Reading Level:
L

Word Count:
598

Pages:
20 

Text Summary
Many of us take flying for granted, but the history behind flight is long and amazing. There are many ways to take to the sky, each one unique and full of adventure. The book highlights some of these wonderful ways. 

Lesson Objectives

Reading Strategies
Students should use a variety of strategies to determine word meaning and comprehend text. The target strategy for this lesson is: rereading to check for sense.

Word and Print Skills

Phonics
y as a vowel
Grammar
Commas
Word Work
Synonyms

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension skills as students work to understand the text. The target comprehension strategy for this lesson is: identifying main idea and details. 

Targeted Vocabulary Words
blimp, commercial airplane, glider, helicopter, helium, hot air balloon, inventor, jet engine, parachutes, propeller, space shuttle

These are difficult words that students will encounter in the text. You may want to review and discuss the words after reading and have students add them to the classroom word wall or dictionary. Make sure you use these words in the Book Walk to reinforce them prior to reading. 

Before Reading

Build Background
Involve students in a discussion about planes and other flying machines to elicit prior knowledge and build background.
Ask: Have you ever been on an airplane? What was it like? What kinds of flying machines can you think of? What do you think the first flying machines were like? 

Introduce the Book
Show students the book and have them read the title and look at the cover photographs to make initial predictions.
Ask: What do you see on the cover? Based on the title, what can we predict the book is about? Based on what you know so far, do you think this book is fiction or nonfiction? What makes you think that? 

Book Walk
Go through as much of the book as you feel is necessary. Point out things you think might challenge students when they read. Look at the pictures with students and discuss what they see. You may want to write down some of the words they suggest. 

As you look through the text, point out text features such as the table of contents, headings, bold type, captions, and the index. Point out the purpose of each and how these features can help the reader. 

As you look at the pictures, ask students what they think is happening in each. Use the vocabulary they will encounter in the text. 

Reading Strategies
Remind students to use any or all of the following strategies to help them in their reading:

• Ask the questions: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?
• Connect the text with what they already know
• Summarize after reading a section to be sure they understand what they are reading
• Reread any difficult sentence or page in order to make sure that what they read makes sense and is understandable
• Use what they know about letters and sounds to read new words
• Look for familiar parts of words, such as root words, prefixes, and suffixes

Highlight the strategy of rereading for sense. Explain how rereading can help them if they want to make sure words they have decoded make sense in the context of the sentence. Rereading can also reinforce information. Repetition often holds the key to comprehension. 

During Reading

Student Reading
Give students the books. Have them read independently, and monitor their reading so you can intervene if necessary. You may want to select one or two students to assess by having them read a page or two orally.
Ask and say: What does the word start with? What do you think makes sense here and starts with that sound? Now read the whole sentence and see if the word makes sense. 

After Reading

Reflect on Reading Strategies
Discuss the strategies you noticed students using as they were reading. Have them discuss any words they found difficult.
Ask: Were there any words you had trouble with? What strategies did you use to work them out? Did you reread the sentence to check for sense? Did that help you figure out words? 

Comprehending the Text
Discuss what students learned about the history of flight.
Say: Share with the person next to you the important facts you learned about flight.
After students have shared with one another, discuss as a group the most important facts they learned about flight. 

Discuss main ideas and important details.
Say: The main idea is the most important thing the author wants you to understand in a chapter or section. Often, each section has a topic sentence that outlines the main idea. Headings can often provide clues to the main idea as well. The main idea is supported by important facts or details. Not all the information provided by the author is important. A good reader learns to pick out the important details from the unimportant ones. Let’s look at the first section and see if we can work out what the main idea is. 

Work with students to help them find the main idea and important details for the first section. Then give them worksheet 1 and have them find the main ideas of the sections listed. Have them share and compare the main ideas they found. Then have them go back and find important details that support each main idea. They should write the important details in the third column on the worksheet. 

Building Skills

Phonics: y as a Vowel
Review y as a vowel. Write these words on the board and have students listen as you say them: my, sky, fly, by, and why. Ask what vowel sound they hear in the words (long i). Ask what letter stands for the long i sound in these words. Write the words baby, happy, and funny on the board. Ask students to read the words and tell you the vowel sound the letter y stands for in these words (long e). Have students search the book and other familiar texts to find examples of words with y as a vowel. Have them categorize the words into long i or long e sounds. 

Grammar
Commas
Discuss the use of commas with students. Have students look at several pages of text and mark the commas they see. Discuss why the comma was used in each example they find. For example, “Leonardo Da Vinci, an Italian artist and inventor from the 1400s, drew plans for a helicopter.” Explain that the comma is used to set off the description of who Leonardo Da Vinci was from the main part of the sentence. Make a list of the different ways commas are used in the text and post the sentences in the room as examples. 

Word Work
Synonyms
Review that synonyms are words with similar meanings. Say the word big, and have students suggest synonyms for it: large, huge, jumbo, giant, etc. Select words from a page in the text. Have students first find the word on the page and read it out loud. Then have them suggest words that could be used as synonyms. Have them reread the sentence, substituting one of the synonyms, to see if the sentence still makes sense.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Students can write about what it was like to be at one of the events listed in the text. For example, ask them what they think it would have been like to see the 1783 hot air balloon flight over Paris. Or ask them what it would have been like to soar in the first glider. Have them brainstorm their ideas while you record them on the board. As a group, write a short paragraph using the ideas they have brainstormed. Then have them choose another event from the book and write their own descriptions. Encourage them to brainstorm their ideas before they begin writing. 

Math Connection
Create a graph showing how many students have been on an airplane, helicopter, hot air balloon, parachute, etc. 

Social Studies Connection
Create a timeline of flight-related events to give students a sense of how human flight has developed. 

Science Connection
Have students design airplanes of the future. They could describe how they will be used, where they will travel, and who will fly them. If you like, students can make paper models of their planes and test how they fly. 

Reading Independently
Invite students to reread the book independently or with a partner. They could then look for and read other books about flight.

Home Connection
Invite students to take the book home to read with their families. Invite any family member involved with flight to speak to students. 

Assessment

• Monitor students’ reading and listen to their responses during the Reflect on Reading Strategies section to determine the reading strategies students are using. Note if they reread to check for sense.
• Monitor students’ responses in the Comprehending the Text section to assess how well they understand the text.
• Monitor students' responses during discussion to determine if they can identify main ideas in the text. Note if they can distinguish between important and unimportant facts that support the main idea. Use the completed worksheet 1 to assess their ability to identify main ideas and details.
• Review worksheet 2 to assess students’ ability to use commas. Check their Writing Connection paragraphs to determine if they use commas correctly in their own writing.