Winter to Spring
Level H/14
Teacher’s Guide
For students reading at
Literacy Level H/14, including:
•• English-language learners
•• Students reading below grade level
•• First grade readers
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Compare and contrast
Metacognitive/Fix-Up Strategy
•• Stop, think and write
Vocabulary
•• Recognize high-frequency words
•• Develop academic content (Tier Three)
vocabulary
Word Study
•• Use antonyms
Language
•• Recognize the sentence structures The
_____ is _____ and Do you see
_____
•• Use the preposition in
Phonics
•• P roblem-solve by searching all the way
through words
•• Recognize the initial 3-letter blend spr-
Fluency
•• Read smoothly with minimal breaks
Writing
THEME: Weather
•• Summer to Fall (Level F/10)
•• Ready for Fall (Level F/10)
•• Winter to Spring (Level H/14)
•• See You in Spring (Level H/14)
SCIENCE BIG IDEA:
Readers learn how seasonal changes in
winter and spring affect people, animals, and
plants.
•• Write to a picture prompt
•• Write to a text prompt
B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Before Reading
Related Resources
The following Benchmark Education
resources support this lesson.
Early Explorers Partner
• See You in Spring (Fiction, Level H/14)
Fluency and Language Development
• Winter to Spring Audio CD
Comprehension Resources
• Winter to Spring Comprehension
Question Card
• Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers
• Student Bookmark
• Compare and Contrast Poster
Assessment
• Early Explorers Overview &
Assessment Handbook
• Grade 1 Comprehension Strategy
Assessment Book
Make Connections
and Build Background
• Use Art Say: We will read a book about
two seasons—winter and spring. Draw several
snowflakes and a snowman on the board. Say:
Many places have snow in winter. Invite students
to Think/Pair/Share other facts they know about
winter. Then draw several flowers on the board.
Say: Many places have flowers in spring. Invite
students to Think/Pair/Share other facts they
know about spring.
• Use a Graphic Organizer Write the word
Changes on the board and underline it. Read the
word and ask students to help you make a list of
things that change between winter and spring.
As students respond, write their ideas under the
heading. Then read each entry and ask students
to echo-read.
Copyright © 2007 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may
photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be
reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Changes
The air gets warmer.
The snow melts.
The birds start to sing.
The trees get leaves.
Flowers come out.
Introduce the Book
• Preview Cover and Table of Contents Give
each student a copy of the book. Point to the
front. Say: This book is about winter and spring.
Read the title and author, and ask students to
echo-read. Invite them to tell what they see in the
photograph. Repeat the process with the title
page. Say: The title page in this book has a table
of contents. The table of contents lists the name
of each chapter. It also lists where to find each
chapter. Say: The cover and table of contents get
us ready to read the book. Using the think-aloud
strategy, model how to make predictions about
the book based on the cover and table of contents
information: The book title has the words winter
and spring. The first chapter heading has the
word winter. The next chapter heading has the
word change. I think this book will tell about
how winter changes to spring. Allow time for
students to share their own predictions.
• Preview Vocabulary, Photographs, and Text
and Graphic Features Revisit the photographs
on the cover and title page. Say: Nonfiction
books have many photographs. Photographs
help us understand the words in the book. They
help us learn more, too. Ask students to turn to
pages 2 and 3, and point to each photograph as
you say its matching label. Repeat the process,
inviting students to echo-read. Say: We will see
these words in the book. Then take students
on a picture walk. Reinforce the meanings of the
previewed words as you discuss the photographs.
Also talk about the words winter and season,
and make sure students can pronounce each one.
In addition, point out the following text and
graphic features:
(Pages 4–5) Say: This book has captions. Do you
see the captions by the photographs? Captions
tell about photographs.
(Page 6) Say: This page has an inset photo.
An inset photo is a small photograph inside a
bigger photograph. This big photograph shows a
chipmunk’s winter home. The small photograph
shows the chipmunk in its winter home.
(Page 11) Say: This book has labels. Labels name
things we see in a photograph.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-6140-5
2
Winter to Spring
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading
• Preview Sentence Structures For students
who need additional support, write The _____ is
_____ on the board. Read the sentence structure
aloud and ask students to repeat it several times.
Say: This sentence structure is in the book. Page 4
has a sentence with this structure. Model how to
frame the sentence between two fingers. Then
read the sentence aloud and ask students to echoread. Invite them to turn to page 8. Ask: Can
you frame a sentence with the words The _____
is _____? Assist as needed, and then read the
sentence aloud and ask students to echo-read.
