Shared Reading - Science

Shared Reading can be valuable Gr3

Shared Reading can be valuable

Lesson Plans – Grade 3The Cover Page of the Text

Little Groundhog learns how to plant and tend to his own food garden through every season in this beautifully-illustrated, thoroughly researched picture book by naturalist Lynne Cherry.

Little Groundhog, in trouble for stealing from his friends' gardens, is taught by Squirrel to grow his very own. From seed-gathering to planting, harvesting, and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables, children join Little Groundhog in learning about the gardening process. At the end, Little Groundhog invites his animal friends to a Thanksgiving harvest feast.Beautiful illustrations and thorough research on plants and insects make this sweet story an engrossing read, as well as a great picture-book introduction to how plants grow. Children and schools can follow Groundhog's lessons.

SHARED READING – GRADE 3 TEACHER: AVRIL DE SOUZA

Avril de Souza Page 1


Book: How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne CherryTime Frame: 15-20 minutes a day for 5 days

OVERVIEW OF TEXT – In a simple story with pictures as bright as sunshine, readers get engaged as Squirrel teaches Young Groundhog the rich rewards of gardening all day long.

CONTEXT – The story is intended to create an interest in gardening and to help students learn with the Groundhog the effect of the various seasons on plants and how the environment can affect plant growth. They also get to see how plants grow from seeds or vegetable cuttings and how the text can be used to extend learning beyond the classroom as they grow their own little gardens.

PURPOSE – The text was chosen to facilitate the integration of language and science curricula. While students learn various reading strategies to facilitate understanding, they begin to see differences in elements of style between various kinds of text – a story for entertainment and an information text that gives tips for example.

Lesson Format – Day 1

Reading Focus: How Groundhog’s Garden Grew Pages 1-14

Ontario Language Curriculum: Overall ExpectationsRead and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.

Ontario Language Curriculum: Specific Expectationso Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before,

during and after reading to understand texts.o Make inferences about texts using stated and implied ideas from the text as evidence.

Learning GoalsTaking the students on a picture walk will encourage the making of predictions and inferences about the subject of the text and what the plot will entail and inspires a purpose for reading.

Success Criteriao Students make reasonable predications about what may occur in the text based on illustrations.o Students verbalize how a picture walk helped them to understand a text.

MaterialsHow Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry

Motivational Hook/Engagement/IntroductionPreview the book – Show Ss the cover and read them the title. Ask Ss who they think might be the characters in the story. Ask them to guess what the story might be about based on the cover. Give Ss a moment to think before they pair and share. Record predictions on post-its, using markers, to be used a visual cue for students to refer to later.



Picture Walk (Pages 1-14) – Tell Ss you are now going to go on a picture walk together. Stop on every page and ask Ss what characters they see and what they think might be going on in each illustration.E.g. Picture 1 – Where do you think they are?Picture 3: What are the animals looking for?Picture 4: What do you think Squirrel is going to do with the potato plant?Picture 5: How long do you think the bear and the squirrel are going to sleep? (Remember Ss would have learnt this in Grade 2 – see my lesson on ‘Why Bears Nap’ posted on the Planning a Lesson – Science module.Picture 7: Why do you think the squirrel is cutting the potato? Do you notice anything about the cut pieces?Picture 8: What are Groundhog and Squirrel doing in this picture? Why are they sticking markers in the ground?Major predictions are posted on post-its to help Ss confirm during reading whether these are accurate. This creates a purpose for listening and following with their eyes as the teacher reads the text using a pointer.

DuringDuring Reading, I would stop at the points where specific predictions were made and ask if the predictions were correct. I would remove incorrect predictions and only keep the correct ones. The teacher might need to substitute incorrect predictions with correct answers elicited from the Ss during reading. On Pg. 8, I might ask Ss to point out to a burlap sack in the picture (based on the reading). On Pg. 10, I would ask why Groundhog hurried back into his burrow and when they would expect him to get out of his burrow again. (This question would help the teacher assess Ss ability to link prior knowledge to new reading). On p.14, I would ask Ss to predict what other vegetables Squirrel and Groundhog are going to plant? (Teacher assesses Ss ability to relate this question to information gleaned from Picture 8.

