Lesson Plans for FIREWORKS level Q

Text Type:
Fact / Informational Text

Reading Level:
Q

Word Count:
1,253

Pages:
26

Text Summary
Fireworks is an informational text that provides an interesting history of fireworks. It also gives details about how fireworks are made and about the intense planning required to create professional fireworks displays. Fireworks safety is also addressed.

Suggested Lesson Focus
Comprehension/Literary Element Strategies
Extract information from text.

Word Skills
Provide synonyms and antonyms for given words.

Phonics Skills
List word of the same rime family from given target words.

Grammar Skills
Provide related verbs and adjectives from given nouns.

Targeted Vocabulary Words
chemicals, spectacular, miniature

Before Reading

Introducing the Book
Discuss children’s own experiences with fireworks.
Say and ask: Share with the group what you already know about fireworks from your own experiences. Have any of you been to a fireworks display? Have any of you had fireworks at your home? On which occasions do people shoot off fireworks? Do any of you already know some safety when working with fireworks?
Hand out the books and have children read the title page and the table of contents.
Ask: From reading the title page and the contents page, what information do you expect to learn about fireworks from reading this text?

Build Background
Have children turn to the glossary on page 26.
Say: Read the bold face words.
Ask children which words they already know the meaning of. Have them read the definitions of these words to check that their prior understanding was correct. Discuss the words that are unfamiliar to them. Have children read the definitions. Discuss the words chemicals, spectacular, and miniature.
Ask: What are chemicals? Who can tell me the name of a chemical? What does spectacular mean? Who can tell me a synonym for spectacular? What does miniature mean? Who can use miniature in a sentence to show its meaning?

Book Walk
Have children scan page 5.
Say: Scan page 5 to see if you suggested all the occasions when people use fireworks to celebrate.
Have children turn to page 7 and read the first sentence to find out when fireworks were first used. Then have them turn to the section called "How Fireworks Are Made."
Say: Scan this page to find out more about combustion. This page will tell you how fireworks produce heat and light.
Have children turn to page 12 and read the chart of Fireworks Chemicals.
Say and ask: Read this chart to find out which chemical causes yellow lights and which chemical causes loud booms. What other information did you learn from this chart?
Have children view and discuss the illustrations on pages 13 and 14.
Say: Share what further information you learned from looking at these illustrations.
Have children to turn to page 18.
Say: This section explains how they set up fireworks displays. When you have read this section, you will be able to discuss what the show’s organizers have to do before you see the display.
Have children return to page 4

During Reading

Have children read to the end of page 6.
Say: I want you to read to the end of page 6 to find out what name is given to making and launching fireworks.
Have children read the section on the history of fireworks.
Say: When you have read this section, I want you to tell the person next to you three new facts that you have learned.
Have children read to the end of page10.
Ask: Who can tell me in their own words what combustion is? Can anyone give another example of combustion?
Have children read the rest of the book independently. Have them mark with a sticky note any word or phrase they do not understand or cannot pronounce. You can clarify these later. During this time, you may choose to work with another group. Alternatively, you may wish to work individually with some children to monitor their oral reading and comprehension of parts of the text.
Say: I want you to finish reading the book at your own pace. As you read, I want you to stop at the end of each page and think about the new facts you have learned. When you have finished reading, we are going to discuss those facts.

Using the Worksheet
Introduce and explain the Worksheet. Have children start work on the Worksheet as they finish reading the text.

After Reading

Comprehending the Text
Draw the group together again and ask each child to share three new facts that he or she has learned from reading Fireworks. Children may not repeat another’s facts. Have children answer and discuss the following higher level thinking questions.
  • If you were setting up a fireworks display, what are all the things that you would have to consider?
  • What are your feelings about the sale of fireworks being banned in some states?
  • Suppose the Chinese had not developed fireworks, what do you think might have happened?
  • Have you ever been to a fireworks display? How did you feel about the experience?
  • If you were a chemist, what would you have to do to invent a new type of fireworks?
  • If you were designing a fireworks safety poster, what important information would you put
    on it?
  • Why do you think the author wrote this book? What is her purpose?

Building Skills

Word Skills
Discuss synonyms and antonyms with children. Write the word big on the board.
Ask: Who can tell me a synonym, a word that means the same as big? Who can tell me an antonym, a word that means the opposite of big?
List children’s answers on the board. Do the same with the words loud, high, and scared. Have children return to the text and select three other words. Then have them write a synonym and an antonym for the words they have selected.

Phonics
Discuss word families with children. Write the following words on the board: bang, boom. Ask children to take turns to come up to the board and write another word in the same family under each of the words. Encourage them to use multisyllable words as well as one syllable words (for example, boomerang, classroom).

Grammar
Discuss parts of speech with children. Write the word celebration on the board.
Say: The word celebration is a noun. There are other words in the same word family as celebration that are also nouns and some that are other parts of speech. For example, celebrity is another noun. A celebrity is a famous person. Celebrant is also a noun. A celebrant is someone who celebrates something. The word celebrate is a verb, and the word celebratory is an adjective. A celebratory occasion is an occasion where people get together to celebrate something, such as a birthday.
Write all these words on the board as you speak.
Say: So all these words—celebrate, celebration, celebrity, celebrant, and celebratory— are part of the same word family, but not all the same part of speech.
Have children read the words as you point to them. Then invite them to come to the board, point to one of the words, read it, and say what part of speech it is. Have children complete the Worksheet. They may need to use a dictionary to help them.

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Writing a Procedure
Say: I want you to reread the section called "Getting Ready For the Celebration," pages 18 through 21. Then I want you to pretend that you are writing a set of instructions for a person who is new on the job. You have to list for them, in order, what they have to do. Start with "Report for work two days before the show day."
Remind children to keep their sentences short and write them as directions.

Science Connection
Have children research the ways fireworks are used throughout the world. They can look in the library for books on fireworks or online for information. They can research the types of events that often feature fireworks, where fireworks are most commonly made, or something else they find interesting about fireworks. If possible, have a guest speaker who has experience with fireworks come in to discuss fireworks and safety.

Personal Safety
Have children discuss keeping safe when around fireworks. Have them work in pairs to prepare a safety poster that includes all the main safety elements. Explain that fireworks are explosives, and they need to be treated with caution.

Reading Independently
Invite children to reread the book, Fireworks, independently or with a partner. They could then look for and read other books about fireworks. Children should also read each other’s procedures and safety posters.


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