Maria and Her Teacher - Lesson Plans

Maria and Her Teacher
Level B

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 40

Book Summary
Maria and her teacher do many things together at school. A familiar setting, repetitive text, high-frequency words, and supportive pictures make this book a perfect way to start the school year for beginning readers.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Connecting to prior knowledge

Objectives

Use the reading strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to understand text
Identify the main idea and details
Discriminate initial sound /t/
Identify initial consonant Tt
Recognize and understand that verbs are action words
Identify and use high-frequency word and

Materials

Book -- Maria and Her Teacher (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Main idea and details, initial consonant Tt, 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 words: and, her
Content words: add, clean, paint, play, read, smile, talk, teacher, write

Before Reading

Build Background

Write the word teacher on the board and point to the word as you read it aloud to students. Repeat the process and have students say the word aloud.
Invite students to talk about some of the activities they do at school with their teacher.

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 Maria and Her Teacher. (Accept all answers that students can justify).
Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).
Write the following repetitive phrase on the board: Maria and her teacher. Read the phrase aloud, pointing to the words as you read them to students. Have students read them aloud. Explain that these words repeat throughout the book.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge

Explain to students that good readers make connections between what they already know and new information they read. Remind them 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 cover of Maria and Her Teacher, I see a girl working with a woman. Since the title of the book is Maria and Her Teacher, the girl probably is Maria, and the woman probably is Maria's teacher. I know that teachers do many things with their students at school. This reminds me of all the ways that teachers help their students. Teachers help their students read and write. They help you learn about many subjects, such as math, science, and social studies. They answer your questions as you lean new information. This book might be about all the ways Maria's teacher helps Maria learn. The information I already know about school and the things that teachers and students do there will help me understand and enjoy reading the book.
Invite students to share how they connected to prior knowledge based on the covers and title page of the book.
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: Main idea and details

Explain to students that every book has a big, or main, idea, which is what the book is mostly about. Read the title to students. Explain that the title often provides clues about the book's main idea. Invite students to share predictions about the main idea of this story.
Explain to students that the main, or big, idea of this book is there are many things teachers and students do at school. Write the following sentence on the board: There are many things teachers and students do at school. Point to each word as you read the sentence aloud with students.
Model how to identify details.
Think-aloud: I know that every book has details that help explain the big idea. I know that this story is about the things teachers and students do at school. I see a picture on the title page of Maria and her teacher. Maria is holding up some of her fingers, and her mouth is open. She looks as though she might be talking. Her teacher is looking at Maria and listening. I know that people move their hands and open their mouth when they are talking. I also know that talking is something teachers and students do at school. Since this action helps to explain the big idea, talking might be a detail in the book.
Review the activities that teachers and students do at school that were discussed in the Build Background section. List these ideas on the board. Discuss whether any of these activities might be details in the story.

Introduce the Vocabulary

Reinforce vocabulary words students will encounter in the story. For example, while looking at the picture on page 4, you might say: It looks as though Maria uses a pencil and paper to write.
Remind students to look at the picture and the letter(s) with which a word begins or ends to figure out a difficult word. For example, point to the word smile on page 7 and say: I am going to check the picture and think about what would make sense to figure out this word. The picture shows Maria and her teacher laughing. When I look at the first part of the word, it starts like /s/. However, the word laughing starts with the /l/ sound, so this can't be the word. When I look more closely at the picture, I see that they both have smiles on their face. The word smile starts with the /s/ sound. The sentence makes sense with this word. The word must be smile.
For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words and word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

Have students use what they already know about what students and teachers do at school to help them read the book. Remind them to think about the details that support the main idea as they read.

