Samantha Saves the Stream - Amazon S3 · Samantha wants to help the environment when she grows up....

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Teacher’s Guidexplorers

TheMe: The environmentIt’s Earth Day! (M/28) •Samantha Saves the Stream (M/28) •

GeNre/suMMarY:In this mystery, Samantha goes on an Earth Day outing and discovers a polluted stream. First she figures out how the pollution occurred. Then she tells her neighbors how to stop the pollution and organizes them to clean up the stream.

For students reading at Literacy Level M/28, including:

English-language learners••Students reading below grade level••Second grade readers••First graders reading above grade level••

Metacognitive/Fix-Up StrategyStop, think, and write ••

Genre StudyRecognize the characteristics of a ••mystery Analyze characters••

VocabularyRecognize high-frequency words••Develop academic content (Tier Three) ••vocabulary Develop robust (Tier Two) vocabulary ••

Word StudyUse adjectives••

LanguageRecognize the sentence structure •• She saw ___ .Identify onomatopoeia ••

PhonicsUse word parts to problem-solve ••multisyllable wordsRecognize words with -ed•• endings

FluencyRead ellipses ••

WritingWrite to a picture prompt••Write to a text prompt••

skills & strategies

anchor comprehension strategies

Make Inferences •Evaluate Author’s Purpose •

Samantha Saves the StreamLevel M/28

Introduce the Book• Preview Cover and Table of Contents Give

each student a copy of the book. Point to the front and read the title and author. Ask students to echo-read, and invite them to tell what they see in the illustration. Repeat the process with the chapter headings and page numbers on the table of contents. Then model how to make a prediction based on the cover and table of contents information: The title mentions saving the stream. The second chapter heading says the stream is in trouble. I think the girl in the story will solve a problem about the stream. Allow time for students to share their own predictions about the book.

• Introduce Characters and Setting Remind students that characters are the people in a story and the setting is where the story takes place. Ask students to turn to pages 2 and 3, and point to each character as you read the matching name. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo-read. Then help them use the illustrations to determine that the story takes place in Samantha’s house, her neighborhood, and outdoors near a stream.

• Preview Illustrations and Vocabulary Take students on a picture walk, emphasizing words such as environment, floated, neighbors, pollution, stream, trash, grate, lily pads, nature, sewer, and Earth Day as you talk about the illustrations and what is happening in the story. Make sure students can pronounce each vocabulary word.

• Preview Sentence Structure For students who need additional support, write She saw _____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: The words She saw are in the book. Page 10 has a sentence with the words She saw. Can you find the sentence? Can you read it? Allow time for students to do so, assisting as needed. Then invite them to locate and read additional examples on pages 7 and 12.

Make Connections and Build Background• Use Photographs Show one or more

photographs of rivers or streams. Say: We will read a book about a stream. A stream is a small river. I would like to see fish at a stream. I would not like to see trash at a stream. Ask students to Think/Pair/Share about things they would and would not like to see at a stream. Then say: A girl in the story sees things she does not want to see at a stream. The girl has to solve a mystery to save the stream.

• Use a Graphic Organizer Draw a two-column chart on the board with the headings I think . . . and I find out . . . Ask students how they think people in the story make a stream dirty and how the people clean up the stream. Write students’ ideas in the I think . . . column of the prediction chart. Then read each entry, prefacing it with the phrase I think the people will _____ and ask students to echo-read.

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-4108-6767-4

Related ResourcesThe following Benchmark Education Company resources support the skills and strategies taught in this lesson.

