LESSON 28 TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Sand Castle
by Sela Greenblatt
Fountas-Pinnell Level K
Fantasy
Selection Summary
To counter his feelings about being very small, Marcelo the mouse
starts to build a big sand castle. After his first attempt is flattened
by a wave, his friends pitch in and together they build the world’s
biggest sand castle.
Number of Words: 388
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
• Third-person narrative
• Problem/solution structure
• Animals
• Friendship
• Beach setting and building sand castles
• Friends help each other.
• Accomplishing goals through teamwork
• Setting is important to plot (beach, sand, waves).
• Figurative language (onomatopoeia): SPLASH
• Expressions: That does it!, Don’t worry, Great work!
• Some compound sentences: Marcelo sat on the beach and looked at the big world around
him.
• Complex sentence with series of verbs: He scooped some sand, added water, then
dumped it out.
• Character names: Marcelo, Marta, Bird, Crab
• Verbs: popped, scooped, dumped, rose, flooded, peck
• Mostly one- and two-syllable words with a few three syllable words: another, together,
everyone
• Colorful, cartoon-like illustrations that support the meaning of the text
• Nine pages of text, illustrations on every page
• Ellipsis and dash used to show pauses in thought and action
• Use of capitals to indicate emphasis: HUGE, SPLASH
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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The Sand Castle
by Sela Greenblatt
Build Background
Discuss with children things people can do at the beach, eliciting sand castle building as
one activity. Have children share any experiences they have had making sand castles. Read
the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Build interest by asking a question
such as the following: How do you think a mouse could build a sand castle? Tell children
that this story is fantasy, or a story that could not happen in real life.
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary. Here are some suggestions:
Pages 2–3: Explain that this story tells how a small mouse builds a big sand
castle.
Suggested language: Turn to pages 2 and 3. Here is Marcelo at the beach. A big
ball hits him. What size is Marcelo? How can you tell?
Page 4: Explain that Marcelo wants to build the biggest sand castle ever. Have
children find the highlighted word scooped. What tool does Marcelo use when he
scooped the sand? What can you scoop with a spoon?
Page 5: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help them
read. Turn to page 5. A wave flooded Marcelo’s sand castle. What do you think
happened to the castle? The wave left behind a mound of wet sand.
Pages 6–7: How do you think Marcelo feels when his sand castle turns into a
mound of sand? How would you feel?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out how Marcelo solves his
problem.
Learn More Words
flooded
Grade 1
mound
2
scooped
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Read
Have children read The Sand Castle silently while you listen to individual children read.
Support their problem solving and fluency as needed.
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 interesting.
Suggested language: What did you learn about building sand castles from 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
• Marcelo is small, so he wants to
build a big sand castle.
• Friends help each other.
• The author sets up a problem
and solution in the story.
• A wave turns his first sand castle
into a mound of sand.
• Friends can solve a problem by
working together.
• Marcelo’s friends help him build
the world’s biggest sand castle.
• The setting is important to what
happens in the story.
• The dialogue sounds the way
people talk.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Fluency
Have children choose a page to read aloud. Point out that this story includes many
sentences with exclamation points, which means they should read these sentences with
strong feeling.
Phonics and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Add Endings Materials: whiteboards, markers. Have children add the endings -er and
-est to each of these story words: small, loud, new, strong, tall. Ask them to read the
new words.
• Write Sentences Display and read these sentences from page 2: The sky is so wide.
The clouds are so large. The waves are so tall. Have children use the same sentence
pattern to describe other objects in the story: The _____ is so _____.
Grade 1
3
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 28.9 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 a story has different parts—who the
story is about, where the story takes place, and what happens in the story. Model how to
think about story structure.
Think Aloud
Who is the story about? It is about Marcelo and his friends. Where does
the story take place? It takes place at the beach. What happens? Marcelo
builds a sand castle that gets knocked down by a wave. His friends help
him build a big sand castle.
Practice the Skill
Have children think of another book they have read. Ask them to tell who the story is
about, where the story takes place, and what happens in the story.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children write their response, using the writing
prompt on page 6.
How do Marcelo’s friends help him solve his problem? Write a paragraph. Use details from
the book to support what you say.
Grade 1
4
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English Language Learners
Reading Support Pair English-speaking and English language learners so that they
can check their understanding with each other. Have them take turns telling about story
events.
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: Who is the story about?
Speaker 1: What does Marcelo want to
build?
Speaker 1: Who helps Marcelo
build a sand castle?
Speaker 2: He wants to build a sand
castle.
Speaker 2: His friends Marta, Bird,
and Crab help him.
Speaker 1: What happens to Marcelo’s
first sand castle?
Speaker 1: What does Marcelo
say about his friends when the
sand castle is finished?
Speaker 2: Marcelo
Speaker 1: What kind of animal is
Marcelo?
Speaker 2: a mouse
Speaker 1: Where is Marcelo?
Speaker 2: at the beach
Speaker 2: A wave turns it into a mound
of sand.
Speaker 2: He says, “I have the
world’s best friends!”
Lesson 28
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.9
Name
Think About It
The Sand Castle
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
Responses may vary.
1. What did Marcelo need so he could build his castle?
Marcelo needed help
from his friends.
Making Connections Think about something you
made with your friends. Write some sentences to
tell what you made.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
11
Grade 1, Unit 6: Three Cheers for Us!
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Grade 1
5
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Name
Date
The Sand Castle
How do Marcelo’s friends help him solve his
problem? Write a paragraph. Use details from
the book to support what you say.
Grade 1
6
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Lesson 28
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.9
Name
Think About It
The Sand Castle
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
1. What did Marcelo need so he could build his castle?
Making Connections Think about something you
made with your friends. Write some sentences to
tell what you made.
Grade 1
7
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Student
Lesson 28
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.14
The Sand Castle • LEVEL K
page
7
The Sand Castle
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
“You should build another
castle!” said Bird. “Make it
farther from the water. Then
the waves won’t reach it.”
Marcelo shook his head. “I’m
too small for such a big job.”
“We’re all small,” said Crab.
“But we can do a big job if we
work together.”
8
Everyone nodded. Marcelo
grinned.
“Let’s make the biggest sand
castle ever!” said Marcelo.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/60 × 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
1413377
Behavior
1
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