LESSON 2 TEACHER’S GUIDE
A Leader for All
by Stephanie Sigue
Fountas-Pinnell Level U
Biography
Selection Summary
Lyndon B. Johnson was the 36th president of the United States. His
presidency brought about many changes to the U.S. His vision for a
“Great Society” still lives in many government programs today.
Number of Words: 1,500
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Biography
• Third-person continuous narrative; nine chapters with headings
• Political rise and presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
• Signing a bill into law
• The 1960s, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Great Society
• Appointment of African American Thurgood Marshall to Supreme Court in 1967
• All individuals deserve equal rights.
• The 1960s as a time of unrest
• People can work together to bring about change.
• Events in history shape events in the present day.
• Narrative humanizes Lyndon B. Johnson as a compassionate individual and legendary
leader
• Figurative language: the Johnson “treatment”
• Inference: He was a Southerner after all.
• A mixture of complex and short sentence patterns
• Multiple items in series
• Quotation marks; dashes
• Words that require context for comprehension, such as discrimination
• Words related to government and politics: bill, campaign, Senate, House of
Representatives
• Many multisyllable words: segregation, political, opportunity, appointed
• Words with suffixes: equality
• Photographs with captions help reader visualize information
• Twelve pages of text, photographs on most pages
• Table of contents, timeline of key events in Lyndon B. Johnson’s life
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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A Leader for All
by Stephanie Sigue
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of government and the presidency to build interest. Ask
a question such as the following: How does the President have the power to shape a fair
society? Read the title and author and talk about the photograph on the cover. Note the
chapter heads. Tell students that this is a biography about Lyndon B. Johnson, who was
the thirty-sixth President of the United States. Ask students what they might expect to find
in a biography of a U.S. President.
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 3: Have students look at the photograph and read the caption.
Suggested language: Then read the second sentence in the second paragraph:
He was a Southerner after all. Explain that the author finds it notable that the
President, a Texan by birth, was the first to sign the landmark civil rights bill. Ask:
Based on its name, what kinds of actions do you think the Civil Rights Act of 1964
made illegal?
Page 4: Read aloud the second sentence of the second paragraph. Explain that
President Johnson worked throughout his career to end the discrimination felt by
many people throughout the U.S. Ask: What are some ways that people might feel
discriminated against?
Page 8: Have students look at the picture on page 8 and read the chapter title
(The Campaign of 1960). As John F. Kennedy’s running mate in the 1960 election,
Johnson helped Kennedy gain votes from Southern states. Ask: What job goes to
the running mate in a winning presidential campaign?
Now turn back to the beginning of the biography and read to find out how
Lyndon B. Johnson became “president of all the people.”
Expand Your Vocabulary
activist – a person who
vigorously and sometimes
aggressively pursues a political
or social end, p. 3
Grade 4
acts – things that somebody
does, p. 5
nomination – the appointment of
somebody in a position, p. 8
discrimination – prejudice or
unjust behavior to others
based on differences, p. 4
Senate – the body of officials
elected to make laws, p. 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 Monitor/Clarify Strategy
and to think of
how they can ask questions about or reread any text they might not understand in order to
clarify their understanding.
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the book.
Suggested language: Why do you think equal rights are so important? What did Lyndon
B. Johnson do to ensure that all people are treated fairly?
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
• Lyndon B. Johnson believed in
equality for all.
• It is possible for one person to
help bring about change.
• President Johnson was the 36th
president of the United States.
• Every American has the right to
be treated fairly.
• The photographs help the reader
visualize the events and people
in the book.
• President Johnson helped bring
equal treatment to all Americans.
• The author includes dates and
a time line that help the reader
understand the information
provided in the book.
• The chapter heads help divide
the text into a sequential order.
© 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 passage from the text to read as a reader’s
theater. Remind students to pause after punctuation by taking short breaths after
commas and stopping after periods and question marks.
• 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. Explain to students that suffixes are words parts that are
added to the end of base words. Suffixes change the meaning of a base word. Point
out words with suffixes in the text. For example, the word equality on page 3 has
the base word equal and the suffix –ity. Discuss the meaning of equal and how its
meaning changes when the suffix –ity is added. Have students skim the text for other
examples of words with suffixes.
