LESSON 6 TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Lark Sings in Many Colors
by Gerard Daniels
Fountas-Pinnell Level T
Fairy Tale
Selection Summary
After she is born, Lark receives a magic bracelet from her Aunt Kyoko.
The bracelet allows Lark to see the world in a completely different way.
Number of Words: 2,159
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Fairy tale
• Third-person continuous narrative in seven sections
• Takes place over the first ten years of a girl’s life
• Section titles foreshadow content of the book’s parts
• Looking at things differently
• Being yourself
• Color spectrum and painting
• It is OK to be different.
• It is important to use all one’s senses.
• Conversational language
• Description helps the reader compare and contrast the main character with other people.
• Figurative language: wild color combinations exploding off the canvas
• A mix of short and complex sentences
• Exclamations
• Questions
• Foreign names, some of which might be difficult for students to pronounce: Haruki, Ishiri,
Aunt Kyoko
• Many multisyllable words, some of them challenging, such as dutiful, disobedient,
combination, and opponent.
• Lively drawings support the text.
• Twelve pages of text, with illustrations on most pages
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly
permitted by federal copyright law.
Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication
in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be
addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819.
Printed in the U.S.A.
978-0-547-30535-6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and
they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.
Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 1
11/4/09 9:15:30 PM
The Lark Sings in Many Colors
by Gerard Daniels
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of being unique to build interest. Ask questions such as
the following: Do you think that too many people try to conform, to act in the same way?
Why or why not? What is one thing that makes you unique? Read the title and author and
talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that this story is a fairy tale, so the story
includes characters who can do magical things.
Introduce the Text
Guide 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 this is a story about a little girl, Lark, who receives a special
gift, a bracelet.
Suggested language: Look at page 2 of the book. Read the last sentence about
Lark’s father, Haruki: “A life of hard work had made him a wealthy man, yet his face
always looked as though the smell of old fish was in the air.” Ask: What does this
description tell you about Lark’s father?
Pages 4–5: Look at the illustration on page 4. Notice the clear glass bracelet that
looked like a crystal prism. Also notice the rainbow spectrum of colors coming
from the bracelet. What colors might you see in a spectrum? Direct students to the
subhead, “Shades of Gray” on page 5. Ask: What do you think this section of the
story will tell about?
Page 7: Explain that Lark is a painter and her father enters some of her paintings
in local abstract art contests. Ask: What kinds of things might make a painting
abstract?
Now turn back to the beginning of the book to read and find out what happens to
Lark.
Expand Your Vocabulary
hues – color; particular shades or
tints, p. 5
pigments – substances used as
coloring, p. 7
spectrum – a continuum of color,
p. 4
prism – a cut-glass object, p. 4
Grade 4
2
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 2
7/28/09 3:29:12 PM
Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Infer/Predict Strategy
, and to use what
they know, along with information in the book, to make predictions or inferences about
the story.
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the story.
Suggested language: Would you want to see the world in your own unique way? How
does Lark feel about experiencing the world differently than other people?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Lark’s parents did not approve of
Aunt Kyoko.
• Seeing the world in a different
way can open up new
possibilities.
• The descriptions that the author
provides help the reader visualize
the people and events in the
story.
• Aunt Kyoko wanted to give Lark
a special gift.
• Because of Lark’s inability to see
colors, her other senses became
stronger.
• Some people forget how special
the world can be.
• The language sounds natural, the
way people talk to one another.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a page from the text to read as readers’ theater to
demonstrate phrased fluent reading. Remind them to pay attention to punctuation,
and to stress certain words to sound as if the people in the fairy tale were actually
speaking.
• 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. Explain to students that identifying a word’s root can often
help them to determine meaning. For example, the root of spectrum (p. 4) is spect,
which means “look.” Another word from the story with a Latin root is invisible (p. 9),
whose root, “vis,” means “see.”
Grade 4
3
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 3
11/4/09 9:15:34 PM
Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 6.9.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the
comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Compare and Contrast
Remind students that to compare is to tell how
two things are the same and to contrast is to tell how two things are different. Model how
to add details to the Graphic Organizer using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
Throughout the story, Lark is compared to other people around her. She
is like them in some ways but different in others. The story mentions that
Lark used her taste to understand which container held cinnamon, and
she used touch to feel whether a peach was ready to eat. Her need to use
all her senses is one detail that makes her different.
Practice the Skill
Encourage students to compare and contrast other characters in the story, such as Haruki
and Kyoko.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• In the first paragraph on page 2, what does the word nestled mean?