Early Explorers Partner• It’s Earth Day! (Nonfiction, Level M/28)

Early Comprehension Strategy Poster• Identify Author’s Purpose

Fluency and Language Development• Samantha Saves the Stream Audio CD

Text-Dependent Comprehension Resources• Samantha Saves the Stream

Comprehension Question Card

• Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers

• Student Bookmark

Assessment • Early Explorers Overview & Assessment

Handbook

• Grade 2 Comprehension Strategy Assessment Book

Before Reading

I think . . . I find out . . .

throw things in the stream

clean up the stream

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCSamantha SavES thE StrEam2

• Use Graphophonic Cues Write the word fluffy on the board. Say: Another word in this book is fluffy. Look at the word fluffy. Say the word fluffy. What word parts do you see and hear in fluffy? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: The word fluffy has two parts, fluff and -y. We see -y at the end of many words. Fluffy is another form of the word fluff. Ask students to find the word fluffy on page 7. Then repeat the process with the words dirty and shiny on page 10. Say: Use word parts to help you when you read.

• Scaffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say the word mystery. Ask: Does mystery sound similar to a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word mystery sounds similar to the Spanish word misterio. Mystery and misterio mean the same thing. The words look similar, too. Write the word mystery on the board and ask students to locate it on page 12 in the book. Repeat the process with detective/detective, favorite/favorito, animal/animal, in/en, plastic/plástico, pollution/polución, and cause/causar. Then point out that the words to and too on page 4 sound like the Spanish word tú but do not mean the same thing. Then point out the words come/come (page 17), reminding students that they look the same but do not have the same sound or meaning. Finally, invite students with other first languages to share their cognates.

Set a Purpose for Reading • Say: Now it’s time to read the book. You may

whisper-read or read silently to yourself. Assign one or more chapters, depending on available time and the needs and abilities of students in the group. Use the chart to set a purpose for each chapter, and look for opportunities to add to the prediction chart at each stopping point. If students do not complete the book, orally summarize the previously read chapters and begin at this point in the Teacher’s Guide the next time you meet.

During ReadingObserve and Prompt Reading Strategies• After the supportive introduction, students should

be able to read all or most of the book on their own. Observe students as they read. Take note of the graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues they use to make sense of the text and self-correct. Prompt individual students who have difficulty problem-solving independently, but be careful not to prompt English-language learners too quickly. They may need more time to process the text as they rely on their first language for comprehension.

Pages Purpose for Reading

4–7 Read to find out what Samantha does on Earth Day.

8–11 Read to learn about a mystery at the stream.

12–15 Read to find clues to the mystery.

16–20 Read to find out how Samantha saves the stream.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Samantha SavES thE StrEam 3

Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize• Ask students to think about their reading. Say:

Look at our prediction chart. How did people make the stream dirty? How did the people clean up the stream? Record students’ responses in the I find out . . . column of the chart. Then choral-read each entry, prefacing it with the phrase The people _____ and ask students to use the graphic organizer to tell the story to a partner.

• Model Say: I want to make sure I understand what I read. One way is to stop and think about the book. Then I can write down my thoughts. I might write an important detail I want to remember. I might write questions I have about the story. I might even rewrite a story event in my own words. I will turn back to page 4. Samantha wants to help the environment when she grows up. Samantha also wants to be a detective. I will stop and think about these two jobs. Maybe Samantha will be able to do both jobs someday. I will write my idea on a self-stick note and place it on the page. Writing my idea will help me pay close attention to what Samantha does in the story.

• Guide Ask students to turn to page 5. Read the page aloud together. Ask the following questions, allowing time for students to stop and think after each one: Do you think Samantha’s excitement about Earth Day is unusual? What might be special about Samantha’s friends at the stream? What do you notice in the illustration? What question would you like to ask Samantha? Finally, invite students to write down one of their thoughts on a self-stick note and place it on the page. If students have difficulty, model writing an observation of your own, such as The stream must be nearby since Samantha can go by herself.

• Apply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page and read it to a partner. Then ask them to share a thought aloud, write it on a self-stick note, and place it on the page. Observe them as they stop, think, and write, providing assistance if needed. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart you can use to assess students’ understanding of the stop, think, and write monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You can stop, think, and write anytime you read. Remember to stop, think, and write to help you understand.

Answer Text-Dependent Questions • Explain Remind students they can answer

questions about books they have read. Say: We answer different kinds of questions in different ways. I will help you learn how to answer each kind. Tell students today they will practice answering Look Closer! questions. Say: The answer to a Look Closer! question is in the book. You have to look in more than one place, though. You find the different parts of the answer. Then you put the parts together to answer the question.

