Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 443

Book Summary
Firefighting is serious business. Readers learn about the many challenges firefighters face and the kinds of equipment they use to do their job. It's a challenging undertaking and a very important one. Firefighters work to keep people and property safe. Informative photographs support the text.

Book and lesson also available at Levels F and J.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Ask and answer questions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand new information a nonfiction text
• Identify main idea and details
• Identify the long /a/ vowel sound
• Identify pronouns
• Alphabetize words

Materials

• Book -- Firefighters (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Dictionaries
• KWL, main idea and details chart, pronouns worksheets
• Discussion cards

      Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be demonstrated by projecting the book on interactive whiteboard or completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: fire-retardant, inspect, prevent, skyscrapers, stories

Build Background

• Write the word firefighters on the board. Ask students if they have ever seen a fire truck and heard the sound of a siren as firefighters have gone to work protecting people. Encourage students to share what they know about firefighters and the work they do.
• Create a KWL chart on the board. Review or explain that K stands for things we know, W stands for questions we have and things we want to know, and L stands for the things we learned after reading. Fill in the first column with some of the information students know about firefighters. Give students the KWL worksheet. Have them write what they know in the K column of their worksheet.
• Tell students that they will soon be writing any questions they have about firefighters in the W column of their KWL chart.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their copy of the book. Guide them to the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what type of book it is (genre, text type, fiction or nonfiction, and so on) and what it might be about.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author's name).
• Ask students whether they are familiar with the things firefighters do. Then ask them to think about anything they may be curious about regarding the duties and responsibilities of a firefighter and the equipment they see in the photographs.

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Explain to students that asking questions about a topic before and during reading, and then looking for the answers while reading, will help them understand and remember what they read.
• Show students the table of contents on page 3. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Each section title provides an idea of what they will read about in the book. Discuss that the "Introduction" at the beginning of a book is designed to give readers an idea of what the book will be about. Discuss that the "Summary" at the end of the book is designed to review the main ideas in the book. Show students the Index on page 16 and explain that an index usually comes at the end of a book. The index is an alphabetical list of places, people, or topics that includes the page numbers where the words can be found in the book.
• Model using the table of contents to think of questions about the topic.
  Think-aloud: The first section in the book is titled "Types of Fires." I'm not sure what types there are, so I'll write that question on my KWL chart: What are the types of fires? I'll have to read the section to find out.
• Have students write any questions they have about firefighters, based on the covers and table of contents, in the W column of their KWL chart.
• Preview the rest of the book with students and discuss the photographs.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Identify main idea and details

• Remind students that a main idea is the general topic of a book, or the subject of a section of a book, and that details are the extra facts or description that gives the reader more information.
• Tell students that authors often give details about a topic to help the reader understand information that may be new to them. Providing details can help the reader picture the subject more clearly in his or her mind.
• Introduce and model the skill: Provide a simple model of identifying a main idea and detail. Draw a sample two-column chart on the board. Write the following labels above the columns: Main Idea and Detail.
• Think-aloud: Many times, information in a book is organized and written in sections. The title or heading of the section often tells the topic, or main idea of the section.
• Write morning school subjects under the heading Main Idea and then write the subjects that you cover in the morning, for example, language arts, reading, and computers under the heading Detail. Say: The detail I listed will help someone to know what subjects we cover in the morning at school.
• As a group, add another main idea to the chart, such as afternoon school subjects. Explain to students that after they read the book, they will make a similar chart of details about firefighting.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• As you preview the book, ask students to talk about what they see in the photographs and use the vocabulary they will encounter in the text. Model how to use what they know about firefighters and firefighting as they preview the photographs.
• Reinforce new vocabulary by incorporating it into the discussion of the photographs. For example, on page 6 you might say: The axes that firefighters use are similar to axes some people use to cut wood.
• Model for students the strategies they can use to work out words they don't know. For example, point to the word firefighters on page 4. Model using the familiar word parts fire and fight, and the photograph, to read the word. Then read the sentence containing the word to students and ask if the word firefighters makes sense.
• Model how students can use a dictionary to find a word's meaning. Have them locate the word firefighter in the dictionary. Invite a volunteer to read the definition for firefighter. Have them compare the definition with their prior knowledge of the word.
• Have students follow along on page 4 as you read the sentence in which the word firefighters is found to confirm the meaning of the word.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out about firefighters and fighting fires. Remind them to stop after every couple of pages to check their KWL chart and to record answers to any questions they might have posed. Have them add any new questions to their chart as they read.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Give students their copy of the book, and have them put a sticky note on page 7. Have them read to the end of this page. Have students reread the pages if they finish before everyone else.
• When they have finished reading, ask students what words they had trouble with. Then have them point out items in the photographs that were familiar to them. Have students tell how seeing familiar photos helped them as they read. Have them tell about some of the new details and information they learned.
• Think-aloud: When I read about the tools that firefighters use, I thought about some of the things I've seen near fire trucks and the things I've seen in firefighting demonstrations. This helped me read the words hoses, ladders and axes. If I didn't already know about some of the tools firefighters use, it might have been harder for me to understand that part of the book.
• Check for understanding: Have students share some of the things they thought about as they read the information on the pages so far. Select volunteers to share answers to some of the questions they posed on their KWL chart.
• Ask students to identify details from each section. Have them explain how the details helped them understand the main idea of each section of the book. Lead them to realize how each section is, in fact, a detail of the main idea of the book.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Encourage them to continue filling in their KWL chart with information they learn and to add any new questions they may have as they read. Explain that noting details about firefighters and the things they do will help them remember and better understand what they read.

