Build Background

• Ask students to describe what they know about costumes. Discuss reasons why people dress up in costumes (for plays, school character days, amusement parks, Halloween, and so on).
• Ask students to describe types of costumes and where they saw each one.

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's Halloween. (Accept any answer students can justify.)
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).
• Turn to the title page and ask students why the children are ringing the doorbell. Ask them what the children are likely to say when the door is opened.
• Turn to page 4. Point out the repetitive phrase trick or treat and have students say it aloud. Explain to students that these words repeat throughout the book. Ask students to point to the last word in the first sentence (spider). Remind them to use letter and picture clues to identify words.

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 how to connect to prior knowledge.
  Think-aloud: I know that good readers think about what they already know when they read. This helps them read new words and understand new information. As I read the title and look at the front and back covers, I think about the things I already know about Halloween. I see the children dressed in costumes, and I see the woman holding a tray of food. These pictures remind me of trick-or-treating.
• Show students the title page. Encourage them to use their prior knowledge about Halloween to tell what is happening in the picture. Invite students to share any additional information they know about trick-or-treating.
• 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: Story elements - Characters and setting

• Write the words character and setting on the board. Explain that the characters in a story are the people or animals in the story, and the setting is where the story takes place.
• Model how to identify characters and setting using a familiar story.
  Think-aloud: I know the story of the three little pigs. It's about a wolf that goes to the houses of three pigs. He huffs and puffs and blows down the houses made of sticks and straw. But he cannot blow down the brick house of the third pig. The characters in that story are the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. The setting in the Three Little Pigs is the houses of the three little pigs.
• Have students think of a favorite story to share. Discuss the names of characters and settings in familiar stories they know. Record or draw the characters and settings on the board.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words students will encounter in the text. For example, while looking at the picture on page 4, you might say: Look at Mr. Johnson's spider.
• 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 8, model pointing under the p in pumpkin. Say: I am going to help myself by looking at the picture and thinking about what the children see on Mrs. White's porch that starts like /p/ (make the /p/ sound). Invite students to share words that would make sense in the sentence. Then say: Does pumpkin make sense? Yes. The word is pumpkin.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read to find out what happens in Maria's Halloween. Remind them to use what they already know about Halloween to help them understand new information they read.

During Reading 

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Show students the book. Point out the words on the pages. Review or 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 tell in which direction they should read.
• Give students their book. Point out the numbers at the bottom of the page. Have them read to the end of page 5. Invite students to share how they connected with what they already know about Halloween as they read.
• Model connecting to prior knowledge.
  Think-aloud: I know that when people go from door to door on Halloween, they say the words trick or treat. I also know that when someone gives me a gift, I say thank you. When I looked at the pictures and thought about what I already knew about Halloween, reading the words was easier for me.
• Check for understanding: Encourage students to share other things they know about trick-or-treating. Facilitate the discussion with questions such as: Where do you go trick-or-treating? Who do you go with? Why is it important to go with an adult?
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to use what they already know about Halloween 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.
• Invite students to share examples of tricks they have seen. Discuss the difference between appropriate and inappropriate tricks.
• Think aloud: When I read the last page in the story, I used what I already know about Halloween to help me understand what Mama and Papa did. I knew that sometimes people play tricks on Halloween. Mama and Papa played a trick on the children by dressing up and then jumping out from behind the sofa. Using what I already knew helped me understand the story better.
• Have students share examples of how they connected with the characters, setting, or events in the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Write the headings Characters and Setting in a two-column chart on the board. Invite students to share the names of some characters in the book. Write them in the Characters column on the board.
• Have students turn to page 11 and point to the word Abuela. Say the word aloud and have students repeat it. Explain that Abuela is the Spanish word for grandmother. Have students explain the background of the children in the story (a Spanish-speaking culture).
• Ask students to share the setting of the story. Write the description of the setting in the Setting column on the board.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the story elements worksheet.

    Extend the discussion: Have students predict how the story continues after the parents play the trick on the children. Encourage them to draw and write about what might happen next on the inside back cover of their book.

Build Skills 

Phonemic Awareness: Discriminate final /k/

• Explain that you are going to say a word form the book. Say trick and emphasize the final /k/ sound.
• Choose a variety of classroom objects, such as a clock, book, scissors, tape, glue, and desk. Point to each object and have students say the name of the object. Have them raise their hand if the object ends with the /k/ sound, as in the word trick.
• Check for understanding: Say the following words from the book aloud, one at a time: trick, spider, ghost, look, pumpkin, thank, go, Halloween, and black. Have students raise their hand when they hear a word that ends with the /k/ sound, as in the word trick.

Phonics: Identify initial blend tr

• Write the words trick and treat on the board. Say the words aloud with students.
• Have students say the /tr/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in each word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students what letters stand for the /tr/ sound they hear in the words trick and treat.
• Underline the initial blend tr in each word. Explain that the letters tr together stand for the /tr/ sound they hear in the words trick and treat.
• Check for understanding: Ask students to think of other words that begin with the /tr/ sound, as in the word trick. Write these words on the board, leaving off the tr blend. Have students come to the board and add the tr to the beginning of each word.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial blend tr worksheet.

Grammar and Mechanics: Proper nouns

• Show students the front cover of the book and ask them to name the characters. Write the words Maria and teacher on the board. Ask students if these words describe people, places, or things (people). Invite them to explain the difference between the words (Maria begins with a capital letter).
• Ask students to explain why Maria begins with a capital letter (it is a name). Explain that names of people in the story always begin with a capital letter.
• Have students suggest names of people. Write each name on the board. Invite students to come to the board and add the capital letter at the beginning of each name.

    Check for understanding: Have students look through the book and locate the other proper nouns. Have them highlight the proper nouns found in the book.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the proper nouns worksheet.

Vocabulary: Alphabetical order

• Write the words cat and spider on the board and underline the first letter in each word. Ask students which letter comes first in the alphabet, c or s. Allow them to use an alphabet chart, if needed. Explain that words are sometimes placed in a list of words in ABC, or alphabetical, order. Words are placed in alphabetical order by first looking at the beginning letter in each word and deciding which letter comes first in the alphabet.
• Write the words pig, horse, cat, bear, lion, and dog on index cards. Highlight the first letter in each word on the cards. Place the cards in a pocket chart or along the ledge of the chalkboard.
• Point to the first letter on the alphabet chart. Have students name the letter aloud (Aa). Ask students whether any of the words on the cards begin with the letter Aa. Continue the process, having students place the words in alphabetical order.
• Check for understanding: List the following words on the board: cat, spider, ghost, pumpkin, Halloween, and trick. Have students refer to the alphabet chart to place the list of words in alphabetical order on the board.

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 read their book at home and name the characters and setting in the story to someone after they read.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Discuss family customs and traditions on Halloween (trick-or-treating, dressing in costumes, passing out candy, and so on). Have students draw an object that reminds them of Halloween. Encourage them to label the drawing with the words Look at
the __________. Compile the drawings and create a big book for students to read in class.

Math Connection
Have students reread the story. Have them count the number of treats the children got as they were trick-or-treating if each child received one treat from each person they visited. Invite students to share the total number of treats received by all children. Have them share how they figured their answer.

Assessment 

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• accurately and consistently connect to prior knowledge to understand the text during reading
• accurately identify the characters and setting of the story during discussion and on a worksheet
• accurately discriminate the final /k/ sound during discussion
• identify and write the tr blend during discussion and on a worksheet
• identify proper nouns and locate them in text and on a worksheet
• correctly place words in alphabetical order during discussion

Comprehension Checks

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