The Big Leaf Pile (Clifford books)

The Big Leaf Pile (Clifford books) ISBN 0-439-21357-6

 Guided Reading The Four Blocks Way by Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy Hall

Day One

 Before reading – Discuss prior knowledge of fall and leaves.  What do trees look like in Fall / Autumn colors?  What happens to leaves?  Why?  (If known)  Show book to students, make a life link.  Ask students share links.  What can we do with leaves?  (rake, burn, play, piles)

OWL strategy –

• Observe
• Wonder
• Link to your life

Set purpose – Listen to find out if Clifford does the same things with leaves that we do.

 During reading – Find out if you get an answer to your wonder question.  I wonder will Clifford keep his promise?

 After reading – Discuss what happened in the book.  Did Clifford keep his promise?  Did any of your wonder questions have answers in the book?  Did Clifford do any of things we do (link to life)?

 Questions may include: 

When does the story take place?

Where does the story take place?

Who plays in the leaves?

What colors of leaves are found?

What sound is heard?

What is done with the leaves?

 Day Two –

 Before reading – Teacher has prepared sentence strips for key sentences ahead of time.  See Guided Reading The Four Blocks Way book, chapter 13 “Who Mixed Up Our Sentences?” for guidance.  Students put the key sentences in the order they think is correct.  

 During reading –  The students will read to see if they have ordered them correctly. 

 After reading – Discuss how students figured out the sentences.  Whole group checking the order.

 Day three –  Extension of this activity is to write the sentences on sentence strips.  Cut up the sentences and place the words in envelopes.  Each pair of students has an envelope containing one sentence.  The student pair should put their sentence together and check it against the sentence strips on the pocket chart.  Discuss that the words need to be in order to make sense.  Trade envelopes several times.  Students will then glue words from one sentence in the correct order  on a strip of paper. 

 Day four – Extension of this activity.  Pass out envelopes. .  Students will then glue words from one sentence in the correct order on a strip of paper.  Partners read book with partner again.  When all reading is done, eat set of partners read their strip out loud (not in a specific order).  As a whole class, sequence strips.  Could have partners stand up and hold up in order or place the sentences in the pocket chart and read together.  Students / Partners should use the book to justify their answers.  Make changes if necessary. 

 The Big Leaf Pile (Clifford books) ISBN 0-439-21357-6

 ANOTHER Day –

 Before reading – Assign students specific pages to read (Pick a Page Strategy)

Set purpose – We will read this page several times to build fluency.

During reading – Read several times to build fluency so that we can read it fluently into a tape player for a tape at the listening center. 

After reading – Listen to the tape.

*** Connections ***

• Go outside to rake and pile leaves.  Jump in leaf piles.  Listen to the sounds of crunching leaves.
• Use leaves for art:  Leaf people; Leaf rubbings; colored tissue paper, paper scraps sandwiched between clear contact paper (overlap paper scraps); cut out brown construction paper tree trunk.  Cut leaves from contact paper.  Place together on another sheet of construction paper.  Write about leaves in the fall.
• Measure leaves.  Graph leaf shapes.  Sort leaves.
• Study why leaves change color.
• Draw / Write about a time you broke a promise, or broke another person’s possession, or experienced having someone else hurt something or yours.
• Make a flip book of beginning, middle, and end.
• Fill in the story element chart including:  characters, setting, solution, problem
• Writing extension – write about a time when you had fun in the leaves.
• Life skills:  use the Clifford book to springboard into a discussion of life skills (honesty, friendship, teamwork, cooperation, effort, initiative, responsibility)
• Discuss environment/composting
• Nature walk

collect leaves for art projects and for sorting of types of leaves, size, color, etc.

                observe trees

                changes in season/nature

• Poems about Fall

OTHER GUIDED READING LESSONS

• Doing the Book – have the students act out the story showing understanding of sequence of events. 
• Readers Theatre
• Set purpose – How does Clifford’s size affect the story?  Helpful?  Problems?  Use the book to justify their answers.
• Discussion – How might the story be different if Clifford was the size of a normal size dog?

Songs and Poems

Down, Down Yellow and Brown

Leaves are falling all over town.

