What Is at the Zoo? - Lesson Plans

What Is at the Zoo?
Level C

About the Book

Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 76

Book Summary
What Is at the Zoo? introduces students to the interrogative sentence form by asking them which animals are at the zoo. Although students may wish it were so, the last animal isn't seen in zoos these days. Pictures support early readers.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Connect to prior knowledge

Objectives

Use the strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to make sense of text
Identify main idea and details
Blend phonemes
Associate the letter Zz with the sound /z/
Recognize statements and questions
Recognize question words

Materials

Book -- What Is at the Zoo? (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Main idea and details, sentences 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: are, there
Content words: bears, monkeys, elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, hippos, sea lions, dinosaurs

Before Reading

Build Background

Discuss students' experiences with visiting a zoo. Talk about the animals they saw, what the animals were doing, the types of enclosures the animals were in, and which animals they liked best.
Expand the discussion by asking students to come up with a definition for the word zoo (a place where live animals are kept for people to view).

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title to them. Ask what they might read about in a book called What Is at the Zoo? (Accept any answers students can justify.) Ask students which animal is on the cover. Ask if they have ever seen a bear and, if so, what it looked like and what it was doing.
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 to students 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 how to connect to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: I know that good readers think about what they already know about the topic of the book. This helps them understand what they read. When I look at the picture on the back cover, I see an animal. Since the title of the book is What Is at the Zoo, the animal in the picture might be one that I see at the zoo. The animal is big. Elephants are big animals found at the zoo, but this animal does not have a trunk. When I think of other big animals at the zoo, I also think of a hippopotamus. I will remember what I know about animals and zoos, and use that information to help me read the book.
Tell students you want to remind them of some things they already know about zoos. Ask them to brainstorm about animals that they might see at a zoo as you record them in a word web on the board.
Have students preview the covers and title page of the book. Invite them to share how they connected to something they know.
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 language patterns. For example, on page 3, ask: Are there bears at the zoo? Yes, there are.
As vocabulary words are mentioned, have students point to the corresponding word to help them make the picture/word connection. For example, ask: Which word on this page do you think says bears? How do you know it says bears and not beans? Reinforce that both words start with /b/ but that beans doesn't make sense.
Model for students how identifying with what is happening in the pictures and drawing on what they know about the experience can help them read the new word on the page.
Think-aloud: I have seen bears like this at zoos. Thinking about what I know helps me read the word bears.
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 to find out what is at the zoo. Remind them to think about what they know about zoos 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 (Are). Point out 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 identify the animals in the book that they have seen at the zoo. Ask them to share how they connected to something that they know about zoos from the information on these pages.
Model making connections to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: On page 6, I saw a picture of an animal with a very long neck. I thought about animals I have seen that have long necks. I know that giraffes have long necks. People can see giraffes at a zoo. Using what I know about animals and zoos helped me read the word giraffes.
Invite students to share how they connected with what they already know as they read.
Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to continue to think about what they know about baseball 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 which 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: As I read page 7, I thought about animals that I know are found in zoos. I saw a picture of an animal with stripes. I know that zebras have stripes, but this animal looked more like a cat. Tigers are animals that look like giant cats and have black stripes on their fur. Using what I already know about zoos helped me understand and read the book.
Discuss how using what they already knew about zoos helped them understand what they read.
Discuss additional strategies students used to gain meaning from the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

Discussion: Have students identify their favorite animal in the book and why.
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. (Different animals are in zoos.) Explain that there are facts in the book that tell about where animals live.
Think-aloud: I know the book is about different animals that are found in zoos. When I read page 3, I read that bears can be found in zoos. This is a detail that tells more about the main idea.
Check for understanding: Ask students to turn to page 4 to find another detail about animals found in zoos.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the main idea and details worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Instruct students to use the last page of their book to draw a picture of their favorite zoo animal. Ask students to share their picture with the group.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Blend phonemes

Say the word yes by segmenting the sounds: /y/ /e/ /s/. Model blending these sounds together to say the word yes.
Repeat the process by segmenting the word not: /n/ /o/ /t/.
Say the following words to students by segmenting them into their individual sounds: cat, dog, goat, cow. Pause after saying each word and have students practice blending the sounds together to say each word.

Phonics: Initial consonant Zz

Have students look at the cover of the book and read the title with you. Have them put their finger on the word that starts with the /z/ sound. Ask them which letter in the word stands for the /z/ sound.
Write the words zap, zag, and zip on the board. Have students blend the sounds in each word together with you as you run your finger under the letters. Have volunteers circle the letter that stands for the /z/ sound in the words.
Have students practice writing the letter Zz on a separate piece of paper while saying the /z/ sound aloud.

Grammar and Mechanics: Sentence types

Have students turn to page 3 and tell you how many sentences there are on the page (2). Read the sentences aloud to students, emphasizing the change in voice intonation between the question and the statement. Ask students to explain what is different about the sentences.
Review or explain that there are two kinds of sentences. Explain to students that one kind of sentence tells the reader something. Reread the second sentence on page 3. Point out the period at the end of the sentence. Explain that the period at the end of this sentence tells the reader to stop reading.
Review or explain that another type of sentence is an asking sentence. Reread the first sentence on page 3, emphasizing the change in voice intonation. Point out the question mark at the end of the sentence. Explain that the question mark at the end of a question sentence tells the reader to stop reading.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sentences worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Have students underline all the questions in the book with a red pencil or crayon, and all the telling sentences with a blue pencil or crayon.

Word Work: Question words

Ask students what word begins the question on page 3. Model asking questions using the word are.
Tell students that other words begin questions. Write the following words on the board: who, what, when, where, why. Model asking a question using each of the words: Who is tall? What are you doing? When do you go home? Where is my pencil? Why are you late?
Ask volunteers to ask a question using one of the words on the board. Have students come to the board and point to the words used in each oral question.

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
Write the following sentences on the board: Are there ___ at the zoo? Yes, there are. or No, there are not. Ask students to think of other animals they might or might not see at the zoo. Make a list of animals on the board. Ask students to select an animal, write the sentences, and illustrate a picture about their sentence. Display the pages on a bulletin board.

Science Connection
Ask students to think of a question about their favorite zoo animal. Provide resources for students to use for finding the answer. Ask students to orally report what they learned to the class.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

relate what they know about zoos to their reading
correctly locate details in the book that support the main idea and write them on a worksheet
accurately blend sounds to say words during discussion
correctly associate the letter Zz with the /z/ sound during discussion
correctly recognize two kinds of sentences in the book; accurately punctuate sentences on a worksheet
use question words appropriately in oral sentences

Comprehension Checks

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