Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook Michael Garland
Activity One – Vocabulary Introduction Targeted Skill(s):
Vocabulary development
Instructions: Prior to reading the story, pre-teach the vocabulary terms that are essential to comprehension of the
story. Suggested vocabulary terms to be pre-taught are listed below. Write the vocabulary term on a large piece of paper, demonstrate the sign for the vocabulary term, and use the illustrations from the book to provide visual aides. Request that the children sign the vocabulary term with you. Vocabulary Terms:
Materials:
List of vocabulary terms
Large piece of paper
Marker
Photographs of each sign (attached)
arrive swashbuckling pirate tale breeze
waves pounding ship adventure grinned
dragon knight fright pounced yank
tumbled amazement crowded chaos pleaded
screeching ruffled adjusted spellbound skidded
Activity Two – Are You Aware? Targeted Skill(s):
Phonological awareness (word, syllable, and phoneme awareness)
Instructions: Word, syllable, and phoneme awareness are desired skills for becoming an ac-complished reader. Word awareness is defined as one’s ability to recognize words as separate units, syllable awareness as one’s ability to identify the number of syllables within a word, and phoneme awareness as one’s ability to focus on specific sounds within a word. Use the following examples to illustrate each skill. Ask the children to identify the number of words in the sentence (word awareness), the number of sylla-bles within the word (syllable awareness), and the specific sounds within the word (phoneme awareness). Divide the children into two teams. Alternating between the teams, provide each team with a word awareness, syllable awareness, or phoneme awareness task. Word Awareness: Zach was waiting for his teacher to arrive.
How many words do you see in this sentence?
Let’s count together. You’re right. Eight words make up the sentence.
Syllable Awareness: Arrive Ask the children to recall the six vowels. If children struggle, list a variety of letters
on a large piece of paper, allow children to guess, and take turns circling the
vowel sounds.
Explain that in order to find the number of syllables, the following steps must be
taken. List these steps on a large piece of paper for the children to refer to.
Count the vowels in the word.
Subtract the silent vowels.
When two vowels are side by side, subtract one vowel.
The number of vowels you see is equal to the number of syllables in the
word!
How many vowels do you see in the word “arrive?”
Yes, there are three vowels in arrive, a, i, and e.
Are any of the vowels silent? Yes, the “e” is silent. It does not make any
sound.
Are any of the vowels next to eachother? You’re right, none of the vowels
are stuck together. They are each broken up by consonants.
How many syllables? Yes, two syllables, a-rrive.
Phoneme Awareness: Tale
What is the first sound in the word “tale?” You’re right /t/ is the first
sound. What is another word that begins with the /t/ sound?
What is the last sound in the word “tale?” Yes, /l/ is the last sound in the
word “tale.” Can you think of another word that ends in the /l/ sound?
Materials:
Word Awareness Cards
Syllable Awareness Cards
Phoneme Awareness Cards
Activity Three – Letter Storybook Targeted Skill(s):
Print concepts
Instructions: A variety of familiar fairy tale characters emerge as Miss Smith reads from her book. Instruct children to create their own storybook by matching the first letter of the various fairy tale characters (upper case letters) to the corresponding lowercase letter. Encourage children to color the picture of the fairy tale character on the left page and the correct lowercase letter on the right page. Compile each template and staple the pages to create a storybook. As children complete their storybooks, request that they retell Miss Smith’s Incredible Storybook by addressing the order in which the characters emerged. Materials:
Storybook Templates
Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
Stapler
Vocabulary Term
Definition
Description of the Sign
arrive
• to come to a certain point during travel
• begin with the palm of one hand facing toward the body and the other on the shoulder of the same arm
• move the hand from the shoulder into the opposite hand so that the back of the hands rests in the palm of the other hand
swashbuckling
• adventurous • place the palms of the hands together and move the hands in a back and forth motion rapidly
• bend the index and mid-dle finger of one hand
• with the palm facing downward, move the hand from side to side
pirate
• a person who robs or commits violence at sea
• place the palm of one hand over the top of one eye
tale
• a story
• graze the fingertips of one hand over the back of the opposite hand
• turn the wrists and repeat
breeze
• movement of the air
• windy
• place the hands in front of the body with the fingers spread apart
• move the hands from side to side
waves
• movement on the surface of water
• begin with the index, middle, and ring fingers pointing upward
• touch the index finger to the chin
• squeeze the fingers of both hands together and move the hands outward in an up and down motion
