Three bears return home and discover someone had been eating their porridge. The porridge of the small wee bear has been eaten all up.
Key Concepts: observation of details in illustrations, mystery, concern
Vocabulary: thought, returned, standing, rough, gruff
Pages 18-19 The three bears discovered someone has been sitting on their chairs, and has broken the chair of the small, wee bear.
Key Concepts: lack of consideration and respect for property of others
Vocabulary: entered, cushion, straight, crumpled
Pages 20-23 The three bears check their bedroom and discover that someone has been lying in their beds. The small, wee bear discovers Goldilocks in his bed.
Key Concepts: solving the mystery, surprise, indignation
Vocabulary: though, necessary, further, search, pillow, peacefully, braids, spread
Pages 24-28 Goldilocks was awakened by the voices of the bears. When she saw the bears looking at her lying in the bed, she tumbled from the bed, jumped out the window, and ran away from the house. The bears never heard of her again.
Key Concepts: fleeing from consequences, surprise, resolution of a problem
Vocabulary: dream, sharp, shrill, awakened, tumbled, afterwards
Grade 3 Guided Reading 39 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Yeh-Shen
Synopsis This version of the Cinderella story, in which a young girl overcomes the wickedness of her stepsister and stepmother to become the bride of a prince, is based on ancient Chinese manuscripts written 1000 years before the earliest European version. "Executed with chromatic splendor—a unique combination of brilliance and restraint."--The Horn Book. A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award Winner. An ALA Notable Children's Book. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. An IRA Children's Choice. An IRA Teachers' Choice.
Author Ai-Ling Louie
Introduction Have students retell the traditional story of Cinderella. Explain that this is a version from a different country. Using the illustrations, predict how the two stories will be alike; how they will be different. Record the predictions to check as they read the story. As you look at the illustrations, note the image of the fish or part of the fish on each two page spread. Predict what a fish has to do with the story.
Reading
Pages 1-4 A Chinese cave chief had two wives, each who bore him a daughter. The chief and one of his wives dies, leaving a stepdaughter. She was much prettier than her stepsister and her stepmother treated her unkindly. Her only friend was a beautiful fish. When her stepmother finds out about the fish, she kills it and takes it home to eat.
Key Concepts: dynasty, caring
Vocabulary: Ch’in, Han, Wu, Yeh-Shen, enormous, crafty
Pages 5- 8 A “kind uncle” tells Yeh-Shen that the bones of her fish are filled with a powerful spirit who will satisfy her serious needs. Yeh-Shen speaks often with the bones which provide food for her. Festival time comes when young men and women from the village hope to meet and choose whom they would marry. Yeh-Shen wants to go, but, of course, her stepmother does not want the young men to see how beautiful she is compared to her ugly stepsister.
Key Concepts: jealously, spirit
Vocabulary: coarsest, dung, beauteous
Grade 3 Guided Reading 40 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 9-16 Yeh-Shen asks the bones if there might be some clothes she could borrow to wear to the Festival. At once she is dressed in a beautiful gown and cloak and wearing magic slippers. Fearing she has been recognized by her stepsister she runs down the mountainside, losing one of her slippers. When her slipper falls off, all of her fine clothes return to rags. She returns the slipper to the bones promising to find the mate, but the bones are silent.
Key Concepts: transformation, loss
Vocabulary: azure, kingfisher feathers, soles
Pages 17-22 The stepmother leaves the festival to check on Yeh-Shen and finds her asleep with her arms around a fruit tree. A villager finds the lost slipper and presents it to the king. The king was entranced by the precious, tiny slipper and vows to find the woman to whom it belongs. Knowing a woman-by-woman search would take much time, the king builds a pavilion for the shoe and promises to return the shoe to its owner. Yeh-Shen goes to pavilion in the middle of the night to see if it is the mate to her slipper. The king, watching from a nearby hiding place, is struck by her sweet features and has his men follow her home.
Key Concepts: perseverance, goodness
Vocabulary: T’o Han, entranced, undaunted, pavilion, herald, vigil, timidly, harmony
Pages 23-28 The king pounds at Yeh-Shen’s door and asks her to try on the slippers. At once her rags turn into the feathered cloak and azure gown. The king knows at once he has found his true love. They are married. The king does not allow the stepmother or stepsister into the palace so they remain in their cave home and are crushed to death in a shower of flying stones.
Key Concepts: goodness, justice
Vocabulary: maiden, fate
Grade 3 Guided Reading 41 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Cause and Effect Give the effect and have the students write the cause, have students list several events and what caused them, or use a graphic organizer. If you give the beginning up to the word because, it is important to remember that there are often several answers that are correct. Share the responses from time to time to broaden the students’ understanding and to encourage divergent thinking.
n Yeh-Shen is left an orphan because her mother and father died. n Yeh-Shen’s stepmother killed her fish because she was angry that Yeh-Shen had keep a secret from her. n Yeh-Shen was sad because her fish had disappeared. n The “Kind Uncle” appeared because the fish had wondrous powers. n Yeh-Shen was kept alive because of the power in the fish’s bones. n Yeh-Shen fled down the mountain because she was afraid her stepsister had recognized her. n The king built a pavilion because it would take too long to try the slipper on every woman’s foot. n Yeh-Shen went to get the slipper from the pavilion because she wanted her bones to speak to her again. n The king fell in love with Yeh-Shen because of her heavenly appearance.
Sequencing List the major events of the story in correct sequence or create a storyboard for the tale.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why was the king entranced with the slipper? 2. Why didn’t the king arrest Yeh-Shen when she took the slipper from the pavilion? 3. Compare this version of Cinderella with the one most children are familiar with. 4. How does the Chinese culture influence this story of Cinderella? 5. What lesson can be learned from this story?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 42 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Prefixes and Suffixes Knowing prefixes and suffixes and their meanings can help us figure out the definitions of many two- and three-syllable words. The following words are found in the story. Use the meanings of the prefixes and the suffixes to understand the meaning of the whole word. Start a list of other words that have these prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes Suffixes dis (apart) ness (the state of) displeasure goodness disappeared loveliness
un (not) ful, eous (full of) unpleasant beautiful unable carefully undaunted powerful unaware beauteous unkind ly (like, characteristic) re (again, back) heavenly rejoined suddenly lovely trans (across) wisely transformed sadly
Similes A simile compares two objects or actions and usually joins them with as or like.
…skin as smooth as ivory …in a pattern like the scales of a fish …her feet felt as light as air
Metaphors A metaphor is simply an analogy or an expression of comparison. Unlike the simile, the metaphor does not use as or like.
…dark pools for eyes
Grade 3 Guided Reading 43 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Yeh-Shen Name ______
The basic elements of a story are listed on the left side of the paper. Identify those elements in the traditional story of Cinderella and in Yeh-Shen.
Cinderella Yeh-Shen Setting
Characters
Problem(s)
Solution(s)
Ending
Grade 3 Guided Reading 44 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Flossie and the Fox
Synopsis A wily fox, notorious for stealing eggs, meets his match when he encounters a bold little girl in the woods who insists upon proof that he is a fox before she will be frightened. This tale is a variation of the Little Red Riding Hood tale. In this story, small Flossie Finley outsmarts a wily fox determined to steal her eggs by refusing to be scared until he proves that he is indeed what he claims to be. As he points out the various aspects of himself—luxurious fur, long pointed nose, sharp claws and yellow eyes, bushy tail—she cleverly compares each characteristic to that of another animal: rabbit, rat, cat, or squirrel. The fox is lured into accompanying her to her destination, where his plans are suddenly disrupted by a menacing hound."
Author "I write because there's a need to have books for, by, and about the African American experience and how we helped to develop this country." Patricia McKissack at the Virginia Hamilton Conference, Kent University. Patricia L'Ann Carwell was born to the civil servant parents Robert and Erma Carwell on August 9, 1944, in the small town of Smyrna, Tennessee. The Carwell family moved North to St. Louis, Missouri when she was three. The family moved apart after Erma and Robert divorced. Patricia remained with her paternal grandparents in St. Louis, while her mother and her brother and sister moved back to Tennessee. Pat was very close to her grandparents. She remembers her grandfather as a wonderful storyteller. "When I was feeling sad or hurt or discouraged, he would tell me a story to perk me up. When we were happy and celebrating, he would tell stories. To remember an occasion, he would tell stories... My grandfather taught through storytelling. He preserved our family history, and he passed that on to me." Pat began writing at an early age. One of her fondest memories is her third grade teacher hanging a poem she wrote on the bulletin board. "I was just absolutely taken by the whole idea of writing, and I wrote on everything. I loved having control of the words and being able to write my own stories. I loved reading stories, but writing my own stories opened up a whole new world for me.... Writing is hard work but rewarding. I have had so many influences--my grandfather, my teachers, my parents, my friends. I am a sponge soaking up everything about me." At the age of twelve, McKissack left St. Louis and rejoined her mother, brother, sister, and maternal grandparents in Nashville. This move back to Tennessee brought Pat the friendship of Fredrick McKissack, who would become her future husband many years later. Pat and Fred McKissack both attended Tennessee State University in Nashville, where they were able to rekindle their friendship. The couple married on December 12, 1964. Eventually their family grew from two to five with the birth of their three sons, Fredrick Lemuel and the twins, Robert and John. Pat McKissack graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Tennessee State University in 1964. After this, she returned to St. Louis to further her education. She received her Masters in Early Childhood Literature and Media Programming at Webster University. She graduated in 1975.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 45 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
After making careers in the fields of both teaching and editing children's books, Patricia McKissack, with the help of her husband, decided to become a full-time writer of children's and young adult books designed for and about African Americans. "I remember sitting in our car— just the two of us—and Fred asked, 'If you could do anything you want to do in this whole wide world for the rest of your life, what would you do?' I said, 'Write books.' And he said, 'Okay— let's do that. We'll take it as far as we can go. We'll take it day by day.'" Thus, they set out together with a hope "to enlighten, to change attitudes, to set goals—to build bridges with books." Whether working solo or assisted by her husband, Patricia McKissack has written nearly one hundred children's picture books, young adult novels, and non-fiction biographies about African Americans and their cultural experiences and histories.
Reviews
School Library Journal, October 1986 McKissack recounts this story, which was told to her as a child by her grandfather. Flossie is a young black girl who lives with her grandmother in the rural south. When Big Mama sends Flossie to deliver a basket of eggs to a neighbor, she cautions her to be careful of the fox who had been frightening the chickens and stealing their eggs. To Flossie's ”How do a fox look?'' Big Mama responds that “A fox be just a fox.'' Having no idea what this means, Flossie sets out on her mission through a wooded area, where she is greeted by the fox. As he tries to convince her that he is to be feared, she refutes him by insisting that he prove who he is. To readers' delight, the frustrated fox fails every attempt. Fox's final confrontation with a fierce dog saves the day for Flossie, who proves herself to be more cunning than the fox. The watercolor and ink illustrations, with realistic figures set on impressionistic backgrounds, enliven this humorous and well-structured story that is told in the black language of the rural south. The language is true, and the illustrations are marvelously complementary in their interpretation of the events. This spirited little girl will capture readers from the beginning, and they'll adore her by the end of this delightful story. Helen E. Williams, University of Maryland, College Park
Publishers Weekly, June 27, 1987 Flossie carefully stores her straw doll in a hollow tree stump when Big Mama calls her away from play. She wants Flossie to deliver eggs to “Miz Viola over at the McCutchin Place. Seem like they been troubled by a fox. Miz Viola's chickens be so scared, they can't even now lay a stone.” Flossie has never seen a fox, but sets off through the shady, cool woods. When she meets the fox, she doesn't recognize him, and so introduces herself. He identifies himself, but Flossie doesn't believe him. He points out his thick fur. “Feels like rabbit fur to me,” Flossie replies. “You a rabbit.” The fox notes his long pointed nose, and Flossie decides that rats have similar noses. “You a rat trying to pass yo'self off as a fox.” The fox desperately tries to persuade Flossie of his identity. She just keeps walking, until they are in the road, where the McCutchin hounds are ready to pounce on the fox. “The hounds know who I am!” the fox cries. “I know,” says Flossie. Her eggs are safe, and the little girl has outfoxed the “ol' confidencer.” This is a sly tale, richly evoked by both Isadora's lavish paintings and the storyteller's dialect. (4-8)
Grade 3 Guided Reading 46 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Kirkus Starred, 1986 McKissack tells “a story from my youth, retold in the same rich and colorful language that was my grandfather's,” a delicious reversal of Red Riding Hood that serves as parable of black outwitting white. Flossie Finley is to carry eggs through the Tennessee forest to Miz Viola, watching out for the "ol' slickster" fox, who loves eggs. Flossie isn't scared, but "disremembers" ever seeing a fox, so when the fox introduces himself she remains unconvinced—through several delightful exchanges as the fox becomes more and more distraught at her lack of recognition ("I am a fox, and you will act accordingly." "…Unless you can show you a fox, I'll not accord you nothing!" and "I may never recover my confidence." "…You just an ol' confidencer"). The fox uses big, pretentious words, but Flossie's sly good humor gets him every time. Isadora's watercolor, ink and pencil illustrations fully realize the spirit of the text, with Flossie's sturdy, self-reliant stance and the fox growing progressively more tentative and defensive. Mellow green, lemon, rust and earth tones fill a safe, sun- dappled world. A perfect picture book.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v40 p13 S 1986 The illustrations in brown, gold, green, and russet are literal but flexible, with a black protagonist and a vivid natural world (although the 'piney woods' appear to be mostly birches and maple or poplar); they project the action in lively tempo. Just scary enough, this is rural mini-adventure with folkloric dimensions. Betsy Hearne
The Horn Book v63 p48 Ja/F 1987 Based on a story remembered from the author's childhood, this tale of wit triumphant from the black tradition of the rural South—with its lilting cadence and colorful, carefully phrased dialect—fairly sings on the page…Although the text can stand alone as a wonderful example of folk literature, Rachel Isadora's handsome, full-color, double-boxed illustrations enhance and extend the plot…Yet, impressive as they are, these pictures are not simply remarkable examples of fine art but are true illustrations, filled with a sense of story, beautifully composed, engagingly vital. Well suited for picture-book hours, the book is a real charmer, thoughtfully crafted and carefully designed. Mary M. Burns
Background: Author’s Note From the Book “Long before I became a writer, I was a listener. On hot summer evenings, our family sat on the porch and listened to my grandmother tell a hair-raising ghost story or watched my mother dramatize a Dunbar poem. But it was always a special treat when my grandfather took the stage. He was a master storyteller who charmed his audience with humorous stories told in the rich and colorful dialect of the rural South. I never wanted to forget them. So, it is through me that my family’s storytelling legacy lives on.”
“Here is a story from my youth, retold in the same rich and colorful language that was my grandfather’s. He began all his yarns with a question. “Did I ever tell you ‘bout the time lil’ Flossie Finley come out the Piney Woods heeling a fox?” I’d snuggle up beside him in the big porch swing, then he’d began his tale…”
Grade 3 Guided Reading 47 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Introduction Does your family have any special stories that are told time and time again? This story is a tale that was told to the author by her grandfather. The story is rich in the dialect of African- Americans who lived in the rural southern states of the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. Dialect abounds in this book…it calls to the reader for reading aloud. Teachers should read from this book to share the cadence and richness of phrasing in the dialect.
The illustrations enhance the story. What can you tell about the characters from examining the illustrations?
As students read this book, ask if the story reminds them of another story. (Red Riding Hood). Examine the creative solutions Flossie used to outwit the fox.
Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Reading
Pages 1-4 (Since the pages in this book are not numbered, page one starts on the first page of the story text.)
Big Mama called Flossie Finley, way down at the hollow log. She wanted Flossie to take eggs to Miz Viola over at the McCutchin Place. “Seem like they been troubled by a fox. Miz Viola’s chickens be so scared, they can’t even now lay a stone.” Big Mama told Flossie Mr. J. W. couldn’t catch the fox with his dogs because “that fox is one sly critter.”
Key Concepts: obedience, responds to grandmother’s request, curiosity
Vocabulary: floated, smokehouse, beyond, chicken coop, hollow, sortin’, apron, clicked, slickster, sly, critter
Pages 5-6 Flossie wanted to know “How do a fox look? I disremember ever seeing one.” Grandmother answered: “A fox be just a fox…that rascal loves eggs…do most anything to get at some eggs.” Flossie decided to go through the woods; the way was shorter and cooler, and it was one hot day in Tennessee.
Key Concepts: increasing info about the fox, risk taking and decision making -deciding to take the short cut, even knowing the fox may be in the woods
Vocabulary: disremember, chile, rascal, tucked, tarry, particular, route, aine
Grade 3 Guided Reading 48 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 7-10 Flossie came upon a critter she didn’t remember ever seeing. Flossie introduced herself to him. The critter said “I am a fox.” Flossie didn’t believe he was a fox. The fox was disgusted, saying, of course, he was a fox and little girls should be terrified of him. Flossie told him he sure thought a “heap of yo’self” and skipped away.
Key Concepts: polite behavior, sly, cunning
Vocabulary: commenced, skip, critter, recollect, greeting, “top of the morning”, proper, curtsy, reckon, circled around, eyeing, bowed, service, heels, claiming, purely, flashed, chuckled, disgusted, terrified
Pages 11-14 The fox was shocked that Flossie wasn’t afraid of him. Flossie’s philosophy: I have never seen a fox before, so why should I be scared when I don’t know if you are a fox. Prove you are a fox. The fox said he had thick, luxurious fur. “Feel like rabbit fur to me…You are a rabbit…”
Key Concepts: creative thinking and problem-solving, cunning, slyness
Vocabulary: shocked, aine, “pulled himself tall”, proof, piney, fella
Pages 15-18 The fox caught up with Flossie down the road and said he had a long, pointed nose. Flossie said that wasn’t proof; rats have long, pointed noses and you are trying to pass yourself off as a rat. Flossie met a cat on the path and the fox asked the cat to tell her he was a fox. The fox is becoming more agitated and frustrated at her lack of belief he is a fox.
Key Concepts: disbelief, trickster
Vocabulary: bubbly spring, prove, matter-of-fact-like, snapped, pardon, clearing, tabby, sunning, clump, perhaps, feline, measure, respect, winked
Pages19-20 The cat replied he is a fox because he has sharp claws and yellow eyes. Flossie looked at both the cat and the fox and said they both had sharp claws and yellow eyes and “both y’all be cats.” The fox was plum beside himself.
Key Concept: disbelieving
Vocabulary: beckoned, yawned, purred, satisfied, respect, howling, plum beside himself, absurd, language
Grade 3 Guided Reading 49 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 21-22 The fox thought he had a solution for “this horrible situation.” He said foxes are known for their fluffy, bushy tales. Flossie just replied squirrels have bushy tales. The fox was crying and asked Flossie if his word was enough to prove he was a fox. Flossie shook her head no.
Key Concepts: indisputable proof is needed to solve some situations, trickster
Vocabulary: pleading, solution, situation, perk, adequate, crying like a natural born baby
Pages 22-23 The fox hollered he may never recover his confidence. Flossie replied: “.You just an ol’ confidencer. Come tellin’ me you was a fox, then can’t prove it.” Flossie and the fox came out of the woods, but the fox didn’t notice. He was too busy begging Flossie to believe him. He asked for one last chance. Flossie agreed.
Key Concepts: can’t just say something is so, must be able to prove it
Vocabulary: woe is me, confidence, ol’ confidencer, shame, turned on her heels
Pages 24-25 In an unsteady voice, fox said he had sharp teeth and could run exceedingly fast. Flossie said it didn’t make much difference now if she believed him or not, because Mr. J. W. McCutchin’s hounds got sharp teeth and can run fast and are right behind you.
Key Concepts: climax of the trick where the trickster has been out-tricked
Vocabulary: whimper, unsteady-like, exceedingly
Pages 26-28 The fox dashed toward the woods, saying the hounds know he’s a fox and he could out run Mr. J. W. McCutchin’s hounds any old day because he is a fox. “I know,” said Flossie as she turned toward the cabin with the basket of eggs safely tucked under her arm.
Key Concepts: triumph over the trickster, arriving safely at her destination
Vocabulary: out-smart, out-run, miserable, mutts
Grade 3 Guided Reading 50 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Talking Eggs A Folktale from the American South
Synopsis This is a retelling of a Creole folktale about two sisters whose distinctly different personalities affect the outcome of their lives. Rose, the oldest sister, is rude, cruel, and demands to have her way all the time. She refuses to do housework or care for her mother. But gentle Blanche gladly does what she is told and tries her best to be kind to others. When Blanche meets an old woman with supernatural abilities, her life changes, and the discovery of a chicken house of talking eggs filled with treasures of gold, jewels, silver, and fine dresses changes it even more. But what will become of the greedy Rose?
A 1989 Caldecott Honor Book
Author Robert San Souci has enjoyed listening to stories since he was a small boy. Even more, he has enjoyed retelling his own version of those stories to others. He wrote his first book when he was in second grade, and his brother Daniel illustrated it. Together they made eight copies of the book and gave them to family members. The brothers proved to be a good team. Even now Daniel San Souci often illustrates Robert's published books. Besides sharing the talent of creativity, Robert and Daniel San Souci also share something else: their birth date. Although Daniel is two years younger than Robert, both brothers were born on October 10! Robert San Souci, born on October 10, 1946, is a California native raised in Berkley. Robert and his brother Daniel are both well-known authors. Robert knew before he could read or write that he wanted to be a writer. He would listen to stories and repeat the stories, leaving information out or adding his ideas to the story. While at St. Mary’s College, he studied creative writing and world literature. Robert went to California State University for graduate school where he studied folklore, world religion, and myth. He now lives in San Francisco Bay Area. Robert worked hard with his many jobs like manager of a bookstore, editorial coordinator, and copywriter for Harper and Row publishing company. Robert uses a variety of multicultural sources and characters from Native American, African American, Chinese, Japanese, Inuit, and European cultures. His work features both male and female heroines. Critics admire the considerable research that Robert’s books display.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 51 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reviews
Amazon.com Two sisters lived down Louisiana way long ago: Rose, who was unpleasant, mean, and the older of the two; and her younger sister, Blanche, who was "sweet and kind and sharp as forty crickets." Guess who has to do all the work for Rose and their mother? Blanche's kind and obedient nature finally pays off when she helps an old woman who has magical powers— and a chicken house full of talking eggs containing treasures for those who do as they're told: gold and silver, jewels, silk dresses, satin shoes, "even a handsome carriage that grew in a wink from the size of a matchbox...." Robert D. San Souci's lively, humorous retelling of this Creole folktale abounds with colorful expressions, and Jerry Pinkney's full-page illustrations make us believe in the marvels that Blanche finds, even the two-headed cow, square-dancing rabbits, and rainbow-colored chickens! This inspired collaboration, a 1989 Caldecott Honor Book, will delight young readers who like a captivating story with a strong heroine and a dash of mystery. (Ages 5 to 10) --Marcie Bovetz
From Horn Book Adapted from a Creole folk tale, the story captures the flavor of the nineteenth-century South in its language and story line. The watercolors are chiefly responsible for the excellence of the book. Review, p. 782. -- Copyright © 1990 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ingram The author of such delights as The Christmas Ark and The Enchanted Tapestry joins forces with illustrator Pinkney to resurrect a colorful folktale that captures the unique flavor of the American South. A 1989 Caldecott Honor Book
Booklist v85 p1982 Ag 1989 A vibrant adaptation of a Creole folktale…Set in a post-Civil War South, the book mixes the ambience of that rural milieu with fantastic events in a way that is both credible and intriguing. Pinkney's richly colored art is equally fine in presenting oddities and realities, especially in his characters…Expressively told, excitingly drawn, this special book will have wide appeal. Ilene Cooper
From Betsy Hearn [This folktale] combines elements of Cinderella with distinctively southern black lore…It's a strong story well told, and Pinkney's elaborate watercolor scenes play it to the hilt. The two- headed cow with corkscrew horns and a mulish bray, the multicolored, many-legged chickens that whistle like mockingbirds, and the old woman who removes her head to comb her hair are haunting images of magic, both verbally and visually. In spite of occasional stiffness in drafting of human faces and figures, there is an eerie quality to these scenes that will electrify storytelling or picture-book sharing sessions.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 52 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Background Robert San Souci is fascinated by folktales from around the world. He says, "These tales often remind us how alike we are—yet, at the same time, they affirm how wonderful it is that people have so many different, imaginative, and insightful ways of making sense of the world and celebrating its wonders." His own books are retellings of tales from cultures all over the world. Pinkney's rich watercolor illustrations depict a Louisiana landscape in the 19th century. Students should examine the illustrations at length to enjoy their portrayal of the story. The tale contains dialect from the 19th century American South. Explain how dialects differ from region to region. It lends itself to reading aloud for full enjoyment of the richness of the text.
Introduction The Talking Eggs will delight readers with its good and evil characters, its strange and magical happenings, and its fresh and natural language. Tell students that they will be reading a folktale about two sisters—a “good” sister and a “bad” sister. Draw upon their prior experience with literature by asking them to think of other folktales that have “good” or “evil” characters. Extend the discussion by asking students to name personality traits or behavior shared by the good characters and traits shared by the bad or evil characters. You may wish to use concept maps to organize students' responses. As students volunteer words for the maps, have them support their suggestions with specific examples of characters and their behavior from folktales. Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Reading
Page 1 (Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 refers to the first page of text.)
The reader is introduced to a widow and her two daughters, who live on a farm so poor it “looked like the tail end of bad luck.” “Rose, the older sister, is cross, mean, and didn’t know beans from birds’ eggs. Blanche was sweet, kind, and sharp as forty crickets.” Their mother liked Rose best because they were “as alike as two peas in a pod—bad-tempered, sharp- tongued, and always putting on airs.” Blanche did all the work around the place while Rose and their mother rocked on the porch, putting on airs and talking about getting rich and moving to the city.
Key Concepts: differences in human nature, “kind, sweet vs. cruel and mean,” favoritism of one sibling over another, unfairness, hard-working Blanche
Vocabulary: widow, “farm so poor, it looked liked the tail end of bad luck”, “didn’t know beans from birds’ eggs”, “sharp as forty crickets”, “as alike as two peas in a pod”, sharp-tongued, “putting on airs”, hot coals, chop cotton, string the beans, porch, fancy balls, trail-train dresses
Grade 3 Guided Reading 53 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Page 2-5 One day, when Blanche went to the well to fetch water, she met and helped an old woman to a drink of water. When she returned home, she was scolded and hit by her mother and sister. This frightened Blanche so much, she ran away to the woods. She was scared to go home.
Key Concepts: kindness, helping others, respect for elders, cruelty and meanness of family member to each other, frightened, scared
Vocabulary: bucket, raggedy, shawl, fainting, aunty, rinsing, swallow, “spirit of do-right in your soul”, hollered, “it’s near boilin’”, screamed, scolded, frightened
Pages 6-7 The old woman found Blanche in the woods. After Blanche explained what happened, the old woman told Blanche to come home with her. Blanche had to promise the old woman that she would not laugh at anything she saw. Blanche promised. As they walked through the woods, the bushes and branches opened wide in front of them and closed up behind them.
Key Concepts: kindness given is returned, magic powers
Vocabulary: bend, “lit into me”, rubbing, supper, “word of honor”, bramble bushes
Pages 8-9 When they reached the old woman’s shack, Blanche saw strange sights: a cow with two heads, chickens of every color with one, three, or four legs. Blanche did not laugh at these sights.
Key Concepts: magical sights, wonderment, honoring a promise, consideration of feelings for others, brave
Vocabulary: tumbledown shack, horns like corkscrews, brayed like a mule, cluck, whistled like mockingbirds
Grade 3 Guided Reading 54 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 10-11 Once inside the cabin, while Blanche started the fire to cook supper, the old woman took off her head and “set it on her knees like a pumpkin to comb and braid her hair.” She then set it back on her head. The old woman gave Blanche an old beef bone to put in the pot for supper. Blanche was near starving and did not know how the bone would feed both of them, but when she looked back at the pot, it was full. The old woman then gave Blanche one grain of rice to grind in the stone mortar. When Blanche began to pound the grain, the mortar was overflowing with rice. After the meal, they went to sit on the porch on the “fine moonshiny night.”
