Renee Whaley

Balanced Literacy Unit Plan

4th Grade Trophies Theme 3: “The Cricket in Times Square”

By: George Selden

Illustrated by: Garth Williams

Common Core State Standard: RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

DOK Level 1 Question:

Where is Chester Cricket from?

a. New Yorkb. Texasc. Nevadad. Connecticut

DOK Level 2 Question:

Why is being in a new place hard for Chester?

a. It isn’t hard for Chester. He likes New York.b. He isn’t having a hard time. Chester wanted to go to a new place and find new adventure.c. Chester had a hard time in a new place at first but now he likes New York because he

made new friends.d. Chester is having a hard time because he is lonely and scared to be so far away from

home.

DOK Level 3 Question:

In the story, Chester’s feelings about New York and the animals he meets there starts to gradually change. Describe the changes Chester is feeling and use details from the story to support your response.

Day: 1 Monday Goal: Students will be able to describe the main character in depth using supports from the story.Standard: RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

Stage One- Pre-reading – Direct Lesson: 15 minutes Introduction: Students will meet at the reading circle bringing with them their reading journals and a pencil. The teacher will say “Good morning boys and girls. This week we are going to be learning about describing characters in depth. In order to do this, we need to understand the setting and events in the story and pay attention to the details and how the characters react in the story.”

Demonstration/Model: The teacher will introduce the picture book Ducky by Eve Bunting. The book is about a bath toy duck that falls overboard where he has to overcome many obstacles to washes up on shore where she meets a new friend. The teacher will read the book to the students while stopping and thinking aloud every few pages about events that happen in the story along with the character’s reaction to these events, to help understand the character more in depth. Teacher may say something like, “How did Ducky feel when he realized that the ship had left them in the ocean?” “Do you think the ship will realize they left them behind?” The teacher will mark her thoughts in the book as she reads with post-it notes. Then, the teacher will show students the character chart, which includes questions to fill out such as; Where does the story take place? What is the character’s problem? What is the character’s goal? What does the character want? What does the character do to solve the problem or reach his goal? How does the character feel about the outcome? What point did the author want to make?

Guided Lesson: After the teacher has modeled how to fill out the character chart, the students will help her fill out the remaining part of the character chart about the main character. Before we do this, students will first turn to a carpet buddy and share the setting of the story and additional events and details about the story and how the character reacted to these situations (basic recall). The class will come back together and orally share their ideas. The teacher will then use the marked parts of the book as well as the students’ ideas and findings to fill out the rest of the character chart.

Guided Practice: The teacher will ask students to take their reading journals and pencils and draw the character chart in their journals. Students will then be asked to pair back up with their carpet buddies to complete the character chart. Students will work together for about 3-4 minutes on completing the character chart. The class will them come back together and share their completed character charts aiding the teacher to complete her character chart.

Share, Review Closure: The teacher will say, “Today boys and girls we learned how to describe character in depth using supports from the story as we read and reflect on the book. We know that by understanding the settings, the events in the story, and paying close attention to how the character reacts to the events in the story, helps us understand the main character more in depth. We are now going to return to our seats and read a story you may all know, Cars. You will be working with your shoulder partner to read the story and then complete a character chart for the main character in this story. Each student needs to have their own charts in their reading journals but you are to work together to complete the chart together.”

Stage Two- During-Reading – Independent Work (Small Group, Seat, Center): 60 minutes

Students will work in groups of two (paired with their shoulder partners) to read the book Cars by Disney Pixar and Random House Children’s Books. Students will work together to complete a character chart in their reading journals, using the chart we completed earlier as a guide. Students in their pairs will help each other describe the main character in depth by using the supports in the text. When students finish, they will independently work in their reader’s workshop choosing a ‘just right book’ from the classroom library and work on a character chart for the main character in their books.

Teacher will pull at least one (maybe two) guided reading groups as students work in their reader’s workshops.

