Text Type: Historical Fiction/Fantasy
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 891

Book Summary
Two sisters take a trip to Rome, Italy, with their parents. They are interested in touring the old city in which their ancestors lived, and in seeing the ancient ruins of the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Teatro Marcello. The family sets out to explore Rome's historic streets, eating mozzarella, panini, and gelato. Then they see a group of dancing women. The performers whirl the two girls into ancient times, where they must discover three places where the new Rome is built on or around the old before they can return to the present time. They have fun discovering the ancient city's treasures, and upon returning to their parents, they are more excited than ever to see present-day Italy. Illustrations, photographs, and a map support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Make, revise, and confirm predictions

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of making, revising, and confirming predictions
• Analyze changes in the setting
• Understand the use of a dash as punctuation
• Recognize and form compound words

Materials

• Book -- Walking in Roman Footsteps (copy for each student)
• World map
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Prediction, analyze setting, dash, compound words worksheets
• Discussion cards

     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: ancestors, ancient, basilica, Colosseum, condominiums, gelato, native tongue, panini, Pantheon, piazza, Roman Forum, teatro

Build Background

• Show students the world map, point to Italy, and ask a volunteer to locate Rome. Compare Italy's location to where they live. Ask students to share what they know about the prosperity of ancient Rome, the famous buildings that were erected at that time, and anything else they have learned about the city.
• Ask students to tell how they know when a story contains elements of a fantasy. Review what a fantasy is, and discuss how authors use fantasy to make their stories more interesting.

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 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).

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Make, revise, and confirm predictions

• Explain to students that good readers often make predictions about what will happen in a book based on the series of events and what the characters say, do, and think in the story. As they read the story, readers revise or confirm their predictions based on what they learn from reading. Before reading a book, readers can use the title and illustrations as the basis for making predictions.
• Model using the title and cover illustration to make a prediction.
  Think-aloud: When I look at the illustration on the cover, I see two girls walking with people who are probably their parents--the girls look as if they are about 8 or 10 years old. I also see that they are looking at art and eating something that looks like ice cream. It seems as though they are in a large city. The title of the book is Walking in Roman Footsteps. I remember that Rome is in Italy. I wonder if the story is about a family that is on vacation in Rome. Perhaps they learn about the people of ancient Rome. I'll have to read the book to confirm or revise my prediction.
• Create a four-column chart on the board with the headings Make, Revise, Confirm, and Actual. Model writing a prediction in the first column, Make. (For example: A family goes on vacation to Italy, where they learn about the people of ancient Rome.)
• Introduce and explain the prediction worksheet. Have students look at the covers of the book and the title page again. Ask them to make a prediction before they begin reading and write it on their worksheet in the Make column. Discuss with students that the reasons behind their predictions are what make their predictions valuable. Invite them to share their predictions and why they think that event might happen.
• 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: Analyze setting

