Level E/7
Making a Rabbit with Shapes
Math Teacher’s Guide
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension
Strategy
•• Summarize ­Information
Phonemic Awareness
•• Identify medial sounds in words
Phonics
•• Identify long a: medial
•• Understand word building
High-Frequency Words
•• first, now, them, use
Content Vocabulary
•• Names of shapes
Grammar/Word Study
•• Give directions
Math Big Idea
•• W
e can use basic geometric shapes and
step-by-step instructions to make crafts.
B
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• Small Group Reading Lesson
• Skills Bank
• Reproducible Activity
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
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Small-Group Reading Lesson
circle
square
Before Reading
Activate Prior Knowledge
oval
Shapes
triangle
rectangle
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Build Vocabulary and
Language Patterns
Before reading, display circles, ovals,
rectangles, squares, and triangles in
differing sizes. Have students name
the shapes and sort them in various
ways. They can sort all triangles
together, for example, or they can
sort shapes by size or color. Make
sure students use the names of the
shapes as they tell how they sorted
them. Model complete ­sentences for
students: I put all of the big circles
together; These are all red squares.
Have students repeat the sentences
to reinforce sentence structure,
vocabulary, and intonation.
CUES FOR STRATEGIC
READING
Visual Cues
• Look at the beginning letter or
­letters (n in nose; gl in glue).
• Look for familiar chunks within the
word (an in animals).
Structure Cues
• Ask whether the sentence sounds right.
• Look for repeated language patterns:
You can . . . like this.
Meaning Cues
• Think about what makes sense in
the sentence.
• Look at the pictures to confirm the
meaning of the word.
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•S
ay: shapes. Write the word on the board. Ask students to name some
familiar shapes. Make a word web on the board with the word Shapes in
the center and the names of shapes in the outer circles (left).
Model Visualizing
• Display the book cover and read the title. Say: Reading the title brings a
picture of a rabbit to my mind. A rabbit is a little furry animal with a round
face that’s like a circle. What about its ears? They’re long and have rounded
ends. There’s a name for that shape. It’s called an oval. The rabbit I see in
my mind has big back feet for jumping. They’re shaped like ovals too.
Seeing the rabbit in my mind helps me understand how I can use different
shapes to make a paper rabbit. Let’s think about how a rabbit looks as we
read this book.
Preview the Book
• Hold up the book and discuss the cover. Then have students help you
identify the shapes on the cover. For example, ask:
What is the largest shape on the cover?
How many ovals do you see?
Do all the shapes together look like an animal?
• Have students take a picture walk through the book. As they page
through the book, have them match the shapes shown on page 3 with
the parts of the rabbit as they see it assembled. Ask: Do you see what
shape you can use to make the rabbit’s body? What about its whiskers? Do
you know the name for that shape? Let’s see if we can figure out from the
pictures how we can use these shapes to make a rabbit.
Set a Purpose for Reading
• Have students turn to page 2 and whisper-read the book. Say: I want
you to read the book to find out how these different shapes can be used to
make a rabbit. Monitor students’ reading and provide support when
necessary.
Review Reading Strategies
• Use the cues provided to remind students that they can apply different
strategies to identify unfamiliar words.
Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible page for classroom use.
No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-4108-2674-9
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During Reading
Observe and Prompt Reading Strategies
• Observe students as they read the book. Take note of how they
problem-solve on text. Guide, or prompt, individual students who
cannot problem-solve independently.
After Reading
Reflect on Reading Strategies
• After students have completed their reading, encourage them to share
the reading strategies they used. Reinforce the good reading behaviors
you noticed by saying:
I noticed, [student’s name], that when you came to a word you didn’t
know, you went back and reread the sentence. Did this help you figure
out the word?
[ Student’s name], I saw that you tried to figure out how to read the word
whiskers. You sounded out the beginning letters and then checked the
picture. That was good reading.
Build Comprehension: Discuss Concepts
• L ocate facts: What are the circles used for in the paper rabbit? (head
and eyes) What are the ovals used for? (ears, paws, and feet)
•D
raw conclusions: How many kinds of shapes are used in making the
rabbit? (5) Which shape is used the most? (oval)
• L ocate facts/identify sequence: If you were making a paper rabbit
according to the directions in the book, which part would you add after
making the paws and before adding the rabbit’s feet? (the nose)
•U
se personal response: Look at the other animals made with shapes on
page 16. Which one would you most like to make? Which one do you
think would be easiest to make? Give reasons for your answers.
