Doctor Jen - Lesson Plans

Doctor Jen
Level E

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
Page Count: 10
Word Count: 129

Book Summary
Doctor Jen tells the story of family members who are ill and the doctor they visit to feel better. The one family member who cannot visit Doctor Jen is revealed on the last page of the book. The picture-to-text correspondence and familiar topics support early readers' efforts.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Retell

Objectives

Use the strategy of retelling to understand the text
Identify the story elements of problem and solution
Blend phonemes
Read words with digraph -ck
Capitalize and punctuate exclamatory sentences
Place words in alphabetical order

Materials

Book -- Doctor Jen (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board
Problem and solution, alphabetical order 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: my, her, him, has, us
Content words: sister, doctor, brother, ache, father, cough, mother, throat, grandfather, stiff, knees, grandmother, earache, vet

Before Reading

Build Background

Ask students to think of a time when they were sick. Ask how they became sick, how long they were sick, and what they did to get well.
Brainstorm and discuss with students words associated with sickness, such as cough, fever, sore throat, and so on.

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 Doctor Jen. (Accept any answers 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: Retell

Explain to students that one way to understand and remember what they are reading is to stop now and then during reading to retell in their mind what is happening in the story.
Explain that when someone retells something, they explain the details of what happened in order. Point out that people retell stories as part of their daily lives, such as explaining what happened at a sports game. Ask students to share other examples of when people might give a retelling.
Model retelling a familiar story in detail, such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Think-aloud: In Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Goldilocks comes to a house in the forest that belongs to three bears: a mama bear, a papa bear, and a baby bear. The bears leave the house for a walk in the forest while their porridge is cooling. Goldilocks goes inside the house, even though no one is home. First, Goldilocks sees three bowls of porridge on the table. She tries each one. The first bowl is too hot, the second bowl is too cold, and the third bowl is just right, so she eats it all up. Next, she sees three chairs and sits in each one. The first chair is too hard, the second chair is too soft, and the third chair is just right. However, that chair breaks and Goldilocks falls to the ground.
Continue retelling in detail to the end of the story. Invite students to suggest information for the retelling of this story.
Have students place sticky notes on pages 4, 6, 8, and 10. Explain that as they read, they should stop on these pages to think about what has happened in the story. Encourage students to retell in their mind what happens in the story as they read.
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

While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words students will encounter in the text. For example, while looking at the picture on page 3, you might say: The girl has a thermometer in her mouth. It seems as though she has a fever.
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 4, model pointing to the t in the word tummy. Say: I am going to help myself by looking at the picture and thinking about what word starts like /t/ (make the /t/ sound). Invite students to share words that would make sense in the sentence. Then say: Does tummy make sense? Yes. The word is tummy.
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 about Doctor Jen. Remind them to stop reading at the end of each page with a sticky note to quickly retell in their mind what has happened so far in the story.

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 (My). 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.
Have them read to the end of page 4, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
Ask students what has happened so far in the story. Model how you stopped to mentally retell the story.
Think-aloud: I stopped after a few pages to retell in my mind what I had read so far. First, the narrator's sister is sick with a fever. So, she goes to see Doctor Jen. Next, the narrator's brother is sick with a tummy ache. So, he goes to see Doctor Jen.
Have students read to the end of page 6. Ask them to retell the events of the story to a partner.
Have students read the remainder of the story. Remind them to pause after a few pages to think about what has happened in the story and to make sure they understand it.