Stage Three- After-Reading – Reflection: 15 minutesThe class will come together and meet in the “meeting area” in a circle bringing with them their reading journals. The class will discuss their character charts from the reading of Cars. Students will discuss what supports from the story helped them complete the character chart and what they learned from the character. Teacher will say, “Today, we learned how to describe a character in depth using details and supports from the story. We are going to continue to look at characters in depth throughout this week. Quickly turn to the person on your right and tell them something you learned from today’s lesson, then quietly head back to your seats.”

Materials/Resources Needed: Ducky by Eve Bunting Cars by Disney and Random House Children’s books (30 copies) Character Chart (teacher copy) Reading Journals (one per student) Pencils Classroom Library filled with leveled books Post-it notes

Day: 2 Tuesday Goal: Students will build on background knowledge and use supports from the story to understand the main character more in depth.Standard: RL.4. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).

Stage One- Pre-Reading – Direct Lesson: 15 minutes Introduction: Have students take out their reading journals, their Trophies books and a pencil. Start by saying, “Yesterday, we read the story Cars and we used supporting details in the story to help us understand the main character more in depth. Today, we are going to read The Cricket in Times Square from our Trophies book. However, before we get started, I want you to gain some background knowledge of the differences between the country and the city using characters from the book The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Understanding these characters will help us to understand the main character in The Cricket in Times Square.”

Demonstration/Model: The teacher will start by showing students pictures of the big city (preferably New York or Times Square) and a picture of the country land (preferably in Connecticut). Have students take a minute to observe the pictures and write in their reading

journals the differences between the two pictures. Come back together and ask the class to share. The teacher will then say, “Now, we are going to start reading the book, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse and compare the two main characters in this story. This book is about Toby Town Mouse who loves to live the big life in the city and his cousin Pipin who loves to live the quiet life in the country. They visit each other and realize the big differences they have in where they live. I am going to read the book to you and I am going to stop when I see a comparison of these two characters. After we finish reading, are going to list the differences on the board and I want you to list them in your reading journals as well.” *Comparisons may include: likes, dislikes, their daily schedule, the set up of their home, etc.*Teacher may say something like, “I notice Toby likes…but Pipin likes… Do you see how their likes are different? Let’s mark this comparison so we can come back to it later.”

Guided Lesson: After the teacher has modeled a few comparisons of the characters from The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, she will tell students it is there turn to stop her as she is reading to point out the comparisons they notice in the story. The teacher will quickly note them on her post-it notes and continue reading until they have finished the book. Then, she will write the comparisons of the characters on the board using a comparison chart (much like a T-Chart).

Guided Practice: The teacher will then ask the students to take their reading journals and pencils and draw the comparison chart (or T-Chart) in their journals. Then, working with their shoulder partner, the students will write the character comparisons they found in the book along with any other comparisons they may have noticed that we didn’t mark in the story.

Share, Review, Closure: After students have completed their charts, the class will come together and share their character comparisons charts with the class. The teacher will then say, “Today, we learned how to compare the characters of a story using The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse book. I want you all to remember how we compared these characters as we read The Cricket in Times Square because the comparisons between characters will be a helpful tool to help us understand the main character better and how he is feeling as he goes from the country to the city.”

Stage Two- During-Reading – Independent Work (Small Group, Seat, Center): 60 minutes Students will be asked to meet at the reading circle bringing with them their Trophies stories. Before we begin actually reading the text, the students will do a quick book walk and familiarize themselves with the illustrations and characters in the book. Then, the students will briefly discuss what they think will happen to the characters in the book based on the illustrations they saw. The teacher will then read the story to the students stopping at particular points in the story and asking the guided comprehension questions as prompted in the Trophies book. (The teacher will only ask the character trait questions (pertaining to Chester Cricket and Tucker Mouse), the setting questions and the sequence questions because these questions will help the students understand the story and compare the characters to each other which will aid them in understanding the main character more in depth).

