We Build - Lesson Plans

We Build
Level aa

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Personal Account
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 16

Book Summary
We Build shows the steps a young girl and her grandfather take to plan and build a birdhouse. Pictures and simple repetitive text support beginning readers with one-to-one correspondence.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Connect to prior knowledge

Objectives

Use the reading strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to understand text
Sequence events
Discriminate initial sound /s/
Identify initial consonant Ss
Recognize and understand that verbs are actions words
Recognize and write the high-frequency word we

Materials

Book -- We Build (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Sequence events, picture cards, initial consonant Ss, verbs worksheets

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 word: we
Content words: build, draw, drill, glue, hammer, hang, paint, sand, saw

Before Reading

Build Background

Write the words we build on the board and point to each word as you read it aloud to students. Have students say the words aloud.
Ask students to think about what types of items can be built. Discuss their responses.

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask what they think they might read about in a book called We Build. (Accept any answers students can justify.)
Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge

Explain that good readers make connections between what they already know about a topic and new information they read. Remind students that thinking about what they already know about the topic of the book will help them understand what they read.
Model connecting to prior knowledge using information on the covers.
Think-aloud: When I look at the front cover of We Build, I see a girl and an older man. The man seems to be someone she knows. I know that my grandfather is an older man, so I think this man might be the girl's grandfather. They seem to be drawing something on a piece of paper. The title of the story is We Build. I know that when I build something, I first like to draw what I want it to look like. The back cover shows a picture of a birdhouse. I wonder if the man and the girl are drawing a plan of a birdhouse to build.
Show students the title page. Encourage them to use their prior knowledge about making and building things to discuss what they see. Ask open-ended questions to facilitate discussion: What objects do you see on the page? Why are these objects included in a book about building? What are the objects used for?
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 Comprehension Skill: Sequence events

Write the words lunch, dinner, and breakfast on index cards. Place them in the same order along the chalkboard ledge or in a pocket chart. Read the following list of events: First, I ate lunch. Next, I ate dinner. Last, I ate breakfast. Invite students to share comments about the order of the list. Invite a volunteer to reorder the events of the list in a way that makes sense to him or her and read the list of events. Guide students to understand that when events told out of order do not make sense.
Model how to sequence events in order. Draw a picture of each event on an index card as you discuss each event.
Think-aloud: Whenever I make something, I always seem to follow certain steps. For example, when I make a peanut butter sandwich I first need to get out all the supplies. Next, I spread peanut butter on one side of a piece of bread. Then, I put the two pieces of bread together so that the peanut butter is in the middle. After I eat my sandwich I clean up the mess. I have a plan for how to make a sandwich. Since I think this story might be about how to build a birdhouse, I think about the steps I might take to build it. As I read, I will look for words that describe these steps.
Review the sequence of events on the index cards. Discuss a familiar routine students are familiar with, such as getting ready for lunch. Invite them share the sequence of events that they follow.

Introduce the Vocabulary

While previewing the book, reinforce vocabulary words students will encounter in the text. For example, while looking at the picture on page 4, you might point to the picture and say: saw; on page 5, you might say: sand.
Remind students that they can help themselves when they come to a tricky word by looking at the first letter in the word and checking the picture on the page to see what word might start with the same sound or what word might make sense. For example, on page 6, model pointing under the h in hammer. Say: I am going to help myself by looking at the picture and thinking about what they are doing that starts like /h/ (make the /h/ sound). Does hammer make sense? Yes. The word is hammer.
For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words and word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

Have students read to find out what the girl and man build and how they build it. Remind them to think about what they already know about building as they read the book.

During Reading

Student Reading

Guide the reading: Show students the book. Point out the words on the pages. Explain that the words on the pages are read from left to right. Ask a student to point to where students should start reading and show in which direction they should go as they read.
Give students their copy of the book. Point out the numbers at the bottom of the pages. Have students turn to page 3. Point out the word We and say the word aloud with students. Explain that this word repeats throughout the book. Ask students what word comes after We (draw). Remind them to use letter and picture clues to identify words.
Have students read to the end of page 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read.
Model connecting to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: On page 4, the girl and the man are sawing pieces of wood. When they use the saw, they cut the wood to make the shapes they drew on their plan. I know that sharp objects, like a saw, can be dangerous. It is important for students to ask an adult for help when using sharp objects so they don't get hurt. The man is helping the girl stay safe.
Invite students to share how they connected with what they already knew as they read.
Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 7. Encourage them to share how they connected to prior knowledge as they read. Ask open-ended questions to facilitate the discussion: Which of these activities have you done before? What do you know about sanding? Why might it be important? What are the steps, in order, that the girl and man have taken so far? Would it make sense to complete the steps in a different order?
Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to use what they already know about steps in building an object to help them understand new information as they read.