Key Concepts: standing by a promise and having faith, things are not always what they seem, do not take things at face value, magic, kindness, helpful to others
Vocabulary: fetched, kindling, woodpile, set it on her knees like a pumpkin, plaited, nothing but kind, sliver, starving, grind, stone mortar, stone pestle, overflowing moonshiny
Pages 12-13 While sitting on the porch, Blanche and the old woman watched dozens of rabbits dance. The rabbits were dressed in their finery—frock-tail coats and trail-train dresses. The rabbits did a square dance, a Virginia reel, and even a cakewalk. Blanche sat and clapped until she fell asleep. The old woman carried her inside and put her to bed.
Key Concepts: wonder, awe, happiness, enjoyment
Vocabulary: underbrush, frock-tail coats, trail-train dresses. Banjo, hummed, square dance, Virginia reel, cakewalk
Pages 13-14 In the morning, after Blanche milked the two-headed cow, the old woman told Blanche she had to go home. As a reward for being such a good girl, the old woman told Blanche to go to the chicken house and take any eggs that said, “Take me.” Blanche was to leave the eggs that said, “Don’t take me.” The old woman instructed Blanche to throw the eggs over her shoulder as she neared home and she would receive a surprise. Blanche went to the chicken house, and even though she was tempted to take the gold, silver, and jeweled eggs, she did not. She followed the old woman’s directions.
Key Concepts: goodness and kindness is rewarded, temptation, resisting temptation, obedience
Vocabulary: sweetest, present, ahead, shoulder, surprise, fancy, scooped
Grade 3 Guided Reading 55 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 15-16 Blanche waved good-bye to the old woman and went on her way. Near her home, she threw the eggs over her left shoulder. As the eggs struck the ground, all sorts of wonderful things spilled out of them: jewels, coins, silk dresses, satin shoes, a carriage and pony.
Key Concepts: magic, just rewards
Vocabulary: waved, partway, toss, wonderful, spilled, diamonds, rubies, dainty, satin, handsome, carriage, grew in a wink, matchbox, sprouted cricket
Pages 17-18 Blanche returned home with her treasures. Her mother and sister just gawked at her new finery. As her mother cooked dinner (for the first time!), she got Blanche to tell her how she came by the treasures. When Blanche was asleep, the mother told Rose she should go into the woods and find the old woman to have the dresses and jewels like Blanche. When Rose returned, the mother would drive Blanche away and take her treasures.
Key Concepts: deception, greed, selfishness, lying
Vocabulary: lovely, carriage, grand, gawked, finery, skillet, grabbed, yourse’f, myse’f, so’s, meant, pokin’, through, whined, contrary
Pages 19-22 In the morning, Rose went into the woods in search of the old woman. When she met the old woman, she asked to see her pretty house. The old woman said she could come as long as she promised not to laugh at anything she saw. Rose promised. But, when she saw the two-headed cow, she laughed. She complained when asked to start the fire, cook the bone, and grind the rice. Consequently, Rose and the old woman went to bed hungry. When the old woman took her head off to comb her hair after breakfast, Rose grabbed the head and refused to give the head back until the old woman gave Rose the same presents she gave Blanche.
Key Concepts: deception, breaking a promise, not following directions, making fun of unusual things, lying
Vocabulary: drag-foot, dawdled mostly, tol’, an’, ‘preciate, whatever, swear, brayed, funny- looking, mockingbirds, yelled, stupidest, complained, more smoke than flame, crossly, remained, grind, sad speck, hardly, feed a fly, pestle, muttered, scratching, screech-owls, clawing, sour, cream, quick as a wink
Grade 3 Guided Reading 56 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 23-26 To get her head back, the old woman told her what to do. Rose took the jeweled eggs and ran off into the woods. When she tossed the eggs over her right shoulder, snakes, toads, frogs, yellow jackets, and a wolf came out and started chasing Rose. When her mother saw what was chasing Rose, she tried to rescue her with a broom, but the creatures could not be chased off, so Rose and her mother hightailed it into the woods, with all the creatures following.
Key Concepts: cruelty, justice prevails
Vocabulary: wicked, groping, prettiest, shells, whip snakes, yellow jackets, bloody murder, swarm, rescue, wasps, creatures, hightailed
Page 27 When Rose and her mother returned from the woods, they found Blanche had left for the city. Even though they searched for the old woman’s cabin for the rest of their lives, they never found it.
Key Concepts: good triumphs over evil, justice prevails, being polite and kind has its rewards
Vocabulary: sore, stung
Grade 3 Guided Reading 57 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters An African Tale
Synopsis Mufaro has two daughters, the bad-tempered Manyara and the loving Nyasha, who must pass a series of tests in order for one of them to be considered a beautiful and worthy wife for the Great King. Fiercely competitive, Manyara taunts Nyasha with threats of becoming a servant once Manyara is made Queen. Nyasha doesn't complain to her father about her sister's ill will, but merely tends to her garden where she befriends a little garden snake, Nyoka. Nyoka replaces the traditional fairy godmother, and is able to transform into a hungry lost boy and an old woman. As Manyara and Nyasha journey to meet with the Great King, each is tested by Nyoka in his various disguises. Not surprisingly, Manyara's responses are selfish and bitter, while Nyasha's are polite and thoughtful. In a surprise ending, Nyoka is revealed to be the Great King himself. Readers will identify with the kind, patient Nyasha, while delighting in the fate met by the evil sister, Manyara. John Steptoe's lush paintings compliment the story as they expand characterizations and setting, add depth to the text, and glow with the warmth of the land and people of Africa. This book won the Caldecott Award.
Author John Lewis Steptoe, creator of award-winning picture books for children, was born in Brooklyn on September 14, 1950 and was raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of that borough. He began drawing as a young child and received his formal art training at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. He was a student in the HARYOU-ACT Art Program and instructed by the highly recognized African American oil painter, Norman Lewis. He also studied at the Vermont Academy, where he was instructed by the sculptor, John Torres, and William Majors, a painter acclaimed by the Museum of Modem Art for his etchings and print- making. His work first came to national attention in 1969 when his first book, Stevie, appeared in its entirety in Life magazine. It was hailed as "a new kind of book for black children." He had begun work on Stevie at the age of 16. He was 18 years old when Stevie was published. In his 20-year career, John Steptoe illustrated sixteen picture books, ten of which he also wrote. The American Library Association named two of his books Caldecott Honor Books, a prestigious award for children's book illustration: The Story of Jumping Mouse in 1985 and Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters in 1988. He twice received the Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration, for Mother Crocodile (text by Rosa Guy) in 1982, and for Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters. While all of his work deals with aspects of the African American experience, reviewers and critics acknowledged Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters as a breakthrough. Based on an African tale recorded in the 19th century, it required John to research African history and culture for the first time, thus awakening his pride in his African ancestry. He hoped that his books would lead children, especially African American children, to feel pride in their origins and in who they are. "I am not an exception to the rule among my race of people," he said, accepting the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Illustration, "I am the rule. By that I mean there are a great many others like me where I come from." John Steptoe died on August 28, 1989, at Saint Luke's Hospital in Manhattan, following a long illness. He was 38 years old and lived in Brooklyn.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 58 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reviews
Ingram This African tale evokes the Cinderella story in its portrayal of two sisters, spiteful Manyara and considerate Nyasha, and the young king who is searching for a bride. Steptoe has illustrated this modern fable with stunning paintings that glow with beauty, warmth, and internal vision of the land and people of his ancestors.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v40 p157 Ap 1987 Dramatic, oversize paintings accompany a story based on an animal-groom tale collected at the end of the nineteenth century from the Zimbabwe region of southern Africa… The art is deep-colored and lush, with sensitive, realistic portraits except in the case of the cruel sister, whose expressions could have been less exaggerated. Sweeping landscapes, textured with fine crosshatch, are thoughtfully composed, though one forest scene loses, in the gutter, the central figure of a bird. The story and art will make an intriguing accompaniment to well-known European versions of Beauty and the Beast. Betsy Hearne
The Horn Book v63 p478 Jl/Ag 1987 Quite simply, this is a magnificent book, the work of a mature artist who found inspiration in his heritage and transformed that legacy into a distinctive, personal interpretation. The story, a polished retelling of one from G.M. Theal's Kaffir Folktales is exactly the right showcase for the spectacular, full-color illustrations. Monumental in scale, they suggest the majesty and mystery of the ancient Zimbabwe ruins that serve as the setting. The story, although evoking the African culture, is universal in theme…The pace of the text matches the rhythm of the illustrations--both move in dramatic unity to the climax. Mary M, Burns
The New York Times Book Review p27 Je 28 1987 Mr. Steptoe weaves tribal culture and history, magic and mystery in this version of the timeless moral lesson of pride going before a fall. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is an appealing picture book. Mr. Steptoe's full-page multimedia illustrations include sensitive details of the principal characters and their homes as well as the flora and fauna of the region. The illustrations have a muted brilliance and luminosity…The simple justice of this reversal of expectations is still charming if a worn and, to adults at least, predictable features of traditional lore. Nyasha's triumph and Manyara's unhappy fate describe the ends of good and evil—sans the shadings that might be available in a more contemporary tale. Parents may take the opportunity the book presents to discuss the cultural values it represents as well as its historical context. Paulette Childress White
Background Use this book to teach about diversity. This is a Cinderella tale from Africa. The Talking Eggs is a Cinderella tale from the American South. The Rough-Face Girl is a Native American Cinderella tale. Folktales also demonstrate that all human beings in all cultures have a sense of right and wrong, a sense of justice and kindness. Provide other versions of the Cinderella story and have students compare them. Possible titles include: Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China re told by Ai-Ling Louie; The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo; and the Koren Cinderella by Shirley Climo. How do these versions differ? In what ways are they alike? How do they reflect the culture they come from? Zimbabwe is a country in southern Africa that was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia and then as Rhodesia. Zimbabwe was named after the famous 14th-century stone-built city of Great Zimbabwe, located in the southeast. The country is renowned for the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River and for its bountiful wildlife. Zimbabwe's population is divided into two main ethnic and linguistic groups, the Ndebele and the Shona, the former mostly inhabiting the Grade 3 Guided Reading 59 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002 southwest. The capital is Harare, formerly known as Salisbury, which is the center of a rich commercial farming district. Zimbabwe's economy is diversified, with services, industry, and agriculture providing a balanced share of the country's earnings. Inhabited for at least 2,000 years, the region of present-day Zimbabwe was the site of several large African states, notably Great Zimbabwe, Mwene Mutapa, and the Rozwi Empire. Zimbabwe was the British colony of Southern Rhodesia from the late 1800s until 1965, when its white settlers proclaimed it the state of Rhodesia, which Britain refused to recognize. In 1980 the majority black population won independence for the country as Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has a land area of 150,873 sq mi. The country borders Mozambique to the east and Botswana to the west. South Africa is located to the south, and the Limpopo River forms the boundary between the two countries. In the north, the border is formed by the Zambezi River, beyond which is Zambia.
Introduction From the book: “Mufaro’s Beauatiful Daughters was inspired by a folktale collected by G. M. Theal and published in 1895 in his book, Kaffir Folktales. It evokes the Cinderella story, as well as the traditional theme of good triumphing over evil. Details of the illustrations were inspired by the ruins of an ancient city found in Zimbabwe, and the flora and fauna of that region. The names of the characters are from the Shona language: Mufaro (moo-FAR-oh) means “happy man”; Nyasha (nee-AH-sha) means “mercy”; Manyara (mahn-YAR-ah) means “ashamed”; and Nyoka (nee-YO-kah) means “snake”.”
Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Preview the Cover Hold up the book so both the front and back covers are visible. Tell students that the covers show Mufaro's two daughters. Ask students to study the illustrations and then comment on the girls. Ask: What is each one doing? What expressions do they have on their faces? What preliminary conclusions might students make about the girls from these pictures?
Locate the Setting On a globe or world map, help students locate Africa. Tell students that the story comes from an African country called Zimbabwe. Then locate the city of Nyanda. Explain that the story takes place just south of Nyanda in and near the walled city of Great Zimbabwe. Explain that the modern nation is named after this ancient city. Tell students that the stone buildings at Great Zimbabwe are considered architectural marvels because they were made with dry walls. In a dry wall, the stones are cut and placed so exactly that no mortar or cement is needed. Explain that the Caldecott Medal is named after an English artist, Randolf Caldecott (1846– 1886), who is considered the originator of children's picture books. The medal is given annually to an illustrator in the United States for the most distinguished children's picture book published during the previous year. Review the art in Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters with the class to see why it won this award. Explain that the illustrations in this book show the fortress-city of Great Zimbabwe in ancient times. This city was a main trading center of the Shona people starting in the 1400s. There, the Shona sold gold, copper, and ivory to Arab merchants. The remaining ruins of the city show that the Shona were skillful builders. The ruins of three of their stone structures— the Hill Complex, the Great Enclosure, and the Valley Complex—are still visible. Ask students to see if they can find any of these in the book illustrations. Grade 3 Guided Reading 60 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
How do the plants and animals reflect an African setting? What else in the illustrations suggests an African setting? Does this story remind you of Cinderella? In what ways?
Readings
Pages 1-5 (Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 refers to the first page of text.) A man named Mufaro lived in a village in Africa with his two beautiful daughters, Manyara and Nyasha. Manyara was bad-tempered and unhappy, teased her sister behind her father’s back, and said her sister would be a servant in her household when she was queen. Nyasha was praised for her kindness and the work she did. Nyasha was sorry her sister felt the way she did, but went about her work. She kept a small plot of land and sang as she worked
Key Concepts: beauty, self-centered, bad-tempered, spoiled, kindness, confidence in self, considerate
Vocabulary: certain, Africa, journey, Mufaro, village, Manyara, Nyasha, teased, servant, household, responded, clever, praise, queen, weakness, ignored, chores, plot, millet, yams, vegetables, bountiful
Pages 6-7 One day Nyasha noticed a small snake on her plot. She welcomed the snake and returned to her work. From that day forward the small snake was always at her side when she tended her garden.
Key Concepts: kindness, appreciation of small creatures of nature, sharing with others
Vocabulary: noticed, yam vine, creatures, spoil, forward, sweetly
Pages 8-9 Mufaro was not aware of how Manyara treated Nyasha. A messenger arrived in the village. The King wants a wife and is inviting the Most Worthy and Beautiful Daughters in the land to appear before him. He will choose one for his bride. Mufaro believes it would be a great honor for the king to choose one of his daughters. He orders them to prepare for the journey tomorrow. Manyara tries to convince her father that Nyasha would be unhappy to be separated from him. However, her father says only the king can choose between such two worthy daughters.
Key Concepts: greed, selfishness, unawareness of father, deception, consideration of others, pride
Vocabulary: considerate, complain, behave, messenger, arrived, worthy, invited, proclaimed, honor, prepare, journey, tomorrow, painful, grieve, beamed, pride
Pages 10-13
Grade 3 Guided Reading 61 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
When everyone was sleeping, Manyara stole quietly out of the village to be the first to appear before the king. She was frightened of the forest at night and stumbled over a boy in her path. The boy was hungry and asked for something to eat, but Manyara refused and rushed on. Next, she came to an old woman, who gave her advice about what see would see in the forest. Manyara ignored her advice and rushed on toward the city.
Key Concepts: self-centered, ignoring others, unkindness, single-mindedness of purpose to the exclusion of all else, test of worthiness
Vocabulary: stole, frightened, greed, stumbled, appeared, brought, distance, silhouetted, advice, grove, polite, scolded, foretold, indeed, tucked, acknowledges, chanted
Pages 14-17 Nyasha woke at dawn and heard a commotion from the assembling wedding party. Manyara was missing. Her footprints were on the path leading to the city, so they decided to go on as planned. Along the way, Nyasha saw the small boy and shared her lunch. The old woman appeared and Nyasha thanked her for the advice and gave her sunflower seeds. Nyasha was overwhelmed by her first sight of the city. . Key Concepts: happiness, spirit of adventure, sharing, kindness, awareness of people and creatures, appreciation of beauty of nature, test of worthiness
Vocabulary: dawn, garments, forever, beyond, prefer, admitted interrupted, commotion, assembled, bustled, decided, plumed, darted, shadows, beneath, anxious, excitement, approaching, appeared, silently, pouch, grove, uppermost, bow, announced, destination, transfixed, guard
Pages 18-19 As Nyasha and her father approached the city, Manyara ran from the enclosure and begged her father to keep Nyasha from entering to face a snake with five heads. Nyasha bravely made her way to the chamber and opened the door.
Key Concepts: fear, braveness, disguise
Vocabulary: descended, approached, rent, piercing, chamber, enclosure, rent, sobbing, hysterically, faults, displeased, swallowed, upset, comfort
Grade 3 Guided Reading 62 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 20-25 Nyasha enters the chamber and sees the little garden snake. Nyoka changes shape and becomes the king. Nyasha learns he was also the hungry boy and the old woman in the forest. He knows she is the most worthy and most beautiful daughter in the land and asks for her hand in marriage. So Nyasha and the king were married and Mufaro proclaimed himself to be the happiest father in all the land. He was blessed with two beautiful and worthy daughters: Nyasha, the queen, and Manyara, a servant in the queen’s household.
Key Concepts: Goodness and kindness is rewarded, justice is served
Vocabulary: relief, joy, pleasure, replied, preparations, weavers, garments, celebration, feast, millet, proclaimed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 63 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Genre: Legends The Mud Pony, The Rough-Face Girl, Legend of the Blue Bonnet, Brave Bear and the Ghosts, Quillworker: A Cheyenne Legend, Buffalo Woman
Folktales are stories handed down by word of mouth from one person to another over many generations. Folktales are found in most cultures in the world. For example, there are over 800 identified Cinderella stories from various cultures around the world. A folktale is re-created every time it is told, and therefore, every telling is correct in its own way. Each storyteller adds nuances as a tale is told and molds the tale to fit the audience.
Types of Folktales
Cumulative Every event in the story builds to the climax of the story. The story is told again and again from the beginning with elements added each time. Examples: The House That Jack Built, The Gingerbread Boy
Pourquoi Tales “Why” stories that explain certain animal traits, natural phenomena, or characteristics / customs of people Examples: Why the Bear is Stumpy Tailed, why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky
Beast Tales Tales in which animals act and talk like human beings, personification Examples: Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Noodlehead or Numbskull Stories Humorous stories about people who bumble about Example: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Wonder Tales Tales of magical characters and objects Example: Jack and the Beanstalk
Realistic Stories Tales which may have grown out of actual events Example: Zlatch the Goat
Trickster Tales Tales involving a clever character who outsmarts others, especially those more powerful Example: Anansi
Tall Tales Tales which exaggerate characteristics and accomplishments Example: Paul Bunyan
Grade 3 Guided Reading 64 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Fables Stories that involve animals with human traits and always include a moral or lesson. Example: The Lion and the Mouse
Myths Stories that answer questions about things that people cannot explain and may involve heroic quests Examples: Greek Mythology
Legends Stories which portray a hero figure, supposedly based on a real person but are often exaggerated Example: John Henry
Epics Extended stories of a hero’s quest Example: Jason and the Golden Fleece
Characteristics of Folk Tales
1. Time and place are quickly established 2. Conflict, characters, and setting are set in a few sentences 3. Time passes quickly 4. Repetition in story events and refrains 5. Very little description, the dialogue carries the story in many tales 6. Characters are shown in flat dimensions 7. Characters either good or evil 8. Quick wits and clever thinking often save the day 9. Inner qualities are more important than outer qualities 10. Numbers are important a. 3 and 7 are prevalent in European folklore b. 4 in Native American folklore 11. Tale maintains the language of the country/region from which the tale originated 12. Folk tales are success stories of one kind or another 13. Justice prevails -- Good triumphs over evil 14. Characters live happily ever after
Native American Folktales African Folktale Buffalo Woman Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters Children of the Earth and Sky Legend of the Bluebonnet African-American Folktales Mud Pony The Talking Eggs Quillworker Flossie and the Fox The Rough-Face Girl European Folktale Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Grade 3 Guided Reading 65 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Mud Pony A Traditional Skidi Pawnee Tale
Synopsis There was once a poor boy in an Indian camp who longed for a pony more than anything. So he dug the wet earth and shaped a pony out of mud. He loved his mud pony and took care of it as though it were real. One day, when his village broke camp for a buffalo hunt, the boy was left behind. "My people!" he cried out. "I will never find you! I am all alone!" That night he dreamt that his pony was alive and speaking to him. "You are not alone," the pony said. "Mother Earth has given me to you." And when he awoke, his mud pony had indeed come to life.
Author Information is not available on the author. It is interesting to note, that in many sources Shonto Begay is listed as the author and the illustrator of this book, even though the title pages say the tale is retold by Caron Lee Cohen.
Illustrator The day before illustrator Shonto Begay learned about this project, he was sculpting clay with his two daughters and nephews. He had returned to the place of his childhood for a visit and was sculpting near a pond. His nephew had asked him to create a clay pony. Shonto recalled telling his daughters and nephews that his grandmother had told him the objects crafted with one’s hands were very special, and that great goodness would come their way if they cherished and cared for their handcrafted objects as if they were alive. Recalling his grandmother’s words had extra special meaning the next day when he was contacted by a publisher to illustrate The Mud Pony. This book was Begay's first book for children.
Shonto Began, a Native American Navajo, was born near Shonto, Arizona, one of a family of eight boys and eight girls. His father was a traditional guardian of Navajo healing—a medicine man; and his mother was a weaver who created rugs. His aunt and his grandparents were strong forces in his upbringing. From an early age, he loved the natural world where he lived in Klethla Valley—the red mesas, the plants, the rocks and juniper trees. He was brought up to understand the land was sacred and that the people belonged to the land, rather than the other way around. The places he knew "harbored the ancient Gods and animal beings that were so alive," he writes, in the stories of his people. As a child, he loved to draw and to create clay statues of people on horses. Materials for the horses' manes and coloring were all collected from nature. He later spent some of his time herding sheep and driving cattle. Begay graduated from Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, Arizona. He studied fine arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, earning an Associate of Fine Arts degree. He then studied at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California, earning a B.F.A. degree in 1980. Begay's illustrations are created with a mixture of watercolor and colored pencils. His acrylic paintings are made up of a series of small brush strokes that, he writes, are "like the words of prayers." He thinks of his artwork as "personal visions shared." Shonto Begay lives in Kayenta, Arizona, with his wife and their four children.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 66 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reviews
Kirkus Reviews A Native American tale about a young boy and his magical pony that comes to life. In his first book, Begay (who is Navaho) has splendidly illustrated this moving, multileveled hero tale…An excellent addition to folktale collections.
Background The Pawnee are North American Plains Indian people who lived on the Platte River in Nebraska from before the 16th century to the latter part of the 19th. In the 19th century the Pawnee tribe was composed of relatively independent bands: the Kitkehahki, Chaui, Pitahauerat, and Skidi. Each of these was divided into villages, the basic social unit of the Pawnee people.
They lived in large, dome-shaped, earth-covered lodges but used skin tepees on buffalo hunts. The women raised corn (maize), squash, and beans. They also had developed the art of pottery making. Horses were first introduced in the 17th and 18th centuries from Spanish settlements in the southwest.
Class distinctions favored chiefs, priests, and shamans. Each chief of a village or band had in his keeping a sacred bundle. Shamans had special powers to treat illness and to ward off enemy raids and food shortages. Priests were trained in the performance of rituals and sacred songs. Along with shamanistic and hunt societies, the Pawnee also had military societies.
The religion of the Pawnee was quite elaborate. They believed some of the stars to be gods and performed rituals to entreat their presence, but they also used astronomy in practical affairs (e.g., to determine when to plant corn). Corn was regarded as a symbolic mother through whom the sun god bestowed his blessing.
Relations between the Pawnee and whites were peaceful, and many served as scouts in the armies of the frontier. They ceded most of their lands in Nebraska to the U.S. government by treaties in 1833, 1848, and 1857. In 1876 their last Nebraska holdings were given up, and they were moved to Oklahoma, where they remained. More than 2,300 Pawnee were reported living on or near their Oklahoma reservation in the late 20th century. From Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Grade 3 Guided Reading 67 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Introduction Look at the cover of the book. Read the title. Why did the author call this book The Mud Pony? What do you think this story is about?
The Mud Pony is one of a number of ancient boy-hero stories told among the Skidi band of the Pawnee Indians of the American Plains. These stories exhibit the Pawnee belief that no matter how lowly one’s origin, the path to honor is open through adherence to virtues such as constancy and a humble spirit. This version of The Mud Pony was adapted from a longer story in the collection of George A. Dorsey, who recorded the traditions and tales of the Skidi Pawnee between 1899 and 1902. It was told to him by Yellow-Calf.
Native Americans were the first people to live in what is now the United States. Native Americans have long believed that land, trees, and animals are gifts from Mother Earth—the great power of nature.
Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Reading
Pages 1-2 (Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 refers to the first page of text.)
There once was a poor Indian boy who longed to have a pony of his own. One day, he made a pony from the mud of the river bank. He gave his pony a white clay face. He loved his pony and would care for it everyday, as if it were real.
Key Concepts: longing, creative problem solving, caring
Vocabulary: camp, creek, watered, longed, crossed, clay
Pages 3-5 One day while the boy was with his mud pony, scouts rode into camp saying they had spotted buffalo. The people needed to hunt buffalo, so they would not starve during the winter. Quickly, the people broke camp to hunt the buffalo. The boy’s parents looked and could not find him and had to leave without him. When the boy returned to camp and found everyone gone, he was heartsick to find himself all alone. He cried himself to sleep that night.
Key Concepts: loneliness, scared, heartsick, good of the community takes precedence over the individual, courage
Vocabulary: scouts, sighted, buffalo, starve, leave, wandered, heartsick, empty, scraps, dried meat, tattered, blanket, huddled
Grade 3 Guided Reading 68 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 6-9 As he slept, he dreamt his mud pony was alive and said to him: “My son, you are not alone. Mother Earth has given me to you. I am part of her.” When the boy went to his mud pony in the morning, he found her alive. She spoke to him as she had in the dream. The pony said the boy should follow her directions, that one day he would be a chief, and that she would take him to his people.
Key Concepts: Magic, dreams and visions, trust, acceptance, strength, courage
Vocabulary: dreamt, alive, alone, daybreak, empty, hardly, believe, tossing, pawing, chief, guide, Mother Earth
Pages 10-13 The boy and pony journeyed for three days before reaching his people. The pony told him to find his parents, but not to reveal himself to the others. Before going to his parents, the boy cared for the pony. He covered the pony with a blanket to protect her from the rain, for the pony was part of Mother Earth. The boy found his parents, who marveled that he had found them when they had gone so far away.
Key Concepts: long, hard journey, faith and trust, care and respect for Mother Earth, joy at being reunited with parents, courage
Vocabulary: journeyed, plains, worn, guide, nightfall, curling, tepees, reached, dawn, protect, wandered, among, blaze, marveled
Pages 14-15 Before dawn, the boy left his parents and watched from the hillside as they broke camp. For three more days, the boy and pony journeyed. Then the pony told the boy it was time for him to rejoin his people.
Key Concepts: faith and trust, acceptance, joy at being reunited with his people
Vocabulary: broke camp, disappeared, journeyed, weary, astonished
Pages 16-17 A war chief invited the boy to eat with him. The chief told the boy he had a great power, and now he must use his power to help his people defeat the enemy who is keeping them from reaching the buffalo.
Key Concepts: honor, responsibility, courage
Vocabulary: war chief, buffalo horn spoons, saluted, attached, battle
Grade 3 Guided Reading 69 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 18-19 The boy trembled when he left the war chief’s tepee, but the pony told him not to be afraid, for the pony was part of Mother Earth and the enemy’s arrows could never pierce the earth. The pony told the boy to spread earth over his body and he would be protected. The boy did as he was told, and led his people to victory in the battle. His people could now hunt the buffalo.
