Wing's Visit to Singapore
Level H 

About the Book

Text Type: Fiction/Realistic Fiction
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 258 

Book Summary
When Wing visits Singapore, his Uncle Lee takes him fishing on Bedok Jetty. It is Wing's first time fishing and he is not sure he will enjoy himself. As his uncle encourages him to keep trying, Wing learns that fishing can be fun after all. Pictures support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

  • Retell

Objectives

  • Use the reading strategy of retelling to understand and remember story events
  • Sequence events
  • Identify and discriminate the final r-controlled sound in words
  • Recognize and write the r-controlled er letter combination in words
  • Recognize and understand the use of quotation marks
  • Identify and use content vocabulary

Materials

  • Book -- Wing's Visit to Singapore (copy for each student)
  • Chalkboard or dry erase board
  • Index cards
  • Sequence events, quotation marks, content vocabulary worksheets

   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: asked, did, how, into, know, like, looked, said, wanted
  • Content words: catch, caught, fishing pole, hook, jetty, line, Singapore, threw, worm

Before Reading 

Build Background

  • Ask students to share whether or not they have ever been fishing. Invite them to share where they went, who took them, and what they took with them.
  • Discuss reasons why people fish, and locations appropriate for fishing. Encourage students to share their experiences.

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

  • Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask them what they think they will read about in a book called Wing's Visit to Singapore. Have them predict which character might be Wing.
  • 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 in school to a student who was absent. 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 was 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 was 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 6, 9, 13, and 16. 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 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 Goldilocks and the Three Bears. 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 retell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, certain events need to be included in order to tell the story correctly. In this story, the first event that happens is that Goldilocks goes into the house of the three bears. Next, she tastes three bowls of porridge, but only the third bowl tastes just right. Then she sits on three different chairs, but only the third chair feels just right. Then she sits on three different beds, but only the third one feels so good that she falls asleep. Last, the three bears come home, and they find her asleep in the bed. Goldilocks wakes up and runs away. I will write these events on the board in order.
  • 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 steps is important (the sequence does not make sense out of order).
  • Point out to students that the sequence of events listed on the board shows only the events that are most important for someone to understand the story. It does not include all the details of the retelling of this story.

Introduce the Vocabulary

  • While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words students will encounter in the story. For example, while looking at the picture on page 4, you might say: Uncle Lee took Wing to Bedok Jetty to fish. Where did he take Wing to fish? (Bedok Jetty) Have students answer and repeat the name several times.
  • Remind students to look at the pictures and the letters a word begins or ends with to figure out a difficult word. For example, point to the word threw on page 8, and say: I am going to check the picture and think about what would make sense to figure out this word. The picture shows Uncle Lee and Wing holding their fishing poles. When I look at the first part of the word, it starts like /th/. I can think about how their lines got in the water and the beginning part of the word to help myself figure out the word. I think the word is threw.
  • Read the sentence aloud and ask students if threw makes sense in the sentence.
  • For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words or word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

  • Have students read to find out what happens during Wing's visit to Singapore. Remind them to stop reading at the end of each page with a sticky note to quickly retell in their mind the details of the events so far in the story. Have them think about the events that happened first, next, and last.

During Reading 

Student Reading

  • Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Have them read to the end of page 6 and then stop and 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 through 5 in a pocket chart or along the chalkboard ledge.
  • Model retelling the events of the story using the pictures as a guide.
    Think-aloud: I stopped after a few pages to retell in my mind what I had read so far. First, I learned that Wing went to Singapore to visit his Uncle Lee. It was very hot there. His Uncle Lee took him fishing, but Wing had never fished before. Wing didn't think he would like fishing and didn't want to try. But his uncle asked him to try, so Wing asked his uncle to teach him.
  • Remind students that a retelling includes detail and description about the events of a story, and a sequence of events lists the most important events that someone would need to know to tell the story correctly.
  • Point to the picture from page 3. Explain that the first important event in the story is that Wing went to Singapore to visit his Uncle Lee. Write this event under the picture from page 3.
  • Have students look at the picture from page 4. Ask them to explain what important event happened next in the story (Uncle Lee took Wing fishing). Write this event under the picture from page 4. Repeat the process with the last picture (Wing asked his uncle to teach him how to fish).
  • Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 9. Place the pictures from pages 7 and 9 next to the pictures from the beginning of the story. Ask volunteers to use the pictures as a guide to retell the details about the events after Uncle Lee said he would teach Wing to fish. Listen to students' retellings for correct order and description of the story events.
  • Ask students to identify the sequence of events from these pictures. (Uncle Lee taught Wing to fish. Uncle Lee caught a fish.) Write each event under the picture. Ask them to predict what might happen next in the story.
  • Have students read the remainder of the story. Remind them to continue stopping on pages with sticky notes to retell in their mind the details 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.
  • Retell in detail with students the events of the story from page 10, using the picture cut out from page 10 of the book.
    Think-aloud: After Uncle Lee caught one fish, he caught five more. Wing had not caught any fish, so he was upset.
  • Have volunteers retell the events to the end of the book, using the pictures cut out from pages 12 and 15 of the book. 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, problem, and solution.
  • Ask students how retelling the events of the story in their mind as they read helped them understand the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

