Text Type: Fiction/Informational Narrative
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 887

Book Summary
Acropolis Adventure is told from a young man's perspective as he and his parents vacation in Greece. He meets Dimitri, an old friend of his father's, who shows him some of the famous local landmarks. Most importantly, Dimitri teaches Brady how to appreciate the details and beauty that surround him. Brady leaves Greece a different person. Illustrations and a map support the text.

Book and lesson also available at Levels W and Z.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Visualize

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of visualizing to understand text
• Identify details to compare and contrast
• Fluently read words containing the r-controlled /i/ vowel
• Recognize and use possessives
• Identify and understand similes and metaphors

Materials

• Book -- Acropolis Adventure (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Dictionaries
• Visualize, compare and contrast, similes and metaphors worksheets
• Discussion cards

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

Vocabulary

• Content words: Acropolis, admiring, ancient, Athens, columns, comedy, Greek, landmark, struggled

Build Background

• Ask students to tell what they know about Greece and the Acropolis. Ask a student to locate Greece on a classroom map. Ask if anyone knows any other famous landmarks in Greece and, if so, to tell about them.
• Ask students to close their eyes and visualize, or picture in their mind, a two-story-high marble octagon with eight carved figures on top. Ask them to share what they see.

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, illustrator's name).
• Preview the table of contents on page 3. Remind students that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Ask students what they expect to read about in the book based on what they see in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Explain to students that good readers often visualize, or create pictures in their mind, while reading. Visualizing is based on the words used in the text and what a person already knows about the topic.
• Ask students to close their eyes and listen carefully. Read page 4 aloud to them. Model how to visualize.
  Think-aloud: Whenever I read a book, I always pause after a few pages to create a picture in my mind of the information I've read. This helps me organize the important information and understand the ideas in the story. For example, on page 4, the author describes the setting. I pictured an outdoor cafe with people sitting at tables. I also pictured the bright morning sunshine glaring down on Dimitri's bald head.
• Reread page 4 aloud to students, asking them to use the words in the story to visualize. Introduce and explain the visualize worksheet. Have students draw what they visualized from the text on page 4 on their worksheet. Invite them to share their drawings.
• 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: Compare and contrast

• Explain that one way to understand concepts in a story is to tell how the information is similar and different.
• Cut out the illustration from page 4 and show students the two characters, Brady and Dimitri. Model how to compare and contrast using clues from the illustration and the text on page 4.
  Think-aloud: In this illustration, I see two people. I see that some things about them are the same, and some things are different. I notice that both characters are male and that they are both reaching out to shake hands. However, it seems as if one of the characters is much older than the other. On page 4 I read, "Over here, young man." Therefore, I know that Brady must be the young man. The title on page 4 is Dimitri the Greek, so I know that the older man sitting down is Dimitri and that he is Greek. Page 4 also mentioned that Dimitri was tall, bald, tanned, and welcoming.
• Model how to compare and contrast information using a Venn diagram. Draw a Venn diagram on the board. Label the left circle Brady and the right circle Dimitri. Explain that information telling how Brady and Dimitri are similar is written where both circles overlap. Information that is only true of Brady is written in the left side of the left circle. Information that is only true of Dimitri is written in the right side of the right circle.
• Have students identify other similarities and differences between Brady and Dimitri. Add this information to the Venn diagram.

Introduce Vocabulary

• Remind students of the 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. They can use the context to work out meanings of unfamiliar words.
• Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word ancient on page 5. Explain to 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. Have students look for a clue to the word's meaning in the sentence that contains the unfamiliar word. Explain that in this story they will not always find a context clue in the same sentence, but that other information in the paragraph explains it.
• Model how students can use the glossary or a dictionary to find the word's meaning. Have a volunteer read the definition for ancient in the glossary. Have students follow along on page 5 as you read the sentence in which the word ancient is found to confirm the meaning of the word.
• Preview other vocabulary, such as Greek, comedy, and landmark, in a similar fashion before students begin reading.
• For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to learn about the adventure the characters experience at the Acropolis. Remind them to stop and visualize as they read to help them remember and understand what they're reading.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Have them draw what they visualized during one or more events of the story on their visualize worksheet. If they finish before everyone else, have them go back and reread.
  Think-aloud: When I read about the Tower of the Winds, I paused to picture in my mind how that would look. I envisioned a marble tower as tall as a two-story building. In my mind, I saw eight flat sides with a carved figure at the top of each and metal rods stretching out from them. I envisioned that this was a humongous sundial capturing the Sun's rays each day.
• Invite students to share their drawings of what they visualized while reading. Have them explain their drawings aloud.
• Review with students the details they read on pages 5 through 9 about Brady and Dimitri. Discuss any similarities and differences between the characters. (Similarities: both know and like Brady's dad; both are in Athens; both are looking at and discussing landmarks. Differences: Brady is not interested in history, Dimitri is very interested in history; Brady is unfamiliar with the landmarks, Dimitri is very knowledgeable about the landmarks; Brady is becoming more enthusiastic about what he sees, Dimitri is becoming encouraged by Brady's enthusiasm) Add this information to the Venn diagram on the board from earlier. Save the diagram for future reference.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 12. Have them visualize the information in the text as they read. Ask students to draw what they visualized on their visualize worksheet. Invite them to share what they visualized.
• Have students work with a partner and continue comparing Brady and Dimitri as they read the remainder of the story. Have them write the information on a Venn diagram on a separate piece of paper. Discuss their responses as a class.

