He Runs - Lesson Plans

He Runs
Level A

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 38

Book Summary
The boy in this book always seems to be late--or does he just enjoy running? Students follow the boy as he runs to the bus, to the plane, to school, and finally, back home. The book continues to reinforce essential high-frequency words in repeated sentence patterns.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Ask and answer questions

Objectives

Use the strategy of asking and answering questions to make meaning from text
Make inferences
Listen for alliterative sounds
Associate the letter Bb with the sound /b/
Understand that some words are action words
Categorize words

Materials

Book -- He Runs (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Make inferences, categorize worksheets
Word journal (optional)

Indicates an opportunity for student to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reusable.)

Vocabulary

High-frequency words: to, the, he
Content words: bus, train, boat, plane, school, store, pool, home

Before Reading

Build Background

Ask students to think of a time when they were running. Ask where they were going and how it felt to be running. Were they running somewhere or just running for fun? Were they late? Do they sometimes run even when they don't need to?

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask what they might read about in a book called He Runs. (Accept any answers students can justify). Ask students where the boy might be running to based on the pictures.
Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

Explain that a good way to read a book is to ask questions as you read. Model how to ask questions as you preview the covers of the book.
Think-aloud: When I look at the cover of the book, I see a boy running to school. I wonder why he is running. Then I look at the back cover and I see the boy running to a house. I wonder if the boy is late to get to these places, so he has to run to get there. Asking questions gives me a purpose to read the book. I want to read to find out the answers to my questions.
Write these questions on a chart on the board. Ask students to share questions they have as they look at the cover illustrations. Write these questions on the chart.
As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Vocabulary

As you preview the book, use the language pattern of the story in your discussion. For example, say: Where is the boy running here? Yes, that's right, he runs to the train.
Remind students that they can look at the pictures and at the beginning letters of the words to read them, and then confirm by rereading the whole sentence to see if it makes sense.
Encourage students to add new vocabulary words to their word journals.
For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words or word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

Have students read to find out where the boy runs to. Have them look for the answers to their questions as they read the book.

During Reading

Student Reading

Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Have a volunteer point to the first word on page 3. Read the word together (He). Point out where to begin reading on each page. Remind students to read words from left to right. Point to each word as you read it aloud while students follow along in their own book.
Ask students to place a finger on the page number in the bottom corner of the page. Have them read to the end of page 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
Ask students if they have any other questions after reading these pages. Write these questions on the chart on the board. Have them share answers to the questions made prior to reading.
Think-aloud: I still haven't found out why the boy is running to all of these places. Maybe he's trying to get somewhere and keeps missing the vehicle to take him there. I'll read to find out if my question is answered.
Have students read the remainder of the story, looking for answers to their questions.

Have students make a small question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

After Reading

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Ask students to share answers to their questions and other questions they asked themselves as they were reading. Reinforce that asking themselves questions about what they are reading helps keep them interested in reading to find out the answers.
Think-aloud: Good readers always ask themselves questions about what they are reading to make sure they understand what is happening and help them sort out things that are not clear. I didn't find out why the boy was running, but I did find out that he was running to his home at the end of the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Make inferences

Discussion: Ask students if they had any idea why the boy might have been running to the school. Accept all reasonable answers.
Introduce and model the skill: Tell students that authors don't always explain everything that happens in a story. Readers use clues in the book and what they already know to make a good guess.
Think-aloud: Although the book doesn't tell why the boy was running, I can make a good guess. I think he runs because he misses his ride to each place. The book says that the boy runs to each place he goes to. There is no mention of a ride. But, I know that when I'm late and miss my ride, I have to find another way to get to where I'm going. I can also guess that the boy lives close to all these places. Since he is a child, it is unlikely he would run to places that are miles away.
Check for understanding: Ask students to make an inference about why the boy might have been late for school: he got up late, he missed his bus, his mother's car had problems, he and his mom were stuck in traffic, etc. Talk about why these ideas are all good inferences, and that they are based on things that could really happen. Make sure students understand that they cannot find the answer to these inferences in the book. They have to use prior knowledge and clues in the book to know whether the inference is a good one or not.
Have students look at page 4. Ask what they think the boy will do at the train. Encourage students to think of a variety of possibilities, for example (he may be meeting someone who is traveling on the train, he may be going somewhere on the train, he might like to watch trains, and so on). Have them support their answers with clues from the book and their prior knowledge.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain and have students complete the make inferences worksheet. When students have finished, allow them to share their ideas of what the boy will do in each picture.

Extend the discussion: Instruct students to use the last page of their book to draw a picture of place they would like to run to. Have students share their pictures with the group.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Alliteration

Say the following rhyme:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

Ask students what was funny about the rhyme (so many of the words started with /p/).
Repeat the rhyme and have students count the number of times they hear the /p/ sound.
Using the students' names, make silly alliterative sentences that use words with the same initial sound of their names, for example (Bonnie bakes beautiful beef buns).

Phonics: Identify initial consonant Bb

Write the letter Bb on the board and ask students to tell you its name. Tell students the letter Bb stands for the sound they hear at the beginning of the words Bonnie and buns.
Have students turn to page 3 and find a word that starts with the /b/ sound (bus). Have students put their finger on the letter in the word that stands for the /b/ sound.
Repeat with the word boat on page 5.
Ask students to find things in the room or outside the window that start with the /b/ sound.

Grammar and Mechanics: Verbs (action words)

Review that some words are called action words. Explain that these words tell something a person does, like sing or dance.
Ask students to name an action word they read in the book (runs). Then ask students to brainstorm other words they know that name an action (jump, sit, sing, skate, swim, dance, laugh).
Have volunteers act out an action while the rest of the group guesses what it is.

Word Work: Categorize words

Ask students what boat, train, plane, and bus have in common (they are all types of transportation). Explain that you can put these words into the category of transportation (or ways to travel somewhere).
Then have students tell you what the words school, store, pool, and home have in common (places). Explain that these words can be put into the category of places.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the categorize worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Additionally, partners can take turns reading in the book.

Home Connection

Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Extend the Reading

Writing Connection
Use the sentence pattern I run to the… to create a chart. Model by completing the first sentence and then ask each student for a word. Write their responses on a chart. Ask students to illustrate their sentences. Display their pictures and the chart in the classroom. Encourage the students to read the chart to one another.

Math Connection
Create a graph with the names of each type of transportation. Have students share which types of transportation they have been on before. Graph their responses. Discuss which type of transportation had the most and least responses.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

ask and answer relevant questions about the pictures in the book during discussion
make logical inferences based on prior knowledge and book information during discussion and on a worksheet; understand that the inferences cannot be proven by reading this book
recognize alliteration in oral sentences during discussion; create alliterative sentences using the letters in their names
associate the letter Bb with the sound /b/ during discussion
recognize that some words name actions during discussion
categorize things into meaningful groups during discussion and on a worksheet

Comprehension Check

Retelling Rubric

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