Reading Level:
L

Word Count:
527

Pages: 
8 

Text Summary
Communication has evolved over the years. From smoke signals to email, we have come a long way in our ability to send messages far and fast. The facts and illustrations will catch children's attention. 

Lesson Objectives
Reading Strategies
Children should use a variety of strategies to determine word meaning and comprehend text. The target strategy for this lesson is: Look for word parts that help establish meaning. 

Word and Print Skills
Phonics
Vowel digraphs: ai

Word Work
Grammar: Pronouns

Word Study
Root words

Targeted Vocabulary Words
Content Words:
message, email, signal, language, telegraph, Morse code, Internet
These are words children will encounter in the text. You may want to review and discuss these words and have children add them to the classroom word wall or dictionary. 

Comprehension
You will likely address a number of comprehension strategies as children work to understand the text. The target comprehension strategy for this lesson is: Compare and contrast. 

Visual Learning
Discuss how to read any diagrams or charts from the text. You may ask children what they need to pay attention to and in what order they need to read things to successfully understand the information shown. 

Before Reading

Introduce the Book
Show children the book. Have them read the title and scan the illustrations to make initial predictions about the main idea or topic.
Ask and say: What do you see on the cover? What do you think this book is about? What do the illustrations tell you about the kind of text this is? Share with the group anything else you can guess from the illustrations or title. 

Build Background
You will want to provide suggestions to elicit prior knowledge and build background. Ask questions that uncover what the child already knows about the topic. What do they know about sending mail, email, how telephones or cell phones work, radio waves, or the Internet?
Ask: How do telephones or cell phones work? If you want to tell someone something, what do you do? 

Book Walk
Go through as much of the book as you feel is necessary, pointing out things you think will challenge children when they read. Look at the pictures with children and discuss what they see. You may want to write down some of the words they suggest. This step helps reduce the anxiety some children feel when they are faced with an unfamiliar book.
Cover and title page
Say and ask: This book is about sending messages. Is it fiction or nonfiction? (Nonfiction) How can we tell from the first few pages? (Headings, illustrations with labels etc.)
Introduction
Say and ask: It looks like we will be seeing how people have sent messages to one another over time. The headings tell us about the different means that have been used. Why do you think the author arranged the headings in this order? 

Reading Strategies
Remind children to use any or all of the following strategies to help them in their reading. Ask and say:

• How will the pictures help you understand the text?
• How does the information in this book connect to what you already know?
• What can you do if you don't understand a part you just read? Reread any sentence or page that was difficult, to make sure you understand the text.

Ask children about the strategies they think they will use if they get to a difficult word. You may want to act as a model to show them how it might look or sound when they read. Pretend to read, getting confused or slowing down because you do not understand a part. Model a strategy that may help children gain meaning, such as rereading, asking questions, or looking at illustrations or diagrams. 

During Reading

Student Reading
Hand out the books to children and ask them to read the introduction.
Say and ask: Please read the first page and be prepared to summarize, or retell in your own words, the main points. What is the main thing you learn about sending messages on this page?
Have children read the rest of the book independently. You may suggest they read through the book once, marking important points with sticky notes, and then read a second time, stopping to complete the worksheet as they come across the points they've marked. They may also mark any words or phrases they did not understand or could not pronounce. You can discuss and clarify these later. During this time you may choose to work with another group or with individuals to monitor their oral reading and comprehension of the text.
Say: I want you to finish reading the book at your own pace. As you read, I want you to stop at the end of the page and think about the important points or facts. Read through the book once and mark important facts, and then read it again to complete the worksheet. 

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Draw the group together and discuss what children have learned about sending messages.
Say: Share with the person next to you the important facts you learned about sending messages.
After children have shared with one another, discuss as a group the most important facts they learned about sending messages. 

Using the Worksheet
Children should complete the chart after they have read the text. This can be done individually, with partners, or as a group. 

Visual Learning
Ask: How did the illustrations and/or diagrams help you understand the text?  

Building Skills

Phonics
Review vowel digraph ai (long a).
Say: Vowel digraphs are a pair of two vowels that make one long vowel sound. Write the vowel digraph ai on the board. Look at the vowel digraph with children and brainstorm or search through the text for words containing the digraph ai, making a list of ai digraph words for the class word wall or dictionary.

Word Work
Discuss pronouns with children.
Say: Pronouns are words used in place of a noun or a noun phrase. You can say, "Bob is going to the store," or, "He is going to the store." He replaces Bob. Can you think of any more words used to replace a person's name? (He, she, they, him, her, them, I, we, you, his, hers, our, your, mine, their) What about the sentence The dog is black? If I didn't want to say the dog, what pronoun could I use? (It is black.)
Search for and discuss pronouns in the text, making a list for the classroom. 

Word Study
Discuss root words with children.
Say: A root is the unchanging part of a word, related to its origin and usually its meaning. If you take the word email, what part do you think is the root? (Mail) What does mail mean? What does the e- stand for? (Electronic) Together e- plus mail equals email. Email means mail sent electronically. Let's look for more root words and see if they help us figure out the meaning of the words. 

Comprehension
Discuss comparing and contrasting with children.
Say: Each section of this book talks about one way of sending messages. What are the differences between each of these forms of communication? Draw a simple chart on the board, with the modes of communication on top and comparable categories such as speed, distance, and equipment down the side. Have children list the different characteristics of each method of sending messages.

Expanding the Reading

Writing Connection
Individual Writing:
Say: The last line in the text asks: How do you think messages will be sent in the future? Think about how we might send messages in the future. What will we use? How far will we be sending them? Write about this and illustrate the means we will use to send messages. 

Science Connection
Make an aluminum can phone using two aluminum cans (plastic cups also work) and some string, 10 to 25 feet long. Put a small hole in the bottom of each can or cup, and string the line from one to the other. Have children take turns holding the cups or cans. Make sure the string is pulled tight. Have each child take a turn speaking and listening into a can or cup. Try different volumes, pitches, tautness of string, etc. Go to the library and find books about sound. See if children can find an explanation for how the aluminum can phone works. 

Reading Independently
Invite children to reread the book independently or with a partner. They might then look for and read other books about some of the message-sending inventions in Sending Messages.

Home Connection
Invite children to take the book home to read with a family member. Have children send an email or mail a letter to the class. 

Assessment

• Monitor children's responses in the Comprehending the Text section to assess how well they understand the text or story.
• Monitor reading to see if children are using effective reading strategies.
• Assess children's knowledge of comparing and contrasting.