Level J/18
The Royal Zookeeper
Fiction Teacher’s Guide
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension Strategy
•• Analyze Story Elements
Concept Vocabulary
•• Words related to fairy tales
Grammar/Word Study
•• Adverbs
•• Adverbs using -ly
Summary
•• Pawprint Paul wants to become Queen
Bella’s royal zookeeper. Queen Bella asks
Pawprint Paul to guess the measurements
of her great hall.
Theme: Measuring
Math Concept: We can measure
length, height, and width. We can
put things in order of size. We can
compare sizes.
B
e n c h m a r k
E
d u c a t i o n
C
o m p a n y
Small Group Reading Lesson
Connections
• I have read other fairy
tales.
• I know that fairy tales tell
about castles, kings, and
queens.
• A queen is often a main
character in fairy tales.
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Build Background Knowledge
If English-language learners are not
familiar with the fairy tale that
native speakers suggest, then read
the fairy tale to them. Once students
have an understanding of the basic
elements of a fairy tale, encourage
them to share with the group
examples of fairy tales from other
cultures that they know.
Build Vocabulary and
Language Patterns
As students preview the book, make
sure they can identify all the animals.
Let students name the more familiar
animals, and then say the names of
the less familiar animals and have
students repeat the names. Write the
names in a list on chart paper and
have students say the names again.
Before Reading....
Build Background Knowledge
•Help students recall a familiar fairy tale, preferably one that features
a king or a queen. As a group, retell the story. Then have students
brainstorm a list of typical fairy-tale characters and objects, such as
kings, queens, castles, servants, and kingdoms. Record their ideas on
a chart titled “Fairy Tales.”
Model Making Text-to-Text Connections
•Show students the cover illustration and read the title. Say: I see a castle
in the picture and the word Royal in the title. I think this story might be a
fairy tale. I have read other fairy tales, and they often tell about castles and
royal people such as kings and queens. I should be able to use what I know
about fairy tales to help me understand this story.
•Ask students if the cover and title remind them of any stories they have
read or movies or television shows they have seen.
Preview the Book
•Preview each page in the book, asking students to describe what they
see. Model making other text-to-text connections. Say: I know that
queens wear crowns. I see a woman wearing a crown on page 3, so she must
be a queen. A queen is often the main character in a fairy tale, so this story
must be a fairy tale.
•Introduce any vocabulary you feel may be difficult for students. Point to
the pictures of the animals and ask questions using the animals’ names:
What color is the flamingo? How many alligators are there?
Model Reading Strategies
•Point out the word powerful on page 9 and ask students what strategies
they could use to read the word.
•Suggest the following strategies as you think aloud: You could use what
you know about base words and suffixes. You could divide the word into its
base word, power, and its suffix, ful. You could sound out each part and
then put the parts back together. Finally, you could see if the word makes
sense in the sentence.
Set a Purpose for Reading
Ask students to read the book to find out what the queen in this fairy tale
does. Remind them to use what they already know about fairy tales to
help them as they read.
2
The Royal Zookeeper
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages 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: 978-1-4108-1575-0
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During Reading....Ï
Monitor Student Reading
• Have students put self-stick notes next to words they have trouble with.
• Observe students as they whisper read. Intervene as necessary to guide them to use appropriate strategies to read difficult words.
After Reading....Ï
Reflect on Reading Strategies
• Ask students how other fairy tales they have read are like this fairy
tale. Remind them that connecting a new story to similar stories they
have read will help them understand the new book better.
• Ask students to share words they found difficult to read, and ask what
strategies students used to read them. Use these words, and any words
you noticed students having difficulty with, to model appropriate
reading strategies. Reinforce that students should always check
whether the words they are reading make sense.
Assessment Tip
To check a student’s reading strategies,
ask him or her to read a section of the
text aloud to you while other students
are whisper reading. Note whether the
student is using visual, structure, and
meaning cues to self-correct and/or
make sense of the text.
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Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Reflect on Reading Strategies
Note the words English-language
learners are having difficulty with.
Ask them to define or use words to
help you determine whether their
problems relate to unfamiliar
vocabulary or syntax.
Discuss Concepts
• Ask: What does the queen want Paul to use to measure the width of the
Great Hall? the length? the height? Have students support their answers
by reading aloud the parts of the book that gave them the
information.
• Ask: What tools do we usually use to measure width, length, and height?
(ruler, yardstick, tape measure) Give pairs of students one of the tools
and have them measure an object in the classroom and report their
measurements to the group.
• Point out that the queens in fairy tales often ask people to do
something difficult to prove themselves worthy. Discuss with students
what is difficult about what the queen asks Paul to do and what the
task is supposed to prove.