If they need additional practice, allow them to
locate and read the sentence structure on pages
9 and 14. Finally, repeat the process with Do you
see _____ on pages 10, 11, and 14.
• Use Graphophonic Cues Say: Another word
in this book is melt. Say the word melt. What
letters do you expect to see after the /m/? Allow
time for students to respond, assisting as needed.
Then ask them to find the word melt on page 8.
Say: Search all the way through a word to help
you when you read.
• Scaffold Spanish-Language Speakers Say
the word air. Ask: Does air sound like a word
you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students
to respond.) The English word air sounds like
the Spanish word aire. Air and aire mean the
same thing. The words look similar, too. Write
the word air on the board and ask students
to locate it on page 4 in the book. Repeat the
process with in on page 4 and en, animals on
page 6 and animales, plants on page 10 and
plantas, colors on page 10 and colores, and
baby on page 15 and bebé. Then point out
that the words to and too on page 8 sound
like the Spanish word tú but do not mean the
same thing. Finally, invite students with other
first languages to share their cognates.
Observe and Prompt
Reading Strategies
• After the supportive introduction, students should
be able to read all or most of the book on their
own. Observe students as they read. Take note
of the graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic
cues they use to make sense of the text and selfcorrect. Prompt individual students who have
difficulty problem-solving independently, but be
careful not to prompt English-language learners
too quickly. They may need more time to process
the text as they rely on their first language for
comprehension.
Strategic Reading Prompts
Cue Source
Prompt
Example
Graphophonic Search all the way cold
through the word.
Are you blending
the right sounds?
Syntactic
You read “Soon, Soon, the days 8
the day are longer.” are longer.
Let’s read this
sentence together
and make it sound
right.
Semantic
What do you see in the picture that
would make sense
in this sentence?
underground
Page
4
6
Set a Purpose for Reading
• Direct students’ attention to the list of things
that change from winter to spring. Say: Now it’s
time to whisper-read the book. Read to learn
what happens in winter and spring.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Winter to Spring
3
After Reading
Use the Graphic
Organizer to Summarize
• Ask students to think about their reading. Say:
Look at our list. Which of these changes did we
read about in the book? Put a ✟ beside any
matching responses. Then ask students to name
other types of changes they read about in the
book. Add these to the list and put check marks
beside them. Choral-read the checkmarked words.
Then ask students to use the graphic organizer to
tell a partner about the book.
Changes
The air gets warmer. ✟
The snow melts. ✟
The birds start to sing. ✟
The trees get leaves. ✟
Flowers come out. ✟
Chipmunks wake up. ✟
We see baby animals. ✟
Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson:
Stop, Think, and Write
• Reflect Ask students to think about the parts of
the book that were hard for them to understand.
Ask: What did you do to help yourself understand
what you read?
• Model Say: I want to make sure I understand
what I read. One way is to stop and think
about what I read. Then I can write down my
thoughts. I might write an important detail I
want to remember. I might write something
with which I agree or disagree. I might write
questions I have about the information. I might
write something I want to learn more about. I
might even rewrite something in my own words.
I will turn back to page 6. I read: “Chipmunks
sleep in winter. Chipmunks do not eat or drink.”
I’m going to stop and think about that. How
can chipmunks go all winter without food or
water? I will write down this question. Writing
down questions will help me think about the
book and find answers.
4
Winter to Spring
• Guide Ask students to turn to page 7. Read the
page aloud together. Ask the following questions,
allowing time for students to stop and think after
each one: What did you learn about the birds on
this page? What do you notice about the birds in
the photograph? What would you like to learn
more about? How would you describe the birds
in your own words? Finally, invite students to
write down one of their thoughts. If they have
difficulty, model writing an observation of your
own, such as The birds probably have to fly a
long way. They must get tired.
• Apply Ask each student to turn to his or her
favorite page. Then ask students to read the page
to a partner, share a thought aloud, and write it
down. Observe students as they stop, think, and
write, providing assistance if needed. See the Early
Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for
an observation chart that you can use to assess
students’ understanding of the stop, think, and
write monitor-reading strategy. Then say: You
can stop, think, and write any time you read.
Remember to stop, think, and write to help you
understand.
Answer Text-Dependent
Questions
• Explain Remind students that they can answer
questions about books they have read. Say: We
answer different kinds of questions in different
ways. I will help you learn how to answer each
kind. Tell students today they will practice
answering Prove It! questions. Say: The answer
to a Prove It! question is not stated in the book.
You have to look for clues and evidence to prove
the answer.
