• How using prior knowledge helped them understand what they read. Ask them to explain how they were able to connect their own experiences with Independence Day to the Hoppers' celebration.
• What word-attack strategies did they use while reading? Have a volunteer identify a problematic word and recount how he or she decoded the word or figured it out using context clues. 

Comprehension
Connect Prior Knowledge and Experience with Text
Model

• Begin by recounting a memorable Independence Day or other national celebration from your own childhood. Talk about what you and your family did to celebrate the day. Talk about any food you ate, where you went, and any fireworks you saw. Mention whether you were allowed to set off fireworks as a child, and, if you choose, go over a brief safety lesson on avoiding fire and flammable or explosive materials.
• On the board or chart paper, write a list or a brief narrative of your experience in the same format as Worksheet 1.

Guided Practice

• Have students turn to the book. Ask a volunteer to retell the story of the Hoppers' Independence Day celebration. Note the sequence and accuracy of the retelling.
• Ask volunteers to find similarities between your Independence Day celebration on the board and the Hoppers' celebration. Did you both see fireworks? Did you both have a fire with marshmallows?
• Ask volunteers to point out the differences between your celebration and the Hoppers'. Was yours in the park instead of in the woods? Did you eat tortillas and beans instead of sandwiches and lemonade?

Independent Practice

• Have students return to the worksheet. In the second column, ask students to retell what the Hoppers did to celebrate Independence Day. Again, they may either write a narrative or a list. Then, in the third column, have students list the similarities and differences between their celebration and the Hoppers'. If students have time, allow them to draw pictures of the two celebrations on the worksheet.