The Picnic - Lesson Plans

The Picnic
Level B

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 43

Book Summary
Ted and Peg carefully plan their picnic. They load their basket with all kinds of goodies, including sandwiches, cheese, and apples. Just as they are about to set off, a surprise item pops up from inside the basket. The repeated sentence patterns and cute illustrations make this book appealing to young readers.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Connect to prior knowledge

Objectives

Use the strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to understand text
Identify main idea and details
Blend onset and rime
Associate the letter Pp with the sound /p/
Understand that names are capitalized
Categorize content words

Materials

Book -- The Picnic (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry-erase board
Main idea and details, initial/final consonant Pp 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: and, go, in, the, who
Content words: picnic, basket, Peg, Ted, cheese, chips, cookies, sandwiches, apples, soda pop, mouse, put

Before Reading

Build Background

Ask students to tell about picnics they have been on. Ask them to tell where they went, whom they went with, and what kinds of food they took. Ask if they took the food in a picnic basket or carried it some other way.

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 The Picnic. (Accept any answers students can justify.) Ask students what they think the children are doing. Ask what clues in the pictures show that the children are going on a picnic (picnic basket, plates).
Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name). Ask what else might be in the basket aside from the food. Ask how they think the mouse got in the basket.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge

Explain that good readers make connections between what they already know 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 making connections to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: When I look at the front cover of the book, I see different things. I see two people. One of them is holding a basket. The other is holding plates. These are both items people take on picnics. It looks like they are outside. I know that lots of bugs are outside. This makes me think about stories I've read that tell about ants carrying away food from a picnic. I wonder if that will happen in this story. I expect that I will recognize the things the children take on their picnic because I've probably eaten similar foods. Knowing about these foods will help me read the book.
Ask students what food the kids in the book might take on their picnic and whether they think the food would be good to take on a picnic.
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

Use the book walk as an opportunity to introduce unfamiliar vocabulary to students and to model the language pattern. For example, on page 3 ask: What do the children get in this picture? Yes, they get the plates and a picnic basket. On page 4, ask: What does Ted put in the basket? Yes, Ted puts in cheese.
As vocabulary words are mentioned, have students point to the corresponding word to help them make the picture/word connection. For example, ask: Which words on this page do you think say picnic basket? How do you know they say picnic basket?
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 the book to find out how the children get ready for their picnic. Tell them to think about how the picnic food is like food they have eaten and to use this information to help them 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 (Ted). Point to 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 6, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
Ask students to share how they connected to something that they knew from the information on these pages.
Model making connections to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: The last time I went on a picnic, I brought delicious sandwiches. As I read page 5, I remembered those sandwiches and this helped me read the word sandwiches on the page. It also helped me remember what it was like to get ready for a picnic and think about all the good food we would soon eat.
Have students read the remainder of the story. Remind them to look for other things about the picnic that are like a picnic they have been on.

Have students make a small question mark in their book beside any word or words 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, if any, words they marked in their book. Use this as an opportunity to model how to read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Reinforce how using what they already knew about going on a picnic helped them understand what they read.
Think-aloud: When I look at the picture on page 7, I thought about what food comes in cans that someone would take on a picnic. I've seen lots of juices and sodas come in cans. This helped me read the words soda pop on the page. Using what I already knew about picnics helped me understand what the book was about. I wanted to read it to find out the kinds of things these kids were taking on their picnic and whether the things were like those I would take on a picnic.
Discuss additional strategies students used to gain meaning from the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

Discussion: Ask students how the mouse got in the basket. Discuss times when they may have seen a mouse in the kitchen looking for food. Ask whether they think the story could really happen as it did. Ask what a real mouse might do if you opened up the basket.
Introduce and model the skill: Explain to students that books they read have a main idea that tells what the book is about. The title of the book and the pictures can be clues to identify the main idea. Discuss the main idea of this book. (People take supplies on a picnic.) Create a web on the board. Write this main idea in the center circle. Explain that the book gives details about things the children take on their picnic.
Model identifying details.
Think-aloud: On page 3, I found out that the kids take a picnic basket. This is something people may bring on a picnic. I'll write that in one of the circles around the main idea.
Check for understanding: Ask students to turn to page 4 to find what else the kids decided to take on their picnic. Model recording it on the web.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the main idea and details worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Extend the discussion: Instruct students to go through the book and color the food items taken on the picnic, and then circle the corresponding word(s) on the page.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Blend onset and rime

Ask students to listen as you say two parts of a word and then blend them together: T-ed; Ted. Say the onset and rime again, and have students slowly blend the parts together with you to say the word.
Say the following onsets and rimes one at a time: m-ouse, p-ut, P-eg, p-op. Have students repeat the onset and rime for each word. Then have them blend the word parts together to say the word.

Phonics: Initial/final consonant Pp

Have students reread the title with you. Ask which word in the title starts with the /p/ sound. Have students put their finger on the word picnic. Tell students the letter Pp stands for the /p/ sound in picnic.
Have students turn to page 3 and find the word picnic (appears twice). Then ask them to find another word that starts with the /p/ sound (Peg).
Have students look on page 4 to find another word that starts with the /p/ sound (puts).
Then have students find a word on page 7 that begins and ends with /p/. When they find the word, write the word pop on the board. Have a volunteer come to the board and circle the beginning and ending letters in the word.
Write the following words on the board: pet, pan, pot, top, tap, and hip. Have students say each word with you as you run your finger under each letter in the word.
Ask volunteers to come to the board and circle the letters that stand for the /p/ sound in the words.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial/final consonant Pp worksheet.

Grammar and Mechanics: Capitalization

Tell students to look at the cover of the book. Explain that book titles capitalize the first word and important words in the title. Show students several other books, and have them check to see if the first word and important words are capitalized.
Then have students turn to page 3 and reread the first sentence. Have students put their fingers on two words in the sentence with capital letters. Ask why these words begin with capital letters. Tell students that a person's name always begins with a capital letter.
Ask each student to think of the letter his or her name begins with. Write each name on the board, beginning the word with a lowercase letter. Ask each student to tell whether you wrote his or her name correctly. Have volunteers correct the words.

Word Work: Categorize words

Ask students what the book was about (things taken on a picnic). Review what Ted and Peg took (cheese, sandwiches, chips, soda pop, apples, cookies). Ask students what these words have in common (food; things that can be eaten; things that can be eaten on a picnic).
Make a large word web on the board, and label it "Foods to take on a picnic." Have students brainstorm other foods that might be taken on a picnic, and record these on the web.
When you have created a large web, ask students if they can think of a way to group the foods on the web (fruits and vegetables, hot and cold foods, sweet and savory, and so on). Write the categories on the board. Then name each food in the web, and have students tell you in which category to place it.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Additionally, partners can take turns reading 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 pattern of the story to have students write a group book about going on a picnic. Write the pattern _______ puts in _______. Have students tell what they would put in the basket. Then have them draw a picture of the food and copy the sentence under it, supplying their name in the first blank and the food in the second blank. You may need to help students write in the name of the food.

Science Connection
Discuss the food pyramid and healthy foods. Make a poster for each food group and have students suggest foods for each group. Write these foods on the appropriate poster and post them in the classroom.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

talk about personal experiences of picnics and food, and relate them to the story
correctly identify details that support the main idea and record them on a worksheet
correctly blend onset and rime during discussion
associate the letter Pp with the /p/ sound; read simple CVC words beginning or ending with the /p/ sound
identify words in the book with capital letters and explain why they are capitalized
correctly categorize words associated with food during discussion

Comprehension Check

Retelling Rubric

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