Down, Down Yellow and Brown

Leaves are falling down on my head.

Raking Leaves

I like to rake the leaves

into a great big hump.

Then I go back a little step

And bend my knees

And JUMP!

The Leaves Are Falling Down (Farmer in the Dell)

The leaves are falling down.

The leaves are falling down.

Red and yellow orange and brown

The leaves are falling down.

 The leaves are falling down.

The leaves are falling down.

They tickle my nose and touch my toes.

The leaves are falling down.

 Reader’s Theatre:  25 Plays for Emergent Readers (Scholastic)

The Big Leaf Pile (Clifford books)

ISBN 0-439-21357-6

 Pooh’s Leaf Pile

 Read one book on day one and another book on day two. 

 Before reading – read headings of the chart.  While reading today, we will find out this information to fill in the chart. 

 During reading – read to figure out these answers

	Leaf colors	Sound words	What did they do with the leaves?	Characters in the story
Clifford’s The Big Leaf Pile
Pooh’s Leaf Pile

 After reading – fill in the chart.  Use the book to justify your answers.

  Make a Predictable Chart

 I like to ___________________________________ leaves.

 Examples:             

I like to sort the leaves.

I like to hide under the leaves.

Follow the predictable chart steps.

Day one: brainstorm sentences (1/2 of class)

Day two: brainstorm sentences (1/2 of class)

Day three: touch read the sentences

Day four: cut into words and put the words back into sentence.

Day five:  make a class book.  Illustrate and read as a class.

Math

Sort and graph leaves from home and playground.

Make a class chart of information.

Attribute Sort with real leaves

If you have a red leaf stand up.

If you have a leaf with smooth edges…

Science

Chart words to describe leaves according to five senses

 Writing

• Teacher brings in an interesting leaf.  Write a chart paper story describing the leaf as a whole group.
• Write about playing in the leaf piles during a recess time.
• Write about walking around from the nature walk.

 First graders at the beginning of the year may not be able to read text independently.  Teacher should take class pocket chart paper and create individual student books for independent reading included in self-selected reading (one sentence per page, students illustrate own book).

Working With Words

 Guess The Covered Word  — either text

  Select section of text, cover a word

 Word Families

___  ake

___  ump

___  all

Predictable Chart links

http://www.togethertime4families.com/2010/07/using-predictable-charts.html

 

http://www.eriesd.org/ecsd/media/files/curriculum/1-Literacy/0-Kindergarten/Predictable%20Charts.pdf

 

http://growingkinders.blogspot.com/2010/10/predictable-charts.html

http://www.ilovekindergarten.com/writing_for.htm

http://mrsdiminnie.com/predictcharts.htm

My Five Day Humpty Dumpty Predictable Chart Lesson (which rocks!!!!)….

http://debrennersmith.blogspot.com/2008/11/predictable-chart-day-1-building-prior.html

http://debrennersmith.blogspot.com/2008/11/predictable-chart-day-2-humpty-dumpty.html

http://debrennersmith.blogspot.com/2008/11/predictable-chart-day-3-humpty-dumpty.html

http://debrennersmith.blogspot.com/2008/11/predictable-chart-day-4-humpty-dumpty.html

http://debrennersmith.blogspot.com/2008/11/predictable-chart-day-5-humpty-dumpty.html

Predictable Chart sentence starters

Predictable Chart Sentence Ideas (compiled from lots of resources)
I can...
I like...
I went to ...
I love ...
(Name) wore a ... hat.
I (verb) in the snow.
(Name) can fly to (place that begins with same letter as name)
Dear Santa, Thank-you for my ....
A mouse can ....
When I see a mouse I ....
I have a ....
I wish I had 100 ....
I could eat 100 ....
I wouldn’t want 100 ....
I see a ....
If I had a garden, I would plant...
If I had a pet, I would have a...
In the rainforest, I see...
Today is cloudy with a chance of...
I am thankful for…
New Years Resolutions: I will...
"At The Zoo" You can see a ______.
"Down on the Farm" You can see a ____.
My best pet is a _____.
In my garden I saw a _______.
"Insects" A big ______ landed on my _____.
"Ways to Go" I will go to _______ in a _______.
Under the ocean I saw ______.
Look at me! I can ______.
My family likes to ________.
I see a _________.
I like to eat ___________.
Bears can ________.
Have you seen my ___________?
(name) planted a _________ seed.
I love ____________.
When I see a mouse I __________.
A mouse can _____________.
My quilt has ___________.
(name) likes (something that starts with same letter).
(animal sound) went the (animal name).
I went to _______________.
I will go to ____________.
I drive a ______________.
My favorite color is ________________.
I _________ in the snow.
Whatever the weather, I _____________.
I dream about ________________.
A ______________ lives in a _______________.
A ______________can fly.
A ______________can run.
I will be a _________________. (for Halloween)
I am thankful for ________________.

