Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 12
Word Count: 240

Book Summary
This book presents information about giant pandas through the story of Tian Tian, a giant panda born in China that currently lives in the United States. Students gain knowledge about a giant panda's habitat, diet, appearance, and playful nature. Photographs support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Ask and answer questions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand text
• Identify main idea and details
• Discriminate r-controlled /ur/
• Identify r-controlled /ur/ letter combination ur
• Identify pronouns and the nouns they stand for
• Understand how to place words in alphabetical order

Materials

• Book -- Tian Tian, a Giant Panda (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Index cards
• KWL, main idea and details, r-controlled /ur/, pronouns worksheets

    Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• High-frequency words: about, came, have, like, live, their, they, this, when, where
• Content words: bamboo, bear, China, forests, giant panda, special, survive, Tian Tian, weighs, wild, zoo

Build Background

• Write the words giant panda on the board and read them aloud to students. Have students share what they already know about giant pandas, such as where they live, what they eat, and what they look like.
• Show students the photograph on the back cover of the book. Explain that the animal on the cover is Tian Tian, a giant panda. Have students share additional information they know about giant pandas after looking at the photograph.
• Create a three-row KWL chart on the board and hand out the KWL worksheet to students. Review or explain that the K stands for the information we know, the W stands for the information we want to know, and the L stands for the information we learned. Fill in the first row (K) with information students already know about giant pandas. Have students complete the same section of their KWL chart.
• Ask students what they would like to know about giant pandas. Have them fill in the second row (W) of their chart. Write their questions on the class chart.

Book Walk

Introduce the Book

• Read the title with students. Ask them what they might read about in a book about a giant panda. (Accept any answers students can justify.)
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name).  

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss with students how using prior knowledge and asking questions about a topic can help readers understand and remember the information in a book.
• Model how to ask questions as you preview the covers and title page of the book.
  Think-aloud: I see the giant panda surrounded by plants and trees. I know that an area with a lot of trees is called a forest. I wonder whether giant pandas live in forests. I also see the panda with some type of plant in its mouth. It looks as though it is eating the plant. I wonder what type of plant it is and what other types of things a giant panda eats. I will write these questions in the middle row (W) of the KWL chart.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos and glossary entries. Have them write any additional questions they might have on their KWL chart. Invite students to share their questions aloud. Write shared questions on the class chart.
• 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: Main idea and details

• Explain that every book has a big idea, which is the most important thing discussed in the book. For example, a book about dogs may talk about feeding, veterinary care, and training, but the main idea is all about dogs.
  
• Explain to students that one helpful way to find the main idea of a book is to ask themselves: What message is the author trying to tell me with this book?
  
• Explain that the main idea of this book is Tian Tian is a giant panda. Write this main idea on the board. Point to each word as you read it with students.
  
• Model how to identify details.
  Think-aloud: I know that every book has details that help explain the big idea. I know that this book describes why Tian Tian is a giant panda. I noticed earlier that the photograph on the title page shows an animal eating a type of plant. Since the book is all about a giant panda named Tian Tian, the animal in the photograph must be Tian Tian. This might mean that giant pandas eat plants. This might be a detail in the book.
  
• Ask students to review the pictures in the book. Ask them to share additional information that might support the main idea.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words students will encounter in the text. Remind students that they can help themselves when they come to a tricky word by looking at the first letter in the word and then checking the picture on the page to see what might start with the same sound and what might make sense in the story. For example, on page 4, point to the r in raccoon. Say: I am going to help myself by looking at the picture and thinking about what kind of animal has black fur around its eyes like a giant panda that starts like /r/ (make the /r/ sound).
• Invite students to identify the word (raccoon). Use the word in the sentence and ask students whether the word raccoon makes sense.
• For additional tips on teaching high-frequency words or word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about giant pandas and write what they learned in the L row of their KWL chart. Remind them to use the information they learned to identify details that describe giant pandas.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Ask them to place a finger on the page number at the bottom corner of the page. Have them read to the end of page 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read.
  
• Model asking and answering questions.
  Think-aloud: I wanted to know whether giant pandas eat plants and live in forests. So far I learned that pandas live in forests in the mountains of China. I'll write what I learned in the L row of my KWL chart. I will keep reading to find out the answer to my other question.
  
• Review the main idea of the book, Tian Tian is a Giant Panda. Ask students to explain whether or not black and white fur is a detail that supports the big idea of the story and why (yes, it describes what giant pandas like Tian Tian look like).
  
• Introduce and explain the main idea and details worksheet. Write the words black and white fur on the board. Have students write the words in one of the boxes on their worksheet.
  
• Reread page 4 with students. Ask students to point to a detail that supports the idea that Tian Tian is a giant panda. (He is a bear.)
  
• Have students write answers they found while reading in the L row on their KWL chart and additional questions they raised in the W row. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book. Record shared responses on the class KWL chart.
  
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 8. Have them write answers they found while reading on their KWL chart. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book.
  
• Ask students to identify another detail that supports the main idea Tian Tian is a Giant Panda (he is from China, he eats bamboo). Have them write the detail on their worksheet.
  