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.
Have students share how they connected with one of the building steps in the book.
Think-aloud: When I read page 8, I thought about when I painted the walls in my house. I thought about how carefully I painted to make sure I didn't leave any spaces without paint. I remember how difficult it was to get paint into the corners. Connecting to something I know made reading that page easy for me. It helped me think about all the steps the girl and the man took to build the birdhouse.
Ask students to explain how thinking about what they know helped them to understand and enjoy the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

Discussion: Invite students to discuss how the steps of building the birdhouse were similar to or different from steps they took to build an object. Use an extra copy of the book to cut out the pictures from the story. Place the pictures out of order in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge. Discuss the sequence of events in the story. Place each picture in order as you discuss each event.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sequence events worksheet.
Enduring understanding: In the story, the girl follows certain steps in order to build her birdhouse. Now that you know this information, what will you do next time you are asked to make something?

Build Skills

Phonemic Awareness: Discriminate initial sound /s/

Say the word saw aloud to students, emphasizing the initial /s/ sound. Have students say the word aloud and then say the initial /s/ sound.
Say the following word pairs one at a time: sun, map; rat, six; box, sailboat; seal, bus. Have students repeat the word that begins with the /s/ sound.
Check for understanding: Cut out the pictures on the picture cards worksheet and show them to students. Say the name of the picture on each card. Have students show the thumbs-up signal when they hear a word that begins with the /s/ sound.

Phonics: Identify initial consonant Ss

Draw a picture of a sun on the board and label the word sun. Say the word aloud with students.
Have students say the /s/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students which letter stands for the /s/ sound in the word sun.
Have students practice writing the letter s on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound the letter makes.
Check for understanding: Have students name words that begin with the letter s. Write each word on the board, one at a time, leaving off the initial consonant s. Have volunteers come to the board and complete each word by writing the initial consonant s, saying the sound the letter s stands for, and then saying the whole word.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial consonant Ss worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Grammar and Mechanics: Action words (verbs)

Have students turn to page 3 in their book. Read the sentence We draw. Ask students what the girl and her grandfather are doing in the picture (drawing). Explain that some words they read are action words, or words that tell what someone or something is doing. Have students act out drawing to show that it is an action. (You may also want to explain that these words are called verbs.)
Have students turn to page 6 in their book. Invite them to read the sentence together, pointing to the words as they read. Ask them to point to the action word in the sentence (hammer). Have students act out hammering.

Check for understanding: Have students read through the rest of the book and underline the action words. When they have finished, ask volunteers to act out the action words.

Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the verbs worksheet.

Word Work: High-frequency word we

Explain that some words are in many of the books we read. Write the word we on the board and have students say the word aloud.
Place all the story pictures from the sequence of events activity in a paper bag. Draw one of the pictures from the bag. Act out the picture and explain the action in a sentence using the word I. (For example: I hammer.) Write the sentence on the board and read it aloud with students, pointing to each word as you read.
Act out the same picture with a volunteer, explaining the action in a sentence using the word we. (For example: We hammer.) Write the sentence on the board and read it aloud with students, pointing to each word as you read.
Ask students to explain the difference between the sentences. Explain that the word we refers to two or more people.
Model fluent writing of the word on the board or on chart paper. Have students write the word we in the air with their finger as you spell it out loud with them, pointing to each letter on the board as you say the letter name with students.
Check for understanding: Have students act out action words such as run, walk, and jump, with a partner. After each action, have students explain the action using the word we. (For example: We run. We jump. We walk.) If students need additional support, have them use magnetic letters to build the word, trace the word with their pointer finger, and then write the word.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section in the book. Additionally, partners can take turns reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection

Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Encourage students to compare their prior knowledge about building an object with that of someone at home.

Extend the Reading

Writing and Art Connection
Have students illustrate an action on a 9 x 13 piece of construction paper. Help them write a sentence to explain their picture using the pattern We ______. Compile the pages into a big book and use the book for shared reading.

Math Connection
Reread the book or use the cut-up pictures from the extra copy of the book to count the number of steps it took to make the birdhouse. Write the numbers on index cards. Have students practice saying and writing each number.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

accurately and consistently connect to prior knowledge to understand text during discussion
accurately sequence events in the book during discussion and on a worksheet
accurately discriminate between words that do and do not begin with the /s/ sound during discussion
accurately identify and write the letter symbol that stands for the /s/ sound during discussion and on a worksheet
recognize and locate action words during discussion and on a worksheet
recognize, pronounce, and write the word we during discussion and on a worksheet

