Guided Reading Lesson Plan: Owen, by Kevin Henkes

About the Book:

Title: Owen by Kevin Henkes
Text Type: Fiction
Page Count: 22
Reading Level: K

Book Summary: Owen's parents think he's a big boy now and doesn't need his yellow blanket, Fuzzy, anymore. With the help of their neighbor, Mrs. Tweezers, they try different things to get Owen to give up Fuzzy. Finally, Owen's mom gets the idea to cut up Owen's blanket into little handkerchiefs. Now Owen can take one with him wherever he goes.

About the Lesson:

Standards:
-E2b-Produce a response to literature
-E3A-Participate in one to one conferences with teacher
-E5a-Respond to fiction using interpretive and critical processes.

Estimated Lesson Time: 25 minutes
Main Targeted Reading Strategy: Supporting thinking by referring to the text.
Objectives: Students will be able to read book with fluency and comprehension, and will learn how to go back to the text and locate passages to support their thinking.
Materials: Book
Vocabulary: Absolutely, especially, plunger, handkerchief

Before Reading:

Build Background: This is a story about a little boy who has a favorite blanket that's getting all torn and dirty. His parents want to get rid of it.
Introduce the Book: Ask students, "When you were little, (or now), did you have a favorite toy or blanket that you took with you everywhere?"
Introduce the Reading Strategy: Tell students they will be learning how to go back to their book to find text that supports their answers to questions.
Set the Purpose: Tell students, "Going back to the text to support your answers is an important skill. It helps you verify your answers and shows the person who's asking the question that you know what you're talking about."

During Reading:

Student Reading: One by one each student will come up to the teacher and read 4 pages. The other students will be reading silently. Watch students as they are reading silently. Watch for attention to reading. During one-on-one reading, observe how student handles unfamiliar words. Observe tone and inflections while reading, and whether or not student stops and pauses in relation to the punctuation.

Guide the Reading: After each student reads their passage, ask them a question about what they just read. For example, "Why does Owen love his blanket so much?" After the student gives you his or her answer, have them go back to the pages they just read and show them how to find something in the text that supports their answer. If they say that Owen loves his blanket so much because it helps him feel better when he's scared, they can support their answer by the fact that, on page 10, it says that "Fuzzy was essential when it came to nail clippings and haircuts and trips to the dentist."

Key Questions: Why do Owen's parents want to take Fuzzy away from him? Why does Owen love Fuzzy so much? Do you think what Owen's mother did in the end was a good solution?

After Reading:

Reflect on the Reading Strategy: Ask students if they felt going back to the text to support their answers helped make their answers better. Tell them there are many instances in school and in life where it's helpful to support what you're saying with facts or things you have read.

Assessment: Ask each student to tell you, in a few short sentences, what the story was about.

Next Steps: Continue teaching students, in their science and social studies lessons as well as other reading lessons, how to go back to the text to find parts that support your answers to questions.