Text Type:
Fact / Informational text
Reading Level:
I
Word Count:
312
Pages:
16
Text Summary
Families is a book about various members who can make up a family and how they are related. Since family structure can vary drastically these days, children may benefit from understanding the variety that exists. Children may learn from this book that no matter what their family tree may look like, their family is theirs and that means it's special.
Reader Supports
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Reader Challenges
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Lesson Objectives
Reading Strategies
Children should use a variety of strategies to decode words and bring meaning to print. The targeted strategy for this lesson is: Look inside out for word parts that help establish meaning.
As we know, families today can have many stepparents and stepsiblings, as well as half siblings. If these concepts are unfamiliar, it may be easier to look inside the word for a word that is familiar, then add on the prefix. Children may need to go back, reread, and summarize to be sure they comprehend what the author is teaching them. This will help establish meaning as they move on through the text. For others, the concepts in the book will be easier, and making connections will help them as they decode and establish meaning.
Word and Print Skills
Phonological Awareness
gr is grrrr
Focusing on the words great and grandma discuss with children that gr blends together to sound like grrrr.
Phonics
S plural vs. ’s possessive
Have children look for words that end in s. This is a good story to discuss the difference between plural and apostrophe s used as a possessive. Some examples of plural s are relatives: grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. Families can be used; however the -ies- makes the plural form more complicated.
Some examples of apostrophe s are mother’s, father’s, and people’s.
Word Work
High Utility Words
your, many, know, before, their
Punctuation
Recognizing that there are types punctuation other than final punctuation.
Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as children work to understand the text. The targeted comprehension strategy for this lesson is: Sequencing.
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Visual Learning
Children will notice details in the pictures and the graphic organizers that will help reinforce vocabulary and help them understand the text.
Targeted Vocabulary Words
High Utility Words
your, many, know, before, their
Content Words
The names of all family members in this book are words that you may want to go over and discuss with children before having them read independently. These are words that can be put on a list or added to a class word wall or dictionary, if applicable.
Before Reading
Building Background
Have a discussion with children regarding the different people in their family. This will be interesting because all families are unique. Some people have grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, several children, or only one, living with them or in regular contact with them. As you are discussing this, you may want to make up word cards, or write words from the book that are brought up, on the chalkboard or chart paper.
Ask: What is a relative? How many of your relatives live in your house? How many relatives do you have? Do you have relatives that live in different cities or states?
Introducing the Book
Introduce the book by showing children the front and back covers, and title page.
Ask: What do you see on the covers? What does this tell you about the book’s contents? What do you think the book will be about? Say: We just discussed different members of our families. Which members would you guess that we may find in this book, just by looking at the picture?
Book Walk
After looking at the covers and title page, go through the book with children. This can be done to familiarize children with the format of the book. Going over the format and how a family tree looks will help them as they are reading independently.
Reading Strategies
As children are reading, you may want to ask probing questions, such as:
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During Reading
Model Reading
If you feel it is necessary, you can read portions from the book to children in order to model the proper intonation and fluency.
Student Reading
Have children read the book quietly or aloud at their own pace. Children should point to each word as they read. Remind them to use the pictures to help them and to segment the sounds in each word, sounding it out if they get stuck. Also, remind them to use the various strategies discussed earlier to help them if they get stuck, especially skipping words and then going back and rereading.
After Reading
Comprehending the Text
After children have read the book, talk to them about the book and ask questions to help you get an idea of what they gained from the book. (Some questions from the Building Background section above may be appropriate for this section as well. You can save them or ask them before and after children read the book.)
Ask: What was the book about? What do you think the author was trying to teach us? We spoke earlier of what a relative was. Were we correct? Is there anything we should add to what we said earlier, now that we have read the book? How many of you have or know someone who has stepparents or stepsiblings? How many of you have or know someone who has half brothers or half sisters?
Visual Learning
Much can be gained from photos in nonfiction books. By asking some of the following questions, you will be able to see what children can gain from the visuals in the book.
Ask: What does the picture of ___ tell you about his or her mood? Does it matter that the boy in the book and some of his cousins don’t look alike? Should all relatives look alike? Why or why not? Did you notice anything interesting about any of the pictures in the book?
Building Skills
Phonological Awareness
gr is grrrr
Focusing on the words great and grandma discuss with children that gr blends together to sound like grrrr. Have children come up with other words that begin with gr and notice that they have a blended sound.
Phonics
S plural vs. ’s possessive
Have children look for words that end in s. This is a good story to discuss the difference between plural and apostrophe s used as a possessive.
Some examples of plural s are relatives: grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles. Families can be used; however, the –ies- makes the plural form more complicated.
Some examples of apostrophe s are mother’s, father’s and people’s.
Review the difference between s plural and apostrophe s. As a group, come up with sentences using examples of both. Have children pair up or get in groups of three, and come up with two sentences, one using s plural and one using an apostrophe s.
Word Work
High Utility Words
your, many, know, before, their — These words can be included in a weekly spelling test to help children recognize them, as well as being incorporated into their regular writing. The words can also be added to the class word wall or into the class dictionary, if applicable. You can also try playing "hangman" or a "password"-like game where children have to give clues to help others guess what the word is, without actually saying what the word is.
Apostrophes and hyphens
The use of apostrophes and hyphens make this book a good introduction to these punctuation marks. Discuss the way to use both of these punctuation marks, and have children go through, notice, and count up the number of times each is used.
Expand the Reading
Writing Connection
Have children write how their family is similar or different from the family in the book. Because this book discusses stepparents, stepsiblings, and half siblings, many children may feel comfortable writing about the various members that make up their immediate and extended family more so than in other circumstances. Take this opportunity to allow them to discuss how their family came to be, and encourage them to write as much as they feel comfortable writing. This can often be a difficult subject for children and may include a lot of feeling on the child’s part.
Math Connection
Have children figure out how many immediate family members they have and how many extended family members they have. Then have them create a math problem for another student to solve.
For example, say: If I have 5 immediate family members and 13 extended family members, how many family members do I have all together?
Reading Independently
Have children read the book independently or with a partner. You can also encourage them to read other books of their choice at the appropriate level.
Home Connection
Because many students may be unaware of how many relatives they have living out of town or out of state, send home a letter, asking parents to give you an approximate number of relatives their child has. Encourage them to list the number of aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings etc— as many details as possible. This should be done the week prior to reading this book, if possible. This way, if children don’t know how many relatives they have, you will be able to help them with the response sent in from the parent.
After you have read the book in class, you can send the book home to be read to or with family members.
Assessment
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