Building Skills
Phonics
Write the words (from the story) gathered, cargo, dark, entire, ordered, anchor, shore, and sailors on the chalkboard or chart paper.
The letter r affects the sound of the vowel that precedes it in many ways. For example, chair, fern, bird, hurt, dark, father. In addition to the letter r, the letters l and w have effects on the vowels that precede or follow them, for example, water, fall, talk. Instead of trying to explain to children the intricacies of how the vowel sound is affected by these consonants, it’s best to teach the sounds as spelling patterns such as ar, er, ir, or, ur, air, ear, are, all, alk, and wa. Sometimes, the same spelling pattern can represent different sounds. For example, the or in anchor sounds different from the or in shore.
Have children find the sounds/spelling patterns on the words written on the chalkboard or chart paper. Have them say the words and then circle the sounds/spelling patterns they have learned: gathered, cargo, dark, entire, ordered, anchor, shore, sailors.
Word Work
Adjectives
Write the word Adjective on the chalkboard or chart paper. Explain that an adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can tell what kind (a quiet bay, ratty rats) or which one (those sailors, this rat). They can also tell how many (five rats), how much (less money), or whose (my family).
Find examples from the story and write them on the chalkboard. Have children volunteer to circle the adjectives:
They wanted to leave the busy, noisy city.
"Oh no," cried the cook. "It’s the ratty rats."
Next, a terrible storm blew up.
The ship was tossed around in the rough waves.
The captain sailed the ship into a quiet bay.
The rats got comfortable in the dark cargo bay.
Next, help children make up sentences using adjectives and have them write their sentences in a notebook.
Verbs
Write the word Verb on the chalkboard or chart paper. Explain to children that a verb is a word that shows physical or mental action, being, or state of being— for example, I am running to the store, we are jumping rope, the rats chewed the rope. Have children work with a partner to reread Ratty Rats and find examples of verbs. Ask them to write one or two sentences from the book and circle the verbs. Then ask them to make up a sentence with a verb and write it in their notebook.
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