LESSON 5 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Sledding
by Stephanie Richardson
Fountas-Pinnell Level A
Fantasy
Selection Summary
The narrator’s dog pulls an increasing number of children up the hill.
Each load of passengers sleds down. Finally, the four children pull the
dog up the hill, and all, including the dog, sled down.
Number of Words: 58
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Fantasy
• Simple first-person narrative, with story carried by pictures
• Winter sports (sledding)
• Human relationships (with family, friends, pets)
• It is important and rewarding to do things with family and friends.
• Pets make good companions and playmates.
• Text with familiar settings close to children’s experience
• Two repeating sentence patterns with a one word change in one of the patterns
• Unnamed characters
• Repetitive sentence patterns are used on spreads.
• Two text structures used: My dog pulls ___ up the hill. We sled down.
• Relationship words: sister, friend, brother
• Easy high-frequency words, many repeated: my, pulls, me, up, the, friend, we, down
• A few simple, one-syllable words (dog, up, hill, sled)
• Whimsical illustrations strongly support the text.
• On each of nine pages, one illustration at top and one or two lines of text below
• Illustrations with labels for people, animals, and objects mentioned in text (dog, sled,
sister, friend, brother)
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Sledding
by Stephanie Richardson
Build Background
Read the title to children and talk about what the boy and dog are doing on the cover.
Explain sledding as needed. To prepare for reading, have children think about using sleds.
Ask: How do you get a sled up a snowy hill? What happens when it goes down?
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
these phrases: My dog pulls __ up the hill and We sled down the hill. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that in this book a dog is pulling children up a hill on a sled. The
boy in the pictures is telling the story.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2 and look at the picture. What do you see?
Yes, a dog is pulling a boy on a sled up a hill. The boy says: My dog pulls me up
the hill. Say the word pulls. What letter would you expect to see first in pulls? Find
the word pulls and put your finger under it.
Page 3: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help them
read. Look at the boy and the dog. What are they doing now? What will the boy
say? He says: We sled down the hill. Say the word down. What letter would you
expect to see first in down? Find the word down and put your finger under it.
Page 4: Explain that some pictures have labels to name people, animals, or
objects. Point to the label and read it. Turn to page 4. Now the boy says: My dog
pulls my sister up the hill. How many children are getting pulled up the hill now?
Pages 6–7: Turn to page 6 and look at the picture. How many kids can you see
on the sled now? The boy says: My dog pulls my friend up the hill. Say the word
friend. What letter would you expect to see first in friend? Find the word friend and
put your finger under it. On page 7, how do the children feel about the ride? How
can you tell?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out who else sleds down the hill.
Words to Know
brother
Grade 1
down
friend
2
me
my
pulls
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Read
Now have children read Sledding 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: Would you like to go sledding with these children? Why or
why not?
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
• The dog keeps pulling more and
more children up the hill.
• It is fun to do things with your
family and friends.
• One of the characters tells the
story.
• Each time, as the children sled
down, the dog runs down beside
the sled.
• Pets are good friends and
playmates.
• The pictures show that the dog
has to pull harder each time
because more children are on
the sled.
• In the end, the children pull the
dog up the hill. Everyone sleds
down.
• Outdoor activities can be fun in
winter.
• Labels in the pictures tell the
names of people, an animal, and
a thing.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Have children practice identifying the first and last words in the sentence on the first two
pages. Then have them identify the first and last letters in some of the words.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Blending Words Have children blend words with two or three sounds. Ask: What word
is /u/ /p/? Children’s response: /u/ /p/ is up. Other words from the story to use: my,
me, dog, hill, down.
• Finding the Letter Display some children’s names with d in the first or last name,
pointing out any d’s as you say each name. Afterward, have children point to some d’s
in the displayed names. Ask them to open their books to pages 6 and 7. Have them
follow along as you slowly read the sentence on each page and stop you by raising
their hands when you get to a word that has a d in it somewhere (dog, friend, sled,
down). Follow a similar procedure for the letter l (pulls, hill, sled, hill), using different
displayed names and the same book pages.
Grade 1
3
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 5.6, 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
Story Structure
Tell children that stories can take place in many different
places. Model how to think about where this story takes place:
Think Aloud
The setting of a story is where the story takes place. On page 2, I can see
a snowy hill and snow coming down. I can see trees in the background.
The boy and his dog are on a hill on a snowy winter day. That’s where
this story takes place.
Practice the Skill
Have children pick a familiar book and use the pictures and text to identify where the story
takes place.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
What do you like to do outside in the winter? Draw a picture of one way you have fun in
the winter.
Write about why you are having fun.
Grade 1
4
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English Language Learners
Cultural Support Children unfamiliar with snowy winters will need further explanation
of the setting. Use the illustrations for support as you explain how snowy winter weather
feels and looks, what kinds of clothing is worn, and what kinds of activities can be done.
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: On page 2, point to the sled.
Speaker 1: What does everyone ride up
and down the hill?
Speaker 1: Where does the dog
pull the sled?
Speaker 2: a sled
Speaker 2:The dog pulls the sled
up the hill.
Speaker 2: [Points to sled.]
Speaker 1: Point to the dog.
Speaker 2: [Points to dog.]
Speaker 1: At the beginning of the story,
who pulls the sled up the hill?
Speaker 1: What is this? [Point to
snow.]
Speaker 2: the dog
Speaker 2: snow
Speaker 1: What is different about
page 9? Who gets pulled up the
hill?
Speaker 2: The dog gets pulled up
the hill.
Lesson 5
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.6
Name
Think About It
Sledding
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
1. My
brother
is pulled up the hill after
my friend.
sister
brother
2. My dog gets tired of
running
friend
pulling
pulling
.
sledding
Making Connections Think about another story
about a dog. Draw a picture of the dog and
what it does. Label your picture.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
8
Grade 1, Unit 1: Around the Neighborhood
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Grade 1
5
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Name
Date
Sledding
What do you like to do outside in the winter?
Draw a picture of one way you have fun in the winter.
Write about why you are having fun.
Grade 1
6
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Lesson 5
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.6
Name
Think About It
Sledding
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
is pulled up the hill after
1. My
my friend.
sister
brother
friend
2. My dog gets tired of
running
.
pulling
sledding
Making Connections Think about another story
about a dog. Draw a picture of the dog and
what it does. Label your picture.
Grade 1
7
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Student
Lesson 5
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.10
Sledding • LEVEL A
page
2
Sledding
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
My dog pulls me
up the hill.
3
We sled down the hill.
4
My dog pulls my sister
up the hill.
5
We sled down the hill.
6
My dog pulls my friend
up the hill.
7
We sled down the hill.
8
My dog pulls my brother
up the hill.
9
We pull my dog
up the hill.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/53 × 100)
(# errors + #
Self-Corrections/
Self-Corrections)
%
1:
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 1
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
1413414
Behavior
1
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