Key Concepts: fear, courage, faith and trust, triumph of good over evil, great courage, heroism, strength
Vocabulary: trembled, afraid, enemy, pierce, fierce, victory, capturing
Pages 20-23 Years passed, and the boy let the pony guide him. He became a powerful leader and chief. He took care of his pony, covering her with a blanket every night to protect her from the rain. One night, the pony came to him in a dream and said it was time to go back to Mother Earth.
Key Concepts: love, faith and trust, responsibility, power
Vocabulary: powerful, corral, eagle, mane
Pages 24-28 The chief got up and went to his pony. He took the pony’s blanket and returned to his tepee. He awoke to shrill winds and rushing rain. He went to look for his pony, but did not find her. As the sun broke out, he saw a patch of white clay and heard a voice: “I am here, your Mother Earth. You are not alone!”
Key Concepts: connection with all inhabitants of earth, no person is an island
Vocabulary: pawed, tossed, shrill, rushing, patch
Grade 3 Guided Reading 70 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Rough-Face Girl
Synopsis This is the Algonquian Indian version of the Cinderella tale.
In an Algonquian Indian village by the shores of Lake Ontario lived a very rich and powerful man who was invisible. The powerful Invisible Being is looking for a wife, and all the girls in the village vie for his affections. But only the girl who proves she can see him will be his bride. The two beautiful but spoiled daughters of a poor village man try their best to be chosen. However, it is their sister, the Rough-Face Girl (scarred on her face and arms from tending fires) who wins the hand of the Invisible Being, because she sees him in the wonder of the natural world. The dramatic illustrations are an integral part of the tale, reflecting the emotions of the characters and the vibrant earth colors of the native landscape.
Author Rafe Martin grew up in New York City. His mother read fairy tales to him. She also read Aesop’s Fables. One of their favorites was "The Tortoise and the Hare." "Slow and steady wins the race," she would say. Since Rafe didn’t write his first book until he was thirty-five, he certainly took that story’s theme to heart! Rafe’s family background is rich with tales told by his grandmothers and his father. These family tales provided a rich tapestry of tales for the young boy…tales of humor, courage, and happiness as well as tragedy. Rafe loved to read. His favorite books were myths and legends from around the world, stories about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and of Robin Hood as well as any tales of animals. He especially loved Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Books. Rafe met his wife, Rose, at college. He has a Master’s Degree in English from the University of Toronto. His interest in sharing literature with children began when his children, Jacob and Ariya were born. He found that certain authors had a way of writing that made reading aloud itself an art and a delight. When he read their work, he could feel the story coming alive. His first children’s books were published in 1984 and 1985. When his books are read aloud, he wants a reader to feel that a story is actually being told. He is able to choose the illustrator for his books. Additional information can be found at his web site: http://www.rafemartin.com/life.htm. A biography about Rafe Martin: A Storyteller's Story (Meet the Author Series) by Rafe Martin, Jill Krementz (Illustrator) Richard C. Owen Publishing; ISBN: 0913461032
Illustrator David Shannon (author and illustrator of No, David and David Goes to School, among others)
Grade 3 Guided Reading 71 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reviews From Kirkus Reviews An Algonquin Cinderella story, with accomplished, but sometimes over-literal illustrations. A powerful invisible being will marry the woman who can prove that she's seen him; a poor man's two proud daughters try and fail, but the third, her face and hands scarred from tending the fire, has the understanding to see him everywhere in the world and is lovingly received. Martin's retelling is spare and understated, but never dry; the two sisters are richly comic figures, the climax and ending uncontrived yet magically romantic. Shannon (who illustrated Lester's How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?) expertly picks up the flavor—the sisters positively strut through the village, their noses high and one wearing what looks like a spangled angora sweater—but the lips the Rough-Faced Girl sees hanging in the sky, or the muscular, art-deco cloud figure, seem intrusions rather than integral parts of the natural world. Still, it is a strong, distinctive tale with art to match. (Folklore/Picture book. 8+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. (From amazon.com)
From Horn Book In this powerful retelling of a Native-American Cinderella story, the Rough-Face Girl, the youngest of three daughters, is so named because years of tending the fire have scarred her face and arms. She earns the love of and the right to marry the powerful Invisible Being by seeing him in the beauty of the earth around her. The text contains the cadences and rhythms of oral language, and the illustrations, dark and vivid, use earth tones and shadows to convey the drama. -- Copyright © 1992 The Horn Book, Inc (From amazon.com)
From School Library Journal "Simply in the words of an oral storyteller, Martin retells an Algonquin folktale...Shannon's finely crafted...paintings...embody the full flavor of the story...this is a splendid read-aloud." School Library Journal (From Rafe Martin’s web site)
From Booklist v88 p1533 Ap 15 1992 Shannon's dramatic, full-color paintings are striking and often rich in atmosphere, though some of the character portrayals seem glamorized or European. Martin introduces the story as an Algonquin Indian tale taken from a longer work, though he doesn't name its source. Given the beauty of the story, the strength of many of the illustrations, and the current interest in comparing variants of folktales from different cultures, libraries will find this a well-used picture book. Carolyn Phelan
From Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v45 p215 Ap 1992 While the illustrations have a darkly classical quality, the wording is sometimes colloquial ('Off from the other wigwams of this village stood one great huge wigwam') or explanatory ('When she looked at you she didn't see just your face or your hair or clothes…And she could tell if you had a good, kind heart or a cold, hard, and cruel one'). Yet the total effect is nonetheless striking. The story is strong enough to thrive on almost any straightforward retelling, and the paintings, while romanticized, are warmly drawn and richly colored, with firelit bodies and hints of historical landscapes and ritual masks. Betsy Hearne
Grade 3 Guided Reading 72 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Background The Algonquin Indians are the most populous and widespread North American Native groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds and speaking several related dialects. They inhabited most of the Canadian region south of Hudson Bay between the Rockies and the Atlantic Ocean and, bypassing select territories held by the Sioux and Iroquois, the latter of whom had driven them out of their territory along the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Because the Northern climates made agriculture difficult, the Algonquin were a semi- nomadic people, moving their encampments from one place to the next in search of food, which came from hunting, trapping, fishing and the gathering of various plant roots, seeds, wild rice and berries. They traveled on foot and by birchbark canoe in the summer months, and used toboggans and snowshoes in the winter. Their clothes were made from animal skins, as were their tents, also known as wigwams; sometimes also covered with birchbark. The Algonquin social structure was patriarchal; men were the leaders and the heads of the family and territorial hunting rights were passed from father to son. The Algonquin were among the first North American Natives to make alliances with the French who adopted Algonquian methods of travel, and started using terms like "canoe" and "toboggan.” There are presently about 8,000 Algonquin living in Canada, organized into ten separate First Nations, nine are in Quebec and one in Ontario.
(From the online resource about the Algonquin tribe at http://www.algonquin.tv/)
Introduction Ask the students if they are familiar with the Cinderella tale. Have students list some of the characteristics of the Cinderella tale: sisters or stepsisters who treat a younger sibling poorly; fairy godmother; prince looking for a wife; inner beauty of younger sister; glass slipper; living happily ever after; spoiled stepsisters receiving their just due, etc. Explain this is the Algonquin Indian version of the Cinderella tale. Have the students look for similarities and differences between the two tales as they read the story. Use a Venn diagram to compare the tales.
Students could also compare this tale with Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, which is another version of the Cinderella tale.
This is a picture book. A picture book is a blend of text and illustrations. Each advances the other. Throughout the tale, note the richness of the illustrations used to advance the mood and emotions of the tale.
Look at the cover of the book. Why is the girl covering her face? What predictions can you make? As you read the book, examine the illustrations. Note what you see in the illustrations.
Have a folktale map...when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 73 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reading
Pages 1-3 (Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 refers to the first page of text.)
The opening pages describe a village on Lake Ontario. One huge wigwam stands apart from the other wigwams in the village. Painted on its sides are pictures of the sun, moon, stars, plants, trees, and animals. Inside this wigwam was said to live a very great, rich, powerful, and handsome Invisible Being. He is invisible to everyone except his sister. Many women wanted to marry the Invisible Being, but only the one who can see him can marry him.
Key Concepts: Native American tale, air of mystery, challenge, arrangement of wigwams in the village
Vocabulary: village, shores, Lake Ontario, wigwams, Invisible Being
Pages 4-5 A poor man with three daughters lives in the village. The older daughters are cruel and hard-hearted. They make their youngest sister sit by the fire and tend the flames. Over time, the burning sparks have scarred her face and hands and charred her hair. Her sisters call her the Rough-Face Girl and make her life lonely and miserable.
Key Concepts: cruelty, unkind treatment of sister, selfishness, sadness, indifference of father
Vocabulary: daughter, cruel, hard-hearted, sparks, burnt, scarred, charred, miserable
Pages 6-13 The older daughters convince their father to give them necklaces, new buckskin dresses, and beaded moccasins to marry the Invisible Being. Dressed in their finery, the girls strut through the village on their way to the wigwam. Note the illustrations and the haughty strut of the young women. Arriving at the Invisible Being’s wigwam, the girls are greeted by his sister who asks these questions: Have you seen the Invisible Being? What is his bow made of? What’s the runner of his sled made of? The girls lie and give the wrong answers. They are told to go home, they have not seen the Invisible Being. The two sisters ask to be tested fairly and not asked silly questions. They are led into the Invisible Being’s wigwam and given seats for guests. They spend the night in the wigwam, but see nothing. In the morning, they had to go home, ashamed.
Key Concepts: pride, haughtiness, arrogance, shame, lying, greed, desperation, fairn
Vocabulary: buckskin, moccasins, haughtily, proud, bow, swift as lightning, strong as thunder, stammered, desperately, runner, sled, feverishly, furthest, entrance, quiver of arrows, ashamed.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 74 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 14-17 The Rough-Face Girl asks her father for the same items as her sisters. She is going to marry the Invisible Being, for she sees him everywhere. Her father can only give her broken shells and old, worn, cracked, and stretched-out moccasins. He has no buckskins for a dress. The Rough-Face Girl takes what he can spare. She makes a necklace from the broken shells. She uses birchbark to make a dress and leggings. She soaks the old moccasins to mold to her feet. But they were still too big and flopped on her feet as she walked through the village. The villagers laughed and taunted her, but she had courage and faith in herself and kept walking.
Key Concepts: confidence, pride, self-determination, faith, courage, resourcefulness, vision
Vocabulary: cracked, stretched-out, “flap, flop, flapped”, reeds, faith, courage
Pages 18-19 As she walks toward the Invisible Being’s wigwam, she sees the great beauty of the earth and sky. She was truly the only one in the village to see the Invisible Being in all things in nature.
Key Concepts: truth, beauty, awareness of world around one, nature’s beauty, vision, inspiration
Vocabulary: spreading, awesome
Pages 20-25 The Rough-Face Girl came to the lakeshore where the Invisible Being’s sister was waiting. The sister was a wise woman who could look into your heart and tell if you had a kind or cruel heart. She saw that the Rough-Face Girl had a beautiful, kind heart. The Rough-Face Girl said she had come to marry the Invisible Being. The sister asked her questions: (1) What’s his bow made of? The Rough-Face Girl replied, “The great curve of the rainbow.” (2) What’s the runner of his sled made of? The Rough-Face Girl replied, “It is the Spirit Road, the Milky Way.”
Key Concepts: truth, honesty, self-confidence, wisdom, courage, inner beauty
Vocabulary: lakeshore, littering, fiery veil, overhead
Grade 3 Guided Reading 75 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 26-30 The Rough-Face Girl has answered the questions correctly and the sister leads her to the great wigwam and seats her in the wife’s seat. Footsteps approach the wigwam and the Invisible Being enters. The sister gives the Rough-Face Girl fine buckskin robes and a necklace of perfect shells. She instructs her to bathe in the lake and dress in her new clothes. Bathing in the lake causes the scars to disappear from her body. Now everyone saw she is beautiful. The Invisible Being and his sister knew that from the start. The Rough-Face Girl and the Invisible Being were married and lived together in “great gladness and were never parted.”
Key Concepts: inner beauty, truth, love, happiness, justice
Vocabulary: wonder, delight, entrance flap, lifted, kindly, perfect, vanished, glossy, raven’s wind, gladness
Grade 3 Guided Reading 76 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Legend of the Bluebonnet An Old Tale of Texas
Synopsis Tomie dePaola retells the folktale of how the blue bonnets, the state flower of Texas, came to be. Long ago, there was a terrible drought in the land and many people suffered. A young girl named She-Who-Is -Alone sacrifices her most prized possession, a doll, to the Great Spirits. This doll is her only connection to the family she has lost. The Great Spirits accept her gift, ends the drought. As a sign of forgiveness, the ground is covered every spring with beautiful blue bonnets.
Author Tomie dePaola was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1934. At age 4, he knew he wanted to become a writer and an illustrator. His mother was an avid book lover and read to him and his brother often. As a child, dePaola would illustrate the books his mother read to him. By age 10, dePaola was writing books for his younger sisters' birthdays. One of these books was Glimmera, the Story of a Mermaid. He often draws upon his own childhood experiences in writing books; his Italian grandmother was the model for the grandmother in Watch Out for the Chicken Feet in Your Soup. Tomie dePaola has published over 200 children’s books over the past 35 years, and has won numerous awards, including both a Caldecott Honor Award, and a Newbery Honor Award. A prolific writer, he has written up to four children's books in a single year. Tomie dePaola now lives in New Hampshire in a large renovated 200-year-old barn with his four dogs.
Reviews
Ingram This favorite legend, based on Comanche lore, tells the story of how the bluebonnet, the state flower of Texas, came to be. A "Reading Rainbow" Review Title. An American Bookseller Pick of the List Book. A Booklist Children's Editors' Choice. A NCSS Notable Children's Trade Book.
The Horn Book v59 p430 Ag 1983 The legend of the origin of the Texas state flower is portrayed in clean, uncluttered pictures filled with warm, rich colors. The Indian girl stands out as independent and determined to help the Comanche people.
School Library Journal v30 p104 S 1983 This is a solemn, simply-told tale and the concept of an unselfish parting with a prized possession is one to which children will readily relate…The full-color paintings in tableau-like settings are nicely staged with well-executed design and color. Anne McKeithen
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books v36 p208 Jl/Ag 1983 The soft colors, the spacious composition, and the feeling of reverence conveyed by the pictures are in effective harmony with the text.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 77 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Background DePaola does an admirable job of maintaining the authenticity of this tale. His illustrations and language accurately portray the customs, dress, and culture of the Comanche people. This book addresses important issues such as family, community and nature.
From the author’s note at the end of the book… “The bluebonnet is a form of wild lupine. It is known by other names, too, such as Lupine, Buffalo Clover, Wolf Flower, and “El Conejo” – the rabbit. But its most familiar name, Bluebonnet, probably began when the white settlers moved to Texas. The lovely blue flowers they saw growing wild were thought to resemble the bonnets worn by many of the women to shield them from the hot Texas sun… …interesting…was that the Comanche people did not have a concept of one god or a Great Spirit. They worshiped many spirits equally, and each one represented a special skill or trait…the Deer Spirit for agility, the Wolf Spirit for ferocity, the Eagle Spirit for strength, and the important Buffalo Spirit to send buffalo for the hunt…Therefore, in my retelling, the People pray to the Great Spirits collectively.”
Introduction A folktale is a story that has been passed through the ages and generations by word of mouth. Many of the folktales explain things in nature. Some folktales explain how the stars came to be in the sky. The Legend of the Bluebonnets is a retelling of the Comanche legend of how the bluebonnet flower came to Texas. Look at the cover of the book. What do you see on the cover? (a little girl and her doll) What is a bluebonnet? What role do you think the girl and her doll play in bringing flowers to Texas? Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Reading
Pages 1-3 (Since the pages are not numbered, page 1 refers to the first page of text.) Winter has passed. Spring rains have not come to make the land bloom. A drought is over the land. The land is dying. The People are asking the “Great Spirits” why he is angry at the People. They ask what they must do to return rains to the land. With no food, there is famine among the People. The oldest and youngest of the People are affected the hardest by the drought and the famine.
Key Concepts: drought, the “Great Spirit”, suffering
Vocabulary: drought, Comanche, People, Great Spirits, famine
Grade 3 Guided Reading 78 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 4-6 She-Who-Is -Alone, a small girl, sat by herself watching the dancers. On her lap was a doll made from buckskin, a warrior doll, with facial features painted on by berries. It wore beaded leggings, and a belt of polished bone. The girl loved her doll very much. The doll is the only thing she had left from her family. She is an orphan, for her family all died from the famine.
Key Concepts: name describes the person, orphan, most precious material possession, sadness, loneliness
Vocabulary: She-Who-Is -Alone, warrior, leggings, polished, brilliant, shaman, plentiful, distant
Pages 7-9 The shaman returns from the hill, for he has heard from the Great Spirits. He tells the People how the drought and famine can end. He says the Great Spirits are angry because the People have become selfish and have taken from the Earth without giving anything back. The People are to make a burnt offering of the most valued possession among them. Then the ashes must be scattered to the four winds. When the sacrifice is made, the drought and famine will end.
Key Concepts: selfishness, consequences of taking and not giving, sacrifice
Vocabulary: shaman, selfish, sacrifice, burnt offering, possession
Pages 10-13 Several tribe members demonstrate selfishness, thinking the Great Spirits are surely not thinking about their special bow or blanket. However, She-Who-Is -Alone knows her doll is the most prized possession the Great Spirits want. She knew what she had to do.
Key Concepts: selflessness, sacrifice
Vocabulary: bow, warrior, tipis, tightly, valued, council, flaps
Grade 3 Guided Reading 79 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 14-20 She-Who-Is -Alone leaves the campsite in the middle of the night, goes to the place on the hill where the shaman spoke to the Great Spirits, and offers her most valued possession. She builds a fire, thinks of her family, and thrusts the doll into the fire. She watches the fire until the ashes are cold. She scatters the ashes to the home of the winds—North, South, East, and West. She falls asleep on the hill.
Key Concepts: sacrifice of an individual for the good of the community, faith and trust in the Great Spirits, courage, bravery, love
Vocabulary: distant, except, ashes, glowed, spoken, accept, gathering, twigs, firestick, suffering, thrust, scooping, scattered
Pages 21-23 When She-Who-Is -Alone wakes in the morning, the ground was covered with beautiful flowers, blue like the feather in the hair of her doll.
Key Concepts: sacrifice has been accepted by the Great Spirits,
Vocabulary: morning, stretching
Pages 24-26 The People awoke and could scarcely believe their eyes. They joined She-Who-Is -Alone on the hill to look at the miraculous sight, truly a sign of forgiveness. As the People gave thanks, rain began to fall and the land began to live again. From that day on, the little girl was known as “One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.” And every spring, the Great Spirits remember her sacrifice by covering the state of Texas with bluebonnets.
Key Concepts: Forgiveness, sacrifice is recognized, renewal of land, love, honor and recognition for sacrifice
Vocabulary: scarcely, miraculous, forgiveness, remember
Grade 3 Guided Reading 80 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Quillworker A Cheyenne Legend
Synopsis This is a Cheyenne legend explaining the origins of the stars. Also describes the history and culture of the Cheyenne Indians. This enchanting myth of a young Cheyenne woman, famous for her porcupine-quill embroidery, explains how the stars were born. Each book in the series features geographical, historical, and cultural information. Illustrated in full color.
Author Terri Cohlene is an author of children's books. She is best known for her series of adapted Native American legends, including: Little Firefly, Clamshell Boy, Quillworker, Dancing Drum, Ka-ha-si and the Loon, and Turquoise Boy (Troll Books & Rourke Publishing).
Reviews A Cheyenne legend explaining the origins of the stars. Ingram [The following review offers a perspective on Native American books that many of us may not even consider when selecting Native American literature to use with students. This review was taken from Paula Giese’s web site. She advocated for the respect of the Native American culture by writers. She found examples where writers have not conducted enough research or have modified Native American stories. Such modifications have resulted in different meanings than intended in the original Native American versions. Her premise is that writers and reviewers may not have the cultural background or may not have thoroughly researched the event accurately portray the Native American culture. If we do not have knowledge of a culture, our ignorance may perpetuate the wrong concepts of that culture.]
“Though as usual Cohlene cites no sources, this one was copped from American Indian Myths and Legends, edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz (Pantheon, 1984). There it is reported that this story was told to Erdoes at Lame Deer, Montana, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, by members of the Strange Owl family in 1967. They called it "The Quillwork Girl and her Seven Star Brothers." Had Cohlene been a bit more diligent in perusing the source she copped her tale from, she would have avoided making the dumb mistake of naming the youngest brother (the story's hero) Wihio. In her glossary, Cohlene reports that Wihio "means one with higher intelligence." Actually Wihio is an evil and stupid spider spirit, whose name now is a Cheyenne slang pejorative name for "white man." In Erdoes' book, Rachel Strange Owl tells another story, one about Veeho: "Veeho is like some tourists who come into an Indian village not knowing how to behave or what to do, trying to impress everybody," she begins it. "You know, I think you should stop fooling around, trying to impress people with your tricks," she ends it. But Cohlene didn't see this particular story, with its variant spelling of her hero's name, so she doesn't know she's given a pejorative name to her young hero, and somebody or something gave a totally wrong definition for her glossary. Other aspects of cultural ignorance creep in. Since Cohlene doesn't understand that four is a sacred number, hence Native storytelling conventions usually award success only on the 4th try, she shortens the episodes with the hostile buffalo who demand the seven brothers give up the girl to them from four to three. Similarly, the children do not escape the buffalo herd into the sky until the youngest brother has made 4 shots with his magic arrows, pulling them higher—but again, Cohlene truncates this to 3 shots, because 4 isn't a sacred number for her,
Grade 3 Guided Reading 81 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002 so she sees no reason to keep repeating the episodes. Gratuitously, she makes "Wihio" become the Pole Star, but in the Cheyenne version, Quillworker and her 7 brothers become the 8 stars of the Big Dipper (one is a small satellite), and the youngest is last on the "handle." There's a different natural history legend about the steadfast north star around which all the rest of the night sky revolves, but not in Erdoes and Ortiz. The non-fictional history section contains the gratuitous and racist insult of describing the Sand Creek massacre of a peaceful, encamped band of Cheyennes as "Native Americans lose battle of Sand Creek." Native American BOOKS, text and graphics copyright Paula Giese, 1996
Background Refer to the information beginning on page 33 of the book. These pages provide information about the Cheyenne people: their homeland, society, camp, clothing, and history. A glossary on page 45 provides definitions for words associated with the Cheyenne culture of the story. Explain quillworking to the students. Information is given on page 40 about this process.
Introduction Every culture has stories that explain why things exist or why creatures have certain characteristics. These stories are called Pourquoi tales. Quillworker is a pourquoi tale from the Cheyenne tribe. It explains how the stars came to be in the sky. Look at the cover of the book. The name of the girl on the cover is Quillworker. She is called Quillworker because of her skill with a needle in decorating buffalo robes. What role do you think Quillworker will play in this tale?
Reading
Pages 4-5 This tale takes place when only the moon lived in the night sky. Quillworker was an only child. She had great skill with a needle. She had already decorated thirty buffalo robes, a task that usually took a lifetime. Quillworker would teach the younger girls at the Lodge of the Quiller’s Society. She would describe how she gathered and dyed porcupine quills (her name reflects her task) with vibrant colors, then create her beautiful designs. She was truly gifted at this task.
Key Concepts: pride, talent, giftedness
Vocabulary: Cheyenne, Quillworker, needle, praise, tribes, village, decorated, Lodge of the Quiller’s Society, describe, dyed, porcupine quills, vibrant, embroidered, pouch, quiver, argue, gifted
Grade 3 Guided Reading 82 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 6-7 One day Quillworker cut a war shirt from a piece of buckskin, that had buffalo hair fringe on the sleeves. She worked many weeks, sewing red, blue, yellow, and white quills onto it. It was a magnificent design, with each of the quills radiating from another. (See illustration on page 7.) After completing the shirt, she made a breechclout, leggings, moccasins, and a pair of gauntlets. When she finished everything, she tied all the pieces together in a parfleche decorated to match. She completed six more warrior outfits before she was finished. She wondered about the last outfit. It was smaller, as if it were for a boy, not a man. To the last bundle she added a quiver, decorated with the same radiant design. Her mother was curious about her work and asked why she was making a warrior’s outfit, when her family had no need of one. Quillworker replied that it came to her in a dream. Her mother said she was wise to heed her dreams, for that was how the spirits guided them.
Key Concepts: guided by dreams or visions, creativity, dedication to complete a task
Vocabulary: war shirt, buckskin, fringe, quills, design, magnificent, radiating, breechclout, leggings, leather, moccasins, gauntlets, curiosity, warrior’s outfit, heed, spirits, labored, garment, parfleche, tanned, bundle, quiver, radiant
Pages 8-9 When Quillworker finished her task, she began preparing for a journey. She bundled clothing around quilling needles and filled her parfleche with food: dried turnips, thistle stalks, milkweed buds, chokecherry pemmican, and dried deer meet. She also packed her knife, tanning kit, and cooking utensils. She told her mother that seven days from here is the tipi of seven brothers. The clothes were for them. She was to become their sister, for one day they would be admired by all The People. Her mother helped her prepare for the journey. Two dogs, each pulling a travois, would carry her things. She told her mother she would not become lost, the way came to her in her dreams. She bade her mother goodbye and walked in the directions of the mountains.
Key Concepts: quest, passion to complete a quest or vision, pride, confidence, leaving family for her calling
Vocabulary: bundled, quilling needles, turnips, thistle stalks, milkweed buds, chokecherry pemmican, tanning, kit, utensils, preparing, admired, The People, attaching, travois, bade, direction
Pages 10-11 Six days she walked. At night she slept wrapped in buffalo robes. Her dreams were her guide for the next day’s journey. (Note how dogs seem to guard her in the accompanying illustration.)
Key Concepts: following a dream, self-confidence, trust in guidance from the spirits
Vocabulary: pemmican, pouch, guide
Grade 3 Guided Reading 83 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 12-13 On the seventh day, she came upon a stream. On the other side of the stream stood a large tipi. Could this be the lodge of the seven brothers? A boy stepped from the tipi. Quillworker called out: “It is I, Seeker-of-Seven–Brothers.” The boy answered: “I am Wihio, the youngest of the seven. You are Quillworker. I was expecting you.” The boy said he had sent Quillworker the dream. He had the Power of Knowing and the Power of Sky-Reaching. He said his brothers were hunting, but would be home soon. He showed her their lodge. Key Concepts: end of journey, acknowledgment of future, becoming acquainted with another
Vocabulary: grove, lifting pole, approached, Seeker-of-Seven Brothers, raised greetings, Wihio, expecting, Power of Knowing, Power of Sky-Reaching
Pages 14-15 Inside the lodge, Quillworker saw seven buffalo robes covering seven beds of woven mats. She gave Wihio his new garments and placed the others on the beds. Wihio tried on his new clothes and said this was the buckskin of a mighty warrior. He placed his arrows in the new quiver. He said his brothers would be pleased and surprised, for he had not told them she was coming. Quillworker began preparing a fire for cooking and started cooking stew. She knew there would be meat when the hunters returned. She was right. When the hunters returned, Wihio explained that Quillworker was their new sister. She had brought new garments for all and was preparing the meal. The seven brothers were happy to have a sister. They admired the new war shirts, which fit perfectly. Quillworker admired her handsome brothers. The brothers said she was a beautiful and talented sister. They settled into a routine. The elder brothers hunted every day. Wihio practiced with his arrows. Quillworker gathered fuel, dug roots, picked berries, dried buffalo meat, and tanned hides. Key Concepts: acceptance, appreciation of talents of each person, establishing a daily routine
Vocabulary: parfleches, travois, woven, garment, shone, warrior, arrows, quiver, stew, delicious, war costume, brought, preparing, admired, perfectly, shyly, talented, several, practiced, fuel, tanned
Pages 16 – 17 One day as Quillworker and Wihio were alone in the lodge, hoofbeats approached. There was a scratching at the tipi door. It was Buffalo Calf, sent by the buffalo nation for Quillworker. They wanted her because she was beautiful and made buffalo hides beautiful. They wanted to be beautiful, too. Quillworker was afraid and did not want to go. Wihio told the Buffalo Calf to go away, he could not have Quillworker. Buffalo Calf responded that if he would not give him Quillworker, someone bigger than he would come.
