Text Type: Fiction/Humorous
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 230 

Book Summary
Bonk has a problem. His house is filled from corner to corner with collections. Jupe suggests that Bonk move to a bigger house. But Bonk loves his home and his collections. How will he solve his problem? Monster Moving Day provides an excellent opportunity to introduce problem and solution to students. Pictures support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Retell

Objectives

• Use the strategy of retelling to understand and remember story events
• Identify problem and solution
• Discriminate r-controlled /or/ sound
• Identify r-controlled or
• Identify and use contractions
• Understand and identify antonyms

Materials

• Book -- Monster Moving Day (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Problem and solution, r-controlled or, contractions 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: have, like, more, says, that, this, there's
• Content words: collection, creaky, house, moves, moving, plenty, secret, space, takes, thought

Build Background

• Ask students whether they have ever moved to a new home. Discuss reasons why people choose to move and reasons why people might not want to move.

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

• Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask what they think they might read about in a book called Monster Moving Day. (Accept all answers that students can justify).
• 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 the events of the story.
• Explain to students that when someone retells something, they explain the details that happened in the order in which they happened. Point out that people retell stories as part of their daily lives, such as explaining the events of their day or the events on a television show. Ask students to share other examples of when people might retell something.
• Model retelling a familiar story in detail, such as The Three Little Pigs.
  Think-aloud: In The Three Little Pigs, the pigs decide to build their own houses. The first little pig gets some straw to build his house. After the pig builds the house, the big bad wolf comes along and asks the little pig to let him in. The first little pig refuses, so the wolf huffs and puffs and blows down the house of straw. The first little pig runs away. The second little pig builds a house of sticks. The big bad wolf comes along and asks to be let in. When the second little pig refuses, the wolf huffs and puffs and blows down the house of sticks. The second little pig runs away.
• Continue retelling in detail until the end of the story. Invite students to suggest information for the retelling of the story.
• Have students place sticky notes on pages 6, 10, 14, and 16 of the book. Explain that as they read, they should stop on these pages to think about what has happened so far 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: Problem and solution

• Explain to students that certain elements are included in a fictional story. Write the words problem and solution on the board. Explain that in most stories, the character is faced with a problem that needs to be solved, and the solution is how the problem is fixed.
• Model identifying the problem and solution in a familiar story.
  Think-aloud: In the story The Three Little Pigs, the pigs are bothered by the big bad wolf. This is a problem for them because they are afraid he might try to eat them. However, the third pig builds a house of bricks. All the pigs hide from the wolf in this house. When the wolf comes to the brick house, he can not blow it down. This is the solution to the pigs' problem.
• Have students think of other familiar stories to share. Discuss the problems and solutions in these stories.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words students will encounter in the story. For example, while looking at the pictures on pages 3 and 4, you might say: It looks as though Bonk's house is filled from corner to corner. He has no more room for his collections.
• Remind students to look at the picture and the letters with which a word begins or ends to figure out a difficult word. For example, point to the word space on page 7 and say: I am going to check the picture and think about what would make sense to figure out this word. The picture shows a large room where everything is neatly organized. When I look at the first part of the word, it starts like /sp/. However, the word room starts with the /r/ sound, so this can't be the word. When I look at the room, I also see that there is a lot of space to move around. The word space starts with the /sp/ sound. The sentence makes sense with this word. The word must be space.
• For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words and word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read to find out who is moving and why. 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 story.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Have them read to the end of page 6 and then stop to think about what has happened so far in the story. Encourage students who finish before others to reread the text.
• Model retelling.
  Think-aloud: I stopped after a few pages to retell in my mind what I had read so far. First, Bonk complains that there is no more room in his house for his collections. Every corner of his house is filled. Next, Jupe suggests that Bonk move to a bigger house across town. Then Bonk says he likes his neighbors and the secret hiding places and creaky floors in his house.
• Introduce the problem and solution worksheet. Discuss with students the problem in the story. (Bonk has no more room in his house, but he likes living there.) Have students write the problem on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 10. Have them retell with a partner the details of the events that happen after Bonk says he likes his old house. Allow students to use the pictures as a guide. Listen to their retellings for correct order and description of the problem.
• Discuss with students what Bonk does to try to solve his problem (moves to a new house). Have them write this attempt to solve the problem on their worksheet.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to retell what they have read so far and think about the solution to Bonk's problem to help them understand information as they read.

