LESSON 3 TEACHER’S GUIDE My Sister’s Surpriseforms.hmhco.com › ... › L03_My_Sisters_Surprise_T.pdf · birthday present for his sister, Ana. Introduce the Text Guide students

Number of Words: 2,298

L E S S O N 3 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

My Sister’s Surpriseby Barbara Dodson

Fountas-Pinnell Level TRealistic FictionSelection SummaryPedro’s sister Ana is turning sixteen, and her family plans a surprise party for her. Pedro and his uncle fi x up a car for Ana’s present, but Pedro feels jealous of Ana and that his efforts are unappreciated by his parents. Pedro realizes that he has not been ignored and that doing something nice for someone else is worthwhile.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-30527-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09

If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.

Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.

Characteristics of the Text Genre • Realistic fi ction

Text Structure • First-person narrative told chronologically with no chapter breaksContent • Planning a surprise

• Repairing an old car, step by step• Jealousy and caring for others

Themes and Ideas • Doing nice things for others can make you happy.• Complete diffi cult tasks with hard work.• Even though you love someone, you can still feel jealous of him or her.

Language and Literary Features

• Characters are revealed by what they say, think, and do and what others say and think about them

• Narrator builds trust by sharing his interior thoughts and feelingsSentence Complexity • A mixture of complex and short sentence patterns

• Dialogue• Quotation marks, italics, exclamations

Vocabulary • Words related to cars: crankshaft, timing chain, fuel fi lterWords • Many multisyllable words and words with suffi xes: incredible, celebration, pharmacy,

actuallyIllustrations • Six color illustrations show characters and settings

Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text; several pages text only© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

4_305271_AL_LRTG_L03_SistersSurprise.indd 1 11/4/09 8:49:22 PM

Expand Your Vocabulary

bumpers – usually metal or rubber bars attached to either end of a motor vehicle, p. 5

muffl er – a device that absorbs noise used with an internal-combustion engine, p. 5

valves – used to regulate the fl ow of gas in a motor vehicle, p. 5

wrenches – tools with adjustable jaws used for turning nuts of different sizes, p. 5

My Sister’s Surprise by Barbara Dodson

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge of surprise parties to visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: Have you ever planned a surprise for someone? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that the story is realistic fi ction told by a boy, Pedro, who is helping to work on a sixteenth-birthday present for his sister, Ana.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Page 2: Explain that the illustration shows Pedro, Ana, and their parents at dinnertime. Suggested language: Pedro says he noticed Papi and Mami seemed distracted. What does it mean when you are distracted?

Pages 4–5: Pedro describes working with his Uncle Tito on his sister’s gift. In the last paragraph on page 4, Pedro describes how Uncle Tito found an old 1982 sedan that he thought could be fi xed up. How does a sedan differ from a van or a station wagon? Explain that Pedro and Uncle Tito installed a new muffl er on the car. Ask: What’s the muffler’s purpose?

Page 7: Direct students’ attention to the picture. Ask: How can you tell Pedro and Uncle Tito are getting ready to paint the car?

Page 8: Have students look at the illustration and read the last sentence: I wanted to scream and shout that I, Pedro Garcia, was helping to give my big sister such a great present. Ask: What seems to be going on? What do you think the problem of the story might be?

Now go back to the beginning and read to fi nd out what happens when Ana’s family surprises her.

2 Lesson 3: My Sister’s SurpriseGrade 4© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company


ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Visualize Strategy , as they read. Tell them to look for details and descriptions to help them visualize the action of the story.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the text.Suggested language: Have you ever felt jealous of someone in your family? What happened? How did Pedro feel about all of the work he had done for his sister’s birthday?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Pedro works hard to restore a car for his sister’s birthday present.

• Pedro begins to resent the hard work and feels jealous about the attention Ana’s party is getting.

• Pedro realizes that his family has not ignored him and remembers why he wanted to surprise Ana.

• It is possible to love someone in your family but still feel jealous about the attention they get.

• Diffi cult tasks take many steps to accomplish.

• Helping others can make you feel good.

• The author includes many descriptions to help readers visualize the story.

• The language sounds realistic, the way a family would speak to each other.

• The author uses sequence words to help explain how Pedro and Uncle Tito fi xed the car.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a passage from the text to act out while

demonstrating phrasing fl uent reading. Remind students to pause after punctuation by taking short breaths after commas and stopping after periods and questions marks.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Point out that adding a suffi x such as –ion or -ment can change a verb to a noun. Examples in the story include astonishment (p. 3), celebration, prescription (p. 3), and encouragement (p. 11).



