About the Book

Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 118

Book Summary
City Places is a nonfiction book about various places typically found in a city and what people do in those places. Detailed illustrations support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Connect to prior knowledge

Objectives

• Use the strategy of connecting to prior knowledge to make sense of the text
• Identify main idea and details
• Discriminate ending sounds
• Identify and read words with l-family blends
• Capitalize and punctuate question sentences
• Identify question words

Materials

• Book -- City Places (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Main idea and details, l-family blends 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: what, is, this
• Content words: city, place, park, store, zoo, skyscraper, stadium, parking garage, station

Before Reading 

Build Background

• Ask students to share things they think they might do in a city and places they might go. Record their ideas in an idea web with the words City Places in the center circle.

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 City Animals. (Accept any answer that students can justify.)
• 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 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 connecting to prior knowledge using the information on the covers.
  Think-aloud: When I look at the front cover of City Places, I see a lot of tall buildings. I know that people in a city work in these buildings. The buildings have many floors. You often need to use an elevator to get to the different floors in the building. I know that good readers think about what they already know about the topic of the book. I will think about what I know about cities as I read this book. This will help me understand the book and it might also help me read some new words.
• Have students preview the pictures on the covers and title page in the book. Have them tell about their experiences with the helpers they see in the 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 any difficult language patterns. For example, on page 7, ask: Do you know what we call these big buildings? They are skyscrapers. That's a long word. Can someone come up and point to the word on the page? How do we know that says skyscraper?
• Reinforce that skyscraper is made up of two words, one of which is sky, which they probably know. Recognizing the two parts can help them read the word.
• 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 more about city places. Remind them to think about what they already know about city places 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 (There). 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 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: As I read page 4, I thought about what I know about parks. It reminded me of parks I've seen. People meet there for different activities. They play basketball and tennis. Some people like to walk their dogs. Sometimes I see teams playing soccer.
• 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 use what they already know about city places 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: On page 6, I read about the zoo. I know that people go to zoos to see different kinds of animals, such as elephants, zebras, and bears. These animals are often from far away places. Zookeepers feed and take care of these animals. Using what I already know about zoos made it easier for me to read this part of the book.
• Discuss how using what they already know about city places helped them understand what they read. Invite students to share how they connected to prior knowledge as they read.
• Discuss additional strategies students used to gain meaning from the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

• Discussion: Ask students to name some of the places they read about and to tell what things they can do there.
• 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. (There are different places in a city.) Make a large web on the board and write the following words in the center circle: city places. Explain that there are details in the book that tell about the main idea.
• Think-aloud: On page 5, I read about a store. Stores are places people can go to in a city to shop for things that they need. This is a detail that tells about the main idea. Write store in the first outer circle on the web.
• Check for understanding: Have students point to another detail in their book that tells about the main idea. Observe and discuss their responses.
• 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 use the last page of their book to draw a picture of a city place they have visited or would like to visit. Ask students to share their picture with the group.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Discriminate ending sounds

• Say the words park and sock. Have students repeat the words and tell what they notice about the ending sounds. Have them say the /k/ sound aloud.
• Say the following groups of words one at a time: sing/rang/run; jump/desk/ask; juice/nice/box; man/hand/wind; best/rock/past. Have students tell which word in each group ends with a different sound.

Phonics: L-family blends

• Write the word places on the board and read it with students. Underline the pl and explain that the sounds of these letters blend together to stand for the /pl/ sound. Ask students to say the blend.
• Have students turn to page 8 and find another word that begins with the blend pl (players). Write the following blends on the board: pl, bl, cl, fl, gl, sl. Say each blend with students.
• Say the word plan and have a student come to the board and point to the l-family blend in the word. Write the word plan under the pl blend. Repeat with each of the following words: blip, slab, flap, glad, cliff, bluff, slam, flat, glob, club, plum.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the l-family blends worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Grammar and Mechanics: Capitalization and punctuation of questions

• Remind students that there are two kinds of sentences. One kind tells the reader something, such as I like to go to school. Ask students what comes at the beginning and at the end of every telling sentence (capital letter and a period). Have students point to a telling sentence on page 3.
• Have students look at the first sentence on page 4. Ask how it is alike and different from the other sentences on the page (all begin with capital letter; this sentence ends with a question mark). Remind students that this is an example of another type of sentence called a question. Have students put their finger on the question mark at the end of the sentence.
• Write the following questions on the board without correct capitalization and punctuation: can I go to the park; may I play on the swings; why can't I swim in the lake. Ask students what needs to be corrected in each question. Have volunteers come to the board and correct the sentences.

Word Work: Question words

• Direct students to page 4 of the book. Have them put their finger on the word that starts the question sentence (what). Explain that the word what signals a question sentence.
• Ask students to think of questions to ask you. As students ask questions, write each one on the board. Ask students to identify the question word in each sentence. Provide any not offered (where, can, do, are, will, what, when, how, where, why).
• Tell the students that sometimes telling sentences can be changed into asking sentences. Write the sentence I can play in the park on the board. Ask if this is an asking or telling sentence. Then use one of the question words to change it into a question: Can I play in the park? Repeat with the following sentences and have students help you change the telling sentences into questions using question words: This is my pen; He can have my lunch; They will be late; I do like ice cream; The cat and the dog are in the house.

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.

Extend the Reading

Writing and Art Connection
Brainstorm a list of city places students might visit. Write a class book about a trip to the city. Ask students to illustrate the book.

Social Studies Connection
Discuss places students go to in their city or town. Make a map of familiar places in your city or town on a large piece of chart paper. Include places mentioned in the book if possible.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• use what they know about cities to help them understand the text
• correctly identify details from the book that support the main idea during discussion and on a worksheet
• tell which word in a group of words ends with a different sound
• locate words with the pl blend in the book; read words with l-family blends
• tell the difference between a question sentence and a telling sentence during discussion
• recognize words that signal questions; correctly change statements into questions

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric

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