Reading Level:
Q

Word Count:
1,482

Pages:
22 

Text Summary
Amelia Earhart was an extraordinary person. She was a brave pioneer in the new world of aviation. She also set a new standard for what was acceptable for women to do. This book describes the many events in her life that made her a legend. 

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: summarizing after each section. 

Word and Print Skills
Phonics
-ight spelling of long /i/
Word Work
Possessive pronouns
Grammar
Subject

Targeted Vocabulary Words
legend, Atlantic, instruments, plummeted, engines, wings, landing gear, accomplishments, expedition, stunt, opportunity, publicist, headlines, designed, challenge, route, navigator, Lockheed, equator, historic, New Guinea, Pacific, Australia

These are words that students may find difficult. You may want to review and discuss these 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: sequencing. 

Before Reading

Introduce the Book
Show students the cover photo and have them read the title to make predictions about the main idea or topic.Ask: What do you see on the cover? What do you think this book is about? What do the pictures tell you about the kind of text this is? What else can you guess from the pictures or title? What does the word legend mean? Why do you think this word might be used in a book about Amelia Earhart? 

Build Background
Involve students in a discussion about airplanes and Amelia Earhart to elicit prior knowledge and build background.
Ask: How were the planes of sixty or seventy years ago different from the planes that fly today? Who are some famous aviators that you have read or heard about? Who was Amelia Earhart? What do you know about her? 

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 might challenge students when 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.
Ask and say: Do you think this book is fiction or nonfiction? How do you know? Let’s read the table of contents together. What information do you think we will find in this book?
As you look through the text, point out text features such as headings, bold-face type, pronunciations, maps, charts, and the glossary. Ask students how they will use these text features when they read. 

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

• Ask themselves: Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right?
• Connect the text with what they already know
• Summarize a section after reading to be sure they understand what they are reading
• 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

Student Reading
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 the book. Remind students that to summarize, they need to write down only the most important information from each section. 

Have students read the book independently. You might suggest they read through once, stopping after each chapter to summarize, ask questions, and 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. They may also mark or highlight important words or information in another color. 

After Reading

Reflect on Reading Strategies
Draw the students together again and discuss the strategies they used while they were reading.
Ask: Did you summarize by picking out the main points in each section? How does summarizing important information from the text help you understand what you read? 

Comprehending the Text
Have students share their summaries. Point out any information that is not important, and model how to pick out the most important facts.
Give students the timeline worksheet. Ask: How was the text organized? What happened first in the book? What were some important dates in Amelia Earhart’s life? Why were they important?
Have students fill in the timeline worksheet. 

Discuss other aspects of the story if time allows. Suggested questions are:

• What was the author’s purpose? Why did she write this story?
• For what audience is this text written?
• What did you learn that you didn’t already know?
• Do you think Amelia Earthart is a legend? Why do you think people call her that?
• How did she change the world?
• What ideas do you have about what happened to Amelia Earhart? 

Building Skills

Phonics
-ight spelling of long /i/
Write the word flight on the board. Ask students how the long /i/ sound is spelled in the word. Have students brainstorm a list of words from the -ight word family. Students can add these words to their personal dictionaries. 

Word Work
Possessive pronouns
Say: Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show ownership. In the sentence, While trying to fly her plane around the world, the pronoun her shows that the plane belongs to Amelia. Let’s think of other words that show possession.
Make a list of possessive pronouns. 

Grammar
Subject
Have students turn to the first sentence in the book and read it aloud. Ask students who the sentence is about. Explain that we call this the subject of a sentence. Write the following sentence on the board: Giant black storm clouds filled the sky. Explain that clouds is the subject of the sentence. The words giant, black, and storm are adjectives. They describe what kind of clouds these are. The verb in the sentence is filled. It tells what the clouds did. 

Write another sentence on the board and ask students to find the subject: I went to the movie.
Explain that sometimes there can be more than one subject in a sentence. Use the following example to demonstrate: Shelly and I went to the movie. Have students take turns choosing a sentence in the book and identifying the subject.

Give students worksheet 2 and have them find the subjects of the sentences.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Students can write a short essay about what they think might have happened to Amelia Earhart. Explain the principal parts of an argument essay, including the introduction, topic sentence, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion. Before they write, have students brainstorm what they think might have happened on Amelia's final flight, and have them think of at least two details or facts that support their theory. 

Social Studies Connection
There are many famous women in history. Have students research and read other books about famous historical women. Collect information on a class chart or make posters. 

Science Connection
Collect and read additional books about flight or airplanes. Make paper airplanes. Compare how far different designs fly. 

Reading Independently
Invite students to reread the book independently or with a partner. Have students share their essays 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 essays with a family member. 

Assessment

• Observe students and listen to their summaries during the discussion to determine if they are able to pick out the main points of the text. Note if they understand how summarizing information can help them better understand what they read.
• Read students’ completed timeline to assess if they are able to sequence events from the text in chronological order.
• Assess students’ completed worksheet 1 to determine if they understand what a subject of a sentence is. Note if they can find the subject in both simple and complex sentences. Note if they can recognize more than one subject when there are two subjects in the sentence.