AfterI would ask Ss what reading strategy we implemented during the lesson (picture walk to make predictions) and how this helped them to understand the text. I would ask what information could be gained from viewing the illustration. Students are also encouraged to make a judgement about the text. E.g. Did they like it? Why or why not? How useful do the think the rest of the story would be for their daily lives?

Extension Activities – post shared readingA. Making a Seed Catalog 1. Turn the bulletin board (or display space) in your science area into a garden with brown craft

paper to represent the soil in which Ss can plant seeds.2. Display a collection of seed catalogs in the Science area. Invite children to browse through these

colourful catalogs to see the variety of plants that can start from seed.3. Encourage the making of a class catalog called ‘Our Big Seed Catalog’. Write the letters A to Z on

the top right corner of each page. Invite Ss to cut out pictures and names of plants they like and stick the picture and name on the appropriate page of the catalog.

AssessmentThis activity constitutes an assessment for learning, during which the teacher makes observations:

1. Is the student able to transfer prior knowledge to a new situation? (Do they recognise the



names of animals? Were they able to provide an explanation of why groundhogs nap in winter?)2. Were they able to predict at least 3 more plants that would be planted following the root crops?

( based on observation in picture 3)

Special Education NotesProvide Ss with a copy of the text so that they can follow along more closely. Write questions on chart paper or on the board for Ss to see.

Lesson Plan Format – Day 2Reading Focus: How Hedgehog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry – Pages 1-6

Ontario Language Curriculum: Overall Expectation

Use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently

Ontario Language Curriculum – Specific Expectation

To appreciate elements of style and how the use of descriptive words can help the reader create better mind pictures of the characters or setting in a story.

Learning Goals

Students appreciate how words play an important part in conveying meaning, strategies for decoding unfamiliar words and how to use voice and word choice to convey meaning.

Success Criteria

Students are able to decode words and demonstrate understanding through movement and facial and vocal expression.

Materials

Post its, the Big Picture Book, Juke box and music

Before Reading

I might begin by asking:1. Do you think Groundhog expected to be caught eating lettuce in a neigbour’s garden?2. What did he do so that he would not get caught?3. How would you feel if you did and were caught?4. What do you think about Squirrel’s character?

I would emphasize the importance of decoding unfamiliar words during reading and how this helps them to understand the overall text. This not only prevents misunderstanding of the text but also helps them to read fluently and with meaning. The purpose of today’s reading as a class is to decode words we are unfamiliar with.During Reading

Certain words are covered with small post-it papers. As the children read with the teacher, they are



asked to guess the word. The teacher might ask how they guessed the word correctly. Alternatively, students might be shown the first letter to help them guess. Sometimes even two letters might be shown to them. The teacher gives credit for words that fit so that they understand synonyms. Where ever, possible, students are asked to demonstrate the movement to show understanding (e.g. crept, nibbling. Curled, snuggling) or to demonstrate expression (look exclaimed, look embarrassed, look drowsy). The teacher could get them involved in reading the passage along with him/her in a manner that conveys meaning and shows understanding. For example read the word crept softly and slowly and sound excited when reading the words ‘Delicious! Scrumptious! Irresistible!’ The teacher checks understanding of these words or provides an explanation and allows students to make sentences with these words.Students may also be divided into three groups for another reading along with the teacher: Groundhog, Squirrel and Narrator.

After reading

Invite students to dramatize (though MOVEMENT ONLY)o Groundhog creeping into the garden and nibbling on the lettuceo Squirrel rushing down from the branches and scolding Groundhogo Groundhog feeling embarrassedo Squirrel offering to help Groundhog grow his own gardeno Squirrel and Groundhog collecting seeds

It possible, the teacher can play appropriate music. Having music together in one place makes it easy to jump from one musical selection to another. To get started, one could create personal jukebox with iTunes. The software is downloadable for free at www.apple.com/itunes/jukebox.)Students are asked to reflect on reading strategies used to help them more fully appreciate the passage.Extension activity (during the Drama lesson)

Students could be divided into groups. Each group could be another part of the story and asked to convey meaning through dance movements and the choice of appropriate music. This could be made into a competition based on student feedback.

