LESSON 7 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Visiting the Zoo
by Ben Devanthery
Fountas-Pinnell Level A
Fiction
Selection Summary
While on a visit to the zoo, a family enjoys seeing lions, monkeys,
bears, and birds. They leave saying that they like the zoo.
Number of Words: 26
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Fiction
• First-person plural narrative naming four animals seen at the zoo
• Last page summation: We like the zoo.
• Animals seen at the zoo
• It’s fun to look at animals at the zoo.
• Families enjoy going places together.
• Simple repetitive language
• Meaning provided through integration of pictures with text.
• Repetitive sentence pattern, changing only one word on each page
• Four-word sentences with simple sentence structure: We like the ___.
• Words relating to animals: lions, monkeys, bears, birds, zoo
• High-frequency words: we, like, the
• Illustrations that support the text
• Five pages, with one line of text and one illustration on each page
• Large print and good spacing between words
• Some things in pictures are labeled.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Visiting the Zoo
by Ben Devanthery
Build Background
Read the title to children and talk with them about what the characters are doing in the
cover illustration. Ask them what they know about zoos. Then ask: What kind of animals
might you see at the zoo?
Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English
learners. Before reading, check understanding of the following words: visiting, zoo, girl,
boy, lions, monkeys, cage, bears, birds, mother, father. Use the pictures to reinforce the
words.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary. Explain important text features, such as the repetition of the
phrase We like the. Call attention to the labels. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that this book is about a family enjoying a trip to the zoo and the
animals they like. The family is telling the story.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. Read the labels. What do you see in the
picture? Yes, the family is looking at lions. The family says: We like the lions. Say
the word We. We begins with the /w/ sound. Find the word We and put your finger
under the first letter, W. And you can see that We starts with uppercase W because
it comes at the beginning.
Page 3: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help them
read. Turn to page 3. Look at the picture and read the labels. What animals can you
see in the cage? The label says: monkeys. Monkeys are in the cage. So the family
says: We like the monkeys. Say the word like. What letter would you expect to see
first in like? Find the word like and put your finger under it.
Page 4: Read the label. What animal is in the picture? The label says: bears. What
do you think the family will say on this page?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out all the animals the family likes
at the zoo.
Words to Know
like
Kindergarten
the
2
we
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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Read
Now have children read Visiting the Zoo softly while pointing under each word. Observe
children as they read.
Respond to the Text
Personal Response
Ask children to share their personal responses to the book. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the book, or what they found interesting.
Suggested language: Have you ever been to the zoo? Which animals would you like
to see?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, make sure children understand these teaching points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• On a trip to the zoo, a family
sees lions, monkeys, bears, and
birds.
• It’s fun to look at animals at the
zoo.
• The writer uses the same
sentence pattern on each page.
• Family outings are fun for
everyone.
• The words and the pictures
show how much the family likes
the zoo.
• The family likes to visit the zoo.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Practice early reading behaviors such as reading from left to right and matching one
spoken to one written word while reading and pointing.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Listening Game Have children listen for words that begin with the same sound. Have
children raise their hands if the words begin with the same sound, and keep their
hands in their laps if the beginning letter is different. Say pairs of words, for example:
lions and lamps, monkeys and chimps, bears and chairs, birds and bears, zoo and
zippers, etc.
• Matching Letters Materials: upper and lowercase magnetic or cardboard letters
or letter cards. Have children choose letters and match them with their upper or
lowercase form.
• Build Sentences Materials: index cards. Write the high frequency words from Visiting
the Zoo on index cards: We, like, the. Then write the story words on index cards: lions,
monkeys, bears, birds, zoo. Have children build sentences using the word cards. Have
them read the sentences and illustrate one of them.
Kindergarten
3
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 7.5 and guide them in answering the questions.
Responding
Read aloud the questions at the back of the book and help children complete the activities.
Target Comprehension Skill
Understanding Characters
Remind children to use details to tell more
about characters. Model how to think about understanding characters:
Think Aloud
I can understand more about the characters in this story when I think
about the details. Everyone in the family likes to look at animals. On page
4, it looks like the girl wants to get closer to the polar bears, and that
makes the mother a little nervous. But on the last page, I can tell all four
people in the family had a good time at the zoo.
Practice the Skill
Have children choose another picture and tell what they can learn about the characters
from looking at the details in the picture.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
Draw a picture of an animal you would like to see at the zoo.
Write one thing that animal can do.
Kindergarten
4
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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English Language Learners
Cultural Support Many children have never been to the zoo. Make sure children
recognize the animals in this story and talk about why animals may be in a zoo. Also, you
may wish to have children use the audio or online recordings.
Oral Language Development
Check the children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.
Beginning/ Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Point to the lions.
Speaker 1: What kind of animal is on
page 3?
Speaker 1: What animals did the
characters see at the zoo?
Speaker 2: monkeys
Speaker 2: They saw lions,
monkeys, bears, and birds.
Speaker 2: [Child points to the lions.]
Speaker 1: Point to the bears.
Speaker 2: [Child points to the bears.]
Speaker 1: What kind of animal is on
page 4?
Speaker 1: What animals are on page
5?
Speaker 2: bears
Speaker 1: What does the family
say about the zoo?
Speaker 2: They say, “We like the
zoo.”
Speaker 2: birds
Lesson 7
Name
Date
Think About It
BLACKLINE MASTER 7.5
Visiting the Zoo
Think About It
Children look at the pictures and circle the ones that answer the question.
1. Which animals did the family see at the zoo?
Children draw a picture of their favorite zoo animal.
2.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
7
Kindergarten, Unit 2: Show and Tell
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Name
Date
Visiting the Zoo
Draw a picture of an animal you would like to
see at the zoo.
Write one thing that animal can do.
Kindergarten
6
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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Lesson 7
Name
Date
Think About It
BLACKLINE MASTER 7.5
Visiting the Zoo
Think About It
Children look at the pictures and circle the ones that answer the question.
1. Which animals did the family see at the zoo?
Children draw a picture of their favorite zoo animal.
2.
Kindergarten
7
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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Student
Lesson 7
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 7.9
Visiting the Zoo • LEVEL A
page
Visiting the Zoo
Running Record Form
Selection Text
2
We like the lions.
3
We like the monkeys.
4
We like the bears.
5
We like the birds.
6
We like the zoo.
Comments:
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
(# words read
correctly/20 × 100)
(# errors + #
Self-Corrections/
Self-Corrections)
%
1:
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Kindergarten
Behavior
Error
0
0
1
8
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
Word told
T
cat
cat

Error
1413587
Behavior
1
Lesson 7: Visiting the Zoo
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