Close Reading Read Aloud Text Title: From Seed to Pumpkin Author: Wendy Pfeffer Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN: 0 06 445190 9 Learning Objectives: The goal of this lesson is to give the students the opportunity to use reading and writing to respond to an informational text on a subject they may not be familiar with. With prompting and support from the teacher, the students will ask and answer questions and will develop a better understanding of the growth and development of a pumpkin. Text Selection: This text is a Stage 1 Let s Read and Find Out Science book. It sequences the growth and development of a pumpkin from seed to ripe fruit. This text was chosen because of the specific content and science standards it addresses. The book will provide the basis for discussion on seeds and the change and growth of a plant. Reading Task: The students will listen to the teacher read the text aloud in its entirety at least one time. Students will then, with teacher guidance, revisit chunks of the text to clarify meaning. The teacher will ask questions and solicit student s ideas and thoughts to guide them through purposeful interaction with the text. Discussion Task: Through the use of text dependent questions, the students will be guided to look at text closely and engage in thinking that will deepen their understanding of key ideas, craft and structure and the integration of knowledge and ideas. Students will discuss the characters, setting, and major events in the story in great depth, performing activities that result in understanding and enjoying the text. Children will discuss text in depth and will discover how pumpkins grow. Vocabulary: Many of the meanings of the words in the text can be discovered from careful reading of the context or use of illustrations in the text. Teachers will use rereading, discussions and modeling to introduce and reinforce how to learn vocabulary from contextual clues. Syntax and language structure will be closely examined through discussion. Children will work to determine meaning of unfamiliar words using the text and guidance by teacher. Children will be able to use the words in a sentence of their own. Writing Task: Students will use writing to summarize and extend learning. Writing tasks will vary depending on the choice of prompt. Writing or pictures should have sufficient details to show they understand the concepts discussed. Foundational Skills: The teacher will model following words from left to right, top to bottom, and page to page. From Seed to Pumpkin Close Reading Read Aloud Lesson Marion County Public Schools revised: 1/8/2013 Page 1
Common Core Standards Addressed: Kindergarten CCLA.K.RI.1.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCLA.K.RI.1.2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text. CCLA.K.RI.1.3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of information in a text. CCLA.K.RI.2.4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text. CCLA.K.RI.2.5 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. CCLA.K.RI.2.6 Name the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each in presenting the idea or information in a text. CCLA.K.RI.3.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear. CCLA.K.RI.3.8 With prompting and support, identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text. CCLA.K.RI.3.9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same topic. CCLA.K.R.I.4.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. CCLA.K.SL.1.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and large groups. CCLA.K.SL.1.1.a Follow agreed upon rules for discussions CCLA.K.SL.1.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not.understood. CCLA.K.SL.1.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood CCLA.K.L.1.1c Form regular plural nouns orally by adding /s/ or /es/ CCLA.K.L.3.4 Determine and clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content. CCLA.K.L.3.4.b Use the most frequently occurring inflections and affixes as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word CCLA.K.L.3.5.c Identify real life connections between words and their use CCLA.K.L.3.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts CCLA.K.W.1.1 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which they tell a reader the topic or the name of the book they are writing about and state an opinion about the topic or book. CCLA.K.W.1.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic. CCLA.K.W.1.3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. CCLA.K.W.3.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects Next Generation Sunshine State Standards Addressed: Kindergarten Science SC.K.N.1.1 Collaborate with a partner to collect information. SC.K.N.1.3 Keep records as appropriate such as pictorial records of investigations conducted. SC.K.L.14.3 Observe plants and animals, describe how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do.