Stage Three- After-Reading – Reflection: 15 minutesAfter reading the book give students a few minutes to work with their shoulder partners to find the character comparisons between the two main characters, Chester Cricket and Tucker Mouse. Give the class time to share what they found. Bring the class together and have a grand conversation about the book. Have students share what the book was about as well as the characters in the story. Explain to students that by comparing characters that are from different

places, in this case the city and the country, it helps them understand the main character more in depth. Wrap up the lesson by stating, “Today boys and girls, we built our background knowledge of the character comparisons between the character from the country and the character from the city. Turn to another shoulder partner and explain why comparing these characters helps us understand the main character in the stories better.”

Materials/Resources Needed: Reading Journals Pencils Post-it notes The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse retold by: Susanna Davidson Student edition Trophies books (one per student) Teacher edition Trophies book (for teacher only-includes The Cricket in Times Square

book and guided reading questions)

Day: 3 WednesdayGoal: Students will know a character can be described based on his/her thoughts, words, actions, decisions, physical attributes, and interactions with others as well as use inferences to draw conclusions about the character.Standard: RL.4. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).Stage One- Pre-Reading – Direct Lesson: 15 minutes Introduction: Have students take out their reading journals and a pencil. Begin with, “Today boys and girls, we are going to focus more on describing a character in depth. In order to do this, we are going to practice making inferences, or conclusions about the character. We are going to go back to the stories Ducky and Cars from Monday. We know who the main characters are in each story right? Right. So now we are going to work on a new strategy in order to understand the main characters better.”

Demonstration/Model: Teacher will reintroduce the book Ducky by Eve Bunting. The book is about a bath toy duck that falls overboard a ship where he has to overcome many obstacles and washes up on shore where she meets a new friend. The teacher and students will read the book together to refresh their memory of the events that happened to Ducky in this story. The teacher will then tell students they are going to practice making inferences by identifying and explaining character traits using a character trait map (much like a story map). The map has the character’s name in the middle and 4 traits and explanations branching out from the middle.

Guided Lesson: The teacher will choose one character trait from the book Ducky and add it to the map. For example, The teacher may say, “A character trait of Ducky is that he is skittish. I know he is skittish because he says he is scared when he is floating in the ocean after the ship has sailed away. Ducky being scared throughout the story makes me believe he is a skittish toy duck who may be afraid of everything outside his bath tub.” “Did you see how I chose a character trait for Ducky then used the supports in the story to explain my trait, and then drew a conclusion about Ducky? This is a strategy called making inferences. I made an inference about Ducky when I drew a conclusion about him using the character trait and the supports from the story.”

Guided Practice: Once the teacher has modeled one character trait of Ducky’s, the students will

work with a partner to fill in the remaining 3 character traits for Ducky on the map using details from the book and making an inference to explain that traits they choose.

Share, Review, Closure: After a few minutes the class will come back together and share their traits and explanations with the class. The teacher will draw the character trait map on the board as the students share. The students will be instructed to copy the character trait map from the board into their reading journals as the teacher is writing it.

Stage Two- During-Reading – Independent Work (Small Group, Seat, Center): 60 minutes The teacher will have students take out their copies of the book Cars which they also used on Monday. The teacher will then say, “Okay boys and girls, I want you to reread the book Cars with a partner to refresh your memory of the main character. Then I want you to draw the character trait map, just like the one I just modeled for you with the book Ducky, in your reading journals. You will need to choose 4 different character traits for the main character in the story and explain those traits using supports from the story, and then make an inference about that character based on each of the 4 traits your choose. You may work with a partner to complete the map but be sure to write your own map in your reading journals.”

When students finish their character trait maps, the teacher will pull one maybe two reading groups to do a guided reading lesson related to their Trophies story.Other students not included in the guided reading group with the teacher will be instructed to work in the literature centers around the room (students will know their center rotations prior to going to the center).