      Have students make a small 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 had while they were reading. Ask how using the strategy of visualizing helped them understand and remember what they read.
• Think-aloud: When I read about the Parthenon, I paused to picture in my mind a massive stone temple with columns of marble. I envisioned the detailed scenes, including people, animals, and gods, carved into the stone. This picture helped me understand what I had read and helped me remember that part of the story.
• Have students complete the visualize worksheet. Have volunteers discuss their drawings aloud after everyone finishes.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review with students the similarities and differences between Brady and Dimitri. Add any new information to the Venn diagram on the board. Discuss how the information is organized in the Venn diagram.
• Check for understanding: Have students provide examples of how the Parthenon and the Tower of Winds are alike and different. Record this information on a new Venn diagram on the board.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compare and contrast worksheet by comparing ancient Greece to present-day Greece. If time allows, discuss their answers.
• Enduring understanding: In this story, you learned about many of the famous landmarks of Greece. Now that you know this information, would you like to visit the country and see sights such as the Parthenon, the Acropolis, the Tower of the Winds, and the Theater of Dionysus? Which would you most like to see, and why?

Phonics: R-controlled /i/ vowel

• Have students look at the cover of the book. Ask them to name the piece of clothing that both characters are wearing (shirt). Write the word shirt on the board and point to the letters ir. Tell students that the letters i and r together stand for the vowel sound they hear in the word shirt.
• Explain that the ir letter combination is one of the letter combinations that stand for a group of sounds called r-controlled vowels. These vowel sounds are neither long nor short, and are sometimes difficult to hear. The other r-controlled /ir/ letter combinations are ar,er, and ur.
• Write the words skirt and skit on the board and say them aloud. Ask students which word contains the same vowel sound as in shirt. Make sure students can differentiate between the two vowel sounds. Give other examples if necessary.
• Ask students to name other words with the same r-controlled vowel sound as in shirt. Write each example on the board and invite volunteers to circle the r-controlled vowel spelling in each word.

      Have students turn to page 12. Ask them to reread the first paragraph and circle the word lower. Write the word lower on the board. Point out the letter combination that stands for the r-controlled vowel sound and ask students to blend the letters e and r together to make the same vowel sound as in shirt. Point out that the r-controlled vowel sound comes at the end of this word. Next, run your finger under the letters as you blend the four sounds in lower: low/er. Point out that even though there are five letters, four sounds are blended together to form the word. Then have students blend the word aloud with you as you run your finger under the letters.

      Have students return to page 12 and read the second sentence: The theater was divided into three equal sections. Have them circle the word theater. Point out the letter combination that stands for the r-controlled vowel sound at the end of the word. Ask students to blend the letters e and r together to make the same vowel sound as in shirt and lower. Run your finger under the letters as you blend the sounds in theater.

Grammar and Mechanics: Possessives

• Review or explain that a possessive is formed by adding an 's to the end of a word to show ownership, or possession.
• Direct students to page 4. Ask them to find the possessive word in the last paragraph (Dimitri's). Explain the rule of possession indicated by an 's for the phrase Dimitri's head (the head belonging to Dimitri). Have students turn to page 6 and find the possessive word in the first paragraph (Greece's). Explain the rule of possession indicated by an 's for the phrase Greece's most famous landmark (the famous landmark belonging to Greece).
• Review or explain that a contraction using 's is not the same as a possessive. For example, it's is a contraction for it is and does not show ownership. Have students turn to page 9 and find an example of a contraction using 's that does not show ownership or possession (it's).
• Check for understanding Write a volunteer's name on the board and ask that volunteer to name something that he or she owns. Then add an 's to the end of the name before writing the item. (For example, write Alex. Then add 's book.) Repeat the example for other volunteers who would like to contribute. Choose a name that ends in s to explain that the 's would follow the s. For example, Marcus would be changed to Marcus's.

      Independent practice: Have students underline the possessives in the book, along with the items that each character owns (Dimitri's head, Greece's most famous landmark, Brady's thoughts, Brady's jaw, Dimitri's voice, Brady's shoulder).

Word Work: Similes and metaphors

• Write the word simile on the board. Review or explain that a simile is a figure of speech comparing one thing to another by using the word like or as. Write the following sentence on the board: "Yes," Brady answered, now noticing lines stretching out from the metal rods like spokes on a wheel. Ask a volunteer to read the sentence aloud and locate the simile that uses like to compare two things. Ask what the stretching lines are being likened to (spokes on a wheel). Write the example like spokes on a wheel on the board under the word simile.
• Write the word metaphor on the board. Review or explain that a metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another thing. Write the following sentence on the board: So, imagine this tower as one giant sundial, but a sundial that also works all year long as a calendar. Ask a volunteer to read the sentence aloud. Ask what the tower is being likened to (a sundial and a calendar). Write the examples the tower as a sundial and the tower as a calendar on the board under the word metaphor.
• Check for understanding: Give pairs of students an index card. Write the following sentence on the board: Brady had seen the buildings on the hilltop lit up at night, glowing high above the city as if anchored in the ground like a huge cruise ship. Have students discuss the sentence with a partner, looking for the simile (like a huge cruise ship). Have them write the simile on their index card and hold it up for you to check. Add this example to the list on the board under the word simile. Ask what the buildings on the hilltop are being likened to (a huge cruise ship).
• Independent practice: Give students the similes and metaphors worksheet. Review their responses aloud when everyone has finished working independently.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section of the book. Additionally, partners can 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 visualizing the story with someone at home and then compare the pictures they created in their minds.

Informational Narrative Writing Connection
Have students write the next chapter in Acropolis Adventure by researching another aspect of ancient Greece (such as art, food, clothing, and so on). Have them continue the story using Dimitri as Brady's guide to Greece's history.

Social Studies Connection
Provide print and Internet resources for students to research the famous landmarks of Greece in more detail. As a group, collect photos, diagrams, and illustrations to create a collage poster. Supply index cards for students to include information about each landmark. Display the collage for all to see.

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.