LESSON 18 TEACHER’S GUIDE
Apples
by Lisa Panka
Fountas-Pinnell Level D
Informational Text
Selection Summary
Apples come in different colors and have different flavors. Readers
learn that you can go to a farm and pick them from trees. It helps to
use a ladder and a basket when you pick apples.
Number of Words: 100
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
• Descriptive, with some comparisons
• Apples
• How to pick apples
• All apples aren’t the same, but they are good to eat.
• Picking apples isn’t always easy, but it’s worth the effort.
• Simple, clear language, with some repetition: Some apples are ___.
• Writer talks directly to reader (second person)
• Many simple sentences: Some apples are red.
• Some longer sentences: You can go to the farm to get more apples.
• Words relating to apples: apples, sweet, red, green, trees, basket, ladder, pick
• Many high frequency words: some, are, eat, far, help, lot
• Some two-syllable words: apple, ladder, basket
• Pictures support each page of text
• Nine pages of text, illustrations on every page
• One to four lines of text on a page
• Some pictures are labeled with words.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Apples
by Lisa Panka
Build Background
Read the title to children and talk with them about the cover illustration. Encourage
children to use their knowledge of apples to think about the book. Anticipate the text with
questions such as these: What do you know about apples? What do they taste like? How
do they grow?
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:
Pages 2–3: Explain that this book tells all about apples.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2 and look at the pictures on both pages.
The book says: Some apples are red. Say the word some. What letter would you
expect to see first in the word some? Find the word some and put your finger
under it. And you can see that Some starts with uppercase S because it comes
at the beginning. What other colors can some apples be?
Page 4: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help
them read. Do you think the man and the boy like to eat apples? Why or why not?
How can you tell from the picture? The book says: Apples are good to eat.
Page 5: Turn to page 5. Find the sign in the picture. It says: Apple Farm U-Pick.
What does the sign mean? What do you think the boy and the man are going to
do now? Do you think they will have fun? Why or why not?
Page 7: Explain that some pictures in the book have labels to name things. Point
to the label in the illustration and read it. Why does the boy use a ladder to help
him pick the apples? Say the word help. What letter would you expect to see first
in the word help? Find the word help and put your finger under it.
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out all about apples and how to
pick them.
Words to Know
are
eat
Grade 1
far
help
2
lot
some
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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 book. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the book, or what they found most interesting.
Suggested language: What did you learn about apples that you didn’t know before?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help children understand these teaching points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Apples can be red or green,
sweet or not very sweet, but they
taste good.
• All apples aren’t the same, but
they are good to eat.
• The writer uses the same
language on many of the pages:
Many sentences start with Some
apples are ___. Other sentences
start with You can __.
• You pick apples from trees,
using ladders and baskets.
• Picking apples isn’t always easy,
but it’s worth the effort.
• On page 6, the picture shows the
people looking up in the trees.
This shows that apples grow far
up in trees.
• Some words are labeled in the
illustrations.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Concepts of Print
Help children recognize the concept of a sentence, a group of words with ending
punctuation. Explain that a reader comes to a full stop at periods, with the voice
going down. Have children practice reading sentences from the book.
Phonemic Awareness and Word Work
Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Clapping Syllables Have children hear and say syllables in words from the book:
apples, ladder, basket. Have them clap on each syllable: ap-ple, lad-der, bas-ket.
• Build Sentences Materials: index cards. Write the high frequency words from Apples
on index cards: some, are, eat, far, help, lot. Then write the content words on index
cards: apples, sweet, red, green, trees, basket, ladder, pick. Have children build
sentences using the word cards. Have them read the sentences and illustrate them
if they wish.
Grade 1
3
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 18.7 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
Explain to children that they can think about the author’s
purpose by finding details in a book that show why the author writes a book. Model how
to think about author’s purpose:
Think Aloud
What is the author’s purpose in writing this book? Some details in this
book are about the color and taste of apples. Other details tell that apples
grow on trees and can be picked, sometimes with the help of a ladder. I
think the author wrote this book so readers could learn all about apples.
Practice the Skill
Have children choose another book and use details to tell about the author’s purpose for
writing it.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
Would you like to go apple-picking? Why or why not? Write a paragraph. Use details from
the book to tell what you would like or not like about it.
Grade 1
4
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English Language Learners
Cultural Support Apples don’t grow everywhere. Talk about apples, where they grow,
and how they are harvested. Children may want to compare apples with the fruits that are
grown in their country of origin.
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: How do apples taste?
Speaker 1: Where can you put apples
when you pick them?
Speaker 1: What can you do if you
want to pick a lot of apples?
Speaker 2: in a basket
Speaker 2: You can go to a farm
and pick apples from trees.
Speaker 2: good
Speaker 1:What do apples grow on?
Speaker 2: trees
Speaker 1: How can you pick apples
that grow high up in a tree?
Speaker 1: What colors can apples be?
Speaker 1: Why do you need a
ladder to pick apples?
Speaker 2: red or green
Speaker 2: Some apples are far up
in the trees.
Speaker 2: a ladder
Lesson 18
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.7
Name
Think About It
Apples
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
Responses may vary.
1. How are apples the same? How are they
different?
Apples are good to eat. They grow on
trees. Some are red. Some are green.
Some are sweet. Some are not.
Making Connections Think about a fruit you
like. Write some sentences about the fruit.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
9
Grade 1, Unit 4: Exploring Together
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5
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Name
Date
Apples
Would you like to go apple-picking? Why or
why not? Write a paragraph. Use details
from the book to tell what you would like or
not like about it.
Grade 1
6
Lesson 18: Apples
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Lesson 18
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.7
Name
Think About It
Apples
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
1. How are apples the same? How are they
different?
Making Connections Think about a fruit you
like. Write some sentences about the fruit.
Grade 1
7
Lesson 18: Apples
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Student
Lesson 18
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 18.12
Apples • LEVEL D
page
4
Apples
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
Some apples are sweet.
Some apples are not.
Apples are good to eat.
5
You can go to the farm
to get more apples.
You can pick them
from the trees.
6
Some apples are
easy to get.
Some apples are
far up in trees.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/43 × 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
1413438
Behavior
1
Lesson 18: Apples
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