Build Background

• Have students stand up and take a step forward. Ask what parts of their body they used to walk (foot, leg). Have students sit down and pat the part of their body that makes noises when it's hungry (belly). Have students take a deep breath. Ask what part of their body moves when they breathe (chest). Have students wave to you. Ask what parts of their body they used to wave (hand, arm). Have students look over their shoulder. Ask what part of their body they turned (head). Tell students that all of these parts put together make up their body.
• Expand the discussion by having students place their hands palms-to-palms with another student. Have them count the number of fingers on each hand. Ask students to tell how many fingers each person has on each hand. Have them compare the shapes and sizes of their fingers and hands. Ask them to tell what they found. Reinforce that while most students have two hands with five fingers on each one, the shapes and sizes, and perhaps the color, are different.

Book Walk

Introduce the Strategy: Connect life experience and use prior knowledge

• Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Ask students what they think this book will be about based on the cover information. Model how to use prior knowledge.
• Think aloud: When I read a new book, I try to think about what I already know about the topic in the book. When I look at the picture of the boy on the front cover, I think about my nephew. He likes to jump like this boy, but his arms and legs aren't as long. I know that lots of people have some things that are alike and some things that are different. By looking at the title and the covers, I can predict that I may find out other things about the boy's body in the book.
• Show students the title page and ask them what they see in the picture. Ask them if they have ever jumped like the boy is jumping. Turn the pages in the book so students can see the pictures. If necessary, model once more for the students how you draw on your personal knowledge to make predictions about the book.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Go through each page of the book with the students. Ask them to talk about what they see in the illustrations and use the vocabulary they will encounter in the text. Ask them to name what they see in the pictures and have them draw on prior knowledge and experience with their own bodies. For example, point to the foot on page 3 and ask: What is this? What are some of the things you use it for?
• Point out the words on the page. Explain that the words on the page tell them the story, and that the words are read left to right.
• Ask a student to come up and use your book to point to the place where he/she should start reading, and in which direction he/she should go while reading.
• Reinforce new vocabulary and word-attack strategies by modeling how students can read unfamiliar words. Ask a volunteer to point to the word belly. Ask students how they know this word says belly and not tummy or stomach. (Only belly begins with b.) Remind students to look at the beginning and ending sounds in words and/or familiar parts within words to help them sound out the word. They should check whether the word makes sense by looking at the picture and rereading the sentence.
• For additional teaching tips on word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students think about what they already know about their own body as they read about the parts of the body in the book.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Give students their books and tell them to read to the end of page 5. Tell students to reread the pages if they finish before everyone else.
• When they have finished, ask students to tell the parts of the body they have read about. Have students point out the parts on their own bodies and tell how using what they know about their own body helped them understand the book.
• Model making connections to prior knowledge.
• Think aloud: I have the same body parts as the ones I've read about. I have two feet, two legs, two arms, and two hands. I have one belly, one chest, and one head. It helps me understand what I am reading if I can think about what I already know about those parts of my body.
• Tell students to read the remainder of the book.

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

Reflect on Reading Strategies

• Ask students what words they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they could read these words using word-attack strategies and context clues. For example, point out the word leg and ask students how they know this word doesn't say beg. Focus on the sound of /l/ at the beginning of the word.
• Reinforce how using what they already knew about the parts of their body helped them understand what they read. (Connecting life experiences and using prior knowledge of a topic helps students personally relate to and remember what they have read.)

Comprehension: Compare and contrast

• Introduce and model: Have two students (one short, one tall) come to the front. Have each remove one shoe and sock, and place their left legs and feet next to one another's. Ask students to tell what is alike (five toes, two feet, two legs) and what is different about their feet and legs. Have the students hold out their arms. Ask students to tell what is alike and different about their hands and arms (five fingers, two hands, two arms). Have each student at the front of the class point to his/her belly, chest, and head. Ask students to tell how they are alike (each student has one of each) and different.
• Discussion: Show students two pictures, such as photographs of a body builder and a regular person, or two other different people. Have students tell the ways in which their bodies are alike and different.
• Check for understanding: Have students hold their hands out with palms facing their bodies. Have them look around the group and find a person who has hands that are like their own. Have each student identify the other person and tell why he/she thinks their hands are alike. Repeat for differences and discuss.
• Independent practice: Tell students to complete the Compare and Contrast worksheet. Discuss students' responses.
• Extend the discussion:

    Instruct students to use the last page of their book to draw a picture of their body. Have students share their pictures with the group.

Phonological Awareness: Identify rhyme

• Say the words leg and beg and have students repeat the words. Tell them that leg and beg rhyme because they have the same ending sound. Repeat the words and have students listen for the ending sounds.
• Tell students that you are going to say a word. If the word rhymes with leg, they should give you a thumbs-up. If it doesn't rhyme with leg, they should give you a thumbs-down. Say the following words one at a time: Meg, keg, lag, peg, bag.
• Say the word hand and have students repeat it. Tell them that you are going to say some more words. If the word rhymes with hand, they should pat their head. If the word doesn't rhyme, they should shake their head. Say the following words: land, lend, bend, band, sand, send.

Phonics: Initial consonant b

• Say the word body and ask students what sound they hear at the beginning of the word. Have them look at the cover of the book and point out the word that says body.
• Show students the Bb Alphabet Flashcard and point out the upper and lowercase letters. Ask students to repeat the sound that the letter b stands for.
• Run your finger under the word ball as you say each sound: /bbbb/ /aaaa/ /llll/. Ask a student to come up and run his/her finger under the word while the rest of the group sounds it out.
• Ask students to tell you some words that start with /b/. Write the words on the board. Ask volunteers to come to the board and circle the letter that stands for the /b/ sound in each word.
• Give students the Initial Consonant B worksheet and explain what they are to do. When completed, discuss their answers.

Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage: Nouns as naming words

• Tell students that the words they read in the book are used to tell about parts of their body. Explain that these words are called naming words. Have students look at page 4. Ask them to find the naming word that tells what is in the picture.
• Ask students to find another naming word in the book. Reinforce that all of the parts of the boy's body are naming words.

    Instruct students to work together to underline the naming words in the book.

Vocabulary: Categorize words

• Tell students that the words they read in the book are used to tell about parts of a body and that these can be put into a group called "body parts." Draw a large circle on the board with the words "body parts" in the center. As students name the words that belong in the group (foot, leg, hand, arm, belly, chest, head), draw and label a picture of each in a smaller circle around the large circle. Attach the smaller circles to the large circle with a line.
• Ask students to think of parts of their heads. As students offer head parts (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, eyebrows) draw small circles around the circle labeled head. Draw and label each part. Continue with other body parts if students need additional practice categorizing.
• Give students the Categorization worksheet. Tell them they can use the book as a reference.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading in the book.

Home Connection

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

Writing and Art

• Have students lie down on a large piece of butcher-block paper. Trace each student's body. Have students label each body part.

Science Connection

• Use this book as an introduction to a science unit about the body. Help students understand how their body grows and changes as they get older. Have students draw pictures of themselves as grown-ups.

Music Connection

• Have students sing along and follow the directions in the Hokey Pokey song.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• connect their life experience and prior knowledge to better understand what they read.
• make comparisons.
• identify words that rhyme.
• recognize that the letter b stands for the /b/ sound and suggest words that start with /b/.
• recognize naming words.
• categorize the parts of a body.