Build Background

• Ask students to tell about team sports they like to play. Make a list on the board. Have them tell the positions they played, as well as the good and bad things about being part of a team.
• Continue the discussion by asking students to share how they felt when they did something really well on the team, such as hit a homerun, or made a basket.
• Ask them to tell how they felt when they struck out or missed a basket.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Strategy: Retell

• Explain to students that one way to understand what they are reading is to stop occasionally and retell in their heads what is happening in the book.
• Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask students what they think the book will be about. Ask where they think the people are and how they can tell.
• Model how to retell.
• Think aloud: As I read, I remind myself about who the characters in the story are. I also think about what main events have happened so far. This helps me remember what I’m reading and makes me think about what might happen next.
• Show students the title page. Talk about the information that is written on the page (title of book, author's name, illustrator's name).
• Have students preview the illustrations in the book and tell what they think might be happening.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• As you preview the book with students, use vocabulary from the book that you think may be difficult for students in the discussion. Provide opportunities for students to say the any new vocabulary words and talk about their meanings.
• Reinforce word-attack strategies by pointing to a word on the page, for example, catcher. Model how to identify the ending -er and locate the root word to help read the word.
• Think aloud: I see this word ends with -er. Recognizing that the word has an ending helps me find the root word, and I see that it is a word I am familiar with: catch. Looking for parts of words such as endings is a good strategy to use to figure out new words. Then I can check that the word makes sense by reading the whole sentence.
• Encourage students to add the new vocabulary words to their word journals.
• For additional tips on reading and word attack strategies, click here.
• For tips on teaching high-frequency words, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Tell students to read to find out what Eggy’s easy out is. Remind them to stop occasionally and think about what has happened so far in the story.

Student Reading

• Guide the Reading: Give students books and direct them to read to the end of page 5. Tell students to reread the pages if they finish before everyone else.
• When they have finished reading, ask students what they read so far. Ask if the book is about what they thought it would be about. Ask them to tell about the characters and where the story takes place. Have students tell the important events that have occurred in the story. Model retelling using information students provide: I read that Eggy and Jordan are brothers. Eggy is the nickname his older brother Jordan gave him because his little baby head looked like an egg. Eggy has been catching things since he was a baby and now he is the catcher on his ball team. During one game, the batter hit a fly ball that the coach yelled for Eggy to catch. I sure hope he does. I'm going to keep reading so I can find out, and then I can tell the story to someone else.
• Continue the discussion by asking students to look at the picture on page 4. Ask students what Eggy is doing for the pitcher. Ask students why the picture on page 5 is drawn this way. Have them put their fingers on Eggy.
• Tell students to read the remainder of the story. Remind them to think about what happens so they can tell the story to someone else       

    Tell students to make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Word Attack: Ask students what words were difficult for them. Ask how they figured out the words. Reinforce any strategies used, such as sounding out the word and/or looking for familiar word parts, and verifying by context and/or picture clues. For example, direct students to page 5. Ask how they know that the word is coach and not couch.
• Comprehension: Reinforce that stopping to retell in their heads what they are reading helps them better understand the story. (It encourages students to pay close attention to the story elements and promotes active participation, which aids in retention.) Model the strategy:
• Think aloud: Stopping to think about what was happening helped me remember the events in the story better. It helped me be more involved with what I was reading. Now that I have finished reading the story, I can give a good retelling of it. Can you?

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Sequence of Events

• Introduce and model: Ask students who have heard the story of The Three Little Pigs to raise their hands. Ask students to tell the events that happen in that story. Ask students if the story would be the same if the wolf tried to blow down the house of bricks before he blew down the houses made of straw and sticks. Tell students that unless a story is told in the order in which it happened, it usually does not make sense. Explain that that is why it is good to think about the things that happen at the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
• Check for understanding: Discuss the sequence of the story. Ask students to think about what happened at the beginning, the middle, and the end. Ask students what would happen if they started reading at the end of the book (it would not make sense).
• Discussion: Ask students why they think Eggy told his brother about catching the pop fly and tagging the player out. Have them tell why they think Eggy said, "I really tried to forget that Jordan was there." Ask students why they think the teams clapped as Eggy and Jordan walked to the bench. Have them tell why they think Eggy wanted to know if he caught the ball. Ask students how they would feel if they were Eggy and had caught the ball.
• Independent Practice: Introduce and explain how to complete the sequence worksheet.

