After Reading

Lesson Plans for HOW ZEBRAS GOT THEIR STRIPES level K

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Discuss any reading strategies children used to help them solve words or difficult passages or help them to understand the concept of problem/solution (Book Marks). Encourage children to share their strategies and write them on a Strategies I Use chart in the classroom.

Ask children the following questions to check for understanding:

Who are the main characters?
Where did the story take place?
What do you think the donkeys were carrying on their backs?
Were the donkeys having any problems? What were they?

Think Aloud, page 8: The wise man is kind. I think he might be thinking that the donkeys are carrying too much in the bags on their backs. Maybe he’s going to remove one of their bags. What do you think? Let’s find out.

Did the wise man have a good solution to the donkeys problems?
Where did the donkeys go that did not get painted?
Ask children to summarize the story

Problem and Solution
Review problem and solution. Explain that a problem is something that is difficult to deal with or hard to understand and must be worked out or solved, like having a dirty bedroom. A solution is an act or a process of solving a problem, like cleaning your bedroom so you can go outside and ride your bicycle. Continue using events from children’s lives until they have the concept.

Discuss the concept of problem and solution in the story. Write Problems on the left side of the chalkboard and Solutions on the right side. Then ask children to provide what they think are the best solutions.

Problems

Solutions

The donkeys carried heavy bundles
The donkeys had no time to play or relax
The donkeys were never appreciated

Ask children if they felt the solution in the story was the best solution or would they have created a different solution. If so, what would it have been?

Visual Learning
Encourage children to notice details in the illustrations for clues about the text. For example:

On page 6, ask children to notice the "thinking bubbles." Ask: Why are they on the page?
What do they tell you? Do you ever have thinking bubbles? Ask children to explain.
Ask children to look at page 7. Ask: How can you tell that the donkeys had
a problem? (Facial expressions.)
How can you tell the zebras were happy?

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