Scaffolding a Predictable Chart

Scaffolding a Predictable Chart Lesson (based on Dottie Hall’s & Pat Cunningham’s work)

 What is it?  A predictable chart is a series of individual student sentences that follow a predictable oral language pattern.

 Who writes the chart?  The teacher writes the chart in front of the students.  The students do not share the pen during this activity.  The teacher thinks aloud as she takes the child’s idea and composes it word by word.

 Purpose:  To draw student’s attention to print, one-to-one correspondence (print tracking), recognition of sight words, develop common oral language vocabulary and grammatical structures.  During the five-day sequence, students learn flexibility about print principles by print tracking, arranging cut up sentences, building sentences etc.

 Five-day sequence:

Day One:  Dictation of Sentences (1/3-1/2 of class)

1. Develop the sentence pattern from context (shared reading, read-aloud, etc.).  The best predictable charts are created after the teacher has conducted a concept building lesson.  For example, to build the concept of the word on, the teacher will read the book, The Spider on the Floor.  Following the read aloud, the teacher has the sentence starter, The spider is on the _____., written on a sentence strip.  The teacher has a beanie baby spider that the children use to act out the concept of the spider on school equipment.  The teacher has multiple pictures of school items (chair, teacher’s chair, teacher’s desk, student desk, blocks, floor, etc.).  The child closes her eyes, selects a picture then acts out the sentence.  By placing the beanie baby spider on an object the children experience the word, on, instead of just hearing it. 
2.  Develop the vocabulary needed for the language structure.
3. Begin the chart with your modeled sentence.  (Use alternating colors for every sentence in the beginning of the year for approximately 4-6 weeks.)  The teacher models the complete sentence orally, and then writes the complete sentence in front of the students.  This is not an opportunity to use a fill-in-the-blank sentence or write one word activity. 
4. Students share their sentences using the same sentence pattern. 

Tips: 

• Students need to rehearse a complete sentence even if they give you a one-word response.
• The teacher should break the sentence down word by word as you write it so to model the match between speech and print.  DO not spell words letter by letter.
• Students can turn and talk to a partner saying their complete sentence. 
• Sometimes students have a picture to build the sentence around.
• Sometimes students hold onto the popcorn word (high frequency word) and hold it up when the teacher writes it on the chart.

 Day Two:  Finish Dictation of Sentences (2/3-1/2 of class, the remaining students have a turn)

1. Reread a few sentences on the chart while pointing to each word (can have students clap, chant, or tap fingers, students spell the popcorn word at times, the students learn about concepts of print).  
2. Discuss how readers use an inner voice during reading to make sure the voice matches the word.  Read each sentence out loud and pause to allow them to read it using their inner voice. 
3. Where are our eyes during reading?  Our eyes, ears, and mouth need to be on the same word.   
4. Complete the chart with the remaining students.  You can begin by modeling and rereading student sentences from yesterday and call on a few more students to share their sentences. 

 Day Three:  Touch Reading and Mixed up sentences

Preparation:  The night before, type all students’ sentences (landscape comic sans 46 works well) and cut them into individual student strips. 

1. Sit in a circle and pass out each sentence to individual students.  Model finger-pointing as you read your sentence in front of you on the floor.  It works best to pass around a stuffed animal that students can hold in their lap as they read their individual sentence to the stuffed animal.  My favorite is the beanie baby. 
2. Students should be coached to track print.  1-1 word correspondence; eyes, mouth, ears all saying the same word, The student rereads own sentence and the teacher gives the students an opportunity to read own sentence to group using 1-1 word correspondence and eyes on word.
3. Students read their sentence numerous times.  Read to whole class going around the circle, read to partner on right, read to partner on left, read to self using inner voice, (will read to parent). 
4. After each student reads their sentence, ask students to find different words on their sentence strips (ie.  Name, sight word, a word that starts like…)
5. Possibly reinforce how many words in their sentence.
6. After reinforcing words that the children can read, reinforce the concepts of print by asking children questions (Where is the period?  Where is the capital?  Do you have a space?…)
7. Prompt students to coordinate speech to print as the year progresses.
8. Note about the individual strips for children:  Send home strips to read to parents or an important person.  Children love to read these strips.  Run the sentences off again for Day 5 and cut them again for Day Five’s Lesson.

 Day Four:   Mixed up sentences (Can be done on Day Three or Day Four)

1. Choose 3 or 4 students’ sentences and write them on sentence strips (last night in preparation for lesson).
2. The first student goes up to the chart and finds his sentence and reads it to the group.
3. Then, you cut the sentence written on the sentence strip (not the chart) word by word in front of the group while the students read it word by word.  The teacher teaches the difference between space and word. 
4. Mix up the sentence in a pocket chart.
5. Have the owner of the sentence go up to the chart and assemble the sentence.
6. Repeat this process for 3 or 4 sentences.

  Sentence Builders / Be the Sentence (Day 4)

1. Preparation:  Write up 1 or 4 student sentences on large pieces of paper or use the sentence strip words.
2. Have the student locate his/her sentence from the main chart.
3. The student who ‘owns’ the sentence, passes out individual words to students in the class. (There should be one student for each word in the sentence and the student of the sentence keeps own name.)
4. Students build the sentence in front of the group.  Children line up in the proper order of the sentence. 
5. Have the owner of the sentence point to each word and read their sentence to check to see if it is in correct sequence.
6. Student of the sentence reads the sentence to the group.
7. All students read the sentence chorally with the student of the sentence.
8. You can ask some probing questions:  What word begins like…, What is the first word?? Etc.  You can have one student turn around while the other students close their eyes and have them guess the missing word.  Who has the first word?  Who has the word, ___?  Who has the last word? Etc. 

 Sentence Builders / Be the Sentence variation (Day 4)

1. Divide the students into partners or triads. 
2. Write one sentence per partner or triad group. (Approximately 12 sentences)
3. Each group gets a cut up sentence (random sentences from chart).
4. Group makes sentence.
5. Group reads sentence to teacher who trades with them for another sentence.

 Day Five:  Make the class book

 Preparation:  The teacher cuts the sentence strips (not the students) to prepare for this final step.  (Progression from easiest to hardest:  You can differentiate by choosing different options depending on student’s literacy development)

 Easiest:  Write a model on the paper and cut only the name

1. Write a model on the paper and cut into phrase units (3 cuts)  (ie.  I like ——  my cat. —— Devin)
2. Write a model on the paper and cut into individual units (ie.  I—like—my—cat.—Devin)

****You should be through these first three steps by the end of the first six weeks of school.

1. Cut into phrase units with NO model on the paper.  (You may not need this step for some of your students).
2. Cut into individual word units with NO model on the paper (This is your goal by the end of the first semester- many students will be able to achieve this level much earlier).

Steps for Day Five:

1. Model the process every week for your students by creating your page for the class book.
2. Early in the year, you provide the strip of glue for the students using a glue stick (Determine when students are ready to take over this step).
3. Option:  Half the class begins their picture while the other half of the students assemble their sentences (This gives you time to help students that might need help.)
4. Students should have to reread their assembled sentence before the glue goes down.
5. Assemble book in page protectors for students to read throughout the year. 

Predictable Chart Day 5 Humpty Dumpty

When students enter, the predictable chart pages are ready to go. Their pages are at their seats.

At the beginning on the year, the students have a matching sentence printed on the paper, but this sentence is gone by October for most students. (This sentence is not the Humpty Dumpty sentence by the way.)