Stage Three- After-Reading – Reflection: 15 minutesOnce every student has completed the character trait map and participated in at least one center or guided reading discussion, the teacher will have students come together as a class in the ‘meeting area’ bringing with them their reading journals. The teacher will ask students to share their character traits, explanations, and inferences with the class. Then, as a class, the teacher and students will have created a character trait map on board for the book Cars. After the class has shared and filled out the character trait map for the book Cars, the teacher will explain to students the importance of making inferences in order to understand the main character more in depth. The teacher will close the lesson my saying, “Today boys and girls we developed a character trait map for the books Ducky and Cars and made inferences about these characters in order to understand the main characters the stories better. I want to find a partner in the room and share with him/her how making inferences helped you understand the main character better. Then quickly come back to your seats.”

Materials/Resources Needed: Ducky by Eve Bunting Cars by Disney and Random House Children’s books (30 copies) Character Trait Map (teacher copy for a reference) Reading Journals (one per student) Pencils

Day: 4 Thursday

Goal: Students will know a character can be described based on his/her thoughts, words, actions, decisions, physical attributes, and interactions with others as well as making inferences to draw conclusions about the character.Standard: RL.4. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).Stage One- Pre-Reading – Direct Lesson: 15 minutes Introduction: The teacher will gather the students as a class at the reading circle and begin the lesson by stating, “Yesterday, we learned how making inferences will help us to understand the character in the story more in depth. Today, we are going to do a different activity in which we are still practicing making inferences about the main characters in the story. We are going to be using the books The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse and The Cricket from Times Square like we used on Tuesday because we are all familiar with these characters.”

Demonstration/Model: The teacher will start by reintroducing the book The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse about the two mice cousins who live in the big city and the quiet county. The teacher will reread the book to the students to refresh their memory of the characters in the story. Then the teacher will introduce what is called the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart. The teacher will say, “Okay boys and girls, today we are going to use the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart (much like a T-chart) in order to make inferences about the characters in this book. I am going to make an inference first about one of the characters, then you all will help me fill out the rest of the chart for this character.” “I am going to make my inference about Pipin, the country mouse. In the text, Pipin eats lots of nuts and berries that he finds around his home. I can infer that Pipin probably is an organic eater, meaning he eats foods that are naturally grown.”

Guided Lesson: Once the teacher has shown students how to fill out the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart, students will be work together as a class to come up with 4-5 more inferences about the character Pipin. The teacher will write the chart on the board and fill in the chart as students make their inferences about Pipin. The class will then go over the chart and make sure each in the text detail matches and makes sense with the inference that was made about Pipin.

Guided Practice: Students are now going to do a ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart for the other character in the story, Toby Town Mouse. The teacher will say, “Now that we have modeled how to use the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart using Pipin, I now want you to work with your left shoulder partner to fill out the chart again using the other character in the story, Toby Town Mouse. I want you both to work together to come up with 4-5 things to infer in your charts. Remember to use the story to find details about this character that you can infer. You both are going to need to have a chart in your reading journals so make sure you both are writing down the in the text details and the inferences.”

Share, Review, Closure: After students have finished filling out their charts and discussing the character Toby Town Mouse in order to make inferences, the teacher will have student come to the meeting area bringing with them their completed charts in their reading journals. The teacher will draw another ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart on the board to fill out as students share the inferences they made about Toby Town Mouse. Then, the class will again go over the chart and make sure each in the text detail makes sense with the inferences made about Toby Town Mouse.

Stage Two- During-Reading – Independent Work (Small Group, Seat, Center): 60 minutes

Students are now going to use the book The Cricket in Times Square to fill out an ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart about either Chester Cricket or Tucker Mouse. The teacher will instruct students by saying, “Okay boys and girls, I now want you to practice making inferences about characters using your Trophies story, The Cricket in Times Square. Start out by rereading the story to remind you about the main characters in the story. I then want you to draw the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart in your reading journals and fill out the chart with 4-5 things you can infer about the character. You can choose to infer about Chester Cricket or Tucker Mouse. I want you to work independently on this activity. I feel confident that each of you can reread the story and find details in the text that will help you infer about either one of the characters. Remember to use details from the story that will help you understand the characters more in depth.”

