Text Type: Fiction/Fantasy
Page Count: 24
Word Count: 2,355

Book Summary
Miguel and King Arthur tells the story of a young boy, Miguel, and his desire to experience adventure in another one of The Great Gallardo's books. Frustrated by his continual failures at bat playing baseball, he escapes to the attic, where he magically becomes a character in the book The Knights of the Round Table. He learns that success and adoration are not everything, and that being truthful with oneself and others is one of the best life skills to acquire. Illustrations support the text.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Visualize

Objectives

• Use the reading strategy of visualizing to understand text
• Analyze characters in the text
• Identify and use commas after introductory words
• Arrange words in alphabetical order

Materials

• Book -- Miguel and King Arthur (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Dictionaries
• Visualize, analyze characters, commas, alphabetical order 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: disappointment, duel, jealousy, joust, judgment, kinsman, loyalty, opponent, regret, righteous, swindle, tournament, treachery

Build Background

• Ask students to think of ways they have used their imagination to create an adventure. Invite them to share the details of their adventures.
• Ask students whether they have read any of the other adventures Miguel has experienced in his great grandfather's old books: The Great Gallardo's Books, level U; Miguel in the Secret Garden, level W, Sister Sleuth and the Silver Blaze, level V, or Yellow Brick Roadies, level U. Discuss what they remember about the stories.
• Write the title The Knights of the Round Table on the board. Ask students whether they have read the book and, if so, to share what it is about. Ask whether they have ever read any other stories or seen movies about knights, castles, and jousts. Discuss what it means to be a knight and what a joust is.

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, illustrator's name).
• Preview the table of contents on page 3. Remind students 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 any answers students can justify.)

Introduce the Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Explain to students that good readers often visualize, or create pictures in their mind, while reading. Visualizing is based on the words used in the text and what a person already knows about a topic.
• Read page 4 aloud to students. Model how to visualize.
  Think-aloud: Whenever I read a book, I always pause after a few pages to create a picture in my mind of the information I've read. This helps me organize the important information and understand the ideas in the book. For example, on page 4, the author describes Miguel's thoughts and actions during a baseball game. I pictured him standing at bat, hovering over home plate with a very worried look on his face. I pictured a large crowd and all of his teammates watching him intently. I envisioned drops of sweat trickling down his face and sunlight brilliantly reflecting off his aluminum bat. I created a picture in my mind from the author's words: sunlight reflected off the bat, creating a burst of color like a million tiny rainbows.
• Reread page 4 aloud to students and ask them to use the words in the story to visualize. Introduce and explain the visualize worksheet. Have students draw on their worksheet what they visualized from the text on page 4. Invite students to share their drawings.
• 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 characters

• Explain that there are many ways to learn about a character in a story. Point out that an author uses a character's words, thoughts, and actions to give readers insight into the character's personality, relationships, motivations, and the conflicts he or she may face.
• Ask students to return to page 4. Model how to analyze a character based on his or her actions.
  Think-aloud: As I read page 4, I found out that Miguel was very disappointed when he struck out at bat. He had planned on hitting the winning home run and had pictured himself being treated as a hero. Based on these clues, Miguel appears to be hopeful and eager for approval. This information provides insight into Miguel's personality.
• Have students reread the last paragraph on page 4. Discuss what Trevon's actions reflect about his personality (talented, confident).
• Introduce and explain the analyze characters worksheet. Have students write the information from the discussion on their worksheet.

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Write the following words from the content vocabulary on the board: disappointment, jealousy, loyalty, and regret.
• Point out that these four words can be found within the story and that they give insight into different feelings or obstacles that Miguel faces. Give groups of students four pieces of blank paper. For each word, have them write or draw what they know about the word. Create a definition for each word using students' prior knowledge.
• Point out the glossary at the back of the book. Review or explain that a glossary and a dictionary contain lists of words and their definitions.
• Model how students can use the dictionary to find a word's meaning. Have them locate the word disappointment in the dictionary. Invite a volunteer read the definition for disappointment. Have students compare the dictionary definition with the glossary definition. Have them compare these with their prior knowledge of the word.
• Have students follow along on page 4 as you read the sentence in which the word disappointment 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 to find out more about Miguel and his adventure in one of the Great Gallardo's books. Remind them to stop after every few pages to visualize the most important information and draw on their worksheet what they visualized.

