Before Reading
Introducing the Book
Hand out the books and have children read the title and scan the illustrations to make initial predictions about the setting and the plot.
Ask and say: What do you think this story is about? Do you recognize the animals in the illustrations? What do the illustrations tell you about the setting? Can you tell where and when this story might be happening? Share with the group anything else that you can infer from the illustrations.
Build Background
Discuss mammoths.
Ask: What is a mammoth? Are mammoths extinct? What modern-day animals do you think might be related to mammoths? Why? Can you relate the size of a mammoth to any other animal that you know? What do you think mammoths eat?
Discuss saber-toothed tigers.
Ask: What is a saber-toothed tiger? Why do you think it is called saber-toothed? If saber-toothed tigers are part of the tiger family, what do you think they would eat? Do you think they would prey on mammoths? Why or why not?
Book Walk
Have children turn to page 3 and read the first sentence.
Say and ask: Now that you know when the story is set, does it cause you to alter your initial predictions? If so, in what ways?
Read the fourth sentence on page 3 to children. The snow began to fall and became so deep that it compacted, turning into massive frozen mountains. Ask children what compacted means. You may need to discuss this word further since its meaning in this sentence could be misleading.
Ask: Who can use the word compacted in another sentence?
Have children turn to page 6 and scan the last sentence on the page.
Say and ask: Now let’s talk about this sentence. Let’s discuss how it adds to the predictions you made when you scanned the illustrations. What does this sentence tell you about the plot? Can you predict what might happen further into the story?
Discuss the words special delicacy.
Say and ask: If someone asked you if you wanted a special delicacy, what would you choose? What other two words could you use to describe a special delicacy?
Have children turn to the first word on page 8.
Ask: Who can read this word? How would you go about breaking it into syllables to help you pronounce it? What smaller words can you see in this word that would help with pronunciation. Now let’s talk about what the word means. Who knows the noun from which the word coincidentally is formed?
Have children turn to page 12 and read the last sentence on the page.
Ask: What does migrating mean? What is the noun from which the word migrating comes from? Who do you think might be migrating? Does this sentence help you with making further predictions about the plot?
Have children return to page 3.
Go to During Reading
About Us | Samples | Tell A Friend | Help | Contact
Testimonials | Research | Usage Policy | Site Map | Members | My Account
Home | All Books | Guided Reading | Phonics | Vocabulary | Fluency
Poetry | Alphabet | Assessment | More Resources | Subscribe