Vocabulary Discussed in Text: The words selected are more abstract, likely to be encountered in a variety of situations and could have different meanings dependent on the context. These words deserve more attention in the context of daily instruction. Student friendly definitions using academic language were at www.wordsmyth.net. Most of the meanings of words in this selection can be discovered from careful reading of the context in which they appear. This practice is both called for by the standards and is vital. Teachers must be prepared to reinforce it constantly by modeling and holding students accountable for looking in the context for meaning as well. The teacher will explore unfamiliar vocabulary words and phrases with the students to increase comprehension of the story. The students will be supported to describe how words and phrases may have multiple meanings. Tier 2 Words: moist wet; damp travel to go from place to place shoot to put forth buds energy the power or ability to make something work or be active jagged having points that are sharp and uneven sprawl to spread in a manner that is not ordered or organized patch a fairly small piece of land on which a particular crop grows ripe fully grown and ready for harvest or eating tubes a long, hollow piece of glass, metal, or rubber used to hold or carry liquids or gases; anything shaped like such a tube broad clear, full, or open rough having an uneven surface; not smooth twisted to become or be twined together; to wind or wrap tangles to be or become mixed up or knotted wither to dry up or wilt carved to slice or cut into pieces lanterns a case or container that is made of a material through which a light can shine and be protected. bare not filled, covered, or decorated; empty; plain; simple Tier 3 words: seedlings a young tree or plant grown from a seed sprout a new growth from a seed or root that is eaten as a vegetable pollen the fine, yellow powder made by a flowering plant that helps the plant produce new plants swarms a large number of insects moving together in a group prickly full of small, sharp points Prefixes: un uncurl Suffixes: er farmer ed twisted
Syntax This portion will include a close examination of the arrangement of words and phrases or wellformed sentences to help students better understand text meaning. Phrases: wither away What does wither away mean? When possible, have students act our unfamiliar vocabulary words. The author and illustrator used a variety of text features: talk bubbles, thinking bubbles, arrows, insets, and cross sections. How do these features help us better understand the text meaning? Reminders: It is important that the text remains the expert, not the teacher. All answers to questions must be supported with specific text sections or selections. Students must be asked to support their claims by giving specific text sections to justify their answers. Collaborative discussion and processing is an important piece of this lesson. Ask students to share with partners their thoughts and ideas, and then ask them to share out their answer. When possible, the teacher should ask a question, allow partners to discuss an answer that they can support with the text, then allow them to answer. Subsequent partners should be allowed to share additional justified answers before the teacher moves to the next question. The goal is for deep understanding of text and not rushing through the text. Lessons should be completed over the course of SEVERAL days. Reading a book to a class once is not sufficient to really enjoy the text and to understand the deeper meanings of the text. When possible, allow students to see the text during the discussion. If each student cannot have his/her own copy, or even share with a partner, the teacher should display the pages so all the students have exposure to the text during discussions. Have the text available to students when it is not being discussed so that they can explore the text independently as their confidence with the text improves and their understanding deepens. You will find students returning for multiple reads of this text independently. Do not front load the text prior to the first read, and do not front load any assignments. It is important that students discover and develop answers on their own or through collaborative discussion with peers.
Lesson Sequence: Day 1: Read the story aloud to students straight through with very little discussion. When the story is over, ask the students to turn and talk to their partners about how they liked or disliked the story. Ask students to support their statements with specific examples in the text. After a short time, have students that are willing share their discussion points. (Note: The teacher should not share his/her opinion about the story, as students need to use their own judgment.) Day 2 and beyond (varies): Revisit specific sections of text for the various lesson points listed below. Student responses and behaviors should be noted so that the discussion activities do not last too long for their age and attention span. Make note which activities were completed each day, so that the other lesson discussions can be complete on subsequent days. (Note: Not all discussion lessons need to be completed. In addition, discussions do not need to follow a specific sequence.) Final Day: Introduce and complete one of the cumulative writing activities listed below. Culminating Writing in Response to Reading: Students should respond to the text after all discussion is complete. The teacher should assist the students where necessary in using a combination of drawing, dictation, and writing in the assignment based on individual students needs. Writing tasks will allow students to expand their repertoire and control of different narrative strategies. In opinion pieces, they will have opportunities to extend and elaborate their work by providing examples, offering reasons for assertions, and explaining cause and effect. Pick one of the two prompts. Prompt #1: Think about your favorite parts of the story, including setting and characters. Explain why that part is your favorite part of the story and include how you felt about what happened. Note: This may be a small group activity by students who share the same part or individual writing. Prompt #2: The farmer in the story planted a seed and watched it grow. Have you ever planted a seed and watched it grow? Tell about how your experience was like the farmers and how it was different from the farmer in the book. Make sure you refer to the book in your writing.
