LESSON 20 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Curious George and the
Animals
Fountas-Pinnell Level A
Fiction
Selection Summary
The classic children’s-book monkey, Curious George, visits the zoo,
where he can feed giraffes, an elephant, kangaroos, and an alligator.
Then a bird swoops down, startles George, and grabs some of his
peanuts.
Number of Words: 29
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
• Third-person statements
• Sequence of activities
• Surprise ending
• Visiting a zoo
• Feeding animals
• A monkey character can act like a person.
• A zoo is a place to enjoy seeing unusual wild animals.
• Some wild animals are common and live among people.
• Repetition of words
• Simple straightforward language
• Repeated sentence pattern: He can feed (animal name).
• Each page introduces a singular or plural animal name: giraffes, elephant, kangaroos,
alligator, bird
• Repeated high-frequency words he, a
• One-syllable words; multisyllable animal names
• Illustrations support text and provide additional information.
• Illustration above text on each of five pages
• One-line sentences, extra space between words
• One exclamation point
• Many 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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Curious George and the Animals
Build Background
Read the title to children. Talk about the mischievous character Curious George, a monkey
in picture books who has been popular since children’s grandparents were children. Ask
them what George is doing in the cover illustration. Point out that the setting is a zoo,
where people can see animals from faraway places. Then ask: What hungry animals might
George feed at the zoo?
Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English
learners. Before reading, check understanding of the name George and the following
words: giraffes, elephant, peanuts, kangaroos, alligator, bird, bench. Use the illustrations
to reinforce the words.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary. Point out that on the title page, George has bought peanuts from
a stand at the zoo. Also note the repeated sentence pattern He can feed. Call attention to
the labels. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Tell children that Curious George is visiting a zoo. On each page of this
story, he is feeding peanuts to one or two animals. Remind children that the
pictures and labels can help them understand the story because the pictures show
the animals that George feeds and the labels tell the names of the animals.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. Read the label. Who is in the picture? What
kind of animal is George? He is the monkey. What animals can George feed here?
Yes, these are giraffes. The sentence reads: George can feed giraffes. Is George
having fun? How can you tell?
Page 3: Turn to page 3. What animal can George feed now? Look at the picture
and read the top label to find out. What is George feeding the elephant? The
bottom label can help you figure out that he is feeding the elephant some peanuts.
So who can George feed? The sentence reads: He can feed an elephant. Say the
word He. What letter do you expect to hear first in He? As you can see, He starts
with uppercase H because it comes at the beginning. Put your finger under He, and
say He.
Page 4: Turn to page 4 and read the label. What are these animals in front of
George called? Who can he feed now? Yes, he can feed kangaroos.
Page 5: Now who can he feed?
Now turn back to the beginning and read to find out about the animals that George
can feed at the zoo.
Words to Know
a
Kindergarten
he
2
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Read
Now have children read Curious George and the Animals 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: What was surprising about the ending to this story?
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
• George the monkey visits the zoo
and feeds peanuts to different
animals.
• People visit a zoo to see wild
animals that they can’t see in
other places.
• The author uses the same words
on each page, except for the
animal name.
• At the end, a bird takes George’s
peanuts.
• It would be fun to feed animals
at a zoo.
• The last page is different,
because the bird isn’t a zoo
animal, and George isn’t really
feeding it.
• George is different from the
other animals in the story,
because he acts like a person.
• The pictures show how George
feels.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Give children practice identifying the sequence of letters in a word. Have them turn to a
page of the book and say the letters of a short word you point to and name.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Making Rhymes Say two rhyming words, and have children name other words that
rhyme with them. Words to use: he, free; can, an; feed, read.
• Clapping Syllables Say an animal word from the book, repeat it syllable by syllable,
and have children say and clap the syllables. Words to use: kan-ga-roos, gi-raffes,
al-li-ga-tor, el-e-phant. Have children name other animals, and help them to hear and
clap the syllables in each name.
• Tracing Letters Materials: magnetic or cardboard letters or letter cards. Have children
choose a letter, say the name, and trace the letter.
Kindergarten
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 20.9 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
Sequence of Events
Tell children that they can think about what happens
first, next, and last in a story. Model thinking about the sequence of events:
Think Aloud
What happens first in the story? George feeds peanuts to giraffes at
the zoo. What happens next? He feeds an elephant, kangaroos, and
an alligator. What happens last? A bird surprises George and takes his
peanuts.
Practice the Skill
Have children tell what they would do first, next, and last if they were visiting a zoo.
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 what you would like to do at the zoo.
Write about why you like the zoo.
Kindergarten
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English Language Learners
Reading Support Check regularly on children’s oral reading to determine accuracy,
fluency, and comprehension. You may also wish to have children use the audio or online
recording.
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 is the monkey’s
name?
Speaker 1: Who feeds the animals at the
zoo?
Speaker 1: What does George like
to do at the zoo?
Speaker 2: George
Speaker 2: Curious George
Speaker 1: Where is George?
Speaker 1: Name an animal that George
feeds.
Speaker 2: He likes to feed the
animals.
Speaker 2: at a zoo
Speaker 1: What animal takes George’s
peanuts?
Speaker 2: a bird
Speaker 2: Possible answers: giraffe,
elephant, kangaroo, alligator
Speaker 1: Why is George surprised at
the end?
Speaker 1: How is the bird
different from the other animals?
Speaker 2: It is not a zoo animal.
George doesn’t feed it. It takes
his food.
Speaker 2: A bird took his food.
Lesson 20
Name
Date
Think About It
BLACKLINE MASTER 20.9
Curious George and
the Animals
Think About It
Children look at the pictures and circle the one that answers the question.
1. Which animal did Curious George feed first?
giraffe
elephant
alligator
Children draw a picture of their favorite animal at the zoo.
2.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
11
Kindergarten, Unit 4: Let’s Find Out
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Name
Date
Curious George and the Animals
Draw a picture of what you would like to do
at the zoo.
Write about why you like the zoo.
Kindergarten
6
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Lesson 20
Name
BLACKLINE MASTER 20.9
Date
Think About It
Curious George and
the Animals
Think About It
Children look at the pictures and circle the one that answers the question.
1. Which animal did Curious George feed first?
giraffe
elephant
alligator
Children draw a picture of their favorite animal at the zoo.
2.
Kindergarten
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Student
Lesson 20
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 20.13
Curious George and the Animals
Curious George and the
Animals
Running Record Form
LEVEL A
page
Selection Text
2
George can feed giraffes.
3
He can feed an elephant.
4
He can feed kangaroos.
5
He can feed an alligator.
6
He can feed a bird!
Comments:
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
(# words read
correctly/23 × 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
1413489
Behavior
1
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