Guided Reading Plan

Your Name: Kailey Picone

Name of the Book & Author: What’s It Like to Be a Fish? By: Wendy Pfeffer

Reading Level: 2nd Grade- Level K

Genre: Informative Text

Standard(s) https://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/:

NJSLSA.R1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences
and relevant connections from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support
conclusions drawn from the text.
RI.2.8. Describe and identify the logical connections of how reasons support specific points the
author makes in a text.
RI.2.9. Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
RI.2.10. Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and
technical texts, at grade level text complexity proficiently with scaffolding as needed.

Objective: Students will read and discuss informative text and engage in discussion on text-to-self
connections. Students will do this by using venn-diagrams and use knowledgeable vocabulary
preset in the text to create a narrative writing.

I. Preparation for Reading

A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge

Develop discussion relating to bodies of water and different animals that may live in each. Discuss
prior knowledge of fish, ask students if they have a pet fish, have gone fishing, been to an
aquarium, or overall are familiar with what a fish looks like. Encourage students to share what they
know about a fish’s characteristics. Address their physical appearance as well as what we know
regarding their behaviors. Allow students to think about their favorite fish. Develop a discussion
with students regarding swimming and the different bodies of water they may have swam in.
Encourage students to share what they love most about living on land- their hobbies, their favorite
places to go, etc. Use this opportunity to guide students into personal reflection and prior
knowledge of all animals found in water.

B. Preview Text and Make Predictions

Now preview the reading material with the students by conducting a picture-walk. Viewing the
illustrations prior to reading can allow students to better understand what to look for while
comprehending their reading, as well as getting a better understanding of the main idea of the text.
As they flip through the pictures, ask children what looks familiar and unfamiliar to them. There
are several different species of fish presented throughout the book- some may be recognizable, and
some may be new to their eyes. Guide students to reflect on what the people in the illustrations are
doing. Ask students questions like, have you done these things? Are you familiar with the setting
the people are in? Remind students they may NOT read the text at this point in time, they must
only develop a thought process with the given illustrations.

C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge (Identify Tier 2 words and include child-friendly definition)

While discussing the pictures during the picture-walk, address illustrations that may correlate to the
vocabulary words that will later be needed to learn. Physically point to a few pictures while
pronouncing its term. Provide further explanation to words using descriptive language or
connections. Direct students to finding and identifying vocabulary words, such as instructing them
to find the word “oxygen” while flipping through the pictures. The student’s prior knowledge of
understanding we breathe in oxygen shall allow them to find the picture of the lungs on page 17.
Vocabulary words: fins, scales, gills, warm-blooded, cold-blooded, oxygen, slime, food chain.
These vocabulary words are necessary for students to understand before, during, and after reading
as they will need to know these characteristics for the post-reading assignment. These words can be
defined in a child-friendly way by using examples that can directly relate to themselves. For
example, the teacher can define “fins” as a fish’s version of hands and feet that helps them get from
one place to the next.

Academic Language Demands:

The job/function students will need to be able to perform, in terms of language, is to sequence the
events of the story to gain a better understanding of those events. Key words such as first, next,
then, finally will be good supports that will help students understand the order of the events. The
use of a timeline will support students’ ability to effectively structure the key events of the story.

Function: Vocabulary: Discourse/Syntax:

What is the function we are
performing with language?
What “job” are we doing with
the use of the language to
support comprehension? How
is language helping us in the
process of comprehension?
Compare- by comparing and
connecting the words to personal
reflection and prior knowledge,
students will get a better
understanding of the information
presented through the text.
Consider the following –
 Tier 2 words with child
friendly definitions
 Phrases and/or key words
 Figurative language
Tier 2 words: fins, scales,
gills, warm-blooded, cold-
blooded, oxygen, slime, food
chain
Terms/phrases: You, they
What are the considerations
regarding the structure of
language and/or students’
ability to use language to
discuss or write in support
of comprehension?
Use a graphic organizer
with fish (they) and you
(humans) to place
vocabulary in a category as
they will then compare
language in the text. When
the reader sees “they” in
 the text, they are aware the
author is referring to fish.

D. Set a Purpose for Reading

Instruct students to begin reading the story and encourage them to distinguish meaning behind facts
on fish, people, and the similarities and differences humans and fish have. Ask the children to
reflect on what they know prior to reading and what they are curious of learning.

