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Fly, Eagle, Fly!
Below-Level Reader
Buck's Way
Buck's Way
Unit 4 Week 5
Target Skill PLOT AND THEME
Target Skill GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
LESSON VOCABULARY clutched,
echoed, gully, reeds, scrambled, valley
SUMMARY This selection is a retelling of The Ugly Duckling.
INTRODUCE THE BOOK
BUILD BACKGROUND Ask students if they have ever been teased. Discuss
how doing something different can be something to be proud of.
PREVIEW/ILLUSTRATIONS Ask students to look at the illustrations and
discuss how the drawings show whether this will be a funny or sad story.
TEACH/PREVIEW VOCABULARY Review lesson vocabulary with students.
Have a word hunt, hiding definitions near, on, or under things that begin with
the same letter as the vocabulary word.
ELL Go over the lesson vocabulary words with English language
learners, and then have them write the word and the definition on flash cards
to test themselves.
TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
Target Skill PLOT AND THEME Remind students that plot is the important parts of a
story. Review a story students are familiar with and discuss the important
parts of the beginning, middle, and end, and then ask students what they
think the big idea or important lesson of the story is. Remind students to try
and determine the parts of the story and the big idea of Buck's Way.
Target Skill GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS Remind students that graphic organizers can
help them figure out relationships between events and concepts. Suggest that as students read Buck's Way, they make a story map, writing down the important events at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Remind them that this will also help them figure out the theme, or the big idea of the story.
READ THE BOOK
Use the following questions to support comprehension.
PAGE 3 What was the big problem Buck had to solve in this story? (He was
being teased because of the way he was swimming.)
PAGE 9 What does the coach's opinion show you about how you see yourself
and how others see you? (You should be proud of being different even though
others may make fun of you.)
PAGE 10 Using a graphic organizer, list the steps for Buck and Quack
becoming friends. (1. Buck joined the team, won races. 2. Buck was famous.
3. Quack asked if he could learn Buck's special style. 4. Buck offered to teach
him.)
TALK ABOUT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE
  1. Buck meets the swim team coach. The meeting gives him a solution to
    his problem.
  2. Buck was teased because of his unusual swimming style. Excelling on
    the swim team gained him respect, and the teasing stopped.
  3. Sentences should reflect understanding of word meaning and past tense.
  4. By forgiving Quack, Buck taught him that kindness is important. Possible response: I would have forgiven Quack.
RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING Suggest students imagine they are Quack and have them write an apology to Buck.
CONTENT CONNECTIONS
Time for SOCIAL STUDIESSOCIAL STUDIES/LITERATURE Have students reread The Ugly Duckling and then ask them to compare the story with Buck's Way.
 
   
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Plot and Theme
Plot and Theme
Vocabulary
Vocabulary