• Why don’t Lark’s parents like Aunt Kyoko?
• The main reason Aunt Kyoko gave Lark the bracelet was to
________________________________________________________________.
Grade 4
4
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 4
11/4/09 9:15:38 PM
English Language Development
Reading Support Give English language learners a brief “preview” of the text by
holding a brief small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire
group.
Cognates The story includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their
Spanish equivalents: battle (batalla), immense (inmenso), pigment (pigmento), prism
(prisma), and spectrum (espectro).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: What does Aunt Kyoko give
to Lark?
Speaker 1: How is Aunt Kyoko different
from other people?
Speaker 1: How do you think Lark
sees the world in a special way?
Speaker 2: a bracelet
Speaker 2: She lives in a tree house.
She tells people what she thinks. She
doesn’t care what people think of her.
Speaker 2: Lark lives most of her
life not seeing in color. Because
of this, she learns how to use her
other senses to understand and
appreciate the things around her.
Speaker 1: What type of animal does
Lark want to ride?
Speaker 2: a horse
Speaker 1: How does the bracelet make
Lark different?
Speaker 1: How does the bracelet help
Lark’s father?
Speaker 2: It makes him see things in a
different way.
Speaker 2: She doesn’t see colors.
Lesson 6
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.9
Date
Critical Thinking
The Lark Sings in
Many Colors
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Why does it seem like Lark is not
following directions at school?
When asked to paint simple objects like apples, she uses “unusual” colors.
2. Think within the text How does Lark adjust to the fact that
she cannot see colors?
Lark learns to depend on her sense of taste, touch, and hearing to identify things.
3. Think beyond the text Lark has trouble fitting in at
sleepovers. Soccer is hard for her. What other problems might
someone like Lark have?
Someone would have to tell her the color of the clothes she is buying or wearing.
She also couldn’t follow directions involving colors.
4. Think about the text The narrator of the selection says,
“Aunt Kyoko was...different...like a peanut butter and sardine
pizza is different.” What does the author want to show with this
comparison?
The narrator compares Aunt Kyoko to a peanut butter and sardine pizza to explain
how unusual she is. One usually would not even think of this combination. Aunt
Kyoko has strange preferences and ways of acting or dressing.
Making Connections Describe another character you’ve read about
who overcame a challenge.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Critical Thinking
11
Grade 4, Unit 2: Do You Know What I Mean?
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
11_4_246253RTXEAN_L06_FR.indd 11
Grade 4
5
3/22/09 11:48:34 PM
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 5
7/28/09 3:29:13 PM
Name
Date
The Lark Sings in Many Colors
Thinking 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.
According to her Aunt Kyoko’s plan, Lark’s special gift makes her unique.
How, then, do you think taking off the bracelet will affect how Lark
experiences the rest of her life? Support your response with examples from
the text.
Grade 4
6
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 6
7/28/09 3:29:15 PM
Lesson 6
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.9
Date
Critical Thinking
The Lark Sings in
Many Colors
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why does it seem like Lark is not
following directions at school?
2. Think within the text How does Lark adjust to the fact that
she cannot see colors?
3. Think beyond the text Lark has trouble fitting in at
sleepovers. Soccer is hard for her. What other problems might
someone like Lark have?
4. Think about the text The narrator of the selection says,
“Aunt Kyoko was...different...like a peanut butter and sardine
pizza is different.” What does the author want to show with this
comparison?
Making Connections Describe another character you’ve read about
who overcame a challenge.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 4
7
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 7
7/28/09 3:29:16 PM
Student
Lesson 6
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 6.13
The Lark Sings in Many Colors
LEVEL T
page
7
Selection Text
The Lark Sings in Many
Colors
Running Record Form
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Lark created what some people thought were hideous
combinations of colors and pigments unlike anything they had
ever seen. Yet her parents thought they were lovely. Haruki
even entered some of Lark’s paintings in local abstract art
contests.
Lark’s parents were not surprised when her portrait of her
father with salmon-colored hair and green lizard-like skin took
first prize. The judges and others who viewed her artwork saw
the world in an entirely different way. Lark’s use of color
caused the viewers to see wild color combinations exploding
off the canvas. She was able to produce rare hues master
artists had never dreamed of.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/106 ×
100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 4
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1413940
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
Lesson 6: The Lark Sings in Many Colors
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
4_305356_AL_LRTG_L06_LarkSingsManyColors.indd 8
7/28/09 3:29:17 PM