The Sparrow Family: story-reading skills · Learner pages

Lesson 1 · Find characters and actions

Identify who acts and use words from an original story as evidence.

Name or initials: ____________   Date: ____________

Adult-supported lesson: read the linked source selection together when available. Read the linked Sparrow Family selection with an adult. Then practise on this different original story about a garden.

1. Read our new beginning. Original story, part 1: “Mina has an empty pot. Her cousin Arun brings soil. Mina puts a bean seed in the soil.”
2. Name the characters. The named characters are Mina and Arun. A pot is an object in this story, not a person who acts.
3. Match each action. Arun brings soil. Mina plants the seed. Point to the sentence that supports each answer.
4. Ask about an unknown. This part does not tell us Mina’s age or the colour of the pot. We can say that the story has not told us.

Worked example: Original solved example: Who brings soil? The story says that Arun brings soil, so the answer is Arun. We cannot answer the pot’s colour because no colour is given.

1. Who brings soil in our original story?

   1. Arun · 2. Mina’s teacher · 3. a talking pot

2. Who plants the bean seed?

   1. an unnamed bird · 2. Mina · 3. Arun’s dog

3. Which is an object in this story?

   1. Mina · 2. Arun · 3. pot

Discuss: After the official reading, name two characters and point to a page detail for one action. For our original story, draw Mina’s pot and label the seed.

Adult observation

Ask the learner to explain and show the goal using a fresh example.

• Uses the target word appropriately
• Explains or demonstrates with support as needed

Adult observation; multiple-choice scores alone do not establish speaking or writing mastery

Lesson 2 · Retell a beginning, middle and end

Sequence four stated events without reversing cause and order.

Name or initials: ____________   Date: ____________

Adult-supported lesson: read the linked source selection together when available. A retelling keeps the important events in their story order.

1. Read the next part. Original story, part 2: “Mina plants the seed. She waters the soil gently. Several days later a shoot appears. Mina and Arun make a label for the pot.”
2. Choose the beginning. The planting comes before watering in this account. It is the first event we will put on a card.
3. Keep the waiting event. The shoot appears several days later, not immediately. Put it after planting and watering.
4. Finish and retell. The children make a label last. Retell: plant, water, wait for a shoot, make a label. A retelling can use new words while keeping those events.

Worked example: Original solved example: Which event comes before the shoot appears? The children have already planted and watered the soil. The phrase “several days later” tells us time has passed.

1. Which event comes first in our four-card retelling?

   1. make the label · 2. see the shoot · 3. plant the seed

2. What happens after planting in our story?

   1. water the soil · 2. make the final label first · 3. forget the entire story

3. When does the shoot appear?

   1. before the seed is planted in this story · 2. several days later · 3. instantly at the same moment

Discuss: Make four original story cards and explain their order to an adult. Then retell three events from the linked source story without copying its sentences.

Adult observation

Ask the learner to explain and show the goal using a fresh example.

• Uses the target word appropriately
• Explains or demonstrates with support as needed

Adult observation; multiple-choice scores alone do not establish speaking or writing mastery

Lesson 3 · Explain with a story clue

Distinguish a stated fact from a reasonable idea supported by a clue.

Name or initials: ____________   Date: ____________

Adult-supported lesson: read the linked source selection together when available. Good readers can say both what the story states and what a clue helps them think.

1. Read the ending. Original ending: “Two pots now stand together. Mina writes BEAN on one label so the children can tell her pot from the other pot.”
2. Find a stated reason. The story directly says the label helps them tell the pots apart. Use that reason before guessing another one.
3. Make one supported idea. A name label can help someone identify an object. In our story, the two pots together make that useful. This is a reasoned connection.
4. Transfer and check. A label on a pencil box could also help identify it. This is a new application, not an event that happened in the garden story.

Worked example: Original solved example: Why did Mina label the pot? Because two pots stood together and the label helped identify hers. “Because she wanted a loud noise” has no supporting clue.

1. Why does Mina label the pot in the ending?

   1. to turn it into a bird · 2. to tell it from the other pot · 3. to make a loud noise

2. Which word can introduce a reason?

   1. seven · 2. purple · 3. because

3. How many pots stand together at the end?

   1. two · 2. one · 3. ten

Discuss: After the linked source story, ask one “why” question and identify a supporting detail. Then say which detail is stated and which idea you inferred.

Adult observation

Ask the learner to explain and show the goal using a fresh example.

• Uses the target word appropriately
• Explains or demonstrates with support as needed

Adult observation; multiple-choice scores alone do not establish speaking or writing mastery

Final check · Set 1

Try one set after the lessons. Use the other set after reviewing any errors.

1. Which detail is not given in part 1?

   Arun brings soil / the pot’s colour / the seed is a bean seed

2. How are Arun and Mina related in our story?

   Arun is Mina’s grandfather. / The pot is their cousin. / Arun is Mina’s cousin.

3. Which event is last in this account?

   make a label / plant the seed / bring the empty pot into the beginning

4. Which order matches the story?

   shoot, plant, label, water / plant, water, shoot, label / label, shoot, water, plant

5. Which claim is stated in the garden ending?

   Mina labels a pencil box there. / Arun flies away. / Mina writes BEAN on a label.

6. The pencil-box idea is ___.

   a new application / an event stated in the garden story / proof that the pot can speak

Final check · Set 2

Try one set after the lessons. Use the other set after reviewing any errors.

1. What best supports an answer about who brings soil?

   the sentence naming Arun’s action / a guess about his clothes / an unrelated picture

2. If the story does not tell Mina’s age, what should we say?

   She must be one hundred. / The story does not tell us. / She is definitely ten.

3. What does “several days later” tell us?

   No time passes. / The story is about a clock only. / Time passes.

4. Can a retelling use new words while keeping the same events?

   Yes / No, it must copy every sentence / No, it must change the characters

5. Which reason has supporting evidence?

   The label changes day into night. / The label helps identify the pot. / The label teaches the pot to run.

6. What should a reader do when explaining an answer?

   Invent unrelated events. / Ignore the question. / Give a relevant story detail.