Text Type: Classic Fiction
Page Count: 22
Word Count: 2,972 

Text Summary
In this selection from the classic novel by Daniel Defoe, English sailor Robinson Crusoe finds himself washed up on a deserted island. He struggles to get enough supplies from the ship before the sea destroys it and to make himself a home as he awaits rescue. This selection has been specially edited for contemporary Level Z readers and is accompanied by vivid illustrations. 

About the Lesson 

Objectives

• Sequence story events
• Suffixes -ion, -tion, -ation, -sion
• Use synonyms for vocabulary 

Targeted Reading Strategy

• Make text-to-text connections 

Materials

• Book - A Selection from Robinson Crusoe (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry-erase board
• Sequencing, Suffixes, Synonyms worksheets
• Word journal (optional)

    Indicates an opportunity to use the book interactively (all activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are not consumable) 

Vocabulary

• affliction, casks, desolate, ebbed, fortify, infinite, leagues, mortification, prospect, provisions, ravenous, resolved, shoal, stern, tarpaulin 

Build Background

• Ask students if they have ever read any part of the novel Robinson Crusoe. They may have also seen modernized film, television, or cartoon versions of it. Ask if students have read any other adventure stories in which a character had to survive alone against the elements.
• Ask students what they think it might be like to be shipwrecked on an island. Ask what things they would do to survive on the island. 

Preview the Book

Introduce the Strategy: Make text-to-text connections

• Give students their copies of the book and have them look at the front and back covers and read the title. Ask students whether the cover information gives them any ideas about the story.
• Have students recall any adventure stories they have read, particularly classics in the vein of Robinson Crusoe. Discuss the author style, the language, the plot, and the “adventures” in other books.
• Explain that students will be reading an excerpt from a classic adventure story called Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Tell students that thinking about similar stories will help them know what to expect as they read this selection.
• Think aloud: When I look at this cover, I try to remember other stories I have read that look similar to this story. This will help me know what to expect as I read this book.
• Click here for more reading and word-attack strategies. 

Introduce the Vocabulary

• Point out the glossary and explain that definitions for the words in bold in the text are provided here. Tell students you want them to try to use context clues to figure out the words first, instead of looking in the glossary. Tell them to try substituting synonyms that make sense.

    Have students mark any difficult or interesting words in the book. 

Introduce the Comprehension    Skill: Sequence story events

• Model sequencing story events: Explain that this story is a fiction recount. It retells a series of events in the order in which they happened. It is a personal recount and is told from the point of view of the narrator, Crusoe. Point out that personal recounts are told in first person, using the pronoun I.
• Give students the Sequencing worksheet. Explain that when they have finished reading, they will summarize the main events of the story in the order in which they happened.
• Check for understanding: Have students read page 5 with you. Ask what event must have taken place before the story opens here. Have students orally provide a brief summary of what has taken place so far. 

Set the Purpose

• Tell students you want them to read the story to note each of the events that happen to Crusoe as they happen.

    Students can number the different events in the margins. Tell students to think about what Crusoe did first, what he did next, etc.

Guide the Reading

• Ask students to read to the end of page 9. If they finish before the others, they should go back and reread the pages and think how they would summarize what is happening in the story.
• When students have all read to page 9, have them refer to the worksheet. Ask them what events have taken place so far in the story. Have them orally tell what happened before recording a summary of the events on their worksheet.
• Have students read their summaries. If students have written too many details, model for them how to capture the main points only. (Crusoe finds himself on shore; he takes shelter in a tree to get some rest; Crusoe swims out to the ship; he builds a raft from the masts in order to bring back provisions.)
• Have students read to the end of the story. As they read, monitor and intervene to help them work out words that they are having difficulty with.

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

Reflect on Reading Strategies

• Ask students what strategies they used to work out unfamiliar words. Have them tell you any places in the text that they have marked with a question mark, and model strategies they could use to work out the words.
• Ask students whether making connections to other adventure stories helped them better understand this story and helped them know what to expect as they were reading. 

Apply the Comprehension    Skill: Sequence events

• Discussion: Have students refer to their worksheets. Ask them to tell the main things that happened in the story in order.
• Independent practice: Have students write a summary of the main events in order on their worksheet.
• Extend the discussion: Have students share their worksheets by reading their summaries. Ask students to review each other’s summaries and discuss whether the summaries are brief and to the point, and whether they list the main events.
• Ask students to speculate about further adventures Crusoe might have and whether he manages to get off the island. Encourage them to read the whole book of his adventures. 

Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage: Suffixes -ion, -tion, -ation, -sion

• Ensure that students understand that a suffix is a word part that is added to the end of a base word to make a new word.
• Write the word provisions on the board and have students read the sentence in which it is found on page 7. Have them tell you what the word means.
• Tell students that the base word of provisions is provide, and write the word provide on the board next to the word provisions. Have students compare the spellings of the two words and decide how the suffix changes the spellings. Repeat with the word revisions (revise).
• Have students find the word mortification on page 9. Ask them what the base word is. Write both words on the board and discuss the spellings.
• Give students the Suffixes worksheet and have them create new words by adding the appropriate suffix. 

Vocabulary: Synonyms

• Have students find the word prospect on page 5. Ask them how they could use the context to figure out the meaning of the word if they didn’t know it.
• Ask students to substitute a synonym for the word prospect and then reread the sentence using the synonym. Explain that sometimes when they find words in a text that they can’t pronounce, they can think about the meaning of the sentence or paragraph in which the word is found and substitute a synonym that makes sense in place of the difficult word.
• Give students the Synonyms worksheet and have them find synonyms for the words from the text. Have students share their synonyms when they finish, and evaluate the appropriateness of the synonyms in each particular context. 

Independent Reading

• Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Have partners take turns reading alternate pages. 

Home Connection

• Have students take their books home to share with family members. 

Writing

• Have students write a personal recount, written in first person, about how they would handle being shipwrecked on a deserted island. Where would they find food? How would they make shelter? What would be their plan of escape? 

Monitor students as they interact during group activities and review their completed worksheets to determine if they can:

• make connections to other adventure stories they have read.
• summarize the events in the order in which they happened.
• identify words with suffixes -ion, -tion, -ation, -sion, and know how to change spelling when adding the suffixes.
• use context clues to figure out word meanings and find synonyms that make sense for the difficult vocabulary in the story.