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 (Maria). Point out to students where to begin reading on each page. Remind them to read the words from left to right.
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.
Model connecting to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: On page 5, I see Maria with a book in her hands. She has the book open and is looking at it. Her teacher is looking over Maria's shoulder and appears to be saying something to her. I've seen teachers help their students when they are reading. They teach their students strategies for figuring out difficult words, such as looking at the picture and the first letter in the word.
Invite students to share how they connected with what they already knew as they read.
Review the main idea of the book: There are many things teachers and students do at school. Ask students to explain whether reading is a detail that supports the main idea of the book and why (yes; reading is something teachers and students do at school).
Introduce and explain the main idea and details worksheet. Write the word read on the board. Have students write the word and draw a picture that represents the word read in one of the spaces on their worksheet.
Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 8. Encourage them to share how they connected to prior knowledge as they read. (Accept all answers that show students understand how to connect to prior knowledge.)
Ask students to think about other details they read that support the main idea there are many things teacher and students do at school. Have them choose one of the details to draw on their worksheet. Ask them to label their drawing using the word from the book. Have students share the detail they drew and wrote about.
Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to use what they already know about the things teachers and students do at school 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.
Think-aloud: When I read page 9, I thought about school and the things that teachers and students do there. The picture shows Maria and her teacher using a sink and soapy water to wash paintbrushes and containers. They are wearing aprons. I know when people paint they must clean up their mess. They wear aprons to keep from getting their clothes dirty.
Have students draw a picture on a separate piece of paper showing how they connected to prior knowledge while reading about one of the activities teachers and students do at school in the story. Invite them to share and explain their picture to the rest of the class.
Ask students to explain how thinking about what they already knew helped them to understand and remember the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

Discussion: Read the main idea on the board with students. Review the details students drew on their worksheet. Invite them to explain why each of the details on their worksheet matches the main idea of the story.
Independent practice: Have students complete the main idea and details worksheet.
Enduring understanding: In this story, you learned about some of the ways a teacher helps her student at school. Now that you know this information, what kinds of things can you expect a teacher to help you with?

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Discriminate initial consonant sound /t/

Say the word teacher aloud to students, emphasizing the initial /t/ sound. Have students say the word aloud and then say the initial /t/ sound.
Have students say the /t/ sound. Read page 3 aloud to students. Have them raise their hand when they hear a word that begins with the /t/ sound.
Check for understanding: Say the following words one at a time and have students give the thumbs-up signal if the word begins with the /t/ sound: add, turtle, read, play, truck, paint, toy.

Phonics: Identify initial consonant Tt

Write the word teacher on the board and say it aloud with students.
Have students say the /t/ 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 /t/ sound in the word teacher.
Have students practice writing the letter Tt on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound of the letter.
Check for understanding: Write the following words that begin with the letter Tt on the board, leaving off the initial consonant: tag, top, ton, tug. Say each word, one at a time, and have volunteers come to the board and add the initial consonant Tt to the words.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial consonant Tt worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Grammar and Mechanics: Action words

Ask students to hop up and down. Ask a volunteer to tell what he or she did (hop). Explain to them that some words name actions. These words are called verbs. Invite students to name other action words they know.
Have students turn to page 3 in their book. Read the first sentence together with students, pointing to the words as they are read aloud. Ask students to point to the word that identifies an action (talk).

Check for understanding: Have students reread the story and underline the verbs. When they have finished, have them make a list of other action words they know.

Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the verbs worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Word Work: High-frequency word and

Tell students they are going to learn a word that they will often see in books they read. Write the word and on the board and read the word aloud. Have students read the word with you.
Have students write the word on a sheet of paper. Encourage them to practice writing the word several more times on the paper.
Read the sentence on page 3 aloud to students. Point to the picture of Maria and her teacher, and say: Maria and her teacher. Ask students to identify how many people are in the picture (two). Point to the word and in the sentence. Explain that the word and is used to list more than two people, places, or things.
Check for understanding: Have students use the word and in oral sentences to identify two or more things in the classroom.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their book independently. 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. Have them share with someone at home how they connected with what they already knew as they read the book together.

Extend the Reading

Expository Writing and Art Connection
Have students draw a picture of themselves and their teacher doing something together at school. Have them write a word or sentence to tell what they are doing with their teacher. Combine the pages into a class book. Reinforce verbs and the high-frequency word and.

Math Connection
Draw a two-column chart on the board or chart paper. Discuss with students the activities Maria did with her teacher in the story. Write these activities in the left-hand column of the chart. Invite students to share the activities they do with their teacher at school each day. List these activities in the right-hand column of the chart. Count with students the things in each list. Compare with students the types of activities in the lists.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

consistently connect to prior knowledge to understand text
accurately identify the main idea and details during discussion and on a worksheet
correctly discriminate between words that begin with the /t/ sound during discussion
accurately identify and write the letter symbol that stands for the /t/ sound during discussion and on a worksheet
correctly identify and use verbs during discussion and on a worksheet
read, write, and understand the use of the high-frequency word and during discussion

Comprehension Check

Retelling Rubric

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