Can a lonely, hungry wolf outsmart Betsy and eat all the sheep? Find out!

Transcription

1 A Member of The Book Club for Super Kids Date Week 4 Summary of Core Instruction Lesson 16 Introduce the book and read pages 6 15 Lesson 17 Read and discuss pages Lesson 18 Read and discuss pages Lesson 19 Read and discuss pages Lesson 20 Teach cause and effect; teach fluency Materials by Gail Carson Levine Book Talk Journal for Blackline Masters Book Talk A Mini-Journal Can a lonely, hungry wolf outsmart Betsy and eat all the sheep? Find out! About the Book Genre: Folktale Gail Carson Levine s story is a spin on the old and familiar fable by Aesop. has a girl named Betsy encountering not a killer wolf, but a hungry, sneaky, somewhat pathetic wolf looking for a good meal and a friend. Scott Nash s quirky illustrations perfectly mesh with Ms. Levine s fresh take on this tale. You may wish to introduce this book with a reading of the traditional fable. It will make even more fun and satisfying for your Book Club. About the author: As the daughter of an artist and a teacher who wrote plays for her students to perform, Gail Carson Levine always loved words and pictures. Her love of stories encouraged her to take a class on writing for children. After nine years of rejections, her first published book, Ella Enchanted, won the Newbery Honor Award. Betsy Who Cried Wolf is her first picture book. Ms. Levine s advice to aspiring young writers is to save everything you write. Unlike many writers, Ms. Levine s favorite part of writing is revising, which she says is the name of the game. About the illustrator: Scott Nash has taught art and design, owned his own design firm, and has worked for clients such as MTV, PBS, and the Boston Children s Museum. In addition to illustrating, Mr. Nash has illustrated well-known childrens favorites such as Flat Stanley, Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp, and Tuff Love. He lives on an island off the coast of Maine with his artist wife and his dog named Bear.

2 Lesson 16 Pages 6 15 Summary of Core Instruction Step 1 Prepare to read Step 2 Teach vocabulary Step 3 Guide reading Step 4 Book Talk Journal Student Objectives Vocabulary Understand words important to text Discuss onomatopoeia Comprehension Strategies/Skills for Fiction Understand text features Sequence events Make and confirm predictions Summarize Materials by Gail Carson Levine Book Talk Journal Blackline Master 42 Pleasant s Pointers It might be helpful to use sticky notes to number the pages of on the teacher s copy for ease of reference. The page that begins On her eighth birthday is page 7. Step 1 Prepare to Read Hold up a copy of. Help students read the title. Read aloud the names of the author and illustrator. Understand characters What characters do you see on the front cover? The girl Betsy and the sheep. What might Betsy s job be? She takes care of the sheep. Make predictions I noticed the title of the story is. Where do you think the wolf is? Maybe he is hiding from Betsy. Maybe he is the one Betsy is looking at because she seems surprised. Explain that this book is an example of a retold fable. The author took a well-known fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and wrote a new version for readers to enjoy. In a fable, animals often talk and they might use trickery to get what they want. There is usually a moral or a lesson to learn from reading the fable. Use prior knowledge Has anyone heard the fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf? If so, have students briefly share what they know about the story. Briefly summarize the fable: A boy who is a shepard becomes bored and cries out Wolf! when there is no wolf, just to get attention. He does it again and again. Finally, when there is a wolf and the boy cries out, nobody believes him and the wolf eats all the sheep. And in some versions of the story, the wolf eats the boy, too! UNIT 4: LESSON 16 19

3 Step 2 Teach vocabulary Remind children that is a story about a girl and her sheep. Then write the following vocabulary words on the board and discuss. Ask children how these words might relate to Betsy. Have children use the words in a sentence. shepherd (shepherds, page 7): a person who takes care of sheep The shepherd took the sheep into the pasture. oath (page 7): a promise often taken in front of other people Betsy took an oath in which she promised to take care of the sheep. guard (guarded, page 8): to protect, keep safe from harm Betsy will guard the sheep wherever she goes. merrily (page 8): happily After the party, she walked home merrily. scan (scanned, page 10): to quickly look over or around Shepherds scan the hillside to look for sneaky wolves. ewe (page 10): a female sheep (pronounce it: y ) The ewe ate some grass. thicket (page 10): area where bushes and shrubs grow closely together The wolf made his home in the thicket. pasture (page 14): a field where animals graze The grass in the pasture was very long. 20 UNIT 4: LESSON 16 Step 3 guide reading Pages 6 15 Set a purpose for reading Have children read to find out if Betsy can keep her sheep safe. Pages Before Reading and understand text features Front pages: Before reading, have volunteers read what the sheep are saying on the front pages. Why are these words written in bubbles? It is how the illustrator shows the sheep are talking. What do you think of the sheep so far? They seem silly. Do you think this will be a serious story? Why? No, since it begins with talking sheep. Pages 7 9 Page 7: What do you think the Shepherds Oath is? A promise to watch and protect the sheep from danger, like a hungry wolf. Pages 6 and 9: Have students look carefully at the pictures on pages 6 and 9. On page 6, point out the pies for ewe pun, as well as the humor in mutton pot pie which is made from sheep. On page 9, point out Bo Peep at the gas station. Ask if students know who she is. (A nursery rhyme character who loses her sheep.) Clearly, the illustrator is having fun making this town all about sheep! Draw conclusions Page 8: Why might Zimmo be the last wolf on the mountain? Since the sheep are guarded there is nothing for the wolves to eat; the other wolves probably left to find food somewhere else. Page 8: If Zimmo is lonely and hungry, why does he start howling merrily? He thinks up a plan so he can eat the sheep. The thought of eating makes him happy so he howls merrily.

