Build Background

• Ask students to tell what they already know about water. Ask them if they have ever heard the term “water cycle” and, if so, to explain how it works.
• Create a KWL chart on the board and give students the KWL worksheet. Work together to fill in the first column (K) with things students know about water. As a group, brainstorm some things students would like to know about the topic and have students fill in the second column (W) of their worksheets. Write some shared ideas on the class chart, as an example.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students a copy of the book and have them preview the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about.
• Have students turn to the table of contents and review its purpose with them. Read through the chapter titles and ask whether they provide students with a better idea of what the book is about.

Introduce the Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Model asking questions while looking at the table of contents.
• Think-aloud: When I’d like to know more than I do about a topic, I can use the chapter titles in the table of contents to think of questions I'd like to have answered. For example, the chapter after the introduction is titled “Water on the Move." This makes me wonder what happens to water once it has soaked into the ground. (Write your question in the (W) column of the KWL chart and invite students to add it to their worksheets.)
• Have students share any questions they have based on the table of contents or the covers of the book and add these to the second column (W).
• Have students preview the rest of the book. Show students the title page, photos, diagram, map, graphs, and captions. Draw students' attention to the map on page 7. Encourage students to use all of these resources to think of questions to add to their KWL chart.
• Show students the glossary. Review or explain that a glossary is an alphabetized list of words from the text with their definitions. Some glossaries, such as this one, also contain page numbers that tell where the reader can find each word in the book. Tell students that they can use the glossary to find the answers to some of their questions. For example, they can look at the glossary to find where in the book they should go to learn more about sediment. Ask students to tell which page mentions sediment (8).
• As students read, they should use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the word tributaries on page 6. Tell students that they can look at the letter the word begins with and then use what they know about syllables and vowels (one vowel sound per syllable) to sound out the rest of the word. Remind students to look for clues to the word's meaning in the sentence that contains the unfamiliar word, as well as in sentences before and after. Point out that in this book, they may also look to the photos for clues to find meaning.
• Remind students of the other strategies they can use to work out words they don't know. For example, they can use what they know about letter and sound correspondence to figure out the word. They can look for base words, prefixes and suffixes, and other word endings. They can use the context to work out meanings of unfamiliar words.
• Remind students that they should check whether unfamiliar words make sense by rereading the sentence.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about water.

Student Reading

    Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Tell them to look for facts about water that will answer their questions on the KWL chart. Have them underline important words or phrases in the book. If they finish before everyone else, they should go back and reread.

• When they have finished reading, have students tell what each chapter is about and the interesting facts they read. Circle any questions on the KWL chart that were answered and add any new questions students developed. Model answering a question on the KWL chart on the board.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know what happens to water once it has soaked into the ground. On page 5, I read that the water found below the ground is called groundwater. (Write what you learned on the KWL chart (L) and tell students to fill in their own charts.)
• Have students share questions they found the answers to while reading. Record their responses on the KWL chart.

    Tell students to read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to the other questions on the KWL chart or to think of additional questions to add to it. Ask them to write down any questions they have in the (W) column of their KWL worksheets and to underline any information that answers a question on the KWL chart.

    Have students make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Ask students what words they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
• Have students share any other questions they had while they were reading. Discuss 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 read.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details

• Discussion: Circle and discuss all of the questions on the KWL chart that were answered by reading the book. Give students time to add any additional information to the (K) and (W) sections of their charts, and tell them to fill in the (L) section, with what they learned. Add any additional questions to the KWL chart on the board. Explain that in order to find the answers to some questions, students may need to consult other references.
• Introduce and model the skill: Review or explain that many books are about one thing. Tell students that it is easy to tell what this book is about because the topic, or main idea, is the title of the book. Direct students to the table of contents. Explain that each chapter in this informational book contains a main idea and details about the main idea. Have students turn to chapter 3 (Water as a Force). Explain that this chapter has a main idea and details. Ask students what they think the main idea of the chapter is, based on the title (how water forces the earth to move). Ask students to go through the chapter again. Then have them name the dirt and sand carried by water (sediment). Ask them to name other details that tell about the force of water. Explain how identifying the main idea and supporting details in a chapter and developing and answering questions about what they’ve read can help them understand and remember what the book is about.
• Check for understanding: Have students turn to chapter 5 (Water Is Important). Discuss the photos on page 13 and ask students to look at the KWL chart to find questions that might be answered by the details shown in the photos. Have students share their findings.
• Independent practice: Have students practice locating the main idea and details in a chapter by completing the main idea/details worksheet. Discuss their answers when they’re done.

    Extend the discussion: Instruct students to use the inside front cover of their books to list one of the questions on the KWL chart that was not answered by the book. Have them tell what reference(s) they might consult to find the answer.

Grammar and Mechanics: Identify the use of bold print

• Review or explain that bold print in text is lettering that is darker and thicker than the other lettering.
• Have students turn to page 4. Ask them to identify the bolded word on the page (Introduction). Ask why they think the author chose to use bold print for that word (to make it stand out because it is the chapter title). Have students turn to page 5. Ask them to identify the bolded words on the page (groundwater, water vapor). Ask why they think the author chose to use bold print for those words (to make them stand out, because they are words that are defined in the glossary.)
• Direct students to the other chapter titles on pages 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15. Discuss the author’s purpose in choosing bold print to write each title. Point out that the chapters are not numbered or underlined, so bolding the words is a strategy used to make sure the reader knows that those words are special and need to stand apart from the rest of the text.

    Check for understanding: Have students go through the story and underline all of the bolded words.

Word Work: Alphabetization

• Review or explain the process of putting a list of words in alphabetical order. Remind students that if the first letters of two words are the same, they must compare the next two letters instead.
• Write the words stream and ocean on the board. Have a volunteer explain which word would appear first in alphabetical order (ocean) and why (because o comes before s in the alphabet). Write the words river and rainfall on the board. Point out that the words begin with the same letter (r). Ask a volunteer to tell which word would appear first in alphabetical order and explain their thinking (rainfall, because a comes before i, looking at the second letter of each word).

    Check for understanding: Write the words pollution and pond on the board. Using the inside front cover of their books, have students write which word would appear first in alphabetical order (pollution). (Students must look at the third letter of each word to correctly alphabetize the words). Check students’ individual answers. Ask a volunteer to explain his or her answer.

• Independent practice: Have students complete the alphabetization worksheet. Discuss answers aloud after they are finished.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book.

Home Connection

• Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing Connection

• Provide print and online resources for students to research a river they’ve just read about. Using the graph on page 15, have them choose between the longest river in the world (Nile) or the shortest (Dee) to write an informational report. Have them include such information as the river’s length, location, and how it is used as a resource.

Social Studies Connection

• Provide student groups with maps of different countries with all the major bodies of water visible but not labeled. Have students locate and label the major bodies of water, including rivers, oceans, seas, lakes, and gulfs.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• consistently ask relevant questions about the topic prior to and during reading; locate answers to the questions in the text and understand that not all questions will be answered from this one source
• correctly identify the main idea and the appropriate supporting details; organize the information on a fact chart
• identify and understand the use of bold print
• understand the process of arranging words in alphabetical order