Key Concepts: fear, protection of family, love, danger, threats
Vocabulary: scratching, hoofbeats, calf, nation, beautiful, afraid, left
Pages 18-19
Grade 3 Guided Reading 84 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The next morning Buffalo Cow came. Again, Wihio said they could not have Quillworker. Buffalo Cow replied someone bigger would come and he would not be alone. He would kill Wihio. Wihio closed the flap and told the cow to go away.
Key Concepts: fear, protection of family, danger, love
Vocabulary: heard, demanded, snorted, greater
Pages 20-21 The next morning the older brothers stayed home to protect their sister. They felt the earth tremble. They heard thundering hoofbeats, stamping, snorting, bellowing, and loud scratching sounds on the tipi. All seven brothers looked out the entrance hole. They saw a gigantic bull buffalo. Behind him was the entire buffalo nation. The bull roared: “Give us your sister or we’ll kill you all.” Quillworker and the brothers were afraid. Then Wihio stepped from the lodge and said he was not afraid of them. The bull replied he was a fool, for if the brothers did not give up their sister, the buffalo nation would take her and kill all the brothers.
Key Concepts: fear, courage, bravery, protection of family, facing the enemy, love of family, intimidation
Vocabulary: protect, felt, tremble, thundering, direction, bellowing, scraping, entrance, gigantic, bull, pawing, roared, afraid, glared, blood red eyes
Pages 22-23 The six older brothers brought Quillworker out of the tipi. Wihio drew an arrow from his quiver and told them to jump into a nearby tree. He would use his Power of Sky-Reaching. Wihio shot his arrow into the tree, caught the lowest branch, and the tree grew a thousand feet upward.
Key Concepts: protection of family, seeking escape from an enemy, fear
Vocabulary: brought, drew, Power of Sky-Reaching, caught, nearby, trunk, upward
Pages 24-25 The bull was angry at their escape. He charged the tree and wood splintered and the tree shook. Wihio sent a second arrow into the trunk of the tree. The tree grew to the height of a mountain. The bull was still angry and crashed into the trunk again. The tree shook so hard, everyone nearly fell out.
Key Concepts: protection of family, outwitting an enemy, anger, fear
Vocabulary: startled, distance, anger, roared, charged, splintered, shook, astride, instantly, appeared, crashed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 85 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 26-27 Wihio removed his last arrow from the quiver and shot it high into the branches. The tree pushed through a cloud. He told them to step onto the cloud. They had just stepped onto the cloud when the buffalo charged again and the tree crashed to the ground. Quillworker looked down and said they were safe from the buffalo, but how could they return?
Key Concepts: protection of family, safety, concern for predicament they were in, how to return to ground
Vocabulary: removed, set, released, charged, return
Pages 28-30 Wihio replied this is our home now. We shall become stars. As he said this, the starburst designs on their buckskins glowed brighter and brighter, enveloping them with brillant light. On clear nights, you still see them in the sky. Wihio is the North Star, and the others swing around him in the Big Dipper. The brightest star is Quillworker, who continues to embroider the night sky with her shimmering designs.
Key Concepts: how the stars came to the sky, safety and refuge from the buffalo, appreciation of natural phenomenon and the beauty of the night sky, living happily ever after.
Vocabulary: stretched, heavens, become, starburst, glowed, enveloping brilliant, swings, water dipper, brightest, embroiders, shimmering
Page 33 Page 33 is the beginning of an appendix of information on the Cheyenne tribe.
Page 34 Page 34 is a political map of the western United States, showing the location of the Northern Cheyenne and the Southern Cheyenne. State boundaries are shown. The names of the other Native American tribes, who also inhabited these areas, are shown.
Key Concepts: Location of one tribe to another in the western region of the United States
Vocabulary: Flathead, Montana, Crow, North Dakota, Mandan, Arikara, Minnesota, Sioux, South Dakota, Ponca, Pawnee, Omaha, Iowa, Nebraska, Oto, Kansa, Kansas, Osage, Oklahoma, Wichita, Texas, Kiowa, Colorado, Navajo, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Ute, Shoshone, Idaho
Grade 3 Guided Reading 86 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Page 35 This page provides information on the Cheyenne Homeland. Long ago, the Cheyenne lived near Lake Superior and grew most of their food. When the Spanish explorers introduced horses, the Cheyenne gave up their permanent homes to follow and hunt the buffalo herds on the Great Plains. The buffalo were important to life on the plains. The buffalo provided food, clothing, and shelter. Life on the plains included extreme temperature ranges, very hot days, heavy snow, dry lands, and floods. Text is accompanied by black-and-white photo of Cheyenne family.
Key Concepts: Brief intro to life on the Great Plains
Vocabulary: homeland, earth lodges, Lake Superior, fertile, woodland, raised, squash, Spanish explorers, introduced, permanent, provided, utensils, shelter, hundred million, prairie, degrees, flooded, handsome, “the Beautiful People”
Pages 36-37 These pages provide information on the Cheyenne People. The Cheyenne were called different names: Tsistsista—the People, Sahiyena—foreign talker. Roles of women and men are briefly described.
Key Concepts: Brief information about the Cheyenne People
Vocabulary: Tsistsista, The People, Sioux, Sahiyena, Foreign talker, pronouncing, Cheyenne, tanned, furnishings, wove, decorated, gathered, prepared, collected, tended, waged, performed, ceremonies, elders, instructed, behavior, tribal, platforms, travois
Pages 38-39 The Cheyenne Camp is described. The People lived in tipi villages. The tipi could be moved easily to follow the buffalo. Information is given on the construction of a tipi. Information is given on the interior furnishings of the tipi: beds, backrests, dew cloth, cooking area. Accompanying photos and illustrations show Two Moons, a great Cheyenne chief, Cheyenne symbols, and a Blackfoot camp
Key Concepts: How a tipi is made and furnished
Vocabulary: tipi, features, framework, sturdy, buffalo skins, construct, padding, back rests, belongings, underneath, dew cloth, preventing, dripping, Blackfoot, Two Moons, headdress, ermine, interior
Grade 3 Guided Reading 87 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Page 40-41 These pages give information on clothing. Woman tanned hides for clothing. A brief description of the tanning process is given. Women wore short-sleeved dresses, belts, bags containing their needles and thread, moccasins, leggings and buffalo robes. Men wore shirts (similar to the women’s dresses) with longer sleeves and a breechclout. Their clothing was decorated with quillwork. Many designs had special meaning. It was an honor to belong to the Quiller’s Society. Steps describing quillworking are given.
Key Concepts: Types of clothing worn by women, girls, men and boys, describes process for tanning and quillworking
Vocabulary: tanned, hides, process, leather, soaked, scraped, chemical, mixture, soapweed, applied, shaved, softened, through, shoulder, uppers, rawhide, soles, protected, leggings, similar, breechclout, decorated, quillwork, meanings, recognized, honor, difficult, removal, porcupines, dyed, minerals, flattens, sinew, headdress
Pages 42-43 Important dates in Cheyenne history are listed. Cheyenne symbols are shown across the top of the two pages. A photo of a Sioux woman wearing a dress embroidered with quillwork is shown.
Key Concepts: Timeline of important events
Vocabulary: Columbus, New World, Spanish, Great Plains, United States, declares, independence, Britain, Louisana Purchase, War of 1812, Cheyenne – Arapaho War, Native Americans, U. S. Civil War, extermination, Battle of Little Big Horn, Battle of Wounded Knee, reservation, established, declared, citizens, Indian Civil Rights Act, Teton, Dakota
Pages 44-45 Page 44 is a photo of two Cheyenne men who have completed the Sun Dance ceremony. Page 45 is the glossary.
Key Concepts: Glossary provides definition of word used in text of story.
Vocabulary: ceremony, Sun Dance, ceremonial, breechclout, gauntlets, leggings, lifting pole, parfleche, pemmican, sinew, travois, Wihio
Grade 3 Guided Reading 88 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Woman
Synopsis Buffalo Woman is a story about a young Native American brave who is an exceptional hunter, especially with buffalo. One morning the young man is at a stream, when he sees a buffalo. A moment later the buffalo is transformed into a beautiful woman. The young man falls in love with the woman, they marry, and have a baby boy. The hunter's people shun the Buffalo Woman, and so she returns, with their son, Calf Boy, to her people, the "Buffalo Nation." The young man follows his wife, and eventually he must pass several tests to prove his love for his wife and son.
Author Paul Goble is an award winning author and illustrator of children's books
Goble, a native of England, studied at the Central School of Art in London and later worked in that city as a furniture designer, industrial consultant and art instructor. He has lived in the United States since 1977 and became a citizen in 1984. He has been living in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1998. Goble's life-long fascination with Native Americans of the plains began during his childhood. He became intrigued with their spirituality and culture. His illustrations accurately depict Native American clothing, customs and surroundings in brilliant color and detail. He researches ancient stories and retells them for his young audience in a manner sympathetic to Native American ways. He said, "I feel that I have seen and learned many wonderful things from Indian people which most people would never have the opportunity to experience. I simply wanted to express and to share these things which I love so much." He initially visited the United States in 1959 and published his first children's book while still living in England. Red Hawk's Account of Custer's Last Battle (1969), told from a Native American point of view, was the first of three stories relating to nineteenth century life. Since then his books have featured traditional Native American stories and reflect a belief in the interrelationship of all living beings. Goble has received a number of honors for his books including the prestigious Caldecott Medal, awarded for The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses (1978).
Reviews School Library Journal v30 p59 Ag 1984 A young hunter marries a female buffalo in the form of a beautiful maiden, but when his people reject her he must pass several tests before being allowed to join the buffalo nation.
"There is eloquent beauty in this story of a young hunter who marries a woman from the Buffalo Nation. When his relatives send her away . . . her husband follows . . . In text and illustrations, Goble's story exhibits a quiet simplicity, respect for nature and the power of love."- -School Library Journal, starred review. Candy Bertelson
Grade 3 Guided Reading 89 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Author Goble says that the story comes from 'the tribes who followed the buffalo herds on the Great Plains,' and he cites a number of sources from museum literature and collections such as Grinnell's By Cheyenne Campfires {BRD 1927}. As usual, the material is treated with respect, which is appreciated. Also as usual, the illustrations are lovely. Goble's art has been criticized as static, and to an extent, I can see that. But, if you compare the work in this book to that found in, say, Goble's The Friendly Wolf {BRD 1976}, you can see change and motion, subtle, but there. For some time now, gifted Native artists have been exploring other modes of expression than the traditional. It would be nice to see what Paul Goble might do, should he also decide to expand his horizons. Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Book
The Horn Book v60 p457 Ag 1984 Glowing colors, bold figures, and brilliant decorative detail mark another of the author- illustrator's retellings of a Native American legend. . . . Each page sparkles with the lupins and yuccas of the Southwest and teems with native birds, butterflies, and small animals, the richness of detail never detracting from the overall design of the handsome illustrations. The author-artist successfully combines a compelling version of an old legend with his own imaginative and striking visual interpretation. Ethel R. Twichell
Ingram "There is eloquent beauty in this story of a young hunter who marries a woman from the Buffalo Nation. When his relatives send her away . . . her husband follows . . . In text and illustrations, Goble's story exhibits a quiet simplicity, respect for nature and the power of love."- -School Library Journal, starred review. ALA Notable Children's Book; School Library Journal Best Book of the Year; Booklist Editors' Choice; The Horn Book Fanfare List. Full-color illustrations.
Background From the Book Foreword “The story of Buffalo Woman comes from the tribes who followed the buffalo herds on the Great Plains. The buffalo was the source of life for the people, giving them food, hides for robes and tipi covers, as well as many other things. The lives of both were closely interwoven, and the story teaches that buffalo and people were related. The stories varied from tribe to tribe, but this deep sense of kinship with the buffalo was the same for the Blackfeet living in the north (Montana), as it was for the Comanche in the south (Texas). These stories were not simply for entertainment; they had power to strengthen the bond with the herds, and to encourage the herds to continue to give themselves sot that the people could live. It was felt that retelling the story had power to bring about a change within each of us; that in listening we might all be a little more worthy of our buffalo relatives.” Russell Freedman’s book, Buffalo Hunt, is an excellent resource showing how closely the tribes and the buffalo were related.
Introduction The title of this book is Buffalo Woman. It is a Native American folktale. Ask students to describe a buffalo. Ask students what they think this book is about. Explain how the buffalo provided life for the Native Americans of the Plains. The illustrations in the book provide visual clues to the culture of the tribes. Have students examine the details in the illustrations.
Have a folktale map…when sharing a folktale, locate the region where the folktale originates.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 90 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reading
Pages 1 - 3 (Since the pages in this book are not numbered, page one starts with the first page of text.)
A young man was a great hunter who felt wonderful harmony with the buffalo. He knew where to find the herds. He always gave thanks that the buffalo had offered themselves. Examine the double-page illustration on pages 2 and 3.
Key Concepts: Native Americans lived in harmony with nature, the buffalo provided life for the tribes, the tribes respected Mother Earth and all her creatures.
Vocabulary: coyotes, crows, magpies, scraps, harmony, buffalo, herds, offer
Pages 4 – 7 The young man was hunting one morning by the stream. He saw a buffalo cow approaching. As he prepared his arrow, the buffalo cow turned into a beautiful young woman. He saw she was not of his people, and he knew he loved her. The young woman said she was from the Buffalo Nation and would be his wife. Her people wished the love they had for each other would set an example for both of their peoples to follow.
Key Concepts: transformation, love, relationship between two nations that depend on each other
Vocabulary: stream, butterflies, warming, plodding, through, weeds, arrow, bowstring, pebblies, braided, wild sage, prairie, example
Pages 8 – 11 The young man and the beautiful young woman were married and had a son, Calf Boy. Her husband’s family rejected her, saying she had no family, different ways, and was an animal. One day when the husband was hunting, his family told his wife to go back where she came from. The young woman took her son and left. The young man was angry when he returned and found what had happened. He set out to find them. He located their tipi at sunset.
Key Concepts: rejection, intolerance of differences, anger, love
Vocabulary: relatives, unkind, among, wherever, anyway, immediately, tipi, returning, grasshoppers, sagebrush
Grade 3 Guided Reading 91 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 12 – 13 The young man located the tipi, and his son ran to meet him. His wife said she was going home; she could not live among his people. She told him he would be in great danger if he followed them. He responded: “I love you, and wherever you and our son go, I am going too.” The next morning, the tipi, his wife and child were gone.
Key Concepts: love, faith, determination, hope
Vocabulary: lodge, danger, dew-soaked
Pages 14 – 15 The young man followed his family until he came to the tipi again. His son ran to meet him. He said his mother did not want his father to come any farther, that tomorrow she would make the rivers dry. His father could find water in his son’s footsteps. His wife warned him her family was angry because his family was unkind to her. She said he would be killed if he came farther. He replied he would not turn back because he loved them.
Key Concepts: danger, threats, love, courage, bravery
Vocabulary: farther, thirsty, beyond, distant ridge, unkind, replied, buckled, wrapped
Pages 16 –17 In the morning, his wife and child were gone again. The young man saw only the tracks of a buffalo and her calf. He knew the tracks belonged to his wife and child. He followed the tracks to the high ridge and found water in the hoof-prints of his son.
Key Concepts: magic, transformation, love, bravery, courage
Vocabulary: awoke, wondering, excitedly, winding, hoof-prints
Pages 18 – 19 At the top of the high ridge, the young man gazed in wonder at the multitude of the Buffalo Nation. As he approached the herd, a calf came running and told his father to turn back or they would kill him. His father replied he would always stay with his son and his wife. The calf told him how to be brave and face the trials of the Buffalo Nation.
Key Concepts: love, bravery, courage, dedication to family
Vocabulary: multitude, brave, chief, flick, cockle-burr, attentive
Grade 3 Guided Reading 92 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 20 – 21 The boy’s grandfather, chief bull of the Buffalo Nation, tested the courage of the young man. The young man stood still and showed no fear. He was taken into the center of the multitude to the painted tipi and surrounded by radiating circles of buffalo.
Key Concepts: courage, fear, strength, test of worthiness
Vocabulary: bellowed, charged, trembled, thundering, pawed, dust clouds, clumps, sagebrush, Straight-Up-Person, multitude, radiating circles, inner ring, according
Pages 21 –22 The old bull instructed the young man to find his wife and child. If he did not find them, he would be trampled to death. The young man walked among the circles and identified his wife and child.
Key Concepts: family, love, bravery,
Vocabulary: insulted, trample, stain, flicked, multitude, formed
Pages 23 – 24 The old bull said the young man loves his wife and child for he was willing to die for them. We will make him one of us. The young man was led inside the tipi and covered with a buffalo robe with the horns and hoof attached. He remained there for three days and nights.
Key Concepts: love, family, interrelatedness of man and nature, courage
Vocabulary: announced, covering, buffalo robe, surrounded continuous, bellowing
Pages 25 – 27 On the fourth day, the tipi was pushed over. The young man was rolled in the dirt, breath was squeezed from his body, and new breath was breathed into him. He was rolled and rubbed until at last he stood of four legs—a young buffalo bull. On this wondrous day, the relationship was made between the People and the Buffalo Nation that will last till the end of time.
Key Concepts: celebration of relationship between man and nature, magical transformation
Vocabulary: sudden, wallow, squeezed, breath, tumbling, relationship
Grade 3 Guided Reading 93 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Page 27 Read the poem, “The Song of the Buffalo Bulls,” from the Osage tribe.
Key Concept: celebrates the essence of the buffalo
Vocabulary: rumble, tread, whips, rage, humped shoulder
Grade 3 Guided Reading 94 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Theme: Native Americans Buffalo Before Breakfast, Young Wolf’s First Hunt, The Trail of Tears, Children of the Earth and Sky, If You Lived With the Sioux Indians, Children of the Wild West
Generalizations Over time, cultures develop from shared values and beliefs of individuals. Stories, art, and music reflect a community and/or its culture.
Concepts Change Constancy Diversity Commonality
Guiding Questions What is a culture? How do you recognize people in your own culture, i.e., school, home, family, country? How do you recognize a culture different than your own? Why is culture important? How do cultures develop beliefs? How do the beliefs held by individuals develop cultures? How does art reflect a community and/or its culture? Why does art reflect a community and/or its culture? Why do people tell stories? Why do people create art? How do stories come about, and how are they passed from generation to generation?
Introducing the Theme
Post several of the Guiding Questions on a chart. Have each group refer to them as they are reading the story to see if connections are being made. Accept possible responses as part of the process. As the groups near completion of the theme unit, bring more closure to the questions.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 95 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sharing the Theme Name ______Book ______
As you read your book, respond to the following questions.
Which Native American tribe(s) was described What Native American customs were told in your book? about in your book?
What did you learn about the Native American How did the Native Americans in your book culture? “live in harmony with the land?”
What role did the children have in the Native What parts of the story do you think are true American society in your book? today about the Native Americans?
How is your culture like the Native American What responsibilities were seen as important culture? in the Native American tribe you read about?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 96 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Grade 3 Guided Reading 97 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Before Breakfast
Synopsis This book is part of a series of stories. In this set of four stories, the main characters must be given a special gift in each book so they can free a mysterious dog from a magic spell. The first gift was on a trip to the Titanic. This book takes them to the past and the plains. They meet a Lakota Indian boy named Black Hawk and learn about his way of life. A buffalo stampede is included in the story. The book has an introduction to bring the readers up to date on where they are in the series. At the end of the story, there is an explanation of the legend of the White Buffalo Women and two pages of facts about the Lakota Indians and the United States at that time in history.
Author Mary Pope Osborn was born on May 20, 1949. She was raised in a military family so she moved a lot. She developed close relationships with her family. Mary traveled in Europe and Asia as a young adult. She met and married Will Osborne in New York then traveled with him. She has written over forty books over twenty years or more. She has won several awards for her books. Right now, she and her husband are working on a series of nonfiction books related to The Magic Tree House Series. They live in New York City.
Introduction The teacher might start the discussion by asking how many of the students have read a Magic Tree House book. If more than one student has read one, she could ask them if there are any common characters. (The main characters are always the same and the magical librarian is always mentioned.) The teacher could point out to the students that these books are written in series of four books to solve a certain problem (The prologue explains this). The teacher could read the prologue to the students and then lead a discussion about where they think the second gift will come from and what it will be. The word ancient appears in the prologue so the teacher would have to make sure that the students knew what that meant. The teacher could show them the cover of the book and discuss if it gives them any more clues for the second adventure. The teacher also needs to tell the students that these books include time travel and discuss what that means. Then, they could start reading the book.
Reading
Chapter 1: Pages 3-9 Teddy (the dog) came to Jack and Annie’s house after being gone for one week. They all go to the magic tree house. There they find a note from Morgan, the magical librarian, that starts them on their second travel adventure.
Key Concepts: problem-solving, adventure
Vocabulary: mission, spell, absolutely
Grade 3 Guided Reading 98 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 2: Pages 10-14 Jack and Annie change from their regular clothes into buckskin clothes. They read the book they brought along for clues as to where they are. Jack takes notes. Jack, Annie, and Teddy walk through tall prairie grasses to a small rise in the terrain.
Key Concepts: time travel, knowledge, observation
Vocabulary: fringed, buckskin, prairie, rise
Chapter 3: Pages 15-23 Jack and Annie find an Indian village. The research book says they are probably Lakota Indians. Jack and Annie see an Indian on horseback. The book says he is a warrior. It also says that the Indians and white man fought so Jack and Annie hide for fear the Indian is unfriendly. Jack and Annie find out his name is Black Hawk and he is a young boy about their age. He takes them back to his camp to meet his grandmother after telling them his parents have died. Jack quickly consults the research book on how to act with the Indians. It says to show no fear, act quietly, share gifts, and hold up two fingers as a sign for friend.
Key Concepts: knowledge
Vocabulary: tepee, quiver, nudged, Lakota Indians
Chapter 4: Pages 24-30 Jack and Annie meet Black Hawk’s grandmother and give her a coonskin hat as a gift. As she takes them out of the tent, Jack and Annie see all the different activities that are going on around the camp. Grandmother explains that they hunt buffalo because is gives the tribe many gifts.
Key Concept: knowledge
Vocabulary: moccasin
Chapter 5: Pages 31-36 Black Hawk pretends to be a wolf because it is the most powerful hunter and he can feel its power in him by dressing up like one. Jack, Annie, and Black Hawk ride ponies out to see a herd of buffalo.
Key Concept: problem-solving
Vocabulary: yikes, giddy-up, whoop, slope
Grade 3 Guided Reading 99 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 6: Pages 37-45 All three children could see many buffalo in one place. The research book called them bison. Black Hawk crept close to the herd even though his grandmother told him not to since they didn’t need the food. Black Hawk sneezed and started a buffalo stampede. Teddy ran into the herd and Annie went after him. Jack and his pony saved Black Hawk then they saw Annie standing in middle of the herd calming them down.
Key Concepts: cause and effect, rescue
Vocabulary: grazing, bison, vast, shaggy, charged, veered
Chapter 7: Pages 46-50 Annie tried to stop the herd and saw a beautiful lady in a white leather dress with her helping calm the buffalo. Black Hawk explains that the lady is a spirit. Black Hawk tells them that they must tell his grandmother about what had happened.
Key Concepts: magic, amazement
Vocabulary: amazement, stampede, spirit
Chapter 8: Pages 51-59 As the three children get back to camp, Indians are gathering around a fire. Jack, Annie, and Black Hawk told Black Hawk’s grandmother of their experiences. Grandmother gave Jack and Annie Indian names and invited them into their family and the circle around the fire. In the circle, men passed around a pipe to honor the Great Spirit. Grandmother explained spirits and the White Buffalo Woman. She gave Jack and Annie an eagle feather for their courage. After the ceremony was over, Jack and Annie are invited to sleep in the tepee with Black Hawk and his grandmother. They sleep on buffalo robes.
Key Concepts: information, reward
Vocabulary: sternly, sacred, messenger, ceremony, summon, chant
Chapter 9: Pages 60-67 When Jack and Annie wake up the next day, the Lakota are already at work dismantling camp to follow the buffalo. Black Hawk answers Jack’s questions about owning land, going to school, etc. Jack and Annie leave the tribe as friends and go back to the tree house on the prairie. It spins then stops.
Key Concepts: movement, time travel
Vocabulary: rawhide, vanish
Grade 3 Guided Reading 100 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 10: Pages 68-72 Jack and Annie are back home in their regular clothes in the tree house. They put the eagle feather by the watch. Their mother calls them home to see their grandmother. Teddy runs away again. Jack and Annie realize that Black Hawk’s grandmother was right that all things are related.
Key Concepts: relationships, interrelatedness
Vocabulary: tilted, gusted
Grade 3 Guided Reading 101 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Young Wolf’s First Hunt
Synopsis This is a step into reading book for grades 2-3. This is a step three level. The story begins with Young Wolf wanting to go on a buffalo hunt so he can be considered a man. Since buffalo hunting is very dangerous, his father tells him he is too young and his horse is not ready yet. Young Wolf defies his father by going out every day and training his horse secretly. He doesn’t know his father watches him and finally consents to let him go. Young wolf is successful in killing a buffalo. Little Big Mouth is another boy in camp that also wants to go on the hunt. He finds Young Wolf training his horse and he joins him. In the end both boys kill a buffalo and learn the true meaning of becoming a man. They also become friends.
Author Janice Shefelman lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Tom. He illustrates her books. They have two sons and two grandchildren. Their sons are also professional artists so they have all worked together on the family books. Their studio is a former playroom where they talk together about every stage of the bookmaking from choice of story idea to illustrations. They really like to work together so closely. Janice was a professor’s daughter who was read to from an early age. She thought books opened the door to the big world and gave her a desire to see it. Her first book was a Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee.
Introduction A teacher could start the introduction of this book with the question, “Have you ever heard the phrase you are too little yet, wait till you grow up? How does that make you feel?” After discussing those questions, the teacher might then ask for some examples of things the students are told they are too little to do. The teacher can then ask, “What do you think you have to do to prove you are not too little?” The students could give their answers. The next question would be, “If you can do the tasks you just mentioned, does that make you a man or a woman?” The teacher might ask the students, “Since this story has to do with an Indian boy and his culture a long time ago, what differences do you think there are between our culture’s ideas today of what a grown man or woman can do and the Indian culture back then?”
Reading
Chapter 1: Pages 4-9 Young Wolf tries to convince his father, Eagle Feather, that he is ready to run buffalo and kill one. His father says no. Young Wolf tries to argue with him but his father still says no. Young Wolf leaves the tent and goes over to talk to his horse, Red Wind, for some comfort. He believes that Red Wind is trying to tell him a secret and he thinks he knows what that secret is.
Key Concepts: respect, determination
Vocabulary: sharp eye, ducked, nuzzled
Chapter 2: Pages 10-19 Young Wolf and Red Wind go across the creek and over the hill to train in secret. One day Little Big Mouth and his horse, Shadow, see them training. Little Big Mouth teases Young Wolf but Young Wolf remembers his grandfather telling him that it is not manly to fight and he
Grade 3 Guided Reading 102 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002 wants to be a man more than anything. The boys decide to train their horses together. One day Eagle Feather sees them and that night the father and son have a talk. Since Young Wolf has worked so hard and worked together with Little Big Mouth, Eagle Feather changes his mind and says he can go on the buffalo run.
Key Concepts: problem solving, reward
Vocabulary: charged, clenched, manly, bowstring, Twang, nudged
Chapter 3: Pages 20-29 The Indian warriors sat around the fire and sang a song to the buffalo spirit then told stories of previous hunts. The following morning the hunt began. Neither boy wanted to admit that he was scared to go on the hunt. They traveled to where they found a herd of buffalo and camped there. Young Wolf had a dream about the hunt. In the morning, his mother tried to get him to eat for his important day but he was too nervous. His father tried to remind what to do on the hunt.