4 Make predictions Page 8: What do you think the wolf s plan is? Maybe he is going to trick Betsy so he can get near the sheep and eat them. Discuss onomatopoeia Page 8: Why do you think Ooo hoo hoooooo and Boo! Hoo! Hoo! are written in italics, or slanted letters? Because the wolf is making these sounds like he is moaning or crying. Remind students that when we write out sounds it s called onomatopoeia. Can you find another example of onomatopoeia on this page? Read them aloud. Umm, hmm, aii, yii, tralee, and traloo Pages Understand characters Page 10: Why is Betsy scanning and looking around? She has to look out for wolves and watch to make sure the sheep don t get hurt. Have a volunteer show what it looks like to scan for sheep. Pages 10 11: How would you describe Betsy? She is very careful and watchful of the sheep. She talks to the sheep like a mother. Pages 10 11: What about these pictures makes this whole scene funny? The sheep are acting like people, playing around and climbing trees. One is trying to jump into the river. Ask a student to read the sign that says the name of the river. Soakenwetz River Why is this name funny? Because it sounds like the phrase, soaking wet. What s funny about the sign on the river? It states the obvious, that the water is wet and makes the river s name all the more funny. Recognize descriptive language Pages 12 13: How are wolves described on Betsy s checklist? Long snouts and bushy tails children might say hungry eyes and sharp teeth from Betsy s thought bubble and brown fur from the checklist she is holding. Pages 12 13: How do the sheep describe the wolf? They think he is too skinny to be a wolf and that he might be a dog. Page 13: One sheep says the wolf is wearing a woolen muffler. What is she talking about? The scarf around the wolf s neck. Page 13: Why do you think the wolf steps out into the open? Maybe he wants Betsy to see him. It is probably part of his plan. Sequence events Page 14: What does Betsy do after she realizes there is a wolf in the pasture? She blows her whistle and cries Wolf! Page 14: What happens after Betsy blows her whistle? All the farmers come pounding up to the pasture. What does pounding mean? Running hard Page 15: What s funny about this illustration? The sheep are holding their ears because of the screech of the whistle. Make and confirm predictions Page 15: Now that we have read a little more, what do you think the wolf s plan is? Students may suggest the wolf wants to get Betsy into trouble by making the farmers think Betsy is crying wolf just to get attention like the boy in The Boy Who Cried Wolf. If students predicted what the wolf s plan was on page 8, ask them if they still believe the same thing. Strategy: Summarize Page 15: Think aloud: Sometimes when I read, it helps me to think about what has happened in the story so far. First, Betsy took an oath to protect the sheep. She was doing a good job, too. She even helped a ewe not fall into the river. But then Betsy came across a hungry wolf that had a plan. This wolf wanted Betsy to see him so he stepped into plain sight. Of course, when Betsy saw the wolf she blew her whistle, but as soon as all the farmers came running, the wolf hid and watched. UNIT 4: LESSON 16 21

5 Step 4 Book Talk Journal Tell students to turn to pages 1 2 in their Book Talk Journal. Model how you would approach each question, providing one or two sample answers. Direct students to complete their journals during Independent Work Time. After meeting with all Book Club groups, bring the class together for a brief recap and discussion of the journal questions. Did you like it? Betsy was in charge of Why or why not? the sheep. Have you ever been in charge? What did you do? Valueline/Punchstock Lesson 16 The Book Club for Super Kids 1 2 image source/punchstock Shepherd school sounds fun! I d like to go to superhero school. What funny school would you like to attend? What would you do? INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES Have students complete Blackline Master 42. For part 2, be sure to discuss ewe and you as words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Name: shepherd oath guard scan thicket pasture a promise Book Club BLM Unit 4, Lesson 16 1 Draw a straight line from the word on the left to the meaning on the right. Cross out any letters in your path. Circle the remaining letters and write them on the lines below to answer the riddle. E S R T What Did the Sheep Say? W M E to look over or around field where animals graze one who takes care of sheep area with bushes and shrubs to protect 42 What did the sheep say when she looked in the mirror? I see e w e! 2 Think about the words ewe and you. They sound alike but mean different things. In the boxes below, draw what each word means. L K A Cross-Curriculum Connection Art: Have students create an on-going mural or large poster for. Children can draw and label parts of the poster with vocabulary words such as shepherd, pasture, thicket, and ewes. As the story progresses, children can add other details and labels relating to the story such as woolen muffler, shepherdess, and lunch pail. Encourage students to label other parts they draw, such as the shepherd s hook Betsy is holding. Draw a picture of a ewe. Draw a picture of you. Answers shown in pink. Reproducible Page 2010 by Rowland Reading Foundation 22 UNIT 4: LESSON 16