When students finish their character trait maps, the teacher will pull one maybe two reading groups to do a guided reading lesson related to their Trophies story.Other students not included in the guided reading group with the teacher will be instructed to work in the literature centers around the room (students will know their center rotations prior to going to the center).

Stage Three- After-Reading – Reflection: 15 minutesOnce every student has completed the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart and participated in at least one center or guided reading discussion, the teacher will have students come together as a class in the ‘meeting area’ bringing with them their reading journals. The teacher will create a chart on the board and ask students to share inferences for both Chester Cricket and Tucker Mouse. The teacher will write both character inferences on the same chart using different colors to coordinate with the different characters. Once students have shared a few inferences for each character, the teacher will have a brief conversation about how students came up with these inferences and how these inferences helped them understand the characters. The teacher may say something like, “So, you said that Chester Cricket did ---in the story and you inferred---from this detail. How did you come up with this inference and how is it helpful to you to understand this character?” After the brief conversation, the teacher will close by stating, “Today boys and girls, we had more practice with making inferences about the characters in the story to help us understand the characters more in depth. I want you to share with a friend one inference you made about a character today and why it was helpful for you to understand this character. Then quietly head back to your seats.”

Materials/Resources Needed: Reading Journals Pencils ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ Chart (teacher copy-for teacher reference) The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse retold by: Susanna Davidson Student edition Trophies books (one per student-has The Cricket in Times Square book)

Day: 5 FridayGoal: Students will compare themselves to a character based on his/her thoughts, words, actions, decisions, physical attributes, and interactions. Standard: RL.4. Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).Stage One- Pre-Reading – Direct Lesson: 15 minutes

Introduction: Bring the class together in the ‘meeting area’ having them bring their reading journals and a pencil and start the lesson by stating, “This week we have been working on understanding a character from the story more in depth using a series of character charts and maps like the character chart from Monday, the character comparison chart from Tuesday, the character trait map from Wednesday and the ‘In the Text/I can Infer’ chart from yesterday (while saying the chart/map names, the teacher will use her reading journal to show and remind students what the charts look like). Today we are going to be comparing the characters to ourselves in order to understand the characters more in depth.”

Demonstration/Model: The teacher will choose one of the books that the students have been reading this week. For example The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. The students are very familiar with the characters in this story and have used previous strategies in order to understand the characters more in depth. The teacher will introduce ‘The Character and Me’ Venn Diagram to the students. This diagram includes a Venn Diagram like set up where students share what they and the character have in common in the middle and what they don’t have in common on the outside of the circles. Then, they are to add three describing words about themselves and the character on their ends of the diagram as well as draw a sketch of themselves and the character. The teacher will show students the diagram and then draw it on the board for them to fill out. The teacher will choose a character from The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, Pipin for example, and compare herself to this character using ‘The Character and Me’ diagram.

Guided Lesson: The teacher will make a list of her likes, her dislikes, her interests, her personality traits, etc. She will have students help her make a list for Pipin which will also include his likes, his dislikes, his interests, his character traits, etc. Using the lists about the teacher and about Pipin, the class will help sort the lists and put them into the correct portion of ‘The Character and Me’ diagram with the guidance of the teacher. Then have students come up with three describing words about Pipin while the teacher writes three describing words about herself. Next, students will draw quick sketches of the teacher and Pipin to complete the chart. Once the class has completed ‘The Character and Me’ diagram with the help of their classmates and the teacher, the teacher will briefly state, “Did you all see how making a list of traits and likes and dislikes for Pipin and myself then sorting the traits into ‘The Character and Me’ diagram helped us to understand the character Pipin better? We really had to rely on the story and what the story told us about Pipin and what we could infer about Pipin using the details in the story, to help us come up with a list of likes, dislikes, interest, etc.” “You are now going to practice using ‘The Character and Me’ diagram with another character from The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, Toby Town Mouse and yourselves.”

