Characteristics of the Text - hmhco.com

Number of Words: 2,317

L E S S O N 2 1 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

A Dragon’s Viewby Jennifer Weinstein

Fountas-Pinnell Level SFantasySelection SummaryBeardy, a lizard, talks about his life in a classroom at Newman Elementary School. Beardy spends winter break with Manuel, one of the students in his classroom. Another student, Jacob, comes over to help. Working together, Manuel and Jacob learn that they have a lot in common.

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Fantasy

Text Structure • First-person narrative told from a lizard’s point of view• Continuous narrative without chapter or section breaks

Content • Many facts about bearded dragons—physiology, habitat, food• Responsibilities that go with taking care of pets• Friends fi nding common ground

Themes and Ideas • Lizards like the bearded dragon are amazing animals.• Caring for a pet is a big responsibility.• People who think they don’t get along can have a lot in common.

Language and Literary Features

• Anthropomorphized, witty, bearded dragon narrator.• Confl ict between main human characters from a pet’s perspective

Sentence Complexity • Frequent compound sentences and some complex sentences• Transitional words, phrases indicate sequencing and setting change• Multiple hyphenation (“I’m not really a jog-a-mile, life-a-few-weights kind of lizard”);

italics for emphasisVocabulary • Most Australian colloquialisms, including Aussie, bloke, and tucker, are explained in text.

• Scientifi c terms, such as omnivore and diurnalWords • Many multisyllable words: aquarium, temperature, starvation, reluctantly

• Present participles and -ing words derived from verbs: puffi ng, sprawling, bickeringIllustrations • Cartoon-like drawings

Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text, most spreads with illustrations© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Expand Your Vocabulary

basked – to expose oneself to pleasant warmth, p. 12

dehydration – excessive loss of water from the body, p. 6

diurnal – active during the daytime rather than at night, p. 14

docile – easily managed or handled, p. 2

molt – to shed, or cast off, by a natural process, p. 5

A Dragon’s View by Jennifer Weinstein

Build BackgroundHelp students use their experience with pets to visualize the story. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: Suppose you had to take care of a lizard. What are some of the things a lizard needs? Explain that a bearded dragon is a particular kind of lizard. Read the title, author, and illustrator, and talk about the cover illustration of a bearded dragon waving. Ask students what genre they think this story might be. How can they tell it is a fantasy? Explain that the bearded dragon will share facts about himself and a particular adventure it had.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Page 2: Explain that the bearded dragon is a gentle and docile lizard native to Australia. Suggested language: Read the fi rst three sentences: Good day, mate! Let me introduce myself—the name’s Beardy. I am a bearded dragon. Ask: Why do you think Beardy introduces himself by saying “Good day, mate”?

Page 5: Tell students that Beardy leaves his classroom and has an adventure in this story. On page 5, Beardy says he thought he might start to molt, or shed his skin. Ask: Why do you think Beardy thought he might molt?

Page 9: Have students read the second-to-last paragraph, which begins, “Exercise? I’m not really a jog-a-mile, lift-a-few-weights kind of lizard.” Ask: What does this paragraph tell you about Beardy’s sense of humor? What does it tell you about the way he uses language?

Now back to the beginning of the story to read about Beardy’s adventure.

2 Lesson 21: A Dragon’s ViewGrade 4© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ReadHave students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy , and to look for important details about the setting, characters, and plot.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the story. Suggested language: Have you ever been responsible for taking care of a pet? Do you think you could care for a lizard as well as the boys in the story do? Why or why not?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Beardy is a bearded dragon who lives in an elementary school classroom.

• Beardy stays with a student named Manuel for winter break.

• Manuel and Jacob, another student, take care of Beardy and become friends.

• Taking care of a pet is a very big responsibility that takes teamwork.

• Sometimes you discover that you have a lot in common with a person you don’t like at fi rst.

• A bearded dragon tells the story.

• Because bearded dragons come from Australia, the narrator uses Australian words.

• The author includes details about bearded dragons to teach readers about these lizards.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Lead students in a readers’ theater to demonstrate phrased fl uent reading.

Choose a passage in which Beardy speaks to the reader and uses Australian colloquialisms such as mate, bloke, and tucker.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students that many multisyllable words are formed from shorter words and affi xes, such as the bound morpheme –ing. For example, the word blaring on page 5 is made up of the word blare and the affi x –ing. The meaning of the new, longer word is closely related to the meaning of the shorter word. Blaring means “to proclaim loudly.”