(Answers will vary.)
• To practice text-dependent reading strategies, use the Comprehension
Through Deductive Reasoning card for Making a Rabbit with Shapes.
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ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Highlight for students the names of the
parts of the body that they have in
­common with the rabbit: head, body,
eyes, ears, nose, and feet. Review these
names by playing a game of Teacher Says.
Say, for example: Touch your head. In
response, students touch their heads and
say head. Continue the game until
­students are familiar with the names of
the body parts. You can extend the game
to include the names for other body
parts: arms, hands, fingers, and so on.
Skills Support tips
Use the Skills Bank
Based on your observations of
­students’ reading behaviors, you may
wish to select activities from the
Skills Bank (pages 6–7) that will
­develop students’ reading strategies.

Assessment Tip
Check a student’s reading strategies by
asking him or her to read a page of
the text aloud to you while other
­students whisper-read. Note whether
the student is using visual, structure,
and/or meaning cues to self-correct
and to make sense of the text.
Make Fiction-to-Fact™
Concept Connections
If students have read Ed Makes Shapes!,
ask:
• How are the books Making a Rabbit with
Shapes and Ed Makes Shapes! alike?
(They are both about shapes.)
•D
o you think that Ed would enjoy
­making a rabbit with shapes? Why or
why not? (Possible answer: Yes, because
he likes making things with shapes.)
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Small-Group Reading Lesson

COMPREHENSION
SUPPORT TIPS
Monitor Comprehension
• Are students able to locate ­specific
answers to text-dependent
questions in the text? If they are
having difficulty, show them how to match the wording of the question to the wording in the text.
• Are students able to find answers
to questions that require a search
of the text? If they are having
difficulty, model how you would
search for the answer.
• Can students combine their
background knowledge with
information from the text to
draw conclusions? You may wish
to model how you would answer
the question.
Build Comprehension: Summarize and Organize
Information
Model Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Making
a Rabbit with Shapes” or copy the chart on the board. Help students recall
how to use the five shapes to form the rabbit. Model how to ­complete the
chart. Use the following think-aloud.
Some books give useful information, but it’s not always easy to remember
every detail. To help me keep the important information in mind, I can use a
graphic organizer like this one. For example, I remember that one of the
shapes is a circle. But what parts of the rabbit are made from the circles?
On page 4, I see that a circle is used for the rabbit’s head. I will write
­“circle” in the column under Shape and “head” beside it in the column
under Part of the Rabbit. Now let’s write down how the other shapes are
used to make the rabbit.
Practice and Apply Guide students as they identify the shapes and
record how they are used to make the rabbit. If you think students can
complete the chart ­independently, distribute copies of the graphic
organizer (page 8) and monitor their work. Allow students time to share
their graphic ­organizers.
• Are students’ answers to creative
questions logical and relevant to
the topic?
• Do students’ completed graphic
organizers reflect an ability to
summarize and organize
­information? If necessary, ­provide
more modeling.
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Making a Rabbit with Shapes
Shape
Part of the Rabbit
circle
head, eyes
square
body
rectangle
whiskers
oval
ears, paws, feet
triangle
nose
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Interactive Writing
• Have students use information from the graphic organizer to write
sentences about making a rabbit from paper shapes. Say: Let’s look at
our chart. It gives lots of information about how to make a rabbit with
shapes. Let’s think of a sentence we can write that gives us information
about the ­rabbit. (Possible sentences: “The head is a circle” and “Two
ovals make the ears.”)
• Repeat the sentence aloud several times with students so they
­internalize the language pattern. Collaborate with them to write the
sentence on chart paper or on the board, one word at a time. Start by
saying the first word slowly. Ask: What sound do you hear at the
beginning of this word? What other sound do you hear? Let students
write the known sounds in each word, then fill in the remaining
­letters for them. Continue until the sentence is completed.
√√ √√√ √√
√ √
Write Independently
th hed is serkl.
• Have students write their own sentences based on the story. Encourage
them to articulate words slowly, use spaces between words, and write
known words fluently.
The head is a circle.
• Talk with students about their sentences. Validate their knowledge of
known words and letter/sound correspondences by placing a light check
mark above students’ contributions. Praise students as you write the
message conventionally for students to see.
FLUENCY
SUPPORT TIPS
Reread for Fluency
Model Fluency
• Have students reread Making a Rabbit with Shapes with a partner.
