Text Type: Nonfiction/Biography
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 834

Book Summary
Meet a courageous and hard-working athlete who is also a Special Olympian. This biography is the story Mike Van Zee--how he trained, worked with his coach, and became a champion. Readers will also learn about the history of the Special Olympics.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Ask and answer questions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of asking and answering questions to understand text
• Analyze author's purpose in text
• Identify and form words with inflectional endings
• Use the dictionary to locate and identify word meanings

Materials

• Book -- Mike Van Zee, Special Olympian (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Dictionaries
• KWL, inflectional endings, dictionary skills worksheets

   Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary

• Content words: annual, aquatics, competition, determination, excel, gladiators, industrious, involvement, oath, opportunity, perseverance, self-confidence

Build Background

• Ask students to share what they know about the Olympics. Then ask whether they have ever heard of Special Olympics. Discuss what students already know about Special Olympics.
• Create a KWL chart on the board and hand out the KWL worksheet. Introduce and explain the worksheet. Review or explain that the K stands for information we know, the W stands for information we want to know, and the L stands for information we learned. As various topics are discussed, fill in the first section (K) on the board with information students know about the topic.
• Ask students what they would like to know about Special Olympics. Write their questions on the board under the second section (W).

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).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Discuss with students how asking questions about a topic before reading and looking for answers as they read will help them understand and remember what they read.
• Direct students to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of the information in a book and how it is organized.
• Model how to use the table of contents to ask questions.
  Think-aloud: I can use table of contents to think of questions I'd like to have answered about Special Olympics and Mike Van Zee. For example, the first section is titled "Humble Beginnings." This makes me wonder how Mike got started in Special Olympics. I think this is a good question. I'll write it in the W section of the KWL chart. I'd also like to know how Special Olympics began. I'll write that question on the chart, too.
• Have students look at the other section titles. Write any questions they have based on the covers and table of contents in the W section of the class KWL chart.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at the photos, captions, and glossary. Have them write any questions they have on their KWL worksheet.
• 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: Author's purpose

• Write the following terms on the board: inform, entertain, persuade. Invite students to share what they already know about the meaning of each of the words.
• Define each word for students and write the definitions on the board (inform means to give someone information about something; entertain means to amuse someone; persuade means to try to make someone think the same way you do).
• Ask students to share an example of each purpose from their recent reading. If needed, read aloud examples of each purpose, such as a fable (inform/entertain), a social studies or science book passage (inform), and an advertisement (persuade).
• Think-aloud: Authors write for different reasons. Some write to provide facts about something. For example, the passage from the social studies book provided me with information about ________. However, the purpose of the advertisement was to make me think that I need to have this item. The purpose was not to teach me something. Advertisements like this use words and pictures to persuade me to buy something. Sometimes authors intend more than one purpose for their writing. In the fable _________, readers are entertained by the story. However, the author also uses the story to provide readers with a moral, or lesson, at the end.
• Encourage students to share additional examples of stories they know that entertain, persuade, and inform readers.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the following words from the content vocabulary on the board: aquatics, determination, excel.
• Give groups of students several pieces of blank paper. For each word, have them write or draw what they know about the word. Have groups discuss and create a definition for each word using prior knowledge.
• Review or explain that the glossary and a dictionary contain a list of vocabulary words and their definitions.
• Model how students can use the glossary or a dictionary to find a word's meaning. Have students locate the glossary at the back of the book. Invite a volunteer read the definition for aquatics in the glossary. Have students compare the definition with their prior knowledge of the word. Then have them follow along on page 7 as you read the sentence in which the word aquatics is found to confirm the meaning of the word. Repeat the exercise with the remaining vocabulary words.
• Have the groups use the vocabulary words on the board to explain what might happen in this book. Repeat the activity after reading the book to check for student understanding of the vocabulary.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about Mike Van Zee and Special Olympics. Have them write what they learned in the L section of their KWL chart.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 7. Remind them to read for information that will answer questions on their KWL worksheet. Encourage those who finish before others to reread the text.

      When they have finished reading, have students circle any questions on their KWL chart that were answered and underline the information in the book that answers those questions. Have them add to their KWL worksheet any additional questions they generated as they read.

