Fall - Lesson Plans

Fall
Level C

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 51

Book Summary
Fall is a season of colorful transformations. Pumpkins, apples, leaves, corn, the frosty ground, and even the moon change color as winter approaches. A delightful scarecrow introduces students to these color transformations in an easy-to-read format.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Ask and answer questions

Objectives

Use the strategy of asking and answering questions during reading to understand text
Classify information
Identify words that rhyme
Associate the letter Tt with the sound /t/
Identify nouns
Identify color words

Materials

Book -- Fall (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Classify information, rhyme, initial consonant Tt 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: in, the
Content words: orange, pumpkins, moon, red, leaves, yellow, brown, grass, corn, white, frost, colors

Before Reading

Build Background

Have students name the four seasons and tell one thing they can think of that happens in each season.
Write the word Fall in a web on the board. Ask students to name the special things they see in the fall and write their responses on the web.
Have students tell you different colors they see in the fall and name things that are those colors. Read through the words on the web with them.

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 Fall. (Accept any answers students can justify.) Ask students to identify the fall items on the front cover (scarecrow, leaves). Discuss the purpose of a scarecrow.
Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).
Ask them to tell what fall item they see on the back cover (pumpkins). Ask them to predict what other things might be in a book about fall. Refer to the word web if necessary.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

Explain that before reading, readers often think about what they already know to ask questions about something they want to know. This helps readers remember and enjoy what they read.
Model how to ask questions as you preview the covers and title page in a book.
Think-aloud: When I look at the title page picture, I asked myself: What is a bird doing on the arm of a scarecrow? Based on our discussion, I know that scarecrows are supposed to scare away birds. I wonder if it's because the scarecrow looks very friendly instead of scary. As I read, I will look for an answer to my question. I will also ask myself other questions to make sure I understand what I see in the book.
Ask students what questions they asked themselves as they looked at the covers and the title page pictures.
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 you see in the picture? That's right, the scarecrow is pointing to some pumpkins. What color do pumpkins turn in the fall? Yes, that's right. In fall, pumpkins turn orange.
As vocabulary words are mentioned, have students point to the corresponding word to help them make the picture/word connection. For example, on page 3, ask what sound is at the beginning of the word pumpkins. Then ask which word on the page says pumpkins and have them tell how they know this.
Encourage students to add the 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 what the book tells them about fall. Remind them to look for information to answer their questions 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. Read the word together (In). 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 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
Model how to ask questions.
Think-aloud: As I read, I learned about all the things that turn different colors in the fall. When I read page 5, I read how apples turn red. I wonder if other things turn red during the fall. I will read to find an answer to this question.
Invite students to share answer they found to their questions while reading. Have them share any new questions they thought of while reading. Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their questions 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 to read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Discuss how asking questions in their minds made them think about what they were reading.
Think-aloud: I wanted to know about other things that turn red during the fall. I found out that leaves can look red during the fall. I also wanted to know why the birds were not afraid of the scarecrow. This question was not answered in this book. However, I think the birds were not afraid of the scarecrow because it looked so friendly.
Invite students to share questions that were answered and not answered while reading. Discuss how asking and answering questions in their mind while reading made them think about and enjoy what they were reading.
Discuss additional strategies students used to gain meaning from the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Classify information

Discussion: Ask students what their favorite part of fall is and to tell why. Have them tell what colors they read about in the book. Ask whether they can see any other colors in the fall besides the ones in the book.
Introduce and model the skill: Explain that all the objects and events in the book can be sorted into a big group. Tell students that all these things belong to a group called Things we see in fall. Write this phrase on the board.
Think-aloud: The objects and events in the book can be sorted into a group of things I see in the fall. In the fall, apples turn red. Leaves also turn red. Write this information in a word web on the board.
Check for understanding: Have students name additional things from the book that fit in this group. Cut out the pictures from an extra copy of the book and place them in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge. Have students identify ways to sort the objects in the pictures into more than one group.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the classify information worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Instruct students to use the last page of their book to draw a picture of their favorite fall thing.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Discriminate rhyme

Say the words fall and ball, and have students repeat the words. Ask them to say the word fall without the first sound (all). Repeat the process with the word ball.
Ask students what sounds are the same in the words (all). Explain that words that sound the same at the end are called rhyming words.
Say the words tall and tan. Ask students to identify which word sounds like fall at the end. Repeat the process using the words can and call.
Say the following pairs of words: pair/chair; deck/neck; big/blue; hen/pen; top/map; hat/cat; sun/leg; cut/hut. Have students give a thumbs-up signal if the two words rhyme and a thumbs-down signal if they don't rhyme.
Introduce, explain, and have students complete the rhyme worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Phonics: Initial consonant Tt

Say the word turn. Have students say the word without the /urn/ sound. Have them turn to page 3 and put their finger on the word. Run your fingers under each letter as you blend together the sounds in the word. Ask students to put their finger on the letter that stands for the /t/ sound in the word.
Write the letter Tt on the board. Explain to students that the letter Tt stands for the /t/ sound they hear at the beginning of the word turn. Have students practice writing the letter on a separate piece of paper.
Have students name words that begin with the /t/ sound. Write each word on a piece of chart paper, leaving off the initial consonant Tt. Invite students to write the initial consonant Tt in each word on the chart paper.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial consonant Tt worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Grammar and Mechanics: Nouns

Have students turn to page 3 and look for two words on the page that are the names of things. Guide them to choose the word fall and the word pumpkins. Explain that the word fall is the name of a season and the word pumpkin is the name of the fruit.
Explain that words that name a person, place, or thing are called nouns. Invite students to provide examples of noun words and identify whether it is a person, place, or thing.

Have students search the book to find other naming words and circle them. They should circle the word fall each time it appears, as well as the words moon, apples, leaves, grass, corn, and frost.

Word Work: Color words

Ask students to tell you the color words they read in the book. Write them on a chart using a crayon of the same color.
Read each word on the list, one at a time. Have students brainstorm several things that are each color. Add these items to the chart under each color name.

Have students reread the book. Have them color the items on the page the same color as the word listed on the page.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

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

Home Connection

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

Extend the Reading

Writing Connection
Have students talk about the things and colors they can see in another season, such as summer. Make a list on chart paper, such as a blue sky, a blue lake, green grass, and so on. Write the following pattern on the board: In summer, I can see ________. Have students write the pattern on a separate piece of paper and add a color and item of their choice in the blank. Invite them to draw a picture about their sentence.

Health Connection
Discuss how the temperature outside turns cold in some places at the end of fall. Ask students to describe how their body reacts when they are cold. Have them share kinds of clothing people wear when it is cold outside. Ask students to explain why this kind of clothing is important to wear when the temperature outside is cold.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

consistently ask and answer questions while reading
correctly sort objects into groups during discussion and on a worksheet
tell whether words they hear rhyme; identify names of pictures that rhyme on a worksheet
correctly associate the letter Tt with the /t/ sound during discussion and on a worksheet
correctly identify and find nouns in the book
accurately identify color words during discussion

Comprehension Checks

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