Jeff Rost K-3 Lit Methods Mediated Read Aloud Grade 2 Book Title: The Fungus That Ate

My School Author: Arthur Dorros Illustrator: David Catrow *I would use this book to supplement a science unit on bacteria, germs, fungus, etc. The primary purpose of this lesson is to teach a comprehension strategy, and I could implement it as a preview to the science unit or as a review after the unit is over. In this instance, I will use it before the science unit on bacteria, germs, and fungus. Lesson Purpose: Good readers make pictures in their minds that go with the words they are reading in a book. Visualizing the places and people in the book helps them understand the story and make connections. Lesson introduction, Setting them up for success 1. Access Prior Knowledge Today we are going to be reading a book about fungus, and we are going to make pictures in our minds about what the author is saying. Making pictures in our minds while we read is called visualizing. If you have ever heard of the word fungus, or if you have ever seen fungus, I want you to think about what it looks like. Has anyone ever seen fungus? Can someone give me an example of fungus? Have any of you ever seen moldy bread? Mold is a type of fungus. Think about the different colors it can be, and what the texture is like. Sometimes it is hard, and sometimes it is fuzzy. 2. Preview Text Organization This book is similar to stories we have read in the past, except for one major difference. In this book, the fungus that ate the school is referred to as IT. That means that anytime in the story that you hear me say IT, I am talking about the fungus that got out of control. 3. Preview Vocabulary Fungus: Fungus is something that grows unlike other plants. Most plants need sun and water, but fungus can grow without it. Fungus can be bad (like mold), or good (like edible mushrooms). Fungus usually grows on other things. 4. Set Purpose for Students As we read today, I want you to listen to the words I say, and make a picture in your head about what I am reading. Good readers make pictures in their minds that go with the words they are reading in a book. Making pictures in their minds related to the places and people in the book helps them understand the story. When a reader makes a picture in their heads about what they are reading, it is called visualizing. When you read, you pick out important words or details about people and places that help make a picture of what you are reading about. For example, if I asked you guys to visualize a school, what would your school look like? Would it look like our school, or would it be different? Good

Jeff Rost K-3 Lit Methods readers look for clues in the book to illustrate a picture in their heads. So, while I read, I want you to make a picture in your head about the words I am reading. I will start off by reading the words, asking you to visualize what you see, and then I will show you the pictures to compare what you thought of. Model and Supported Practice 1. I am going to start reading the book. As I read to you, I want you to listen for clues and visualize what I am reading. I will pause and visualize/ask you to visualize. Then, we will share what we pictured, and I will show you the illustrations. 2. After reading the first three pages in a traditional way, show the class the pictures as we go. The first three pages set the stage for the fungus to get out of control. Show the first three pages to ensure students are comfortable in what I am asking them to do so they are not disengaged. After the first three pages are read, ask students what words or phrases helped them understand the illustrations, and what words the illustrator used to paint the pictures in the book. As a class, examine the words IT, rained during the whole vacation, science experiments, and growing fungus in jars. 3. Pause after reading page 7 without showing the illustration (model visualization). On this page, I listened to the words to help me create a mental picture. I listened for clues in the text so that I can understand what is happening in the story. This is important because if I listen for clues in the story to help make my picture, later on my picture may be able to help me find clues in the story. I heard the words dark hallway, AAAG, green, yellow and purple fuzz, big and ugly, and fantastic to help me picture what is happening. I paid special attention to these words because they are very descriptive, and they tell me what the characters in the story are seeing, and how they feel about what is happening. When I read this page, I thought there would be fungus everywhere. What do you guys think? Show them the picture and continue reading. 4. Pause after reading page 10. Now that I know what the fungus looks like and I have created a picture in my head, I can use that mental picture to create new mental pictures as the author gives me new information and tells me more about the story. On this page, I paid attention to the words thud, thud, thud, slimy fuzz covered the floor, walls, and lights, eating everything, and eating our universe to create a new mental picture. Good readers make mental pictures in their heads and then change or adapt those pictures as the story progresses to fit what the author is saying. I now know that the fungus is not small, and its taking over most of the school. I know that it is out of control, and it is not just in the science room anymore. Changing my mental picture helps me understand the action of the story more and makes me want to keep reading. 5. As I continue reading the story, I want you to visualize what is happening in the story. 6. Pause before reading page 15. Students, now that you know why we visualize, I am going to ask you all to visualize while I read the next page. Remember, good readers listen for clues in the text to help them make pictures in their minds. I want you to use what you know about fungus, as well as what we have read and seen so far to create a picture that helps explain what is happening in the story. Alright, as I read, I want you to make your mental picture. Read page 15 aloud. Does everyone have their visualization? I want you to turn to your partner and share what you saw. Give them time to share.

Jeff Rost K-3 Lit Methods 7. Now that you have shared your mental picture with your partner, would anyone like to share with the class? (Allow 2-3 to share). What words or phrases helped you visualize what the author was saying? (Allow time to discuss). Show them page 15s illustrations. 8. Pause after reading page 18. Students, I want you to again visualize what you heard. (Allow time for them to visualize). This time, I want you to turn to your partner and explain what you saw, and also explain what words or phrases helped you see what you did. (Allow time for partner share). Can I have 2-3 volunteers tell me what clues in the story helped them visualize the action on the page? (Allow time to share). Show the students page 18 and finish reading the story, showing them illustrations as we go along. Discuss 1. Today we practiced visualizing what the author was describing in the story. We used clues from what we read to make mental pictures in our minds. We were good readers and listened to clues, and then visualized the action. Then, we changed our visualizations as the story progressed and as we got more details from the author. When I first introduced the story, how many of you pictured a small fungus? How many of you pictured a huge fungus that ate things in every room in the school? Our visualizations can change as we read. In fact, good readers use clues to make visualizations, and then use their visualizations to look for clues in the text. 2. Students, what helped you visualize as we read? (Allow 2-4 students to share). How might your visualizations have been different if I never showed you any pictures? If you remember the beginning of the story, the fungus was only in a jar. Then, the students went on vacation and the school roof leaked during heavy rain and the fungus grew out of control. When the students came back from summer vacation, the fungus was everywhere and was eating the cafeteria food, the library books, and even homework. Can you picture if fungus ate our classroom? What might that look like? What would it look like if fungus ate our whole school? Response/Extension/Independent Practice 1. Interact with students during independent reading time and ask them what they are visualizing in their books. Ask them what clues they are using from their text to make their visualizations. 2. Finally, I will explain to the students that I want them to draw/use crayons or colored pencils to show me a visualization they had from their free reading book or a book from the classroom library. I will tell them to draw their visualization in their reading journal, and write down the clues they used from the text to help them create their mental picture. I will monitor student progress and interact with students as they write the words/phrases and illustrate their visualizations.