    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.

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 after the monsters move all of Bonk's collections to the new house.
  Think-aloud: After Bonk moves into his new house, he checks for secret hiding places, creaky floors, and his friends. He has a thought and takes his collections to each of his friends' houses. Then he moves back into his old house.
• Have volunteers retell the events to the end of the book, using the pictures in the book as a guide, if necessary. Then have them retell the story to a partner from the beginning. Listen for whether students include the correct events in detail, events in order, and main characters.
• Ask students how retelling the events of the story in their mind as they read helped them understand and enjoy the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Discuss with students the problem and first attempt to solve the problem.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the problem and solution worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
• Enduring understanding: In the story, Bonk has a problem--he runs out of room for his collections. When he moves to have more space for his collections, he realizes how much he misses his friends. Now that you know this information, which is more important to you: friends or things you have?

Phonological Awareness: Discriminate r-controlled /or/

• Say the word more aloud to students, emphasizing the /or/ sound. Have students say the word aloud and then say the /or/ sound.
• Read page 3 aloud to students. Have them raise their hand when they hear a word that contains the /or/ sound.
• Check for understanding: Say the following words one at a time and have students give the thumbs-up signal if the word contains the /or/ sound: torch, morning, room, house, corner.

Phonics: Identify r-controlled or

• Write the word corner on the board and say it aloud with students.
• Have students say the /or/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students which letters represent the /or/ sound in the word corner.
• Circle the or letter combination. Explain to students that the letters o and r together represent the /or/ sound in the middle of the word corner. Have students practice writing the or letter combination on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound the letters represent together.
• Check for understanding: Write the following words that begin with the /or/ sound on the board, leaving out the or letter combination: cord, horn, thorn. Say each word, one at a time, and have volunteers come to the board and add the or letter combination to each word.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the r-controlled or worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Grammar and Mechanics: Contractions

• Write the following words on the board: it's and it is. Read the words aloud with students. Explain that the word it's is a contraction.
• Point out to students that in a contraction, one or more letters are left out when two words are combined together to make one word. An apostrophe is used in the place where the letters are left out. Ask students to tell which letter was left out to form the contraction it's (the letter i in the word is).
• Have students turn to page 4 and read the first sentence aloud. Have a volunteer point to the contraction on the page (there's). Ask students which two words were joined together to form the contraction there's (there, is).

    Check for understanding: Have students reread the story and locate other contractions. Have them underline the contractions. Make a list on the board of all the contractions students found. Then list the words that were joined together to form each contraction.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the contractions worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Word Work: Antonyms

• Have students turn to page 5. Read the following sentence aloud: "There is a big house across town," says Jupe.
• Circle the word big. Ask students to explain what the word means (large).
• Have students turn to page 6. Read the following sentence aloud: "But I like my little house," says Bonk. Circle the word little. Ask students to explain what the word means (small).
• Point out that the words big and little have opposite meanings. Explain that two words with opposite meanings are called antonyms.
• Have students turn to page 8 in their book. Read the following sentence aloud: Maybe moving is a good idea. Circle the word good. Ask students to identify an antonym for the word good (bad). Write the antonym pair on the board.
• Check for understanding: Write the new word on the board. Have students work with a partner to identify an antonym for the word. Have them use the original word and the antonym in separate oral sentences.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. 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 to someone at home. Remind them to include the problem and solution in the retelling.

Narrative Writing and Art Connection
Have students draw a picture of something they collect. Have them describe the collection and why it is important to them. 

For detailed lessons on teaching types of writing, click here.

Social Studies Connection
Discuss with students possible reasons for moving. Discuss the steps a family might need to take in order to move to a new home.