  • Discussion: Review the events of the story listed in order on the board. Place pictures from pages 10, 12, and 15 in order next to the rest of the pictures from the story. Ask students to identify the sequence of events starting when Uncle Lee caught a fish (page 9). (Uncle Lee caught five fish and Wing was mad. Wing tried again. Wing caught a big fish.)
  • Independent practice: Cover the sequence of story events on the board. Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sequence events worksheet. Encourage them to use their book to complete the worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
  • Enduring understanding: In this story, Wing thought he would not like to fish because he didn't know how. Now that you know this information, what will you do next time you are asked to try a new activity?

Build Skills 

Phonemic Awareness: Discriminate r-controlled er

  • Say the words never and water aloud to students. Have students repeat the words aloud. Ask them what is the same about the two words (the ending sound).
  • Say the word zip aloud with students. Have students add the sound the er letter combination stands for to the end of the word zip and ask them to say the new word aloud (zipper). Repeat with the word slip.
  • Check for understanding: Read the following words to student one at time: paper, candle, diaper, teacher, snake, feather, tooth. Invite students to show the thumbs-up signal when they hear the sound the er letter combination stands for.

Phonics: Identify r-controlled er

  • Write the words never and together on the board and have students say the words aloud with you. Underline the er letter combination at the end of each word and ask volunteers to identify the sound the letters e and r stand for together. Explain that the er letter combination is one of the letter combinations that stand for the sound they hear at the end of the words never and together.
  • Have students practice writing the er letter combination on a separate piece of paper. Have them say the sound the letter combination makes as they write it on their paper.
  • Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board, leaving off the er letter combination: center and teacher. Have students add the er letter combination to the end of the words on a separate piece of paper and say the sound the letter combination stands for.

Grammar and Mechanics: Quotation marks

  • Explain that special marks, called quotation marks, are used to show when someone is speaking. Say: If I am writing and I want to show someone is speaking, I put quotation marks around the words they said.
  • Model using quotation marks when writing a sentence on the board: I like to sing songs, said the teacher. Read the sentence together as a group and discuss which words are spoken words. Add the quotation marks in the correct places.
  • Encourage students to generate one or more examples of sentences that require quotation marks. Write their sentences on the board and have volunteers place the quotation marks in the correct places.
  • Have students turn to page 5. Ask students to reread the page and locate the quotation marks. Ask students to tell who was talking in the first sentence and what he said (Wing; I don't like fishing).

    Check for understanding: Have students work with a partner to locate the other quotation marks in the story and circle them. Have partners discuss who is speaking and how they know.

  • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the quotation marks worksheet.

Word Work: Content vocabulary

  • Write the following words from the story on the board: fishing pole, hook, line, and worm. Say each word aloud with students.
  • Have students think of words or phrases they know that are associated with the meaning of each vocabulary word. For example, students might think of the words wiggly, dirt, and slimy for the vocabulary word worm. Write descriptive words around each vocabulary word on the board.
  • Review the definition of each word in the glossary. Point out the page number next to each definition. Explain that the page number shows where the vocabulary word is used in the book. Have students locate the word on the page and read the sentence that contains the word.
  • Check for understanding: Provide each student with four blank index cards to create vocabulary flashcards. Have students write each vocabulary word on one side of an index card and draw a picture of each word's meaning on the other side of the index card.
  • For any words that continue to be challenging, encourage students to say the new vocabulary words, talk about their meaning, and use the words in sentences.
  • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the content vocabulary worksheet.

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 retell the story in detail to someone at home.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Have students think of an activity they like to do with a family member. Encourage them to illustrate the activity and write a short story about it.

Social Studies Connection
Locate the country of Singapore on a map. Create a KWL chart about Singapore. List information in the book about Singapore and other facts students might know in the Know column of the chart. Have students ask questions about what they want to know, and list these in the What column of the chart. Use the Internet to locate information about the country and the people who live there to answer the questions. Record the information in the Learned column of the chart.

Assessment 

Monitor students to determine if they can:

  • accurately and consistently demonstrate retelling the story during discussion
  • accurately and consistently sequence the main events of the story during discussion and on a worksheet
  • accurately discriminate the sound of the er letter combination during discussion
  • identify and write examples of words with the er letter combination during discussion and on a worksheet
  • correctly understand that quotation marks are used to show when story characters are speaking; correctly place them in sentences on a worksheet
  • correctly identify the meaning of content vocabulary and use it during discussion and on a worksheet

Comprehension Checks



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