LESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Saturdays with Sam
by Richard Cole
Fountas-Pinnell Level V
Realistic Fiction
Selection Summary
Daniel resents his confident new stepbrother, Sam, who is older,
taller, more popular, and better at sports. Sam’s father insists the two
go fly fishing, at which Sam is, of course, an expert. The boys bond
when Daniel rescues Sam when Sam falls into the river.
Number of Words: 2,900
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Realistic fiction
• Third-person narrative
• The action takes place over the course of one morning
• Details help readers compare and contrast the two boys’ perspectives
• Sibling rivalry and bonding
• Fly fishing terms and equipment
• Jealousy plays a role in sibling rivalry.
• Each person has strengths as well as weaknesses.
• Helping someone creates a strong bond.
• Conversational language and dialogue
• Sarcasm and interior monologues
• Mostly short sentences with some compound and complex sentences
• Italics for emphasis
• Questions and exclamations
• Many fly-fishing terms, some of which might be unfamiliar such as leader and tippet.
• Multisyllable words such as impatiently, confidence, irritably
• Realistic mixed media photographs/illustrations
• Seventeen pages of text with photographs on most pages
• Section headings help organize the text.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Saturdays with Sam
by Richard Cole
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of fishing and sibling rivalry to visualize the story. Build
interest by asking questions such as the following: If you have been fishing, what is your
favorite part of the activity? If you’ve never fished, what would you like to know about it?
Read the title and author and talk about the cover image. Tell students that this story is
realistic fiction. Ask students what types of features they can expect to find in this type of
story.
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 two stepbrothers, Sam and Daniel.
Daniel is upset that Sam, Daniel’s stepbrother, seems to be better at everything
than Daniel. Suggested language: The chapter heading tells us that it is 6 a.m.,
which is very early in the morning. Why do you think the exact time of day is
included? Explain that Daniel was sleeping, but a sudden abrupt knocking on his
door woke him up. What do you think the problem of this story might be?
Page 5: Tell students that Sam is leading the way to the river. Look at the boys’
body language and expressions. Ask: Is Sam happy? Is Daniel happy? How can
you tell how each one feels? Why do you think each boy feels this way?
Page 9: Have students find the words stable and exhilaration. Ask: If you were
standing on a slippery surface, would you feel stable? If you caught a fish, would
you experience fear or exhilaration?
Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to find out how Daniel
changed his mind about his stepbrother.
Target Vocabulary
abrupt – suddenly and without
warning, p. 2
take place at some time in the
future, p. 4
scrounged – gathered from
whatever happens to be
nearby, p. 3
blurted – spoke out suddenly and
without thinking, p. 8
exhilaration – a feeling of
extreme happiness, p. 9
comprehension – full
understanding, p. 12
jeopardy – danger, p. 12
spiteful – words or actions that
hurt another person, p. 12
oracle – a person who can
predict the future, p. 9
stable – strong and unlikely to
break down or change, p. 9
eventually – something that will
Grade 6
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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 text clues
to figure out what the author means or what might happen in the future.
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the story.
Suggested language: How did Daniel misjudge Sam? How does Daniel realize his
mistake?
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
• Daniel resents his new
stepbrother, who is older and
more confident.
• It’s possible to misjudge another
person and later change your
mind.
• The brief chapter heads help
readers predict what will happen
in the story.
• Sam seems to be better at most
things than Daniel is.
• All people have useful skills and
talents, even if they don’t realize
it.
• The language is realistic, as if
13- and 14-year old boys were
talking.
• Sam rescues Daniel when Daniel
falls into the river.
• The author includes lots of
details about Daniel’s feelings to
make the story realistic.
© 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 short passage of dialogue from the text to act
out for a readers’ theater. Remind them to pay attention to punctuation, and to stress
certain words to sound as if the characters 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. Remind students that to form the past tense of present tense
words ending in e, simply add d to the word. For example, the word scrounged on
page 3 is formed by adding d to scrounge. Other past tense words that can be formed
this way include lunged, plunged, and faded.
Grade 6
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 21.8.