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 words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this as an opportunity to model how to read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Retell in detail with students the events of the story from pages 7 and 8, using the pictures in the book as a guide.
Think-aloud: After the narrator's mother went to the doctor, the narrator's grandfather went to see Doctor Jen. He had stiff knees. Then the narrator's grandmother was sick with an earache. So, she went to see Doctor Jen.
Have volunteers retell the events to the end of the book, using the pictures in the book as a guide. Then have them retell the story to a partner, starting at the beginning. Listen for whether students include the following: correct events in detail, events in order, main characters.
Ask students how pausing to retell the story in their minds helped them remember what was happening in the story.
Discuss additional strategies students used to gain meaning from the book.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Problem and solution

Discussion: Ask where they took Bowser when he was sick. Discuss the reason why Doctor Jen could not help Bowser.
Introduce and model the skill: Tell students that all stories have characters. They also have a setting, which is where the story takes place. Explain that the characters in this book are Dr. Jen and the people in the family of the girl telling the story. The story mostly takes place in Doctor Jen's office. Explain that stories also have a problem that needs to be fixed. The solution is how the problem was fixed. Model how to identify problem and solution using a familiar story.
Think-aloud: I know the story The Three Little Pigs. In this story, the pigs continued to have their houses blown down by the big bad wolf. This was the problem in the story. The pigs solved their problem by going inside the house of the third pig, which was made from bricks. The wolf could not blow this house down and all three pigs were safe.
Check for understanding: Explain to students that each family member in the story Doctor Jen has a problem. Ask students what the sister's problem was. Ask them to tell you how she solved her problem.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the problem and solution worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Instruct students to use the last page of the book to draw a picture of themselves at the doctor's office. Ask students share their picture with the group.

Build Skills

Phonological Awareness: Blend phonemes

Say the word sick by segmenting each of the sounds: /s/ /i/ /k/. Tell students that you can blend the sounds together to say the word: sick. Repeat and have students blend the sounds together with you.
Say the following words to students: take, cough, throat, stiff, better. Pause after saying each word so that students can blend the sounds together to say each word.

Phonics: Digraph -ck

Have students turn to page 3 and put their finger on the word that says sick. Ask students what sound they hear at the end of the word. Explain that the letters c and k together stand for one sound: /k/. Have students point to the letters that stand for the /k/ sound in the word sick.
Write the following words on the board: back, neck, chick, tack, pick, deck. Have students say each word with you as you run your finger under the letters. Have them write each of the words on a separate piece of paper.

Grammar and Mechanics: Exclamatory sentences

Direct students to the first sentence on page 10. Remind students that sentences always begin with a capital letter. Ask students to put their finger on the capital letter at the beginning of the sentence.
Explain that a sentence like this one shows surprise or excitement. Point out the exclamation point at the end of the sentence. Explain that a sentence that shows surprise has a signal at the end that tells the reader how to read it. Tell students the signal is called an exclamation point.
Write the following sentences on the board without correct capitalization and punctuation: be careful, the fire is hot; watch out, the floor is wet; help, the house is on fire. Ask students what needs to be corrected in each sentence. Have volunteers make the corrections to the sentences.

Word Work: Alphabetical order

Write the words sister and brother on the board. Read the words aloud with students. Ask students to identify the first letter in each word (s, b).
Ask students to identify which letter, s or b, comes first in the alphabet. Invite them to explain which word would come first in alphabetical order (brother). Explain that the word brother would come first in an alphabetical list because the first letter, b, comes before the first letter, s, in the word sister.
Write the words father and mother on the board. Read the words aloud with students. Invite volunteers to circle the first letter in each word. Have students explain which word would come first in alphabetical order and why.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the alphabetical order worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

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 Connection
Have students write a different ending to the story to explain what happened to Bowser. Divide students into pairs. Ask each pair to brainstorm ideas, write two or three sentences that explain what happens, and illustrate with a picture about their ending. Ask students to share their ending with the group.

Social Studies Connection
Invite a doctor or nurse to talk to the class about his or her profession. Encourage students to prepare questions ahead of time. Ask students to illustrate something they learned from the doctor or nurse.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

retell story events during reading
correctly identify the problem in the story and how it is solved
orally blend segmented sounds to say words
correctly read words that end with -ck digraph
correctly capitalize and punctuate exclamatory sentences
accurately place words in alphabetical order

Comprehension Checks

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