Scott Foresman Reading Street

The Gardener
Group Time

for Fluency

Use Decodable Reader 11.

Word Study/Phonics

LESSON VOCABULARY Use p. 282 to review the meanings of beauty, blooming, bulbs, doze, humor, recognizing, showers, and sprouting. Students can blend all of the words except beauty. Say and spell beauty. Have individuals practice reading the words from word cards.

DECODING MULTISYLLABIC WORDS Write discovered and model how to decode a word with an ending. First I look for meaningful parts. I see an ending I know, -ed. So I cover the ending and look for the base word. I see the word discover. I say the parts of the word: dis cov ered. Then I read the word discovered.

Use the Multisyllabic Word routine on p. DI•1 to help students read these other words from The Gardener: anxious, mustache, catalogues, vacant, survived, envelope, customers, radishes, containers, and thousand. Be sure students understand the meanings of words such as anxious and vacant.

Use Strategies for Word Analysis, Lesson 11, with students who have difficulty mastering word analysis and need practice with decodable text.

The Gardener, pp. 284–291

BEFORE READING Yesterday we read about two girls whose grandpa showed them how much fun gardening can be. Today we will read about a girl who brings her love of gardening with her to a faraway place.

Using the Picture Walk routine on p. DI•1, guide students through the text, asking questions such as those listed below. Then read the question on
p. 285. Together, set a purpose for reading.

p. 286 What do you notice about the text on this page? (It's a letter.) This selection is a series of letters that a girl writes home.

pp. 286–287 What's happening in this picture? (People are at a train station.) Yes, a little girl is leaving her small hometown.

DURING READING Follow the Guiding Comprehension routine on
pp. 286–291. Have students read along with you while tracking the print or do a choral reading of the selection. Stop every two pages to ask what students have learned so far. Prompt as necessary.

Why did Lydia Grace have to move to the city?
What happened after Lydia Grace arrived at her uncle's place?

AFTER READING What has happened so far? What do you think will happen next? Reread passages with students as needed.

Extend Vocabulary

WORD STRUCTURE Write the following words from the Leveled
Reader Nicky’s Meadow: museums, tomatoes, daisies. Have students read the words. What is the base word of each word? (museum, tomato, daisy) What ending does each word have? (-s, -es, and -es after y changed to i) Discuss how looking at the endings of words can help you read them and realize that they are plural. Remind students to use this strategy as they read The Gardener.

The Gardener, pp. 284–291

BEFORE READING In Nicky’s Meadow you read about a boy who
moved to the big city, afraid he’d be leaving behind nature and the
gardening that he loved. Today you will read a story about a girl who
brings her love of gardening from the country to the city. As you read,
think about why people get such pleasure from gardening.

Have students begin a KWL chart for The Gardener in their Strategy
Response Logs (p. 284). Tell them to think about and update their
charts as they read.

CRITICAL THINKING Have students read pp. 284–291 independently.
Encourage them to think critically. For example, ask:

Why do you think the author decided to write this story as a series of letters? Would you have written it this way? Why or why not?
How do the illustrations help you understand the text of the letters?
What do you suppose Lydia Grace has in mind for Uncle Jim and getting him to smile?

AFTER READING Meet with students to discuss the selection, and
have them share their KWL charts. Then have students write a letter
to Lydia Grace, telling what they think about her story, asking her
questions, or offering her advice.