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 they can compare and
contrast characters or situations by examining how two or more details or ideas are alike
and different. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud”
like the one below:
Think Aloud
Sam and Daniel are different in several ways. Sam is older than Daniel.
Daniel is a good swimmer and Sam can’t swim. Another way Sam is
different is that he knows how to fly fish and Daniel doesn’t. At the end,
they learn how they are smiliar, and both realize that neither wanted a
stepbrother. Include these details in the graphic organizer.
Practice the Skill
Have students share an example of another story in which characters change their minds
about each other, and how details helped them to compare and contrast the characters.
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
• How does Daniel show that he is not spiteful toward Sam when Sam fell into the
water?
• What details in the last paragraph on page 3 support the idea that Daniel is jealous of
Sam?
• What does the word jeopardy mean on page 12?
Grade 6
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Make sure the text matches the student’s reading level. Language
and content should be accessible with regular teaching support. Remind students that
both boys were nervous about having a stepbrother.
Cognates The story includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their
Spanish equivalents: abrupt (abrupto), comprehension (comprensión), eventually
(eventualmente), oracle (oráculo), and stable (estable).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who are the main
characters?
Speaker 1: What name does Sam call
Daniel that annoys him?
Speaker 1: Why does Daniel
change his opinion of Sam?
Speaker 2: Daniel and Sam
Speaker 2: Sam calls Daniel “Danny.”
Speaker 1: Who is telling the story?
Speaker 1: Why isn’t Daniel ready to go
fishing at 6:00 a.m.?
Speaker 2: Daniel rescues Sam
from drowning and realizes he
cares about him after all.
Speaker 2: a narrator
Speaker 1: What is the relationship
between Sam and Daniel?
Speaker 2: He oversleeps and does not
wake up on time.
Speaker 2: stepbrothers
Lesson 21
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 21.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Saturdays with Sam
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text Why does Daniel pretend to know how to fly
fish at first?
He wants to show off to Sam.
2. Think within the text What happens to Sam that gives Daniel a
chance to prove himself?
Sam falls into the stream and needs help.
3. Think beyond the text How would this story be different if it were
told from Sam’s perspective? How would it be the same?
Sam would be thinking about how he wants to impress Daniel,
but the story would also show how Sam felt about needing to be
rescued.
4. Think about the text Do you think Daniel has changed his opinion of
Sam? Why or why not?
Yes, because he saved Sam. Sam is not a good swimmer. Before
he found that out, Daniel thought Sam was perfect.
Making Connections What other stories have you read in which there was
tension between two characters? Choose a story to describe. What was the
reason for the tension? How was the problem solved?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Critical Thinking
10
Grade 6, Unit 5: Taking Charge of Change
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Name
Date
Saturdays with Sam
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
On page 18, Daniel thinks, “So this is what it feels like to have a brother.”
What does Daniel mean by this? Do you think Sam feels the same way?
Why or why not? Use examples from the story and from your experience to
explain your answer.
Grade 6
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Lesson 21
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 21.8
Date
Critical Thinking
Saturdays with Sam
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text Why does Daniel pretend to know how to fly
fish at first?
2. Think within the text What happens to Sam that gives Daniel a
chance to prove himself?
3. Think beyond the text How would this story be different if it were
told from Sam’s perspective? How would it be the same?
4. Think about the text Do you think Daniel has changed his opinion of
Sam? Why or why not?
Making Connections What other stories have you read in which there was
tension between two characters? Choose a story to describe. What was the
reason for the tension? How was the problem solved?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 6
7
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Student
Lesson 21
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 21.12
Saturdays with Sam • LEVEL V
page
10
Saturdays with Sam
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
At the mention of breakfast, Daniel’s stomach growled, and he
wondered again why Sam didn’t think to bring any snacks. He
was about to go look for frogs to pass the time when
something tugged hard on Sam’s line. The rod bent sharply,
and Sam gripped it with both hands. “Hey! I think I’ve got
something!” Daniel craned his neck to see what was pulling on
Sam’s line.
A split second later, Sam lost his balance and slipped on the
boulder.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/81 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 6
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414518
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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