Key Concepts: heritage, preparation
Vocabulary: warriors, lame, grazing, thundering
Chapter 4: Pages 30-43 The buffalo hunt begins. Eagle Feather raises his bow to signal the beginning. As they charge into the herd Young Wolf signals to Little Big Mouth to be brave. Young Wolf shoots at a calf but misses. His father urges him to shoot again. He hits the calf and then in a charge he falls off of his horse. Red Wind does as she was trained and saved him. After the hunt, his father says they must give thanks to the buffalo spirit. Little Big Mouth does the same thing.
Key Concepts: perseverance, reward
Vocabulary: protected, snorted, clacked, aimed, staggered, bolted, motioned, dismounted
Grade 3 Guided Reading 103 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 5: Pages 44-48 The tribe gives a feast of thanks. The families must give a present to an older tribe member as thanks for the success of their child. Grandfather asks Young Wolf if he was afraid. When he admits he was, grandfather says he is now closer to being a man because he did what he was afraid to do. Young Wolf was excited because he thought his grandfather was old and wise. Young Wolf goes to look for Little Big Mouth. When he finds him, they share the secret that they were both scared to go on the buffalo hunt. As they share this secret, they realize that they are closer to becoming a man and becoming friends.
Key Concepts: friendship, pride
Vocabulary: feast, soared
Grade 3 Guided Reading 104 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Trail of Tears
Synopsis The book starts out as the Cherokee people are leaving on the Trail of Tears. After the first chapter, the author goes back and gives the history of the Cherokee people from before the white man was in the United States up to the present time. There is also information on the struggles between the U.S. government and the Cherokee nation and also problems among the different sections of the Cherokee Nation itself. There are illustrations included in the book. One of them is a map of where the Cherokee people originally lived and one shows the Cherokee alphabet that was invented.
Author Joseph Bruchac is a Native American Indian. He is also a storyteller. He wants his audience to know there is a difference between the two. He grew up living with his grandparents near Sarasota Springs in New York. He earned a Ph. D. from Union Graduate School and has won many awards for his books. His books draw upon his Indian heritage.
Introduction Since this book starts out with the Cherokee Nation leaving their homes on October 1, 1838, that would be a good time of year to read it. The teacher could start the introduction with a discussion about how the students think the Indians might have felt to be forced to leave their homes for a part of the country they didn’t know much about. The students might list some of the hardships they think the Indians faced and keep the list to compare to what actually happened. The teacher should ask the students if they have ever heard of the Trail of Tears and what they know about it. After the discussion is done, the students could read the back of the book.
Reading
Chapter 1: Pages 4-7 This chapter serves as an introduction. It starts at the actual day of the Cherokee Nation leaving for the land out west where they are being relocated. John Ross is concerned about the dangers they will face and the hard journey they must make. A dark cloud is seen as an omen of trouble ahead.
Key Concept: change
Vocabulary: guidance, urge, omen
Chapter 2: Pages 8-16 This chapter gives the background of who the Cherokee people are, where they lived, and how they interacted with the settlers as America was settled.
Key Concept: adaptability
Vocabulary: Buzzard, emerged, connected, Ani-Yun’wiya, colonist, adopt, Sequoyah, Ahyokah, Tsa-la-gi Tsu-le-hi-sah-nuh-hi
Grade 3 Guided Reading 105 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 3: Pages 17-27 The Cherokee tribes had many problems with the white man who wanted their land and wanted the tribes to move. The chapter gives the history of what was going on in that time period between the Cherokee people and the U.S. government. The decisions were not always well received by either side. The Trail of Tears was established.
Key Concept: struggle
Vocabulary: policy, dishonest, occupied, opposed, Cherokee Republic, Indian Removal Bill, Indian Territory, persuade, plantation, representatives, treaty, disgrace
Chapter 4: Pages 28-40 This chapter describes the movement of the Cherokee Indians and the difficulties they encountered on the Trail of Tears from 1838 to 1839.
Key Concepts: change, adaptability, survival
Vocabulary: petition, articles, pleas, homesites, dishonest, pounce, resigned, stockade, utensils, criminals, protest, turnpikes, Cherokee Rose, removal, nuna dat shun’yi
Chapter 5: Page 41-43 The Cherokee Nation was established and became a success.
Key Concept: survival
Vocabulary: smallpox, governed, immigrants, prospered
Chapter 6: Page 44-48 The Cherokee Nation is still alive today. This chapter tells how the Cherokee people live all over the United States now.
Key Concept: hope
Vocabulary: recapture, resisted, Tsali, folk hero, reservation, pageant, tribal
Grade 3 Guided Reading 106 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Children of the Earth and Sky Five Stories About Native American Children
Synopsis These beautifully illustrated original stories tell tales of five Native American peoples: the Hopi, Comanche, Mohican, Navajo, and Mandan. From pottery makers to fierce warriors, readers will discover the traditions of five different tribes—Hopi, Comanche, Mohican, Navajo, and Mandan—in these tales of Native American children. This book is an excellent introduction to Native Americans and their culture. Each story is accompanied by full-color illustrations
Author Stephen Krensky was born in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in nearby Lexington. He describes his childhood as "happy and uneventful, with only the occasional bump in the night to keep me on my toes." He had an active imagination, however, and made up stories in which he was the star, and usually a superhero, too. Even though he didn't do much writing when he was younger, he still spent a lot of time making up stories in his head. He especially liked to do this before he went to sleep at night. But he didn't take creative writing seriously until he was 20 years old and an English Literature major at Hamilton College. He started writing stories for children while in college, something he began doing after becoming interested in illustrating children's books. After his graduation in 1975, he was an intern for six months at the New York Times Book Review. He then turned to writing full-time, publishing his first book for children, A Big Day for Scepters, in 1977. Krensky writes everything from picture books to novels, fantasy to realism, fiction to nonfiction. "Being able to try so many different kinds of books has helped me stay enthusiastic about every book I write," he explains. He has authored over fifty books. Krensky lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with his wife and their two sons, Andrew and Peter. When he is not working away at his computer, he enjoys playing soccer and softball and reading books written by other people.
Background This book is not really a folktale. The book focuses on the daily life of children from five different tribes. This book, however, complements Native American folktales. It provides more insights to the daily life of Native Americans long ago.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Hopi - the westernmost group of Pueblo Indians, were situated in northeastern Arizona on the edge of the Painted Desert.
In the late 20th century there were about 6,000 Hopi, living in terraced pueblo structures of stone and adobe and clustered into a number of independent towns. Most of their settlements were on high mesas. The precise origin of the Hopi is unknown. Their own origin myths merely hold that their ancestors climbed upward through four underground chambers called kivas and lived in many places. Matrilineal descent was the tribal rule. The Hopi supported themselves by farming and sheepherding. Their chief crop was corn, but they also grew beans, squash, melons, and a variety of other vegetables and fruits
Grade 3 Guided Reading 107 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comanche - a nomadic North American Indian group that in the 18th and 19th centuries roved the southern Great Plains.
By the early 1800s the Comanche were a powerful tribe, with a population estimated at between 7,000 and 10,000. The Comanche were organized in 12 or so autonomous bands. Their staple food was buffalo meat. The buffalo also provided them with robes, covering for their tepees, sinew thread, and water carriers made of the animal's stomach. The Comanche were one of the first tribes to acquire horses from the Spanish. They became highly skilled horsemen.
Mohican - Algonquian-speaking Indians of the upper Hudson Valley above the Catskill Mountains in New York state.
Their name means "wolf". The Mohican consisted of five major divisions. They lived in strongholds of 20 to 30 houses, situated on hills and enclosed by stockades, as well as in enclosed villages.
Mandan - lived along the Missouri River between the Heart and the Little Missouri rivers. Mandan culture was one of the richest of the Plains.
In the 19th century the Mandan lived in dome-shaped, earth-covered lodges clustered in stockaded villages. They planted corn (maize), beans, pumpkins, and sunflowers, hunted buffalo seasonally, and made pottery and baskets. They had elaborate ceremonies, such as the sun dance. Mandan villages consisted of from 12 to 100 lodges. They had three chiefs: one for war, one for peace, and one a village leader.
Navajo - also spelled NAVAHO - were scattered throughout northwestern New Mexico, Arizona, and southeastern Utah.
The Navajo came under the strong influence of the Pueblo Indians. These Pueblo influences included farming as the primary mode of subsistence. The Pueblo also influenced the Navajo in the arts, i.e., painted pottery and the famous Navajo rugs. The Navajo are also noted for their silversmithing.
Check the glossary on pages 31-32 of the book for brief information about the tribes.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 108 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Introduction This book focuses on stories about Native American children from five different tribes. Page 30 of the book has a map of the United States and Canada. Locate each of the five tribes on the map. Talk about the geographic differences and how the region in which they live affects the culture and life of each tribe.
Reading
Pages 5-6 These pages are a brief introduction. Native Americans were people whose ancestors walked across a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska. They lived here long before anyone arrived from Europe.
Native Americans did not call themselves Indians. That was a name Christopher Columbus gave them in 1492 when he mistakenly thought he was near India. Native Americans did not have one name because they were more than just one group (tribes) of people. There were many tribes scattered across the continent. They lived in different geographic regions. The lifestyle of each tribe reflected the region where that respective tribe lived. There were similarities among the tribes. Children did share some things in common. They all started helping their families at an early age. Their days were a mixture of learning, playing, and working. The children in the book are imaginary. The tribes in the book are real. The setting for the stories is approximately 200 years ago, at a time when the tribes still had much of North America to themselves.
Key Concepts: Native Americans, land bridge, migration, living off the land
Vocabulary: introduction, thousands, North America, Native Americans, ancestors, land bridge, Siberia, Alaska, arrived, Europe, themselves, Indians, explorer, Christopher Columbus, mistakenly, India, actually, tribes, scattered, continent, everywhere, settled, gardened, adobe mud, depended, differences, between, common, mixture, imaginary, included, Hopis, Comanches, Mohicans, Navajos, Mandan, display, range, variety, experience
Grade 3 Guided Reading 109 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 7-8 “A Hopi Potter” story begins.
Nine-year old Bright Moon, along with other children, is digging clay in the hot sun on the mesa. It has been a very hot summer with no rain. The corn supply is running low. Tonight a special ceremony will ask the kachinas, the Hopi gods, to send rain. After collecting clay, Bright Moon returns to her home in the pueblo, where 200 people live. The pueblo buildings were made from flat slabs of sandstone, covered with clay, sand, and water. The walls are thick and seven-feet high. She climbs a ladder to the second floor.
Key Concepts: daily activities of Hopi children, information shelter and food of Hopi, concern of low food supply
Vocabulary: Hopi, Bright Moon, shielded, toward, cliffs, brittle, mesa, almost, driest, clay, easily, layers, ancient, supply, ceremony, village, kachinas, collected, pueblo, slabs, sandstone, mixture, “as thick as her arm was long”, ladder
Pages 9-10 Her grandmother was making piki, very thin, cornmeal bread. Her mother was by the grinding bin. Bright Moon and her mother mixed the new clay with sand and crumbled rocks. Bright Moon started to make her pot. The process for making her pot is described. Bright Moon, her mother, and her grandmother ate their noon meal. Her father and brothers were out hunting jackrabbits.
Key Concepts: daily routine of women in the pueblo, process of pot-making is portrayed, child learning life skills from family, passing of daily living skills from one generation to another
Vocabulary: firepit, batter, piki, cornmeal bread, grinding bin, crumbled, kneading, patted, paste, coiling, looped, gourd, fry, thinly, griddle, jackrabbits, delicious, clever, creases, coils, hardened, fitted, comfortably, surface, sore, finished, pattern, harden
Pages 11-12 Bright Moon waited for the return of her father and brothers. She thought about the evening ceremony. Her father, dressed as a kachina, would dance with other dancers. She hoped the kachinas would be pleased
Key Concepts: importance of ceremonies in life of Hopi, harshness of living conditions (extreme heat, drought), hope, the ability of the tribes to live off the land.
Vocabulary: ceremony, kachinas, performed, spirits, possess, pleased
Grade 3 Guided Reading 110 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 15-16 “A Comanche Rider” Running Wolf and three more boys are standing guard over the horses at night. His horse keeps him company. Horses were very important to the Comanche. Horses were used to hunt buffalo, to carry belongings from one campsite to another, and for battle. Running Wolf was learning to guide his horse with only his knees. This would keep his hands free for a shield or bow. Another boy would relieve his watch when the moon was overhead. After three more years of training, he would be expected to stay awake all night. The boys standing guard were not playing a game. Horses were very valuable. Other tribes tried to steal them. Thundercloud hooted like an owl, signaling he was bringing food. Running Wolf remained alert while eating. He was proud to guard the horses.
Key Concepts: value of the horse to the Comanche culture, boys training for their adult role in the tribe, pride of a child who accepts this responsibility, child’s awareness of his/her role in the tribe’s culture, the ability of the tribes to live off the land, passing of daily living skills from one generation to another
Vocabulary: Comanche, guarding, travelers, journeys, whinnied, flank, straddle, tipis, campsite, sore, bow, shield, shifted, alert, expected, visible, barely, stole, valuable, suddenly, twig, cracked, rib, hooted, chunks, broiled, quickly, alert, landscape, stomach, buffalo chips, ashes
Pages 17-20 “A Mohican Hunter” Red Leaf awoke in his family’s wigwam. It is winter and the hunting is not rich enough for the tribe to stay in one place all winter. Red Leaf and his family carry everything they own (clothes, tools, home) with them. Hunting has been bad, so he had eaten a lot of root soup lately. Red Leaf was going hunting. It was hard to hunt in winter clothes, but winter was fun, too. He played snowsnake with his friends. Red Leaf saw animal tracks. That would be a good place to build a deadfall trap. As he continued to explore, he came to a small meadow and saw a deer across the meadow. He would have to move closer for a shot. His bow was not strong enough for a longer shot. He took a step forward. The snow crunched. The deer bounded away. Red Leaf was disappointed, but when he returned to camp, he learned older hunters had killed two deer. The tribe would have food.
Key Concepts: daily life and routines of the Mohican boys, the importance of hunting on a daily basis to satisfy the basic need for food, the boys would hunt first, before playing, the tribe’s clothing and shelter are described, passing of daily living skills from one generation to another
Vocabulary: Mohican, dome-shaped wigwam, birchbark shell, crept, several, eager, explore, hunting was not rich enough, wrinkled, root soup, shell, beaver, scraps, bait, repair, awkward, buckskin, bulky, snowsnake, balance, deadfall, forked branches, propped, shaft, closer than a stone’s throw, crunched, bounded away, raccoon, midday, sighed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 111 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 21-24 “A Navajo Weaver” The Navajo culture is portrayed through Little Crow’s eyes. All her clothing is made of buckskin. Her brother and father guard and tend the family’s flock of sheep. The wool from the sheep is important for making clothing and blankets. Only women did the weaving. Her mother instructs Little Crow in the weaving process. Weaving was done outside, in a ramada. Specific details about weaving are given. Little Crow and her mother spend the day weaving, stopping briefly for a midday meal of broiled rabbit. She shows her work to her father and brother when they return at nightfall. The Navajo did not live in the same village all year long. Families moved to different hogans with the seasons, following the grazing sheep.
Key Concepts: basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter are explained, living off the land, pride in accomplishment, passing of survival skills to next generation
Vocabulary: wide plain, comfortable, moccasins, buckskin, slight, distance, guard, flock of sheep, wool, shearing, weaving, loom, ramada, frame, upright, crossbars, warp frame, hogan, stuffy, caked, smoke hole, seasons, grazing, swept, ducking, trinkets, beams, tangled, strands, unraveling, spindle, hardwood, disc, batten, paused, motioned, clumsy, bunched, patiently, reminded, broiled, finger width
Pages 25-28 “Mandan Gardeners” Spotted Deer and her brother Gray Hawk took care of the family garden. After the tribe had cultivated the rich land near the river, the two children had raked the ground, dug furrows, fertilized the ground, and were now ready to plant the seeds. Once Spotted Deer planted the seeds, Gray Hawk would keep the birds away and guard the garden. The Mandan grew much of their food, so they did not need to hunt widely. This allowed them to settle in one place and build larger, more comfortable homes. Their homes were round lodges. The lodges were built on a bluff above the river. This gave the tribe plenty of warning for approaching friends or enemies.
Key Concepts: culture, basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter, family members’ roles, living off the land, passing of daily living skills from one generation to another
Vocabulary: garden, chilly, Northern Plains, fetched, prepare, weaving, cradleboard, excited, guard, patch, raked, antler, furrows, hoe, squash, knelt, squawked, raised, pemmican, chokecherries, pounded, bluff, lookouts, warning, approach, cultivated, sources, widely, sturdily, forked poles, crossbeams, grassy mattings, crows, fluttered, cawed, fierce
Grade 3 Guided Reading 112 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 29-30 Afterword The skills of Native American children were not hobbies or games. These skills were a necessary part of everyday life. The tribes had to make everything they used. Native Americans paid close attention to the world around them in order to survive.
Key Concepts: living in harmony with nature, using the bounty of the land for survival, passing of daily living skills from one generation to another
Vocabulary: hobbies, tribespeople, granted, attention, afford, distracted
Pages 31-32 Glossary A glossary explains the lodging of each of the five tribes in the book.
Key Concepts: lodging, living off the land
Vocabulary: Hopi pueblo, peaceful, maintained, independence, European, contact, Comanche tipi, fiercest, horsemen, Mohican wigwam, Algonquin, Northeast, forests, Adirondacks, Navajo Hogan, Southwest, adopted, forms, Mandan lodge, roaming, herds, agriculture
Grade 3 Guided Reading 113 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Finding Base Words
Name ______
Each word below has been made by adding an ending such as -s/es, -ly. -ed, -ful, or -est to a base word. On the blank beside each word, write the base word.
Example: shouted shout______
1. empties ______
2. goes ______
3. usually ______
4. wonderful ______
5. beautiful ______
6. covered ______
7. burned ______
8. liked ______
9. grabbed ______
10. waved______
11. spoiled ______
12. ashes ______
13. kindest ______
14. comfortable ______
15. biggest ______
16. wrappers ______
17. exchanged ______
18. tried ______
19. finally ______
20. carried ______
Grade 3 Guided Reading 114 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
If You Lived With the Sioux Indians
Synopsis The book is formatted to answer questions a person might ask about living with the Sioux Indians. This book is copyrighted in 1972 so the information might not be as up to date as some newer sources. Each chapter starts off with a question and then provides the answer to that question. The chapters are no longer than three pages each. There are black and white illustrations to go with each chapter. There is an introduction at the beginning of the book and a glossary at the end of the book.
Author Ann McGovern has written over 50 books in more than 35 years. She likes to write about different topics. She writes about adventures in faraway places, the sea and its creatures, stories and picture books, biographies, funny books, folk tales, poetry, question-and-answer books about life in long-ago America, animals, and many other subjects. From the time she was eight years old, she always felt better about herself after writing. Ann lives in New York but travels a lot. She spends a month every year in Mexico. She always returns to New York City and the excitement and multi-colors of what she thinks is the most vibrant city in the world.
Introduction This book is written in a question and answer format so start off with a question such as what do the students think life was like for an Indian in the early to middle 1800’s. In this session generate a list of questions that the students think should be answered about Indian life in this book. The list could be put up somewhere in the classroom. You might want to then read the introduction as a group. During the course of reading the book, the students could check to see if the facts on the list in the classroom are correct or false.
Synopsis of Chapters Each chapter is based on a different question and the answer to that question. The chapters cover every aspect of life as a Sioux Indian from 1800 to 1850.
Key Concepts: The key concepts in each chapter are the same. They are: factual information, knowledge, understanding.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 115 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Vocabulary: Chapter 1: redskin Chapter 2: tipi Chapter 3: roaming, plains Chapter 4: travois, tokala Chapter 5: wander, excellent Chapter 6: deerskin Chapter 7: rawhide Chapter 8: breechcloth, leggings, moccasins, quills Chapter 9: errands, decorate Chapter 10: Chapter 11: pinch Chapter 12: strict, dangerous Chapter 13: chief, scouts, worshipping, mounted, aimed Chapter 14: charging, stampeding Chapter 15: feasting, honor, give-away Chapter 16: awl, sinew, rawhide, splint Chapter 17: shields Chapter 18: moccasin game Chapter 19: spirits, invisible, Wakan Tanka Chapter 20: ceremony, Sun Dance, perform Chapter 21: vision, sweat lodge Chapter 22: Chapter 23: medicine bundle, permission Chapter 24: Chapter 25: advice Chapter 26: greet, manners Chapter 27: herbs, shaman, diseases, smallpox, tuberculosis Chapter 28: sign language, smoke signals Chapter 29: capture Chapter 30: courage, brave, coup Chapter 31: scalp Chapter 32: spear, war club, bow and arrow Chapter 33: brag, bonnet, deeds Chapter 34: generous Chapter 35: council Chapter 36: punished, punishment, cruel, ashamed Chapter 37: crier, heyoka, society Chapter 38: renting Chapter 39: promises, whiskey, enemies Chapter 40: glorious, reservations, grazing, powwow
Grade 3 Guided Reading 116 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Children of the Wild West
Synopsis This is a nonfiction book about different aspects of settling the West. There are lots of photographs and an acknowledgement section so photos can be identified and more photos can be found. Each chapter is about a different topic. This book gives some actual quotes and many personal anecdotes. There is an index at the back for quick reference to topics.
Author Russell Freedman is a nonfiction author. He wants to try to stamp out the myth that nonfiction books are less interesting and less important. Freedman only writes about topics that interest him and that he wants to learn more about. He thinks characters in history are interesting and he wants to make them stand out. He only writes about people he admires. He has also written more than 20 books about animal behavior since that also fascinates him.
Introduction Since this book is a nonfiction book, the teacher would need to approach the introduction in a different way. Students might be asked how they thought people lived back in the Wild West times. A list of same and different clothes, jobs, things in a school, ways to enjoy their spare time, etc. for the Wild West and Now might be the discussion starter. Using the acknowledgement section in the back, the teacher might find some other photographs to use as the book is introduced. The students could look at a photograph of a school, for instance, from that time period and try to identify what they see in the picture. The teacher would need to help her students to understand that since this is a nonfiction book, the stories and facts are true and actually happened. This is different from a fiction book where the facts are true but the story is made up. The teacher should help her students to know the difference between an actual direct quote and an anecdotal passage in which the story is as true as the person can remember it. The teacher should also help the students to understand that each chapter is about a different subject meaning the chapters could be read in any order but that they all have to do with how the Wild West was settled.
Reading
Chapter 1: Pages 9-11 As covered wagons left Missouri in 1841 for the Pacific Coast, they didn’t know about photographs. This chapter tells about how an early photograph was taken and developed. Many photographs from that time period were lost but are gradually being found and displayed to show how the families lived.
Key Concepts: information
Vocabulary: bulky, shutter, exposure
Grade 3 Guided Reading 117 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 2: Pages 12-23 The Westward movement was hard on travelers. There were hardships for everyone. There were three main trails for the emigrants to follow. They were the Oregon, Santa Fe, and California trail. The chapter describes the trials and tribulations of a wagon train trying to cross the mountains from Missouri to the Pacific Coast. It took 6-8 months for the trip.
Key Concept: perseverance
Vocabulary: plodding, parched, herbs, sentries, splintered, corral, emigrants, balmy, plateau, desolate
Chapter 3: Pages 24-37 This chapter told about the different types of houses the pioneer families lived in during the Westward Movement. Oregon families built wooden houses. The boom towns in California were filled with mostly men. On the prairies, the settlers built sod houses. Gradually towns began to develop and grow. Pioneers went out west for different reasons. Some pioneers went west for free land, religious freedom, gold strikes, freedom from slavery, and freedom from other countries.
Key Concepts: adventure, resourcefulness
Vocabulary: miring, untamed, sod-busters, cosmopolitan, thronged
Chapter 4: Pages 38-57 The Indians and settlers were friendly and worked together in the beginning but led separate lives. Gradually the Indians were forced to fight for their way of life and land. As the white man won, he put the Indians on reservations and sent them to boarding schools. Many Indians were sad to lose their heritage.
Key Concept: adaptation
Vocabulary: customs, ferried, dialects, homely, tribesman, intricate, destiny, primitive, livelihood, guerilla war, slaughtered, boarding school, immunity
Chapter 5: Pages 58-69 Education was important to the settlers. They had home schooling first and gradually had a teacher when more students came to the area. The first teachers lived with the students in their homes and spent time in the home according to how many children the family had. Teachers were often older children in the area until laws were passed to regulate the requirements to teach.
Key Concepts: knowledge, persistence
Vocabulary: piety, devoted, tote, compulsory, musty, render, frontiersman, ingenious
Grade 3 Guided Reading 118 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 6: Pages 70-81 This chapter told about how life was lived as the west was settled. Every person in the family had an important job to do in order for the family to survive and have food.
Key Concepts: perseverance, adaptability
Vocabulary: obliged, skulking, toil, gunnysack, debut
Chapter 7: Pages 82-95 After all of the work was done, the families would celebrate. It was usually a big event where everyone would gather together at the school or in town. Christmas and the Fourth of July were very big holidays. Sundays were usually spent with friends at church and a picnic afterwards. A circus or traveling show was also a big event.
Key Concepts: relaxation, celebration
Vocabulary: sun-parched, livery, swaggered, itinerant, melodrama, roustabouts
Grade 3 Guided Reading 119 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Theme: Community Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth, One in the Middle Is a Green Kangaroo, Haunting of Grade Three, Seven Kisses in a Row, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Juliet Fisher and the Foolproof Plan
Generalizations Individuals change over time. Individuals are unique physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. Individual perceptions may create conflict. Friendship requires caring. Families share common elements and possess unique characteristics. Family and community members have responsibilities. Families are systems.
Concepts Change Constancy Diversity Commonality Community
Guiding Questions How are individuals alike and how are they different? Why are individuals different? Why do individuals change over time? What common elements do families share? What creates change in a family? What is a community? What creates change in a community? What responsibilities do family and community members have? What are the characteristics of a friend? What creates conflict between family or community members? Why is a family a system? How does a system support its membership? Why is school a system? What kinds of support are available at school?
Introducing the Theme Begin a discussion about how class members are like and how they are different. Talk about how their past experiences contribute to different perceptions and beliefs which may lead to conflict.
Write a short essay on friendship. Develop a list of common characteristics students identified in their essays.
Invite several staff members or other adults to share their family structures. Try to have as many different models as you can. Compare their commonalities and their differences.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 120 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sharing the Theme
Name ______Book ______
As you read your book, respond to the following questions.
Describe the relationships among the Describe the differences among the characters characters in your book. in your book.
Describe the commonalities between the Choose one of the characters in your book characters in your book. and describe his or her responsibilities.
What conflicts occurred in your book? Choose one character and describe how they changed during the story.
What things remained constant in your story? Choose one character and tell why you liked or didn’t like that character.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 121 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Grade 3 Guided Reading 122 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Marvin Redpost: Kidnapped at Birth?
Synopsis Marvin Redpost, a nine-year-old boy with red hair and blue eyes, has always wondered why he is the only one in his family who does not have brown hair and brown eyes. Now he has come up with an explanation. He is not Marvin Redpost; he is the long-lost Prince Robert of Shampoon who was kidnapped at birth. The red haired king of Shampoon has been on television describing his search for his son, and Marvin theorizes a possible scenario that would explain how he is the prince who was switched with the real Marvin Redpost. When Marvin responds to the king's appeal and finds he has 0-negative, the royal blood type, he has to decide if he will continue questioning his identity or continue being Marvin Redpost.