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 3.9.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillCause and Effect

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that stories include events that are

related to each other and that one event can cause another event to happen. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

On page 9, Pedro tells says his parents didn’t seem to remember that he had been hard at work each afternoon and every weekend. Add that as a cause of Pedro feeling that everyone had ignored him.

Practice the SkillEncourage students to share their examples of other cause-and-effect relationships in the story.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Assessment Prompts• What is the meaning of wrenches on page 5?

• Which sentences on page 3 show that Ana is a kind person?

________________________________________________________________.

• Why does Pedro feel jealousy toward his sister, whom he loves?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text How does Pedro know that Ana passed

her driving test?

2. Think within the text What trait do Ana and Uncle Tito

share?

3. Think beyond the text What effect does getting the car have

on Ana’s attitude about having a big birthday party? Explain.

4. Think about the text What is the author’s attitude about

giving to others? How do you know?

Making Connections It is hard for Pedro to keep working on his sister’s car without encouragement. What are some ways you can cheer yourself on?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

11Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 3 . 9

Grade 4, Unit 1: Reaching Out

Name Date

My Sister’s SurpriseCritical Thinking

Ana is smiling and driving Papi’s car.

They both think of other people more than they think of themselves.

Ana is so pleased about getting the car that she seems to no longer care about

having a big party. She is surprised but no doubt happy to fi nd that her family is

giving her a big party, too.

The author believes strongly in the value of giving to others. Ana’s selfl essness

inspires others to go out of their way to do things for her. In the end, Pedro feels

very happy about being able to do something nice for Ana and feels proud to be

her brother.

Possible responses shown.

11_4_246253RTXEAN_L03_FR.indd 11 3/22/09 11:39:54 PM

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Give English learners a “preview” of the text by holding a brief small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire group.

Idioms The story includes some idioms that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meaning of expressions such as Same old, same old (page 2) and fi x it up (page 4).

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?

Speaker 2: Pedro

Speaker 1: Who is Pedro’s sister?

Speaker 2: Ana

Speaker 1: What is Pedro doing for Ana?

Speaker 2: fi xing up a car

Speaker 1: What is one thing that frustrates Pedro?

Speaker 2: His parents don’t recognize what he has done.

Speaker 1: How does Pedro feel about his sister?

Speaker 2: He loves her, but he is jealous of her.

Speaker 1: What happens to make Pedro realize he had not been ignored?

Speaker 2: Uncle Tito recognizes all the hard work Pedro has done and tells Ana.

Speaker 1: Why is Pedro glad Ana is his sister?

Speaker 2: She loves the car and is appreciative of his hard work.


4_305271_AL_LRTG_L03_SistersSurprise.indd 54_305271_AL_LRTG_L03_SistersSurprise.indd 5 7/28/09 2:59:00 PM7/28/09 2:59:00 PM

Name Date

My Sister’s SurpriseThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three paragraphs.

On page 11, Pedro says that he told himself he was being too sensitive. Then, on page 12, he says that he did not want to spoil Ana’s birthday with his “bad” feelings. Why do you think Pedro tried so hard to hide his bad feelings? How does he feel once Ana receives her surprise? Support your conclusions with examples from the text.



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text How does Pedro know that Ana passed

her driving test?

2. Think within the text What trait do Ana and Uncle Tito

share?

3. Think beyond the text What effect does getting the car have

on Ana’s attitude about having a big birthday party? Explain.

4. Think about the text What is the author’s attitude about

giving to others? How do you know?

Making Connections It is hard for Pedro to keep working on his sister’s car without encouragement. What are some ways you can cheer yourself on?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Lesson 3B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 3 . 9

Name Date

My Sister’s SurpriseCritical Thinking



1413

932

Student Date Lesson 3

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 3 . 1 3

My Sister’s SurpriseRunning Record Form

My Sister’s Surprise • LEVEL T

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

9 Sometimes it seemed that Mami and Papi believed they were

the only people working hard for Ana’s birthday. They didn’t

even seem to remember where I was each afternoon and every

weekend. They didn’t seem to notice that my last few weeks

hadn’t included any of the fun things I normally did, such as

playing baseball, using the computer, and hanging out with my

friends.

With Ana’s driving test and birthday both coming up, nobody

could talk about anything else! I was tired of hearing about

what a good student she was, and how wonderful it was that

she volunteered at the senior center.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/103 ×

100)

%

Total Self- Corrections



Documents

LESSON 3 TEACHER’S GUIDE My Sister’s Surpriseforms.hmhco.com › ... › L03_My_Sisters_Surprise_T.pdf · birthday present for his sister, Ana. Introduce the Text Guide students