Level H/13
John James Audubon
Biography Teacher’s Guide
Skills & Strategies
Anchor Comprehension
Strategies
•• Make Inferences
•• Summarize Information
Phonemic Awareness
•• Manipulating final sounds
Phonics
•• Vowel digraph ow
•• CVCe pattern
High-Frequency Words
•• been, done, never
Concept Vocabulary
•• Words related to birds
Grammar/Word Study
•• Words that tell what kind or how many
Biography Big Idea
•• J ohn James Audubon loved nature and
studied and painted birds.
• Small Group Reading Lesson
• Skills Bank
• Reproducible Activities
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
K-W-L
What We
Know
Before Reading
What We What We
Want
Learned
to Know by Reading
painted
pictures
of birds
How did
he find
the birds
to paint?
He went to
where the
birds
were.
lived a
long time
ago
When did
he live?
He was
born in
1785.
Why
are his
paintings
special?
He painted
birds the
way they
looked in
real life.
Activate Prior Knowledge
Encourage students to draw on prior knowledge and build
background for reading the text. Create an overhead transparency of
the graphic organizer “K-W-L” (left) or copy the organizer on chart
paper, leaving the columns blank. Write the name John James
Audubon on the board and ask students what they know about this
man. If necessary, tell them that Audubon is famous for his paintings
of birds. Write this and students’ contributions in the “K” column of
the K-W-L chart. Then brainstorm with students things they want to
know about John James Audubon. Record their responses as questions
in the “W” column. Explain to students that they will come back to
fill in the “L” column after they have finished reading the book.
Preview the Book
Read the title and name of the author to students. Ask:
Visual Cues
• Look at the initial consonants.
(wh in who; th in that)
• Break the word into syllables
and sound out each part.
(pic/tures)
Structure Cues
• Think about whether the
sentence sounds right.
Meaning Cues
• Think about what makes
sense in the sentence.
• Look at the pictures to
confirm the meaning of
the word.
• What clues on the cover tell you that this man lived many years ago?
Show students the title page. Ask:
• What is the man doing? Why do you think he is doing that?
Draw students’ attention to the Table of Contents. Explain that the
page numbers tell where the chapters begin. Ask students to turn to
pages 2, 12, and 14 and find the title of each chapter. Point out that the
chapter titles make good entries for the “W” column of the chart.
Preview the photographs with students, reinforcing the language
used in the text and highlighting important concepts. Have students
note the differences between the photographs and Audubon’s
paintings. Point out the captions and the map, and explain that
these features give additional information.
Set a Purpose for Reading
Have students turn to page 2 and read the book silently. Say: I want
you to read the book to see if it answers any of your questions. 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.
John James Audubon
2
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
During Reading
Observe and Prompt Reading Strategies
Observe students as they read the book. Take note of how
they are problem-solving on text. Guide, or prompt, individual
students who cannot problem-solve independently.
After Reading
Reflect on Reading Strategies
Once students have completed their reading, encourage them
to discuss 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 noticed that you tried to sound out the word
animals. You broke the word into chunks and sounded out each
chunk. That was good reading.
Build Comprehension
Ask and Answer Questions
Help students review text content and relate it to what they
already know by asking some or all of the following questions.
• Did the book help you answer any of the questions you wrote in the
“What We Want to Know” column of our K-W-L chart? Let’s write
the answers in the “What We Learned by Reading” column.
(Answers will vary.) (Locate facts)
• Let’s look at what we wrote before we read the book. Did the book
talk about some of these things, too? (Answers will vary.)
(Compare and contrast)
• What kinds of birds did John James Audubon paint? (grackles,
wild turkeys, passenger pigeons, pp. 4, 10, 14) (Locate facts)
• Why do you think there aren’t any passenger pigeons now?
(Answers will vary. Students may suggest that people hunted
the birds until they were all gone.) (Make inferences)
• What can you do to help save birds and animals? (Answers will
vary. Students may suggest supporting the Audubon Society.)
(Make inferences/Use creative thinking)
Teacher Tip
Using the Skills Bank
Based on your observations of
students’ reading behaviors,
you may wish to select
activities from the Skills Bank
(pp. 6–7) that will develop
students’ reading strategies.
Question Types
Students need to understand
that they can use information
from various places in the
book, as well as background
knowledge, to answer different
types of questions. These
lessons provide four types of
ques­­tions, designed to give
students practice in
understanding the relationship
between a question and the
source of its answer.
• Questions that require
students to go to a specific
place in the book.
• Questions that require
students to integrate
information from several
sentences, paragraphs, or
chapters within the book.
• Questions that require
students to combine
background knowledge with
information from the book.
• Questions that relate to the
book topic but require
students to use only
background knowledge and
experience, not information
from the book.
John James Audubon
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
3
Small Group Reading Lesson
(continued)
Build Comprehension
summarize information
Teacher Tip
Monitoring
Comprehension
• Are students able to revisit
the text to locate specific
answers to text-dependent
questions? 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 make inferences and
draw conclusions? If they
are having difficulty, model
how you would answer the
question.
• Are students’ answers to
creative questions logical
and relevant to the topic?
• Do students’ completed
graphic organizers reflect
an ability to summarize
information by condensing
the words from the text?
If students are having
difficulty, provide more
modeling.
Model Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer on
page 8 or copy the chart on the board. Show students how to
summarize the information in the first chapter. Then work with
them to summarize the information in the remaining chapters. Use
the following think-aloud.
A graphic organizer like this one can help me summarize information
in a text. In order to summarize, I must pick the most important
information and condense it into a few lines or phrases. A summary
should be a brief overview of the text. As I look at pages 2 and 3, I see
lots of interesting information. I must decide what is the most
important. I see that Audubon loved nature and that he studied and
painted birds. The text also tells me when and where he was born. I will
write where and when he was born and what he did on the chart. Page
4 has lots of interesting information, but I think the most important
thing is that he painted birds the way they looked in real life. I will
write that on the chart. Pages 6 to 9 tell what kind of birds he painted.
These are interesting details, but not necessary for my summary. I think
the most important thing on page 10 is that he put his paintings in a
book. I will add this to the chart.
Practice and Apply Guide students to pick out important
information in chapters 2 and 3 and record it on the chart. If you
think students can complete the chart independently, distribute
copies and monitor their work.
Summarize Information
Chapter 1: Who Was John James Audubon?
He was born in 1785 in Haiti and later moved to
America.
He painted pictures of birds the way they
looked in real life.
He put his pictures in a book.
Chapter 2: How Did John Learn About Birds?
He tied string around the legs of baby birds.
He saw these birds with the string the next
spring, and he learned that birds come back to
the same place.
Chapter 3: How Did John Help Save Birds?
He saw that people were hunting too many
birds.
A group was started to help save birds. The
group was named after him.
John James Audubon
4
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Small Group Writing
Use the graphic organizer to review with students what it means
to write a summary of a text. Tell them that they will sometimes
need to write a summary of a book they have read. One good way
to begin is to list the key ideas of the book before they begin
writing. Tell them that they are going to write a summary of a
favorite book that the group has read. Use the following writing
steps.
• Decide on a book that everyone in the group knows and has
read or that has been read to them.
• Ask students to give an oral summary of the book first.
• Help students decide which points are the most important.
Record these on the board.
• Read through the points with students to ensure that the most
important aspects of the book have been covered.
• Have students use the summarized points to build a paragraph
about the book. Record the paragraph on the board.
• Read through the paragraph with students to make sure that it
makes sense and is an accurate summary of the book.
Write Independently
Reread for Fluency
You may wish to read
sections of the book aloud
to students to model
fluent reading of the text.
Model using appropriate
phrasing, intonation,
expression, volume, and
rate as you read. Some
students may benefit from
listening to you read a
portion of the text and
then reading it back to you.
Have students reread John
James Audubon with a
partner. Have them read
the text together and then
take turns reading it to
each other.
Tell students they are going to write individual summaries of
books they have enjoyed. Use the following writing steps.
• Help students choose books with which they are familiar.
• Ask them to list the key points of the book.
• Have them use their points to create their summary paragraphs.
• Have them read through their paragraphs for sense and style.
• Encourage students to share their book summaries.
Connect to Home
Have students read the
take-home version of John
James Audubon to family
members. Encourage
students to share the
information on their
graphic organizers.
John James Audubon
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
5
Skills Bank
Phonemic Awareness: Manipulating final sounds
Say the word big, then slowly say the sounds that make up the
word: /b/ /i/ /g/. Ask students what sound they hear at the end. (/g/)
Tell students that you are going to change the /g/ sound at the end
of the word to /b/. Ask them what the word will be. (bib) Together
say the sounds slowly, then say the word: /b/ /i/ /b/, bib. Continue
by changing /b/ to /t/. Continue manipulating final sounds to make
the following sets of words: had, ham, hat; back, bad, bag.
I know I feel low
when the snow
blows.
CVC
life
C V C
place
Phonics: Vowel digraph ow
Write the word grow on the board. Ask students what vowel sound
they hear in the word. (the long o sound) Ask them what two
letters make the long o sound in grow. Underline the letters ow.
Then write the word showed on the board and ask students to read
it aloud. Point out that ow also makes the long o sound in showed.
