LESSON 27 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Dan and his Brothers
by Olivia Melo
Fountas-Pinnell Level C
Realistic Fiction
Selection Summary
Three-year-old Dan asks to join his older brothers Peter and Max
as they go to the park, play a game, clean their room, and do their
homework. Each time, they let him join them. When he asks to go to
school with them, though, they say, “Not yet!”
Number of Words: 105
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
• Series of questions and answers in dialogue, with repetitive elements
• Final event is different from preceding ones.
• Brothers and younger siblings
• Play and work activities
• Younger siblings often want to join in activities with older ones.
• Older siblings help younger ones.
• Children do different things at different ages.
• Repetition
• Dialogue moves the story along.
• Ending event breaks the pattern.
• Questions, statements, exclamations
• Split dialogue and dialogue with direct address (“No, Dan,” said Peter and Max.)
• Pronoun referents: Can I help you with your homework?” said Dan.
• Sentences of ten words or fewer
• Familiar verbs and nouns: clean, park, game, room, homework, school
• Word sure used as exclamation
• High-frequency words: I, come, to, the, said, you, with, play, a, help, no, and
• Mainly one-syllable words; two-syllable words are Peter, homework
• Illustrations support text.
• Illustration above text on each of nine pages
• Each one- to two-line sentence begins on a new line, broken before a phrase
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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Dan and his Brothers
by Olivia Melo
Build Background
Read the title to children, and tell them that Dan is about three years old and is the
youngest of three brothers. Have children point out Dan in the cover illustration. Ask: How
do older brothers take care of a younger one? Why does a younger brother like to do
things with older brothers?
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. Here are some
suggestions:
Page 2: Tell children that in this story Dan keeps asking his older brothers, Max
and Peter, if he can do things with them.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. Max and Peter are getting ready to go to the
park. Dan said: “Can I come to the park with you?” What do you think they will
answer? Why do you think that?
Page 3: On page 3, Max said: “You can come to the park with us.” How does Dan
feel about that answer? How can you tell?
Page 6: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help them
read. What are the brothers doing in the picture? What do you think Dan will ask?
He says: “Can I help you clean your room?” Dan said. Say the word clean. What
letter would you expect to see first in the word clean? Find the word clean and put
your finger under it.
Page 8: Turn to page 8. What are the boys doing now? Point to the word
homework. Can you see the two smaller words in the word homework? What are
they? Put your finger under each of those small words. What do you think Dan will
ask his brothers about their homework?
Now turn back to the beginning and read to find out what Dan wants to do with his
brothers.
Learn More Words
clean
Kindergarten
homework
2
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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 interesting.
Suggested language: Do you know anyone who is like Dan? Explain.
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
• Dan has two older brothers, Max
and Peter.
• Younger brothers always like
to do things with their older
brothers.
• The author makes readers want
to find out what will happen at
the end.
• A young child wants to feel more
grown up and doesn’t want to be
left out of activities.
• The pictures show how happy
Dan feels when can join in, and
how sad he feels when he can’t.
• Older brothers can help take care
of a younger brother.
• The whole story is told with
questions and answers.
• Dan asks to go to the park, play
a game, help clean, and help do
homework with his brothers, and
they say yes.
• Dan asks to go to school with
his brothers, but they say no.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Help children understand that a speaker’s exact words are shown within quotation marks.
Point out a question mark or an exclamation point. Model how to use those marks to
sound as if the speaker is asking a question or expressing strong feeling.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Final Sounds Tell children to listen as you say a word from the story twice. Explain
that the second time, you will say the word without its final sound. Have children say
the final sound and then the whole word. Words to use: not (no/t/); yet (ye/t/); yes
(ye/s/); can (ca/n/); with (wi/th/); park (par/k/).
• Phonograms Write the word an on the board, and read it with children. Have them
turn to page 2 of Dan and his Brothers to find two words that end with an (Can and
Dan). Have them write those words below an, and add more to the list. They may list
and then read: fan, man, pan, ran, tan, and van.
Kindergarten
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 27.8 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
Compare and Contrast
Tell children that they can think about how people
are alike and different. Model how to compare and contrast:
Think Aloud
Dan is like his older brothers in some ways. He is in the same family.
He likes to do what they like to do. But he is different in other ways. He
is younger. He can’t do things as well as they do them. And he isn’t old
enough to go to school.
Practice the Skill
Ask children to tell how Dan’s brothers are alike and different.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
Draw a picture showing something else Dan can do with his brothers.
Write about what they can do.
Kindergarten
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English Language Learners
Reading Support Help children to understand the pronouns in this story. Point to the
characters as you take turns telling whom the following pronouns refer to: I, you, us, your,
and our.
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 this boy’s name?
Speaker 1: Where does Dan go with his
brothers?
Speaker 1: What does Dan do
with his brothers?
Speaker 2: to the park
Speaker 2: He goes to the park,
plays a game, helps clean their
room, and helps with homework.
Speaker 2: Dan
Speaker 1: What does Dan want to do
in the room?
Speaker 2: clean
Speaker 1: Where does Dan want to go
at the end?
Speaker 2: school
Speaker 1: What does Dan want to do
on page 8?
Speaker 2: help with homework
Speaker 1: Why is Dan crying at the
end?
Speaker 2: He can’t go to school.
Speaker 1: Why can’t Dan go to
school with his brothers?
Speaker 2: He isn’t old enough for
school.
Lesson 27
Name
Date
Think About It
BLACKLINE MASTER 27.8
Dan and His Brothers
Think About It
Children read the sentences and circle the one that answers the question.
1. Why do you think Dan can’t go to school with
his brothers?
He is
too little.
He is
too big.
He is too
hungry.
Children draw a picture of a place they like to go with their family and label it.
2.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
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Kindergarten
5
10
Kindergarten, Unit 6: Look at Us
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Name
Date
Dan and his Brothers
Draw a picture showing something else
Dan can do with his brothers.
Write about what they can do.
Kindergarten
6
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Lesson 27
Name
Date
Think About It
BLACKLINE MASTER 27.8
Dan and his Brothers
Think About It
Children read the sentences and circle the one that answers the question.
1. Why do you think Dan can’t go to school with
his brothers?
He is
too little.
He is
too big.
He is too
hungry.
Children draw a picture of a place they like to go with their family and label it.
2.
Kindergarten
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Student
Lesson 27
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 27.12
Dan and his Brothers • LEVEL C
page
2
Dan and his Brothers
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
“Can I come to the park
with you?” said Dan.
3
“Yes,” Max said.
“You can come to the park
with us.”
4
“Can I play a game
with you?” said Dan.
5
“Sure!” Peter said.
“You can play a game
with us.”
6
“Can I help you clean
your room?” Dan said.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/49 x 100)
(# errors + #
Self-Corrections/
Self-Corrections)
%
1:
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Behavior
Error
0
0
1
8
Kindergarten
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
Word told
T
cat
cat

Error
1413337
Behavior
1
Lesson 27: Dan and his Brothers
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O V E R M AT T E R
12/4/09 11:51:56 PM