LESSON 19 TEACHER’S GUIDE
PT’s Terrible Problem
by Jane Bingley
Fountas-Pinnell Level P
Fantasy
Selection Summary
PT is a rainforest frog who has no friends because he is poisonous to
the touch. The animals run in fear from him. He doesn’t know how to
solve his problem until he meets a lonely sloth. She gives PT clothes
to cover his poisonous skin, winning PT and herself the friendship of
the other animals.
Number of Words: 1,240
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Fantasy
• Combination of second person (If you ever met him…) and third person (PT lived in the
rainforest.) narratives
• Problem/solution structure
• Rainforest animal names and typical characteristics and behavior
• Animals behave like people
• The importance of friendship cannot be underestimated.
• Acceptance of others who are different can strengthen any community.
• Creativity can help solve problems.
• Questions directed to reader: And who would want to be friends with someone who
causes pain?
• Exclamatory expressions: Very dashing!
• Most are complex sentences with both dependent and independent clauses.
• Use of dashes to make complex sentences: It was true he was very small—only about an
inch or so long, in fact.
• Scientific name for frog: Phyllobates Terribilis
• Rainforest animal names, some may be unfamiliar: anteaters, crocodiles, jaguar, sloth
• Many multisyllable words
• Words with prefixes (disappeared, prehistoric, unfair) and suffixes (harmless,
immediately, poisonous)
• Detailed illustrations depicting rainforest setting and animals
• Thirteen pages of text
• Use of italics and all capitals (“YEEEOW!”) to indicate emphasis
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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PT’s Terrible Problem
by Jane Bingley
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge about rainforests. Build interest by asking a question
such as the following: What animals do you know about that live in the rainforest? Read
the title and author and talk about the frog on the cover. Tell students that this story is
fantasy, so the animal characters are going to do things they cannot do in real life.
Introduce the Text
Guide students 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 is a story about a rainforest frog called PT who has no
friends.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2 of this book. This picture shows PT all
alone in the rainforest. The letters in PT’s name stand for Phyllobates Terribilis.
It is pronounced fye-low-BA-teez ter-rib-BIL-iss. This is the scientific name for a
real type of poisonous frog. Let’s read the last sentence on page 3: Whenever he
touched another animal, a terrible thing happened: the other animal felt stinging,
fiery pain. What can you tell about PT from the picture?
Page 6: Explain that on this page, PT meets a jaguar. A jaguar is a large wild
cat. Describe the jaguar you see in the picture. What do you think might have
happened? How can you tell?
Page 7: Call attention to the illustration. The animal in the tree is a sloth. This
sloth’s name is Myrtle. What can you tell about Myrtle from what she is wearing?
Page 9: Call attention to the illustration. Myrtle tells PT he has poisonous skin.
Poisonous means “full of poison.” Look at PT’s expression. He is distressed to
find out that he is poisonous. Who wouldn’t be? Poor PT! How can he solve his
problem?
Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to find out how PT solves his
problem.
Expand Your Vocabulary
bank – n. the rising ground at the
edge of a lake, river, or sea,
p. 6
clearing – n. an area of land
cleared of wood and brush,
p. 5
Grade 3
crocodiles –large, thick-skinned
reptiles, p. 5
demonstrate – to show clearly,
p. 13
distressed - upset, p. 9
2
jaguar - a large yellowish brown
black-spotted cat larger than a
leopard, p. 6
poisonous - containing poison,
p. 8
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Read
Have students read PT’s Terrible Problem silently while you listen to individual students
read. Support their problem solving and fluency as needed.
Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy
parts of the story in their own words.
and to tell important
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the story.
Suggested language: How do you think PT felt when he found a way to become friends
with the other animals? Why do you think so?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, help students understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• PT is poisonous so the other
animals run away from him.
• It’s important to have friends.
• The animal characters use
realistic dialogue and display
human emotions.
• PT meets Myrtle, who gives him
clothes to cover his poisonous
skin.
• Both PT and Myrtle become
friends with the other animals.
• Good friends help each other
with problems.
• People should not fear others
who are different.
• Creativity can help solve
problems.
• The author uses vivid details and
colorful verbs to bring the story
to life.
• The author’s attitude is that
acceptance of differences can
improve the quality of life.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to choose a page from the text to read aloud. Remind them
to read with good momentum, using punctuation as signals for grouping words into
meaningful phrases.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion,
revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go
back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using
examples from the text. Remind students that some words have more than one
meaning. Readers must use the context, or surrounding words and sentences, to
figure out the appropriate meaning of a word. Point out the word bank on page 6 and
discuss its meaning in the story. Ask students to define the following words as they
are used in the story: seconds (p. 6), kind (p. 8), dashing (p. 11), and pile (page 13).
