Phonics
Explain that the /s/ blends are made with an s and one or two consonants. Ask children to recall some of the s blends they just made during the game. Record them on the board e.g., sm, sw, sk, st, spl, spr, and sn. Brainstorm words for each blend and list under the s blend. Go back to the book and find all the s blends from the story. Children may want to record some of these words in a personal or class dictionary.

Word WorkHigh Utility Words
live, they, what, here
Talk about differences between the words children could read fluently (without sounding out) or knew by sight, and the words they had to decode by segmenting and sounding out. Lead them toward realization that most of the words are easy to read fluently if they had them memorized to sight e.g., at, in, is, and, to, etc. Others are a little more difficult to memorize but must be because they cannot be sounded out e.g., live, they, what, and here. Have children share some strategies they use to remember these words. (Share the fact that in English no words end in v, therefore /liv/ is spelled l-i-v-e.)

Adjectives
The text has many adjectives to describe the animals and plants at the pond. Go back through the book and find all the words that describe the size, shape, type or color of the animal or plant e.g., small world, tiny plants, flying insect, etc. Children can think of other adjectives to describe animals or plants in the book or other animals they think may live at a pond.


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