Title of Text: The Flight of the Union
Author/Illustrator: Tekla White/Ralph Ramstad GRL: N Series: On My Own History Genre: Fiction, Historical Content Standard: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. Lesson Objectives: Comprehension Strategy: Questioning Skill: Story Elements Fluency: Appropriate Speed Academic Vocabulary: explain or research the meanings of the words below. Discuss the morphology of the words: suffixes, taking a root word and adding to it to change the meaning of the word. Have students talk about the meaning of each word, using antonyms, synonyms and situations where each word can be used correctly. a. reeled b. gorge c. falls d. towering e. steady f. risky Before Reading: ENGAGE! THINK! 1. Build Background Knowledge a. Let’s look at the front and back cover. What do you know about? b. What would you like to learn? c. Predict – what do you think the title refers to? d. What do you know about Niagara Falls? (if you have a map – look at the location) 2. Skill Introduction: a. Story Elements – today we will concentrate on the main character’s personality traits and how the setting contributes to the story. 3. Strategy Introduction: a. Questioning – we will be asking and answering questions of the text today. Let’s look at the front cover and come up with a question or two of the illustration. 4. Fluency: Appropriate Speed – we will make sure we monitor our reading today so that we are not reading too fast or too slow. Standard ‐ Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. We created some questions for the front cover. How did they help you get ready to read? Copyright © 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™ are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com During Reading: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late! Check for Understanding (Stop after page 22) 1.
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Tell me about a part you didn’t understand? Turn and Talk: how is using the strategy of questioning helpful in your reading? Homan’s mother told him she used her best silk on the kite and that he better help with the bridge. What did she mean by this? How do you visualize what the weather was like at the falls? How does the story element of setting play in the story? Standard: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. Why was knowing how to fly the kite important? What else was important? After Reading: 1. What did you learn? What surprised you? 2. What are some words to describe Homan and give some examples from the text? 3. How did Homan affect history? 4.
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Standard: What is the most important thing to remember from this book? What are the details that can help you remember this? Theme – persistence was one theme in this book. What was another theme? How did the author help us understand it’s a theme? Standard: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. Develop some questions and answers around the money mentioned in the story. Academic Vocabulary: gorge – how was this word used in the book? How else can it be used? Theme/Tone: if bravery is one theme, what is another? How does the author help us understand the theme? What is the tone of the last part of the book compared to the first part? Character Analysis: choose one character and analyze his/her character. Cite evidence from the text to support your answer. Writing Standard: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. a. Establish a situation and introduce a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally. b. Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences and events or show the response of characters to situations. c. Use temporal words and phrases to signal event order. d. Provide a sense of closure. Task: Think about another kite flyer. Write a narrative of his/her story on trying to do the same think Homan did. Use the points above in your piece. IF/THEN: Story Elements – if students are having difficulty understanding character and setting, talk first about character –
what steps did Homan take to make sure he was successful with the Union. Then, look at pictures of the outdoor setting and talk about how weather conditions can make a difference to a plan. Copyright © 2012 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Lerner Digital™ and Lerner eSource™ are trademarks of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.lernerbooks.com