HARCOURTSTORY TOWN 2009Grade 2

Theme 1/Lesson 1

Title:Arthur’s Reading Race

Suggested Time: 4 days (45 minutes per day)

Common Core ELA Standards

RL.2.1, RL.2.3, RL.2.7, RL.2.10, RF.2.3, RF.2.4, W.2.1, SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.6, L.2.1f, L.2.2, L.2.3, L.2.4a

Teacher Instructions

Refer to the Introduction forfurther details.

Before Teaching

  1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and theSynopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task.

Big Ideas and Key Understandings

It is fun to learn new things and to try and help others to learn something new.

Synopsis

The story begins by describing Arthur’s love of reading. Arthur offers to teach his sister how to read; however, she informs him that she already knows how to read. Arthur is doubtful so he asks his sister to prove that she can read and makes a deal with her. The story goes on to describe the places Arthur and his sister visit and the signs she is able to read. The story concludes by Arthur’s sister proving she can read, and Arthur fulfilling his end of the deal. Throughout the story, students will discuss the characters and what they learn about each character.

  1. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings.
  2. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary.

During Teaching

  1. Students read the entire main selection text independently.
  2. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along.

(Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1 and 2.)

3. Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discussthe questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work, etc.)

Text Dependent Questions

Text Dependent Questions / Answers
Look at the picture on page 24 and 25 and read the sentence, where is Author and what is he doing? / Arthur is at school and is learning how to read.
From the picture on page 24 and 25, how does Arthur feel about school and what details can you find that explain how Arthur feels? / Arthur feels happy because he is smiling and jumping.
Re-read page 26 and 27. How does Author feel about learning to read? How can you tell from the story? / Arthur liked learning to read. He reads everywhere, in the car, and in the bed.He also likes to read to his puppy and his little sister.
Look at the picture at the top of page 28 and re-read the paragraph. What does Arthur say that shows he does not think D.W. can read? What detail from the picture leads Arthur to think D.W. cannot read? / He says, “You do not!” when D.W. says she already knows how to read. In the picture, D.W. is holding the book upside down.
Re-read page 29. What deal did Arthur and D.W. make? / Arthur will buy D.W. an ice cream if she can read ten words.
Looking at the picture and re-reading the paragraph on page 29, how does D.W. respond to Arthur’s challenge? / D.W. stuck out her hand (to shake on it) and said, “It’s a deal. Let’s go!” The exclamation mark at the end of the last sentence shows that she was excited about the challenge.
On page 30 and 31, what is the first sign that D.W. reads? The author has D.W. say, “easy as pie,” to describe the first word that she reads. How does D.W. feel about reading this word? / The first sign that D.W. reads is “Zoo.” D.W. finds this word to be easy, not hard, to read.
On Page 33 Arthur says, “I spy three words.” What does spy mean? List the three words that Arthur spies and that D.W. reads. / Spy means to see or find. The three words that Arthur sees and that D.W. reads are “taxi, gas, and milk.”
Looking back to pages 30 and 33, how many words has D.W. read so far? What are we learning about D.W.? / D.W. has read four words so far. We are learning that D.W. can read.
Re-reading page 34 and looking at the picture on pages 34 and 35, what words does D.W. read? How do we know that Arthur did not read the sign? How does Arthur react to D.W. about reading the sign? How does he feel? / D.W. reads “Don’t Walk.” Arthur did not read the sign because he is stepping off of the curb. Arthur is embarrassed and calls D.W. “Miss Smarty-Pants.”
There is another sign on page 37 that D.W. has read but Arthur has not. Looking at the picture, how do you know that D.W. has read the sign and that Arthur did not? / I know that D.W. has read the sign because she is standing on the sidewalk and not the grass. The sign tells people to keep off of the grass. Arthur is standing on the grass which means he has not read the sign.
What word did D.W. read on page 39? Re-read the paragraph on page 39, how many words has D.W. read so far? What does D.W. use a bank for? / She reads the word “bank.” D.W. has read eight words so far. She uses a bank to hide her money from Arthur.
On page 40, Arthur tells D.W. that she only read eight words.Looking back through the story, how do you know that Arthur was wrong about D.W.’s ability to read? / Arthur was wrong about D.W.’s ability to read because D.W. has read some important words along the way that he missed. She has actually read more than eight words.
On page 41, D.W. tells Arthur to “Hold your horses” which means to wait. Why does D.W. want Arthur to wait? / Arthur thinks D.W. has lost the deal because she has only read eight words and they are almost home. D.W. wants Arthur to wait because she sees two more words that she can read.
On page 42,how do you think D.W. feels when Arthur hands her the ice cream and why? Looking back through the story what details can you find to show that D.W. is a confident reader? / She feels proud because she proved to her brother that she can read. In the beginning she tells Arthur that she already knows how to read and eagerly accepts his challenge. Throughout the story D.W. reads ten words to meet the challenge and other signs that Arthur overlooks. At the end of the story, D.W. offers to read the book to Arthur.
Looking back to pages 34, 37, and 44, who do you think is a more careful reader, Arthur or D.W.? Why? / D.W. is a more careful reader because she notices all the signs.
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING
Words addressed with a question or task / WORDS WORTH KNOWING
General teaching suggestions are provided in the Introduction
TEACHER PROVIDES DEFINITION
not enough contextual clues provided in the text / Page 25 learned
Page 27 “little sister”
Page 29 prove, deal
Page 30 “easy as pie”
Page 41 “hold your horses” / Page 28 already
Page 33 spy
Page 36 “Miss Smarty-Pants”
Page 39 “hide my money”
Page 40 almost, “too bad”
Page 41 “hot dog”
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT THE MEANING
sufficient context clues are provided in the text / Page 30 sign, zoo
Page 33 spy, taxi, gas
Page 37 police
Page 39 bank
Page 44 “wet paint” / Page 26 everywhere
Page 29 stuck
Page 30 raced, pointed
Page 34 curb
Page 40 eight

Culminating Task

  • Re-Read, Think, Discuss, Write
  • How does Arthur feel about D.W.’s ability to read and what does he challenge D.W. to do? How does D.W. feel about the challenge and what does D.W. do to win the challenge? Write a paragraph and use details and examples from the story to support your answer.

Answer: Model Paragraph:In the story “Arthur’s Reading Race,” Arthur thinks that D.W. cannot read. He makes a deal with D.W. If she reads ten words, Arthur will buy her an ice cream cone. D.W. is excited about the deal. They walk through the city reading words such as zoo, gas, police, and bank. D.W. even reads signs that Arthur does not read. In the end, D.W. receives a strawberry ice cream cone for proving to Author that she can read.

Additional Tasks

1. I-Spy: Take the class for a walk around the school campus making a list of ten words they can read. When the students return to class, have them choose five out of the ten words to write a complete sentence focusing on the Grammar skills for this lesson.

2. Characters: Read another story written by Marc Brown. Have the students name the characters in the story and list the information that they learned about each character.

3. Writing: Imagine that you have a little brother or sister. What could you teach him/her? Write a paragraph explainingwhat you would teach and how you would teach it to him/her.

4. Research: Use World Book Online for Kids to find an article about aardvarks. Create a fact finding sheet for students to write what they learn from the article. Students will take the information that they gathered to write a paragraph about aardvarks and draw a picture to go with it. Additional information and worksheets can be found at

Note to Teacher

  • The teacher may want to check out books from the library on aardvarks and other “Arthur” books for students to read.