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 21.9.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book, writing the answers in their Reader’s Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillTheme

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that a story’s theme is an important idea,

viewpoint, or message about a subject. Most stories express themes through details about characters. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

The author uses details to suggest the theme of the story. Beardy needs to be fed during school vacation. Add that as a detail that supports the theme.

Practice the SkillEncourage students to identify another theme in the story and to explain which details support the theme.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the writing prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

Assessment Prompts• One idea present in this selection is that ___________________________________.

• When Beardy says “I must admit that I had my doubts at fi rst” on page 11, this means he _________________________________________________________________.

• What will most likely happen to Beardy the next day?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text Why is it that lizards need to be kept

warm and hamsters do not?

2. Think within the text Where do bearded dragons come from?

What do they eat?

3. Think beyond the text Jacob and Manuel never get along

at school. Predict how they will treat each other now that they

have spent the day looking after Beardy.

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author has Jacob

remember what he learned about alligators? How is this related

to the theme of the story?

Making Connections There are many steps to caring for a pet. How do you care for your pet, or how would you care for your dream pet?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

A Dragon’s ViewCritical Thinking

Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 9

Name Date

11Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Grade 4, Unit 5: Change Is All Around

Lizards are cold-blooded and cannot generate their own heat. Hamsters are warm-

blooded and do not have that problem.

Bearded dragons come from Australia. They are omnivores and can eat pretty

much anything, such as vegetables, insects, or meat.

Jacob and Manuel will probably get along better in school now. They realized they

have things in common.

The author wants to show that the boys are not as scatterbrained as Beardy

thought. The boys show that they understand that different animals need to be

cared for differently. At the same time, they can apply what Jacob knows about

alligators to Beardy, since he is also a cold-blooded animal.

Possible responses shown.

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First Pass

English Language DevelopmentReading Support Make sure the text matches the student’s reading level. Language and content should be accessible with regular teaching support. Remind them that Manuel and Jacob take care of Beardy and become friends.

Idioms The story includes many idioms that come from Australian English, such as bloke (page 4) and tucker (page 6). Most of Australian idioms are explained in the text, but students may fi nd them confusing. Explain that in Australia, where Beardy is from, most people speak English but use some words that are different from American English.

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?

Speaker 2: Beardy

Speaker 1: Who is Beardy?

Speaker 2: a lizard who lives in a classroom

Speaker 1: Where does Beardy go in the story?

Speaker 2: to Manuel’s house

Speaker 1: Why does Beardy go to stay at Manuel’s house?

Speaker 2: It is winter break. Manuel is going to take care of Beardy.

Speaker 1: What kind of care does Beardy need?

Speaker 2: He needs to be fed. He needs exercise. He needs water. He needs to stay warm.

Speaker 1: What does Beardy notice about Manuel and Jacob?

Speaker 2: Beardy notices that they do not get along at school and they always bicker. But when they are taking care of him, Beardy notices that the boys start to like each other.



Name Date

A Dragon’s ViewThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three paragraphs.

Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal knowledge to reach new understandings.

On page 14, Beardy says, “I thought about how Jacob and Manuel never got along at school, but how tonight it seemed that they actually liked each other.” How did Beardy play a role in the way the boys became friends? How can a shared project help bring different people together?



A Dragon’s ViewCritical Thinking

Lesson 21B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 9

Name Date


Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text Why is it that lizards need to be kept

warm and hamsters do not?

2. Think within the text Where do bearded dragons come from?

What do they eat?

3. Think beyond the text Jacob and Manuel never get along

at school. Predict how they will treat each other now that they

have spent the day looking after Beardy.

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author has Jacob

remember what he learned about alligators? How is this related

to the theme of the story?

Making Connections There are many steps to caring for a pet. How do you care for your pet, or how would you care for your dream pet?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.


1413

962

Student Date Lesson 21

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 2 1 . 1 3

Running Record FormRunning Record Form

A Dragon’s ViewA Dragon’s View • LEVEL S

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

14 Jacob went home soon after that, and Manuel and I were

alone. I thought about how Jacob and Manuel never got along

at school, but how tonight it seemed that they actually liked

each other.

Well, it has been a long, cold day. I think I’ll curl up under

Manuel’s desk lamp and get some shut-eye. I know I ate

hamster snacks, but that doesn’t make me nocturnal like a

hamster. Bearded dragons are diurnal, so I’m going to get my

rest at night like any good human. Who knows what strange

feats those boys will have me doing tomorrow.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/101 ×

100)

%

Total Self- Corrections



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Characteristics of the Text - hmhco.com