pounding
• to beat repetitively with force
• begin with the index, middle, and ring fingers pointing upward
• touch the index finger to the chin
• squeeze the fingers of both hands together and move the hands outward in an up and down forceful motion
ship
• a large, floating boat propelled by sails or an engine
• squeeze the fingers of both hands together
• place the sides of the hands together, creating a “cup”
• slowly move the hands in a forward, up and down motion
adventure
• an exciting and unusual experience
• place the palms of the hands together and move the hands in a back and forth motion rapidly
• bend the index and middle finger of one hand
• with the palm facing downward, move the hand from side to side
grinned
• to smile • touch the middle of the lips with both index fingers
• draw the index fingers outward to the corners of the mouth
dragon
• a mythical monster represented as a huge, winged, reptile with claws and teeth and often spitting fire
• stretch the thumb and the pinky finger outward while the index, middle, and ring fingers are folded down
• touch the thumb to the corner of the mouth
• move the hand away from the mouth, while lifting the three fingers
knight
• a soldier of the Middle Ages
• begin with the fingers of the hand spread apart and move backward over the shoulder
• place both hands in the fist position
• place the hand that is on the same side of the body just above the hip and place the hand that is on the opposite side of the body just below the shoulder
fright
• to be afraid • begin with the hands in fists next to the sides of the body
• bring the fists forward, while spreading the fingers of both hands
pounced
• to leap
• to jump
• to swoop
• begin with one palm facing upward
• bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand and place the tips of the fingers on the palm facing upward
• elevate and move the tips of the fingers slightly forward
yank
• to pull • to tug
• place both hands in the fist position
• repetitively pull toward the body
tumbled
• to fall helplessly down
• begin with one palm facing upward
• bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand and place the tips of the fingers on the palm facing upward
• bend the wrist forward
amazement
• to be overwhelmed with surprise
• begin with the finger of both hands spread apart and the hands to the sides of the body
• wiggle the fingers as the hands move toward the middle of the body
• end with both hands in the fist position on top of each other
crowded
• filled
• packed full
• begin with the palms of both hands facing down-ward and the fingers spread apart
• simultaneously move the hands away from the body
chaos
• confusion
• disorder
• begin with the palms of the hands facing toward each other
• slightly bend both thumbs and all fingers
• bend one wrist forward and one wrist backward
• slightly raise both hands as the wrists bend in opposite directions again
pleaded
• to attempt to persuade
• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward
• place the back of the opposite hand on top of the palm facing upward
• slightly bend the tips of the fingers of the hand on top repetitively
screeching
• a loud and unpleasant sound
• extend the thumb, and index and middle finger outward
• turn the hand toward the body with the thumb lifting straight up
• rapidly move the hand from one side of the body to the opposite side of the body
ruffled
• to quickly turn the pages of a book
• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward and the thumb of the opposite hand pointing upward
• repetitively and rapidly touch the tip of the thumb to the palm of the opposite hand
adjusted
• to change something so that it fits
• place both hands on the side of the face, parallel to the eyes
• slightly move the hands upward and downward, as if to adjust glasses
spellbound
• fascinated • begin with the finger of both hands spread apart and the hands in the line of peripheral vision
• wiggle the fingers as the hands move diagonally toward the middle of the body
• end with both hands in the fist position on top of each other
skidded
• to slide forward quickly
• begin with the palm of one hand facing upward, slightly bend the index and middle fingers of the opposite hand
• place the tips of the fingers on the palm of the hand
• rapidly drag the tips across the palm
When she sat at her desk
and started to read from
the book she had brought
with her, Zack couldn’t
believe his eyes.
The storybook characters
came to life, and the
classroom was swept up in a
swashbuckling pirate tale.
Zack grinned when a
princess leaped out of the
book, followed closely by a
fire-breathing dragon and a
brave knight.
The princess, the dragon,
and the knight did not
return to the book, but
the Three Bears and
Goldilocks climbed out!
Zack shook his head in
amazement when the Mad
Hatter, the Chesire Cat,
and Alice popped out to
join the others.
With a swirl and a whoosh,
one character after
another disappeared into
the book, until the
classroom was quiet and
tidy again.
Principal Rittenrotten and
a team of firefighters
skidded to a halt at the
door, just as Miss Smith
closed her book.
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