Tops and Bottoms
Below-Level Reader
Growing Vegetables
Unit 2 Week 4
AUTHOR'S PURPOSE PREDICT
LESSON VOCABULARY bottom, cheated, clever, crops, lazy, partners, wealth
SUMMARY This is a story about working together for a common goal: creating a vegetable garden. By taking readers through a busy day in the garden, the story shows how much work goes into making a garden and how sharing the work makes it more fun for all.
INTRODUCE THE BOOK
BUILD BACKGROUND Ask students if they have ever grown any plants. What kind of plants did they grow? How did they care for the plants?
PREVIEW/USE ILLUSTRATIONS As students preview the book, point out that illustrations may help them when they encounter unfamiliar words, terms, or ideas. For example, on page 8, students can see a picture of the kind of plant the boy is growing. That can help them figure out what the words bean plants mean.
Ask students who have had some experience tending a garden to describe or draw pictures of the tools they used or things they grew.
TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY To reinforce the meaning of the words, ask volunteers to think of a synonym for each word, such as smart for clever, and so on. Then have them think of an antonym for each word.
TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
AUTHOR'S PURPOSE Remind students that every author has a purpose, or reason, for writing a story. An author may want to entertain, inform, or persuade. Ask: Why do you think the author wrote this story? What does the author want you to learn?
PREDICT Remind students that
predicting is when you guess what will happen next in a story based on what has already happened. As students read, ask: What events help you to predict what is going to happen next? Then have students read ahead and see if their predictions are correct.
READ THE BOOK
Use the following questions to support comprehension.
PAGE 4 Why did the Garden Bunch plant their garden in a sunny spot? (Vegetables need lots of sunlight to grow.)
PAGE 7 Can you predict what will happen if Miranda forgets to water the carrots again? (The carrots will wilt even more.)
PAGE 10 Using clues in the text, explain what harvest means. (It means to pick or gather.)
TALK ABOUT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE
- Possible response: to inform readers about growing vegetables
- Possible response: They will plant a new garden. One clue in the story is that the kids also planted a vegetable garden last summer.
- Possible response: busy, lively
- Possible response: The plants were planted in rows; the vegetables were planted in separate areas; markers identified each crop.
RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING Instruct students to look at the illustration of the Garden Bunch's vegetable stand on page 12. Ask students to write a short radio commercial for the stand.
CONTENT CONNECTIONS
SCIENCE Students can learn more about measuring by planting a fast-growing flower, such as a sunflower, in the classroom. Invite students to measure the height of their flowers every day and track the growth on a weekly chart posted in the classroom.
L.R. TOC
PrintResources
