Build Background

• Write the word contest on the board and point to it as you read it aloud to students. Repeat the process and have students say the word aloud.
• Ask students if they have ever participated in a contest. Have them identify different kinds of contests and reasons for having them.
• Discuss whether or not someone had to keep score at any of these contests. Ask students to explain how the scorekeeping was accomplished.

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 The Contest. (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).
• Write the following repetitive phrases on the board: Andy's seed went and Jay's seed went. Read each phrase aloud, pointing to the words as you read them to students. Have students read them aloud. Explain that these words repeat in the book.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Make, revise, and confirm predictions

• Explain that good readers make predictions, or guesses, about what will happen in a story. Explain that making predictions can help readers to make decisions, solve problems, and learn new information. Emphasize that knowing how to make predictions is more important than whether the prediction is right, or confirmed. Readers continue to make new predictions based on clues they read in a story.
• Model using the picture on the front cover of the book to make a prediction.
  Think-aloud: When I look at the front cover, I see two boys. They are spitting something. As I look at the back cover, I see the boys eating food. It looks as though they are eating watermelon. Watermelons have seeds. I wonder if the boys are spitting watermelon seeds. Since the title of the book is The Contest, I wonder if the boys will have a race to see who can eat the most watermelon.
• Introduce and explain the prediction worksheet. Model drawing a prediction on the board, such as the two boys race to eat a lot of watermelon. Invite students to make a prediction based on the cover pictures and title. Have them draw and label their prediction on their worksheet. Share and discuss the predictions as a group.
• 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: Sequence events

• Review or explain that stories are generally told in order from beginning to end.
• Model sequencing the main events of the story The Three Little Pigs. Write key words about each event in order on the board as you describe them to students.
  Think-aloud: If I want someone to be able to tell the story of the Three Little Pigs, they need to include certain events in order to tell the story correctly. In this story, the first event that happens is that the first little pig builds a house out of straw. Next, the second little pig builds a house out of sticks. Then, the third pig builds a house out of bricks. After that, the wolf blows down the first pig's house. Then he blows down the second pig's house. Last, he tries to blow down the third pig's house, but he can't.
• Explain that certain words are often used to explain a sequence of events. Read the list of events on the board in order to students, using words such as first, next, and last. Ask students to identify these sequencing words from the example.
• Have a volunteer use the key words on the board to sequence the events of the story out of order. Ask students to explain why the order of the events is important (the sequence does not make sense out of order). Discuss with students that a story does not make sense when the events are out of order.
• Point out the difference between the sequence of events listed on the board and a retelling of the story (the retelling contains more detail and description; the list shows only the events that are most important for someone to understand the story). Ask students to provide details for each event from the story.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the following content vocabulary words on large index cards: contest, farther, farthest, next, past. Divide students into pairs. Provide each pair with an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. Have each pair use the paper to make a simple paper airplane.
• Explain to students that they will fly their paper airplanes as part of a contest to see whose airplane flies the farthest. Have pairs of students each fly their airplane starting from the same position. After each pair flies their plane, use the vocabulary words on the cards to discuss the results.
• After the discussion, place each vocabulary index card in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge where students can read them. Have volunteers use each word in an oral sentence about the contest.
• For tips on teaching high-frequency words or word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read to find out what kind of contest the boys have and who wins. Remind them to make, revise, and confirm predictions as they read. Have them think about the event that happened first, next, and so on.

During Reading 

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Have them read to the end of page 5 and then stop to think about the events that have happened so far in the story. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
• Cut out the pictures from an extra copy of the book. Place the pictures from pages 3 and 4 in order in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge.
• Model sequencing events and revising a prediction.
  Think-aloud: If I want someone to be able to tell this story to someone else, certain events need to be included in order to tell the story correctly. As I look at the first picture, the first event that happens is Andy and Jay decide to have a watermelon seed-spitting contest. Next, they spit the seeds toward the bench. I placed this picture in order next to the first picture. Before reading, I predicted that the boys would have a contest to see who could eat the most watermelon. As I look at the events that have happened so far in the story, I want to change my prediction. The boys are spitting watermelon seeds. They want to see whose seed will go the farthest. Since Jay's seed went farther than Andy's seed, and Jay thinks he can spit the farthest, I think Jay will win the contest. I will draw and label a picture of Jay winning the contest on the board.
• Have students review the prediction they made before reading. Have them draw and label a new or revised prediction on their prediction worksheet. If their original prediction was confirmed, have them write a check mark next to the drawing of that prediction.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 9. Remind them to use pictures, sentences, and what they already know to make predictions as they read. When they have finished reading, have them make, revise, and/or confirm predictions on their worksheet. Discuss whether their predictions turned out to be true or whether they needed to be revised.
• Use the cut-out story pictures to discuss the sequence of events through page 9. Discuss with students whether every story picture is important to include in the sequence of events.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Encourage them to continue to make, revise, and confirm predictions as they read the rest of the story.