      Have students make a question mark in their book beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read each word and figure out its meaning.

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Have students share any other questions they thought of while reading. Reinforce how asking questions and looking for the answers as they read keeps them actively involved in the reading process and helps them understand and remember what they have read.
• Think-aloud: When I came to page 9 and saw the photograph of the fire truck, it reminded me of when I went to a firehouse and saw a demonstration of the way fire trucks carry ladders and water. Thinking about this while I read made that section quite easy for me. I didn't know that some trucks have steering wheels in the front and back. I added this new information to the L section of my KWL chart.
• Check student understanding by inviting them to share how they used their KWL chart as they read.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Ask students what things about firefighters and fighting fires they were already familiar with in the book. Invite them to share something they already knew and something new that they learned. Ask if they thought about times they?ve seen firefighters at work as they read the book.
• Check for understanding: Tell students that it helps them remember information they read in nonfiction books if they can organize the key facts on a graphic organizer. Give students their copy of the main idea and details worksheet. Explain that they can list all the topics about firefighters and the things they do (the main idea of each section) in the first column and details about these sections in the second column. When they have finished filling in the chart, they will have a summary of the key information in the book. Say: The first section told about types of fires. I will write types of fires in the first column. The information on the page listed the types as house, shop, factory, skyscraper, and forest. I will write these in the column under Detail.
• Have students record the example on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Have students find the next section in the book and tell the details. If they are correct, have them write the information on their worksheet.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the identify main idea and details worksheet. Have them share their responses when they have finished.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you read about firefighters and the things they do to fight fires. Firefighters are a group of very special people who put themselves in danger's way to protect other people and their property. Some other people in your community have similar responsibilities, such as police officers. They protect and care for people. Can you think of any other people who do these things? Would you like to be a firefighter when you grow up? Why or why not?

Phonics: Identify long /a/ vowel

• Write the word make on the board and say it aloud with students. Explain that the sound they hear in the middle of the word is the long /a/ vowel sound.
• Have students say the long /a/ sound aloud. Run your finger under the letters in the word as students say the whole word aloud. Write another word on the board, such as grape, and ask students to identify which letter represents the long /a/ sound.

      Have students look on page 4 and highlight or circle the words that have the long /a/ sound (save, danger, educate, safety). Write the words on the board.

• Have students conduct a long /a/ vowel search on the other pages of the book.

Grammar and Mechanics: Pronouns

• Write the following words on the board: we, he, she, they and it. Tell students that pronouns refer to and replace nouns. Pronouns are used in talking or writing so the name of a person, place, or thing does not have to be repeated too many times.
• Write nouns and pronouns on the board. List male and female students' names in the nouns column. Ask students to name the pronouns that could be used instead of the names (he, she). List the pronouns in the pronouns column. Write two students' names together. Ask which pronoun could be used instead (they). Write a name and the word I (Kendall and I). Ask which pronoun could be used instead (we). Write truck in the nouns column. Ask which pronoun could be used instead (it).
• Have students turn to page 5. Have a volunteer read the first sentence aloud. (Firefighters fight many different kinds of fires.) Have another student read the next sentence aloud. (They put out house, shop, and factory fires.) Ask students what the word they is referring to or replacing (firefighters). Have students to turn to page 8. Ask them to reread this page to find a pronoun (it). Ask students what the word it is referring to or replacing (pumper truck).

      Check for understanding: Have students turn to page 6. Have a volunteer read the first sentence aloud. (Firefighters use many different tools to fight fires.) Have another student read the next sentence aloud. (They use large hoses to spray water or special foam on fires.) Ask students what the word they is referring to or replacing (Firefighters).

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the pronouns worksheet.

Word Work: Alphabetize

• Review or explain to students that words are sometimes placed in a list by alphabetical order. Words are placed in alphabetical order by first looking at the beginning letter in each word and then deciding which letter comes first in the alphabet.
• Write the words firefighter and truck on the board. Underline the first letter in each word. Ask students which letter comes first in the alphabet, f or t. Explain that the word firefighter would come first in an alphabetical list because the letter f comes before the letter t in the alphabet.
• Write the words axes and water on the board. Have students identify the initial letter in each word (a and w). Ask students to identify which letter comes first in the alphabet (a). Explain that the word axes would come first in an alphabetical list.
• Check for understanding: List these words in the following order on the board: ladder, hose, smoke, air, tools, fan. Have students write the words in alphabetical order on a separate piece of paper. When they have finished, discuss their answers.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, allow partners to take turns reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students practice identifying the main idea and details as they read.

Informational Writing Connection
Visit a firehouse or invite a firefighter come to talk to the class. Have students ask questions about how to become a firefighter. If students need additional information, provide them with print and Internet resources. Have them write a paper, with two main ideas, that tells about becoming a firefighter.

Visit Writing A–Z for a lesson and leveled materials on expository writing.

Art Connection
Have students use information they gathered in the Writing Connection activity to draw a picture of firefighter with symbols around the margins that represent things that are needed in order to become a firefighter.

Skill Review
Discussion cards covering comprehension skills and strategies not explicitly taught with the book are provided as an extension activity. The following is a list of some ways these cards can be used with students:

• Use as discussion starters for literature circles.
• Have students choose one or more cards and write a response, either as an essay or a journal entry.
• Distribute before reading the book and have students use one of the questions as a purpose for reading.
• Cut apart and use the cards as game cards with a board game.
• Conduct a class discussion as a review before the book quiz.