Author Louis Sachar
Concepts and Topics · Family · Royalty
Word Analysis · Vowel Combination ow: growled, grown, know, down, throw, elbow, now · Contractions: -'d, -'m, -'re, -'ve · Suffixes · Multi-Meaning Words
Vocabulary · cursive · haze · royal · polo · current · former · events · elevator · kidnapped · duchess · adopted · positive · unusual · negative · remote-control
Grade 3 Guided Reading 123 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension Before Reading Activate prior knowledge of royalty, kings, queens, kingdoms, etc.
Discussion Questions Chapters 1-2 Why did Marvin think his parents picked the wrong baby? Why did Marvin's friends think he was lucky to be kidnapped? Why did they think he was unlucky?
Chapters 3-4 What did the King of Shampoon say on television? How did Marvin think he might have been switched at the hospital?
Chapters 5-6 What happened when Marvin called to speak to the King? How did Marvin's family feel when he told them he was not really Marvin Redpost?
Chapters 7-8 Describe the people Marvin saw at the Watergate Hotel. What blood type did Marvin have to have to be the prince?
Chapters 9-10 What made Marvin decide that he couldn't be the prince?
Post Reading Why do you think Marvin wanted be Marvin Redpost and not Prince Robert? Do you think he made a good decision? Why or why not?
Graphic Organizers · Make a T-Chart and list the good things about being Prince Robert and the good things about being Marvin Redpost.
Writing Connection · Imagine that you are a prince or princess. How do you think your life would be different? What would you like about it? What parts wouldn't you enjoy? · Think about the ending of the story. What would you have done if you were Marvin Redpost?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 124 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Assessment Noting Details · Write or tell some of the reasons that Marvin thought he might be the Prince of Shampoon. · Bookshare: Give the following details from the story: who, what, when, where and why.
Sequencing Events · On a piece of manila paper create a story board telling the important events of the story in · Write three important events from the story on sentence strips and arrange them in the
Predicting Outcomes · Before reading Chapter 10, make a poster depicting possible endings to the story. · Write or tell how the story really ended and how the story could have ended.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 125 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
T-Chart
Name ______
Good Things Good Things About Being Prince Rupert About Being Marvin Redpost
Grade 3 Guided Reading 126 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Story Map
Story Title ______
Characters Setting
ê ê Problem
ê Important Events
ê Solutions
Name ______
Grade 3 Guided Reading 127 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Prediction Chart
Name ______
Answer the following questions at the end of each chapter or section of the text.
What characters What is the What are Why did you make have been met? conflict in the story? your predictions? those predictions?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 128 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Haunting of Grade Three
Synopsis The third grade of Elmwood Elementary was spending the year at the old Blackwell mansion because the school’s main building was overcrowded. With its dark towers, pointed gables, and shadowy arches, most people believed it was haunted. An assignment from a creative teacher leads some of the children to find the truth.
Author Grace Maccarone
Introduction Have students look closely at the cover and the title. Ask if the students know what the word haunting means. Explain that the third graders are attending school in an old mansion. Knowing that and the title, have them predict what the story will be about. Since this is not a science fiction book, we know that it isn’t ghosts. Discuss what it could be instead that makes people think the mansion is haunted.
Reading
Chapter 1 (Pages 7-9) Adam has just finished watching Ghostbusters, his favorite movie. His older sister, Lisa, is babysitting him and his brother Tim. She has promised to tell them a scary story. She decides to tell them a true one about the Blackwell House where the third grade is spending this school year.
Key Concept: mystery
Vocabulary: Ghostbusters, scientists, ballooned, swayed, vapor, curious
Chapter 2 (Pages 10-13) Lisa lights a candle and turns off the kitchen light. She tells them a story about two college students who spend a rainy night in the Blackwell House and see and hear ghostly things. They ran out of the house and were never heard from since.
Key Concept: ghosts
Vocabulary: parlor, mysterious
Chapter 3 (Pages 14-16) That night Adam has a dream about ghosts who are chanting the multiplication tables.
Key Concept: bad dreams
Vocabulary: Samantha
Grade 3 Guided Reading 129 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 4 (Pages 17-23) Adam meets Chuck Webber, and Joey Baker on his way to school the next morning. Joey tells them he saw a real live ghost in the boys’ room the day before. Joey has been known to be less than truthful so what he says is generally not paid attention to.
Key Concept: truth
Vocabulary: mob, dense, gables, arches, Norma Hamburger, sensitive, Danny Biddicker, karate
Chapter 5 (Pages 24-27) Mr. Jenkins is giving the third graders a math test. Only their pencils are on their desks. The pencils start rolling off the desks. Mr. Jenkins asks Norma to tell him what happened.
Key Concept: supernatural
Vocabulary: Lori Marino, Paul Lucas, Jenny Carle, goody-goody, supernatural, reasonable, flicker
Chapter 6 (Pages 28-30) At recess, Adam chases a ball into the bushes and discovers a flat memorial stone for a ten-year-old boy who died in 1863.
Key Concept: coincidence
Vocabulary: Danny Biddicker, thorny, pricked, tarantulas, ankle
Chapter 7 (Pages 31-37) After recess, Adam goes to the bathroom to wash his hands. A stall door is closed; he hears a flush, but no one comes out. When he returns to the room, Mr. Jenkins announces committee work on various aspects of Elmwood: transportation, industry, communication, recreation, and psychic investigation. Norma, Adam, Chuck, Debbie, Joey, and Dan are on the psychic investigation committee. Not all of them are happy to be on the committee.
Key Concept: assignment
Vocabulary: announced, committee, embarrassed, assignments, ferry, communication, recreation, psychic, investigation, martian, squirm, possibilities, hypothesis, scientific
Grade 3 Guided Reading 130 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 8 (Pages 38-41) Joey tells Dan he can’t be forced to work on the psychic investigation committee. Dan challenges some of the things he says. Norma is left out as Kim and Liz plan to work on their committee assignment. Chuck continues to tease Norma about her last name. Debbie invites Norma to her house.
Key Concept: relationships
Vocabulary: orderly, threshold, lingered, senator, sunken garden, aluminum, circuit, electricity
Chapter 9 (Pages 42-46) Norma goes to Debbie’s house. She is impressed that Debbie can eat in her room. Debbie’s house is much messier than her own. Debbie shows Norma some of her experiments. Norma decides she likes the Clarks’ house with its messiness and disorder.
Key Concept:
Vocabulary: buttons, equipment, introduction, biology, advanced, chemistry, impressed, penicillin, antibiotics, supernatural, disorder
Chapters 10 and 11 (Pages 47-51) Norma goes home to her neat house and greets her two-year-old sister, Alison. Joey Baker, one of twelve children, also is at home. Dan heads home on his bicycle. Football is his favorite thing. He is bigger than the other third graders and is trying out for the fourth-grade team.
Key Concept: differences
Vocabulary: toddler, Alison, offensive lineman, mood, teary, incentive, wander
Chapter 12 (Pages 52-55) Joey brings a note saying he can’t be a member of the psychic investigation committee. Most of the other members wish they were on one of the fun committees, too. Dan encourages them to think like a team. In a team everyone has to do his or her part. Each member then volunteers to take a responsibility.
Key Concept: teamwork
Vocabulary: empty-headed, embarrassed, maroon, electrician, plumber, weird
Grade 3 Guided Reading 131 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 13 (Pages 56-62) Debbie’s uncle checks the electricity. Dan’s father checks the plumbing. Neither finds anything. Adam goes to the library to research the boy whose name is on the flat memorial stone. The librarian tells him to check with Mr. Barry at the Historical Society. At the Historical Society he meets Frederick David Blackwell who tells him that Thomas died tragically during the Civil War.
Key Concept: research
Vocabulary: fuses, tragically, concentric, diminishing, intensity, sensations, exhibition, abstract, expressionism, investigation, imagination
Chapter 14 (Pages 63-67) Chuck has interviewed everyone connected with the mansion in any way. When the committee listens, they really don’t learn much.
Key Concept: interviewing
Vocabulary: recorder, microphone, static, caretaker, carriage, antenna
Chapter 15 (Pages 68-73) Norma reports on her research. She has found newspaper articles about the mansion. One of the stories is like the one Lisa told Adam and Tim. It mentions the college students by name. One of them is John W. Jenkins. The committee wonders if it is their teacher. The committee members decide that the only way to discover the truth is to visit the mansion at night.
Key Concept: information
Vocabulary: struggle, disturbances, baffled, abandoned, permission, volunteers, pretended, sinister, eerie, shivered
Chapter 16 (Pages 74-83) Joey Baker rejoins the committee and shows up to explore the house. The kids try to bolster their courage by telling jokes. Finally, they find an open window, but the only one little enough to get in is Joey Baker. Scared but feeling important, he finally agrees. The group starts to explore the mansion. Strange sounds are heard and suddenly the house begins to rattle and shake. The third-graders run out the door and into the garden.
Key Concept: courage
Vocabulary: shadowy, creepier, shimmied, assembly, tinkling, leverage
Grade 3 Guided Reading 132 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 17 (Pages 84-90) Outside, the kids continue their search. Joey falls into a hole in the bushes. When they look in, they find it is a tunnel. It has soft mud floors and stone walls covered with slime and mold. They follow the tunnel until they reach the end. Mr. Johnson, the caretaker, discovers them, and tells them the sewer gets full when the river is high. He takes the kids home.
Key Concept: discovery
Vocabulary: spirit, sewer, intercom, suspense, “viper” _
Chapter 18 (Pages 91-94) The kids use what they’ve learned and figure out that the house is sinking which causes the bangs, slams, and rattles. The ghost hunters give their report and Mr. Jenkins (who had stayed in the house as a college student) is very impressed. However, he realizes the danger and calls the building inspectors who arrive that afternoon and close the school. The committee members got A’s and the mayor gave them a special citation.
Key Concept: safety
Vocabulary: tidal, impressed, inspector, citation
Grade 3 Guided Reading 133 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Cause and Effect Give the effect and have the students write the cause, have students list several events and what caused them, or use a graphic organizer. It is important to remember that there are often several answers that are correct. Share the responses from time to time to broaden the students’ understanding and to encourage divergent thinking.
· Joey tells lies because · Adam wants to be a ghostbuster because · Norma likes Debbie’s house because · Chuck teases Norma because · Dan gets teased because · Adam decides to become an artist because · The third grade is spending the year at the Blackwell Mansion because · Mr. Jenkins gave the students committee assignments because · The psychic investigation committee decided to explore the mansion at night because · The mansion had to be closed and repaired because
Noting Details Make a list or draw pictures of all the psychic investigation committee members. Write or tell at least one characteristic for each.
Sequencing Write or draw the events that happened the night the students went to Blackwell Mansion.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why did Debbie think Adam would be a good member of the psychic investigation committee? 2. How did Dan’s football background help the committee? 3. How did the members of the psychic investigation committee change during their work? 4. What made Norma like Debbie’s house? 5. Why did Joey lie so much? 6. How did each member’s talent or interest contribute to solving the riddle of the Blackwell Mansion?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 134 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Prefixes and Suffixes Recognizing prefixes and suffixes and knowing their meanings can help us figure out the definitions of many two- and three-syllable words. The following words are found in the story. Use the meanings of the prefixes and the suffixes to understand the meaning of the whole word. Start a list of other words that have these prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes Suffixes dis (apart) ness (the state of) disorder creepiness disappeared messiness
un (not) en (to make) unlined sunken unlikely unmade ly (like, characteristic) unfriendly secretly unusual loudly unknown orderly previously re (again, back) promptly rethink perfectly relocated lately kindly tragically
less (without) shapeless restless
Grade 3 Guided Reading 135 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Haunting of Grade Three What and Why Name ______
The following statements give information from the story. Each is followed by the word because. Give the reason or the “why” for each statement.
1. Joey tells lies because
2. Adam wants to be a ghostbuster because
3. Norma likes Debbie’s house because
4. Chuck teases Norma because
5. Dan gets teased because
6. Adam decides to become an artist because
7. The third grade is spending the year at the Blackwell Mansion because
8. Mr. Jenkins gave the students committee assignments because
9. The psychic investigation committee decided to explore the mansion at night because
10. The mansion had to be closed and repaired because
Grade 3 Guided Reading 136 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Haunting of Grade Three
Name ______
Make a list of the students on the Psychic Investigations team. Tell what skill each brought to the team and what they investigated.
Student Skill Investigation
Grade 3 Guided Reading 137 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Theme: History Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil, Molly’s Pilgrim, Sod Houses on the Great Plains, Sweetwater Run, The Cabin Faced West, Sarah Plain and Tall
Generalizations Communities change over time. Interaction with the environment results in change. The interaction of cultures brings cooperation or conflict. Daily events today create tomorrow’s history. People migrate from place to place now and throughout history.
Guiding Questions What is a community? Why do communities change? What is an environment? Physical? Cultural? People? How do people interact with the environment? How does human interaction affect the environment? Positively? Negatively? How does the environment affect people? Their work? Their recreation? How is culture demonstrated? How are conflict and cooperation different? Why do cultures have conflict? How do cultures cooperate with one another? How can cultures exist without interacting? How do cultures interact? How are cultural conflicts resolved?
Introduction to the Theme This year we will be learning about the state we live in. Last year you learned about the city of Bettendorf and Scott County. Let’s list all the things we know about the city and county in which we live. We are going to list the items in the first column of a Double T-Chart. Then we’ll fill in the corresponding state item in the second column, and what the items are in the third column. We’ll add to our lists as we learn more things this year.
Day 2: Review Double-T Chart All of the things we listed on the chart yesterday didn’t just happen overnight.
Guiding Questions · How long do you think it took for the city of Bettendorf to develop? · How did Bettendorf look 200 years ago? 100 years ago? 50 years ago? · How did this state we call Iowa become a state? · Why did Iowa become a state?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 138 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
I’m sure you’ve heard of pioneers. Let’s web all the things that come to our minds when we think of pioneers. Who might be considered pioneers today? Who are immigrants?
Pioneers are often thought of as those people who venture into unknown or unclaimed territory or who like to explore or create new things. All of us are going to be pioneers this year as we explore the state we live in, how it looks now and how it looked before white people came. Pioneers often relied on guides or trail bosses to help them on their journeys. We are going to guide one another. In order to be a guide, one needs to know directions.
Label the north wall of the classroom with a “North” sign. Have students stand and face north. Explain that when they face north, south will be behind them, east will be to their right, and west will be to their left. After facing each of the directions, have the students face the direction you call out in a random order. End up with the children facing west. Explain that this is the direction the American pioneers traveled and the direction the class will travel as they move across the state of Iowa. You could also have the children take turns being the “trail boss” and play a game similar to “Simon Says,” i.e., “take three baby steps south,” “turn to the north,” etc.
To start our journey, we’re going to need some information. We will start by reading these books. Each of you will be assigned one of the following books to read for Guided Reading: Buffalo Bill: Frontier Daredevil, Molly’s Pilgrim, Sod Houses on the Great Plains, Sweetwater Run, The Cabin Faced West, Sarah Plain and Tall. To help us guide one another on our journey, we’ll keep a Question Diary. In it you’ll record questions about what you’ve read to ask your classmates that will help them understand life as a pioneer. Post the Guiding Questions so that students can refer to them as well.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 139 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
City State Meaning
Example: Bettendorf Iowa Unit of Government
Grade 3 Guided Reading 140 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sharing the Theme Name ______Book ______
As you read your book, respond to the following questions.
Describe the main character in your book. How did the people in your book interact with the environment?
What conflicts happened in your book? How did people cooperate in your book?
How did the people in your book change? How did the environment described in your book affect the people and how they lived?
What changes did the people in your book What happened in your book when two very have to make when they decided to migrate? different cultures met for the first time?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 141 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Grade 3 Guided Reading 142 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Bill Frontier Daredevil
Synopsis The book concentrates on the boyhood of Bill Cody, Pony Express rider, scout, showman, and buffalo hunter.
Author Augusta Stevenson
Introduction Ask students if any have visited the Cody home or know anything about Buffalo Bill Cody. Look at the pictures on the cover. What can they tell about Buffalo Bill from the pictures? Explain that this is a biography about Buffalo Bill that tells mostly about his childhood. Ask them to make a list of adventures they have had. As they read this book, keep a log of adventures Buffalo Bill had at the same age.
Reading
Pages 11-24: Trade with the Kickapoos Bill and his father take a supply wagon to Salt Creek Valley to trade with the Indians in a nearby Kickapoo village. Four squaws come and trade furs for many things. Bill’s father was certain that four red wool blankets would be the first to be bought, but they weren’t. Instead, the squaws asked him to save them for their chief. It is such a successful day that Mr. Cody hopes to build a trading post on the site and Bill hopes he will trade for an Indian pony for him.
Key Concept: trading
Vocabulary: Isaac, Kickapoo, yoke, tethered, merchandise, Leavenworth, Weston, Missouri, anxiously, Elijah, scalp, affectionately, squaws, calico, marten, bargain
Grade 3 Guided Reading 143 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 25-38: The Red Blankets When Bill and his father turn in for the night, his father keeps his gun close. He tells Bill that there are some men who would steal everything they have. The next morning, Mr. Cody goes hunting while Bill cleans the camp. Two white men come and steal the blankets. Bill makes careful note of the footprints. Later, two braves come and say they are to pick up the blankets. Bill tells them what has happened. He rides with them and they find the white men and get the blankets back. Mr. Cody returns and Bill tells him the events of the morning. Shortly, Chief Black Wolf and his daughter come for the blankets. The braves were not his, but belong to a neighboring tribe. The chief leaves and Mr. Cody thinks he won’t be trading with him any more.
Key Concepts: details, deceit
Vocabulary: motioned, pistol, threateningly, hobbled, savagely, suspicious, intently, instep, “Ku”
Pages 39-51: The Singing Trappers The next day, a wagon train stopped in the valley and bought everything the Codys had left. Later, a band of trappers comes into the valley. Bill and his father visit them. One of the young trappers is Bill’s cousin who decides to leave with them for Leavenworth the next morning. Mr. Cody told the trappers the story of the red blankets. The trappers knew the three braves who had taken the blankets. They decide to get the blankets back. They set off and soon find the braves. They give the blankets back and Mr. Cody, Bill, and Horace set off to take them to the chief.
Key Concepts: mischief, good will
Vocabulary: courage, valuable, Horace Billings
Pages 52-70: On the Great Plains The Codys and Horace return to the Cody farm with the Indian pony Chief Black Wolf had given him the day they took the blankets to the chief. Some soldiers come back and ask Horace to help catch a herd of cavalry horses. He agrees to help and asks to take Bill with him. While they search the plains for the horses, Horace teaches Bill about scouting, mapping, and observing. They come across a huge prairie dog village. Bill learns a great deal
Key Concepts: perseverance, knowledge
Vocabulary: spurs, stirrups, Sergeant Love, Corporal Hood, stampeded, lasso, government, plainsman, consent, captured, Kit Carson, parched
Grade 3 Guided Reading 144 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 71-87: Salt Creek Valley Many settlers came to Weston. They wanted to settle in Salt Creek Valley. To do so, they had to stake a claim. Bill made friends with two of the boys. He told them about his adventures on the Plains. Jake Smith, whose father is an enemy of Mr. Cody, tries to bully Bill and his friends. Mr. Cody won the run and staked his claim. Mr. Smith threatens to run him out. The Codys start to build their cabin. Bill makes friends with three Indian boys. Then Bill gets the measles. His friends send their medicine man to make him better.
Key Concepts: friends, conflict, communication
Vocabulary: claim, patrolled, Charlie and Tommy Pavey, oblige, gravely, ferryboats, marshal, posse, beckoned
Pages 88-103: Horse Thieves The Cody homestead prospered. Then Abel Smith bought the adjoining farm. Jake Smith threatens Bill, but Bill summons nearby Indians who take him home. Trouble begins to hit the Cody homestead and their neighbors. People begin to move away. Smith and his men stop Mr. Cody and he is wounded. He moves away, but still Smith wants him dead. Bill makes a dangerous journey to warn his father that trouble is coming. The men spot him, but he escapes in a thunderstorm. Mr. Cody and Bill left the Falls for Lawrence, Kansas.
Key Concepts: revenge, lawlessness
Vocabulary: adjoining, splendid, ravine, permission, sneered, whooped, trampled, revenge, deliberately, cautious, ruffians
Pages 104-119: Freighting West Bill takes a job as a cavy boy with a freight company taking supplies to forts out west. His father died while hiding from Smith and his men. His mother has no money. He needs the wages even though he is only eleven years old.
Key Concepts: determination, “personal best”
Vocabulary: freight, ammunition, wheelwrights, cavy drivers, brayed, lowed, stammered, Fort Kearney
Grade 3 Guided Reading 145 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 120-133: In School and Out With the money that Bill has earned, Mrs. Cody can send the three oldest children to school now that one has been started in Salt Creek Valley. Bill is not happy about going to school. At the last minute, the teacher does not come, so Bill leaves with the freight train again. The trip is hard and Bill doesn’t return for four months. When he returns, he has earned $160 and has lots of adventures and hardships to share. Now Bill can go to school. The teacher dreads getting him as much as Bill dreads going until he meets Bill. They make a deal. Bill wants to learn to write his name; the teacher wants him to study other things, too. Learning to write his name only gets Bill into trouble when he writes it on Abel Smith’s door. Once again Bill leaves on a freight train to escape Smith.
Key Concepts: learning, adventure, responsibility
Vocabulary: seized, liable, “nick of time”
Pages 134-152: At Old Fort Laramie On his next trip out, Bill spends some time at Fort Laramie. While there, he learns sign language and valuable information about the plains and the Indians from Kit Carson. Bill meets and plays with the son of the Sioux chief and saves his life. One night on guard duty, Bill is bound and gagged by a deserting troop. He feels badly that he was the one on guard. He learns more about listening for noises from Kit Carson, about tracking from the Sioux boys, and about shooting and riding from the cavalrymen.
Key Concepts: diversity, trust, knowledge
Vocabulary: sentries, provisions, cavalry, sympathized, Sioux
Pages 153-167: Trapping Adventure Bill finally gets back home and has decided to go west and hunt beaver with his friend Dave Harrington. Bill learns more things about the land from Dave. Their hunting is good, but they have setbacks. A bear kills one of their oxen and Bill falls and breaks his leg. He stays in their dugout while Dave goes for help. Indians come intending to kill him, but it is the father of the Sioux boy that Bill had once saved. They take his supplies and Bill is forced to stay awake much of the night to keep his fire going. Wolves are also attracted to the dugout. Bill decides two things: one, to stay at settlements from now on, and two, to go back to school. Dave finally makes it back.
Key Concept: survival
Vocabulary: trembled _
Grade 3 Guided Reading 146 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 168-181: The Pony Express On April 3, 1860, the Pony Express is begun. Bill became a rider when he was only fourteen years old. He set a Pony Express record that was never broken. Indians did not want the Pony Express to go through. They drove off the extra horses at every station. After they are recovered, the route starts running again. Bill is one of its favorite riders. He knows why he is lucky; he is never off guard.
Key Concepts: progress, trouble
Vocabulary: mustangs
Pages 182-192: Buffalo Bill After working on the Pony Express, Bill worked for the railroad supplying the workers with buffalo meat. He was twenty-one years old at the time. Later Bill formed a Wild West Show so that people would know what the West was like. Before that, though, he was a scout for the army. Even though he wasn’t an officer, people called him Colonel just to honor him.
Key Concepts: fame, history
Vocabulary: General Phil Sheridan, immense, civilian, colonel, dandy, modest, boasted
Grade 3 Guided Reading 147 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Summarizing and Predicting Have students summarize each chapter in a learning log and identify the skill or characteristics that Bill demonstrated.
Connecting Have students write an essay comparing a young boy’s life today to the life of young Buffalo Bill. What things are the same? What things are different? Are the characteristics required different or the same in different time periods for boys to be successful and to learn?
Drawing Conclusions - Have students defend or condemn the actions of the Indians who found Buffalo Bill when he was alone in the dugout with a broken leg. - Have students write an essay about what made Buffalo Bill so popular throughout his life.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 148 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Assign students one or more chapters to skim through and locate words that begin with a consonant r blend. The following are examples from the story.
Consonant r Blends tr pr dr cr br gr fr trader prettiest driver’s creek broke grassy frontier trail prairie drills crows bring graze fright trade pretty dried-up crept brass green friendly traveled presently drink crashed bridle grabbed friend travel prints dream cross brought great frightened trouble Prince driving crowd braves gravely frying tribe protect drum cruel breakfast grain front trust promised drenched crew broad gray frightful trying practiced driven creep brook grizzly freight trampled proud dread brushed grateful frozen trick proudest brush grass freeze track provisions branch grazing train pry brown grunted trappers preparations broken gracious trotting print bringing trout princes breeze
Grade 3 Guided Reading 149 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Bill Frontier Daredevil
Name ______
There are many words that begin with consonant-r. Find as many as you can in the story text and write them in the correct columns below.
Consonant r Blends
tr pr dr cr br gr fr
Grade 3 Guided Reading 150 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Bill Frontier Daredevil
Name ______
Each chapter in this book tells about an event in Buffalo Bill’s life. Record them in the chart below.
Chapter Bill’s Age Event What Bill Learned Trade with the Kickapoos
The Red Blankets
The Singing Trappers
On the Great Plains
Salt Creek Valley
Horse Thieves
Freighting West
Grade 3 Guided Reading 151 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Buffalo Bill Frontier Daredevil Part II
Name ______
Each chapter in this book tells about an event in Buffalo Bill’s life. Record them in the chart below.
Chapter Bill’s Age Event What Bill Learned In School and Out
At Old Fort Laramie
Trapping Adventure
The Pony Express
Buffalo Bill
Grade 3 Guided Reading 152 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Molly’s Pilgrim
Synopsis A Jewish girl and her family move to America from Russia. After living in New York City for a while, they move to Winter Hill. The girls make fun of Molly and everything about her. When the teacher gives an assignment to make a pilgrim and bring it to school, Molly knows there will be trouble when her mother dresses the pilgrim up like Molly. This doll changes the way some children look at Molly and how Molly sees herself. The word pilgrim takes on a whole new meaning in this book.
Author Barbara Cohen was born on March 15, 1932. She was raised as a Jewish girl in a town where “ethnic, racial and religious prejudices did not lie deep beneath the affable surface.” She knew she wanted to be a writer from an early age. She was an English teacher and had three daughters. All of her writing has been for children and young adults except for a newspaper column she wrote. She has won many awards. She lived in Somerville, New Jersey. She died in1992 from cancer. She knew that all writing comes from her own experience and she tries to control it. After finishing a book, she would feel that it had been written by a stranger rather than by her, because of the imagination used in it.
Introduction Since this book takes place around Thanksgiving time, that is probably when the teacher will want to use it. The teacher could start out by asking the students what a pilgrim looks like. After the discussion, a student could be asked to look up the definition of a pilgrim in the dictionary. When that definition is read, the teacher could ask if that changes the description of what a pilgrim looks like. The introduction should include some background information about how a Jewish family would be treated in Russia at the time of the Cossacks, why it was necessary for them to flee Russia to avoid having their synagogues burned down, and that Russia did not allow Jewish girls to go to school. After the discussion, the students could read the story.
Reading
Section 1: Pages 1-13 Molly is upset because the girls at school tease her about her speech and how she looks. When Molly gets home, she tries to get her mother to say they can move back to New York City or to Russia. Her mother explains to Molly why they can’t move and says she will go to school to talk to the teacher about the teasing.
Key Concepts: adaptability, intimidation
Vocabulary: Shaynkeit, Yiddish, Oi, Malkeleh, tenement, Goradusk, Cossacks, paskudnyaks
Grade 3 Guided Reading 153 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Section 2: Pages 14-27 Molly quickly tells her mother not to go to school because she is embarrassed that she doesn’t talk like or look like other mothers. Nothing changes at school until the class starts a new story one day. The teacher calls on Molly to read and she stumbles on the word Thanksgiving. The teacher tells Molly it is a hard word if you haven’t seen it before. The children take turns reading. The children were each given the assignment of making a pilgrim doll at home and bringing it in the next morning. Molly had to explain to her mom what a pilgrim was. Her mom made the pilgrim look like Molly.
