Lesson Plans for PUPPETS level N

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Before handing out the book, introduce it by showing the front and back covers, the title page, the table of contents, and index. Talk to children about what they may predict about this book.
Ask: What do you see on the covers? What does this tell you about the book’s contents? What do you think the book will be about? There should be a lot of prediction going on at this stage.

Suggestion: You might want to give some examples about where to find specific information using the table of contents or the index. This may be appropriate during the Building Background section. It is possible that children may bring up some things that are discussed in the book. As this happens, you can take the opportunity to look them up in the table of contents or index to show that it is in fact in the book.

Building Background
See Using the Worksheet section above. Have children tell you what they know about puppets. Ask the following questions to find out what prior knowledge they have regarding the subject. Ask: What do you think of when you hear the word puppet? Do you know if there are different types of puppets? If so, what are they? What do you know about making puppets? Can you think of anyone famous who makes puppets? Can you think of any famous puppets? Do you think you could learn to make puppets? Do you know what a person who makes puppets is called? By asking these types of questions, you are getting a better understanding about what children know about puppets. See the suggestion above in the Introducing the Book section for an idea on how to incorporate the use of table of contents and index in this section.

Book Walk
The book walk for this book is simply a way to help children become familiar with the format of an informational book that is broken into sections. This may be a new concept for children. Go through and show children how each new section begins with the subject of the upcoming topic. It is centered at the top of the page and is in a larger type size and a different type face. If you are going to be reading the book in sections, this will be an important thing to show children. Also, look at some of the pictures. This will help them become familiar with the topics they are about to learn. This will also show them that you recognize the importance of the photos in this book. Point out some of the content words that were discussed earlier so that children will have an idea where they are and won’t be worrying about finding them. This is just a way to help children feel more comfortable with the text they are about to read.

Reading Strategies
Discuss any reading strategies children can use to help them read. Discuss the strategies that have been used during their prior reading experiences. Remind them that they should be listening to themselves as they read to make sure that things make sense. Talk to them about going back and rereading to make sure they are identifying what the main ideas and supporting details are.
Ask:
  • How will the pictures help you understand the text?
  • How does what you read connect to what you already know?
  • What can you do when you come to a word you do not understand?
  • What can you do if you don’t understand a part you have just read?

It may be appropriate for you to role-play reading the book yourself and coming to a word you do not know. Show children that this is normal and how to overcome this problem without losing your place or becoming overwhelmed. Remind children to reread a section and/or page if they had more than one trouble area while reading it the first time. This will help to ensure their level of understanding.


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