LESSON 11 TEACHER’S GUIDE
In the Sea
by Alex Plisky
Fountas-Pinnell Level D
Informational Text
Selection Summary
A diver swims under the sea and sees fish, a stingray, a turtle,
starfish, a crab, jellyfish, and a dolphin.
Number of Words: 87
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Informational Text
• Third-person exposition, from diver’s viewpoint
• Diving under the sea
• Marine life
• Varied animals live under the sea.
• Underwater views are interesting.
• Repetition of words and sentences
• Sentences of nine words or fewer
• Repeated sentence pattern: The diver swims and looks. She sees...
• One exclamation: Click!
• Marine animal names and body parts: stingray, turtle, flippers, starfish, crab, shell,
jellyfish, dolphin
• One- and two-syllable words; three-syllable word: jellyfish
• Compound words: stingray, starfish, jellyfish
• Words with endings: swims, looks, sees, uses, flippers, tries, waves, smiles
• Photos with labels support text.
• Photo above text on each of nine pages
• Each sentence begins on a new line.
• One- and two-line sentences
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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In the Sea
by Alex Plisky
Build Background
Read the title to children and have them describe the fish in the cover photo. Explain that a
diver took this photo underwater. Make sure that children know what a diver is. Anticipate
the text with questions like these: What other kinds of living things might a diver see in the
sea?
Introduce the Text
Guide children through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary so that they can read the text successfully. Point out the repeated
sentence pattern, The diver swims and looks. She sees___. Preview the photos to identify
the animals. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Tell children that this book gives information about different animals a
diver sees under the sea.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. The sentence reads: A diver swims under the
sea. Say under. What letter would you expect to see first in under? Find under, put
your finger under it , and say it. How is this diver breathing under the water?
Page 3: Remind children to use the information in the pictures to help them read.
Now on page 3, you can see fish swimming in the water. The sentence reads: Fish
swim in the water, too.
Page 4: Point out the label stingray and read it. Show children that it is made of
two smaller words: sting and ray. Explain that this flat fish has a tail with sharp
points that can sting.
Page 8: Turn to page 8. When you look at the picture, what do you see? These are
two jellyfish. What are the two smaller words you hear in jellyfish? The sentence
reads: The diver looks and swims away. The long threads on the jellyfish can sting.
That’s why the diver swims away!
Now turn back to the beginning of the book to read about animals under the sea.
Words to Know
away
by
Grade 1
picture
small
2
under
water
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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Read
As children read, observe them carefully. Guide them as needed, using language that
supports their problem solving ability.
Respond to the Text
Personal Response
Invite children to share their personal responses to the story. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the book, or what they found interesting.
Suggested language: Would you like to dive under the sea? Why or why not?
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
• A diver sees different animals
under the sea.
• The sea is filled with living
things.
• The photos were taken by
underwater cameras.
• Fish, stingrays, turtles, starfish,
crabs, jellyfish, and dolphins live
in the sea.
• The different shapes and colors
of sea animals are interesting to
see.
• The writer uses the same
sentence on more than one
page.
• It would be exciting to see
underwater animals up close.
• The writer wants to show
that sea life is beautiful and
interesting.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Model reading aloud a one-line sentence and a two-line sentence from In the Sea.
Help children to understand that you lower your voice and stop only when you come
to the period. Invite children to read a one-line and two-line sentence.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Rhyme Have children find the words and and sand on page 4 of In the Sea. Explain
that the words and and sand rhyme because their endings sounds are the same.
Say these words, and ask children to raise their hands when they hear any word that
rhymes with and and sand: stand, land, ant, sat, bad, brand, tan, blend.
• Homophones Point out the word Sea in the title and the word see in the text. Have
children tell which one means “look” and which one means “water.” List these
homophone pairs: by/buy; too/two. Have children find the first word in the book
and use each word in an oral sentence to show meaning.
Grade 1
3
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 11.6 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
Author’s Purpose
Tell children an author writes a book for a reason, and
readers can think about what the author wanted to do by finding details in the book. Model
thinking about the author’s purpose:
Think Aloud
Why did the author write In the Sea? I think the author wanted to help
me understand how interesting it would be to dive underwater and see
different animals. Three very different animals are turtles, starfish, and
dolphins. Those details help me figure out the author’s purpose.
Practice the Skill
Ask children why the author wrote the sentences on page 5 (to give information about sea
turtles; to explain how the turtle moves through the water).
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
The diver sees different animals under the sea. Which animal would you want to see up
close? Draw a picture of the animal.
Write about the animal.
Grade 1
4
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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English Language Learners
Front-Load Vocabulary Preview the book by showing children each photograph and
reading aloud the words in the labels: diver, fish, stingray, turtle, flippers, rock, starfish,
shell, crab, jellyfish, dolphin.
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: Where are the fish?
Speaker 1: What is next to the diver in
this picture on page 4?
Speaker 1: What animals does the
diver see in the sea?
Speaker 2: A stingray is next to the
diver.
Speaker 2: She sees fish, a
stingray, a turtle, starfish, a crab,
jellyfish, and a dolphin.
Speaker 2: [Points to fish]
Speaker 1: Where is the turtle?
Speaker 2: [Points to turtle]
Speaker 1: Where is the crab?
Speaker 1: What does the turtle use to
swim?
Speaker 2: [Points to crab]
Speaker 2: It uses its flippers.
Lesson 11
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.6
Name
Think About It
In the Sea
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
1. The diver swims away from the
stingray
jellyfish
2. The diver takes a picture of a
jellyfish
jellyfish
.
turtle
dolphin
dolphin
.
stingray
Making Connections Think of another animal
that lives in the sea. Draw a picture of the
animal. Label your picture.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
8
Grade 1, Unit 3: Nature Near and Far
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Grade 1
5
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Lesson 11: In the Sea
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Name
Date
In the Sea
The diver sees different animals under the sea.
Which animal would you want to see up close? Draw a
picture of the animal.
Write about the animal.
Grade 1
6
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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Lesson 11
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.6
Name
Think About It
In the Sea
Think About It
Write the word that completes each
sentence.
.
1. The diver swims away from the
stingray
jellyfish
turtle
2. The diver takes a picture of a
jellyfish
dolphin
.
stingray
Making Connections Think of another animal
that lives in the sea. Draw a picture of the
animal. Label your picture.
Grade 1
7
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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Student
Lesson 11
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 11.11
In the Sea • LEVEL D
page
2
In the Sea
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
A diver swims
under the sea.
3
Fish swim
in the water, too.
4
The diver swims
and looks.
She sees a stingray
on the sand.
5
A turtle swims by.
It uses its flippers
to swim in the sea.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/37 × 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
1413420
Behavior
1
Lesson 11: In the Sea
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