Assessment

Teacher could make anecdotal notes on student’s ability to fill in an appropriate word based on context, identify the word the teacher is looking for based on cues, and to demonstrate understanding of meaning through dance movements, facial and vocal expression and examples of stories that help them identify with the situation.


http://www.apple.com/itunes/jukebox


Lesson Plan Format – Day 3

Ontario Language Curriculum: Overall Expectationso Read and understand an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts,

using a range of strategies to construct meaning.o Recognize a variety of text forms, text features and stylistic elements and demonstrate

understanding of how they help communicate meaning.

Ontario Language Curriculum: Specific Expectationso Identify a variety of reading comprehension strategies and use them appropriately before,

during and after reading to understand texts.o To analyze text by identifying specific elements of texts and explaining how they contribute to

the meaning of the texts (narrative vs steps in a procedure).

Ontario Science Curriculum : Overall Expectation investigate the requirements of plants and the effects of changes in environmental conditions on plants.

Ontario Science Curriculum: Specific ExpectationsCommunicate procedures and results of investigations for specific purposes and specific audiences.Design and conduct a hands-on inquiry into seed germination or plant growth

Learning GoalsA second reading of a part of the text read earlier helps students realize the various purposes of reading (entertainment and information). Students learn to summarize factual information and present it in an appropriate manner for its audience.

Success Criteriao Students identify some needs of plants.o Students demonstrate an understanding of the effects of the seasons on plants.o Students distinguish between narrative fictional writing and the writing of information texts.

MaterialsPictures 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 for Before ReadingCloze exercise for During Reading

Motivational Hook/Engagement/IntroductionA Picture Story: Ss are divided into Groups of 5. They are asked to arrange the pictures in order and think of one sentence to describe each picture. Any group is picked at random to tell the picture story. Others can agree or disagree.Recognizing Fiction: Why are stories written? (for entertainment). What is the setting? (a vegetable garden) Who are the main characters so far? (Groundhog and Squirrel). What is the problem? (Groundhog caught stealing) What is the solution? (Squirrel teaching Groundhog to grow his own vegetable gardens). How do you think the story might end? (reinforcing the prediction strategy – Day 1)Expressing Points of View: What language are the animals talking to each other in? Do you think animals of different species can communicate in real life? Ss are told that authors use personification to help the reader identify with the characters. Students are asked to comment on the character of Groundhog and Squirrel? Students are encouraged to focus on as many positive qualities as possible.



Identifying facts in the story: Are there any parts of the story so far that you could apply in real life?Let’s focus on a part of the story that can help us get valuable information that we could use when growing our own garden. Students are given a cloze exercise that they can fill in prior to reading to the best of their ability.

During Reading (pages 7-14)

Students are allowed to follow while the teacher reads and to chime in when the teacher comes to answers in the cloze exercise.

The teacher stops at each chime (as appropriate) to elicit how they arrived at that conclusion and the significance of that step in the procedure.

CLOZE EXERCISE1. Potatoes are dug up in the _________.2. A few are put aside in a ______ ________.3. In ______ the potatoes begin to sprout.4. Cut the potatoes into little ______ with

_____ _________ each.5. Find a ___________ place in the garden.6. Dig the soil to ___________ it up.7. Plant them with their sprouts pointing ___,

cover them with _____ and ________ them.

8. Each sprout will grow into a new ___________ ________.

9. The new crop is _________ up in the ____________, and a few are put aside in a __________ _____________ to be cut and ___________ the next spring.

Afer ReadingStudents are asked to comment how the format of the text in the cloze exercise is different from the narrative text. They are also asked to comment on the type of audience this is being written for, and how this audience differs from the audience for which the story book is being written for.

Extension Activities – post shared readingGrow a Mini-GardenTiny planters hold big surprises in this planting activity that connects home and school.Materials

o 1 egg carton per groupo Eggshells (halves)o Soilo Sunflower seedso Watero Plastic wrapo Newspaper

1. Cover a work surface with a newspaper and make planting stations with materials for groups of three or four students.

2. Have students gently initial their eggshells, then fill them two-thirds full of soil, plant a seed in each about a quarter inch deep, lightly water, and carefully place their eggshells in the cartons. Cover the cartons with plastic wrap. Ask them to predict how long it would take their plants to sprout.