Grade 3
3
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 19.9.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as
needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Cause and Effect
Remind students that they can think about what happens
in a story (the effect) and why it happens (the cause). Model the skill, using this Think
Aloud:
Think Aloud
Look at page 11. PT is surprised to find out that Myrtle has many clothes
in Size Frog in her closet. Why would a sloth have frog-sized clothes? It’s
because Myrtle once had a toad for a roommate. When he took off, the
toad left his clothes in Myrtle’s closet. The closet full of Size Frog clothes
is the effect. The toad leaving his clothes behind is the cause.
Practice the Skill
Have students write one sentence that tells about another cause-and-effect relationship in
the story.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text
Have students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they
think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about
what happens in the story.
Assessment Prompts
• The first paragraph on page 3 is mainly about
________________________________________________________________.
• Reread the last paragraph on page 10. What does by accident mean?
• Complete this sentence in your own words: The reader can tell that Myrtle is kind
because she
________________________________________________________________.
Grade 3
4
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English Language Development
Reading Support In Introduce the Text (p.2) include as much practice as needed to
help students become familiar with the language structures of the book.
Idioms The story contains some idioms that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meaning of
expressions such as in his right mind (page 5) and all things in good time and by the way
(page 10).
Oral Language Development
Check student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.
Beginning/Early Intermediate
Intermediate
Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: What is the frog’s name in
the story?
Speaker 1: Why do the animals run
away from PT?
Speaker 2: PT
Speaker 2: His skin is poisonous.
Speaker 1: Why aren’t the animals
afraid of PT at the end of the
story?
Speaker 1: Where does PT live?
Speaker 1: What does Myrtle give to
PT?
Speaker 2: in the rainforest
Speaker 1: Who helps PT?
Speaker 2: He is wearing clothes
to cover his poisonous skin.
Speaker 2: She gives him clothes to
wear.
Speaker 2: Myrtle the sloth
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Lesson 19
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.9
PT’s Terrible Problem
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What is PT’s problem at the
beginning of the story?
All the animals run from him because they feel pain when they
touch him.
2. Think within the text Why does Myrtle say that she
understands how PT feels?
The other animals don’t seem to like Myrtle, either, because
she is so slow.
3. Think beyond the text Myrtle tells PT that she sits
still and reads the encyclopedia while everyone else is
running around saving the world. Which of these would
you rather do? Explain your answer.
Responses will vary.
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author
includes dialogue in this story?
Possible response: The dialogue helps readers understand the characters and
makes the story more interesting.
Making Connections PT cannot help being poisonous—he was
born that way. Think of another story in which a character has a
difficulty that he or she has to live with. Describe the difficulty and
tell how the character adapts.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Read directions to students.
11
Critical Thinking
Grade 3, Unit 4: Extreme Nature
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Grade 3
5
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Name
Date
PT’s Terrible Problem
Thinking Beyond the Text
Write a paragraph answering the following questions:
In the story, Myrtle is a good friend to PT because she helps him solve a big
problem. How might PT be a good friend to Myrtle? What problems might
he help her solve?
Grade 3
6
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Lesson 19
Name
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.9
Critical Thinking
PT’s Terrible Problem
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What is PT’s problem at the
beginning of the story?
2. Think within the text Why does Myrtle say that she
understands how PT feels?
3. Think beyond the text Myrtle tells PT that she sits
still and reads the encyclopedia while everyone else is
running around saving the world. Which of these would
you rather do? Explain your answer.
4. Think about the text Why do you think the author
includes dialogue in this story?
Making Connections PT cannot help being poisonous—he was
born that way. Think of another story in which a character has a
difficulty that he or she has to live with. Describe the difficulty and
tell how the character adapts.
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 3
7
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Student
Lesson 19
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.13
PT’s Terrible Problem • LEVEL P
page
13
PT’s Terrible Problem
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
PT began to understand.
Clothes would cover his poisonous skin!
It took a few days for the animals in the forest to understand
that PT was safe to touch. He and Myrtle had to demonstrate
several times.
Finally, a couple of brave monkeys swung over to PT and
shook his gloved hand. After that, everyone wanted to shake
PT’s hand! They couldn’t believe that they’d ever been afraid of
such a nice little frog.
Best of all, the animals began to take time to get to know
14
Myrtle. She was very generous with her knowledge—and her
wardrobe.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/98 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 3
Behavior
Error
0
0
Substitution
Code
cut
cat
1
Self-corrects
cut sc
cat
0
Insertion
the
1
cat
Error
1414024
Behavior
ˆ
Word told
1
8
T
cat
1
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