Craft Lesson #2

MAKING PREDICTIONS

Materials:
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Paper
Crayons

Part of being a good reader is making predictions about the story and what is happening. Many times these predictions are made based on what the child has read so far, what they know from real life experiences, and context clues. The TEK's for first graders states that "First grade students listen attentively and connect their experiences and ideas with information and ideas presented in print." They should be able to use the knowledge that they already have to make simple predicitions. This lesson will build on the previous lesson of using context clues, but it will also ask the children to use their prior knowledge to make the prediction.

Start by introducing the book "What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?" to the children and asking them what animal the think the tail on the cover belongs to. Continue reading the story and ask the children on the pages that just show a picture of the body parts and not the full animals what animal they think the body part belongs to and why? Ask the children to make these predictions on their paper. Then when you read the next page that shows the full picture of the animal have them put a check mark in a different color crayon next to all the predictions they got right. At a later date you can revisit the text and have the children actually make predictions about what the different body parts are used for, and then discuss those answers as you continue reading the text.

*The first time you use this book for this lesson, the book will be used primarily for the pictures to assist the children in making predictions. The second time when you revisit the text is when you can ask the children to make predictions about the use of the various body parts.

Grades:1-4