Day
Read Aloud
“A Bath in the Ocean”
7
Learning Focus
RI.1.1*
Students ask and answer questions about key details in a text, referring to what is explicitly
stated, and use the details to support basic inferences.
3 minutes
Previewing the Text
A Bath in the Ocean
Picture a shark. What do you see? Do you see the shark’s gray skin? Are you thinking of sharp
teeth? Can you picture a shark eating fish? What about a shark who needs to get clean? Even
sharks need to get clean sometimes! All animals can get dirty. This includes fish. What do you
think sharks do when they get dirty?
This first part of the text reminds us of some details we may already know about sharks.
Who’d like to share some of the details from this part of the text?
Can anyone add other details from the first paragraph?
Close Listening to the Text
7 minutes
When I read informative texts, I usually have some questions about what’s happening. I try
to answer my own questions. If I can’t, I get help from another person. I’m going to reread
the beginning of the text again plus a little more. As I read, listen closely and think about the
details the text tells us about sharks and how they get clean. Sometimes the author doesn’t
tell us everything directly, so we have to put some clues together to help us figure things out.
We call that making an inference, or a good guess.
How Do Sharks Get Dirty?
You may wonder how a shark gets dirty. Bugs might start to live on a shark’s skin. Dirt from the
ocean might stick to a shark. A shark might have bits of old skin. Sometimes a shark just wants to
get clean.
From what I just read, I know that sharks get dirty. They may have bugs and dirt on their skin.
I start to wonder how sharks get clean. I see that the heading of the next section of the text is
“How Do Sharks Take Baths?” I figure out that the next section should tell me how sharks get
clean. When we use text clues like this to help us think of an idea or draw a conclusion that’s
not exactly stated, we are making an inference.
Mondo Bookshop Grade 1 • Theme 5 1
As you listen, keep thinking about the details about sharks and how they get clean. Remember
to think about the things the author states and to listen for clues we can put together to form a
new idea.
How Do Sharks Take Baths?
How do you take a bath in the ocean? Sharks cannot do it by themselves. They need help.
The bluestreak cleaner wrasse helps the sharks. Some people call these fish “cleaner fish.” Cleaner
fish help sharks get clean.
Sharks swim to special areas when they are dirty. These areas are called reefs. They look for
cleaner fish. Sharks will even wait for cleaner fish. Sharks know not to eat the cleaner fish. Cleaner
fish have bright blue stripes on their sides. This stripe tells sharks, “Don’t eat me! I am here to
help.”
The author states explicitly that sharks can’t get clean by themselves. What can we infer about
why sharks cannot get clean by themselves?
As you listen, keep thinking about the details. Remember to think about things the author
states clearly and what we need to put together ourselves. Keep asking yourself questions
about the text as well. Now let’s read the rest.
Cleaner fish swim right up to the shark. They bite off dirt. They bite off old skin. These things
are food for the cleaner fish. Cleaner fish help sharks so that they can have food. Sharks stay still
while cleaner fish eat. They wait until cleaner fish are done.
Finally, the shark is clean. The shark swims away from the reef. It looks for other fish to eat. It
does not eat the cleaner fish. It wants to be sure the cleaner fish will be there next time. Cleaner
fish want sharks to come back, too. They always help each other.
Discussing the Text
10 minutes
When I read the rest of the text, I want to find out how sharks get clean. I see that cleaner
wrasses help sharks get clean. I see that sharks also help cleaner wrasses. The wrasses eat the
bits of skin and other things off the sharks. Let’s share some thoughts about what we learn in
the last part of the text.
Who can share another question you had while listening to this text?
We inferred by putting together clues we found in the text. Remember that sometimes authors
tell us things very clearly, but other times authors allow us to connect the dots ourselves to get
a better understanding of details. It’s fun to think about these things as we read.
2 Connections in Nature
Day
Read Aloud
“A Bath in the Ocean”
8
LEARNING FOCUSES
RI.1.1*, RI.1.8
Students identify the reasons an author gives to support points in a text and continue to ask
and answer questions about key details that are explicitly stated in a text and to make basic
inferences.
Reflecting on the Text
3 minutes
Let’s review the selection I read to you in our last session. Who would like to summarize the
text?
Close Listening to the Text
7 minutes
As I reread “A Bath in the Ocean” to you today, I will think about what we already know about
the selection. As you listen, think about how the author provided reasons to support points in
the selection. Can you identify the reasons the author provides to support points in the first
paragraph?
A Bath in the Ocean
Picture a shark. What do you see? Do you see the shark’s gray skin? Are you thinking of sharp
teeth? Can you picture a shark eating fish? What about a shark who needs to get clean? Even
sharks need to get clean sometimes! All animals can get dirty. This includes fish. What do you
think sharks do when they get dirty?
As I reread the selection, I think about the author’s points and ask myself, “What does the
author want me, the reader, to learn?” Then I ask myself what reasons the author gives to
support the points in the text.
How Do Sharks Get Dirty?
You may wonder how a shark gets dirty. Bugs might start to live on a shark’s skin. Dirt from the
ocean might stick to a shark. A shark might have bits of old skin. Sometimes a shark just wants to
get clean.
I look at the second paragraph. I see the author’s point: sharks get dirty. What reasons does the
author give to support this point?
Mondo Bookshop Grade 1 • Theme 5 1
How Do Sharks Take Baths?
How do you take a bath in the ocean? Sharks cannot do it by themselves. They need help. The
bluestreak cleaner wrasse helps the sharks. Some people call these fish “cleaner fish.” Cleaner fish
help sharks get clean.
Sharks swim to special areas when they are dirty. These areas are called reefs. They look for
cleaner fish. Sharks will even wait for cleaner fish. Sharks know not to eat the cleaner fish. Cleaner
fish have bright blue stripes on their sides. This stripe tells sharks, “Don’t eat me! I am here to
help.”
Cleaner fish swim right up to the shark. They bite off dirt. They bite off old skin. These things
are food for the cleaner fish. Cleaner fish help sharks so that they can have food. Sharks stay still
while cleaner fish eat. They wait until cleaner fish are done.
In the next part of the text, the author makes the point that sharks can’t clean themselves and
need help to get clean. What support does the author give for this?
Let’s read to the end of the text. The author says that sharks do not eat cleaner fish. Who can
tell us the reason the author gives for this point?
Finally, the shark is clean. The shark swims away from the reef. It looks for other fish to eat. It
does not eat the cleaner fish. It wants to be sure the cleaner fish will be there next time. Cleaner
fish want sharks to come back, too. They always help each other.
Discussing the Text
10 minutes
Who wants to share reasons the author gives to support points in the text?
Any other responses?
Any last ideas?
Why do you think the author gives reasons for the points in the selection?
Why would we look for reasons to support key ideas in other informative texts?
2 Connections in Nature