Reading Level:
I

Word Count:
320

Pages:
14 

Text Summary
This is a wonderful collection of famous childhood stories of the first U.S. president, George Washington. Each story includes examples of how George Washington was an honest person, even as a child. 

Reader Supports

• Simple sentence structure 

Reader Challenges

• Limited picture support of text 

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategies
Students should use a variety of strategies to determine word meaning and comprehend text. The target strategy for this lesson is: rereading to work out difficult words or meanings. 

Word and Print Skills
Phonological Awareness
/sh/ sound
Phonics
Consonant digraph sh

Word Work

High Utility Words:
no, my, day, down, did 

Targeted Vocabulary Words
George Washington, president, hatchet, harshly, bucked, tumbled, honest

These are difficult words that students will encounter in the text. You may want to review and discuss the words and have students add them to the classroom word wall or dictionary. 

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as students work to understand the text. The target comprehension strategy for this lesson is: drawing conclusions. 

Visual Learning
Understand how illustrations can help the reader better understand the text. 

Before Reading

Introduce the Book
Show students the cover illustration and have them read the title to make initial predictions about the main idea or topic.
Ask: What do you see on the cover? Who is George Washington? What do you think the book might tell you about George Washington? What else can you guess from the illustration or title? 

Build Background
Involve students in a discussion about George Washington and presidents to elicit prior knowledge and build background.
Ask: What is a president? Can you name any presidents? What are some qualities a president should have? What do you know about George Washington? Have you heard any stories about him when he was a boy? 

Book Walk
Hand out books to students and go through as much of the book as you feel is necessary. Point out things you feel will challenge students as they read. Look at the pictures with students and discuss what they see. You may want to write down some of the words they suggest.
Ask and say: Do you think this is fiction or nonfiction? Why? Sometimes, people tell stories about famous persons, places, or times. Some of these stories are true, and some we cannot prove. Do you know of any other legends about real people or events? What do you think the childhood stories will be about? Record students’ ideas and suggestions on chart paper.
Page 3
Say: George Washington’s picture is on the dollar bill. Why do you think that is important?
Pages 4-6
Say: There is a very famous story about George Washington and a cherry tree. By looking at the illustrations, can you predict what the story is about?
Pages 7-9
Say: The next story is about a horse. After looking at the illustrations, what do you think George did in this story?
Pages 10-13
Say: The last story is also about a horse. After looking at the illustrations, what do you think George did in this story?
Page 14
Say: The last page tells about how George’s mother feels about him. After looking at the illustrations, what do you think these stories tell us about George Washington?  

Reading Strategies
Remind students to use any or all of the following strategies to help them in their reading:

• Ask the questions: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?
• Look for small chunks they know within larger words
• Use what they know about letters and sounds to read words
• Use the pictures to help them check whether a word is right
• Reread any sentence or page that was difficult, to make sure they understand the text

You may want to model a strategy you think will help students gain meaning, such as rereading, sounding out a word, or using the illustrations to check whether the text makes sense. As students read, monitor their reading and note whether they reread to check for meaning. If a student is having difficulty, intervene and have him or her reread the sentence to see if that helps work out the word. 

Using the Worksheet
Introduce and explain worksheet 1. Students should fill in each section of the chart as they read through the text.
Say: After you read each story, I want you to stop and write down what you think George did that shows he is honest. We will discuss these events when you have finished reading.

During Reading

Student Reading
Have students whisper-read the book independently. You may suggest they read through the book once and then read it again. If the book is being used as a consumable, you may have students mark or highlight words that were difficult or places where they have questions. 

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Discuss the strategies that students used to figure out difficult words.
Ask: Were there any words you had some trouble with? How did you work them out? Did you reread the sentence to see if that helped you read the word? Were there any words that you were able to read because you recognized a smaller chunk within the word? Show me the word. 

Have students refer to their completed worksheets as you ask the following questions.
Ask: What happened in the first story about George Washington? What did he do that showed he was honest? Why do you think he told the truth? What happened in the second story? What did he do in this story that showed he was honest? What happened in the last story? How did his mother feel when she heard the horse was hurt? Why do you think she forgave George for what he did?
Discuss what conclusions students can make about the character of George Washington based on the information in the story.
Ask: How did these stories about George Washington help you decide what kind of person he was? What words would you use to describe George as a boy? 

Visual Learning
Select an illustration from the story and have students tell you what they learned from it.
Ask: Did you need to use any of the illustrations to help you understand the story? If you look at page five, can you tell what is happening in the story from the illustration? 

Building Skills

Phonological Awareness
Have students listen as you say some words. Tell them you want them to clap if the words begin with the same sound. Say the following pairs of words: ship/shark, shell/sun, shine/hand. Then tell students you want them to listen for the last sound in the word. Demonstrate with the word brush. Have them clap if the pairs end with the same sound. Say the following word pairs: rush/hatch; bush/blush; mat/hush. 

Phonics
Consonant digraph sh
Introduce or review the consonant digraph sh with students. Write the word bush on the board, and ask students to read it with you. Ask them what sound they hear at the end of the word and what letters make this sound. Underline the sh. Explain that the letters s and h together make the /sh/ sound. Have students brainstorm a list of words that start with the /sh/ sound. Record these on the board and ask for volunteers to come up and circle the digraph. Words can be added to spelling journals, word walls, or classroom dictionaries.

Word Work
High Utility Words:
no, my, day, down, did
Write the high utility words on the board and read them with students. Explain that there are some words that are used often in the books they read. If they can learn to recognize these words quickly, it will help them become better readers.
Play the game “Stomp on My Word.” Have students write each word in large letters on a 3 x 5 card. Have students spread the word cards on the floor. When you call out a word, they are to step on the appropriate word card. Do this several times until students feel comfortable with the words.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Discuss how the stories about George Washington told about how he was honest. Discuss how our actions can tell something about ourselves. Write a sentence model for students, and have them write about a trait and what it can tell others.
Say: If I laugh, this tells you I am happy. I can write this sentence on the board: When I laugh, it shows I am happy. Let’s think of another trait and use this sentence pattern to write a sentence about a character trait. Then I want you to use the pattern "When I _____, it shows I am _____," to write your own sentence. 

Social Studies Connection
Students can read books about other American presidents. Have students share information they find out from their reading. 

Reading Independently
Invite students to reread the book independently or with a partner. Have students share their own stories from the Writing Connection with each other.

Home Connection
Invite students to take the book home to read with their families. Have them share their Writing Connection stories with a family member. 

Assessment

• Assess students’ completed worksheet 1 to determine how well they understood the story. Note whether they can draw conclusions about Washington based on the story events.
• Monitor students as they read. Select one or two students and have them read a few sentences to you. Note the reading strategies they use.
• Assess completed worksheet 2 to determine whether students know when to use periods.