Guided Practice: Have students copy ‘The Character and Me’ diagram into their reading journals. Then, have them create a list of likes, dislikes, etc. for themselves as well as Toby Town Mouse. Then, have them complete the diagram using the diagram about Pipin and their teacher as a guide. Make sure students don’t forget the describing words as well as their sketches of themselves and Toby Town Mouse to complete the diagram. *This activity should be done independently because students are comparing the character with themselves and this does not require working in partners.

Share, Review, Closure: Once all the students have completed ‘The Character and Me’ diagram, the teacher will bring the class back together for a class discussion. Every student will share one similarity, one difference, and one describing word about themselves and Toby Town Mouse. Once every student has shared, the teacher will close this part of the lesson by stating,

“Great comparisons boys and girls! I can really see how using this strategy is helping you understand the characters in this story better. Now, we are going to practice this strategy again using our Trophies story The Cricket in Times Square.”

Stage Two- During-Reading – Independent Work (Small Group, Seat, Center): 60 minutes Have students go back to their seats and take out their Trophies books and use The Cricket in Times Square book as a reference to fill out ‘The Character and Me’ Venn Diagram. Have students make a list of likes, dislikes, etc. for themselves and Chester Cricket. Make sure students remember to fill in the chart appropriately with their similarities in the middle of the circles and their differences on the outside of the circles. Students should come up with at least 4-5 similarities and differences if possible. Also remind students to come up with three describing words for themselves and Chester Cricket as well as sketch a drawing of themselves and Chester Cricket to complete the diagram.*Again, this activity should be done independently because students are comparing the character with themselves and this does not require working in partners.

Once students have completed ‘The Character and Me’ Venn Diagram, have students go to the classroom library and choose a just right book for them to read and then practice using ‘The Character and Me’ diagram with the book they have chosen.

Stage Three- After-Reading – Reflection: 15 minutesOnce all students have completed ‘The Character and Me’ diagram for themselves and Chester Cricket, and have had time to at least begin the diagram with their just right books, call the class to the ‘meeting area’ and have them bring their reading journals with their completed diagrams inside. Have students share some similarities and differences they had with Chester Cricket and have each student share their describing words and sketches. After all students have had a chance to share, the teacher will conclude the lesson by saying, “Today we learned that by comparing ourselves to a character in the story helps us dig deeper into the character and understand them more in depth. We had to use the supports in the story and pay attention to what the story already told us about the character as well as use our inferring skills to effectively and successfully fill out ‘The Character and Me’ diagram and understand the character more in depth. I want you to share with a friend how this strategy helped you understand the character better and something new you found out about this character by using this strategy.”

Materials/Resources Needed: Reading Journals Pencils ‘The Character and Me’ Venn Diagram (teacher copy-for reference) All books shared with the students throughout the week (Ducky, Cars, The Town Mouse

and the Country Mouse-depending on which story the teacher decides to model) Student edition Trophies book containing The Cricket in Times Square (copy for each

student) Classroom Library filled with leveled books

Guided Reading Lesson

Title of Article: Field Cricket

URL to Article: http://www.gpnc.org/field1.htm

Find some difficult words that you could provide strategies for decoding. Write down the prompts you would use.

Orthoptera or orthopterous-Let’s sound it out together, (awr-thop-ter-uhs). This word refers to the order of insects that crickets belong in.

Monotonous- Let’s sound it out together, (muh-not-n-uhs). This word in music means continuing on one note.

Metamorphosis-Look at this word. What are some words you can see inside? Hint: look at the end of the word. Let’s sound it out together. Any ideas as to what this word means? This word means the change from one form to another in the life history of an organism.

Vocabulary: Identify at least 4 words that you would discuss with your students prior to reading the text and identify why you chose those 4 words.