Key Concepts: understanding, creativity
Vocabulary: corkscrew, embroidered
Section 3: Pages 28-41 Molly took the doll to school because it was too late to make another one. Molly hid her doll because she was afraid the other children would make fun of it. When Elizabeth made fun of it, the teacher thought that Molly had not understood the assignment. Molly explained that her mother was a pilgrim for religious freedom. Miss Stickley explained to the class that Thanksgiving came from a Jewish festival. Molly decided that her doll was the most beautiful and that her mother could come to school.
Key Concepts: understanding, reward
Vocabulary: taunted, Sukkos
Grade 3 Guided Reading 154 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sod Houses on the Great Plains
Synopsis The first homesteaders to settle on the Great Plains did not have trees available to build their cabins. They had to learn to adapt to the surroundings so they learned how to build sod houses. This book describes how the sod houses were built. It also lists some of the positives and negatives about these houses.
Author Glen Rounds was born in 1906. He grew up in Montana and South Dakota on ranches. He traveled all over the United States doing any job he could find for work. Writing and illustrating books was something he said was accidental. He lived in Southern Pines, North Carolina with his wife.
Introduction This book could be introduced with a group discussion about houses. The students could be asked to describe what a house is. This discussion could include the types of building materials used today to build a house such as bricks, wood, etc. Also included in the discussion could be the many types of houses people live in such as single-family houses, apartment buildings, condos, duplexes, trailers, etc. The discussion should include talking about how and why houses are different in different parts of the country. The discussion leader should bring out the fact that buildings along the coasts need to withstand hurricanes and buildings in the middle of the country need to withstand tornadoes so the requirements for the building of a house in these different parts of the country might be different. As part of the group discussion, the leader would need to ask the students how houses are different now from during the homesteading time. This would then lead into reading the book.
Reading
Pages1-6 The homesteaders on the Great Plains had no trees to build homes, so they pitched tents or used their wagons. This temporary shelter could not stand up to the violent winds and thunderstorms. When they plowed up the sod, they discovered that it could be used for building material.
Key Concepts: homesteaders, frontiers, Plains
Vocabulary: Kansas, Nebraska, Dakotas, suitable, temporary, living quarters, violent, flimsy, material
Pages 7-14 They used the sod bricks to build the sides of the homes. Roofs were made by laying hay and weeds on ridge poles and then covering it with 4-6 inches of dirt.
Key Concepts: resources, construction
Vocabulary: stakes, height, ridge pole, sifting
Grade 3 Guided Reading 155 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 15- 22 There were disadvantages to these homes. Grass grew on the floor. They were small and dark. The dirt roofs leaked. Wildlife such as snakes and mice could get in.
Key Concept: dimension
Vocabulary: cramped, disadvantage, housekeeping, uninvited, burrowed, occasionally
Pages 23-29 The sod houses were cheap to build and safe from fires. Sometimes the settlers dug back into a hillside and then only had to build a front wall and dirt roof. The disadvantage was the chance that a horse or cow might walk on the roof. Grass and flowers growing on the house indicated how long it had been there. Some lasted four or five years until lumber could be found. Some were repaired and used even longer.
Key Concepts:
Vocabulary: dugout, unusual, florist’s shop, “soddie,” available, conventional
Grade 3 Guided Reading 156 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Sequencing Make a list or draw a storyboard of the steps in building a sod house.
Main Idea Explain the Somebody-Wanted-But-So strategy to students if they are not familiar with it. Somebody identifies a major character. The character is followed by the word wanted which identifies the problem. But gives the difficulties encountered in solving the problem and so gives the solution.
Somebody-Wanted-But-So The settlers wanted a place to live, but there weren’t any trees to build houses to they used sod “bricks” instead.
Noting Details Make a list of the advantages of a sod house. Make a list of the disadvantages of a sod house.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why did the homesteaders settle on the Plains? 2. Why would log cabins be better homes than sod houses? 3. What would be the most difficult part about building a sod house? 4. What other problems did homesteaders face living on the Plains?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 157 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
R-Controlled Vowels When the letter r follows a vowel, it changes the sound of the vowel as shown in these examples from the story.
ar or ir ur er started thunderstorms first turned shelters starting before dirt burrowed discovered mark corners burned other larger door oversized tar floor together horse paper more settlers florist’s water overhead lumber
Grade 3 Guided Reading 158 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Advantages and Disadvantages of Sod Houses
Name ______
Advantages of Sod Houses Disadvantages of Sod Houses
Grade 3 Guided Reading 159 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sweetwater Run
Synopsis This book is a story based on the Pony Express and how it worked to transport mail across the country. The story is written in the first person. The story takes place around the time the country is waiting for the results of the presidential election between Abraham Lincoln and Douglas. The Pony Express was trying to get the news across the country from Washington D.C. to California in ten days. One of the “pony boys” was Buffalo Bill Cody as a child. The book has a map in the front and back of the book showing the route the Pony Express used and a note on the Pony Express and Buffalo Bill Cody’s life. It does note he was born in Iowa.
Author Andrew Glass was the author and illustrator of the book. He lives in New York City and has written and illustrated many books. He has also illustrated books for other authors.
Introduction Since Buffalo Bill Cody was born so close to Bettendorf, the teacher might want to start off by asking how many students have ever visited Buffalo Bill Cody’s home near Scott County Park’s Pioneer Village. The students could discuss what they know about him and why he is famous. Then, the teacher could ask what the students know about the Pony Express. The discussion could include what it was, where it ran, why it quite running, how it got mail across the country, etc. The students and teacher could look at the map on the inside cover of the book and talk about how long the Pony Express route was and how much territory this book is going to cover. After that, the students could start reading.
Reading
Section 1: Pages 1-12 In the first section, the main character is trying to find a good paying job to help support his mom and sisters. He is thirteen years old. He answers a notice posted for young boys to work. He thinks he can make a lot of money this way. Bill Hickok stands up for him and he is hired as a stablehand for the Pony Express. His job is to clean off the horses, feed them, bed them down, and have them ready for the next runner when he gets there. The boys sleep in the barn. One day there is excitement as the presidential election results are to be carried across the country. As the main character eats breakfast, the family talks about how the election could lead to Civil War. The stablehand then goes out to get the horse ready for the runner who is coming.
Key Concept: determination
Vocabulary: puny, lad, run, parched, stablehand, sorely, irregardless lollygagging, bunked, mochila, griddlecake
Grade 3 Guided Reading 160 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Section 2: Pages 13-26 The Pony Express rider has been injured when he gets to the Deer Creek Station so the main character must take over and ride. This section tells about the ride and what happens during the ride.
Key Concept: Determination
Vocabulary: bona fide, lashed, spent, mustang, endure, precise, recollected, depraved, stirrup
Section 3: Pages 27-39 Mr. Slade realized that the stablehand had done a good job and should be rewarded so he gave him a job riding for the Pony Express and changed the name of the run he made to the Sweetwater Run. The story tells how the telegraph lines stretched out across the country so the Pony Express was no longer needed and how the West changed. After the Pony Express no longer is running, Buffalo Bill joined the Civil War to help Kansas. He also helped the people after the war to hunt food such as buffalos. That is how he got his name. After that job, Buffalo Bill built a Wild West Show to travel around. The last four pages of this section are author’s notes about the Pony Express and Buffalo Bill’s life.
Key Concept: finality, determination
Vocabulary: limp, wobbly, gentleman’s sport, slaughter, profane, oath, carbine, cantinas, ambushed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 161 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Cabin Faced West
Synopsis Ten-year-old Ann overcomes loneliness and learns to appreciate the importance of her role in settling the wilderness of western Pennsylvania.
Author Jean Fritz was born in Hangkow, China. She has written a number of books with historical themes.
Review Booklist “A satisfying story which conveys some of the loneliness, despair, and hardships of pioneer life” from the recipient of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for “substantial and lasting contribution to children's literature.”
Introduction Read the letter from Jean Fritz on the inside front page. Then have the students notice all the details on the front cover including the notation that the book is the winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. Most of the students should be familiar with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Ask them what kinds of books might be the recipients of that award. Discuss the characteristics of historical fiction. · It must tell an interesting story. · It must balance fact with fiction. · It must be accurate and authentic in tone, attitudes, values, depiction of daily life, and behavior of the time. · It must not contradict the actual historical record. · It must, as much as possible, use authentic language. It should be noted that some words may be offensive to today’s audiences but are reflective of the period in which the selection is set. · It should illuminate the problems of today by examining those of other times.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 162 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Reading
Chapter One: Pages 9-17 Ten-year-old Ann Hamilton and her family have moved west from Gettysburg for a better life. When their cabin was completed, Ann’s two older brothers made a rule that no one will find fault with the West—that’s where they have cast their lot. Ann knew she complained too much, but the day the rule was made she stopped. Her biggest complaint was that between her cabin and the next settlement there were only boys and babies. Ann keeps her special things on the top log just under the sleeping loft, which juts out a little. She has a little brown book that her Cousin Margaret gave her just before they left in which she writes down what she’s thinking and doing. Ann hates two words: some day. They seem to be used a lot to satisfy what hasn’t been done or what the Hamiltons don’t have now that they had before.
Key Concepts: pioneers, change
Vocabulary: hesitated, squatters, makeshift, hearth, Johnny-cake, Gettysburg, Semanthie, possession, Cousin Margaret
Chapter Two: Pages 18-28 Ann likes the road on her father’s hill best; it’s just a feeling she has. She has a favorite sitting spot at the side of the road where she goes to write in her diary. Today, the new squatter boy, Andy McPhale, is in the tree above her. Andy asks Ann where she learned to write. When she tells him back home in Gettysburg, he tells her she may be good at letters, but her geography’s poor. Her home is now in the Western Country. When Ann looks like she might cry, he apologizes. Ann just can’t figure him out. Andy finally tells Ann that his ma sent him “to tell Mrs. Hamilton she’s feelin’ poorly.” Ann thinks he is one of the worst boys she has ever known.
Key Concepts: neighbors, differences
Vocabulary: tangled, linsey, obedient, Alleghenies, scalp, impishness, mockery, exasperation
Grade 3 Guided Reading 163 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter Three: Pages 29-41 Ann hears her family talk about the McPhales. Daniel tells them Mr. McPhale doesn’t believe in planting, and Mrs. Hamilton says he leaves them for days at a time without enough to eat. “No account—that’s what they are.” The next morning, Mrs. Hamilton says she is returning to the McPhales with some supplies. Ann can pick peas and watch the baby. The men are going to the fields. As Ann shells the peas, Andy stops by to show Ann that he has killed a wild turkey with just a sling shot. Ann gets him a knife so Andy can clean it before he takes it to his mother. After he is finished, he begins arranging the pea pods. Ann notices that he has made an A. He seems interested and she offers to teach him the letters and how to write. When she asks him why his family doesn’t plant, Andy is offended. When Ann goes inside, she discovers she has let the fire go out—the worst thing that could happen. Just then the baby wakes up, too. When she goes outside, Andy is gone. Ann decides she’ll have to take the baby and walk to Uncle John’s to borrow some fire.
Key Concepts: accomplishment, failure
Vocabulary: notion, swagger, tinkering, desperation, tinderbox
Chapter Four: Pages 42-58 The trip to Uncle John’s carrying the baby and the iron pot for the fire is harder than Ann had imagined. She stops to rest at her favorite spot in the road. A rider comes. He is so kind and friendly that Ann tells him everything. He tells her his name is Arthur Scott of Lancaster County and that they had better go build a fire. He lifts them all onto his horse, takes them up the hill, and lights the fire. He tells Ann it can be their secret if she will put his name in the pot for dinner. She feels so good that she hopes it can be a party day, but her mother says no— that Mr. Scott would probably think it foolish to set a fancy table on a Monday noon. The men talk politics at the dinner table and Ann is bored until Arthur mentions Valley Forge. Then she does the unthinkable and interrupts. When she does it again later, Daniel makes some disparaging remarks about Eastern girls who lose their manners when they come west. David showers him with a pail of cold water; Daniel has broken the rule.
Key Concepts: help, news, connection
Vocabulary: curtsy, conspirators, wonders, politics, Valley Forge, scowling, General Washington, peter out, thunderous, cringed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 164 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter Five: Pages 59-71 Arthur Scott is looking for land in the neighborhood, and the Hamiltons invite him to stay with them while he looks. When Ann asks him why he came to settle here, he has the same look her father and brothers have. Andy hasn’t been around since Arthur has. When Arthur leaves for several weeks, Andy stops by with a piece of venison, a thank you for their help in the past. He tells them that the family will be moving on soon; going back where they came from. Mr. Hamilton asks Andy if he and his father would like to help them with the work on the hill as long as they’re around in return for fresh vegetables and milk. Andy wants to work in exchange for writing lessons. Ann notices a change in Andy as he works for the Hamiltons and on his writing. Finally, Arthur has his land and leaves to go back and get his father. The days are lonely again. Ann records her thoughts in her diary. Andy writes good ridence in the dirt.
Key Concepts: pride, separation
Vocabulary: stake, proposition, defiance, gaiety
Chapter Six: Pages 72-83 Ann discovers that her diary is missing. She thinks her brother David is playing a joke on her and has hidden it. Suddenly, she starts to cry; she wants a girl to talk to and a girl to play with. She decides to have a tea party in the woods with her doll. She wants it to be special and, since she has outgrown her Gettysburg shoes, she decides to take two of her mother’s lavender china plates. Ann sets a glorious table in the woods, but when she sees her mother coming, she knows she will be in trouble for taking the china. Instead, her mother sits down and they have tea. When dinner is late that night, Mrs. Hamilton tells the men that sometimes there are more important things to do than an hour’s work or dinner on time.
Key Concepts: mother, priorities
Vocabulary: ploughing, flax field, fashionable, glowering, decisively
Chapter Seven: Pages 84-101 Everything goes better after the tea party, but David hasn’t given Ann back her diary. He does take her riding one evening and shows her where they’re going to build a church. The next day is a queer day; the weather seems ominous. Andy comes by and tells her that they’re going back East when her Uncle John does for supplies, but that they’re coming back in the spring to plant. His pa has decided that a farm isn’t such a bad idea. When Andy suggests that she go back East, too, just for a visit, she tells him she couldn’t, but that maybe she’ll ask. The sky gets darker. Everyone works to gather in as much of the corn, peas, and other crops as they can. Mr. Hamilton sends Andy and his father down to bring his family up to the cabin. Ann keeps picking peas until the last possible moment. Her mother tells her she doesn’t know what she’d do without one girl on Hamilton Hill. Later, Ann tells Andy she’s not even going to ask. After the storm, Mr. Hamilton thanks God for His mercy.
Key Concepts: changes, gratitude
Vocabulary: Doane gang, puny, frail, calico, possessions, flimsy, tattered
Grade 3 Guided Reading 165 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter Eight: Pages 102-122 Uncle John and the McPhales leave after they have cleaned up after the storm. Ann finds a note from Andy telling her where her diary is. He explains that he was mad at her. He has made a new deerskin cover for it. When Ann reads what she wrote, she decides it isn’t like a frontier diary at all. She had written about what she was missing in the East. Everything she did that day went wrong. Her mother suggests she go down the road and try to find some grapes. She wanders farther down the road than she had intended. When she hears hoofbeats, she tries to hide. The rider, though, asks her if she knows what her mother is having for dinner that night. When she looks at the man, she instantly knows that he is someone special. The man asks her to tell her mother that General George Washington would like to take supper with her. Ann rides up the hill on Dr. Craik’s horse. He tells her that Washington has land in Washington County. He bought land here because he believes in this part of the country. Ann sets the table with the linen tablecloth and the lavender flowered plates. It is a wonderful meal and Ann is in a daze. When Washington tells her that he envies her because she will see this country develop, she finds herself realizing that she does love this Western Country. The second wonderful event of the day is a letter from Margaret. George Washington enters the event in his diary; Ann enters it in hers.
Key Concepts: future, promise
Vocabulary: General Washington, dignified, persuaded
A Postscript from the Author: Pages 123-124 The diary entry mentioned in Chapter 8 was actually taken from Washington’s diary. Ann may or may not have kept a diary. There really was an Ann Hamilton (who was the author’s great-great-grandmother), a David, a Daniel, Mrs. And Mrs. Hamilton, Uncle John, Margaret, and an Arthur Scott. Ann married Arthur when she grew up. Hamilton Hill is now known as Ginger Hill and the little church is really there.
Key Concepts: research, historical fiction
Vocabulary:
Grade 3 Guided Reading 166 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension Skills
Cause and Effect Give the effect and have the students write the cause, have students list several events and what caused them, or use a graphic organizer. If you give the beginning up to the word because, it is important to remember that there are often several answers that are correct. Share the responses from time to time to broaden the students’ understanding and to encourage divergent thinking.
n None of the Hamiltons could complain about the West because n The Hamiltons moved west because n Andy teased Ann because n Andy was proud of the wild turkey he got for his family because n The fire went out in the fireplace because n The McPhales weren’t doing so well in the Western Country because n Arthur Scott stayed with the Hamiltons for awhile because n Daniel got showered with a pail of cold water because n Father gave thanks after the storm because n Ann didn’t even ask to go back East for a visit because n Andy made a deerskin cover for Ann’s diary because n General George Washington was in the Western Country because
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why did Ann hate the phrase some day? 2. Why did Ann think that Andy McPhale was the worst boy she has ever known? 3. Why did Ann offer to teach Andy his letters and how to write? 4. Why did Ann like Arthur Scott so much? 5. Why didn’t Arthur Scott tell the Hamiltons about the fire going out? 6. Why did Daniel get upset when Ann asked Arthur Scott several questions? 7. Why were men like the Hamiltons and Arthur Scott drawn to the West? 8. What was the hardest part about being a pioneer in the new country? 9. Why didn’t Andy like Arthur Scott? 10. Why didn’t Ann’s mother get angry with her for taking the china outside to play with?
Compare and Contrast Use a Venn Diagram or a T-Chart to compare Ann and Andy.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 167 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis Skills
Period Speech Patterns Write the following words/phrases/sentences on the chalkboard or white board. Explain that this kind of speech is often associated with uneducated people from that time period. Figure out the standard English for each.
Page 22: playin’ scared ya Page 24: eddicated learnin’ Page 25: ain’t “Your home is right spang here, in the Western Country…” Pages 27-28: “…my ma sent me to tell Mrs. Hamilton she’s feelin’ poorly. She’d take it as a favor if Mrs. Hamilton would come and sit with her.”
Similes A simile compares two objects or actions and usually joins them with as or like.
Page 24: …his dark hair was long and shaggy and as untouched-looking as forest undergrowth Page 25: …he was acting like a rooster begging for a fight and now he was hanging his head like a whipped dog Page 46: The young man threw back his head and laughed, his freckles dancing like spots of sunlight. Page 107: Today there was a grandness to the road, as though it were a carpet unfurling over the hill before some glorious secret. Page 107: A wild goose dipped low, honking, from the sky, like a herald sent ahead with news.
Metaphors A metaphor is simply an analogy or an expression of comparison. Unlike the simile, the metaphor does not use as or like.
Page 32: …every day of sunshine was gold in your pockets Page 34: Now they [peas] marched right across Hamilton Hill to where the trees began! Page 39: He reminded Ann of a cat who has had his fur rubbed the wrong way. Page 69: Ann had the sensation that the hill was an island floating father and father away from the rest of the world.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 168 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Cabin Faced West
Name ______
Record the events in Ann’s life that are told in The Cabin Faced West and the people she met.
What Happened to Ann or What She Did People in Ann’s Life Chapter 1 Ann and her family moved to the Western Country Mr. & Mrs. Hamilton, Daniel, David, from Gettysburg. Johnny, Uncle John and Aunt Mary
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Postscript
Grade 3 Guided Reading 169 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Advantages and Disadvantages of Being a Pioneer in the Western Country
Name ______
Include the advantages and disadvantages that Ann experienced, but also think beyond just those specifically mentioned in the story.
Advantages Disadvantages of Being a Pioneer in the Western Country of Being a Pioneer in the Western Country
Grade 3 Guided Reading 170 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
The Cabin Faced West Venn Diagram
Name ______
Compare Ann and Andy.
Different
Alike
Different
Grade 3 Guided Reading 171 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Grade 3 Guided Reading 172 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Theme: Realistic Fiction Busybody Nora, The Boxcar Children, Hannah, Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear, J. T., Switcharound
Generalizations Individuals change over time. Individuals are unique physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. Individual perceptions may create conflict. Friendship requires caring. Families share common elements and possess unique characteristics. Family and community members have responsibilities. Families are systems.
Concepts Change Constancy Diversity Commonality
Guiding Questions How are individuals alike and how are they different? Why are individuals different? Why do individuals change over time? What common elements do families share? What creates change in a family? What is a family? What responsibilities do family and community members have? What are the characteristics of a friend? What creates conflict between family or community members? Why is a family a system? How does a system support its membership?
Introducing the Theme Begin a discussion about how class members are like and how they are different. Talk about how their past experiences contribute to different perceptions and beliefs which may lead to conflict.
Have each student write a short essay on families. Analyze all of the different “family” structures there are.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 173 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Sharing the Theme Name ______Book ______
As you read your book, respond to the following questions.
Describe the relationships between the Describe the differences between the characters in your book. characters in your book.
Describe the commonalities between the Choose one of the characters in your book characters in your book. and describe his or her responsibilities.
What conflicts occurred in your book? Choose one character and describe how they changed during the story.
What things remained constant in your story? Choose one character and tell why you liked or didn’t like that character.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 174 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
J.T.
Synopsis From the Publisher To the guys on the block, J.T. is the kid who stole the radio out of the red convertible before they could get to it. His neighbor, Mrs. Morris, declares him a first-class nuisance. His mother is bewildered -- "He's just gone bad, that's all.... Stealin' and lyin' and I don't know what all." But all the sensitivity, responsibility, and care of which ten-year-old J.T. Gamble is capable emerges when he finds an old, one-eyed, badly hurt alley cat. J.T. takes on a new dimension as he lavishes all the love he is unable to express to people around him on the battered cat he has found in the junk-filled empty lot.
Author Jane Wagner
Introduction Look at the pictures on the first thirty pages. Talk about where the story takes place and what is happening in the pictures. Read aloud a section of dialogue. Talk about how the words represent speech, but are not standard English. Compare the scenes in the neighborhood in the story to your school neighborhood.
Reading
Pages 10-19 J.T. steals a transistor radio from a red convertible before Claymore and Boomer can. They chase him, but don’t catch him. They leave, shouting threats. J.T. “radioed” himself to sleep that night.
Key Concept: urban life
Vocabulary: J.T., transistor, leatherette, Claymore, Boomer, tenement, bugalooed, “cop”
Pages 20-29 Mama accuses J.T. of stealing the radio and tells him she won’t contribute to anything stolen, i.e., buy batteries. She reminds him that Mama Melcy is coming to town on the bus and that he is to meet her at four thirty sharp. Mama also talks with J.T. about not turnin’ bad like his daddy. On his way to school, Claymore and Boomer jump him by Mr. Rosen’s grocery story.
Key Concepts: honesty, communication
Vocabulary: liable, transistorized, dawdlin’, Mama Melcy
Grade 3 Guided Reading 175 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Grade 3 Guided Reading 176 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 30-41 J.T. runs away from Claymore and Boomer when Mr. Rosen distracts them. While running away, he trips over a rock, falls, and looks up to see an old, hurt alley cat. J.T. leaves for school, but can’t stop thinking about the cat and takes his sandwich and some milk to the cat at noon. Instead of going back to school in the afternoon, he uses the trash in the house being torn down to build a shelter for the cat.
Key Concept: caring
Vocabulary: composition, inspiration, Rembrandt, convulsively, rummage, Venetian, masonite, asphalt, desperate, intensity
Pages 42-52 J.T.’s shelter for the cat is “strangely beautiful.” He names the cat, Bones, because he is so scraggly. Without realizing it, J.T. stays too long and forgets to meet Mama Melcy at the bus station. He hears his mama and her talking when he gets home and knows he is in trouble, but is glad to see Mama Melcy and hear his mama laugh, a phenomenon that doesn’t happen much any more.
Key Concepts architecture, responsibility
Vocabulary: circulate, scraggly, Base of Tranquility, string-beany
Pages 53-60 It is good to have Mama Melcy visit. She eases the tension between Mama and J.T. When Mama Melcy asks J.T. what he’d like for Christmas, he asks if he can have the cat. Mama reminds him the only animals allowed are rats. Later, J.T. sneaks out of the apartment and takes the radio to Bones.
Key Concept: caring
Vocabulary: tension, potlikker, contraption, Rodeen, determination, vibration, purr
Pages 61-73 (end of top paragraph) Mama sends J.T. to the store the next morning where she charges groceries. He asks for four cans of tuna in addition to the things Mama wrote down. Before he gets home, he stuffs the cans in his coat pockets. At home, he takes the can opener and then hurries to see Bones. He feeds him one of the cans of tuna. J.T. runs into Claymore and Boomer at school. They hold him under the soap dispenser in the bathroom so that the soap drips into J.T.’s eyes. When they hear the door open, they let him go and run away.
Key Concepts: lying, consequences
Vocabulary: magnetically, Mr. American Express Card, Feisty Pants, meticulously, jauntily
Grade 3 Guided Reading 177 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 73-83 J.T. makes an eyepatch for Bones and gets more tuna and some masking tape at the store. He doctors Bones’ cuts with some iodine. Rodeen (his mama) finds out about J.T.’s purchases of tuna. J.T. begins to skip school to make things for Bones’ house and to play with the cat.
Key Concept: choices
Vocabulary: eyepatch, peculiar, transaction, Ge gesundtei heit, heroic, iodine, reassure, distressed, mansion, magnificent, elegance, veterinarian, stethoscope
Pages 84-95 Mr. and Mrs. Rosen tell J. T. he can’t charge any more tuna and scold him for his bad behavior. J. T. decides to go to school to get food from the cafeteria. His teacher sees him and tells him he needs to stay after school and work on his composition. Mrs. Arnold finally lets him leave and he goes directly to see Bones. Boomer and Claymore are there and play keep away with the radio while swinging Bones back and forth. The radio sails through Mr. Rosen’s window and the two boys drop the cat and run away. A panicked Bones darts into the street and is run over by a car. J. T. picks up the cat’s broken body and carries him over to the little house. Mr. and Mrs. Rosen see the accident.
Key Concepts: responsibility, caring
Vocabulary: chupspa, fidgeting, concentrate, exasperated, agitated, cloakroom, squiggly, taunting
Pages 96-107 (break after top paragraph) The Rosens and Mama Melcy try to console J.T., but he runs away. They are awe-struck by the house he built for Bones. It helps them understand. Mama feels guilty for not letting J.T. bring the cat home. Mama Melcy tells J.T. he has just one life to live—what’s he going to do with it?
Key Concept: grief
Vocabulary: uncontrollably, valiant, antimacassar, puzzlement
Pages 107 (after break)-117 Mr. Rosen brings J.T. a stray kitten in a basket that also contains cans of tuna, a bag of kitty litter, and the radio. He tells them they can get the things the kitten needs from his store— no cost. J.T. refuses to acknowledge the kitten at first, but finally, when he can’t sleep, takes the kitten to bed with him.
Key Concepts: kindness, caring
Vocabulary: muffler, scrawny, contentedly
Grade 3 Guided Reading 178 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Pages 118-124 The next morning J.T. sees the red convertible outside his apartment. He runs back, gets the radio, and pushes it through the side window into the car. Mama Melcy and Mama watch from the window above and cry with joy that, “he gon’ be all right.” Boomer and Claymore also see him. Instead of running, J.T. walks down the street between them to Mr. Rosen’s store. He asks Mr. Rosen for a job which he gets.
Key Concept: hope
Vocabulary: jumbled _
Grade 3 Guided Reading 179 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Summarizing Have the students keep a learning log and summarize what happens in the story at the end of each section and predict what they think will happen next.