3. Have students place their egg cartons in a dark spot and check daily for signs of sprouting plants.



They should be sure to keep the soil moist too. Ask students to record and date daily observations.

4. When the seeds sprout, have students move the cartons to a sunny windowsill and continue to observe.

5. When it’s time to transplant, plant eggshell and all in a school garden or another approved spot, ask: What do you think will happen to the eggshell? (It will decompose.) Let each student take an eggshell garden home, too, along with suggestions for transplanting.

AssessmentThe assessment constitutes an assessment for learning.

o Does the Ss recognise different types of text (eg. Fictional, informational) and distinguish between fact and fiction?

o Can the student identify the purpose for reading?o Can the student express personal opinions about ideas presented in texts (e.g. character traits)?o Can the student identify elements of style (voice, word choice and types of sentences) in

different types of text (story vs procedure vs recording of observations)?Lesson Plan Format – Day 4

Reading FocusHow Hedgehog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry (Pages 15-24)

Ontario Language Curriculum: Overall ExpectationReflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during and after reading.

Ontario Language Curriculum: Specific ExpectationIdentify a few reading comprehension strategies that could help them before, during and after reading to understand texts.

Ontario Science Curriculum: Overall ExpectationDescribe ways in which plants are important to other living things, and the effects of human activities on plants.

Ontario Science Curriculum – Specific Expectationso To describe the changes that plants undergo in a complete life cycle (e.g. from the germination

of a seed to the production of flowers or fruit.

Learning GoalsThrough a picture walk (pp. 15-30) students are encouraged to assess the effectiveness of their own garden planning strategies vis-à-vis those used by the animal characters and to express their points of view. They also learn how a pre-reading of the questions can help them search for answers in the text. They can describe the changes that plants undergo in a complete lifecycle from the germination of a seed to the production of flowers or fruit.

Success Criteriao Students will make reasonable predictions about what might occur in the text based on the

exercise pack provided (graphic organizers) and illustrations.o Students can describe the changes that plants undergo in a complete life cycle (e.g. from the



germination of a seed to the production of flowers or fruit).o Students are able to describe 3 ways in which plants are important to other living things.o Students are able to describe how human activity can be detrimental to plants.o Students can identify how various reading strategies including writing can help them pick out

relevant details from a text.

Materialso An A4 brown paper for each group of 4-5 studentso The big text for readingo Individual texts for students to follow along with

Before ReadingMotivational Hook/Engagement/Introduction

What factors do you think Squirrel and Ground Hog needed to take into consideration when planning Groundhog’s Garden?

ACTIVITY: Students are given garden patches (A4 size brown paper). They are asked to decide as a group

a) what plants they would grow (a maximum of 6 plants)b) what factors they would take into consideration when planning the layout of their gardenc) how they would know later what plants they could expect to see growing in different parts of

the garden.

During Reading (pages 15-22)Students are encouraged to read along in their texts as the teacher reads the text aloud and to circle words that could be answers to the exercises in the graphic organizers

Pages 15-16: Ss are allowed to respond to the text by expressing personal opinions about ideas presented in the text and how they compare with their own.Pages 17-18: The teacher puts up the word ‘perennials’ on the WOW WORDs chart and asks Ss if they know what it means. (As gardens are common in Canada, some Ss would be expected to be familiar with the word).Page 19: …..But as they grew, he worried, “are these seedlings too crowded together? What should I do? Ask: What do you think Groundhog is going to do? (Tip: Look at picture on Page 20)Page 20: Ss get to see if they had predicted that Groundhog would transplant the seedlings. The word transplanted is put up as a WOW WORD. Students guess the meaning of the word.Pages 21-22: Do you think Groundhog is happy with these creatures? Why?

