Build Background

• Have students share any personal experiences they have had at an ocean. Involve them in a discussion of what the shoreline looks like and how far up on the beach the water reaches at different times of the day.
• Write some of the content words on the board, such as algae, neap tides, spring tides, and intertidal zone, and have students speculate on their meanings.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Strategy: Ask and answer questions

• Create a KWL chart on the board and ask students to tell you what they know about tide pools. Record their comments in the K column on the chart.
• Give students a copy of the book and have them preview the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about. Model how to ask questions as you preview the book.
• Have students turn to the table of contents. Remind students that the table of contents gives them an overview of what the book is about. Each chapter head provides an idea of what they will read about in the book. Model using the table of contents to ask questions about the book.
• Think aloud: The second chapter is about what causes tides. I wonder if the tides going in and out create the tide pools. I wonder what happens to the animals left in the pool when the tide goes out. Do they die? I see there is a chapter called "Drying Out." I predict this will explain what happens to the creatures left behind.
• Ask students to share questions they have about the book based on the covers and table of contents. Record your questions and the students' questions in the second column of the KWL chart.
• Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos, captions, and sidebar text. Have them add any other questions to the KWL chart.

Introduce the 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 correspondences to figure out a 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. Point out the phrase intertidal zone on page 7. Model how they can use the base word and prefix to figure out the meaning of the first word. Review the meaning of the prefix inter (between) and the base word tidal (having to do with tides). Ask students to tell what a zone is (a place). Tell students that putting the meanings of the words together will give them an idea of the unfamiliar meaning--a place between tides. Have students follow along as you read the sentence to confirm the meaning of the word.
• Remind students that they should check whether words make sense by rereading the sentence.
• For additional teaching tips on word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to determine if any of their questions on the KWL chart are answered.
• Have them highlight any sections in the book that make them think of other questions about the content.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read the first section, titled "What Are Tide Pools?" Ask if they had other questions as they read the introduction. Write any questions on the KWL chart. Ask whether any of the questions on the chart have been answered. Put a check mark by any of these questions.
• Tell students to read the rest of the book, keeping in mind any questions they have.

    Tell students to make a small question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

• Ask students what words they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they might read these words using word-attack strategies and context clues.
• Point out that mentally questioning themselves about the text as they read will help them better understand the information.

Comprehension: Main idea

• Explain that every writer has a main idea in mind for a book when he or she writes it. In addition, the writer has a main idea for each section or chapter of the book. The heading often provides a clue as to the main idea of each section or chapter.
• Check for understanding: Have students look at the table of contents and suggest what the main idea of the fourth section might be.
• Discussion: Ask students to tell the main idea of the section titled, "What Causes Tides?" As a group, determine the important words, phrases, or sentences in the section.

    Have students use the last page of the book to write a short summary of the first section that includes the main idea and most important details.

• Independent practice: Hand out the Main Idea and Details worksheet and instruct students on how to complete it. They will find the main ideas and details in the chapters listed. Then, students will create a summary of a chapter of their choice. The summary should include the main idea and the most important details of the chapter. Discuss their summaries.
• Extend the discussion:

    Instruct students to use the inside cover of the book to list four important details they learned about tide pools. Have students share their list with the group.

Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage: Commas in a series

• Explain that when writers use a series of items in a sentence, the words need to be separated by commas. Without the commas, the sentence would be difficult to read and understand. Write the following sentence on the board: They can seek shelter from the air sun and predators. Ask students to explain why this sentence doesn't make sense (there is no such thing as an "air sun"). Direct students to the bottom of page 11. Ask students to find the commas in the sentence.
• Reinforce by directing students to page 15 and asking them to find the sentence in which a series of words is separated by commas.
• Write the following sentences on the board, and ask individual students to place the commas:

Tide pool animals can slip slide or hide under rocks.
Sea stars sea urchins and sand dollars move slowly.
An octopus has a soft body eight arms and a hard beak.
Fish land animals and plant-like organisms can be found in tide pools.
The best way to see creatures in a tide pool is to move slowly sit quietly and look without touching.

• Hand out and instruct students on how to complete the Commas worksheet.

    Have students underline sentences in the book in which a series of items is separated by commas.

Vocabulary: Compound words

• Write the word seawater on the board. Review or explain that this is a compound word, and that a compound word is made by joining one word with another word. Use the word in a sentence: Tide pools are pools of seawater.
• Direct students to page 4. Ask them to find another compound word (shorelines) Ask them to identify the two words that have been joined to make the compound word.
• Direct students to page 11. Tell students that there is a compound word in the first sentence. Read the first sentence aloud. Ask students what they think the word is. Explain that the word hair-like is a compound word. But instead of the two words being completely joined together, they are joined by a hyphen. Use the word in a sentence: The hair-like fibers of the mussel allow it to attach itself to rocks or sand. Ask students to tell what the word means. Have students find another hyphenated compound word on the page (cement-like) and explain its meaning.
• Give students the Compound Words worksheet and explain the example.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book. 

Home Connection

• Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Writing Connection

• Have students select a tide pool animal and write a short story about it from the animal's point of view. Ask students to illustrate their story. Bind students’ work in a class book titled, "Tide Pool Tales."

Science Connection

• Have students select a tide pool animal and write a report about it. Have students share what they learned with the group.

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• identify main idea and supporting details.
• use commas to separate a series of items.
• recognize and use compound words.