Ask students to brainstorm a list of words that have the long o
sound spelled ow. (know, low, blow, snow) Then have them try to
use two or more of the ow words in a sentence.
Phonics: CVCe pattern
Write the following words from the book on the board: life, place,
same, save, name. Ask students how these words are alike. (They
all have a final silent e. They all have a long vowel sound. They all
have the CVCe pattern.) Have volunteers come to the board,
underline the final e in each word, and write the letters CVC over
the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern before the e.
Write the words love, picture, some, here, were, compare, there, and
none on the board. Ask students to find these words in the book
and read the sentences in which they appear. Point out that even
though these words end with e, they do not have long vowel
sounds. Discuss other ways students might figure out how to read
these words, such as checking the consonant sounds and checking
what makes sense in the sentence.
John James Audubon
6
© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
High-Frequency Word Vocabulary
Write the high-frequency words been, done, and never on the
board. Read the words aloud, then have students say and spell
them aloud together. Ask volunteers to find been in the book
(page 2) and read aloud the sentence in which it appears. Follow
the same procedure for the other high-frequency words. Then
have students use each word in a new sentence.
Concept Vocabulary: Words related to birds
Ask students to think of words related to birds. Encourage them
to think about what they know about birds and their habits and
to look for possible words on their K-W-L chart and in the book.
Record their responses on the board. Possible answers are wings,
eggs, feathers, grackle, nature, nests, turkey, banding, passenger
pigeons, and Audubon Society. Give a clue about each word, such
as This group works to save birds and other animals. Ask students
to name the concept word(s) that answers the clue.
Word Study:
Words that tell what kind or how many
Explain to students that we often use words to describe, or tell
about, things. Describing words answer questions about things,
such as what kind they are or how many there are. Write I saw
three red hens on the board. Ask which words describe the word
hens. (three, red) Point out that three answers the question How
many hens? and red answers the question What kind of hens? On
the board, write the words many, real, some, and same. Ask
students to find each word in the text and tell what the word is
describing. Write the phrases many birds, real life, some birds,
and same place on the board. Ask students which question each
describing word answers.
been
done
never
How many birds?
Many birds
What kind of life?
Real life
How many birds?
Some birds
What kind of place?
Same place
Copyright © 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# 978-1-59000-932-1
7
Skills Bank
Build Comprehension
Make Inferences
••Explain Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer
“John James Audubon” or draw it on the board. Say: An author
can’t tell us every bit of information in a book. We figure out some
things on our own, using the author’s text, photographs, and captions
for clues. Figuring something out using one or two clues is called
making an inference.
••Model Say: Let’s make an inference about John James Audubon.
John was a man who painted many pictures of birds. On page 4, we
read, “John wanted to paint them as they looked in real life.” I look
at the photograph on page 4 and John’s painting on page 5. They both
show birds called grackles. I see that John’s grackles look a lot like
real grackles. These are clues about how John paints birds. In the first
Clues box on the graphic organizer, write John wanted the birds
in his paintings to look like real birds. John’s painted grackles
look like real grackles. Then say: Now we will use the clues to make
an inference. We can infer that John studied real birds to make his
paintings look as realistic as possible. Record this information in the
first Inference box on the graphic organizer.
••Guide Say: Let’s make an inference about the Audubon Society. I
wonder if it was started while John was still alive. What clues can we
find in the text, photographs, and captions? (Allow time for students
to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, on page 3 we read that John
was born in 1785. On page 15, we read that the Audubon Society
began in 1905. These are clues we can use to make an inference. In
the second Clues box on the graphic organizer, write John was
born in 1785. The Audubon Society began in 1905. Then ask:
What can we figure out from these clues? (Again allow time for
students to respond.) Yes, 120 years passed between John’s birth
and the start of the Audubon Society. People don’t usually live to be
120 years old, so we can infer that John was no longer alive when the
Audubon Society was formed. In the second Inference box, write
The Audubon Society was not formed during John’s lifetime.
••Apply Ask students to work with a partner to make inferences
throughout the rest of the book. Remind them to use text,
photograph, and caption clues to figure out things the author
doesn’t say. After each partnership shares, record their ideas
on the graphic organizer. Finally, read the completed graphic
organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.
8
John James Audubon
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Name _______________________________________________________ Date __________________
John
John James Audubon
Audubon
Make
Make Inferences
Inferences
Clues
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Inference
Notes
10
John James Audubon
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
Notes
John James Audubon
©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC
11
Name _______________________________________________________ Date ___________________
Summarize Information
Chapter 1: Who Was John James Audubon?
Chapter 2: How Did John Learn About Birds?
Chapter 3: How Did John Help Save Birds?
© 2003 Benchmark Education Company, LLC