Comprehension Checks

Retelling Rubric

Go to "We Build" main page


We Build Level aa About the Book Text Type: Fiction/Personal Account Page Count: 10 Word Count: 16 Book Summary We Build shows the steps a young girl and her grandfather take to plan and build a birdhouse. Pictures and simple repetitive text support beginning readers with one-to-one correspondence. About the Lesson Targeted Reading Strategy Connect to prior knowledge Objectives Use the reading strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to understand text Sequence events Discriminate initial sound /s/ Identify initial consonant Ss Recognize and understand that verbs are actions words Recognize and write the high-frequency word we Materials Book -- We Build (copy for each student) Chalkboard or dry erase board Sequence events, picture cards, initial consonant Ss, verbs worksheets 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 word: we Content words: build, draw, drill, glue, hammer, hang, paint, sand, saw Before Reading Build Background Write the words we build on the board and point to each word as you read it aloud to students. Have students say the words aloud. Ask students to think about what types of items can be built. Discuss their responses. Book Walk Introduce the Book Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask what they think they might read about in a book called We Build. (Accept any answers students can justify.) Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name). Introduce the Reading Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge Explain that good readers make connections between what they already know about a topic and new information they read. Remind students that thinking about what they already know about the topic of the book will help them understand what they read. Model connecting to prior knowledge using information on the covers. Think-aloud: When I look at the front cover of We Build, I see a girl and an older man. The man seems to be someone she knows. I know that my grandfather is an older man, so I think this man might be the girl's grandfather. They seem to be drawing something on a piece of paper. The title of the story is We Build. I know that when I build something, I first like to draw what I want it to look like. The back cover shows a picture of a birdhouse. I wonder if the man and the girl are drawing a plan of a birdhouse to build. Show students the title page. Encourage them to use their prior knowledge about making and building things to discuss what they see. Ask open-ended questions to facilitate discussion: What objects do you see on the page? Why are these objects included in a book about building? What are the objects used for? 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 Comprehension Skill: Sequence events Write the words lunch, dinner, and breakfast on index cards. Place them in the same order along the chalkboard ledge or in a pocket chart. Read the following list of events: First, I ate lunch. Next, I ate dinner. Last, I ate breakfast. Invite students to share comments about the order of the list. Invite a volunteer to reorder the events of the list in a way that makes sense to him or her and read the list of events. Guide students to understand that when events told out of order do not make sense. Model how to sequence events in order. Draw a picture of each event on an index card as you discuss each event. Think-aloud: Whenever I make something, I always seem to follow certain steps. For example, when I make a peanut butter sandwich I first need to get out all the supplies. Next, I spread peanut butter on one side of a piece of bread. Then, I put the two pieces of bread together so that the peanut butter is in the middle. After I eat my sandwich I clean up the mess. I have a plan for how to make a sandwich. Since I think this story might be about how to build a birdhouse, I think about the steps I might take to build it. As I read, I will look for words that describe these steps. Review the sequence of events on the index cards. Discuss a familiar routine students are familiar with, such as getting ready for lunch. Invite them share the sequence of events that they follow. Introduce the Vocabulary While previewing the book, reinforce vocabulary words students will encounter in the text. For example, while looking at the picture on page 4, you might point to the picture and say: saw; on page 5, you might say: sand. Remind students that they can help themselves when they come to a tricky word by looking at the first letter in the word and checking the picture on the page to see what word might start with the same sound or what word might make sense. For example, on page 6, model pointing under the h in hammer. Say: I am going to help myself by looking at the picture and thinking about what they are doing that starts like /h/ (make the /h/ sound). Does hammer make sense? Yes. The word is hammer. For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words and word-attack strategies, click here. Set the Purpose Have students read to find out what the girl and man build and how they build it. Remind them to think about what they already know about building as they read the book. During Reading Student Reading Guide the reading: Show students the book. Point out the words on the pages. Explain that the words on the pages are read from left to right. Ask a student to point to where students should start reading and show in which direction they should go as they read. Give students their copy of the book. Point out the numbers at the bottom of the pages. Have students turn to page 3. Point out the word We and say the word aloud with students. Explain that this word repeats throughout the book. Ask students what word comes after We (draw). Remind them to use letter and picture clues to identify words. Have students read to the end of page 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Model connecting to prior knowledge. Think-aloud: On page 4, the girl and the man are sawing pieces of wood. When they use the saw, they cut the wood to make the shapes they drew on their plan. I know that sharp objects, like a saw, can be dangerous. It is important for students to ask an adult for help when using sharp objects so they don't get hurt. The man is helping the girl stay safe. Invite students to share how they connected with what they already knew as they read. Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 7. Encourage them to share how they connected to prior knowledge as they read. Ask open-ended questions to facilitate the discussion: Which of these activities have you done before? What do you know about sanding? Why might it be important? What are the steps, in order, that the girl and man have taken so far? Would it make sense to complete the steps in a different order? Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to use what they already know about steps in building an object to help them understand new information as they read. 