Reading Comprehension 10A: Lesson 1

Reading Comprehension 10A: Lesson 1

Before we read our passage, we will make predictions about what we will read by using

some of the vocabulary from the passage.

Reading Comprehension 10A: Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Lesson 4

There are specific elements, or parts, we should look for as we read stories. The story elements are characters, setting, goal and problem, events, and solution.

Money cannot buy happiness.

Treat others how you want to be treated.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Redistribute or have students take out “Wants vs. Needs” (Student Activity 2).

Have students take out “Probable Passage” (Student Activity 1). Have students share their predictions and probable passages.

Write the elements on the board at the top of five columns: Characters, Setting, Goal and Problem, Events, and Solution.

Distribute “Wants vs. Needs” (Student Activity 2).

Is this a narrative or expository passage?

What do these statements have in common?

It is a narrative because it has story elements such as characters and plot.

Let’s prepare to read the passage “Wants vs. Needs.” First, we’ll skim the passage. Remember, skimming a text can help successful readers answer questions they have before they read. Quickly skim the passage to find out whether it is narrative or expository.

Today we will focus on making predictions. What will happen? We have already made some predictions on what we think this story is going to be about. We will continue making predictions as we read the story and learn more about it.

Allow 30 seconds for students to skim.

Who appears to be the main character

of this passage?

Make a mark after the sixth paragraph, at the asterisks, after the fourteenth paragraph, and at the end of the passage. Reread the passage “Wants vs. Needs” silently. Pause at each mark to visualize what you have read. Make a mental picture for what you have just read before reading on.

Hong

Read the next four paragraphs of the passage with the students. After Hong hears what the boy says to his little brother, pause in the reading. Ask students to make a prediction

Read the next four paragraphs of the passage with the students. At the asterisks in the passage, pause in the reading. Ask students to make a prediction.

Read the first six paragraphs of the passage with the students. After Hong watches her mother’s face turn to shock, pause in the reading. Ask students to make a prediction.

What do you think will happen next?

Allow time for student responses. If necessary, guide students to conclude that they are all life lessons. Ask students to share life experiences reflecting these lessons.

Discuss with the students the similarities and differences between their predictions and what

actually happens in the story

Allow students to respond. If no student answers, continue with the following question:

Allow students to respond. If no student answers, continue

with the following question:

Allow students to respond. If no student answers, continue

with the following question

Do you think Hong will like helping her mom at the community center?

Do you think Hong’s mother will allow her to buy the $100

pair of jeans?

What do you think Hong will learn from the boy’s words?

Have students support their answers with details from the story.

Have students support their answers with details from the story. Then finish reading the story.

When we read stories, looking for these elements helps us better

understand the text. I wrote Goal and Problem together because these two elements are usually closely related.

Now, let’s get ready to make our predictions.

List the following words on the board: Hong, jeans, Mom, help, community center, overpriced, kids, hungry, wasteful, and donated.

These words are from the passage we are going to read.

Point to the five columns on the board

Vocab

Distribute “Probable Passage” (Student Activity 1).

Example

jeans – pants usually made of a heavy cotton cloth

help – to aid or to provide with what is useful

Let’s place the words into these categories. For each word, decide which story element the word best describes.

community center – a building used for a community’s educational and recreational activities

We will now use this activity sheet to help us write predictions about the story we will read. We will use the story elements and the vocabulary we discussed. When we are finished, we will have a probable passage. Use the vocabulary words under the story elements on the board to make a prediction about each story element for the story you are about to read. State who you think the characters will be, where and when you think the story will take place, what you think the goal and problem will be, what you think the events will be, and what you think the solution will be. After you have finished making these predictions, use those ideasto write a probable story. Your story may match the actual story a great deal.

overpriced – having a price that is too high

Characters: The characters will be a girl named Hong, her mother, and other kids.

Setting: The story will take place at a community center in modern times.

Goal and Problem: Hong will want a pair of overpriced jeans, but her mother will not buy them for her.

Events: Hong will help out at the community center to make money. She will see how hungry some kids are because they do not have a lot of food to eat. She will see that buying the jeans is wasteful.

Solution: Hong will no longer want the pair of overpriced jeans. She will donate the money instead.

kids – children

hungry – feeling the need for food

wasteful – full of waste (spending or using foolishly)

donated – made a gift

To help students summarize this narrative selection, distribute “Story Elements” (Student Activity 3).

Give two copies of “Theme Graphic Organizer” (Student Activity 4) to each student.

Just like how we can learn many life lessons through our experiences, we can also learn many life lessons through the experiences of characters in stories. The life lessons that we learn through stories are called themes. What is a theme of a story?

We are going to use this graphic organizer to help us find themes. It guides us through using what happens in the story and what we already know to identify a theme.

A good summary of a narrative includes information about the main character(s),

the goal, the problem, the solution, and the ending. Use the worksheet to write about each story element and form a summary. Remember that a summary of a story is a shortened version that covers only the main events.

Allow time for student responses, and record correct responses on the

board. If necessary, guide students to understand that a theme of a story is a message, lesson, or moral behind the story that can be applied to life, that a theme is what the story teaches readers.

Distribute “Reading Passages” (Student Activity 5). Guide students through filling out a copy of “Theme Graphic Organizer” for the first reading

passage. Write “Passage 1” on the blank for “Title of Passage.” Provide corrective feedback when needed. Answers will vary, but possible themes include the following: Do not take advantage of those who love you. Do not spoil your children.

What is not a theme of a story?

Allow time for student responses, and record correct responses on the board. If necessary, guide students to understand that a theme of a story is

not one word (e.g., “money”) and that a theme of a story is not about the characters or eventsin the story (e.g., “The slow and steady turtle beats a fast hare in a race”).

Have students work independently to complete the second copy of “Theme Graphic Organizer” for the second reading passage found on “Reading Passages.” Students should write “Passage 2” on the blank for “Title of Passage.” Answers will vary, but possible themes include the following: If you believe you can, you’re halfway there. You have to try in order to

succeed. Hard work pays off.

Authors do not usually clearly state the theme. We have to use what happens in the story and what we already know to identify the theme.