Text based questions: These questions can only be answered correctly by close reading of the text. The evidence in the response comes directly from the text and does not depend on additional information from other sources. Text dependent questions assure knowledge from a specific text is clearly understood prior to leaping into synthesizing. Children should reference the text in their answers. Where in the text do we find the author appealing to our senses? Go back into the story and find the places where the writer s words would help us feel or see something. James Graham Hale illustrated the story. How does he use his illustrations to make readers use their senses? Reread the text and find an illustration that allows us to use one of our five senses; be prepared to tell us which sense you used and why. The author, Wendy Pfeffer, wrote the story in sequence from planting a seed until the fruit is ripe. What is the sequence of events in the text? What would happen if she wrote the story out of sequence? Would the story change? How? Support your answer. How do you think the farmer feels as he watches his plants grow? Give examples in the text or illustrations to support your opinion. Is it easy or hard to grow a pumpkin? A lot of work or a little work? Support your answer using personal experiences or citing from the text. The illustrator represents a variety of children. How does this help us connect with the text? How does the spring wind warm the earth? How are the tubes in the roots like straws? Why are the leaves reaching for the sun? How do the leaves make food? What if people could make their own food like a plant? Can you think of a reason the leaves may be broad and prickly? What would happen if the farmer did not pull the weeds? Why don t the plants stand tall? How do the vines get twisted and tangled? Why does the author compare the pumpkin flowers to big umbrellas? Why do the flowers close during the day? What do the bees do and why is it important? Why do the petals fall off? What season is it when the pumpkins get ripe and how do you know? Why is the title From Seed to Pumpkin a good title for the book? When does the farmer plant seeds? What parts of a plant are listed? How does water travel in a plant? (roots, stem, seed) How long does it take for the plant to be visible to us? How do you know? (seedlings, leaves) pg.6 7 cross section How do plants eat? (energy) How do the tubes work? What seasons are depicted in the text? How do you know? What will the pumpkins be used for?
Text Under Discussion: From Seed to Pumpkin By Wendy Pfeffer, published by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. (ISBN: 0 06 445190 9) When spring winds warm the earth, a farmer plants hundreds of pumpkin seeds. Every pumpkin see can become a baby pumpkin plant. Underground, covered with dark, moist soil, the baby plants begin to grow. As the plants get bigger, the seeds crack open. Stems sprout up. Roots dig down. Inside the roots are tubes. Water travels up these tubes the way juice goes up a straw. In less than two weeks from planting time, green shoots poke up through the earth. These shoots grow into tiny seedlings. Two leaves, called seed leaves, uncurl on each stem. They reach up toward the sun. Sunlight gives these leaves energy to make food. Like us, plants need food to grow. But green plants need food to grow. But green plants do not eat food as we do. Their leaves make it. To make food, plants need light, water, and air. Leaves catch the sunlight. Roots soak up rainwater. And little openings in the leaves let air in. Using energy from the sun, the leaves mix the air with water from the soil to make sugar. This feeds the plant. Soon broad, prickly leaves with jagged edges unfold on the steams. (The new leaves are rough and prickly ) (but the seed leaves are smooth and rounded.) The seed leaves dry up. Now the new leaves make food for the pumpkin plant. Each pumpkin stem has many sets of tubes. One tube in each set takes water from the soil up to the leaves so they can make sugar. The other tube in each set sends food back down so the pumpkin can grow. The days grow warmer. The farmer tends the pumpkin patch to keep weeds out. Weeds take water from the soil. Pumpkin plants need the water to grow. Pumpkin plants don t stand up tall. As the stems grow longer, they sprawl all over the ground. Before long, twisted, tangled vines cover the pumpkin patch. Soon flower buds appear on the vines. After each bud opens, its orange petals grow bigger and bigger. They look like bright orange umbrellas. During the heat of the day, the flowers close. They open again during the cool nights and early mornings. The bright orange flowers attract swarms of bees. The bees buzz about, carrying yellow pollen from the male flowers to the female flowers. Now pumpkins can grow. The petals wither away. Where the flowers bloomed, tiny hard fruits begin to grow. Hundreds of these cling to the vines. The days grow hot. All summer the warm sun and the cool rain help the tiny fruits grow larger and larger. Soon summer is over. The cornstalks next to the pumpkin patch turn brown. Leaves on trees turn red, orange, and yellow. Pumpkins change color, too. As they ripen, they change from green to yellow, then to orange.
In just four months small, flat, white pumpkin seeds have grown into big, fat, orange pumpkins. The pumpkins are ripe and round, with lumps and bumps. They come in all sizes and shapes. And they re waiting in the autumn sun. Some pumpkins will be carved into jack o lanterns for Halloween. Some will be baked into pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Colorful leaves turn brown. Winter winds begin to blow, and soon the trees are bare. The farmer looks out over the pumpkin patch, where only a few dead vines remain. But when spring winds warm the earth, once again he will plant hundreds of pumpkin seeds. And once again, they will grow from seed to pumpkin.