Reading Level:
M

Word Count:
720

Pages:
20 

Text Summary
Blue jeans are as American as it gets, but do you know who invented them, how they became fashionable, or how they are made? The Story of Jeans answers these questions, taking the reader from the San Francisco Gold Rush to modern-day closets. 

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: making connections between what they read and what they already know. 

Word and Print Skills

Phonics
Long e vowel digraph ea
Word Work
Irregular verbs
Word Study
Contractions 

Targeted Vocabulary Words
ore, rivets, denim, indigo, linen, casual, banned, flared, antique, bolls, diagonal, bolts, custom-made

These are difficult words that students will encounter in the text. You may want to review and discuss the words and have students add them to the classroom word wall or dictionary. 

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: summarizing information. 

Visual Learning
Understand how illustrations, diagrams, and charts help the reader better understand the text. 

Before Reading

Build Background
Involve students in a discussion about jeans to elicit prior knowledge and build background.
Ask: How many of you have at least one pair of jeans? Do you know where they come from? Have people always worn jeans? Why do you think people like jeans? 

Introduce the Book
Show students the cover illustration and have them read the title to make initial predictions about the main idea or topic.
Ask: What do you see on the cover? What do you think this book is about? What can you figure out about the kind of text this is? What else can you guess from the illustration or title? 

Book Walk
Give students their copies of the book and go through as much of the book as you feel is necessary. Point out things you feel will challenge students as 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 headings, bold-face type, pronunciations, maps, charts, glossary, and index. Ask students how they will use these text features when they read. Record any predictions students have about the text. 

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

• Asking: 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 read
• Reread any sentence or page that was difficult, to make sure they understand the text
• Use what they know about letters and sounds to read new words
• Look for parts of words they know, such as root words, prefixes, and suffixes

Ask students about the strategies they think they will use if they get to a difficult word. You may want to model a strategy you think will help students gain meaning, such as rereading, asking questions, or looking at illustrations or diagrams. 

During Reading

Using the Worksheet
Introduce and explain worksheet 2. Read the instructions together with students. Tell students that you want them to write a short summary of each section after they have finished reading it. Explain that you will discuss their summaries when they have finished reading. Model how to locate important information and how students should rewrite it in their own words. Remind students that to summarize, they need to write down only the most important information in each section. 

Student Reading
Have students read the book independently. You might suggest they read through the book once, stopping after each chapter to summarize, ask questions, and then reread if needed. If the book will be used as a consumable, you may ask students to mark or highlight words they have trouble with or places where they are confused. 

After Reading

Reflect on Reading Strategies
Draw the group together again and discuss the strategies they used while they read.
Ask: Were there any words you had trouble with? What strategies did you use to work them out? Did you summarize by picking out the main points in each section? How does summarizing important information from the text help you to better understand what you read? How did what you already knew about jeans help you read this book? 

Comprehending the Text
Have students share their summaries. Point out any information that is not important to the text, and model how to pick out the most important facts.
Discuss other aspects of the story if time allows. Suggested questions:

• What questions were answered for you in this book?
• Who told the story? How do you know?
• For what audience was the book written?
• What was the author’s purpose? Why did she write this story?

Visual Learning
Discuss the visual information in the text. Point out particular charts and sidebars and ask students what information these provide.
Ask: Did you need to use any of the illustrations to help you understand the text? How did the maps, charts, and sidebars help you understand the text? Did the diagrams help you understand the process of how jeans are made?
Point out the registered trademark symbol (®) after the word Levi's on page 7. Explain that some words, especially brands, are used like inventions or products. These brand names are owned by the company, and other people are not allowed to use the name without permission. This prevents people from claiming that, for example, they are selling Levi's brand jeans, when in fact they are selling imitations. The symbol is like a legal stamp certifying that the name mentioned is in fact the name of a company, and that it is used legally. As another reference, point out the copyright symbol (©) on the copyright page. Explain that this symbol does virtually the same thing, only instead of protecting a single word, it protects and entire book. 

Building Skills

Phonics
Long vowel ea digraph
Write the word jeans on the board and have students read it with you. Ask students what letters stand for the long e sound. Have students work in pairs to search the text and other books to find examples of words with the long ea digraph. Have students share their lists of words. If students suggest a word like measure, discuss how sometimes the ea digraph can have a short e sound. Provide examples of other words with short ea digraph. Point out that sometimes the letters ea also stand for the long a sound, such as in the word great. 

Word Work
Irregular verbs
Have students look at the first page and list all the verbs. Discuss how this report talks about history, or things that have already happened, so the text has past tense verbs. Write the verb invented on the board. Ask students to tell you the present tense form and how the word changed to make a past tense verb. Have students look at the verbs to see how many were formed by adding -ed. Explain that some past tense verbs are not made by adding -ed. We use a different spelling of the word to create the past tense. These are called irregular verbs. Write the word run on the board and ask students what the past tense of the verb is. Have students work in pairs to find examples of irregular past tense verbs. Write the words they find on the board. 

Word Study
Contractions
Write the words do and not on the board. Remind students that a contraction is a shortened word made by combining two words. Ask students what you need to do to create the contraction don’t from these two words. Write the word don’t on the board and have students check their answer. Repeat with the words would not, will not, have not, and are not.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Students can finish the statement, "I like jeans because _____," or "I wear jeans because _____," adding facts to support their statement. 

Science Connection
Help students find information about dying fabric using natural materials such as berries, bark, dirt, and rocks. Students can experiment with dying pieces of fabric. 

Math Connection
Create a "Jeans" graph for the class. Each student can collect information about the number of jeans they own and transfer it onto a graph for the class. A graph of different types of denim clothing could also be made. 

Reading Independently
Invite students to reread the book independently or with a partner. Have students share their own stories from the Writing Connection with each other.

Home Connection
Invite students to take the book home to read with their families. Have them share their Writing Connection stories with a family member. 

Assessment

• Assess students’ completed worksheet 2 to determine how well they can summarize information. Note whether they can select the most relevant information to include in their summary. Note whether they attempt to write their summaries in their own words.
• Listen to students’ comments during the Reflect on Reading Strategies section of the lesson to determine the kind of strategies they use to help them read the text.
• Note whether students can suggest examples of irregular verbs. Review their completed worksheet 1 to assess whether they can write examples of irregular verbs.