LESSON 2 TEACHER’S GUIDE

My Backpack
by Iris Littleman

Fountas-Pinnell Level A
Fiction
Selection Summary
Getting ready for school in the morning means packing a backpack
with important things. The dog in this story does exactly that.

Number of Words: 21

Characteristics of the Text

Genre • Fiction
Text Structure • First-person narrative: the character is the narrator
• Focuses on a single topic with events presented in chronological order
• Very simple narrative with story carried by pictures
Content • Getting ready for school
• School supplies
• Familiar settings close to children’s experiences
Themes and Ideas • It’s important to get ready for school in the morning.
• Backpacks help children carry lots of things to school.
Language and • Simple, straightforward language
Literary Features • Fantasy: dressed animal characters acting like people
• Speech balloon (Goodbye!)
Sentence Complexity • Repetitive sentence pattern, changing only one word on each page
• Three-word sentences
• Simple sentence structure with implied subject (See my book.)
Vocabulary • Names of items used in school (book, pencil, apple, ball, backpack) supported by
illustrations and labels
Words • High-frequency words repeated (See, my)
• Compound words (backpack, goodbye)
Illustrations • Lively cartoon drawings support and extend the text.
Book and Print Features • Five pages of text with one line of text and one picture on each page
• Exclamation for emphasis
• Print in large plain font, clearly separated from pictures
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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My Backpack by Iris Littleman

Build Background
Read the title to children and talk with them about what the dog is doing in the cover
illustration. Ask them what they think they will learn about a backpack in this story.
Then ask: Do you carry a backpack to school? What do you put in your backpack every
morning?

Introduce the Text

Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar
language and vocabulary. Explain important text features such as the repetition of the
phrase: See my that tells what the dog packs in his backpack.
Page 2: Explain that this is a story about a dog packing his backpack in the
morning before school. Point out that some pictures have labels to name objects.
Suggested language: Turn to page 2. What is the dog putting in his backpack?
The dog says: See my book. Say: my. What letter would you see first in my?
Find the word my, say it, and put your finger under it.
Page 3: Point out that children can use information in the pictures to help them
read. Turn to page 3. When you look at the picture, what do you see? What is the
dog packing? Yes, a big pencil. The dog says: See my pencil. The word see begins
with the letter s. Find the word see and put your finger under it.
Page 4: Turn to page 4. Now what does the dog put in his backpack? Yes, he puts
an apple in the backpack. Now what will the dog say?
Now go back to the beginning and read to find out what the dog packs in his
backpack.

Words to Know
my see

Kindergarten 2 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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Read
Now have children read My Backpack softly while pointing under each word. Observe
children as they read.

Respond to the Text

Personal Response
Invite children to share their personal responses to the story. Begin by asking what they
liked best about the story, or what they found interesting.
Suggested language: Do you think the dog likes packing his backpack and going to
school? How can you tell?

Ways of Thinking
As you discuss the text, make sure children understand these teaching points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• A dog packs his backpack before • It’s important to pack what you • The writer uses the same
leaving for school. need for school. language on each page.
• The dog packs a book, an apple, • Getting ready for school is fun. • The pictures show what goes
a pencil, and a ball. into the backpack.
• A backpack is a good thing to
• The dog says goodbye to his use if you have a lot of stuff to • Labels in the pictures tell the
mother before going to school. carry. names of the items in the
backpack.
© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Support

Concepts of Print
Practice early reading behaviors such as reading from left to right and distinguishing
between print and pictures.

Phonemic Awareness and Word Work

Provide practice as needed with words and sounds, using one of the following activities:
• Clapping Syllables Have children hear and say syllables in words from the book: my,
backpack, book, apple, pencil, see, ball, goodbye. Have them clap on each syllable:
my; back-pack; book; ap-ple; pen-cil; see; ball; good-bye.
• Sorting Pictures Materials: pictures of book, backpack, pencil, pot, ball, house, horn.
Ask children to choose a picture and say the word. Help them identify the first sound
they hear in each word. Then have children sort the pictures by the initial sound.
• ABC Order Materials: magnetic or cardboard letters or letter cards. Have children
choose letters and put them in ABC order.

Kindergarten 3 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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Writing About Reading
Critical Thinking
Read the directions for children on BLM 2.2 and guide them in answering the questions.

Responding
Read aloud the questions at the back of the book and help children complete the activities.

Target Comprehension Skill

Understanding Characters Tell children that the character is the person
or animal who does and says things in the story. Reading carefully and looking at the
pictures helps you tell more about story characters. Model how to understand characters:

Think Aloud

How can I understand the characters in this story? I will read the words
carefully and look at the pictures. I read about what the dog is putting
in his backpack. I can tell that he likes apples and balls. I read and see
that the dog says goodbye to his mom. This helps me understand the
character. The dog is packing his backpack before he leaves for school.

Practice the Skill

Have children think of another story they have read. Guide them in understanding a
character in the book.

Writing Prompt
Read aloud the following prompt. Have children draw and write their response, using the
writing prompt on page 6.
Draw a picture of one more thing the dog should put in his backpack.
What is in the dog’s backpack?

Kindergarten 4 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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English Language Learners
Cultural Support Point out that many children carry their supplies to school in a
backpack because it’s comfortable. Invite children to share how they carry their supplies to
school.

Oral Language Development

Check the children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their
English proficiency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.
Beginning/ Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Point to the dog. Speaker 1: Where is the dog? Speaker 1: What is the dog doing?
Speaker 2: [Points to dog] Speaker 2: Here is the dog. Speaker 2: The dog is packing his
backpack.
Speaker 1: Point to his backpack. Speaker 1: Name one thing the dog puts
in the backpack. Speaker 1: After he packs his
Speaker 2: [Points to backpack]
backpack, what does he do?
Speaker 2: Possible answers: book,
Speaker 1: Point to his mother.
pencil, apple, ball Speaker 2: He says goodbye to
Speaker 2: [Points to his mother] his mother and goes to school.

Lesson 2
BLACKLINE MASTER 2.2
Name Date

Think About It
My Backpack
Think About It

Children look at the pictures and circle the ones that answer the question.

1. What does the dog have in his backpack?

Children draw a picture of something they bring to school every day.

2.

Read directions to children.

Think About It 4 Kindergarten, Unit 1: Friendly Faces
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GK_246208RTXEAN_BLM2.2.indd 1 2/24/09 11:04:49 AM

Kindergarten 5 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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Name Date

My Backpack
Draw a picture of one more thing the dog
should put in his backpack.

What is in the dog’s backpack?

Kindergarten 6 Lesson 2: My Backpack

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
 Lesson 2
BLACKLINE MASTER 2.2
Name Date

Think About It
My Backpack
Think About It

Children look at the pictures and circle the ones that answer the question.

1. What does the dog have in his backpack?

Children draw a picture of something they bring to school every day.

2.

Kindergarten 7 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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 Lesson 2
Student Date BLACKLINE MASTER 2.6

My Backpack • LEVEL A My Backpack

Running Record Form

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

2 See my book.

3 See my pencil.

4 See my apple.

5 See my ball.

6 See my backpack!

Comments: Accuracy Rate Self-Correction

(# words read Rate
correctly/15 × 100) (# errors + #
% Self-Corrections/
Self-Corrections)
1:

Behavior Code Error Behavior Code Error

1413458

Substitution cut 1
Read word correctly ✓ 0 cat
cat
Self-corrects cut sc 0
cat
Repeated word, ® 0
sentence, or phrase cat Insertion the 1
cat
—

Omission cat 1 Word told T 1
cat

Kindergarten 8 Lesson 2: My Backpack

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