After Reading

Genre Study • Say: This story is a mystery. A mystery has events

that are hard to figure out. The characters and readers have to use clues to solve the mystery. The author explains the mystery near the end of the story. Then ask: What makes Samantha Saves the Stream a mystery? Guide students to mention that the dirty stream is hard to figure out. Samantha must use clues. The author explains the mystery near the end of the story. Then invite students to share other mysteries they have read or heard and explain why the stories are mysteries.

• Say: Mysteries have characters. The characters’ words and actions are what make the story interesting. Who is the main character in Samantha Saves the Stream? Allow time for students to respond. Say: Yes, the main character is Samantha. What can you tell me about Samantha? What does she like to do? What does she worry about? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Say: Think about the characters any time you read a story. Think about what the characters say and do. Getting to know the characters helps you understand and enjoy the stories you read.

Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Stop, Think, and Write • Reflect Ask students to think about the parts of

the book that were hard for them to understand. Ask: What did you do to help yourself understand what you read?

I think . . . I find out . . .

throw things in the stream throw in candy wrappers; put in car oil

clean up the stream collect trash; scoop oil


• Model Use the third Look Closer! question on the Comprehension Question Card. Say: I will show you how I answer a Look Closer! question. I will read the question to figure out what to do. The question says: “The boy dropped a candy wrapper in the grate. What happened next?” This question asks me to find a sequence of events. I know because the question has the cue word next. Now I need to look for other important words in the question. What words do you think will help me? (Allow student responses.) Yes, I’m looking for the words boy, dropped, candy wrapper, and grate. Now I will look back in the book. On page 14, I read that Samantha watched a boy drop a candy wrapper through a grate. On page 15, I read that Samantha watched a lady dump oil from her car into the sewer. Dumping oil is the next thing that happened. Put your fingers on these two sentences. Putting this information together answers the question.

• Guide Ask students to answer the other questions on the Comprehension Question Card. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart and Student Bookmark to provide additional modeling as needed. Remind students to ask themselves: What is the question asking? How can I find the answer? Does my answer make sense? How do I know?

Build Comprehension: Evaluate Author’s Purpose • Explain Create an overhead transparency of the

“Samantha Saves the Stream” graphic organizer on page 8 or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Authors make many decisions when they write. Authors choose a story’s title. Authors choose the characters and what the characters are like. Authors choose the right setting in which the story can take place. Authors choose story events that happen in a certain order. Authors choose the story’s message. Sometimes authors even choose words that make readers laugh or feel sad or scared. Good readers try to figure out the purpose for each choice the author makes. We ask ourselves “Why?” Then we try to think like the author to better understand the story.

• Model Say: Let’s figure out who the author chose for the main character. On page 4, I read about Samantha. Samantha loves nature and wants to help the environment. I will write about Samantha under Author’s Choice on the graphic organizer. Now I need to figure out why the author describes Samantha in this way. I think the author wants to show readers that everyone should care for the environment. I will write this idea under Why?

• Guide Say: Now let’s find another decision the author made in the story. Look back to pages 8–11. What are some words the author uses to describe the stream area? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, the author uses words like cough, brown and dry, dirty, and did not smell right. Why do you think the author uses these words? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, the author wants readers to feel bad about the pollution. Let’s write these details in the next row on the graphic organizer.

• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to identify other author decisions and the purpose for each one. Remind them to ask themselves “Why?” and then think like the author. After each partnership shares, agree on how to word the entries on the graphic organizer. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.

Teacher Tip Use Benchmark Education Company’s K–2 Early Comprehension Strategy Poster Set to provide additional instruction in evaluating author’s purpose. Use BEC’s Comprehension Strategy Assessment books to assess students’ ability to evaluate author’s purpose in other brief, grade-level texts.

Home Connection• Give students the take-home version of

Samantha Saves the Stream to read to family members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to draw and write about their favorite outdoor place. Invite students to bring their projects to share with the group.


Mini-Lessons for Differentiating Instruction

Phonics: “-ed” endings • Ask students to locate the word checked on

page 4. Write checked on the board and circle the “ed” at the end. Say: The letters “ed” at the end of checked make the /t/ sound. Slowly draw your finger under the word as you blend the sounds. Then ask students to do the same in their books. Next, ask students to locate the word loved on page 4. Write loved on the board and circle “ed” at the end. Say: The letters “ed” at the end of loved make the /d/ sound. Slowly draw your finger under the word as you and the students blend the sounds. Finally, ask students to locate the word wanted on page 4. Write wanted on the board and circle “ed” at the end. Say: The letters “ed” at the end of wanted make the /ed/ sound. Ask students to join you as you slowly draw your finger under the word and blend the sounds.

• Ask students to find the words dropped on page 7, wondered on page 9, and floated on page 10, and identify which sound the -ed ending makes in each word. Then invite students to brainstorm words with the -ed ending as you record them on index cards. Spread the cards out in a pocket chart or on the table and read each word, inviting students to echo-read.

• Say: Let’s sort the words. Put the words that end with the /t/ sound in one group. Put the words that end with the /d/ sound in another group. Put the words that end with the /ed/ sound in a third group. Model the process using three of the word cards. Then invite students to take turns reading a word and placing it in the correct group.

Vocabulary • Academic Content Vocabulary Review the

story with students and record words that apply to protecting the environment, such as environment, floated, neighbors, pollution, stream, trash, grate, lily pads, nature, sewer, and Earth Day. Ask pairs of students to brainstorm sentences that could be used on a poster about the environment. Ask them to use several of the words in their sentences.

Writing ConnectionsReader Response Invite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. Model and use think-alouds as needed to scaffold students before they try the activities on their own.• Draw a picture of the stream before and after it

was cleaned up. • Tell about a way you help the environment.• Tell your favorite part of the story to a partner.• Act out the end of the story with three partners.• Write about a connection you made to the story.• Write about what Samantha might do next.

Write to a Picture Prompt • Describe a Setting Tell students they will

describe and write about a setting they see in the story. Say: I like to see where different parts of the story take place. I can describe the settings in my own words, too. I can describe the neighborhood on page 13: The pleasant neighborhood has plenty of space, grass, and trees. Families in the neighborhood like to do outdoor activities on nice days. What do you notice about the setting? How would you describe the setting? Allow time for students to respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best? How would you describe the setting? Allow time for students to respond, prompting further if needed. Say: You have described the setting in the picture you chose. Now write your description. After you are finished, read your description to a partner.

Write to a Text Prompt • Write a Letter Say: What would you like to

say to Samantha? What would you like to ask Samantha? Share your thoughts by writing a letter to Samantha. When you are finished, read your letter to a partner.


• Robust Vocabulary Say: On page 4 the author says Samantha loved to solve mysteries. To solve is to figure out a problem or question. Samantha observes people in her neighborhood to solve the mystery of the polluted stream. Say the word with me: solve. Here is an example of a problem people solve: A family can’t figure out why their socks keep disappearing. Then they see the dog taking socks from the laundry room. Now, tell about something you can solve. Try to use the word solve when you tell about it. You could start by saying, “I can solve _____ by _____.” (Allow time for each student to respond, assisting if needed.) What is the word we’ve been talking about? Yes—solve. Let’s try to use the word solve many times today. We can use the word at school and at home.

Word Study: Adjectives • Model Say: Authors sometimes use describing

words when they write. Words that describe nouns are called adjectives. I see some adjectives on page 5: “Samantha was excited to see her special friends at her favorite place.” The word special is an adjective. Special describes Samantha’s friends. The word favorite is an adjective, too. Favorite describes the place Samantha is going. I can use the words special and favorite. Point to objects in the classroom and make up a sentence about each one, such as I have a special photo on my desk and My favorite book is on the shelf.

• Guide Invite students to read page 10 with you. Ask: Which words are adjectives? (empty, plastic, dirty, shiny, black) What do the adjectives describe? (Empty describes the drink cans; plastic describes the bag; dirty describes the stream; shiny and black describe the spots.) Ask students to use one of the adjectives to describe something outdoors.

• Apply On the board, write First the stream was _____. Then the stream was _____. Ask pairs of students to think of adjectives to complete the sentences.

Language Development: Onomatopoeia • Model Say: Sometimes authors use words that

sound like animal sounds. Let’s turn to page 6 and read the second and third sentences together: “‘Tweet,’ sang the birds. ‘Ribbit,’ said the frogs.” The words tweet and ribbit sound like the sounds birds and frogs make. I can use words that sound like animal sounds, too. Draw simple sketches of various animals as you make up sentences, such as: A duck says quack. A cat says meow. A pig says oink.

• Guide Invite students to read page 8 with you. Ask: What do the crows say? (Cough, cough) What should the crows say? (Caw, caw) Why does the author choose these words? (The words sound like the sounds real crows make.)

• Apply Ask pairs of students to think of additional words that sound like animal sounds and make up sentences using the words. Then invite the pairs to share their sentences, using their voices to make the words sound like the animal sounds.

Fluency: Read Ellipses • Say: Good readers do not run all their words

together. Instead, good readers watch for punctuation that tells them to pause or stop. One kind of punctuation is called an ellipsis. An ellipsis looks like three periods in a row. An ellipsis means a character pauses to think. Pausing at the ellipsis helps the reading make sense. Pausing at the ellipses makes the reading sound right, too.

• Ask students to turn to page 11. Read the third sentence without pausing. Then read the sentence again, pausing at the ellipsis. Say: The ellipsis in the sentence tells me to pause while Samantha thinks. Pausing makes the sentence sound right. Read the sentence again, asking students to echo-read.

• Ask students to turn to pages 7 and 14 and point to the ellipses. Then choral-read the pages with them, pausing at the ellipses.

• Invite students to take turns rereading Samantha Saves the Stream with a partner. Remind them to pause when they see an ellipsis to allow time for the character to think.


Samantha Saves the Stream Evaluate Author’s Purpose

NAME DATE

Author’s Choice Why?


Skills Bank


Build ComprehensionMAkE InFEREnCES

Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic •organizer “Samantha Saves the Stream” or draw it on the board. Say: An author can’t tell us every bit of information in a book. We figure out some things on our own. We use the author’s words and illustrations for clues. Figuring something out using one or two clues is called making an inference.

Model Say: • Let’s make an inference about Samantha Saves the Stream. The title of the book gives us our first clue: this book is about how Samantha saves a stream. So let’s make inferences about why the stream needs to be saved and how Samantha saves it. We will use the text to find our clues. On page 8, I read that the crows don’t sound right. They cough instead of caw. On page 11, Samantha says the air does not smell right. These are clues about dirty air. In the first Clues box on the graphic organizer, write The crows cough instead of cawing. The air does not smell right. Then say: Now we will use the clues to make an inference. We can infer that dirty air is bad for birds. In the first Inference box, write Dirty air is bad for birds.

Guide Say: • Let’s make an inference about the tree described on page 8. What is wrong with the tree? What caused the problem? (Allow responses.) Yes, the tree’s branches hang low. The leaves are brown and dry. In the second Clues box on the graphic organizer, write The tree is not healthy. Remind students that Samantha says that the air does not smell right. Then ask: What can we figure out from these clues? (Allow responses.) Yes, we can infer that dirty air is bad for trees. In the second Inference box, write Dirty air is bad for trees.

Apply Ask students to work with a partner to make inferences •throughout the rest of the book. Remind them to use word and illustration clues to figure out things the author doesn’t say. After each partnership shares, record their ideas on the graphic organizer. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.

Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________

Samantha Saves the StreamMake Inferences


Clues Inference

notes


Samantha Saves the Stream - Amazon S3 · Samantha wants to help the environment when she grows up....

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