LESSON 19 TEACHER’S GUIDE
A President for the People
by Darleen Ramos
Fountas-Pinnell Level R
Biography
Selection Summary
Franklin Delano Roosevelt lived a life of privilege. However, he
learned at a young age to appreciate the challenges others faced.
He had to face a challenge of his own when he was stricken with
polio. While president of the United States, FDR worked to improve
the lives of the American people.
Number of Words: 1,318
Characteristics of the Text
Genre
Text Structure
Content
Themes and Ideas
Language and
Literary Features
Sentence Complexity
Vocabulary
Words
Illustrations
Book and Print Features
• Biography
• Third-person narrative
• Events described in chronological order
• The life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• Roosevelt’s accomplishments as president
• Lessons learned early in life can leave lasting impressions.
• People can overcome great personal challenges.
• Public service has tremendous value.
• Conversational language
• Descriptive adjectives
• A mix of short and complex sentences
• Sentences with nouns, verbs, or adjectives in series, divided by commas
• Government terms, some of which might not be familiar to English language learners,
such as senate and Navy. Cultural references such as the Great Depression (p. 7)
• Multisyllable words, some of them challenging: depression, unfortunately, difficult
• Many proper nouns name people, schools, foundations, government agencies
• Photographs with captions and labels
• Thirteen pages of text with easy-to-read chapter headings
• Timeline
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
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A President for the People
by Darleen Ramos
Build Background
Help students use their knowledge of the presidency to visualize the biography. Build
interest by asking questions such as the following: What are some responsibilities of a
U. S. President? Who is the president today? Read the title and author and talk about the
cover photograph. Tell students that this is a biography, which tells about events in the life
of one person.
Frontload Vocabulary
Some everyday words may be unfamiliar to English learners. Before reading, check
understanding of the following words: government, polio, lawyer, governor.
Introduce the Text
Guide students through the text, reading the captions, noting important ideas, and helping
with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Call their
attention to any important labels. Here are some suggestions:
Page 2: Explain that this is a biography of a famous American president.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2 of this book. Look at the photograph and read
the caption. The initials FDR stand for the name Franklin Delano Roosevelt. What other
famous people are on U.S. coins?
Page 3: Explain that as a young man, FDR grew up in a wealthy, or rich, family and got a
good education. FDR went to the Groton School. There, he learned an important lesson—
the importance of helping others. How might this lesson have influenced him later in life?
Page 4: Tell students that FDR became a lawyer and chose to dedicate his life to public
service. Explain that public service is a way of helping others. Ask: What did FDR decide
to do?
Page 5: Point out the photo and read the caption on page 5. FDR became ill with polio.
Although he could not overcome this disease, how do you think he was able to achieve
all the things he wanted to do?
Now turn back to the beginning of the biography and read to find out how FDR faced
polio, drought, and other challenges in his life.
Target Vocabulary
association – a group of people
officially organized for a
specific purpose, p. 11
brilliant – very bright, p. 11
capitol – a building in which a
government meets to create
laws, p. 4
Grade 4
conflicts – problems or
disagreements, p. 10
overcome – to solve or conquer a
difficulty, p. 5
dedicate – to devote something
to a specific purpose, p. 4
publicity – information given out
to get people’s attention, p. 11
drought – little or no rain, p. 12
violence – the use of physical
force to cause harm, p. 10
horizon – the place at which the
earth and the sky meet, p. 7
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Read
Have students read silently while you listen to individual students read aloud. Support their
understanding of the text as needed.
Remind students to use the Infer/Predict Strategy
to make predictions about events as they read.
and to use text clues
Discuss and Revisit the Text
Personal Response
Invite students to share their personal responses to the biography.
Suggested language: FDR helped other people as a governor, a president, and a person
with polio. Which of FDR’s accomplishments did you find most inspiring? Why?
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
• FDR served as governor of New
York and president of the United
States.
• Young people can learn and
remember important lessons.
• The chapter heads let readers
know what they will read about
in each section.
• FDR faced challenges and solved
problems throughout his career.
• Facing a personal challenge
doesn’t have to prevent you from
accomplishing goals.
• FDR set up associations and
raised money to help find better
treatments and a cure for polio.
• One man’s life of public service
can have an impact on many
people.
• The author provides many
examples that persuade readers
to believe that FDR worked hard
for others.
• The author includes a timeline to
list the important events in FDR’s
life on one page.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.
Choices for Further Support
• Fluency Invite students to work in partners and choose a passage from the text
to demonstrate phrased fluent reading. Remind students to use punctuation and
chunk, or put words together, in meaningful groups to show them when to pause
during reading.
• 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. Have students define the word publicity based on its use on
page 11. Discuss the meaning of the suffix –ity. Then have students name other words
that have the suffix –ity. Ask partners to look up the definitions of the words with –ity.
Grade 4
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Writing about Reading
Critical Thinking
Have students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 19.10.
Responding
Have students complete the activities at the back of the book, using their Reader’s
Notebook. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding
of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill
Persuasion
Remind students that they can find reasons from the
biography that the author provided to convince them to believe an idea. Model how to add
details to the Graphic Organizer, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
On page 5, the text says that FDR founded a group that helped Americans
who needed treatment for polio. On page 6, it says that as governor, he
helped the farmers in New York. On page 8, it says that as president, FDR
began programs that created jobs and helped people keep their homes.
List details such as these in the chart.
Practice the Skill
Have students give other examples that show the author is persuading them to believe that
FDR worked hard to make other people’s lives better.
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 their personal knowledge to reach new understandings.
Assessment Prompts
• What is this selection mostly about?
• What can readers tell about the Great Depression from reading the paragraph on
page 7?
• Which sentence on page 3 shows that FDR appreciated what he learned at the Groton
School?
Grade 4
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English Language Development
Reading Support Give English learners a “preview” of the text by holding a brief
small-group discussion with them before reading the text with the entire group.
Cognates The text includes many cognates. Point out the English words and their
Spanish equivalents: association (asociación), capital (capital), conflict (conflicto), dedicate
(dedicar), horizon (horizonte), and violence (violencia).
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: Who is this biography
about?
Speaker 1: What important lesson did
FDR learn at the Groton School?
Speaker 1: In what ways did FDR
help people with polio?
Speaker 2: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Speaker 2: FDR learned that it is
important to help other people.
Speaker 2: FDR founded
the Georgia Warm Springs
Foundation. This foundation
helped people who needed
treatment for polio. He tried to
find new treatments and a cure.
He also raised money by having
Birthday Balls.
Speaker 1: What job was he elected to
four times?
Speaker 2: President of the United
States
Speaker 1: Where can you see FDR’s
picture?
Speaker 1: Why was the Birthday Ball
held?
Speaker 2: The Birthday Ball was held to
raise money for people with polio.
Speaker 2: on a dime
Lesson 19
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.10
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
A President for the
People
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions. Possible responses shown.
1. Think within the text What important lesson did Franklin
Delano Roosevelt learn from the Groton School?
The Groton School taught FDR the value and importance of helping others.
2. Think within the text What did Eddie Cantor do to
encourage people to support the president in his polio work?
He asked them to send FDR their extra coins.
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think FDR was elected to
a fourth term as president?
He had helped people through so many problems, including the Depression, polio,
and the war. They probably felt they knew him well because he had been their
president for so long.
4. Think about the text What is the author’s point of view
about FDR and his presidency? How does she support this
viewpoint?
The author probably admires FDR and the programs his presidency started to
deal with the problems of the Great Depression. She describes numerous ways in
which FDR or his programs helped people of the United States.
Making Connections Polio was a big health issue in the early part
of the twentieth century. Describe a current health issue that affects
people. How would you try to solve it?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
12
Critical Thinking
Grade 4, Unit 4: Never Give Up!
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5
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Name
Date
A President for the People
Thinking Beyond the Text
Think about the questions below. Then write your answer in one or two
paragraphs.
Remember that when you think beyond the text, you use your personal
knowledge to reach new understandings.
On page 1, the author states that Americans wanted to honor FDR in a
special way. How did America honor FDR? Do you think that this was a good
way to honor him? Why? What are some other good ways to honor the
memory of important people?
Grade 4
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Lesson 19
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.10
Name
Date
Critical Thinking
A President for the
People
Critical Thinking
Read and answer the questions.
1. Think within the text What important lesson did Franklin
Delano Roosevelt learn from the Groton School?
2. Think within the text What did Eddie Cantor do to
encourage people to support the president in his polio work?
3. Think beyond the text Why do you think FDR was elected to
a fourth term as president?
4. Think about the text What is the author’s point of view about
FDR and his presidency? How does she support this viewpoint?
Making Connections Polio was a big health issue in the early part
of the twentieth century. Describe a current health issue that affects
people. How would you try to solve it?
Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.
Grade 4
7
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Student
Lesson 19
Date
BLACKLINE MASTER 19.14
A President for the People
A President for the
People
Running Record Form
LEVEL R
page
2
Selection Text
Errors
Self-Corrections
Accuracy Rate
Total SelfCorrections
Do you know whose picture is on the dime? He was a
President of the United States for almost 13 years. Americans
elected him four times in a row! The answer is Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, or FDR. When FDR died in 1945, many Americans
wanted to honor him. The government agreed. The president’s
face has been on the dime since 1946.
3
Franklin Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York. He was
an only child, and he grew up in a wealthy family. Roosevelt
did not go to elementary school. Instead, he was taught at
home. Later, Roosevelt went to the Groton School in
Massachusetts.
Comments:
(# words read
correctly/104 × 100)
%
Read word correctly
Code
✓
cat
Repeated word,
sentence, or phrase
®
Omission
—
cat
cat
Grade 4
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
1414018
Behavior
1
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