Lesson Plans for WHALES Level O

Building Skills

Phonics
Point out the wh digraph in the word whale. Explain that it makes the /hw/ sound. Explain that when making the sound you let out just a little puff of air to make a weak /h/ sound. Write wine and whine on the board. Demonstrate the difference in pronunciation. You can do the same with weather and whether. Ask: What other words can you think of that have the wh combination and make the same beginning sound?
You should also point out that the wh digraph makes an /h/ sound, as in who and whole.

Worksheet 2
Have students complete worksheet 2.

Word Work
Vocabulary Building

  • After reading through the story a few times, write some or all of the content words on the board. Have students look up the words in the glossary and a dictionary. Compare the definitions. Ask for volunteers to use each word in a sentence.
  • Because of the extreme size and capabilities of whales, there are many words describing extremes. Offer the opportunity to talk about synonyms. After discussing briefly the concept of synonyms, ask students to look through the book to find words related to the size of whales. Have them make a list of all the words they might use to describe the large size of whales. (giant, large, huge, humongous, gigantic, colossal, etc.)


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