Arthur’s New Puppy by Marc Brown (An Arthur Adventure)
Guided Reading Level: L
Standards:
NJSLSA.R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently with scaffolding as needed.
RL.2.1. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
L.2.6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
Objective: Second grade students will read a narrative text and engage in a discussion of key concepts and vocabulary through the development of graphic organizers and presentations to demonstrate comprehension at a level of 3 or higher on a 4 point rubric.
I. Preparation for Reading
A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge
Develop a discussion relating to getting a new pet and have students share their experiences with getting a new pet, or, if they do not own a pet, helping care for a friend or relative’s new pet. Discuss with students the excitement and challenges that come with taking in a new pet and caring for the pet. Encourage students to share their personal experiences with taking in and caring for a new pet. Examples of personal experiences students could contribute to the discussion are where they adopted their pets from, what they named their pets, how they chose their pets’ names, what kind of supplies they bought for their pets, if their new pets got along with their other pets, if their new pets misbehaved, etc. Utilize this discussion to access students’ prior knowledge and help them relate to the tale of Arthur and his new naughty pup, Pal, who breaks loose and causes all sorts of trouble.
B. Preview Text and Make Predictions
Preview Arthur’s New Puppy with students by showing them the front cover and cover page and then reading the description on the back of the book. Read the first two pages of the book to students. Explain to students that Arthur’s New Puppy is a fiction book, which means that the characters and story are both imaginary. Review the book’s main characters of Arthur, his little sister, D.W., Arthur and D.W.’s mother and father, Arthur’s puppy, Pal, and explain how the characters are related to one another, then discuss the minor characters of Buster and Francine and explain how those characters relate to the main character of Arthur. Conduct a picture-walk of Arthur’s New Puppy with students, focusing on the illustrations in the order they are presented, and utilize signal words, such as first, next, then and finally, to indicate the order of events in the story (i.e. “First, Arthur’s mother lets Pal move into the house for a day or two because he is lonesome in the garage. Next…”). Guide students in making predictions about the text by asking them who is in the illustrations, what is going on in the illustrations, what they think will happen next, where the story is taking place in the illustrations, when the story is taking place in the illustrations, why they think the characters are doing what they are doing in the illustrations, how they think the story is going to end based on the illustrations, etc. Do not reveal the final illustration in the book so that students can discover this information for themselves.
C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge
Throughout the picture-walk and corresponding discussion, draw students’ attention to certain vocabulary words, specifically the tier 1 word “puppy,” the tier 2 words “active,” “naughty,” “cozy,” “garage,” and “lonesome,” and the tier 3 words “training” and “scooper” by pointing at these words on the page. Ask students if they have ever heard of these words before and if they know the meanings of these words. Discuss each vocabulary word with students and provide a definition for each word in the context that it is used in the story (i.e. “A puppy is a baby dog,” “The word ‘lonesome’ means to feel alone,” etc.). Explain that some of the vocabulary words, like “active,” are adjectives, which describe nouns (i.e. Arthur referring to Pal as an “active puppy” on the first page of the story). Explain that some of the words, like “training,” can serve as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Either point to Pal in the text when providing the definition of “puppy” to students or present children with a plush puppy. When providing the definition of “scooper” to students, present children with a scooper, which can be purchased at a pet store. Have students connect these words to their everyday lives and personal experiences by questioning students (i.e. “Has anyone here ever been ‘naughty’?”, “Has anyone ever felt lonesome?”, etc.).
Academic Language Demands:
The job/function students will need to be able to perform, in terms of language, is to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how by employing words and phrases they have acquired from reading the text in order to gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy. The key words of who, what, where, when, why, and how will serve as good supports that will help students gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
Answering the 5 W’s and 1 H− by employing the words and phrases they have acquired from reading the text while answering the 5 W’s and 1 H, students are able to gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
Tier 2 words: active, naughty, cozy, garage, lonesome
Terms/phrases: who, what, where, when, why, how
Utilize graphic organizers that help answer the 5 W’s and 1 H in order to support students in gaining a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
D. Set a Purpose for Reading
Encourage students to begin reading Arthur’s New Puppy and refresh their memories that Pal is a very mischievous puppy who will get into all sorts of trouble once he gets loose. Tell students the following before they begin reading: “Let’s read to explore what type of mischief Pal will get into!”
II. Read Silently
Have students read to themselves until they find the answer to the above purpose setting question, with each student reading his or her own copy of Arthur’s New Puppy. Also, have students watch for the discussed vocabulary words and examine the illustrations in the text, relating who, what, etc. is in the illustrations to what they are reading. Monitor students’ progress, observing their reading behaviors and the strategies they employ when comprehending the text. Assist students as needed and encourage them to employ reading comprehension strategies if they are struggling with the text. Have students illustrate and label the answer to the purpose setting question in their designated 5 W’s and 1 H graphic organizers once they discover the answer in the text.
III. Respond to Reading to Develop Comprehension
A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question
Continue to monitor students’ progress, observing their reading behaviors and the strategies they employ when comprehending the text. Develop a discussion relating to what students have discovered about the purposes set forth for reading. Students should first discover that Pal does not like the garage because it makes him feel lonesome. As students encounter the answer to each purpose setting question, evaluate the accuracy of students’ answers to ensure that they are properly comprehending the text. Students will go on to answer fourteen more purpose setting questions that deal with the 5 W’s and 1 H, with both the questions and answers incorporating the vocabulary focused upon in Part C of the above Preparation for Reading section.
B. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary
Continue to discuss Arthur’s New Puppy with students and answer any questions or address any points of interest that students may have while reading. Ask students to place themselves in Arthur’s position and imagine what they would do if Pal was their puppy and he was misbehaving. Would they be as patient as Arthur or get rid of Pal? Have students propose solutions to Arthur’s problem. Ask students questions such as, “Where do you think the garage key went?” or “Do you think it was fair that Buster’s parents sent his puppy to live on a farm?” Have students reflect on the bond Arthur and Pal share and ask them to relate that bond to bonds in their own lives, whether those bonds are with animals or humans (i.e. brother and sister bond, mother and daughter bond, father and son bond, etc.). Also, take this opportunity to review the vocabulary words with students and ensure that they are utilizing those words when discussing the story and their answers to the above questions.
C. Supporting Comprehension of Structure
Explain to students that the fiction story Arthur’s New Puppy follows chronological order, meaning that one event happens after another, and stress the importance of using signal words when describing the events of the story chronologically. Review the order of events in the story, once again employing the signal words identified in Part B of the Preparation for Reading section. Encourage students to share the labeled illustrations they have added to their graphic organizers and draw attention to the fact that the purpose setting questions they answered follow the order of the story (i.e. “First, Arthur forgets to close Pal’s gate. Then, Pal breaks free and destroys the kitchen and living room”). Clarify that the answers to the purpose setting questions appear as the story unfolds and that students cannot answer question six, for example, before they answer question five. Have each student complete a KWL chart at the halfway point of the story and at the end of the story, which will enable them to think deeper into the story and motivate them to keep reading.
D. Seeking Additional Sources for Information
Encourage students to seek additional information about concepts within Arthur’s New Puppy by providing them with appropriate sources that could be utilized for further investigation and inquiry. In preparation for further inquiry relating to the behaviors exhibited by puppies like Pal, introduce students to the informational text Why Do Puppies Do That? by Seymour Simon. Encourage students to explore this resource as well as other resources to discover more about the common behaviors exhibited by puppies. Eventually, develop these ideas into a structured science lesson. Encourage students to seek information and further their investigation of behaviors exhibited by puppies by relating the topic to their own experiences and interests (i.e. “For those of you who own a puppy or have a relative who owns a puppy, have you ever wondered why the puppy likes to chew on everything?”).
E. Reading with Purpose/Additional Purpose Setting Questions
Encourage students to continue reading Arthur’s New Puppy and refresh their memories that Pal will continue to misbehave throughout the course of the story and that it is Arthur’s responsibility to get Pal under control. Have them read to discover the answer to the next purpose setting question and stop to add a labeled illustration to their graphic organizers. Then have them partake in a mini-discussion after each new question is answered.
Remaining Purpose Setting Questions:
1. Who makes a cozy spot for Pal in the kitchen? Arthur
2. What is Pal afraid of? His leash
3. When does Pal yelp, howl, and wake up the entire family? Later that night
4. How does Pal escape? Arthur forgets to close Pal’s gate
5. What does Pal do to the kitchen and living room? He destroys them both
6. Why can’t Pal move back into the garage? The garage key goes missing
7. Who said Pal’s in big trouble? Arthur’s parents
8. Why did Buster’s parents send his puppy to live on a farm? Because he was too much trouble
9. What does Pal do to Arthur’s dog-training book? He destroys it
10. Where does Arthur set up a training school for Pal? In his backyard
11. When does Arthur teach Pal to “stay?” On Wednesday
12. How does Pal perform during Arthur’s puppy show? Very obediently
13. Where does Pal find the garage key? Behind the rosebushes
14. Who takes Pal’s leash? Pal
IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies
Teach a direct instruction lesson on the concept of the 5 W’s and 1 H and demonstrate these components to students via a large “puzzle” (a poster board designed to resemble a puzzle) consisting of six different pieces (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How). Explain the 5 W’s and 1 H to students. Have students reread Arthur’s New Puppy to themselves, monitoring and aiding students as they read, and then have students reread the text aloud to one another in pairs. Give each pair their own “puzzle” (a smaller version of the larger example puzzle) and have them fill in each blank piece with the corresponding information (the who of the story, the what of the story, the where of the story, the when of the story, the why of the story, and the how of the story). Have each pair retell Arthur’s New Puppy aloud by connecting the information they incorporated on each of their six puzzle pieces. Encourage students to incorporate the vocabulary words discussed in Part B of the Preparation for Reading section on their puzzle pieces.
V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum
Purchase and care for a classroom pet− Engage students in the task of preparing and caring
for a household pet. Have students research common classroom pets and how to care for these
pets in nonfiction informational texts and online. Have students visit a local pet shop where
they will get to see and interact with the pets they have read and learned about. Have students
vote on which of the pets they researched should serve as the classroom pet. Have students
calculate the amount of food, bedding, etc. the pet will need initially and allow them to
purchase the necessary supplies with the money they have raised via fundraisers. Allow
students to vote on a name for the pet the following school day. Require students to write about
which pet they saw and/or interacted with at the pet shop was their favorite and why. Require
students to draw a picture of the pet to accompany their writing. Have students rotate feeding
the pet, cleaning the tank/cage, etc. throughout the course of the school year.
Guided Reading Level: L
Standards:
NJSLSA.R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently with scaffolding as needed.
RL.2.1. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
L.2.6. Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
Objective: Second grade students will read a narrative text and engage in a discussion of key concepts and vocabulary through the development of graphic organizers and presentations to demonstrate comprehension at a level of 3 or higher on a 4 point rubric.
I. Preparation for Reading
A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge
Develop a discussion relating to getting a new pet and have students share their experiences with getting a new pet, or, if they do not own a pet, helping care for a friend or relative’s new pet. Discuss with students the excitement and challenges that come with taking in a new pet and caring for the pet. Encourage students to share their personal experiences with taking in and caring for a new pet. Examples of personal experiences students could contribute to the discussion are where they adopted their pets from, what they named their pets, how they chose their pets’ names, what kind of supplies they bought for their pets, if their new pets got along with their other pets, if their new pets misbehaved, etc. Utilize this discussion to access students’ prior knowledge and help them relate to the tale of Arthur and his new naughty pup, Pal, who breaks loose and causes all sorts of trouble.
B. Preview Text and Make Predictions
Preview Arthur’s New Puppy with students by showing them the front cover and cover page and then reading the description on the back of the book. Read the first two pages of the book to students. Explain to students that Arthur’s New Puppy is a fiction book, which means that the characters and story are both imaginary. Review the book’s main characters of Arthur, his little sister, D.W., Arthur and D.W.’s mother and father, Arthur’s puppy, Pal, and explain how the characters are related to one another, then discuss the minor characters of Buster and Francine and explain how those characters relate to the main character of Arthur. Conduct a picture-walk of Arthur’s New Puppy with students, focusing on the illustrations in the order they are presented, and utilize signal words, such as first, next, then and finally, to indicate the order of events in the story (i.e. “First, Arthur’s mother lets Pal move into the house for a day or two because he is lonesome in the garage. Next…”). Guide students in making predictions about the text by asking them who is in the illustrations, what is going on in the illustrations, what they think will happen next, where the story is taking place in the illustrations, when the story is taking place in the illustrations, why they think the characters are doing what they are doing in the illustrations, how they think the story is going to end based on the illustrations, etc. Do not reveal the final illustration in the book so that students can discover this information for themselves.
C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge
Throughout the picture-walk and corresponding discussion, draw students’ attention to certain vocabulary words, specifically the tier 1 word “puppy,” the tier 2 words “active,” “naughty,” “cozy,” “garage,” and “lonesome,” and the tier 3 words “training” and “scooper” by pointing at these words on the page. Ask students if they have ever heard of these words before and if they know the meanings of these words. Discuss each vocabulary word with students and provide a definition for each word in the context that it is used in the story (i.e. “A puppy is a baby dog,” “The word ‘lonesome’ means to feel alone,” etc.). Explain that some of the vocabulary words, like “active,” are adjectives, which describe nouns (i.e. Arthur referring to Pal as an “active puppy” on the first page of the story). Explain that some of the words, like “training,” can serve as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Either point to Pal in the text when providing the definition of “puppy” to students or present children with a plush puppy. When providing the definition of “scooper” to students, present children with a scooper, which can be purchased at a pet store. Have students connect these words to their everyday lives and personal experiences by questioning students (i.e. “Has anyone here ever been ‘naughty’?”, “Has anyone ever felt lonesome?”, etc.).
Academic Language Demands:
The job/function students will need to be able to perform, in terms of language, is to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how by employing words and phrases they have acquired from reading the text in order to gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy. The key words of who, what, where, when, why, and how will serve as good supports that will help students gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
Answering the 5 W’s and 1 H− by employing the words and phrases they have acquired from reading the text while answering the 5 W’s and 1 H, students are able to gain a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
Tier 2 words: active, naughty, cozy, garage, lonesome
Terms/phrases: who, what, where, when, why, how
Utilize graphic organizers that help answer the 5 W’s and 1 H in order to support students in gaining a better understanding of Arthur’s New Puppy.
D. Set a Purpose for Reading
Encourage students to begin reading Arthur’s New Puppy and refresh their memories that Pal is a very mischievous puppy who will get into all sorts of trouble once he gets loose. Tell students the following before they begin reading: “Let’s read to explore what type of mischief Pal will get into!”
II. Read Silently
Have students read to themselves until they find the answer to the above purpose setting question, with each student reading his or her own copy of Arthur’s New Puppy. Also, have students watch for the discussed vocabulary words and examine the illustrations in the text, relating who, what, etc. is in the illustrations to what they are reading. Monitor students’ progress, observing their reading behaviors and the strategies they employ when comprehending the text. Assist students as needed and encourage them to employ reading comprehension strategies if they are struggling with the text. Have students illustrate and label the answer to the purpose setting question in their designated 5 W’s and 1 H graphic organizers once they discover the answer in the text.
III. Respond to Reading to Develop Comprehension
A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question
Continue to monitor students’ progress, observing their reading behaviors and the strategies they employ when comprehending the text. Develop a discussion relating to what students have discovered about the purposes set forth for reading. Students should first discover that Pal does not like the garage because it makes him feel lonesome. As students encounter the answer to each purpose setting question, evaluate the accuracy of students’ answers to ensure that they are properly comprehending the text. Students will go on to answer fourteen more purpose setting questions that deal with the 5 W’s and 1 H, with both the questions and answers incorporating the vocabulary focused upon in Part C of the above Preparation for Reading section.
B. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary
Continue to discuss Arthur’s New Puppy with students and answer any questions or address any points of interest that students may have while reading. Ask students to place themselves in Arthur’s position and imagine what they would do if Pal was their puppy and he was misbehaving. Would they be as patient as Arthur or get rid of Pal? Have students propose solutions to Arthur’s problem. Ask students questions such as, “Where do you think the garage key went?” or “Do you think it was fair that Buster’s parents sent his puppy to live on a farm?” Have students reflect on the bond Arthur and Pal share and ask them to relate that bond to bonds in their own lives, whether those bonds are with animals or humans (i.e. brother and sister bond, mother and daughter bond, father and son bond, etc.). Also, take this opportunity to review the vocabulary words with students and ensure that they are utilizing those words when discussing the story and their answers to the above questions.
C. Supporting Comprehension of Structure
Explain to students that the fiction story Arthur’s New Puppy follows chronological order, meaning that one event happens after another, and stress the importance of using signal words when describing the events of the story chronologically. Review the order of events in the story, once again employing the signal words identified in Part B of the Preparation for Reading section. Encourage students to share the labeled illustrations they have added to their graphic organizers and draw attention to the fact that the purpose setting questions they answered follow the order of the story (i.e. “First, Arthur forgets to close Pal’s gate. Then, Pal breaks free and destroys the kitchen and living room”). Clarify that the answers to the purpose setting questions appear as the story unfolds and that students cannot answer question six, for example, before they answer question five. Have each student complete a KWL chart at the halfway point of the story and at the end of the story, which will enable them to think deeper into the story and motivate them to keep reading.
D. Seeking Additional Sources for Information
Encourage students to seek additional information about concepts within Arthur’s New Puppy by providing them with appropriate sources that could be utilized for further investigation and inquiry. In preparation for further inquiry relating to the behaviors exhibited by puppies like Pal, introduce students to the informational text Why Do Puppies Do That? by Seymour Simon. Encourage students to explore this resource as well as other resources to discover more about the common behaviors exhibited by puppies. Eventually, develop these ideas into a structured science lesson. Encourage students to seek information and further their investigation of behaviors exhibited by puppies by relating the topic to their own experiences and interests (i.e. “For those of you who own a puppy or have a relative who owns a puppy, have you ever wondered why the puppy likes to chew on everything?”).
E. Reading with Purpose/Additional Purpose Setting Questions
Encourage students to continue reading Arthur’s New Puppy and refresh their memories that Pal will continue to misbehave throughout the course of the story and that it is Arthur’s responsibility to get Pal under control. Have them read to discover the answer to the next purpose setting question and stop to add a labeled illustration to their graphic organizers. Then have them partake in a mini-discussion after each new question is answered.
Remaining Purpose Setting Questions:
1. Who makes a cozy spot for Pal in the kitchen? Arthur
2. What is Pal afraid of? His leash
3. When does Pal yelp, howl, and wake up the entire family? Later that night
4. How does Pal escape? Arthur forgets to close Pal’s gate
5. What does Pal do to the kitchen and living room? He destroys them both
6. Why can’t Pal move back into the garage? The garage key goes missing
7. Who said Pal’s in big trouble? Arthur’s parents
8. Why did Buster’s parents send his puppy to live on a farm? Because he was too much trouble
9. What does Pal do to Arthur’s dog-training book? He destroys it
10. Where does Arthur set up a training school for Pal? In his backyard
11. When does Arthur teach Pal to “stay?” On Wednesday
12. How does Pal perform during Arthur’s puppy show? Very obediently
13. Where does Pal find the garage key? Behind the rosebushes
14. Who takes Pal’s leash? Pal
IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies
Teach a direct instruction lesson on the concept of the 5 W’s and 1 H and demonstrate these components to students via a large “puzzle” (a poster board designed to resemble a puzzle) consisting of six different pieces (Who, What, Where, When, Why, How). Explain the 5 W’s and 1 H to students. Have students reread Arthur’s New Puppy to themselves, monitoring and aiding students as they read, and then have students reread the text aloud to one another in pairs. Give each pair their own “puzzle” (a smaller version of the larger example puzzle) and have them fill in each blank piece with the corresponding information (the who of the story, the what of the story, the where of the story, the when of the story, the why of the story, and the how of the story). Have each pair retell Arthur’s New Puppy aloud by connecting the information they incorporated on each of their six puzzle pieces. Encourage students to incorporate the vocabulary words discussed in Part B of the Preparation for Reading section on their puzzle pieces.
V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum
Purchase and care for a classroom pet− Engage students in the task of preparing and caring
for a household pet. Have students research common classroom pets and how to care for these
pets in nonfiction informational texts and online. Have students visit a local pet shop where
they will get to see and interact with the pets they have read and learned about. Have students
vote on which of the pets they researched should serve as the classroom pet. Have students
calculate the amount of food, bedding, etc. the pet will need initially and allow them to
purchase the necessary supplies with the money they have raised via fundraisers. Allow
students to vote on a name for the pet the following school day. Require students to write about
which pet they saw and/or interacted with at the pet shop was their favorite and why. Require
students to draw a picture of the pet to accompany their writing. Have students rotate feeding
the pet, cleaning the tank/cage, etc. throughout the course of the school year.