Build Background

• Ask students to share experiences of working together in a committee or student group. Discuss the skills that are necessary to work successfully in a group, such as good communication, cooperation, and responsibility.
• Discuss ways to make decisions within a group of people. Have students explain what they know about voting and explain how this can be an effective way to make decisions.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

• Give students their 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 kind of book this is and what it might be about.
• Ask students if they think this book is fiction or nonfiction and to explain their reasoning.
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title, author's name, illustrator's name).
• Ask students to turn to the table of contents. Remind them that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. Ask students what they expect to read about in the book, based on what they see in the table of contents. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Summarize

• Explain that one way to understand and remember information in a book is to summarize paragraphs, sections, or chapters mentally or on paper. Explain that a summary is a brief overview of the most important information in the text. The summary usually tells who, what, when, where, and why about a topic.
• Read page 4 aloud to students and model summarizing.
  Think-aloud: To summarize, I need to decide which information is important. Then, in my mind, I organize the information into a few words or sentences. For example, the text on page 4 describes how the KCLT is a national program of school companies. The students ran the companies. I will underline this information. The page also describes how The Adams School has a kids company with 93 members from six grades. When I look at this important information, a summary of page 4 might be: The Adams School participates in KCLT, a national program of school companies run by students.
• Have students read through page 5. Discuss the important information on page 5 (Adams Kids Co. exceeded its goal. The advisor wrote to the state committee about their success).
• Review the important information from pages 4 and 5. Ask students to use this information to summarize the first chapter of the story, focusing on the questions who, what, when, where, and why. (The Adams School participates in KCLT, a national program of school companies run by students. Their company did so well during the year that their advisor shared their success with the state committee.) Write the summary on the board.
• 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: Sequence events

• Review or explain that writers present the events of a story in a particular order. Words are often provided to help readers identify a sequence of events. Ask students to identify examples of sequencing words (today, first, next, then, last, dates, times, and so on).
• Model using sequencing words to describe the process of getting ready for a school day. Write key words from each step in order as you describe them to students.
  Think-aloud: I know that when I get ready to go to school in the morning, there are steps I always follow. My first step is to brush my teeth and take a shower. Next, I dry off and comb my hair. Then, I get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast. Next, I make my lunch. Last, I get in the car and go to school.
• Have a volunteer use the key words on the board to retell the events of getting ready for school out of order. Ask students to explain why the order of the steps is important (the sequence does not make sense out of order).
• Invite students to share the steps they take to get ready for school. Remind them that even though each student's list of events might be different, the order should make sense.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Have students pretend that the cafeteria has asked them to suggest a food to add to the menu. The group of students that is voted to have the best presentation with supporting reasons will have their food added to the menu.
• Divide students into groups. Explain that each committee, or group, will be responsible for suggesting one food idea. Give each group a blank piece of paper. Write the following information under the heading Requirements on the board: colorful picture of the food, name of the food, brief description of the food, three reasons why the food should be included on the menu. Allow students time to discuss their ideas and create a poster that includes all of the requirements.
• Have each group present its food idea. Provide each student with another blank piece of paper to record each group's idea. Explain that the list of ideas is called a ballot. After each group has presented, place its poster on the board under the heading Proposals.
• When all the groups have presented, have students vote by circling the proposal they like best on their ballot. Collect the ballots and tally the results.
• Have students discuss the strengths of each presentation (volume, clarity, detail, and so on).
• Write the words committee, requirements, proposal, presentation, and ballot on the board. Have volunteers use each vocabulary word in order to describe the process of choosing a food idea.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the vocabulary worksheet. If time allows, invite students to share their responses.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out about the students' business proposals and their voting process. Remind them to stop after each chapter to summarize the events of the book.

During Reading 

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Encourage those who finish early to go back and reread. When students are ready, discuss the important information they identified in Chapter 2, "Important News."
• Model summarizing.
  Think-aloud: I made sure to stop at the end of the chapter to summarize what I'd read so far. First, I decided what information was important to remember, answering the questions who, what, when, where and why. Then, I organized the important information into one sentence: The members of the Adams School KCLT were invited to present a project to the national committee, and the winning project will be awarded $3,000. The members of the Leaders Team began brainstorming ideas for projects.
• Write the summary on the board. Ask students to use the information in the two summaries to sequence the important events in the story. (First, the advisor wrote to the state committee to share the success of the Adams School company. Next, the members were invited to present a project to the state committee. Then, the members began brainstorming ideas for the project.) Discuss how using sequencing words (first, then, next) helps readers organize the order of events.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to page 15. Invite them to share the important information in the chapter. Ask students to write a brief summary of the chapter on a separate piece of paper or at the bottom of page 15. Invite them to share what they wrote.
• Have students read the remainder of the story. Remind them to think about the details of the story so they can summarize the information as they read to better understand the important events in the story.

