UNIT 1: Readin
UNIT 1: Reading comprehension lesson
g comprehen
sion
Story
aquarium
Sasha and Josh are visiting an aquarium. “I want to see all the fish!” Jo sh shouts excitedly as he rushes in. “Wow!” exclaim s Sasha. “Look at that enormous fish tank!”
1. Read the story Read the story to the class. Ensure the children can see the text, pointing to the words as you read. Read the story again, sounding out any difficult or unusual words, such as aquarium and shoal. Check that the children know the meaning of these words. Briefly look at the punctuation: mention the speech marks and explain that the words inside them are the words that are actually said, and point out the exclamation mark following Wow!
“Look at all th e different fish,” Josh whispers. “I can see a sh
oal of red fish,”
“I wish we could
says Sasha.
swim in there,”
says Josh. Just then a big shark swims ou t of the shadows and ac ross the tank. “Perhaps not,” mutters Josh wi th a shiver. Finally, they do some shopping. Sasha chooses a bag of shells and Jo sh gets a toy shark. “He’s fin-tastic,” says Josh, cudd ling his shark and smiling ha ppily.
Activity
3. Comprehension activities Look at Student Book page 3 with the class. Tell the children to:
Read and draw
a sh
ith big te rk w eth
six red fish
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1. Read the phrases and draw a picture for each one.
a
Josh and Sash
2. Complete the yes / no questions by circling the correct answer. 3. Read and answer the question. Encourage the children to write a complete sentence.
three shells Do the children Yes
The children can also... • Find all the words in the story with a ‹sh› spelling. • Read the story with a partner. • Write a sentence from the story and draw a picture to illustrate their words.
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sion
g comprehen
UNIT 1: Readin
A visit to the aquarium
UNIT 1: Reading comprehension lesson
A visit to the
a
A visit to the aquarium
le Circ rrect co the nswer a
2
or
visit a zoo?
What does Josh
Yes
No
buy?
No
or
.....................
........................
.
........................
........................
........................
.................... ........................
....................
a toy starfish?
........................
........................
.................... ........................
3
No
or
Does Josh get
?
or
Yes
No
shark Do they see a Yes
imming?
Do they go sw
3
2. Talk about the story • What is an aquarium? • What are the names of the children? • Why don’t they see the shark to begin with? • Why do you think Josh does not want to swim in the tank after all? • What do they buy? • Why does Josh say fin-tastic? • How do you know Josh is having a good time? • Why do you think they are visiting the aquarium? (They like fish or they are on an outing.)
4. Plenary Read the story again as a class. Encourage the children to use the punctuation to help them read with expression and fluency.
Further activities • Create wax-resist aquarium pictures. Draw an aquarium scene on a rectangular sheet of white paper using wax crayons. Mix blue paint and water to get a very watery paint and brush this lightly over the wax-crayon picture.
Story time Further reading Read some stories about fish, for example: The Rainbow Fish Marcus Pfister Kate and the Fishes Kayley Turner (author) and MBE Studioz (illustrator) Hooray for Fish! Lucy Cousins
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Rhyme time Encourage the children to sing this song with you to the tune of The wheels on the bus: The teeth on a shark are sharp, sharp, sharp, Sharp, sharp, sharp, Sharp, sharp, sharp. The teeth on a shark are sharp, sharp, sharp. Snap! Snap! Snap!
• Draw, paint, or make some collaged fish, which can be real or imaginary. An aquarium display could then be made by the whole class. • The children can make a display of books about fish that they find in the library.
Learning objectives The children are learning to: • Listen to, discuss, and recall details from story texts. • Link what they hear to their own experiences. • Discuss word meanings, linking new words to those they already know. • Use inference and prediction. • Recite rhymes by heart.
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