The Mitten Guided Reading Plan
Standard(s):
NJSLSA.R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently with scaffolding as needed.
L.3.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
Objective: Students will read and discuss narrative text and engage in discussion of key concepts and vocabulary through the development of graphic organizers and journal entries to demonstrate comprehension at a level of (3) proficiency based on a 4 point rubric scale.
I. Preparation for Reading
A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge
Develop discussion relating to the winter season and encourage students to share their experiences with the snow and what activities they usually do in the snow. Discuss the need to bundle up in the cold and what articles of clothing are typically worn to stay warm. The n discuss the consequences that will come if you do not wear these articles of clothing and how that could affect you in the winter. Encourage students to share some personal experiences they may have had relating underdressing in the winter and what happened to their bodies. Examples might include students did not wear a warm enough coat to school, therefore they were cold at recess. Another example might be, students did not wear warm enough shoes when they were playing outside in the snow at home and their feet were freezing. Use this opportunity to activate students prior knowledge so that they will be able to relate to the experiences Nicki will have in the story “The mitten” and the animals attempt at fitting a crowd of them into the mitten.
B. Preview Text and Make Predictions
Now preview the reading material with the students by conducting a Picture-Walk. Guide students in exploring the pictures that are provided in the book in the order they are given. Ask the children to look at a picture and predict what will happen to Nicki’s mitten. Guide students in constructing a timeline using signal words to represent each attempt at the different animals fitting inside the tiny mitten and if they think Nicki will find his mitten again. Do not reveal the final couple of pictures that represents the resolution in the story so that students will have the opportunity to discover this information in the reading.
C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge
As discussion is developed during the picture walk and students are encouraged to explore the pictures, pay careful attention to important vocabulary words that the students will encounter in the reading. Be sure that each of these vocabulary words is explained within the context of the discussion and their meanings are discussed together as a class. Provide additional explanation as to the meanings of these words and ask students to visually locate these words within the text for additional support if necessary. Provide a direct instruction lesson as to the meanings of the vocabulary words: Cozy, admire, snuffling, prickles, swooped, waft, swelled.
D. Set a Purpose for Reading
Encourage student to begin reading the story and remind them that animals will make many attempts at deciding what this mitten is and how it is supposed to be used. Ask them to read to discover how many animals were able to fit in the mitten, and if Nicki ever gets his mitten back.
II. Read Silently
Instruct students to read silently until they discover the purpose set for reading. As students are reading monitor their progress and observe their ability to rely on strategies for successfully comprehending the text. Observe any instances of difficulty and provide assistance as needed. As students discover the information established in the purpose setting question, instruct them to either draw or write about why each animal was allowed in the mitten, despite them thinking they had no room and add it in their reading journals as they wait for other students in the group to finish reading.
III. Respond to Reading to Develop Comprehension
A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question
Develop discussion relating to what students have discovered about the purposes set forth for reading. Initially students should discover that the bear sneezes and sends the mitten flying in the air which is how Nicki gets it back. As the students encounter each attempt the animals had at figuring out what the mitten was used for, discuss each attempt and monitor students’ responses to determine their accuracy and the extent to which they appear to comprehend the text. Answers should include the mole cuddling up inside because of how warm it was, the n he let the rabbit in because he had big feet, then they let the hedgehog join because he was prickly, then the owls talons were scary so they let him in, letting the badger in despite there being no room, letting the fox in the mitten, and then finally letting the big bear into the mitten.
B. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary
Continue developing discussion with students about the events of the story and use this opportunity to address concepts of interest or questions that arose from the reading. Encourage students to consider issues relating to letting this many animals into such a small mitten. Ask them to consider the dangers of squishing into the mitten and what could potentially happen to the mitten. Use this opportunity to present some higher level interpretive questions that naturally arise out of the discussion. Possibilities might include asking students consider whether they think they could have fit more animals into the mitten. Another focus for discussion might include focusing on the reason why the animals continued to let one another in and what was the main factor in doing so.
C. Supporting Comprehension of Structure
Use this opportunity to support students understanding of the structure of the story. Discuss the information students have added to their reading journals and encourage them to share their writings or drawings relating to the information they discovered in the reading. Guide students in adding the events to the timeline that are appropriate for the sequence of the story. Model how to correlate each event with the signal words identified during the preview and predicting of the story. These signal words might include first, next, then and finally.
D. Seeking Additional Sources for Information
Inspire students to seek additional information about concepts within the story by sharing appropriate sources that could be used for further investigation and inquiry. For example, in preparation for further inquiry relating to the characteristics that distinguish winter from spring, introduce students to reference book that will help them explore this information. Encourage students to explore this resource as well as other resources to discover more about the different seasons and how we dress for them. Consider developing these ideas further as science content. Use this opportunity to model inquisitive behaviors to inspire students to seek information and further their investigation of the topic.
E. Additional Purpose Setting Questions:
Encourage student to continue reading the story and remind them that Nicki will continue to look for his mitten even though it blends in with the snow. Ask them to read to discover the next attempt he makes to discover his mitten (pictures are on the side of the book) and pause for discussion after each attempt is revealed.
IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies
Provide a direct instruction lesson on the topic of sequence of events and the use of a timeline to assist with the organization of events in a story. Select a technique for having the students reread the story, either independently, collaboratively or in pairs and ask them to recreate the timeline. This can be done through a writing exercise, through role play, felt board activities, drawing, or other appropriate methods.
V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum
Engage students in the task of exploring the change in seasons. Guide students in writing a letter to their penpal who lives on the opposite side of the United States. Require students to ask them how the weather is over there, and what they typically wear when it is winter. Have students draw a visual representation of the current weather and season and what it looks like outside. Address important skills related to talking about the weather outside such as partly cloudy, below freezing, snowing, hailing…etc. Integrate artistic skills related to shading and various methods for creating colorful representations. Require students to relate their understanding of the seasons by writing on each picture to describe the weather that is occurring. Have students keep a copy of their letters and at the end of the year we will piece them all together and create a book for publication and presentation about the weather over the course of their school year.