Lesson Plans for HEALTHY ME level I

Text Type:
Fiction / Realistic

Reading Level:
I

Word Count:
319

Pages:
14

Text Summary
Healthy Me tells the reader ways to keep healthy. The little girl in the story shares several of the ways she keeps her body and mind healthy, including nutrition, hygiene, exercise, sufficient sleep, and mental relaxation. The accompanying illustrations are whimsical and fun.

Suggested Lesson Focus
Comprehension
Comparing

Phonological Awareness
Long vowel sounds

Phonics
Long vowel patterns

Word Work
Changing y to i before adding er or es

Mechanics
Commas in a series

Visual Learning
Visualizing is a very important comprehension strategy. Model this strategy through teacher think aloud, sharing with children what you see in your mind as you read through the text.

Target Vocabulary Words
High Utility Words
like, with, favorite, when, through

Content Words
healthy, body, energy, germs

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Write the title of the book on the board and ask children what they think the text will be about. Write the following words on the board and have children predict how the words will be used in the text: healthy, body, energy, germs.

Building Background
Have children share ways to stay healthy. Write all of their suggestions on the board or chart paper.

Book Walk
Point out the author and the illustrator. Refer back to the word list on the board. Have children skim the pages of the text looking for the various words. When the word is found, have children read the sentence containing the word. Ask: Do you think our previous predictions were "right on" or "a little off"? Why?

Review some strategies readers use when reading:
  • Say all the letters out loud.
  • Skip the word and read to the end of the sentence.

During Reading

Tell children that today they will be reading with a partner. Make sure the partners know exactly where they will be sitting while reading and what they are to do while waiting for others to finish. Explain that when finished reading, they are to trace their hand on a piece of paper and write one thing on each finger that the girl in the story does to stay healthy. Remind children that when they are not reading, they are the coach. Also, remind them they are not to just tell their partner the word.

Setting the Purpose
Say: The purpose for reading today is to learn what the girl in the text does to stay healthy.

Using the Worksheet
Give children the Worksheet and tell them that today they will be comparing the things they do to stay healthy with those of the girl in the text.

After Reading

Have children gather back as a total group. Have them share the information they wrote on their hand outlines. Ask: Do any of you do the same thing to stay healthy? Why is it important for us to stay healthy? Would you add any more information to the text? Say: Look at the words on the board. Ask: Were these words important to the story? How?

Visual Learning
Have children pretend they are in the text. By asking questions about the illustrations, children will make mental connections between images, meaning and prior knowledge. Ask: What could you hear if you were with the girl on page 3? Page 4? Page 5? Why do you think that? What could you taste if you were with the girl on page 7? Why? What could you smell? Why? How would you feel after spending some time with the girl? Why?

Building Skills

Phonological Awareness
While children are working with their partners, have them take turns reading a page out loud and listening for the sound of long vowels.

Phonics
Have children circle or highlight all the long vowel words. Add these words to the class long vowel pattern charts and to their word notebooks.

Word Work
Word Endings
Write the following words from the text on chart paper: earlier, cavities. Ask: What is the base (root) word? Write the base word on the board. Discuss how the word has changed. Keep the chart up and encourage children, while reading independently, to look for other words they can add to the chart.

Mechanics/Grammar
Have children look at page 4 and discuss how the author used commas. Explain that when an author lists three or more elements in a sentence, a comma is used to separate each item. Point out that the comma goes before words such as or/and. Have children look through the text and find other examples.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Children could use the pattern of the book and write about what they do to stay healthy. They could then share their books with children in kindergarten or first grade.

Science Connection
Have children take their own pulse for one minute by placing their index and middle fingers on a pulse point (on the neck or wrist). Ask them to write down how many times they felt a beat. Then, have children run in place for one minute. Now, ask them to take their pulse again. Ask: What changed? Did your pulse get faster?
Explain to children that our heart is a muscle, like the ones we can see in our arms and our legs. Ask: How do we make our muscles stronger? Explain that once we have strengthened our muscles in our bodies, we can run faster , run longer, lift more, and do much more than if we just stayed in bed. Say: Exercise makes our hearts beat faster. If we exercise regularly, our hearts can get stronger and they will be able to handle more strain, just like our other muscles. Ask: Why is it important to have a strong, healthy heart? How can you keep your heart strong?

Art Connection
Children could illustrate the books they made during the Writing Connection section.

Reading Independently
Have children read the book independently or with a partner. You can also encourage them to read other books of their choice that match their reading level.


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