• Model answering a question and writing the answer in the third section (L) on the class KWL chart.
  Think-aloud: I wanted to know how Mike got started in Special Olympics and how Special Olympics began. Although I haven't answered my first question, I did find out that a woman named Eunice Shriver started Special Olympics. She believed people with disabilities should be given the opportunity to participate in sports. I also found out that she held the first competition at her home in 1962. I'll write what I learned in the L section of my KWL chart. I also learned that the first participants in Special Olympics competed in floor hockey, aquatics, and athletics. This makes me wonder which sports Special Olympians compete in today. I will write this question in the W section of my KWL chart.
• Have students write answers they found and additional questions they had while reading under the appropriate headings on their KWL worksheet. Invite them to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book.
• Create a three-column chart on the board with the labels to entertain, to inform, and to persuade at the top of the columns. Review with students the information from the sections so far in the book. Discuss what might be the author's purpose for writing the book. Write the examples on the board as students share them. (For example: the book informs readers by providing information about the history of Special Olympics.)
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 13. Have them write answers they found and additional questions they had while reading under the appropriate headings on their KWL worksheet. Invite students to share the information they learned and the additional questions they generated as they read the book.
• Discuss how the information from "Special Olympics Games" and "Coach Pat" supports one or more of the three purposes for writing a book. Write the examples on the board as students share them. (For example: the story entertains readers by telling more about Mike Van Zee and his coach; the story informs readers by providing information about Special Olympic games and events.)
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to their questions and use information they learned to identify the author's purpose. Encourage students to add new questions they might have to their KWL worksheet as they read.

      Have students make a 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.

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• 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.
• Think-aloud: I wanted to know which sports Special Olympians compete in today and how Mike Van Zee got started in Special Olympics. I found out that Mike entered the Special Olympics program in 1983. He learned how to lift weights with the help of his coach. I also saw the list of 30 events that Special Olympians compete in today, including figure skating, gymnastics, golf, softball, and volleyball.
• Ask students to share questions they had while reading, and ask them which questions were answered (or not answered) in the text. Have students write answers they found while reading under the appropriate heading on their KWL worksheet.
• Reinforce that asking questions before and during reading, and looking for the answers while reading, keeps students interested in the topic. It also encourages them to keep reading to find the answers to their questions and helps them understand and remember what they have read.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Ask students to explain how identifying the author's purpose helped them understand and remember different parts of the story. Review the three different purposes from their worksheet (to inform, to entertain, to persuade).
• Independent practice: Have students choose which purpose they believe to be the author's main intent for this book. Have them write a paragraph to explain their thinking, using examples from the book to support their idea. As time allows, meet with students individually to discuss their paragraph.
• Enduring understanding: In this story, you learned about people with disabilities who train hard and enjoy the spirit of physical competition in Special Olympics. You also learned about their oath: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." Now that you know this, how will it help you the next time you are in a competition and don't win?

Grammar and Mechanics: Inflectional endings

• Write the following sentences on the board: Some kids had problems with others teasing them. The kids were excited to be in Special Olympics.
• Circle the words teasing and excited. Explain to children that -ed and -ing are examples of inflectional endings. They are added to the end of a base word.
• Ask students to identify the base words for teasing and excited (tease, excite). Point out that the letter e in each base word is dropped before adding the inflectional ending.
• Create a three-column chart on the chalkboard. Label the columns Base Word,
  -ed, and -ing. Model adding the -ed or -ing to a base word and write the words on the chart. (For example: learn, learned, learning; laugh, laughed, laughing.)
• Check for understanding: Add several more base words to the chart on the board (like, chase, smile, and so on). Ask students to add the inflectional endings to each word on a separate piece of paper. When students are finished, discuss their answers and add the correct words to the chart.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the inflectional endings worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Word Work: Dictionary skills

• Write the content word excel on the board. Ask students to turn to page 6 in their book. Say: By reading the sentences before and after the word and using the photographs as clues, we can determine the meaning of excel (to do very well). If we want to check to be sure of the meaning of the word, we need to locate the word and its definition in a dictionary.
• Pass out student dictionaries. Explain to students how to locate a word in the dictionary using the beginning letter(s) of the word. Remind or explain to them that guide words are words at the top of each page in a dictionary. They show the first and last entry words in alphabetical order on a page. Explain and model how to use guide words to help find the page on which the word excel can be found. Depending on students' experience, model alphabetizing to the second or third letter, if necessary.
• Review or explain to students that a dictionary lists the definitions of the entry word and that a definition is sometimes followed by a sentence using the entry word. Ask students to read the definition and sentence for the word excel and to decide which definition explains how the word is used in the book. Remind students that words often have more than one meaning and that students must decide which definition matches the usage in the book.
• Check for understanding: Ask students to find the word annual on page 6 in their book. Then have them locate the word in their dictionary, identify the guide words, and find the definition that matches the usage in the book. Monitor and assist students who need additional guidance.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the dictionary skills worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, allow students to read parts of the book with a partner.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have them share with someone at home the author's purpose(s) for writing the book and explain their thinking.

Biography Writing Connection
Provide students with print and Internet resources to research a person of interest to them. Have them write a biography about the person, including: the name of the person, when he or she was born, and important achievements.

Technology and Social Studies Connection
Provide students with Internet resources to find more information about Special Olympics in your community or state. Ask them to find out when and where local competitions are held, how many people participate, and which events are offered.