• Model Use the first Prove It! question on the
question card. Say: I will show you how I answer
a Prove It! question. I will read the question to
figure out what to do. The question says: “Look
at page 11. The photograph shows a bud and a
branch. What can you tell from the photograph?”
This question asks me to interpret information
from a photograph. I know because the question
has the words What can you tell. Now I need
to look for other important information in the
question. What information do you think will
help me? (Allow student responses.) Yes, I need
to look on page 11. I need to look at the bud
and the branch in the photograph. I can tell that
buds have a different color from branches. The
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
evidence in the photograph supports my answer.
• Guide Ask students to answer the other questions
on the Comprehension Question Card. Use the
Power Tool Flip Chart and Student Bookmark to
provide additional modeling as needed. Remind
students to ask themselves: What is the question
asking? How can I find the answer? Does my
answer make sense? How do I know?
Build Comprehension:
Compare and Contrast
• Explain Create an overhead transparency of the
“Winter to Spring” graphic organizer on page 8
or draw it on the chalkboard. Say: Nonfiction
books sometimes tell how things are alike and
different. Telling how things are alike is called
comparing. Telling how things are different is
called contrasting. Good readers try to figure out
how things are alike and different. Figuring out
how things are different and alike helps readers
better understand the information.
• Model Say: Let’s figure out how winter and
spring are alike and different. Page 4 says winter
is a season. Page 9 says spring is a season. Being
a season is one way winter and spring are alike.
I will write this idea in the Winter and Spring
column of the graphic organizer. Now I will think
about ways winter and spring are different. Page 5
says the weather gets colder in winter. I will
write about it being colder in the Winter
column. Page 8 says the weather is warmer in
spring. I will write about it being warmer in the
Spring column.
• Guide Say: Let’s find another way winter and
spring are different. Look on page 6. What do
some animals do all winter? (Allow time for
students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes,
some animals sleep all winter. We can write
about animals sleeping in the Winter column.
Now let’s look on page 14. The chipmunk has
been sleeping all winter. What happens in spring?
(Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes,
the chipmunk wakes up. We can write about
waking up in the Spring column.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to
continue comparing and contrasting winter and
spring. If more support is needed, utilize all or
part of the “Guide” process by pointing out the
following: Winter and Spring—bring changes
to people, animals, and plants (whole book);
Winter—snow falls (page 4), people wear warm
clothes (page 5), some animals go away (page 7);
Spring—snow melts (page 8), flowers bloom
(page 10), birds come back (page 12), more food
for animals (page 13). Finally, read the completed
graphic organizer aloud and invite students to
echo-read.
Teacher Tip Use Benchmark Education Company’s
K–2 Early Comprehension Strategy Poster Set to
provide additional instruction in comparing and
contrasting. Use BEC’s Comprehension Strategy
Assessment books to assess students’ ability to
compare and contrast in other brief, grade-level
texts.
Home Connection
• Give students the take-home version of Winter
to Spring to read to family members. Encourage
students to work with a friend or family member
to draw a winter scene and spring scene. Invite
students to bring their scenes to share with the
group.
Winter to Spring
5
Writing
Connections
Mini-Lessons
Reader Response
Phonics:
Initial 3-letter Blend “spr -”
Invite students to respond to the book in a way
that is meaningful to them. Model and use thinkalouds as needed to scaffold students before they
try the activities on their own.
• Choose one of the animals in the book. Draw
pictures of the animal in winter and spring.
• Do you like winter or spring better? Tell why.
• Tell about something you learned from the
book.
• Rate the book with a 1 (don’t like), 2 (okay), or
3 (like a lot). Tell why you chose that rating.
• Write about things you do in winter and things
you do in spring.
• Write a letter to the author. Tell her about your
favorite part of the book.
Write to a Picture Prompt
• Retell Tell students they will describe a small
part of the book in their own words. Then they
will write down their words. Say: I like the
pictures in this book. I like to choose one picture
and describe that part of the book in my own
words. Look at page 6. I can tell about this
picture: The chipmunk is sleeping. Chipmunks
always sleep when it is cold. What do you notice
about the picture? How would you retell this
part of the book? Allow time for students to
respond. Ask: Which picture do you like best?
How would you retell that part of the book?
Allow time for students to respond, prompting
further if needed. Say: You have described the
picture you chose. Now write your description.
After you are finished, read your description
to a partner.
Write to a Text Prompt
• Write a Description Say: Imagine that you are
in the park on a warm spring day. Write about
things you can see and hear. Write about how
you feel, too. When you are finished, read your
description to a partner.
