LESSON 28 TEACHER’S GUIDE
The Boat Race
by Mary Alice Bower
Fountas-Pinnell Level J
Fantasy
Selection Summary
Best friends Paxton and Delia like to do everything together, especially
sailing their sailboat. When they enter a sailboat race, they work as a
team to win.
Number of Words: 366
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
• Third-person narrative
• Problem/solution structure
• Simple plot proceeding in sequence to the end
• Friendship
• Sailboats and sailing
• Racing
• Creative problem-solving and teamwork are a winning combination.
• Determination plays an important role in success.
• Elements of fantasy: talking animals wearing clothing
• Much of story told through dialogue
• Some longer sentences (more than ten words)
• All dialogue assigned; some split dialogue: “Those sailboats can leave,” said Paxton. “We
will not leave the race.”
• Character names: Paxton, Delia
• Phrases related to sailing: pulled the large sail up, wind blew across the sails
• Some variety of words to assign dialogue: said, cried, asked
• Some target vocabulary highlighted in text
• One- and two-syllable words
• Some words with complex letter-sound relationships: friends, sign, moved, blew, through
• Illustrations provide information about seaside setting.
• Nine pages of text, illustrations on every page
• Punctuation: period, comma, quotation marks, question mark, exclamation mark
• Labels name things in many illustrations.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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The Boat Race
by Mary Alice Bower
Build Background
Discuss with children sailboats and how they move. Be sure children understand that wind
is necessary for sailboats to move by sail. Read the title and author and talk about the
cover illustration. Ask questions such as the following: What is a race? What happens in
a sailboat race? Tell children that this story is fantasy, or a story that could not happen in
real life.
Front-Load Vocabulary Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English
learners. Before reading, check understanding of the following words: sailboat, blow,
move, sign, race, push, flap, quit, finish.
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. Call their attention to any
labels. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that this story is about two best friends, Paxton and Delia, who join
a sailboat race. Tell children that the labels in the illustrations name many things in
the story. Suggested language: Turn to page 2. These pictures show Paxton and
Delia. From looking at the pictures, what can you tell the two best friends like to do
together? Cultural Support: Many children have never seen a sailboat and may not
understand how they move with the wind. Explain as necessary.
Page 3: Remind children that they can use information in the pictures to help them
read. Find the label on page 3 that says: sign. Read the sign. What do you think
Paxton and Delia might do?
Page 4: Look at the picture on page 4. Delia is pulling the large sail up. Why might
she want to use a large sail in a race?
Page 5: Turn to page 5. Paxton and Delia are in the red sailboat. They are in
second place. Use the labels in the picture. How many boats are ahead of them?
Then Delia cried: “We can win this race!” Say the word cried. What letter would
you expect to see first in cried? Find the word cried and put your finger under it. In
this sentence, cried means almost the same as shouted.
Page 6: Look at this picture. Oh, no! The wind has stopped. Why is this a problem
in a sailboat race? What are Paxton and Delia doing to try to solve the problem?
Do you think their solution will work? Why or why not?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out what happens to the two friends
in the boat race.
Words to Know
across
cried
heard
second
ball
head
large
should
Grade 1
2
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Read
As 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 story. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the story, or what they found interesting.
Suggested language: How do you think Paxton and Delia feel about winning the sailboat
race? How would you feel if you won a race?
Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, make sure children understand these teaching points:
Thinking Within the Text
Thinking Beyond the Text
Thinking About the Text
• Paxton and Delia join a sailboat
race.
• Friends can work as a team to
solve problems.
• The animal characters do things
they could not do in real life.
• When the wind stops, they
try different ways to keep the
sailboat moving.
• If you can’t solve a problem the
first time, keep trying.
• The author sends a message that
winners don’t quit.
• They ask birds to flap their wings
near the sails.
• Paxton and Delia sail to shore
and win the race.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Support
Fluency
Have children choose a page to read aloud. Remind them to read at a steady speed—not
so fast that their words don’t make sense and not so slowly that their reading loses
meaning.
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,
such as sailboat, sign, faster, second, race, happy, blowing, towels, finish. Have them
clap on each syllable: sail-boat, sign, fast-er, se-cond, race, hap-py, blow-ing, tow-els,
fin-ish.
• Finding Letters Have children recognize letters by name and locate them quickly in
words. Use letters from the words in the first page of the story, including and, are,
friends, they, like, to, play, ball, jump, over, waves, ride, in, sailboat.
Grade 1
3
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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 28.10 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
Story Structure
Tell children that a story has different parts—who the
story is about, where the story takes place, and what happens in the story. Model how to
think about story structure.
Think Aloud
Who is the story about? It is about Paxton and Delia. Where does the
story take place? It takes place at the shore. What happens? Paxton and
Delia join a boat race. When the wind stops, they find a way to win the
race.
Practice the Skill
Have children think of another book they have read. Ask them to name the characters,
setting, and story events.
Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children write their response, using the writing
prompt on page 6.
Imagine you are a reporter at the boat race. Write three questions to ask Paxton and Delia.
Use details from the story to answer the questions.
Grade 1
4
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English Language Learners
Reading Support Make sure the text matches the children’s reading level. You may
wish to have children use the audio or online recording. After reading aloud, have children
make a list of interesting language or new words they learned about sailing.
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: Point to Paxton.
Speaker 1: What do Paxton and Delia
like to do most of all?
Speaker 1: Why do the sailboats
stop during the race?
Speaker 2: They like to sail in their
sailboat.
Speaker 2: The wind stops.
Speaker 2: [Points to Paxton.]
Speaker 1: Point to Delia.
Speaker 2: [Points to Delia.]
Speaker 1: What kind of boat do
Paxton and Delia have?
Speaker 1: Who wins the sailboat race?
Speaker 1: What do Paxton and
Delia ask the birds to do?
Speaker 2: Paxton and Delia win the
race.
Speaker 2: They ask them to flap
their wings to fill the sails.
Speaker 2: a sailboat
Lesson 28
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.10
Name
Think About It
The Boat Race
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
Responses may vary.
1. How did Paxton and Delia get their boat to go when the
wind stopped?
They asked the seagulls to flap their
wings to fill the sails with wind.
Making Connections Think about a race you
were in or a race you watched. Write some
sentences to tell what happened.
Read directions to children.
Think About It
12
Grade 1, Unit 6: Three Cheers for Us!
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5
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Name
Date
The Boat Race
Imagine you are a reporter at the boat race.
Write three questions to ask Paxton and Delia.
Use details from the story to answer the questions.
Grade 1
6
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Lesson 28
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.10
Name
Think About It
The Boat Race
Think About It
Write an answer to the question.
1. How did Paxton and Delia get their boat to go when the
wind stopped?
Making Connections Think about a race you
were in or a race you watched. Write some
sentences to tell what happened.
Grade 1
7
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Student
Lesson 28
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 28.15
The Boat Race • LEVEL J
page
2
The Boat Race
Running Record Form
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Self-Correction
Rate
Paxton and Delia are friends.
They like to play ball and jump
over waves. They like to ride in
a sailboat.
The wind blows on the sails
of a sailboat. The wind makes
the sailboat move.
3
One day, Paxton and Delia
saw a sign on the beach. The
sign said “Sailboat Race Today.”
“Our sailboat should go in
the sailboat race! said Delia.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/63 × 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
1413406
Behavior
1
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