Have them read the text together and then take turns reading it to
each other.
• Read sections of the book aloud
to students to model fluent
­reading of the text.
Connect to Home
• Model using appropriate phrasing,
intonation, volume, expressions,
and rate.
• Have students read the take-home version of Making a Rabbit with
Shapes to family members. Encourage them to work with family
members to make a rabbit following the directions in the book.
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• Have students listen to you read a
portion of the text and then have
them read it back to you.
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Skills Bank
Phonemic Awareness: Identify Medial Sounds
in Words
_
/sh/ /a / /p/
• Tell students that you are going to say a word twice, first at a normal
speed and then broken slowly
into three sounds. Say: shape, then
_
­segment its sounds: /sh/ /a / /p/. Ask students to repeat the sound they
hear in the middle. If necessary, segment shape again until students can
identify and repeat the middle a sound.
•S
ay: make. Segment its sounds. Use the same procedure as above. Next,
tell students that you are going to say other words with different middle
sounds. Slowly say and segment the following: can, cut, head, this, and
nose. Elicit from students the medial sounds.
Phonics: Long a: Medial
• Write the words shape and make on the board, and have students
read
_
them aloud. Ask: What sound do you hear in both words? (/a
_ /) Circle the
letters a and e. Point out that the a and e together make
/a
/. Explain
_
that many familiar words use a and e to stand for /a /.
can
man
fan
pan
ran
tan
van
Dan has a tan.
• Help students think of some of these words by giving them prompts.
For example, say: You open and close this part of a fence. (gate) Food is
put on this dish. (plate) What’s a place where you can swim? (lake) You
can use this strip of sticky stuff to wrap a package. (tape) What is a small
purple or green fruit that grows in bunches? (grape)
• Write correct answers on the board, circling the a and e.
Phonics: Word Building
•S
ay: can. Write it on the board and have the class repeat it. Then cover
the letter c and ask: Can you think of another letter that I can put here to
make a word? If students are slow to respond, say: /m/. Repeat the
sound until they come up with man. Write the word man under can on
the board.
• Repeat the two words and ask students what they notice about the
sounds. Elicit that man and can sound the same, or rhyme. Point out
that can is a word in a big family of rhymes. Invite students to name
other words that rhyme with man and can and to write them on the
board. Encourage students to make up sentences about Dan or Jan
using a word from the rhyming list.
Jan ran in the
race.
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High-Frequency Word Vocabulary
• Divide the class into groups of three or four. Write the words first, now,
use, and them on cards, one set for each group. Have students put the
cards into a hat or box. Then have group members take turns drawing a
card, reading the word, and using it in an oral ­sentence.
• If time allows, have each child take a second turn. If they draw the
same word, they must create a different sentence.
first
use
now
them
Concept Vocabulary: Names of Shapes
• Draw a circle on the board, and ask students what you have
drawn. Write circle under the shape on the board. Then ask:
What will I get if I stretch this circle a little? Draw an oval beside
the circle, elicit the correct response, and write oval under the
shape. Point out that many shapes have names.
•S
ay: square. Write it on the board as you repeat the word with the
class. Invite a ­volunteer to draw a square on the board. Repeat this
procedure with the words rectangle and triangle. (Make sure students
understand what makes one shape unique before going on to the
next.) You may choose to extend the activity by drawing and naming
other shapes such as a pentagon, a hexagon, and an octagon. Write
the words under the shapes, and have students repeat them aloud.
circle
oval
Grammar/Word Study: Give Directions
•S
ay: The book gives a series of directions for making a paper rabbit.
Many sentences told us exactly what to do: Make circles and squares;
First cut out one circle. Let’s write directions telling how to open the window.
• Help students come up with a set of clear directions. Begin sentences
with verbs and write them on the board. Remind students that
­directions should be step by step. For example, you cannot open a
­window until you walk over to it. Steps might be as follows:
1) Walk to the window.
2) Turn the handle.
3) Push the window up.
• Point out that good directions often start with an action word telling
us to do something. Underline the verbs in the example on the ­board.
Then invite students to give clear directions for simple actions that
they know well, such as making a snowman, sharpening a pencil, or
pouring a glass of milk. Encourage other students to ­listen closely.
Are the directions clear and accurate? Write examples on the board,
underlining the initial verbs.
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Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________
Making a Rabbit with Shapes
Shape
Part of the Rabbit
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