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. Have students share how they connected with one of the building steps in the book. Think-aloud: When I read page 8, I thought about when I painted the walls in my house. I thought about how carefully I painted to make sure I didn't leave any spaces without paint. I remember how difficult it was to get paint into the corners. Connecting to something I know made reading that page easy for me. It helped me think about all the steps the girl and the man took to build the birdhouse. Ask students to explain how thinking about what they know helped them to understand and enjoy the story. Reflect on the Comprehension Skill Discussion: Invite students to discuss how the steps of building the birdhouse were similar to or different from steps they took to build an object. Use an extra copy of the book to cut out the pictures from the story. Place the pictures out of order in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge. Discuss the sequence of events in the story. Place each picture in order as you discuss each event. Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sequence events worksheet. Enduring understanding: In the story, the girl follows certain steps in order to build her birdhouse. Now that you know this information, what will you do next time you are asked to make something? Build Skills Phonemic Awareness: Discriminate initial sound /s/ Say the word saw aloud to students, emphasizing the initial /s/ sound. Have students say the word aloud and then say the initial /s/ sound. Say the following word pairs one at a time: sun, map; rat, six; box, sailboat; seal, bus. Have students repeat the word that begins with the /s/ sound. Check for understanding: Cut out the pictures on the picture cards worksheet and show them to students. Say the name of the picture on each card. Have students show the thumbs-up signal when they hear a word that begins with the /s/ sound. Phonics: Identify initial consonant Ss Draw a picture of a sun on the board and label the word sun. Say the word aloud with students. Have students say the /s/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students which letter stands for the /s/ sound in the word sun. Have students practice writing the letter s on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound the letter makes. Check for understanding: Have students name words that begin with the letter s. Write each word on the board, one at a time, leaving off the initial consonant s. Have volunteers come to the board and complete each word by writing the initial consonant s, saying the sound the letter s stands for, and then saying the whole word. Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial consonant Ss worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses. Grammar and Mechanics: Action words (verbs) Have students turn to page 3 in their book. Read the sentence We draw. Ask students what the girl and her grandfather are doing in the picture (drawing). Explain that some words they read are action words, or words that tell what someone or something is doing. Have students act out drawing to show that it is an action. (You may also want to explain that these words are called verbs.) Have students turn to page 6 in their book. Invite them to read the sentence together, pointing to the words as they read. Ask them to point to the action word in the sentence (hammer). Have students act out hammering. Check for understanding: Have students read through the rest of the book and underline the action words. When they have finished, ask volunteers to act out the action words. Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the verbs worksheet. Word Work: High-frequency word we Explain that some words are in many of the books we read. Write the word we on the board and have students say the word aloud. Place all the story pictures from the sequence of events activity in a paper bag. Draw one of the pictures from the bag. Act out the picture and explain the action in a sentence using the word I. (For example: I hammer.) Write the sentence on the board and read it aloud with students, pointing to each word as you read. Act out the same picture with a volunteer, explaining the action in a sentence using the word we. (For example: We hammer.) Write the sentence on the board and read it aloud with students, pointing to each word as you read. Ask students to explain the difference between the sentences. Explain that the word we refers to two or more people. Model fluent writing of the word on the board or on chart paper. Have students write the word we in the air with their finger as you spell it out loud with them, pointing to each letter on the board as you say the letter name with students. Check for understanding: Have students act out action words such as run, walk, and jump, with a partner. After each action, have students explain the action using the word we. (For example: We run. We jump. We walk.) If students need additional support, have them use magnetic letters to build the word, trace the word with their pointer finger, and then write the word. Build Fluency Independent Reading Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section in the book. Additionally, partners can take turns reading parts of the book to each other. Home Connection Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Encourage students to compare their prior knowledge about building an object with that of someone at home. Extend the Reading Writing and Art Connection Have students illustrate an action on a 9 x 13 piece of construction paper. Help them write a sentence to explain their picture using the pattern We ______. Compile the pages into a big book and use the book for shared reading. Math Connection Reread the book or use the cut-up pictures from the extra copy of the book to count the number of steps it took to make the birdhouse. Write the numbers on index cards. Have students practice saying and writing each number. Assessment Monitor students to determine if they can: accurately and consistently connect to prior knowledge to understand text during discussion accurately sequence events in the book during discussion and on a worksheet accurately discriminate between words that do and do not begin with the /s/ sound during discussion accurately identify and write the letter symbol that stands for the /s/ sound during discussion and on a worksheet recognize and locate action words during discussion and on a worksheet recognize, pronounce, and write the word we during discussion and on a worksheet Comprehension Checks Retelling Rubric Go to "We Build" main page
	About Us \| Samples \| Tell A Friend \| Help \| Contact Testimonials \| Research \| Usage Policy \| Site Map \| Members \| My Account Home \| All Books \| Guided Reading \| Phonics \| Vocabulary \| Fluency Poetry \| Alphabet \| Assessment \| More Resources \| Subscribe