LESSON 5 TEACHER’S GUIDE
A Cat Named Ben
by Ondina Mancilla
Fountas-Pinnell Level D
Fantasy
Selection Summary
The narrator, an apartment elevator operator, takes a cat from the
building up to different floors, where tenants attend to Ben’s needs
and make him purr. Finally, he’s too sleepy to purr, so the two go
back down.
Number of Words: 131
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
• First-person narrative
• Simple narrative with several similar episodes
• Apartment living that includes an elevator man
• Cat preferences and behaviors
• People like to care for animals even if they aren’t their own pets.
• Pets enjoy being with human beings.
• Simple dialogue, much of it split
• Simple sequence of events, often repeated
• Some sentences that are questions
• Mostly simple sentences (subject and predicate)
• Commas of address (Hello, Ben) and with dialogue
• Vocabulary associated with cats and their needs: purr, food, toy, milk, sleep
• Names of objects, people, and one action labeled in illustrations: Ben the cat, Ann, food,
Jon, toy, Kit, milk, Ben sleeps
• Some target vocabulary highlighted in text
• Several repeated high frequency-words: friend, hello, here, see, go
• All one-syllable words, except for hello
• Stylized pictures support each page of text.
• Nine pages of text with illustrations at the top of every page
• Some objects in pictures are labeled.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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A Cat Named Ben
by Ondina Mancilla
Build Background
Read the title to children. Talk with them about what the cat seems to be doing. Help
children to use their knowledge of cats to think about the story. Anticipate the text with
questions such as these: What do cats like? What do cats do when they’re happy?
Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English
learners. Before reading, check understanding of the following words: ride, purr, hello, toy,
milk, tired.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Call their attention to any
labels. Explain important text features, such as the repetition of these sentences: I say,
“Will you go up?” and Ben says, “Purr.” Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that in this story a cat named Ben rides in an apartment elevator
and receives things from people who live on different floors of the building.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. You see Ben the cat and the man who runs
the elevator in an apartment building. The elevator man says: I see my friend Ben.
Say the word friend. What letter would you expect to see first in the word friend?
Find the word friend and put your finger under it.
Page 4: Explain that some of the pictures in this book have labels to name things.
Point out the labels, Ann and food, in the illustration. On page 4, you see a woman
named Ann giving food to Ben. When she sees Ben, she says: “Hello, Ben.” Say
the word: Hello. What letter would you expect to see first in the word Hello? Find
the word Hello and put your finger under it. What do you think Ben will do when he
sees the food? Ben says: “Purr.”
Page 6: Call attention to the illustrations and read the labels. What kind of toy does
Jon have for Ben? If Ben likes that toy, what do you think he will say?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out what happens to Ben on his ride
in the elevator.
Words to Know
friend
Grade 1
go
hello
here
2
like
see
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Read
As the children read, observe them carefully. Guide them as needed, using language that
supports their problem-solving ability.
Respond to the Text
Personal Response
Ask children to share their personal responses to the story. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the story, or what they found most interesting.
Suggested language: Why do you think the people were all so nice to Ben?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help children understand these teaching points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Ben the cat lives in an apartment
building.
• People like to be friends with
pets, even if they aren’t their own
pets.
• The story is narrated by the
elevator operator.
• He rides up in the elevator and
gets treats from people in the
building.
• All the treats make him sleepy,
so the elevator operator takes
him back down.
• Pets enjoy the friendship of
human beings.
• An apartment building can be a
small community.
• The setting is unusual because it
takes place inside an apartment
building with an elevator
operator.
• Certain phrases are repeated,
such as Ben says, “Purr” and
“Will you go up?”
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Have children match the spoken greeting Hello, Ben to its written form. First have them
greet the cat in the picture on page 2 by saying, “Hello, Ben.” Then have them find these
words on the page. You might have children spell these words as well as read them.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Solving Riddles Have children practice consonant substitution by asking them riddles
like this: What word starts with /b/ and sounds like toy? (boy) Continue with these
initial consonant sounds and these other story words: /f/+will, /t/+down, /m/+cat,
/s/+ride.
• Building Sentences Materials: index cards, box. Write these story words on index
cards: see, cat, ride, likes, food, toy, milk, down, up, my. Put them in a small box.
Have children take turns pulling a word out of the box, reading it, and using it in a
sentence.
Grade 1
3
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 5.9 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 the story setting is where the story
happens. The story characters are who the story is about. Story events are what happens
in the story. Model how to think about story structure:
Think Aloud
Where does this story take place? It takes place in an apartment building.
Who is it about? It’s about Ben the cat. What happens in the story?
Ben rides the elevator and gets some food, a toy, and some milk. Then
Ben gets tired!
Practice the Skill
Have children pick a familiar book and tell the setting, some characters, and what happens
in the story.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
What is something else someone in the building can give Ben? Draw a picture of it.
Write about what Ben would do with it.
Grade 1
4
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English Language Learners
Cultural Support Children are likely to be unfamiliar with elevators, especially with
elevator operators. Explain the concept at greater length—how people get on, how they
get to different floors, and what happens when they get there. Make it clear that many
elevators do not have an elevator operator. People push the buttons themselves. Also, you
may want 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: What kind of an animal is
Ben?
Speaker 1: Who is the elevator man’s
friend?
Speaker 1: What sentence is at the
bottom of almost every page?
Speaker 2: a cat
Speaker 2: Ben the cat
Speaker 2: Ben says, “Purr.”
Speaker 1: What do people say when
they see him?
Speaker 1: How does Ben feel at the end
of the story?
Speaker 1: What things do the
people in the building give Ben?
Speaker 2: Hello, Ben.
Speaker 2: Ben is tired.
Speaker 2: They give him some
food, a toy, and some milk.
Speaker 1: What does Ben do when
people give him things?
Speaker 2: purrs
Lesson 5
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.9
Name
Think About It
A Cat Named Ben
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
Kit
1.
Ann
2. Ben goes
out
gives Ben some milk.
Jon
Kit
up
to see his friends.
up
down
Making Connections Think about another story
about a cat. Draw a picture to show what the
cat looks like. Label your picture.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
11
Grade 1, Unit 1: Around the Neighborhood
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Grade 1
5
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Name
Date
A Cat Named Ben
What is something else someone in the building
can give Ben? Draw a picture of it.
Write about what Ben would do with it.
Grade 1
6
Lesson 5: A Cat Named Ben
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Lesson 5
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.9
Name
Think About It
A Cat Named Ben
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
gives Ben some milk.
1.
Ann
Jon
Kit
2. Ben goes
out
to see his friends.
up
down
Making Connections Think about another story
about a cat. Draw a picture to show what the
cat looks like. Label your picture.
Grade 1
7
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Student
Lesson 5
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 5.13
A Cat Named Ben • LEVEL D
page
2
A Cat Named Ben
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
I see my friend Ben.
Ben is a cat.
“Hello, Ben,” I say.
“Can you ride with me?”
Ben says, “Purr.”
3
“Will you go up?” I say.
Ben says, “Purr.”
We go up to see Ann.
4
“Hello, Ben,” says Ann.
“Here is some food.”
Ben says, “Purr.”
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/47 × 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
1413369
Behavior
1
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