• Review with students that the setting is the time and place in which a story occurs. Ask students to tell how they know these facts (the author's words and the illustrator's pictures tell us or give us clues).
• Explain that in many stories, the setting changes throughout. As readers make their way through the book, the place where the characters are may change, and the time of day, season, or year may change as well. Ask students to predict what changes in setting may happen in this story.
• Use prior knowledge of a well-known story to discuss changes in setting, such as Jack and the Beanstalk. Remind students that as the story begins, Jack and his family are desperately poor. Point out that the setting is a deserted, barren land in which nothing is green or alive. Ask students to recall how the setting changes (Jack's magic seeds grow into a huge beanstalk, which he uses to climb into the sky. The setting changes to a prosperous, beautiful land in which food and water are bountiful). Ask students to recall how the time and place change again as the story continues.
• Discuss with students the importance of the setting and how it establishes information important to the story's meaning.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Cut out the illustrations from pages 5, 7, and 10.
• Write the following words from the content vocabulary on large pieces of paper and hang them up around the room: ancestors, basilica, ancient, and piazza. Read each word aloud with students.
• Place students in small groups and assign each group to a word. Have them discuss what they know about the meaning of their word and write a definition on the paper. Rotate the groups until each group has visited every word.
• Show students the illustration from page 7. Invite students to describe what they see. Ask students if they know a word that means very old (ancient). Point to the word on the board and practice saying it aloud with students. Ask them to identify what looks ancient in the illustration from page 7. Have a volunteer read the definition from the glossary, and invite students to compare the meaning of the word with their prior knowledge definition.
• Show students the photograph from page 10. Invite them to describe what they see. Ask students if they know a word that means a style of building used in ancient Rome (basilica). Point to the word on the board and practice saying it aloud with students. Have a volunteer read the definition from the glossary, and invite students to compare the meaning of the word with the definition they came up with from their prior knowledge.
• Write the following sentence from page 4 on the board: They know that their great-grandparents and earlier ancestors lived in Italy. Ask students to compare their prior knowledge definition of ancestors with what they can gather from the context clues in the sentence. Have a volunteer read the definition for ancestors from the glossary, and have them compare that definition with the one they created from prior knowledge.
• Show students the illustration from page 5. Invite students to describe what they see. Ask students if they know a word that is Italian for a plaza or a public area (piazza). Point to the word on the board and practice saying it aloud with students. Have a volunteer read the definition from the glossary, and invite students to compare the meaning of the word with the definition they came up with from their prior knowledge.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Tell students as they read the book to make predictions about what will happen based on what the characters say, do, and think. Remind them to revise or confirm their predictions as they learn more about the events of the story.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 7. Encourage those who finish early to go back and reread these pages.
• Model revising a prediction.
  Think-aloud: I predicted that a family is vacationing in Italy, where they are learning about the people of ancient Rome. As I read, I learned that Andria and Rosa's parents were taking them on a trip to Rome, Italy. I read that they visited where their ancestors lived and learned about some of the places built over 2,600 years ago. However, I also read that a dancer from the street drew the girls into her group, and somehow they ended up in ancient times. I know that the girls were worried that they were in danger. I inferred this information because I read: the girls flash worried looks at their parents and the girls look at each other with wide eyes. I'm revising my prediction to: Andria and Rosa experience Rome during ancient times, without their parents. I will write this prediction on my chart in the Revise column next to my original prediction.
• Encourage students to use the information they've read and discussed to revise or confirm their prediction. Have them write their new prediction under the heading Revise on their worksheet. Remind them that if their first prediction has been confirmed or has not yet been proven, they may write another prediction in the Make column of their worksheet. Model for students how to think through whether or not their predictions were confirmed, and if not, why not. Help them to think about whether or not the reasons for their predictions were valid.
• Have students turn to page 5 and look at the details in the illustration that depict the setting (at a cafe outside, during the day, at mealtime). Have them reread page 5, looking for more details about the setting (Rome's historic streets, Piazza Navona, lunchtime).
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 9. When they have finished reading, have them share their predictions and the outcome of their predictions. Remind them to revise or confirm their predictions and write what actually happened on their worksheet.
• Have students turn to page 7 and review the details in the illustration and text that depict a setting change (a horse-drawn chariot instead of a car or bus suggests ancient times, a stone street and old-time clothing also suggest a time other than the present). Discuss how the setting that surrounds the children is different from when the story began (present day has turned to ancient times, they're no longer watching performers outside but rather are by a fountain in a crowd dressed in ancient-looking clothes). Point out how the illustrations support the story clues in the text.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Encourage them to continue to make, revise, and confirm their predictions as they read the rest of the story.

      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.

• 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

• Think-aloud: I predicted that Andria and Rosa would experience Rome during ancient times, without their parents. My prediction was correct, although they did return to their parents at the end of the story. I learned that they had to discover three places where the new Rome was built on the old. They saw that the white marble of the ancient Colosseum was later used to build the floors of St. Peter's Basilica. They stood at the Pantheon and realized that the street level of today is much higher than the street used to be. They also saw that churches and condominiums have been built above and around the arches of Teatro Marcello, and realized the many ways that the new depends on the old. I will write this information next to my prediction under the heading Actual.
• Independent practice: Have students complete their prediction worksheet. Invite them to share their predictions, reasoning, and revisions, and to tell how their predictions related to the actual outcome of the story. Ask students to explain how the strategy of making, revising, and confirming predictions helped them understand and enjoy the story.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Have students turn to page 9 and review the details in the illustration, photo, and text that depict a setting change (a chariot ride to the Colosseum suggests ancient times; in place of the worn and broken brick walls of today stands a tall, circular shape that is whole and gleaming white again; they hear the crowd roar as Roman citizens watch the games). Discuss how the setting that surrounds the children is different from when the story began. Point out how the illustrations support the story clues in the text.
• Ask students to tell why the changes in setting are so important to the telling of this story.
• Have students work in pairs to identify other changes in setting that occur as the story progresses. Monitor individual responses by listening to each pair's ideas in a short conference.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the analyze setting worksheet. Have students practice identifying the changes in the setting by completing the worksheet. Discuss answers aloud when students have finished.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned that without the past, the new would have nothing to stand on. Now that you know this information, how does it make you feel about the importance of learning about the history of the world?