Frequency Exoskeleton Broods Orient

These words will be gone over prior to reading the text. I chose these words because students need to be familiar with these words in order to understand the text. Also, these are words students may not have seen before but will most likely see again in the future.

Stage One- Pre-Reading:Before reading the article students will tell what they know about field (house) crickets. I will make a schema chart on the board that we can add do throughout this guided reading lesson.

Stage Two – During Reading:I will read the article to the class as they follow along. I will stop mid-way through the article which I have indicated with a (*) on my own copy. Student will then be told to write a two-column journal entry with one column labeled “I am thinking…” and the other column labeled “Because…” to share their thoughts about the article thus far.

Stage Three – After Reading:After we have finished the article, students will partner up and share what they wrote in their two column journal entry. Then as a class, we will go over some of the things that students were thinking while reading this article. During this time the teacher will add these thoughts or findings to the schema chart if students have found new information on field crickets they feel needs to be added to the list.

List three questions you might ask to prompt a grand conversation and require students to dig deeper.

What did you find most interesting in this article? What do you want to learn more about from the article? How can you find the answers to

your questions? Did this article change your mind about crickets? Why or why not?

Center/Literacy Stations

Center #1: Character Identification

Students will play a game called “Who Am I?” In this game, students will have descriptions of the characters from the story on note cards and they will have to match the descriptions to the correct characters on the pocket chart. This game will require students to recall information about the characters from the story that have just read about in order to sort the descriptions correctly.Materials:

Description note cards Pocket chart Pictures of main characters from the story

Center #2: Independent Reading Center

Students are to choose books for their independent reading level and complete a ‘Readers Response’ activity from the ‘Readers Response Folder’ and write their response in their ‘Independent Reading Journals.’ This center will take place around the classroom library and will help students identify important topics/ideas in a story while reading books of their choice. Students will read the directions in the left pocket of the ‘Reader’s Response Folder’ and choose a response option from the right side of the folder and begin reading and responding to their books. Possible Reader’s Response Options:

Create a story map to show how the plot of the story. Compare two characters in the story. Make a character map. Create a new title or and cover of your book (with illustrations). Explain why you chose to read this book. Write about something you learned from the book. Write down and collect some interesting words you found in the book. Retell your favorite part of the book. Retell the funniest, saddest, scariest, happiest, or most interesting part of the book. Write a poem with a similar theme as the story you just read. Write a book review. Write a journal entry on whether you would recommend the book to a friend and why or

why not.Materials:

Library of books at all reading levels Independent Reading Journals Reader’s Response Folder Pencils

Center #3 Writing a News Paper Article

Students will write a news paper article advertising Chester the Cricket’s News Stand Concerts. The article must answer the questions who, what, where, when, and why with using ideas and

information from The Cricket in Times Square book they have just finished reading out of the Trophies book. Students are to be creative and persuasive in their explanations and answers to the five questions. They need to remember that the news stand is unsuccessful and Chester’s concerts help bring business to the news stand. Students are to illustrate a picture to help advertise the concerts. Materials:

The Cricket in Times Square book Paper Pencils Crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc

Center #4 Letter Writing

At this center, students are going to be writing letters to Chester, the cricket from the book The Cricket in Times Square from their Trophies books. Chester comes from the country in Connecticut and somehow lands himself in Times Square in New York. Students are going to write a letter to Chester telling him what to expect when he is in New York. Students will be writing these letters after they read the book so they need to be creative and use their prompted background knowledge of New York and the information they get from the book, in order to tell Chester what he needs to expect and prepare for upon his arrival in Time Square. Materials:

The Cricket in Times Square book Pencil Paper

Rubric for Center #4: Writing a Letter

Additional Texts:

Tucker’s Countryside by George Selden Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy by George Selden The Genie of Sutton Place by George Selden

All of these books are written by the same author as the Trophies story A Cricket in Times Square we are working on this week. All the books follow the same style of literature and I think students would love any of these books because of the characters, story line and fantasy genre.