Kevin Henkes author study Created by: Alexandra Moses School/Location: Washington Grove Elementary Grade: 1 Library Context:

Fixed Lesson Context: Multiple Lessons in a Unit Collaboration Continuum: Cooperation Content/Unit: Students will take part in an author study to support the kindergarten and first-grade reading content covered in the ELO summer school program for rising first graders. Students will review the differences between an author and an illustrator, and review structures of literary text, including beginning, middle, and end, and story elements. Students will then learn to compare and contrast different texts by the same author/illustrator, and build vocabulary and knowledge of word relationships using text and picture clues. Estimated Lesson time: Four 30-minute class periods (5 first grade classes in two schools) Learner Characteristics & Implication to Lesson: The various classes include a number of limited English students, and so it will be necessary to use visuals to aid understanding (the books chosen can tell the story through the illustrations), as well as movement (asking students to act out vocabulary words, for example). Students also are at different levels of reading some strong, some not at all so whole-group verbal brainstorming in addition to using the Promethean will be necessary. Some students also have attention issues, so it will be necessary to pause throughout the storytelling to help everyone make personal connections to the text. Instructional Objectives: After listening to a story, students will be able to orally identify the beginning, middle, and end of a story, as part of a whole-group brainstorming. After listening to a story, students will be able to orally retell the story, as part of a whole-group brainstorming. While listening to a story, students will be able to use picture clues to decipher vocabulary terms, demonstrating understanding by orally defining words or acting out words as part of a group brainstorm.

After listening to a story, students will be able to orally identify the five story elements characters, setting, events, problem, and solution in the story, as part of whole-group brainstorming.

Technology Standards (if applicable): NETS Standard 2a: Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner: 1.1.2, 1.1.6, 1.1.9, 1.3.4, 4.1.3, 4.3.1

Connection to local or state standards: MCPS Reading/language arts: 5.K.A.2 Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. 6.K.B.5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings. 2.K.B.5 Recognize common types of texts (e.g., Story books, poems). 2.K.B.6 With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story. 2.K.D.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. 5.K.A.3 Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something that is not understood.

Lesson one (all on reading rug): Warm-up: Tell students that we will be reading aloud the Kevin Henkes story Kittens First Full Moon and ask if any of them have ever heard the story before. If any respond yes, tell them that I will need their help talking about the different parts of a story. Ask students if they can make a prediction for what the story is about based on the cover and the title. Call on one student for their idea. Tell students that we will be doing an author study during ELO and every week we will read a new story by Kevin Henkes. Tell them that Kevin Henkes is an author and illustrator. Ask if any student can tell identify what it means to be an author and what it means to be an illustrator. Tell them that this book won a Caldecott, which is an award for illustrations. Tell them that to create the

illustrations for this book, Kevin Henkes used a small paint brush that helped him paint thin brush strokes for the kitten. Show the students the paint brush. Read-Aloud: Read Kittens First Full Moon to students. Pause periodically to engage students with new vocabulary words, asking students if they know what different words mean, and if they can think of another word that means the same thing. Remind them that they can use pictures to help determine the meaning of a word. Active instruction Whole-group brainstorming: Ask students to help retell the story by identifying the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Tell them that with picture books, you dont need the words to understand the story, but can use the pictures to retell it. Using Kidspiration, ask students what happened at the beginning of the story. Add bubbles (words or pictures) to the Kidspiration board as students make suggestions. Continue with the middle and the end. Closing: Tell students that for the next three weeks we will be working with books by Kevin Henkes. Tell them we will keep talking about the structure (beginning, middle, and end; how the pictures can help tell the story) of the stories and noticing some of the differences in the illustrations and the way he tells the stories. Preview next weeks story: Sheila Rae the Brave. Lesson Two Warm-up: Activate prior knowledge by asking students if they can remember which book we read last week. Ask if they can identify author and illustrator. Remind students that we will be reading books by Kevin Henkes every week of ELO. (If time: show them KFFM and the paint brush and remind them that Henkes used brush strokes to create the illustrations. Show them this weeks book, and point out that the illustrations in this book are different he used pencil to draw them, then painted them). Tell them that this week, we will read Sheila Rae the Brave, and we will identify the different story elements: characters, setting, problem, solution, and events. Direct Instruction/Read-Aloud: Ask students to raise their hand and tell me how many fingers they have. Show them the story element slide and how they can use their hand to recall the five story elements. Ask students what they know about story elements and fill in what they do not. Then read aloud Sheila Rae the Brave. Pause periodically to identify vocabulary words and expressions (pat on the back, evil, etc.) and ask students to act out words and provide synonyms to the vocabulary words. Point out how the pictures also help tell the story. Active instruction Whole-group brainstorming: Ask students to hold up their hands again and name the five story elements (putting slide back up to help). Start with characters and ask students to identify the characters in the story. Continue with the other four elements. List of resources/materials used in this lesson:

Print books, Kittens First Full Moon and Sheila Rae the Brave by Kevin Henkes Kidspiration ActivInspire Slides Promethean board

Assessment: Due to the limited time, assessment must be done informally. Checks for understanding include asking students to raise their hands when they do or do not know something, asking what they remember from the prior weeks lesson, and calling on as many different students as possible to make sure students understand the lessons. The purpose of ELO is to expose students to the materials they will be working on in the fall, so mastery is not expected.