Extend Concepts
• Ask each student to choose a different small object, such as a book,
pencil, or shoe, and use it to measure the width of the board. Write
students’ measurements in a list on the board.
• Have students use a ruler, yardstick, or tape measure to measure the
width of the board. Write their measurements in another list on the
board. Ask them what they notice when they compare the
measurements in the second list to those in the first list.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Make Fiction-to-Fact™
Concept Connections
If students have read Four Faces in
Rock, ask:
•Why do you think people want to
measure things such as the faces on
Mount Rushmore or the rooms in a
palace? (Measurements may be
practical: for example, to make sure
furniture will fit in a room.
Measurements may also be
interesting: for example, to amaze
people with how huge a room or a
sculpture is.)
•Why isn’t Queen Bella interested in
having the Great Hall measured in
feet and inches, as the Mount
Rushmore faces are? (She ordered
the measurements because of her
interest in animals and her test of
Pawprint Paul’s knowledge of
animals, not because she wanted to
know the exact size of the room.)
The Royal Zookeeper
3
Small Group Reading Lesson
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Model
Ask specific questions about the
familiar fairy tale to help students
focus on and identify story
elements: Who is this story about?
Where does this story take place?
What happens first in the story?
What happens next? What is
wrong in the story? What needs to
be fixed?
Practice and Apply
Pair English-language learners
students with native speakers
to identify the story elements in
The Royal Zookeeper, fill in the
blackline master, and discuss
common ­elements of fairy tales
together.
Build Comprehension:
ANALYZE STORY ELEMENTS
Model
•Display a fairy tale that students know well. Ask them to tell who is in
the story, where and when it takes place, and what happens in the story.
•Say: When we read a story, we need to know the characters, the setting, and
the plot. The characters are the people or animals in the story. The setting is
where and when the story takes place. The plot is the events that happen in
the story. Usually the characters have a problem that they have to solve.
Sometimes we can use these story parts to help us know what kind of story
we are reading.
Practice
•Distribute copies of the "Story Elements Chart" blackline master. Have
students write the title of the story on the title line.
•Guide students to describe the setting and name the characters in the
story. Have them write the information on the blackline master. Say: The setting of this story is a castle long ago. Is this setting like the setting
in other fairy tales? One of the main characters is a queen. Is a queen often
a character in a fairy tale?
The Royal Zookeeper
Title: _______________________________________________________________
Where
and when?
(Setting)
in Queen Bella’s castle, long ago
Who?
(Characters)
Queen Bella
Pawprint Paul
Queen Bella’s animals
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Assessment Tip
Observe whether students can
identify story elements. Note
whether they are able to follow
sequential events, tell characters
apart, and find clues to setting and
story problem and solution. If
students have difficulty, you might
want to provide additional
modeling.
What
is the
Pawprint Paul wants the job of Royal Zookeeper.
problem?
Queen Bella wants to make sure he is the right
person to take care of her animals.
What happens? (Plot)
1.
Pawprint Paul wants to be Queen Bella’s Royal Zookeeper.
2.The queen says Paul must answer three questions correctly to get the job.
3.
The queen asks Paul how wide the Great Hall is, using birds.
4.
aul answers. He proves he is right with an albatross, eagles,
P
and a flamingo.
5.
The queen asks Paul how long the Great Hall is, using reptiles.
6.Paul answers and proves he is correct with a snake, alligators, and lizards.
7.
The queen asks Paul how tall the Great Hall is, using mammals.
8.Paul answers and shows he is correct with a giraffe and a monkey.
9.
Paul becomes the Royal Zookeeper.
How is the
Pawprint Paul proves he knows everything about animals,
problem solved? so the queen gives him the job.
4
The Royal Zookeeper
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Writing Mini-Lesson: Vivid Characters
•Read pages 2 and 4 while students follow along. Say: The author of a
story wants to create characters that readers can believe in and imagine
as if they were real people. How can an author create vivid characters?
•Involve students in a discussion about creating vivid characters by
asking the following questions:
What does the author say about Queen Bella? about Pawprint Paul?
(The author says that Queen Bella loves animals and that Paul knows
everything about animals.)
How do these descriptions make the characters “real” to readers?
(Readers have seen traits such as these in real people, so the
descriptions make the characters seem like real people.)
writing Checklist
As students review their piece of
writing, have them ask
­themselves:
•Do I create vivid characters?
•Do I describe what the
characters look like and act
like?
•Do I show what the characters
say and do?
•Is there anything I can add or
change that will make my
characters more interesting?
How do the things that the characters say and do make them interesting?
(The queen asks Paul hard questions, which shows she is demanding.
Paul gives good answers, which shows he is smart.)