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their KWL chart questions and use information learned to identify information that describes giant pandas. Encourage them to add new questions they might have to their chart 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.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know whether giant pandas eat plants. I found out that giant pandas eat a plant called bamboo. Without this plant, they would not stay alive. This means that this plant is very important to giant pandas. I wonder what would happen to giant pandas if something happened to this plant.
• Ask students to share questions they added to their KWL chart while reading and ask them what questions were answered (or not answered) in the text.
• Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps students interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find the answers to their questions and helps them understand and enjoy what they have read.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Read the main idea on the board with students. Review the details students wrote on their worksheet. Invite them to explain why each of the details on their worksheet matches the main idea of the story.
  
• Reread page 9 with students. Ask students to explain whether or not the information on this page are details that support the main idea (no). Point out that this information describes Tian Tian the giant panda. However, it does not describe all giant pandas.
  
• Ask students to identify other information in the book that does not support the main idea.
  
• Independent practice: Have students complete the main idea and details worksheet.
  
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned that Tian Tian is a giant panda, and giant pandas all have certain traits. But, Tian Tian also has traits that other giant pandas may not have. Now that you know this information, what does this tell you about individual animals within a certain animal group?

Phonological Awareness: Discriminate r-controlled /ur/ (fur)

• Say the word fur aloud to students, emphasizing the r-controlled /ur/ sound. Have students say the word aloud and then say the r-controlled /ur/ sound.
• Say the following words from the book, one at a time: around, bear, turned, born, father, about. Have students give the thumbs-up signal when they hear a word with the r-controlled /ur/ sound as in the word fur.
• Check for understanding: Say the following words one at a time: dirt, panda, forest, better, survive, strong. Have students show the thumbs-up signal for each word with the r-controlled /ur/ sound as in the word fur.

Phonics: Identify r-controlled /ur/ (fur)

• Write the word fur on the board and say the word aloud with students.
• Have students say the r-controlled /ur/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Ask students which letters together represent the r-controlled /ur/ sound in the word fur.
• Explain that the ur letter combination is one of the letter combinations that represents the r-controlled /ur/ sound as in the word fur.
• Have students practice writing the ur letter combination on a separate piece of paper as they say the sound the letters represent.
• Check for understanding: Say the words turn and hurt. Have students write each word on a separate piece of paper.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the r-controlled /ur/ worksheet.

Grammar and Mechanics: Pronouns

• Write the following sentence on the board: Tian Tian has black fur around his eyes. Read the sentence aloud with students.
• Review that a noun is a person, a place, or a thing. Have students share examples of nouns.
• Have students identify the nouns in the sentence (Tian Tian, fur, eyes). Circle these words on the board.
• Point to the word his. Ask students to explain which noun this word refers to (Tian Tian). Explain that words that take the place of a noun are called pronouns.
• Read with students the following sentence on page 4: Raccoons have black fur around their eyes, too. Ask them to identify which noun the word their refers to (Raccoons).
• Write the following pronouns on the board: he, she, his, her, their, they. Read them aloud with students.

    Check for understanding: Have students locate pronouns in the book and circle them). Ask them to underline the noun that each pronoun stands for.

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

Word Work: Alphabetical order

• Write the words toy and play on the board. Read the words aloud with students. Ask them to identify the first letter in each word (t, p).
• Ask students to identify which letter, t or p, comes first in the alphabet. Invite them to explain which word would come first in alphabetical order (play). Explain that the word play would come first in an alphabetical list because the first letter, p, comes before the first letter, t, in the word toy.
• Write the words forest and panda on the board. Read the words aloud with students. Invite volunteers to circle the first letter in each word. Have students explain which word would come first in alphabetical order and why.
• Check for understanding: Write the words Tian Tian, raccoon, bear, fur, China, and giant on the board. Read the words aloud with students. Have them write the words in alphabetical order on a separate piece of paper. If time allows, discuss students' responses.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section in the book. 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. Encourage students to share with someone at home what they know about the main idea and details for Tian Tian, a Giant Panda.

Writing and Art Connection

Have students choose an animal they would like to learn more about. Have them use the Internet to identify important information about the animal, including what it looks like, where it lives, and what it eats. Have students draw a picture of, and write a brief paragraph about, their animal. Invite students to share their picture and read their paragraph aloud to the class. Bind the pages together to create a class book.

Science Connection

Model to students how to use a balance scale to measure weight by placing an object on one side and counters, such as gram weights, on the other side. Have volunteers measure various items in the classroom using the balance scale, such as a pair of scissors, a pencil, and a paperclip. Record each object and its weight on a bar graph. Discuss the results as a class, such as which object(s) weighed the most and which object(s) weighed the least.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• accurately and consistently ask and answer questions to understand text during discussion and on a worksheet
• accurately identify main idea and details during discussion and on a worksheet
• orally identify and discriminate words with the r-controlled /ur/ sound during discussion
• accurately read and write words with the ur letter combination that stands for the r-controlled /ur/ sound during discussion and on a worksheet
• identify pronouns in text and the nouns they stand for during discussion and on a worksheet
• correctly place words in alphabetical order

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric