Spend two days on each lesson to give scholars practice.
Lesson 1: Great readers choose books about things they love and want to learn more about.
Lesson 2: Great readers learn about the topic by looking at the pictures.
Lesson 3: Great readers ask questions as they read.
Lesson 4: Great readers gather more information about the topic as they continue to read.
Lesson 5: Great readers teach others what they’ve learned about a topic.
Lesson 1
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers choose books about things they love and want to learn more about.
Success is when scholars select books they’re excited to read, about topics that they’re genuinely interested in.
Lesson 1
Engage — 1 minute
When we pick books, we don’t pick ones that look dull or boring—we wouldn’t feel excited to read them! We need to pick books that shout “Read me!” so that we can’t wait to read them.
Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes
- Set out a selection of ESB books (the same ones scholars have access to selecting at their tables), and think aloud about how you really liked The Carrot Seed because you love vegetables, so now you’re going to choose Growing Vegetable Soup because you want to learn about vegetables in real life.
- Display the same selection of books under the ELMO.
- Scholars silently think, then turn and talk, telling their partners which book they’re most interested in and why. Listen in to understand how well scholars explain which book they would select and why.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
- Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading/ Targeted Teaching Time — 10–15 minutes
- Scholars must sustain focused reading for a minimum of 10-11 minutes. Get them excited about getting lost in their books and the luxury of reading time!
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are following through on your expectations, such as staying focused on their books, or who are demonstrating strong reading habits, such as studying the title and cover, using the pictures to story-tell, and retelling their books.
- Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Use your notes from Unit 2 to make goals, and communicate these with scholars verbally and with goal cards. Check to make sure they understand by asking them to repeat these goals.
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they remember the story from the repeated readings? Do they study the cover? Do they story-tell using pictures?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read, and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3–5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- In partnerships, scholars share which book they selected to read and why they wanted to learn more about this topic.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share which book she selected to read and why, and have others evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 2
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers learn about the topic by looking at the pictures.
Success is when scholars study the pictures to glean information before looking at the words.
Lesson 2
Engage — 1 minute
The pictures are just as important a part of the story as the words, sometimes even more important! Just as in the fiction books we read, we must study them carefully to learn every detail we can so we understand all the facts the author is teaching us.
Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes
- Using About Birds, by Catherine Sill, turn to the first page and model studying the picture, thinking aloud about the facts you’re learning from the picture alone. Turn to the next page and repeat.
- Turn to the next page of About Birds and place it under the ELMO.
- Scholars silently study the page, then turn and talk to share what they’ve learned from the picture. Listen in to understand how well scholars are using the picture to learn about birds.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
- Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 10–15 minutes
- Scholars must sustain focused reading for a minimum of 11–12 minutes. Get them excited about getting lost in their books and the luxury of reading time!
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Use your notes from Unit 2 and previous lessons to make goals, and communicate these with scholars verbally and with goal cards. Check to make sure they understand by asking them to repeat these goals.
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they remember the story from your repeated readings? Are they studying the cover? Do they use the pictures to story-tell?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read, and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3–5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share the book they read that day, specifically sharing what they learned from each picture.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model his thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share what he learned from the pictures on 1–2 pages, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 3
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers ask questions as they read.
Success is when scholars pause to ask themselves questions as they read, considering what they already know and what they want to know.
Lesson 3
Engage — 1 minute
As you read about new topics, you’ll learn new facts, but you’ll also have questions about things you don’t yet know or things that make you curious to know more.
Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes
- Using page 25 of The Emperor’s Egg, first model how you study the picture to learn facts, and then wonder aloud how the penguin chick’s mom knew to come back at that exact right moment, when dad ran out of food?
- Under the ELMO, read the next two pages of The Emperor’s Egg aloud, asking scholars to silently put a thumb on their knee when they have a question or something they’re curious about.
- Scholars turn and talk to tell their partners about a question they had or something that made them curious. Listen in to understand if scholars are forming logical questions based on the text.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
- Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 10–15 minutes
- Scholars must sustain focused reading for a minimum of 12–13 minutes. Get them excited about getting lost in their books and the luxury of reading time!
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Use your notes from Unit 2 and previous lessons to make goals, and communicate these with scholars verbally and with goal cards. Check to make sure they understand by asking them to repeat these goals.
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they remember the story from your repeated readings? Are they studying the cover? Do they use the pictures to story-tell?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read, and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3–5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share the questions they had or things they were curious about after reading.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share a particularly relevant or interesting question she had after reading, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 4
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers gather more information about the topic as they continue to read.
Success is when scholars continually gather new facts as they read while retaining information they’ve previously learned.
Lesson 4
Engage — 1 minute
As we read nonfiction, we learn tons of new information with each new page and each new book. This new information can sometimes strengthen or change a previous idea we had about a topic.
Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes
- Read aloud page 7 of Will We Miss Them? Think aloud about how you learned that bamboo is the most important part of a panda’s diet, so pandas must really need a lot of it to survive. Turn the page and read aloud again. Stop to think aloud about how you just confirmed your idea—if bamboo forests die or are cut down, pandas will have nothing to eat and will suffer.
- Read aloud page 18 of Will We Miss Them? Pause midway through the page and have scholars think about what they’ve just learned. Continue reading to the end of the page, and ask scholars to think silently about the new information they’ve just learned about manatees.
- Scholars turn and talk to share what they’ve learned about manatees from the entire page. Listen in to understand how well scholars retain and understand new information.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
- Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 10–15 minutes
- Scholars must sustain focused reading for a minimum of 13–14 minutes. Get them excited about getting lost in their books and the luxury of reading time!
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Use your notes from Unit 2 and previous lessons to make goals, and communicate these with scholars verbally and with goal cards. Check to make sure they understand by asking them to repeat these goals.
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they remember the story from your repeated readings? Are they studying the cover? Do they use the pictures to story-tell?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read, and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3–5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars share the books they read, stating what new information they gathered.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model his thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share how he gathered new information that either confirmed or revised his idea about a topic, and have scholars evaluate which great reading tactic the scholar used.
Lesson 5
What Does Success Look Like?
Great readers teach others what they’ve learned about a topic.
Success is when scholars are able to share specific facts, details, and ideas they’ve learned about a topic.
Lesson 5
Engage — 1 minute
We have learned so much new information about all sorts of interesting topics. We can’t just keep this to ourselves; we must share it with the world to teach others!
Direct Instruction (Model/Practice) — 5–7 minutes
- Using Sharks, describe to scholars how you now know that sharks are not usually dangerous and that we should be protecting them by not buying shark teeth, skins, or meat. This is important because if we don’t, many species may be hunted into extinction.
- In front of scholars, begin to make a poster, picture, or letter to share this information with others.
- Display all the texts with which scholars are most familiar from this unit, and give scholars a moment to consider silently which topic they want to teach others about. Scholars turn and talk, telling their partners which topic they chose and what they want to share. Listen in to understand how well scholars understand the topics they chose.
- Briefly share out two scholar responses.
- Set the expectation that scholars have two eyes reading, two hands on the book, and two feet on the floor during Independent Reading.
Independent Reading/Targeted Teaching Time — 10–15 minutes
- Scholars must sustain focused reading for a minimum of 14–15 minutes. Get them excited about getting lost in their books and the luxury of reading time!
- Whether you are flying solo or teaching as part of a duo, start by making sure all kids are focused and the room has a hushed tone. Play classical or instrumental jazz music, but the volume should be low.
- Narrate scholars who are meeting your expectations.
- Spend 2–3 minutes working individually with 3–5 scholars. Use your notes from Unit 2 and previous lessons to make goals, and communicate these with scholars verbally and with goal cards. Check to make sure they understand by asking them to repeat these goals.
- Listen to scholars read, assessing their struggles and level of understanding. Do they remember the story from repeated readings? Do they study the cover? Do they use pictures to story-tell?
- Model for scholars and give them strategies to tackle their goals. Listen to scholars as they read and hold them accountable for applying the strategies.
Partner Share — 3–5 minutes
- When the timer is up, reset expectations for partner talk.
- Scholars partner up and choose a book from which to create a poster, picture, or letter to teach others about a topic.
- Listen in to determine if scholars are mastering the lesson objective. Look for a scholar who can model her thinking during the Whole-Class Share.
Whole-Class Share — 5 minutes
- Bring scholars together at the rug and reinforce today’s objective.
- Choose a scholar to share the topic she chose, why she wanted to teach others about it, and what she has created to teach others. Scholars evaluate the poster, picture, or letter and discuss why it’s an effective way to share information.