Student Reading

• Guide the reading: Have students read from page 5 to the end of page 8. Encourage those who finish early to go back and reread. Have students draw what they visualized during one or more events of the story on their visualize worksheet.
• Model visualizing.
  Think-aloud: On page 5, I read about Trevon's grand slam that won the game. I pictured him being hoisted onto the shoulders of his thankful teammates. I pictured his beaming smile, proud and excited. I envisioned the crowd running to encircle the team, chanting his name.
• Invite students to share their drawings of what they visualized while reading. Have them explain their drawings aloud.
• Based on the information read so far, ask students to identify why Trevon could be considered talented and confident. (He hit the baseball hard and brought in four runs for his team. He had girls smiling and waving to get his attention.) Ask students to think of other words they might use to describe Trevon (valuable, successful, and so on). Have students write the information from the discussion on their analyze characters worksheet.
• Ask students to explain how Miguel's personality is different from Trevon's. Discuss how they are both energetic and competitive, but perhaps in different ways (both love to play baseball, but Trevon is confident and secure, while Miguel is cautious and unsure). Encourage students to write this information in the Traits section of their analyze characters worksheet. Then have them write clues from the text that support their answers on their worksheet. ("I need some batting tips, Trevon."; "You're the king."; ...now had a whole fan section in the front row. He seemed not to care...; and so on). Have students share the supporting evidence from the text.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 11. Have them visualize the information in the text as they read. Ask students to draw what they visualized about Miguel and the sword fight on their visualize worksheet. Invite them to share what they visualized as they read. Have students look at the illustrations and examine each of the character's faces to see how they are feeling. Encourage them to add details such as facial expressions to their own drawings.
• Based on the information, ask students to explain why Miguel might be considered frightened and confused. Have them write this information in the Traits section of their analyze characters worksheet. Then have them write clues from the text that support their answers on their worksheet. ("His blade trembled..."; The words made Miguel's body quake; Dazed, Miguel nodded...; and so on). Have students share the supporting evidence from the text.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Encourage them to continue to visualize as they read the rest of the story. Remind them to continue thinking about the important events of the story as they read.

      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.
• Think-aloud: On page 21, I read about Sir Ector's castle garden and labyrinth. I pictured the colorful flowers and long, green vines swirling and curving around the structures. I pictured Miguel entering a dark, cold maze and warily following the voices, walking slowly into the spooky emptiness.
• Ask students to explain how the strategy of visualizing helped them understand and enjoy the story. Ask volunteers to share examples of the things they visualized.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the visualize worksheet. If time allows, have them share their drawings with a partner.

Reflect on the Comprehension Skill

• Discussion: Review the characteristics of Miguel that students identified from the first page of the story and those written in the first section of the chart on the board (hopeful, eager for approval). Review the other character traits later identified as Miguel's (cautious, unsure, frightened, confused, and so on). Have students read aloud the examples they wrote in the Traits section of their worksheet.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the analyze characters worksheet, completing the character trait analysis of Miguel, Trevon, and Arthur. If time allows, discuss their responses.
• Enduring understanding: In this story, a boy gets caught up in the moment, which causes him to feel sorry for himself. He later realizes that he let his jealousy keep him from being a good friend. Now that you know this information, why is it important to put yourself in someone else's shoes? How does this practice help you understand other people's feelings and actions?

Grammar and Mechanics: Commas after introductory words

• Write the following sentence on the board: "So, is it a deal?" Miguel asked. Ask a volunteer to come to the board and circle the comma. Explain that the word so is an introductory word leading into the sentence and that the comma separates it from the rest of the thought.
• Have students turn to page 21. Ask them to find the following sentence: "Arthur, you must become king," he said. Ask a volunteer to identify the introductory word (Arthur). Discuss the location of the comma. Read the sentence aloud, emphasizing how the comma sets off the person Miguel is speaking to.

      Check for understanding: Write the following sentence on the board: Yes, the coach will bench me if I don't get help. Have students rewrite the sentence on a separate piece of paper, being sure to include the comma to separate the introductory word from the rest of the sentence. Check individual answers for understanding.

• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the commas worksheet. Discuss answers aloud after students finish.

Word Work: Alphabetical order

• Review or explain the process of putting a list of words in alphabetical order. Remind students that if the first letter of two words is the same, they must compare the next two letters instead.
• Write the words kinsman and duel on the board. Have a volunteer explain which word would appear first in alphabetical order (duel) and why (because d comes before k in the alphabet).
• Write the words tournament and treachery on the board. Point out that the words begin with the same letter (t). Ask a volunteer to tell which word would appear first in alphabetical order and to explain his or her thinking (tournament, because the second letter, o, in tournament comes before the second letter, r, in treachery).
• Write the words bat and batter on the board. Have a volunteer explain which word would appear first in alphabetical order (bat) and why. Point out that all of the letters in bat and batter are the same until the final letters ter in the word batter. Point out that because there are no other letters at the end of bat, it comes first in alphabetical order.
• Check for understanding: Write the words treachery and Trevon on the board. Have students write the words in alphabetical order and explain their thinking on a separate piece of paper.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the alphabetical order worksheet. Discuss answers aloud after they are finished.

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, allow partners to 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 practice visualizing the story with someone at home and then compare the pictures they created in their mind.

Fantasy Writing Connection
Have students write a story about a character who worked hard at something but wasn't as successful as he or she would have liked. Have them include what the character did not do as well as expected, and how he or she reflected on possible solutions for improvements. Remind students of the definition of fantasy and to include these elements in their story.

Social Studies Connection
Supply books and links to Internet websites for students to learn more about King Arthur. Have them find out the dates when he was king of England, why he was such a famous king, and the significance of Camelot. Give students index cards and instruct them to write these facts on the cards along with any other interesting information they discover. Lead a roundtable discussion in which students share their findings and discuss the details.

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 card 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.