Grade 4
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 2.9.
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
Author’s Purpose
Remind students that the author’s purpose is the reason
he or she wrote the text. Model how to add details to the Graphic Organizer using a “Think
Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall as the first African
American justice on the Supreme Court. This detail supports the author’s
purpose to show that Lyndon B. Johnson believed in equal rights for all.
Practice the Skill
Encourage students to share their examples of another biography where the author uses
text details to support his or her purpose.
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
• What can readers tell about Lyndon B. Johnson from reading this biography?
• The word nomination on page 8 means
________________________________________________________________.
• One effect of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was
________________________________________________________________.
Grade 4
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Give English language learners a brief “preview” of the text by
holding a brief small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire
group.
Cognates The text includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their
Spanish equivalents: encounter (encontrar), example (ejemplo), injustice (injusticia),
numerous (numeroso), segregation (segregación), activist (activista), discrimination
(discriminación), nomination (nominación), and Senate (senado).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who is the biography
about?
Speaker 1: What was Lyndon B.
Johnson’s first job?
Speaker 2: Lyndon B. Johnson
Speaker 2: He was a school teacher.
Speaker 1: How did President
Johnson help give equal rights to
all people?
Speaker 1: What did he believe in?
Speaker 1: How did Johnson first
become president?
Speaker 2: equality
Speaker 1: Where was he born?
Speaker 2: Texas
Speaker 2: Johnson was vice president
when President Kennedy was killed.
Johnson became president.
Speaker 2: President Johnson
helped create many bills that
provided equal rights to all
people. He also created many
new programs that helped people
in need.
Lesson 2
Name
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 2.9
Critical Thinking
A Leader For All
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text How did Lyndon Johnson become such
a powerful senator?
He sat on important committees and spoke face-to-face with senators.
2. Think within the text How did Johnson begin his career in
politics?
Johnson began in politics by working for a congressman and President Roosevelt.
3. Think beyond the text What is the author’s attitude toward
Lyndon Johnson? How can you tell?
You can tell the author admires him because the selection only includes positive
information about him. The author also states that Lyndon Johnson was able “to
help all of the people, not just some of the people.”
4. Think about the text The title of this selection is A Leader For
All. Why is it a good title for a story about Lyndon Johnson?
A Leader For All is a good title because Lyndon Johnson wanted all people to be
treated equally. He worked hard to reach that goal while he was president.
Making Connections Lyndon Johnson was good at persuading people to
help him. What are some ways you could convince someone to help you?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Critical Thinking
11
Grade 4, Unit 1: Reaching Out
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5
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Name
Date
A Leader for All
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in two or three
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
The text says President Johnson used his influence and power to help
others. How was he able to become such a champion of civil rights? In what
ways did his leadership reflect his own ideals? In what ways did his
leadership reflect the will of the people? Explain your response with
examples from the text.
Grade 4
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Lesson 2
Name
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 2.9
Critical Thinking
A Leader For All
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text How did Lyndon Johnson become such
a powerful senator?
2. Think within the text How did Johnson begin his career in
politics?
3. Think beyond the text What is the author’s attitude toward
Lyndon Johnson? How can you tell?
4. Think about the text The title of this selection is A Leader For
All. Why is it a good title for a story about Lyndon Johnson?
Making Connections Lyndon Johnson was good at persuading people to
help him. What are some ways you could convince someone to help you?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 4
7
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Student
Lesson 2
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 2.13
A Leader for All • LEVEL U
page
6
A Leader for All
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
After teaching for a few years, Johnson moved to Washington,
D.C., in 1931. There he first worked as secretary to a
Democratic Congressman and, later, for President Franklin
Roosevelt. After two years, he returned to Texas and won a
seat in the House of Representatives. In 1948, he campaigned
and won a seat in the United States Senate.
During Johnson’s early Senate years, Dwight Eisenhower was
president. Johnson was able to work with Eisenhower’s people
to help pass key bills. These included a new minimum-wage
law, better Social Security benefits, and a new interstate
highway system.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/97 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 4
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1413929
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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