• Introduce and expose students to the voiced and unvoiced /th/ sound represented by the letters t and h together.
• Build oral comprehension skills.
• Model fluent reading.

Story Summary
Mrs. Thorwald and two of her students try to solve the mystery behind the missing supplies from the art cabinet. They set a trap to catch the thief who's wrecking all their art projects. The students learn that the thief is a mouse who was collecting the supplies to make a nest for three baby mice. 

Build Background
Ask students if they have ever lost anything or discovered something missing. Ask them what they did to figure out what happened to the missing item. Discuss the importance of looking for clues and retracing their steps to find something. 

Preview the Book
Read the title and ask students to identify the sound at the beginning of the words think-fest and thief. Explain that you will read a story aloud that has words with the /th/ sound, as in the word thief, and the /th/ sound, as in the word this. Point out that voiced /th/ (this) produces vibrations when pronounced, but the unvoiced /th/ (thief) does not. Have students say each /th/ sound aloud while holding a hand to their throat. Remind them that they should feel vibrations only on the voiced /th/ sound. 

Write think-fest and thief on the board. Read each word aloud to students. Have volunteers come to the board and take turns circling the letters that stand for the unvoiced /th/ sound in the words. Write the word this on the board. Read the word aloud to students. Have a volunteer come to the board and circle the letters that stand for the voiced /th/ in the word. Remind students that the letters t and h together stand for the voiced and unvoiced /th/ sound. 

Open the book and show students the illustrations on each page. Ask them to identify any words with the unvoiced or voiced /th/ sounds from the pictures. Invite students to predict what the story might be about. 

During Reading
Read the story aloud with expression, emphasizing the unvoiced /th/ sound in the words. Ask students to clap their hands each time they hear the /th/ sound, as in the word thief. 

Allow students to ask questions during reading. Pause occasionally to ask students to predict what might happen next. 

Read the story aloud a second time, asking students to clap their hands each time their hear the /th/ sound, as in the word this. 

After Reading
Reader Response
Have students explain whether the book is fiction or nonfiction. Invite them to summarize the story and/or describe their favorite part. 

Comprehension
Ask specific questions that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the book.

• What did Mrs. Thorwald and the students do to catch the thief?
• What did they find when they followed the thief's trail?
• What happened to the Think-Fest Thursday projects?