6
Winter to Spring
for Differentiating Instruction
• Ask students to locate the word spring on page 9.
Write spring on the board. Explain that the three
sounds at the beginning of the word—/s/, /p/, and
/r/—are blended together to make /spr/. Slowly
draw your finger under the word as you blend the
sounds. Then ask students to do the same in their
books. Say: The word spring begins with a
3-letter blend. Three consonants blend together
to start the word. Repeat the process with sprout
on page 10.
• Ask students to brainstorm words that begin
with spr-. List the words on the board. If needed,
prompt students with clues for words such as
spray, sprint, sprinkle, spread, and sprain.
• Say: I will act out one of the words. You can
guess the word. I will circle the 3-letter blend
in the word. Then you will know you guessed
correctly. Model the process using one of the
words on the list, such as making a peanut butter
sandwich (spread). Then invite each student to
act out one of the words and circle the spr-.
Vocabulary
• Academic Content Vocabulary Review the
book with students and write the words winter
and spring on the board. Then record the words
birds, chipmunk, fly, melt, snow, and season
on index cards. Ask students to read the words
with you. Mix the word cards and place them
facedown on the table. Choose a card, turn it
over, read the word, and model an oral sentence
using that word and either winter or spring.
Finally, invite students to take turns making their
own sentences. Continue the game until each
student has had several turns with different word
pairs.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Word Study: Antonyms
• Model Say: Authors sometimes use antonyms,
or opposites, when they write. I see some
antonyms on page 13: “Big and little animals
look for food.” The words big and little are
antonyms. I can use the words big and little,
too. Point to objects in the classroom as you
model sentences such as:
This pencil is little. This pencil is big.
The clock on my desk is little. The clock on the
wall is big.
The window on the door is little. The windows
on the wall are big.
• Guide Invite students to read page 6 with you.
Ask: Which words are antonyms? (go, stay)
Why are go and stay antonyms? (The words
have opposite meanings.) Invite students to use
the words go and stay in oral sentences and
pantomime the actions.
• Apply Pair students. Ask partners to find the
antonyms on page 14 (awake, sleeping). On
the board, write: “I am awake at school. I am
sleeping in bed.” Invite a volunteer to underline
the antonyms in the sentences. Then repeat
the process with cold on page 4 and warm on
page 5. Finally, invite the partners to make up
an oral sentence using an antonym pair of their
own choice.
Language Development:
Preposition “in”
• Model Say: Sometimes authors use phrases
that begin with the word in. I see a sentence
on page 5 with the word in: The weather gets
colder in winter. The words in winter explain
when the weather gets colder. I use the word in,
too. Pantomime some simple actions and make
up a sentence about each one, such as:
I wake up in the morning.
I rake leaves in October.
I go swimming in summer.
• Guide Say: Sometimes the word in tells us
“where” instead of “when.” Invite students to
read the last sentence of page 4 with you. Ask:
Where does snow cover the ground? (in some
places) Ask questions such as the following,
allowing time for students to respond to each
one:
Where are our books? (in the tub)
Where is the school secretary? (in the office)
Where do we have P.E. class? (in the gym)
• Apply Pair students. Ask partners to make up
sentences using the structure I like to _____ in
_____. As they share their sentences with the
group, write them on the board in two columns
headed When and Where. Circle the phrases that
begin with in. Remind students that a phrase
beginning with the word in can tell when or
where something happens.
Fluency: Read Smoothly with
Minimal Breaks
• Say: Good readers do not pause or stop between
words. Instead, good readers read smoothly.
They blend one word into the next. They pause
or stop only when they see punctuation marks.
They quickly fix mistakes and move on. Reading
smoothly helps the reader focus on what the
author has to say. Reading smoothly also helps
the listener enjoy the story.
• Ask students to turn to page 10. Read the page in
a choppy, word-by-word manner. Discuss how this
makes the listener feel. Say: Now I will read the
words smoothly. The punctuation will show me
when to pause or stop. Read the sentences again,
stopping at the question mark and periods and
pausing at the comma. Then invite students to
echo-read the page with you.
• Ask students to turn to page 4. Choral-read the
page with them, reading smoothly. Stop only at
the punctuation marks.
• Invite students to take turns rereading Winter
to Spring with a partner. Remind them to read
smoothly, pause or stop at punctuation, and
quickly fix any mistakes so they can keep on
reading.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Winter to Spring
7
NAME
DATE
Winter to Spring
Compare and Contrast
Winter and
Spring
8
Winter to Spring
Winter
Spring
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC