A Farmer’s Life for Me, Guided Reading Plan

Standard:

NJSLSA.R10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently
and proficiently with scaffolding as needed.
L.3.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and
domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal
relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

Objective: Students will read and discuss narrative text and engage in discussion of key
concepts and vocabulary through the development of graphic organizers and journal entries
to demonstrate comprehension at a level of (3) proficiency based on a 4 point rubric scale.

I. PreReading - Prepare students for reading a book:

A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge
Develop a discussion with the students and see if they can name specific things that they
would see at a farm. Once students bring up the different types of animals that are on a farm,
discuss whether or not they have ever seen a farm animal in real life and what their experiences
were around these animals. Give examples about what it may be like to be a farmer, and what
the job of a farmer entails. This might include, growing crops, taking care of the animals, etc. In
addition, ask the students how farms affect them in their everyday life.
B. Preview the text and make predictions
Now briefly preview the reading material with the students by conducting a Picture-
Walk. Let the students explore each page to see the different animals mentioned in the story, and
what other objects and things are shown in the pictures as well. From there, let the students
predict what they think the story is about, and what the animals do at the farm.
C. Teach Vocabulary
As the picture walk is occurring, pay attention to specific vocabulary words that students
will encounter while reading the story. Be sure to provide the proper definition and examples of
the specific vocabulary words within the text. In addition, give visuals of some of the words by
showing or drawing pictures on the board. Give a little lesson on the words discussed in the
story such as: henhouse, orchard, pigsty, piglets, meadow, rake, bleat, paddock, hosepipe,
mower. Provide necessary visuals, such as pictures, to make learning these vocabulary words
simple.
D. Set a Purpose to Begin Reading –
Encourage the students to read the story and remind them how each animal has a purpose
on the farm and to think about how farms affect and what they do for everyone on a day
to day basis. Also, remind students on how important farming is for everyone in the
world.
II. Read the Text – Students in the role of reader actively read the text with guidance &
support. Students read the text in a small group setting, each student reading their own copy.
The teacher monitors and observes for signs of difficulty. This helps to build fluency and
understanding.

III. Responding to Text

A. Discuss the Purpose Setting Question
Initially, students should discover that every animal on the farm has their own job. In
addition, students should discover that it is up to the farmer to make sure they are
taking care of each animal, making sure the animals are doing their job, and fulfilling
other necessary duties on the farm. As students encounter each animal, discuss each
animal and monitor students’ responses to what these specific animals provide us
with. In addition, when students get to the pages about the cherries and the hay, make
sure students understand the importance of harvesting, why hay is necessary on the
farm, and what other crops may be grown on a farm. Answers should include, cows
provide milk, hens provide eggs, cherries are fruit that need to be picked at the right
time, and so forth.
B. Clarify Concepts
Continue developing discussions with students about the animals, crops, and how
important the farmer’s job is. Furthermore, encourage students to consider issues
with farming. For example: what would happen if the farmers stopped working, what
would happen if the animals stopped doing their job, how would this affect us, and so
forth. Another focus may be to discuss what type of qualities are necessary to be a
good farmer.
C. Supporting Comprehension
Use this opportunity to make sure the students understand the story by sharing other
appropriate resources that can demonstrate what farm animals provide us with and
how important farmers are. Discuss the information students wrote in their journals,
such as experiences, writings, and drawings, related to the information presented in
the text. Guide students in the sequence of events in how the farmers took care of the
farm. Use signal words such as first, next, then, and finally.
D. Make Connections
Inspire students to seek additional information about farm animals by sharing
resources related to the text. Introduce the book, “Click Clack Moo, Cows That
Type”. This book will further showcase what animals provide the farmer with, and
why it’s important for animals to provide their resources. Consider developing these
ideas for science content. This may make students want to investigate further on this
topic and possibly learn about other animals as well.
E. Support Further Discussion
Encourage the students to continue to read the book. After each page, discuss the
importance of what they animal/crop does for the farm, and what it provides us.
Have this discussion after each page until all of the information is revealed.
IV. Exploring – Review the book to further support students with a literacy strategy and
required them to reread to build fluency.
Provide a direct instruction lesson on the topic of what each mentioned farm
animal/crop and farmer does and have each student draw and color what corresponds
to what was mentioned on each page in the text. For example, the cow goes with the
milk and the bucket, the hens go with the eggs and the tray, and so forth. This can be
done by drawing, coloring, or providing worksheets with the objects and coloring
them in.

V. Apply –

Engage students in the task of recognizing different crops and animals there are, and
how different each of their habitats are. Guide the students in requesting the principal
to allow a class field trip to a local farm to learn more about animals, crops, farmers,
and their different habitats. Require students to draw pictures of each of the habitats
in which each individual farm animal lives in. In addition, request funding to plant a
vegetable garden to plant crops in to show students what is necessary for each plant
and teach them how to grow and harvest the vegetables.