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

After Reading 

Reflect on the Reading Strategy

• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
  Think-aloud: I know that summarizing keeps me actively involved in what I'm reading and helps me understand and remember what I've read. I know that I will remember more about the process of starting a school business because I summarized the information in my own words as I read the book.
• Ask students to explain how the strategy of summarizing helped them understand the story.

    Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the summarize worksheet using one of the remaing chapters in the book. If time allows, invite students to read their completed summaries aloud.

 Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review Chapter 3, "Making a Decision," with students. Ask them to identify the sequence of events that the leaders decided upon for identifying a project idea. (First, they brainstormed ideas that supported the mission statement. Next, they chose three ideas to put on a ballot. Then, they presented the ideas to all the members. Last, they asked members to vote. Reinforce how the information in their summary should include all the important events in the story.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the sequence events worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
• Extend the discussion: Review the mission statement the students in the story used as a guideline for their project. Discuss why a mission statement is important. Have students locate and read the mission statement for their school. Then have them create a mission statement for their classroom.

Build Skills 

Grammar and Mechanics: Suffix -ing

• Review or explain that a suffix is an ending added to a word that alters, or changes, the meaning of the word. An example of a suffix is -ing.
• Write the word designing on the board. Ask students to identify the root word. Write the word design on the board next to designing. Have students use each word in a sentence. Point out how the suffix alters the meaning of the word.
• Have students explain how the suffix was added to the word (-ing was added to the end of the word design).
• Have students turn to page 7 in their book and point to the word exciting. Write the word on the board. Ask students to identify the root word (excite). Write this word on the board next to exciting.
• Have students explain how the suffix was added to this word (the -e was dropped before adding ­-ing). Explain that when adding the suffix -ing to a word that ends in e, the e is dropped before adding -ing.
• Repeat the above exercise using the words prepare and make (preparing and making).

    Check for understanding: Have students turn to page 7 and circle the words with the -ing suffix (reading, taking, talking, exciting, figuring). Have them write the root word next to each circled word in the book (read, take, talk, excite, figure).

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the
  suffix -ing worksheet. If time allows, discuss the answers with students.

Word Work: Abbreviations

• Have students turn to page 4. Ask them to find the abbreviation Co. Ask students to identify the word the abbreviation stands for (Company).
• Have students locate the abbreviation on subsequent pages. Ask them to explain why the author might have chosen to abbreviate the name of the team (the full name is too long; it is quicker to write an abbreviation).
• Review or explain that an abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase that uses one or more letters from the original word to stand for that word.
• Have students point to KCLT on page 4. Ask them to identify the word this abbreviation stands for (Kids Company Leaders Team). Invite students to share other abbreviations they have seen or know about.

    Check for understanding: Ask students to highlight the abbreviations in the book. Have them write the original word next to each abbreviation highlighted.

Build Fluency 

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently or with a partner. Encourage repeated timed readings of a specific section of the book.

Home Connection

• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Have students sequence the steps to make a favorite family dish with someone at home.

Extend the Reading 

Writing and Art Connection
Refer students to page 19, and talk about the mission statement needed to develop a new business. Discuss ideas students may have about developing their own business. Have them work in groups or individually to brainstorm and develop a mission statement and business plan as described on page 19.

Social Studies Connection
Have students vote on a topic that involves a choice within the school day (such as the game at recess, an activity, and so on). Discuss possible choices for the topic with students. List these choices on ballots and have students vote on their choice. Discuss the importance of voting (so everyone has a voice). Ask students to explain why voting is a responsibility (because a person's vote enacts change).

Assessment 

Monitor students to determine if they can:

• consistently use the reading strategy of summarizing to better comprehend text
• correctly sequence events during discussion and on a worksheet
• recognize and use the suffix -ing during discussion and on a worksheet; correctly drop the final -e when adding -ing
• understand and fluently read abbreviations during discussion

Comprehension Checks

• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric

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