Samson: A Horse Story
Narrative (fiction), 2,142 words, Level U (Grade 4)

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategy	Summarize
Comprehension	Analyze Character
Grammar and Mechanics	Pronouns
Word Work	Homophones

Book Summary

Samson: A Horse Story is written from the point of view of a ten-year-old girl's journal entries. She is devastated when her parents inherit a farm and she has to leave her friends to stay there for the summer. Not until she secretly reads her deceased aunt's journal does she realize the reason she's there. She grows to appreciate the farm as she becomes attached to Samson, the horse that was left to her. Illustrations support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Summarize

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of summarizing to understand nonfiction text
• Analyze characters in text
• Identify and understand the use of pronouns
• Recognize the difference between homophones there and their

Vocabulary

• Content words: bridle, coop, family tree, galloping, graze, groomed, manure, pointers, realized, reins, saddle horn, stirrup, tend to, trough

Book Resources

Formats Single-Sided Book Single-Sided Color Cover Double-Sided Book Double-Sided Color Cover Pocketbook Lesson Resources Lesson Plan Worksheets Discussion Cards Comprehension Quiz Level U Answer Sheet