Word Analysis:

• Write the words easy and head on the board. Underline the ea in the words. Review that these letters stand for 2 sounds: the long /e/ sound and the short /e/ sound. Have students turn to page 3. Ask how they know that this word does not have the long /e/ sound even though it has the ea spelling.
• Write the word knee on the board. Underline the ee and review that these letters usually stand for the long /e/ sound. Ask students to suggest other words that have the long /e/ sound. Write on the board.
• Have students come to the board to circle the words that have the ea and ee spelling for the long /e/ sound.
• Have students turn to page 3 and reread it. Tell them to underline any word that has the long /e/ sound. Ask students to tell the words they underlined (people, me, real, even). Tell students to look at the words and find the one that has the ee or ea spelling for the long /e/ sound (real).
• Give students the word analysis worksheet to complete. Discuss their answers.

Grammar and Usage: Types of Sentences

• Review or explain that there are different types of sentences. Have students turn to page 3 and read the first sentence. Explain that this is a telling sentence; it tells them something. Explain and model that it is read and said normally. Write the word telling on the board. Have students find the sentence that is in quotation marks. Explain that this is also a telling sentence, but that it is read with more feeling. Have students put their finger on the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. Explain and model that this is the signal that this sentence should be read and said with a lot of feeling. Write the word telling! on the board.
• Write the following sentence on the board: Who caught the ball? Review or explain that this is an asking sentence; it asks a question. Write the word asking on the board. Have students put their finger on the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. Review or explain that this is the signal that this sentence asks a question. Model how your voice goes up at the end of question.
• Have students go through the book and underline one telling sentence that is said normally, one telling sentence that is said with feeling, and one asking sentence. Have students read the sentences they selected with the group.
• Extend the activity: Have students use the inside front cover of their book to write each type of sentence. Have them exchange with another with another student and label the sentences as telling, telling!, and asking.

Vocabulary: Content Vocabulary

• Tell students that many of the words they read in the book are used to tell about playing baseball. Provide opportunities for students to talk about difficult words such as inning or mitt.
• Have students work with a partner to find all the words in the book that have to do with baseball. Have the pairs share their lists while you record the words on the board or on a chart. Provide opportunities for the students to read the new vocabulary words, talk about their meanings, and use the words in sentences.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book.

Home Connection

• Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.
• Give students their worksheets to take home. They can complete them with the help of their parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing

• Discuss Eggy's nickname. Ask students how they think he feels being called Eggy instead of his real name. Ask students how they know when a person thinks a nickname is nice or hurtful. Ask if they have ever called someone a nickname that the person liked or didn't like or if they have ever been called a nickname. Have them write Eggy's brother Jordan a letter telling him how Eggy feels about his nickname. For example, provide the following sentences in casual letter format on the board with blank spaces for students to fill in with words such as like/don't like, nice/mean, cool/silly, and whatever ever reason they have for wanting or not wanting to be called Eggy. Have them sign the letter with Eggy's "real" name. Have students share their letters with the group.

      Dear Jordan,

            I _______ to be called Eggy. I think it is ________ because       ____________.

      Love,

      Your brother

      ___________

Social Studies Connection

• Have students think about sports or games they have played. As a group, categorize the sports or games into 2 groups, No Bumps and Bruises, and Bumps and Bruises. List the sports on the board as students categorize them. Encourage a friendly debate if students disagree about the categorization of a sport. Have students count the number of sports in each category to find which has more.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• pause during reading to retell in their heads what is happening in the story, and tell in their own words after reading how this strategy helped them remember what they read
• write in their own words on the graphic organizer the events that happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story
• associate ee and ea with the long e sound
• recognize types of sentences
• locate content vocabulary associated with baseball, and use the words in sentences

Comprehension Checks