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Jenna Earling
EDUC 3105-091
Literature Development
Professor Cydis
Guided Reading Plan

The Pirate Pig by Cornelia Funke

I. Preparation for Reading

a. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge

Formulate an anticipatory set in order for students to make connections based on their
own knowledge prior to reading the book for the lesson. The teacher will spark a
discussion about pirates, boats, pigs, and the ocean and allow his or her students’ minds
wander and think aloud to create a basis for the book. The Pirate Pig revolves around the
issue of stealing things that are not yours, therefore, the teacher will ask the students what
they know about stealing and how they know if something belongs to them or not.
Students will be asked about the importance of respecting others, including their things.
This will be referred through the classroom rules that have been set in place for the
school year. Some examples are always using kind words, being respectful, being
responsible, and being a friend to everyone. These rules can and will all be tied into the
story of The Pirate Pig by Cornelia Funke

b. Preview Text and Make Predictions

The teacher will now have his or her students come the rug in the front of the classroom
to have a class-discussion of what they can visualize from the book to make predictions.
To do so, the teacher will do a picture-walk by going through the first ten pages of the
book’s pictures. As the pictures progress, the teacher will question the students on what
they think is happening or will happen next in the book based on the illustrations. A key
part to making predictions of a text is being able to visualize events in chronological
order. This activity will teach students how to make inference and the importance of
doing so prior to reading a book.

c. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge

As the teacher, you must be sure to prepare yourself for what your students may
potentially struggle with in the book at hand. Therefore, the teacher should pre-read the
book to highlight or take note of any vocabulary words that the students may get stumped
by. In The Pirate Pig, some vocabulary words that the teacher should look out for are
inevitable, grimy, anxiously, marzipan, and oxeye, which are a mixture of Tier 2 and Tier
3 vocabulary words. The teacher will take these words to create a word bank or word
wall with pronunciation clues and definitions. This word bank should be flexible,
meaning students have the ability to add new words if they find more that they are having
difficulty with.
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d. Set a Purpose for Reading

The teacher should provide motivating and encouraging thoughts to the class as the
students begin to read the story. Students will be asked to read until they reach the part of
the book where something dangerous happens to Julie the pig, which is the part of the
plot where Barracuda Bill’s pirates kidnap Julie the pig. Once the students complete the
first part of the reading, the teacher will spark a class discussion of what they’ve read and
learned thus far in the book. This will give the teacher a gist of the rate at which the
students are reading, if they are picking up the context clues, and if the students are
comprehending the narrative. At this point, the teacher will ask the students to make
inferences on what they think Stout Sam and Pip are going to do.

II. Read
a. Independent Reading

The teacher will assign the group of four to six students to read independently at the
horseshoe table. Depending on where the students are the book, the teacher will listen in
and will ask students to take notes or draw illustrations of the characters, plot, setting, or
further predictions. The extent and descriptiveness of the notes or illustration will help
the teacher to determine each student’s reading and academic level. The mini activity
should challenge students to think critically in their own way and give the teacher a way
to grasp each students’ progress.

III. Responding to Reading to Develop Comprehension

a. Revisit the Purpose Setting Question

The teacher will reconnect their students to the setting question by asking the students
what they remember happening to Julie the Pig from the book’s plot. The teacher will
also ask their students to participate in a partnered turn and talk activity to share their
answers and converse about the question at hand. The teacher will be able to gauge their
students’ comprehension of the book based off their answers to the previous question and
the continuing class discussion. The teacher will listen in on the different discussions
taking place between their students to judge each of their comprehensions.

b. Clarify Additional Concepts/Vocabulary

Once the first turn and talk activity is conducted, the teacher will ask their students to fill
in a time line of the various events that occurred in the story in chronological order. The
teacher will draw an empty timeline on the white board in the front of the room and the
different events will be filled in by the student thoughts that evolve through an
extensional class discussion. Through this class-wide conversation, the teacher will
question their questions on whether they understand the meaning of theft, capture, and
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the illegalities of such behaviors. If students show signs of misunderstanding, the teacher
will relate the concept to real-life consequences.

c. Supporting Comprehension of Structure

The teacher will be able to grasp their students’ understanding of structure by assigning a
picture map. The students will be able to express their comprehension in an illustration
format, which can often be a neglected form of assessment. The teacher will refresh their
students’ minds that they must label their pictures with words and put them in
chronological order. The teacher will be looking for key words such as first, second, then,
next, and finally in student work to show structural formatting.

d. Refer to Additional Sources for Information

Time will be provided to the students to conduct some research on what pirate ships look
like and how they were built. The students will be able to freely use Google, YouTube,
the classroom library, and any additional sources that are approved by the teacher. Once
the students collect an efficient amount of data, they will be instructed to form groups of
five students. In these groups, students will be given the mini project of building their
own pirate boat with popsicle sticks, marshmallows, glue, clay, and/or paper. With their
combined ideas from their own research, the students will have used additional sources to
gain a deeper understanding of the topic at hand.

e. Additional Purpose Setting Questions

As the students read the book, they will be asked to pause at specific points within the
plot to have a class discussion. By asking students to stop at a certain part of the book,
they will be more inclined to pay close attention to what they are reading because they’ll
know when to stop and they’ll want to be prepared for the class discussion that will take
place. During the conversations that are held, students will be encouraged to share
predictions, ideas, and explanations.

IV. Read/Reread and Explore

Once the reading is complete, the teacher will have students engage in a mini
comprehension game about the book. This could be done through short answer questions
on mini white boards or a jeopardy format. This would be a fun way for students to
solidify their understanding and allow the teacher to see what parts need some clearing
up. The teacher will allot time in the lesson plan for students to reread if needed be.

V. Apply the Literature/Extending Reading Across Curriculum

I chose this book for my guided reading plan because it targeted a good age group that fit
perfectly with the kind of approach that I hoped to take. The topic of pirates is also a very
versatile and interesting topic regardless of your age or gender. The sense of mystery and
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the unknown provide an endearing factor that other topics seem to lack. As the teacher, it
was very easy to relate the book to real-life experiences and lessons, which is always
beneficial at this grade level. Many sources could be used to strengthen the lesson plan
and the students’ comprehension. The application of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
was naturally included within this guided reading plan for “The Pirate Pig”. The concepts
and information learned from this book will be cross related to the overall theme of
pirates. This will be done by asking students to create their own mini story about pirates
that share similar characteristics from “The Pirate Pig,” but are free to branch out into
their imagination.