Making Meaning

9:30-10
Goals:

The students will learn the procedure for Stop and Ask Questions.
The students will hear and discuss part of a story.
The students will make inferences about a character in the story.
The students will make predictions about how the story will end.

Purpose:
The students will learn new vocabulary throughout the book and will continue working
on how to stop and ask questions as they read.
Standards:
RI 3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding
RI 3.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and
phrases in a text
Materials:
A Days Work
Student response book, page 10
Before:
Have students bring their Student Response Books and pencils with them to the floor.
Remind them that in previous lessons they wondered and asked questions about The Girl
Who Loved Wild Horses.
Review that wondering and questioning helps readers think about what they are reading
and read for answers to their questions.
Today we will be reading A Days Work.
We will be working on a new thinking tool called Stop and Ask Questions. We will stop
four times throughout the book to stop and ask questions.
During:
Show cover and read the title, the author, and the illustrator.
The story is about a boy named Francisco and his grandfather, whom he calls Abuelo
(Spanish for grandfather). Abuelo has come to the United States from Mexico to live with
Francisco and his mother.
Stop and different vocabulary words throughout the book and define them with the
students so they comprehend the story better. Suggested vocabulary:
o Bricklaying: placing bricks together to make a path or a wall (pg. 5)
o Hace frio: Spanish for its cold (pg. 6)
o Omen: sign that something will happen (pg. 8)

o Chorizos: Mexican sausages (pg. 10)

o Senora: Spanish for a polite word for a married woman (pg. 12)
o Muy bonito: Spanish for very pretty or beautiful (pg. 20)
o Chickweed: weed with small white flowers (pg. 22)
o Ice plants: low-growing plants with usual spiky leaves (pg. 22)
Stop after: I dont charge for my work. (pg. 8)
o Ask: What question can you ask right now?
o Have a few students share their questions and write what they say.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Stop after: See you guys then. Work hard. Have a nice day. (pg. 14)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Stop after: He yanked off his Lakers cap and slammed it against the van. (pg. 22)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Stop after: The three of them got in the van. (pg. 26)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Read to the end of page 28.

After:
Give the students a few moments to review the questions they wrote individually.
Have them get into partners and use their questions to discuss the story.
Bring the class back together to ask some questions.
o What is the story about?
o How do you think Francisco feels at the point in the story where we left off? What
makes you think so?
o How do you think the story will end? Explain your thinking.
Question for the end of the lesson:
o How did hearing your partners questions help you think about the story today?
Why is it important that you share your questions with your partner?
Tuesday 1-12-16
Before:
Give the students a few moments to review the questions they wrote individually.
Have them get into partners and use their questions to discuss the story.
Bring the class back together to ask some questions.
o What is the story about?

o How do you think Francisco feels at the point in the story where we left off? What
makes you think so?
o How do you think the story will end? Explain your thinking.
o This is something that actually happens in places like California. Give example.
Question for the end of the lesson:
o How did hearing your partners questions help you think about the story today?
Why is it important that you share your questions with your partner?
Review the strategy they are working on. Review vocabulary and questions.
Answer the questions they thought of from yesterday.
Reread pages 5-28 (depends on how well they can retell the story)
o Review vocabulary and questions on the certain pages throughout the book that
we read yesterday.

During:
Stop after: He yanked off his Lakers cap and slammed it against the van. (pg. 22)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Stop after: The three of them got in the van. (pg. 26)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
After:
Have the students talk for a few minutes about the questions they asked and answered
while talking about the story.
Have a few students share what they talked about.
What question got you and your partner talking about the story? Do you think that
question is answered in the story?
Talk about thick and thin questions.
o Model thick questions.
o Have the class try to come up with a few thick questions.
Answer the rest of the questions as a class.
Reminders:
Let students know its okay to have a wrong answer as long as they are trying.
Remind students to visualize as I am reading. What can you picture? What do you see
happening?

Wednesday 1-13-16
Before:
Bring the class together to ask some questions.
o What is the story about?
o How do you think Francisco feels at the point in the story where we left off? What
makes you think so?
o How do you think the story will end? Explain your thinking.
o This is something that actually happens in places like California. Give example.
Give the students a few moments to review the questions they wrote individually.
Have them get into partners and use their questions to discuss the story.
Review the strategy they are working on. Review vocabulary and questions.
Answer the questions they thought of from yesterday.
Reread a few pages from where I left off.
During:
Stop after: He yanked off his Lakers cap and slammed it against the van. (pg. 22)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
Stop after: The three of them got in the van. (pg. 26)
o Have the students individually write questions that come to mind in the Stop 2
box on Student Response Book page 10.
o Reread the last sentence before moving onto the next page.
After:
Have the students talk for a few minutes about the questions they asked and answered
while talking about the story.
Have a few students share what they talked about.
What question got you and your partner talking about the story? Do you think that
question is answered in the story?
Talk about thick and thin questions.
o Model thick questions.
o Have the class try to come up with a few thick questions.
Answer the rest of the questions as a class.
Reminders:
Let students know its okay to have a wrong answer as long as they are trying.
Remind students to visualize as I am reading. What can you picture? What do you see
happening?

Thursday 1-14-16
Before:
Review parts of the book
Review vocabulary
Read the questions that were created throughout the past three days and their answers
Review thick and thin questions
o Have posters!
o Most of the questions that you thought of were thin questions so today we are
going to try and come up with some thick questions after we watch a video.
During:
Show video (someone reading the book)
Once the video is over have the students individually write at least one thick question.
Have the students share with their making meaning partners.
Have a few students share their questions.
o Write the questions on the board
o Discuss the book with the class using the questions the students come up with
After:
Share the real life events that happen that are connected with the book
You will continue working on thick and thin questions and the more you practice the
better you will get at identifying and creating thick and thin questions when you read.
Examples of thick questions:
How do you think Francisco felt when his abuelo pulled out the plants instead of the
weeds and got yelled at?
What is something else Francisco and his abuelo couldve done to help fix the problem
that was caused from pulling the plants instead of the weeds?