Teacher models exactly what the children will do at their seats. This is your sentence. You will cut it into words. Teacher shows students. Teacher makes a big picture on the paper. This book is successful if the teacher models.

This teacher has the book already put together with sheet protectors. The book is simply waiting for the pages to be added by the children. After the children make their page, it is quickly added to the book. The teacher reads the book on day 5 to the children. There is no waiting. (This is not the Humpty Dumpty sentence by the way.)

Predictable Chart Day 4 Humpty Dumpty

Cut Up Sentences – Whole Group and Small Group

1. Write 2-4 sentences from the chart on sentence strips.

2. Show one sentence strip to the students.

3. Have the child who said the sentence come to the front of the room and read his/her sentence to the class. The child points to the words as (s)he reads from the chart.

4. Teacher cuts up the sentence into words in front of the class. Is this a space or a word? Should I cut here? I cut on the space (not the word). The child who belongs to the sentence gets each word.

5. No, don’t cut on the word only cut on the space.

6. The child passes each word to a helper (Child keeps own name).

7a. Small group variation: The children recreate the sentence. All the students read the sentence. The children make a sentence, then raise their hands. An adult comes to the small group. The group of children reads the sentence to the adult. The adult hands another set of of words for the children to make into a sentence.

7b. Large group: A small group of children builds the sentence in front of the rest of the larger group of students. Everyone reads the sentence.

8. Student makes sentence in pocket chart. Student takes words home and makes sentence for parent. Teacher keeps track of who has a turn. Every child’s sentence is eventually used so everyone eventually has a turn taking their sentence home.

Predictable Chart Day 3 Humpty Dumpty

Procedure

Students sit in a circle. All of the students have a copy of their own sentence.

Modeling

The teacher reads her own sentence first to a beanie baby. The teacher models pointing to the word as the teacher says the word.

Child reading with teacher support as needed

Each child holds a beanie baby in their lap then reads the sentence to the beanie baby. While reading the sentence, the teacher is behind each child to assist as needed. Some children need help with pointing to each word. Some children need help with reading the words. Many children do not need any assistance. Students are connecting their words they are saying to the words they are pointing to.

Concepts of Print

Where is the capital letter?

Did you point to the capital in your name or the capital H?

Do you have a space in your sentence?

Do you have a period?

Where is your name?

Where is a popcorn word?

Where is the word can? Spell can with me c-a-n.

Send home the sentence strips with the students to read to parents or another important person.

Predictable Chart Day 1 Building Prior Knowledge Humpty Dumpty

Read Humpty Dumpty every day before the Predictable Chart.

To build background knowledge for the predictable chart, Humpty Dumpty, the teacher has a sentence strip that says, “He can sit on ______.” The teacher also has lots of pictures of items that Humpty might sit on or might NOT sit on. The children are sorting and thinking, “Would Humpty sit on ______?”

-popcorn

-pencils

-bed Etc.

Every child participates and decides about their one picture.

This turns into a center or an interactive chart (teacher decides).

Predictable Chart Day 1 Humpty Dumpty

The teacher asked the students to answer the question, “What can Humpty sit on?” The students answer in a complete sentence, “He can sit on … a/the … .” The child says the sentence. This reinforces the concept that their talk is written down. Students rehearse in a complete sentence. If a child gives a one word answer, the teacher coaches the student to give a complete sentence answer.

Each week the teacher is purposeful about one new high-frequency word that keeps popping up. The ‘popcorn’ word this week in the predictable chart is can. You will notice that can is on a popcorn shape and located by the predictable chart. The students read a predictable book this week with can as a primary word.

While constructing the chart, the teacher reinforces words the students know. The teacher reinforces concepts of print (Where is the period? Where does the space go? What do you notice is the same? Where is the capital?) Students also learn speech to print coordination. As the child says the word, the child touches the word. Teacher is breaking down the sentence word by word as she writes. Do not spell words letter by letter. Remember pacing (Don’t do all of these ideas with every sentence.)

Predictable Chart Day 2 Humpty Dumpty

Students and teacher read several of the predictable chart sentences from yesterday. Then the rest of the students get a turn. Remember that the students say the complete sentence. The students are pointing to their own sentence and reading it.