What else can an author do to help readers imagine a character?
(An author could describe what the character looks like.)
•Use other fiction books to show how other writers create vivid
characters. Discuss with students how each author uses the characters’
looks, behavior, speech, and actions to reveal their personalities.
•On chart paper, write two or three interesting character descriptions
from the examples to serve as models for students.
•After looking at several examples of vivid character descriptions, have
students tell which characters they think are described especially well.
Reread for fluency
Read aloud sections of The
Royal Zookeeper using
appropriate phrasing, intonation,
and expression to model fluent
reading. Have pairs of students
take turns reading the pages of
the book to each other.
Link to Journal Writing
Have students find a piece of fiction writing in their journals. Have
them note whether they used a variety of techniques to create
interesting characters in their writing and decide what they can add or
revise to make their characters more vivid. If students don’t have a piece
of fiction writing in their journal, ask them to begin a new piece of
writing.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Connect to home
Have students read the take-home
version of The Royal Zookeeper to
family members. Suggest that they
talk about how Paul uses
measurements to get the job of
Royal Zookeeper.
The Royal Zookeeper
5
Skills Bank
ell
Support Tips
for English-Language Learners
Vocabulary
Pair English-language learners with
native speakers to discuss the
common vocabulary in fairy tales.
You may wish to let students look
through fairy tales in classroom
books and note what words they
see in several of the stories.
Grammar/Word Study
Demonstrate the meanings of some
adverbs by saying and acting out
the following sentences: I can talk
quietly. I can laugh loudly. I can
walk quickly. Point out that each
-ly word tells something about
each action verb.
Grammar/Word Study
If students have difficulty using
adverbs with -ly in sentences of
their own, ask them questions that
encourage them to answer using an
-ly adverb. For example: How do
you walk when you are not in a
hurry? I walk slowly. How do you
walk when you are late? I walk
quickly.
Concept Vocabulary: Fairy Tales
•Say: When we read a fairy tale, we expect to see certain settings and
characters. We also expect to see certain words. For example, fairy tales
often have words such as king and gold.
•Begin a word web with Fairy Tales in the center circle and king and
gold in two outer circles.
•Have students brainstorm additional words that are often found in fairy
tales, such as queen, castle, wizard, wishes, dragon, and three.
•Write the words in other outer circles in the web.
Grammar/Word Study: Adverbs
•Reread page 5 to students. Point to the word correctly. Ask: How must
Paul answer the queen’s questions? He must answer them correctly.
Correctly answers the question how about the verb answer.
•Reread page 9 as students follow along. Point to the word finally. Ask:
When does the flamingo step into place? The flamingo steps into place
finally. Finally answers the question when about the verb steps.
•Explain that correctly and finally are called adverbs. Adverbs can
answer the question how, when, or where about the verb in a sentence.
•Write quickly, nicely, and wisely on the board. Say a sentence using
each adverb. Have students tell whether the adverb answers the
question how, when, or where about the verb in the sentence.
Grammar/Word Study: Adverbs Using -ly
•Reread the first paragraph on page 14. Point out the phrase final
question and write it on the board. Explain that final is an adjective that
tells about the noun question; it tells what kind of question.
•Write the phrase stepped into place finally. Explain that finally is an
adverb that tells about the verb stepped; it tells when. Circle the ly in
finally. Point out that adding -ly makes a word into an adverb.
•Write slow, sad, and glad on the board. Have volunteers add -ly to each
word and write the new word on the board. Ask them to use the adverb
in an oral sentence.
•Point out that slow, sad, and glad are adjectives used to answer the
question what kind about a noun. However, when -ly is added to the
words, they become adverbs that answer the question how about a verb.
6
The Royal Zookeeper
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _______________________________________________________ Date ________________
Story Elements Chart
Title: _______________________________________________________________
Where and when?
(Setting)
Who?
(Characters)
What is the problem?
What happens?
(Plot)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
How is the problem solved?
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________
Making and Using Adverbs with -ly
final_ ____ ______________________ careful_____ ______________________
loud_ ____ ______________________ real _______ ______________________
sudden___ ______________________ safe_ ______ ______________________
quiet_____ ______________________ slow_______ ______________________
1.The librarian asked the boys to talk ______________________ in the library.
2.Aunt Linda held the tiny baby ______________________.
3.We can cross the street ____________________ at the light.
4.After two weeks, Meg __________________ found her lost shoe.
5.During the storm, the lights ____________________ went out.
6.The dogs barked ____________________ in the yard.
7.The turtle _____________________ stuck its head out of its shell.
8.Raul ______________________ likes to swim.
Directions: Have students add -ly to each word to make an adverb. Then have them write each adverb
to complete a sentence.
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC