Planning for an Interactive Read Aloud
Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night
Grade Level: Second
Opening Conversation/ Creating Meaningful Learning (Creates the opportunity for all children to make a meaningful connection to the central idea/theme/topic of the text by accessing ‘what they know’. We’ve all had a time….. Think about …. Provide scaffolds for differentiation. Maybe it was… Maybe it was….)Think about a time that you did something outdoors.Maybe it was a time when you went to the park, went on a picnic, or went camping. Make a picture in your head of that time. Picture who was there and what you did. Now tell yourself what you are thinking. Turn to the person next to you and tell them what you were thinking.
Connecting/Bridging Conversation (Guides the reader in using what he/she already knows/feel to better understand the characters(s)/story. Remembering how you felt about ____will help you better….)
Remembering how you felt as you spent time outside will help you better understand how Henry felt in this story.This is a story about Henry and his adventures on a camping trip.
Genre Set-Up (Readies learners with a ‘mind-set’ for the type of book in the genre set-up. “Today’s book is a ______. When we read this type of book we need to get our brains ready to (state the features)…”
The story we are going to read today is realistic fiction.Realistic fiction means the story could really happen. When reading this type of book, it’s important for us to pay close attention to the characters, the setting and the order in which things happen in the story.
Vocabulary Set-Up (Provides deliberate pre-teaching of two-three ‘tier 2 words’ (Beck, McKeown, Kucan) important to the meaning of the text by defining the word in a contextual way that allows learners to understand their meaning and then reconnecting the new word to the text being read.)
There are some words I want you to think about before we begin the story. The first is the word ‘shiver’. When it is really cold outside, we sometimes ‘shiver’ or shake. Think of a time you were really cold and your body began to shake. You might say that you are shivering/shaking from the cold. We also ‘shiver’ when we are afraid.In this story, Henry shivers when he thinks about possibly seeing a bear because he was afraid.The next word is ‘drooled’. ‘Drool’ is when extra saliva, the wetness/liquid in your mouth comes out of someone’s mouth. Think of a time that you saw a baby drool/ water seemed as though it was coming from the baby’s mouth. In this story, Mudge drools on Henry’s foot, meaning water comes from Mudge’s mouth and drips onto Henry’s foot.
Asking Questions About the Title and Cover Illustrations (Engages the reader in asking thoughtful wonderings about the text as they think about the title of the book and its cover. As I think about the title and illustrations, I find that I am wondering…. These wondering make me want to read on…)
When I read a story, I always start by reading and thinking about the title, Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night, the illustration on the cover and I find I have some wonderings. The first thing I am wondering is where is this boy and what is he doing? I am also wondering if something happens on the starry night. What are some things you are wondering? These wonderings get smart readers excited to read the book.
Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night (continued)
Explicit and Deliberate Instructional Stops (Engages the reader in active ‘meaning making’ during the reading of the text as the teacher describes/‘thinks aloud’ the metacognitive behaviors of visualizing, making inferences, stopping and restating, asking questions and/or making predictions he/she is using to process and make meaning of the text.)p. ___ Visual Features of Text - Table of Contents
As I look at this first page, I notice that the author put a little table of contents to let the reader know the names of the chapters and the pages they begin on. Chapters are separate parts of the story. Chapter titles give the reader a hint about what is going to happen in that section of the story. Smart readers, read the title of the chapter to get their brains ready for the next section of the story/book. As I read the chapter Big Bear Lake, I am getting my brain ready to read about a lake. As I read the next chapter, Good Smelly Hike, I get my brain ready to read about a hike. The third chapter is called Green Dreams. I am going to get my brain ready to read about a dream.
p. ___ Stopping and Retelling
It’s important for me as the reader to stop and make sure that I know who the characters are in the story and what they are doing. When I am not sure I go back and look at the pictures to help remind me. (Go back and show the pictures while saying….) “On this page we learned that… And on this page we learned that…..) Turn and tell the person next to you who the characters are and what they are doing.
p. ___ Vocabulary Development
There is that word we talked about ‘shivered’. When you shiver, your body shakes. As a reader I can see that Henry is putting his arm around Mudge because he is shivering. Usually when we are shivering, it is because we are cold. But in this story, Henry is shivering because he is afraid.
I notice another word we talked about, ‘drooled’. Drool is another word for saliva. As a good reader, as I think about Henry saying, “No bear will get us, we’re too slippery,” I can infer/figure out that Henry and Mudge are slippery because they are covered with drool and when something is covered with drool it is slippery - making it very difficult for the bear to catch them.
p. ___ Stopping and Retelling
Before we start this next chapter, it’s important for us as smart readers to make sure we understand what has happened so far in the story. I stop and make a picture of the first event. I tell myself what is happening. Then I make a picture of the second event and tell myself what is happening. It’s like making a movie of the story in your brain. Now you do it, make a picture of the first thing that happened, now tell yourself what is happening, now let your movie go to the second event, tell yourself what is happening, etc.
Closing Conversation
We call this type of story realistic fiction. Realistic fiction means the story could really happen. Think about the characters, the setting and the events in the story. Site reasons for Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night being a realistic fiction.
Additional Instructional Scaffolds
ELLS / Preview the text with the ELLS learners focusing on key content vocabulary. (camping, starry, campfire, bear, drooled, slippery, snuggled)If possible, bring in camping equipment items, such as a lantern, sleeping bag, firewood, tent.
Pair ELLS students with fluent/advanced English speakers for turn and talks.
UDL / Preview the text with the struggling learners focusing on key content vocabulary. (camping, starry, campfire, bear, drooled, slippery, snuggled)
Place student(s) near teacher for access to the pictures.
Have follow-up conversations with students about the text.
Extensions / Create a word web
Add a new chapter to the story or rewrite the ending.