    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.
• Have students complete their prediction worksheet. Ask them to explain other predictions they made while reading. Invite students to discuss whether their predictions turned out to be true or whether they needed to be revised.
• Think-aloud: I predicted that Jay would win the contest. This prediction was not correct. When the boys tied, they decided to break the tie. However, they both spit their seeds into the water, so no one won the contest.
• Ask students to explain how making, revising, and confirming predictions helped them to understand and enjoy the events of the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Use the cut-out story pictures to discuss the sequence of events through the end of the book. Remind students that a sequence of events contains only the events that are most important for someone to understand the story.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sequence events worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
• Enduring understanding: In this story, the two boys had fun during their contest. Now that you know this information, what do you think is important to remember when you have a contest or play games with other people?

Build Skills 

Phonemic Awareness: Segment onset and rime

• Say the word spit aloud to students. Explain that you are going to say the word a second time and leave off the /sp/ sound. Then say: /it/; spit without /sp/ is /it/.
• Have students identify other words that end with the /it/ sound (bit, hit, sit, lit, and so on).
• Have students say the word step. Then have them say the word step without the /st/ sound (/ep/).
• Check for understanding: Say the following words aloud one at a time: Jay, seed, tree, than, and now. Say aloud the initial sound before the vowel (onset). Ask students to say each word without the sound(s) of the onset.

Phonics: Initial consonant blend st

• Write the word step on the board and say the word aloud with students, emphasizing the /st/ sound at the beginning.
• Have students say the /st/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students what letters together stand for the /st/ sound in the word step.
• Have students practice writing the st letter combination on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound the letters stand for together.
• Check for understanding: Write the following words that begin with the st letter combination on the board, leaving off the initial consonants: stop, star, and stem. Say each word, one at a time, and have volunteers come to the board and add the initial consonant blend st to each word. Then have them run their finger under the letters as they orally blend the sounds of the word together.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial consonant blend st worksheet.

Grammar and Mechanics: Quotation marks

• Have students turn to page 3 and locate the first sentence. Read the first sentence aloud. Point to the quotation marks. Explain that these marks are called quotation marks. These marks go around the words that characters say in a story.
• Point out the word said after the quotation marks. Explain that this word signals who is speaking. Tell students that Andy is speaking to Jay in this sentence.
• Turn to page 5. Explain that a character is not speaking on this page, so quotation marks are not used.
• Have a volunteer describe what type of contest the boys had in the story. Write their sentence in dialogue form on the board, leaving off the quotation marks. Have a volunteer come to the board and add the quotation marks in the correct locations.
• Check for understanding: Have students find and highlight other sentences in the story that contain quotation marks. Discuss who is speaking in each sentence.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the quotation marks worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Word Work: Position words

• Turn to page 4 and read the sentences aloud to students. Point to the words farther and farthest. Review what students know about the meaning of these words from the discussion during the Vocabulary section.
• Explain that the word farther is used to compare the distance between two things. For example, My seed will go farther than your seed. Two seeds are being compared.
• Explain that the word farthest is used to compare the distance between one thing to many other things. For example, My seed will go the farthest of everyone's seeds. The seed is being compared to everyone's seeds.
• Check for understanding: Place four objects in a line at different distances on the floor. Have students use the position words farther and farthest to describe the relationship between the objects.

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. Have students sequence story events from The Contest aloud to someone at home.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Have students draw a picture of themselves spitting a watermelon seed. Under the drawing, help them write a sentence to describe their picture using the following prompt: "My seed went __________," said ________. Combine the pages into a class book. Reinforce student understanding of position words, high-frequency words, and quotation marks.

Math Connection
List three names of foods on the board. Read each word aloud one at a time. Have students raise their hand to indicate their favorite food. Write a number under each food to show the number of votes. Model how to write each number using tally marks. Give pairs of students objects to count. Have them use tally marks to stand for the number of objects.

Assessment 

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• accurately and consistently make, revise, and confirm predictions during discussion and on a worksheet
• accurately sequence events during discussion and on a worksheet
• accurately segment onset and rime
• identify and write the letter symbols that together stand for the consonant blend sound /st/ during discussion and on a worksheet
• locate and understand the use of quotation marks in dialogue during discussion and on a worksheet
• understand and use words that indicate position during discussion

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric

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