II. Read Silently

Instruct students to being reading silently and encourage them to discover the new information as
well as paying close attention to the vocabulary words that were discussed prior to reading. As
students are reading, monitor their progress. Look for speed, body language behaviors, as well as
making sure they remain on task. If a student is noticeably having difficulties, provide assistance as
needed. As they are reading, have students work on the vocabulary comparison chart, encouraging
them to develop their own meaning for new learned words.

III. Respond to Reading to Develop Comprehension

A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question

Prior to reading, students were able to discuss prior knowledge of their understanding of fish,
bodies of water, and other animals that live in water. Now that students have developed more facts,
encourage the question of comparing what students knew prior to what they learned after reading.
Are there still unanswered questions? Have students developed a greater understanding of the
vocabulary? Have students thought about the similarities and differences between fish and
themselves? As the poses a reflection on a pet goldfish, ask students using what they know now
about fish and if they think they would want a pet fish.

B. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary

Continue developing discussion with students regarding new words. Ask students if they remember
the child-friendly definition given to them prior to reading. Then have students create their own
definition. Review why the author used “they” to describe the fish and why “you” was used to
describe us. Define words present in the text that have multiple meaning and direct students to use
context clues to decipher the meaning of the word. Clarify any words students may still not be
grasping, as they will need these words to write a narrative. Address that the concept of the text
was to inform readers on fish, which was done by comparing fish to us.
 C. Supporting Comprehension of Structure

Use this opportunity to explain the concepts of an informational text. Ask students if they saw a
beginning, middle, and end. Ask students if they can name any characters. Demonstrate the
difference between fictional stories and informational texts. Encourage students to understand the
importance of the illustrations, as they can help guide to specific questions the book poses. Model
how to correlate each important word to a picture or a fact presented within the text and discuss
with students how this can be related to topics outside of the book.

D. Seeking Additional Sources for Information

Remind students of the previous lessons, books, media, and discussions that have been done prior
to this book. Since this book can be used in a science unit for bodies of water and marine life,
students can reflect on additional information on the topic to gather a greater understanding of the
unit. Encourage students to deepen their understanding by exploring further, such as going to an
aquarium, lake, pond, beach, or possibly a pet fish.

E. Additional Purpose Setting Questions (List remaining purpose setting questions here….):

Pose further questions for their understanding for this text, such as re-asking the questions during
the pre-reading, as well as examining the habitats presented in the book, what we can do they fish
cannot and vice versa.

- What habitats do you see? Can fish only live in the ocean?
- Out of all the images in the book, which fish would you want most to be your pet?

- Why can’t we swim like fish do?

- What helps a fish to move?

- Why can’t we breathe underwater, but fish can?

- Are there any facts you read in this text that you previously learned from a different part of
the ocean unit?

- What does a fish eat? How does it differ from what we eat?

- If you could be a fish, what kind would you be? What would you miss most about being a
human?
IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies

After discussing the questions, students will reread the text with those thoughts in mind. Direct
students to participate in an activity to practice their comparison skills. Give students a venn-
diagram. On the left side, have them write fish. On the right side, have them write their name. In
the middle, have them write similarities. Encourage students to complete this chart while going
through the book again. Have them write characteristics they see in the book and place them
accordingly. This will allow the students to consider similarities and differences they may have
never acknowledged prior.

V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum

Describe the task in a paragraph in an outline format and be sure to address the following
when you develop each task:

Authenticity: Direct students to participate in an activity to practice their comparison skills. Give
students a venn-diagram. On the left side, have them write fish. On the right side, have them
write their name. In the middle, have them write similarities. Encourage students to complete this
chart while going through the book again. Have them write characteristics they see in the book
and place them accordingly. This will allow the students to consider similarities and differences
they may have never acknowledged prior. This will allow students to attach a true-life purpose by
using the compare strategy.

Cross curricular integration (e.g., combine language arts/science/arts or math): While students are
gaining vocabulary words, making connections, comparing, using context clues, and all other units
of language and reading, students are also implementing science. Discuss the integration with
students and how literature is not just for stories or reading practice, but to learn more about
different topics. This text integrates science as it shares factual evidence of marine life and humans.

Skill integration: Students will then create a personal narrative on what it would be like to be a fish.
Students will create a story using sequencing (first, middle, last) to explain their storyline. Students
are able to express their creativity and imagination. Students will write creatively, however
encourage them to use at least two of the vocabulary words in their writing. Students will also
integrate art into their narratives, as they can be directed to draw a picture of them as a fish.
Encourage them to incorporate the plot and setting of their story within the picture.