Text Type: Nonfiction/How To
Page Count: 16
Word Count: 1,155

Book Summary
The art of mosaics has been around for many centuries. This book will tell you everything you need to know--from tools and supplies to sealing your final product--to create your own beautiful mosaic creations.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Summarize

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of summarizing to understand text
• Identify the sequence of events in a process
• Recognize and use adjectives
• Identify and understand multiple-meaning words

Materials

• Book -- Making Mosaics (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Sequence events, summarize, adjectives, multiple-meaning words 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: Art Nouveau, cure, floats, palette knife, pH balance, pictorial realism, polymer, trowels

Build Background

• Hold up a picture of a famous mosaic, such as those from St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice. Ask students if they know how this artwork was made. Explain that the picture is a mosaic and that a mosaic is created from thousands of small pieces of tile, glass, or shell. Discuss the craftmanship and time the artisans must have devoted to their work. Ask students to share any mosaic artwork they have seen in their community.

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: Summarize

• Explain to students that one way to understand and remember information in a book is to write a summary, or a brief overview, of the most important information in a section. Point out that a summary often answers the questions who, what, when, where, and why.
• Read page 4 aloud to students and model summarizing.
  Think-aloud: To summarize, I need to decide which information is the most important to remember in a section. Then, in my mind, I organize the information into a few words or sentences. For example, the Introduction on page 4 describes what mosaics are and explains that they've been around for thousands of years. I will underline this information. The page also describes the various materials people can use to make mosaics. When I look at this important information, a summary of the Introduction might be: Making mosaics is an ancient art form in which people put together pieces of material to create designs. Those materials may include tile, glass, pottery, stones, seashells, and pieces of mirror.
• Write the summary on the board. Discuss how you used the information in the Introduction, along with your own words, to create the summary.
• 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 steps in a process are told in order from beginning to end. Words are often provided to help readers identify a sequence of events. Ask students to identify examples of sequencing words (first, next, then, last, 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 on the board as you describe them to students.
  Think-aloud: I know that when I get ready to go to school in the morning, I always follow certain steps. My first steps are to brush my teeth and take a shower. Next, I dry off and comb my hair. Then, I get dressed. Next, I eat breakfast and make my lunch. Last, I get in the car and go to school.
• Have a volunteer use the key words on the board to tell the steps for 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 steps might be different, the order should make sense.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Review or explain that the glossary and dictionary contain a list of vocabulary words and their definitions. Remind students that words can often have more than one meaning, so it is important to read words in context and confirm the meaning of each word by reading the definition in the glossary.
• 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 to read the definition for cure in the glossary. Have students compare the definition with their prior knowledge of the word. Then have students follow along on page 12 as you read the sentence in which the word cure is found to confirm the meaning of the word. Repeat the exercise with the remaining vocabulary words.
• For tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

• Have students read the book to find out how to make mosaics. Remind them to stop reading after each section to summarize in their mind the information in the book.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 9. Encourage those who finish before others to reread the text. When students are ready, discuss the important information they identified in the section "Materials and Supplies."
• Model summarizing.
  Think-aloud: I made sure to stop at the end of the section 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 two sentences: You will need many materials and supplies to make mosaics. For materials, you will need tesserae (the small pieces), adhesives, and grout. For supplies, you will need a hammer, tile nippers, a trowel, a float, a palette knife, a spatula, a sponge, safety glasses, a dust mask, and gloves.
• Introduce and explain the sequence events worksheet. Discuss with students the first step in making a mosaic (gather materials and supplies). Write this step on the board and have students write it on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Have students work with a partner to write a summary for the section titled "History of Mosaics" on a separate piece of paper. Invite them to read their summaries aloud.

      Have students read to the end of page 12. Ask them to underline information that answers the questions who, what, when, where, and why while reading. When students have finished reading, have them discuss with a partner the important information they underlined. Discuss the important information as a group and write it on the board.

• Write the following steps on the board: Wipe the item's surface clean. Wipe away extra glue. Gather and cut the tesserae into pieces. Let the item dry for 24 hours. Mix the grout. Choose the item to decorate. Cover the object with tesserae. Glue the first piece onto the item.
• Have students work with a partner to correctly sequence the steps on the board and write them on their worksheet. When finished, discuss the correct sequence (Choose the item to decorate. Gather and cut the tesserae into pieces. Glue the first piece onto the item. Wipe away extra glue. Cover the object with tesserae. Let the item dry for 24 hours. Wipe the item's surface clean. Mix the grout.)

      Have students read the remainder of the book. Have them continue to underline information that answers the questions who, what, when, where, and why.

      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.
• Discuss additional information students underlined in the book for the section "Making Mosaics." Write the information on the board.
• Independent practice: Introduce and explain the summarize worksheet. Have students write the information from the board on their worksheet and then write a summary of the section "Making a Mosaic." Invite volunteers to read their summaries aloud once everyone has finished their work.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review with students the sequence of events on their worksheet using sequencing words (first, next, then, after that, and so on). Point out how they used their own words to write each step.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the sequence events worksheet, listing the remaining steps for making a mosaic. If time allows, discuss their answers aloud.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned that it is important to follow a sequence of steps in order to make a mosaic. Now that you know this information, do you think most things that are made follow a sequence of steps in order to make them? How important is ti to follow the steps in order?

Grammar and Mechanics: Adjectives

• Write the following sentence on the board: You can use handheld tile nippers. Circle the word nippers. Ask students to identify the word's part of speech (noun). Ask students to identify two words that describe the nippers (handheld, tile).
• Review or explain that adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. An adjective tells which one, how many, or what kind.
• Write the following sentences on the board: To make a curved shape, try several small cuts. Use the bottom as a mixing bowl. Ask students to count the number of adjectives in each sentence (3, 1). Have them hold up the same number of fingers as there are adjectives in each sentence after you read it aloud.
• Have volunteers come to the board and circle the adjective(s) in each sentence (curved, several, small, mixing). Then have them underline the noun that each adjective describes (shape, cuts, bowl).

      Check for understanding: Have students use the inside back cover of their book to write a sentence containing one or more adjectives, along with the definition of the term (a word describing a noun or pronoun that tells which one, how many, or what kind).

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

Word Work: Multiple-meaning words

• Have students turn to page 9 and read the following sentence: Other tools such as a trowel, float, palette knife, or spatula may also be needed. Write the word floats on the board.
• Ask students to explain the meaning of floats in this sentence. Encourage students to refer to the glossary if needed. Then write the following sentence on the board: The bubble floats on the surface. Ask students to explain the meaning of the word floats as it is used in this sentence.
• Discuss with students the difference between the two meanings of the word floats.
• Explain to students that words with the same sound and spelling but different meanings are called multiple-meaning words.

      Check for understanding: Write the word saw on the board. Have students use different meanings of the word in two separate sentences. Invite them to share their sentences aloud.

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

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 them discuss with someone at home the steps to making a mosaic.

How-To Writing Connection
Ask students to think of something they know how to do well, such as riding a bike, kicking a soccer goal, and so on. Have them write a how-to composition containing the steps in sequential order.

Visit Writing A-Z for a lesson and leveled materials on how-to writing.

Art Connection
Supply students with a large white sheet of paper and various scraps of colored construction paper. Instruct students to pencil-draw a shape of their choice onto the white paper, such as a flower pot, a vase, and so on. Have them cut pieces of colored paper to glue on their shape as a mosaic. Have them color gray the white spaces in between the pieces to represent grout.