Cause and Effect Give the following statement fragments. Have the students finish the statements after the because. It is important to remember that there are often several answers that are correct. Share the responses from time to time to broaden the students’ understanding and to encourage divergent thinking.
n J.T. stole the radio because n J.T. met Mrs. Hill coming out of the bathroom because n J.T. went back to take the cat some food because n J.T. built the cat a house because n J.T. named the cat Bones because n Mama felt guilty about not letting J.T. have the cat because n Mr. and Mrs. Rosen wouldn’t let J.T. charge anything any more because n The teacher kept J.T.’s unfinished composition because n Mr. Rosen took J.T. a kitten because n Mrs. Rosen made Mr. Rosen wear the muffler because n Claymore and Boomer put soap in J.T.’s eyes because
Noting Details Using a T-Chart, have students compare J.T.’s life to their own using the following categories: family members, dwellings, school, shopping, food, sleeping arrangements, neighborhood, school mates, bad things that happened to each, etc.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. What did Mama mean when she said, “Seems like you been turnin’ bad since the day your daddy left. If you don’t watch out, you’re goin’ to be headed down the same wrong road he was.” 2. What did Mama Melcy mean when she said, “But you…what about you? You jes’ got one life to live. What are you gon’ do with it?” 3. What did J.T. learn from Bones’ death? 4. What made J.T. decide to return the radio? 5. Why did Mama Melcy tell the events that happened to her in a humorous way?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 180 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Speech Patterns Point out the dialogue between Mama Melcy and Rodeen—dropping final g’s on words, dropping final t’s on words; knowed instead of knew and other incorrect verb tenses.
Syllabication Write the first word in each group on the board and divide the word into syllables. Ask the students to figure out the pattern used to divide each of the words. Label the vowels and consonants to show the V/CV pattern. Guide students to realize that in multisyllabic words, if the first vowel sound is long, the word is divided after that vowel. Then label the vowels and consonants to show the VC/CV pattern. Lead students to realize that words with the VCCV pattern are divided into syllables between the consonants.
Vowel-Consonant-Vowell Vowel-Consonant-Consonant-Vowel music afford stolen better recent window secure under broken offer creature rummage driver supposed silence turnip later garbage focus admit relax corner paper counter moment subject
Multisyllabic Words Say the following words aloud and then have the students say and clap the sounds for each word. Using the information about dividing words into syllables from above, have the students apply the two principles (plus prefixes and suffixes) to the words below: concentration desperately experience television positively unexpected apparently recognition composition contentedly agitated convertible disappointed
Grade 3 Guided Reading 181 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
J. T.
Name ______
Use a T-Chart to compare yourself to J. T.. Include such things as the kind of home you live in, your family members, the school you attend, your neighborhood (including stores you shop in), your physical appearance, pets, what you like to do, etc.
Me J. T.
Grade 3 Guided Reading 182 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Summary Log for J. T.
Name ______
Chapter or Date Pages What I Learned/What I Think Will Happen Next Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Grade 3 Guided Reading 183 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Switcharound
Synopsis This book is a hilarious sequel to The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline. In this book, Caroline and her brother coach a baseball team and supervise 6-month-old twins when they spend the summer with their father and his new family. Caroline, age eleven, and J.P., age thirteen, feel they have been given unpleasant responsibilities and are determined to get revenge.
Author Lois Lowry
Introduction Talk about the meaning of the word switcharound. Ask students if they have ever participated in a switcharound. Some students may have spent the summer away from their “school home.” Have students describe or imagine what it would be like to be away for the summer. Talk about feelings. Tell students that the older girl and boy on the cover have gone to spend the summer with their father and his new family. Then have students write their prediction about the story using the information from the title and the cover page.
Reading
Chapter 1 (Pages1-9) Joanna Tate’s ex-husband of nine years suddenly decides that he wants the children, Caroline, who is 11, and J.P. who is 13, to spend the summer with him and his new family in Des Moines, Iowa. The children, for the first time ever, agree on something: they don’t want to go. Their mother explains that it was written into the divorce agreement that their father could have them during the summer. He had just never wanted them before. The children make a list of requests for him to follow.
Key Concepts: decisions, expectations
Vocabulary: Mormon Tabernacle Choir, hoax, genius, Des Moines, casserole, notarized, negotiate, assertive, dejectedly, Burke-Thaxter School, obnoxious, diodes, electrodes, cathodes
Chapter 2 (Pages 10-17) Caroline and J.P. have been enemies in the past, always playing tricks on each other. On the plane ride to Des Moines, they decide to call off their own war and consider their father and his family their enemies.
Key Concepts: separation, teamwork
Vocabulary: sarcastically, uniformed, suspiciously, monotonous, protruded, stewardess, photographic, détente _
Grade 3 Guided Reading 184 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 3 (Pages 18-25) Herbie Tate owns a sporting goods store. J.P. learns that he will be sharing a room with Poochie, and Caroline learns she will sleep in a bed between the twin baby girls.
Key Concept: family
Vocabulary: Poochie, nervously, hideously, primates, humiliated, mirage, realization
Chapter 4 (Pages 26-33) Caroline writes a letter to her mother telling her that she and J.P. have been getting along, that Herbie and Lillian have twin girls (named Holly and Ivy because they were born Christmas Day), and that she will be taking care of them while Lillian takes a real estate course. J.P. has been given the assignment of “coach” for the Tater Chips, Poochie’s baseball team.
Key Concept: responsibilities
Vocabulary: paleontologist, definitely, repulsive, biceps, pectorals
Chapter 5 (Pages 34-41) Caroline learns that babies are always wet and that feeding them oatmeal is harder than it looks. Poochie tells her that he hates baseball.
Key Concept:
Vocabulary: unidentifiable, reluctantly, disposable, sympathetically, unceremoniously, consistency, nourishing
Chapter 6 (Pages 42-47) Caroline takes the twins to watch baseball practice at the park. J.P. tells her that the players have been fighting since eight minutes after practice began at nine o’clock. Caroline lines them up and “barks” orders at them which they follow. J.P. tells her he doesn’t like the ball team and Caroline tells him she doesn’t like the babies. They decide to think up a revenge.
Key Concept: work
Vocabulary: disheveled, disdainful
Grade 3 Guided Reading 185 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 7 (Pages 48-55) Herbie brings J.P. a new baseball glove. Caroline and J.P. talk about how awful the whole situation is. Caroline has thought of a revenge, but won’t tell J.P. because it is just too awful.
Key Concept: revenge
Vocabulary: voluntarily, expectantly, fantasized, intellectual, Fred Larrabee, morosely, appliquéd, metabolism, wistfully
Chapter 8 (Pages 56-63) J.P. is angry at Caroline for not sharing her revenge so tells her the Tate Détente is off. J.P. thinks up a horrible revenge, and then understands why Caroline couldn’t tell. Some things just can’t be shared. After practice, J.P. helps take care of the babies and Caroline helps Poochie practice ball in the afternoon.
Key Concept:
Vocabulary: asparagus, Matthew Birnbaum, Christopher McGowan, vigorously
Chapter 9 (Pages 64-69) J.P. teaches one of the babies to whistle. Caroline helps Poochie with batting practice after supper while Dad goes to the store to do paperwork.
Key Concept:
Vocabulary: laundromat, appreciatively, sarcastically, tarantulas, indestructible
Chapter 10 (Pages 70-77) Herbie comes home in the middle of the morning to pick up his ledgers. He tells Caroline that Lillian didn’t really want to take the real estate course, that she really wants to stay home with the kids, but things at the store are in a slump. Caroline is feeling bad that she has already done her revenge and it can’t be undone. She asks J.P. if he can undo his.
Key Concepts:
Vocabulary: financial, ledgers, impressive, corporation, rueful, unidentifiable, gigantic, emphatically
Grade 3 Guided Reading 186 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 11 (Pages 78-84) J.P. thinks about what Caroline has told him about the problem their father is having. All at once he gets an idea that it may have to do with the fact that his father has fired his former computer operator. He calls his father, talks to one of the accountants, and they send a car for him. Poochie is concerned when J.P. tells them he may be gone all night. The first game is the day after tomorrow. Caroline tells him it will be okay; she will coach.
Key Concept: problem solving
Vocabulary: bankruptcy, splintered, ridiculous, automatically, apprehensively, instantaneously, sabotaged, kludge
Chapter 12 (Pages 85-91) J.P. calls Caroline and tells her that he can unravel the problems at the store. She needs to get his notebook, though, and undo his revenge. He had programmed the Tater Chips to lose their game by focusing on what they couldn’t do well. Caroline discovers that Poochie needs glasses. She works with the team changing the way they do things so they can win.
Key Concept: revenge
Vocabulary: conceited, unraveling, feverish, incriminating, observant, rhythmically
Chapter 13 (Pages 92-99) Since things are going to be okay at the store, Lillian resigns from the real estate class. Caroline is extremely upset about her revenge and can’t sleep. She wakes up J.P. to tell him she has caused a major, major catastrophe—she has switched the babies and Lillian is taking the one with the ear ache to the doctor tomorrow to get a shot of penicillin—the one that is allergic to penicillin.
Key Concept: revenge
Vocabulary: ophthalmologist, pediatrician, penicillin, desperation, LAN, protocol, trivia, catastrophe
Chapter 14 (Pages 100-107) Caroline explains to J.P. that she just can’t switch them back. She isn’t sure which baby is which! J.P. saves her by remembering that only Holly can whistle; Ivy can’t. They switch them to the right cribs in the middle of the night. Caroline is so worried, though, that she tells Lillian that they might be switched. Lillian laughs and tells her it happens all the time. Lillian explains that she has several other ways to tell them apart—a mole, their hair. Just then, the other baby whistles.
Key Concepts: truth
Vocabulary: exasperated, homicide, quizzically, apprehensively, inevitable
Grade 3 Guided Reading 187 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Chapter 15 (Pages 108-116) The Tater Chips win the game thanks to Caroline’s “fixing” all of the observations of J.P. Poochie (David) scores the winning run in spite of running the wrong direction toward third when he bunts and a series of errors on the part of the other team.
Key Concept:
Vocabulary: haphazardly, obscene, collided, quivering, theatrical, confusion, embarrassment
Chapter 16 (Pages 117-118) Caroline writes to her mother about how everything is now switched around and okay. She is coaching the baseball team, Lillian is taking care of the twins, and J.P. is working at his father’s store on the computer.
Key Concept: acceptance
Vocabulary:
Grade 3 Guided Reading 188 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Comprehension
Cause and Effect Give the following effects and have the students write the cause after because. It is important to remember that there are often several answers that are correct. Share the responses from time to time to broaden the students’ understanding and to encourage divergent thinking.
n J.P. and Caroline have to stay with their father for summer vacation because n J.P. doesn’t want to go to Des Moines because n Caroline doesn’t want to go to Des Moines because n Caroline doesn’t like the babies because n Lillian has to take the real estate course because n Herbie is worried because n Poochie can’t play ball very well because n Caroline changes her mind about getting revenge because n J.P. is able to help his father because n The former employee sabotaged the computer because n Lillian always knows which twin is which because
Noting Details Find seven or more clues that tell you that it would be better for J.P. to be in charge of the babies and for Caroline to be the coach.
Sequencing Summarize each chapter in a learning log or journal. Predict what will happen in the next chapter.
Drawing Conclusions Answer one or more of the following questions: 1. Why does Caroline think that Herbie is fairly well-to-do? 2. Why don’t Caroline and J.P. exchange jobs after one or two days? 3. Why do Caroline and J.P. decide not to do their revenges? 4. What might have happened if J.P. had carried out his plan of revenge besides losing the game? 5. How does Meet Your Fate With Herbie Tate apply to both Caroline and J.P.?
Grade 3 Guided Reading 189 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Word Analysis
Multisyllabic Words Ending in Suffixes Write several words from the list below on the board and divide them into syllables. Say the words aloud and ask the students to determine the pattern used to divide each of the words below. Label the vowels and consonants to show the V/CV pattern. Guide students to realize that in multisyllabic words, if the first vowel sound is long, the word is divided after that vowel. Then label the vowels and consonants to show the VC/CV pattern. Lead students to realize that words with the VCCV pattern are divided into syllables between the consonants. Then say the following words aloud and have the students say and clap the sounds for each word. Using the information about dividing words into syllables and knowing that prefixes and suffixes are often an additional syllable, figure out the meanings of the words below. Share the following meanings of the suffixes.
ly is a suffix meaning “like” or “characteristic” al is a suffix meaning “on account of” or “related to” ous is a suffix meaning “abounding in” or “full of” ful is a suffix meaning “full of”
sarcastically wistfully suspiciously vigorously dejectedly appreciatively nervously sarcastically hideously emphatically definitely automatically reluctantly apprehensively sympathetically instantaneously unceremoniously rhythmically voluntarily quizzically expectantly haphazardly morosely
Grade 3 Guided Reading 190 Bettendorf Community Schools 2001-2002
Summary Log for Switcharound
Name ______
Chapter or Date Pages What I Learned/What I Think Will Happen Next Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Summary:
Prediction:
Davenport Community Schools 1998 191
Davenport Community Schools 1998 192 Switcharound What and Why Name ______
The following statements give information from the story. Each is followed by the word because. Give the reason or the “why” for each statement.
1. J.P. and Caroline have to stay with their father for summer vacation because
2. J.P. doesn’t want to go to Des Moines because
3. Caroline doesn’t want to go to Des Moines because
4. Caroline doesn’t like the babies because
5. Lillian has to take the real estate course because
6. Herbie is worried because
7. Poochie can’t play ball very well because
8. Caroline changes her mind about getting revenge because
9. J.P. is able to help his father because
10. The former employee sabotaged the computer because
11. Lillian can tell the twins apart because
Davenport Community Schools 1998 193 Hannah By Gloria Whelan
Summary Nine-year-old Hannah Thomas would do almost anything to go to school. But the year is 1887, Hannah is blind, and her parents keep her at home where she is safe. Then a strong-willed teacher, Lydia Robbin, comes to town and convinces Hannah's parents to send her to school. At first Hannah is overjoyed. But then she realizes that many things—and people—stand in the way of her education. Miss Robbin shows her the way to a whole new life, but Hannah will need tremendous courage to attain it.
Concepts and Topics · Independence · Courage · Farm Life · One-room Schoolhouse · Physical Handicaps (Blindness)
Word Analysis · Compound Words · Meanings of Phrases "fact of life"—page 8 "Poor Hannah"—page 16 "hand-me-downs"—page 11 "choking down bitter medicine"—page 44
Vocabulary · mourning · briars · complexion · muslin · privy · hasty · typhoid · abacus · homestead · device · asters · stylus · garnish · urging · kerosene · furrow · ruts
Davenport Community Schools 1998 194 Comprehension · Sequencing · Cause and Effect (Teacher's effect on Hannah, the Thomas family, and her students at school) · Explain how Hannah felt about herself at the beginning, the middle and end of story. · Decide which character you would most like to spend a day with and why.
Graphic Organizers · Character’s Shoes · Story Map—setting, characters, problem, solution · Story Pyramid · Cause and Effect Chart · Venn Diagram—Mama and Miss Robbin
Writing Connection · Write a response to each chapter. · Add to the ending "What will Hannah write about on her new Braille typewriter?” · Make a comparison of school life in 1887 to school life in 1998.
Assessment Main Idea · Do a Story Pyramid about Hannah.
Sequencing · Do a Story Sequence Map.
Connections to Other Subjects Social Studies - Find Michigan on the map. Find and list 20 facts about the state of Michigan. Take a study trip to Pioneer Village in Scott County for comparison. Bring some Braille books to class to view and explore.
Math - Discuss the value of money and the things money can buy. See attachment.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 195 In the Character’s Shoes
Name ______
Choose a character from the story.
Character Story
Pretend you are that character. In your own words, explain how you felt at the following times during the story:
Beginning
Middle
End
Davenport Community Schools 1998 196 Money
Name ______
Money plays an important part in many stories, just as it does in real life. As you get older, you will probably begin to think about the following questions about money. How shall I spend money that is given to me? How can I earn money? How will I decide what is important to buy and what is not? Suppose you had to earn money for some thing or things that are important to you. Answer the following questions.
1. What are important things to you? ______
2. How much do you think they cost? ______
3. What are the ways you can earn money to get what you want? ______
4. How long do you think it will take you to earn the needed money? ______
Davenport Community Schools 1998 197 Story Sequence
Story Title ______
Setting: Time and Place
ê Characters
ê Story Beginning
ê First Event
ê Second Event
ê Third Event
ê Story Ending
Davenport Community Schools 1998 198 Story Pyramid
Name______
Title ______
Author ______
1. Name of the main character Story 2. Two words describing the main character 3. Three words describing the setting 4. Four words stating the problem 5. Five words describing the first event 6. Six words describing the second event Pyramid 7. Seven words describing the third event 8. Eight words stating how the problem is solved 1. ______Name ______
2. ______
3. ______
4. ______
5. ______
6. ______
7. ______
8. ______
Davenport Community Schools 1998 199 Cause and Effect Chart
Name ______
Cause Effect
è
è
è
è
è
Davenport Community Schools 1998 200 Venn Diagram
Name ______
Different
Alike
Davenport Community Schools 1998 201
Appendices
Book Introductions Guided Reading Forms
Davenport Community Schools 1998 202 Book Introductions
Before introducing a book, the teacher needs to make the child familiar with the story, the plot, the words, the sentences, and the writing style. For example, a teacher might:
· Draw the child's attention to the important ideas.
· Discuss the pictures of the whole book.
· Give opportunities for the child to hear the new words that he or she will have to guess from the pictures and language context.
· Ask the child to find one or two new and important words in the text after he or she has said what letter he or she would expect to see at the beginning.
The teacher is ensuring that the child has in his head the ideas and the language he or she needs to read the text. The child should know what the story is about before he or she reads the book.
Adapted from Reading Recovery: A Guidebook for Teachers in Training
Davenport Community Schools 1998 203 Preparation for Story Introduction Using Leveled Trade Books
Step 1: Choose an appropriate book for the guided reading group and read the book ahead of time. An appropriate book would be one the children can read at an instructional level with 90-94% accuracy. (After introducing the book, ask a child to read a small portion of the text to ensure the text is at the student's instructional level. If the child makes more than five errors, not counting names, the book may be too hard.)
Step 2: Select one or two words that “make the book work.” Decide how to introduce the word(s) to the group. Call the children's attention to some features of the word. (Examples: “It's a name so it will begin with a capital letter.” “If you know the word car, then you will be able to read the word cards. Frame the word cards with your finger.”)
Book Introduction Framework for Guided Reading Lessons Using Leveled Trade Books
Step 1: Introduce the title, the author, the setting, the theme, and the characters using the cover of the book. (The teacher will actually be giving a short summary of the story using the book cover.)
Step 2: Expand upon the setting and introduce potentially difficult names.
Step 3: Probe/ask questions to activate the students' prior knowledge.
Step 4: Have students look at each page of the book. Conduct a short discussion and prompt the children so they begin to understand the plot of the story by asking them what they think is happening on each page. The teacher can also model his or her reflections about the story aloud, i.e., I wonder ___.
Step 5: When appropriate, have students find the one or two words the teacher pre-selected that “make the book work.” Call the children's attention to some features of the word and locate the word(s) in the text.
Step 6: At the end of the book, pause to allow students to generate the ending.
Step 7: Have the children read the story independently.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 204 Preparation for Story Introduction Using Longer Picture Books
Step 1: Choose an appropriate book for the guided reading group and read the book ahead of time. An appropriate book would be one the children can read at an instructional level with 90-94% accuracy. (After introducing the book, ask a child to read a small portion of the text to ensure the text is at the student's instructional level. If the child makes more than five errors, not counting names, the book may be too hard.)
Step 2: Read the book ahead of time in order to decide how the book can be divided into smaller portions to facilitate the students’ understanding of the story as well as to fit the actual reading into the time allotted during the school day.
Step 3: Select one or two words that “make the book work.” Decide how to introduce the word(s) to the group. Call the children's attention to some features of the word. (Examples: “It's a name so it will begin with a capital letter.” “If you know the word car then you will be able to read the word cards. Frame the word cards with your finger.)
Book Introduction Framework for Guided Reading Lessons Using Longer Picture Books
Step 1: Introduce the title, the author, the setting, the theme, and the characters using the cover of the book. (The teacher will actually be giving a short summary of the story using the book cover.)
Step 2: Expand upon the setting and introduce potentially difficult names.
Step 3: Probe/ask questions to activate the students' prior knowledge.
Step 4: Have students look at the illustrations of the portion of the story that is to be introduced and read that day. Conduct a short discussion and prompt the children so they begin to understand the plot of the story by asking them what they think is happening in the picture(s) on each page. The teacher can also model his or her reflections about the story aloud, i.e., I wonder ___.
Step 5: When appropriate, have students find the one or two words the teacher pre-selected that “make the book work.” Call the children's attention to some features of the word and locate the word(s) in the text.
Step 6: Have the children read the selected portion of the story independently.
The following day:
Step 7: Have students discuss the reading from the previous day. Predictions made the day before can be reviewed and updated.
Follow Steps 3-6 until the book is finished. (Near the end of the book, the teacher will want to allow the students to generate the ending of the story.)
Davenport Community Schools 1998 205 Preparation for Story Introduction Using Chapter Books
Step 1: Choose an appropriate book for the guided reading group and read the book ahead of time. An appropriate book would be one the children can read at an instructional level with 90-94% accuracy. (After introducing the book, ask a child to read a small portion of the text to ensure the text is at the student's instructional level. If the child makes more than five errors, not counting names, the book may be too hard.)
Step 2: Read the book ahead of time in order to decide how the book can be divided into smaller portions to facilitate the students' understanding of the story as well as to fit the actual reading into the time allotted during the school day.
Step 3: Select one or two words that “make the book work.” Decide how to introduce the word(s) to the group. Call the children's attention to some features of the word. (Examples: “It's a name of a country so it will begin with what kind of letter?” “If you know the word car then you will be able to read the word cards. Frame the word cards with your finger.”)
Book Introduction Framework for Guided Reading Using Chapter Books
Step 1: Introduce the title, the author, the theme, and the characters using the cover of the book. (The teacher will actually be giving a short summary of the story using the book cover.)
Step 2: Have students predict and discuss the setting of the story using the book jacket. (The students will want to verify their predictions of the setting as they read the book.)
Step 3: Introduce potentially difficult names.
Step 4: Probe/ask questions to activate the students' prior knowledge.
Step 5: Have students locate any illustrations in the book. Conduct a short discussion and prompt the children so they begin to understand the plot of the story by asking them what they think is happening in the picture(s) on each page. The teacher can also model his or her reflections about the story aloud, i.e., I wonder ___.
Step 6: When appropriate, have students find the one or two words the teacher pre-selected that “make the book work.” Call the children's attention to some features of the word and locate the word(s) in the text.
Step 7: Have the children read a selected portion of the story independently.
The following day:
Step 8: Have students discuss the reading from the previous day. Predictions made the day before can be reviewed and updated.
Follow Steps 3-6 until the book is finished. (Near the end of the book, the teacher will want to allow the students to generate the ending of the story.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 206 Goldilocks and the Three Bears A Sample Introduction
Introduction · Have students tell about some fairy tales they have read. Ask how many students have read Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Discuss what characters the students would expect to see in the story.
· Have students look at the cover of the book. Introduce the author and illustrator.
· Have students look at Goldilocks and describe her. Tell students that even though she looks very sweet in this illustration she is really very naughty and does exactly as she pleases.
· Have students look at the three bears on the cover. Discuss their sizes. (medium)
· Discuss with students what naughty things they expect Goldilocks to do in this story.
· Word Work: car/hard/charming/start/parlor
· Have students take turns looking through illustrations and discuss what they think could be happening in the story. (Patooie!)
· Ask students to recall how all fairy tales begin and end. Look for once upon a time and happily ever after.
· Have students read the story to themselves at their desks. Remind students that when they come to a word they don’t know to: 1. Think about what would make sense in the story. 2. Try to blend the word. 3. Look for small parts in the word to figure out the bigger word.
· Following day: have students take turns reading the story aloud in small group.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 207 Uncle Jed's Barbershop A Sample Introduction
Introduction Day 1 · Discuss favorite relatives the students have and what they call them. Make a list.
· Have students look at the cover of the book. Introduce Jedediah Johnson. Tell students he was this little girl's favorite uncle and she called him Uncle Jed. Have students discuss what he may be doing in the cover's illustration. Tell students he is a barber and this girl's mother wouldn't let him cut her hair. So, he would pretend to cut her hair with clippers, and then would spread lotion on the back of her neck.
· Introduce the author and illustrator. Discuss with students that the kind of book they are about to read is historical fiction, and it is a personal narrative. (I/the reader does not know the little girl's name.) Also discuss the time period of this book.
· Word Work: car/care/share
· Big Word: sharecropper
· Tell students this family (as well as many other families during this time) lived on someone else's land and farmed the land. Each family had to give a share of the crop to the owner as rent.
· Have students take turns looking through illustrations from pages 1-8 and discuss what they think could be happening in the story.
· Have students read the story to themselves at their desks. Remind students that when they come to a word they don’t know to: 1. Think about what would make sense in the story. 2. Try to blend the word. 3. Look for small parts in the word to figure out the bigger word.
· Seat work: have students write and draw a picture about what they want to be when they grow up.
Introduction Day 2 · Have students take turns reading pages 1-8 aloud in small group. Discuss any reactions to what they had read.
· Have students turn to page 9 and discuss what they think is happening in the story. Discuss what would happen to them if they got very, very sick
· Word Work: make a list of words of what would happen if they were taken to the hospital. Ask students if they think any of these words might appear in their reading for today.
· Tell students that today they are going to be reading about segregation. Ask if anyone knows what that word means. (Segregation: to separate a group of people from the rest of society—in schools, in housing, etc.) Ask students to read pages 9-16.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 208 · Have students read this portion of the story to themselves at their desks. Remind students that when they come to a word they don’t know to: 1. Think about what would make sense in the story. 2. Try to blend the word. 3. Look for small parts in the word to figure out the bigger word.
· Seat work: have students write about how they would feel if they were this little girl and her family. Have them predict what Uncle Jed will do.
Introduction Day 3 · Have students take turns reading aloud pages 9-16. Have students share yesterday's seatwork in the small group.
· Tell students that Uncle Jed again saved the money in a bank to open his own barbershop and then another incident happened. It was called the Great Depression—when a lot of banks closed and a lot of people lost their money. Ask students if they think Uncle Jed will give up his dream.
· Have students look through the illustrations from pages 17 to the end. Have them discuss what is happening in the illustrations.
· Word Work: car/hard/start/started
· Big Word: sparkled
· Have students read this portion of the story to themselves at their desks. Remind students that when they come to a word they don’t know to: 1. Think about what would make sense in the story. 2. Try to blend the word. 3. Look for small parts in the word to figure out the bigger word.
· Seatwork: have students list which of the Seven Skills Uncle Jed displayed in this story and give examples of each one listed.
Introduction Day 4 · Have students take turns reading aloud pages 17 to the end of the story. Have students share yesterday’s seatwork in the small group.
Davenport Community Schools 1998 209
Ten Day Plan
—
Independent Work Groups
Management of Guided Reading
Groups Groups Guided Reading Guided Reading
sday Week 1 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thur Friday Notes Week 2 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Notes
Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 210
Guided Reading Record Name Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Davenport Community Schools 1998 211 Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 212
Guided Reading Record Name Observational Notes
Davenport Community Schools 1998 213 Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 214
Guided Reading Record Date Observations
Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 215
Record of Book-Reading Progress
Child’s Name ______Grade ______Title of Book, Accuracy Rate, Self-Correction Rate (M=above 90%; N=below 90%)
ook Level B Book Title
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Date
Davenport Community Schools 1998 216
Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 217
Record of Book-Reading Progress
Child’s Name ______Grade ______Title of Book, Accuracy Rate, Self-Correction Rate (M=above 90%; N=below 90%)
Book Level Book Title
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
Date
Davenport Community Schools 1998 218
Adapted from Guided Reading by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell
Davenport Community Schools 1998 219