After Reading1. Filling in Graphic Organizers

Students are allowed fill in the graphic organisers in their activity pack.A. Label the diagram: seed, root, shoot, flower:B. Graphic Organizer: mention names of five root crops (potatoes carrot, beet, parsnip, radish) &

names of five plants that grow above ground (tomatoes, bell peppers, kale, spinach, lettuce, pumpkin, yellow squash etc.) – Refer pages 15-16



C. Mention friends of plants (butterfly, bee, wind, rain) and one enemy (insects)

2. Think-Pair-Share before Class DiscussionMention 3 ways in which plants are important to other living things.

A. Insects eat plants (might destroy plants while doing so).B. Bees, flies and butterflies visit plants for sweet nectar.C. Humans eat plants for food.

3. What human activities are detrimental to plants?Farmers spray plants with insecticide to keep away insects that destroy plants. This might keep away insects that visit the plant for nectar and pollinate plants while doing so. In turn this affects the crop of fruits and vegetables.

4. Checking Skills of InquiryAre there any questions that come to mind that are not answered in the text? Where could you find the answers to these questions.

Extension Activities – post shared readingSs are encouraged to use the books on display at the Science centre to find answers to any one of the questions posed by students while the teacher checks skills of inquiry:

A. Why do Roots grow downwards into the soil while the shoot grows above the soil?B. How do butterflies and bees help in pollination?

AssessmentStudents are encouraged to reflect on their reading skills and strategies by identifying, with some support and direction, what strategies they found most helpful before, during and after reading and how they can use these and other strategies to improve as readers. Some questions the teacher might ask are:

1. What questions do you ask yourself to make sure you are understanding what you are reading?2. How do you know if you are on the right track?3. When you come to a word or phrase you do not understand, how do you figure out what it

means?4. How do you figure out what information is important to remember.5. What do you do when you get confused during reading?6. What do you know about writing that helps you as a reader?

Lesson Plan Format – Day 5Reading Focus: How Hedgehog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry – Pages 25-32

Ontario Language Curriculum: Overall Expectation

Read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning.

Ontario Language Curriculum – Specific Expectation

To demonstrate an understanding of text forms (with particular reference to a story and informational



text)

Learning Goals

Students learn that a story has a plot and one has to look for the problem, the way in which the problem is being solved and the outcome (whether happy or not). They also learn how to extend understanding of a text to their own lives and how an informational text might differ in form from a story.

Success Criteria

Students are able to identify the plot in the story. They are able to identify information in the text that could add meaning to their own lives. They are able to write tips for Grade 2 children on how to grow a vegetable garden.

Materials

Books are made available for children to use in extension activities.

Before Reading

Children are reminded that every story has a plot. There is a problem, a way in which the problem is attempted to be solved and an outcome. Children are asked to identify the problem (Groundhog stealing), whether they think the problem is being solved and how (Squirrel helping Groundhog to grow his own garden) and to predict whether they think the outcome would be a happy one.

During Reading

The teacher reads the story. Words are relatively simple and students are encouraged to read along. Students are encouraged to respond to the ending and to evaluate whether the outcome was a happy one.

Students could be asked what strategies they could use to retell the story.( Perhaps the pictures could help them provide relevant details.) The teacher points out that details are necessary when retelling a story. Children are told that when writing a summary, they are only expected to write the most important points. Ask children to talk to their elbow partner about what they think was most important.

The teacher could provide a tip for summarizing the story in three lines using the format Problem/Attempted solution/Outcome .

1. One day Squirrel caught Groundhog stealing from a neighbour’s garden.2. When Squirrel realized that Groundhog did not know how to grow vegetables, he offered to

help him grow his own garden from seeds and vegetable cuttings.3. Soon Groundhog had enough vegetables to share with his neighbours and had a Thanksgiving

Feast every year.

After Reading



Students could be challenged to write a summary in one line. Students comment on each other’s statements and choose the best summary. A model could be ‘ Squirrel teaches Little Groundhog the rich rewards of gardening.’

Extension Activities (post shared reading)

Students could be asked to write tips for Grade 2 students on how to grow their own garden. Students comment on how the text differs from a story or even encouraged to prepare a scrap book on how to grow a vegetable garden. Students could be encouraged to talk about the types of resources they might use to gather additional material.

Assessment

Teacher could make note of whether students appreciate the difference between retelling and summarizing, whether they are able to develop strategies for arriving at an appropriate summary and whether they can see the difference between narrative text and informational text.


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Shared Reading - Science