Grammar and Mechanics: Dash

• Review or explain to students that a dash (--) is a punctuation mark used to indicate a break or omission. It is also used to clarify information within a sentence.
• Direct students to page 8 in the book. Write the following sentence on the board: You have been taken back in time to learn how Rome was built--layer upon layer, new upon old. Ask students how the dash is used in this instance (to clarify how Rome was built).
• Direct students to page 14. Write the following sentence on the board: It's today again--and the dancer is beside them. Ask students how the dash is used in this instance (to add a thought to the end of the sentence).
• Review or explain that hyphens are used in compound adjectives, such as great-grandparents on page 4 in the book. Point out that hyphens are shorter in length and are used to connect two words. Remind students not to confuse a dash with a hyphen.
• Direct students to page 7 in the book. Write the following sentence on the board: But something's wrong--the crowd is now dressed in ancient-looking clothes. Ask a volunteer to come to the board and circle the dash (after the word wrong). Ask students how the dash is used in this instance (to explain what is wrong). Point out the hyphen in the compound adjective ancient-looking.

      Check for understanding: Have students find and circle the dashes on pages 9 and 10. In the margins, have them write how the dash is used in each instance.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the dash worksheet. If time allows, discuss their responses.

Word Work: Compound words

• Review or explain that when two short words are combined to form a new word, the new word is called a compound word.
• Write the words footsteps, ancient-looking, and Vatican City on the board. Tell students that these are examples of different types of compound words. Each example has two parts that make up one word meaning; however, some compound words are separated by hyphens, some are joined, and some are separate. Explain that the definitions of the two separate words can help students figure out the meaning of the bigger word (footsteps: steps made by a foot).
• Have students turn to page 5 in the book. Read the following sentence: When someone drops a coin in the bucket in front of the performers, they move like a mechanical wind-up doll. Have students locate the sentence and identify two compound words (someone and wind-up). Ask students to identify the two separate words that make up each compound word (some and one, wind and up). Discuss the concept of compound words (combining two separate words to make a new word).
• Check for understanding: Have students look for compound words on page 13 (Roman Forum, Capitoline Hill, Teatro Marcello, outside). Encourage students to name other compound words they know, and list them on the board. Create a poster titled Compound Words and fill it with all of the compound words found in the text and listed from prior knowledge. Post it on the classroom wall, and add to it as more words are found or remembered later.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compound words worksheet. Discuss their answers aloud once everyone has finished working independently.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. 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 also take home their prediction worksheet and explain to someone at home the process of making, revising, and confirming predictions.

Realistic Fiction Writing Connection
Provide print and Internet sources for students to research a past or present or modern city of their choice, such as London, Athens, or Hong Kong. Have them write a story about a family that is visiting the city on vacation. Tell students to create characters and mimic the style of the book, using dialogue to show the characters' feelings about their vacation. Have them incorporate a time-travel element in which the characters can compare the past with present landmarks. Have students incorporate into the story facts they learned while researching the city.

Visit Writing A-Z for a lesson and leveled materials on realistic fiction writing.

Social Studies Connection
Create a round-table discussion in which students are able to discuss further the importance of learning from the past. Start by reading the last page of the book, on which the following statement is made: ...without the past, the new would have nothing to stand on. Provide real-life examples in which the present has been dependent upon the past. Ask students to come up with their own examples and give their opinion as to why this sentiment is something important to remember.

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.

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric