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DURING READING
Reader Response
Open for Discussion Personal Response
Think Aloud MODEL Since Lily lives in the country, it would make sense that another night letter would come from something that I would find in the country. I would add a night letter from a big animal, since there are none in the story.
Comprehension Check Critical Response
  1. Responses will vary. Students
    might mention things like the
    age of the main character or
    the setting.     Author's Purpose
  2. Students may think Lily is
    quiet, studious, interested in
    nature, observant. Examples:
    she is alone, she spends a lot
    of time observing nature.
     Target SkillDraw Conclusions
  3. Responses will vary; questions
    should address Lily and relate
    somehow to the text.
    Target SkillAsk Questions
  4. Responses will vary.
    Target SkillVocabulary
TEST PRACTICE Look Back and Write
For test practice, assign
a 10–15 minute time
limit. For assessment,
see the Scoring Rubric at the right.
Retell
Have students retell Night Letters.
SUCCESS PREDICTOR
Monitor Progress
then… use the Retelling Cards and the Scoring Rubric for Retelling on p. 351 to assist fluent retelling.
If… students have difficulty retelling the selection,
Check Retelling Rubric
ELL
Check Retelling Have students use illustrations and other text features to guide their retellings. Let students listen to other retellings before attempting their own. See the ELL and Transition Handbook.
Write Now
Look at the Prompt Have students identify and discuss key words and phrases in the prompt. (plan, future, friendly letter)
Strategies to Develop Conventions
Have students
  • point out the date, greeting,
    body, and closing of some
    friendly letters.
  • discuss the importance of
    correct spelling, capitalization,
    and punctuation in a letter.
  • review the uses of commas in
    the parts of a friendly letter.
NO: April 28 2008
YES: April 28, 2008
NO: Dear Kelly.
YES: Dear Kelly,
For additional suggestions and rubric, see pp. 353g–353h.
Hints for Better Writing
  • Carefully read the prompt.
  • Use a graphic organizer to plan your writing.
  • Support your ideas with information and details.
  • Use words that help readers understand.
  • Proofread and edit
    your work. Check for
    subject-verb agreement.
Retelling: SUCCESS PREDICTOR
Reader Response
Open for Discussion If you could suggest another night letter for this story, what would it be?
1.
Authors and artists work together on a book like Night Letters. What do you think the author might have told the artist to help him paint the pictures? Think Like an Author
Think about what Lily does in the story. What kind of girl do you think she is? What examples from the story helped you decide? Draw Conclusions
If you could interview Lily about her book of night letters, what is one question you would like to ask her? Ask Questions
Find some compound words in the story. Use one of the two small words in each to make a new compound word. You may want to use a dictionary. Here is a sample: hawkmoth-mothball. Vocabulary
4.
2.
3.
Look Back and Write Look back at Night Letters. Write the words and phrases from the selection that make it seem real.
Meet illustrator Normand Chartier on page 420.
TEST PRACTICE
Write Now: Friendly Letter
In Night Letters, Lily makes plans for
the next day.
Think about a plan you have for some
time in the future.
Now write a friendly letter telling a friend
about your plan.
Prompt
Writing Trait
Correct use of
conventions (spelling,
capitalization,
punctuation, grammar)
helps readers
understand a letter.
Student Model
Use the model to help you write your own
friendly letter.
Proper
nouns are
capitalized.
Writer
correctly uses
conventions
of a friendly
letter: date,
greeting,
and closing.
Vivid details
support the
main idea.
 
   
Close  
Scoring Rubric
Look Back and Write
Top-Score Response A top-score response will include words
and phrases from the selection that make it seem real.
Example of a Top-Score Response The story seems real as the
girl writes about things she observes. Phrases and sentences
include “zigzag lines in the dirt,” “in the tomato patch,” “A
hawkmoth rests on a crisp blade of grass,” and “I come to the
big old sycamore tree.”
For additional rubrics, see p. WA10.
Scoring Rubric    Narrative Retelling
Rubric 4 3 2 1
Connections
Makes connections and generalizes beyond the text
Makes connections to other events, stories, or experiences
Makes a limited connection to
another event, story, or experience
Makes no
connection to
another event, story, or experience
Author's
Purpose
Elaborates on author's purpose
Tells author's purpose with some clarity
Makes some connection to author's purpose
Makes no
connection to
author's purpose
Characters
Describes the main character(s) and any character development
Identifies the main character(s) and gives some information about them
Inaccurately
identifies some characters or gives little information about them
Inaccurately
identifies the characters or gives no information
about them
Setting
Describes the time and location
Identifies the time and location
Omits details of time or location
Is unable to identify time or location
Plot
Describes the problem, goal, events, and ending using rich detail
Tells the problem, goal, events, and ending with some errors that do not affect meaning
Tells parts of the problem, goal, events, and ending with gaps that affect meaning
Retelling has no sense of story
Retelling Plan
  • Week 1 Assess Strategic Intervention students.
  • Week 2 Assess Advanced students.
  • This week Assess Strategic Intervention
    students.
  • Week 4 Assess On-Level students.
  • Week 5 Assess any students you have not yet
    checked during this unit.
Use the Retelling Chart on
p. TR16 to record retelling.
Selection Test To assess with Night Letters, use Selection Tests, pp. 49–52.
Fresh Reads for Differentiated Test Practice For weekly leveled practice, use pp. 73–78.