LESSON 5 TEACHER S GUIDE Where Is Gus-Gus? by Claire Daniel Fountas-Pinnell Level L Realistic Fiction Selection Summary Mom takes Bernie and his friends, along with their various pets, to visit Grandma at the Gentle Creek Home. Everyone enjoys the visit until the pets get out of control and start chasing each other, and Bernie s puppy, Gus-Gus, can t be found. Grandma goes to her room for a nap and finds Gus-Gus hiding under her blankets. Number of Words: 861 Characteristics of the Text Genre Realistic fi ction Text Structure First-person narrative Organized chronologically Problem presented halfway through story Content Visiting Grandma at senior citizens home Wide variety of pets; their habits and personalities Themes and Ideas Older people have wisdom to share. Keeping pets in control is important. Each animal is unique, just like each person. Language and Realistic dialogue Literary Features Child narrator Sentence Complexity Some compound sentences: We all yelled at our pets to stop chasing one another, but I don t think they heard us. Questions and exclamations in dialogue Split dialogue Vocabulary Animal names, such as hamster, monkey, rabbit Words Many verbs, some of which might not be familiar, such as groaned, insisted, bellowed, shrieked, snuggled Illustrations Colorful illustrations support the text Book and Print Features Eleven pages of text with illustrations Two pages without illustrations Placement of text varies 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Copyright by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-30260-7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Where Is Gus-Gus? by Claire Daniel Build Background Help children think about the responsibility involved in caring for a pet. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: What would you do if your pet was lost? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell children that this story is realistic fiction, so the characters are going to act like real people. Introduce the Text Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions: Page 2: Explain that this is a story about a boy named Bernie. Bernie has two pets: a dog named Oscar and a puppy named Gus-Gus. Suggested language: Turn to page 2. Here is a picture of Bernie right after Mom has woken him up. Bernie says: I groaned. What does this tell you about how Bernie is feeling? Page 5: Have children read the fi rst sentence, and then explain the setting: This is a picture of the Gentle Creek Home where Grandma lives. Many older people live here with her. Bernie and his friends have come to visit. Why do you think the children brought along their animals? Page 6: What do you think is happening in the illustration on page 6? Find the sentence: Simon s monkey shrieked at the other pets. What kind of sound is a shriek? Page 7: Now read the sentence with the highlighted word: Then Grandma bellowed, Stop! How do you think Grandma sounded when she bellowed? Is a bellow loud or soft? What kinds of things make you bellow? Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out what happens to when Bernie visits Grandma. Expand Your Vocabulary bellowed made a deep loud roar like that of a bull, p. 7 groaned uttered a deep moan of pain, grief, or irritation, p. 2 insisted made a demand; requested urgently, p. 2 shrieked uttered a sharp shrill cry, p. 6 2 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Read Have children read Where Is Gus-Gus? silently while you listen to individual children read. Support their problem solving and fluency as needed. Remind children to use the Visualize Strategy to picture what is happening as they read. and to use story details Discuss and Revisit the Text Personal Response Invite children to share their personal responses to the book. Suggested language: Do you think it was a good idea to bring all the pets to Grandma s home? Why or why not? Ways of Thinking As you discuss the text, help children understand these points: Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text Grandma lives with other older people in a quiet senior citizens home. Bernie and his friends visit Grandma and bring many pets. The pets make a lot of noise and get out of control. Bernie s puppy Gus-Gus hides in Grandma s bed. Younger people and older people can have fun together. Animals can make us laugh. Pets in public need to be well behaved, just like people 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Bernie tells the story from his point of view, using the word I. The illustrations are humorous, especially the portraits of the animals. The story is mostly realistic, though it is unlikely that people would let animals loose at a home for seniors. Choices for Further Support Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text to read aloud. Remind them to read the dialogue with good phrasing and expression, and to say the conversations as if the characters were really speaking. Comprehension Based on your observations of the children s reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind children to go back to the text to support their ideas. Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind children that the ending ed added to an action word, such as groaned or gathered, shows that the action happened in the past. The ending ing shows that something is happening in the present. Have children make a list of words from the story that end in -ed. Have them make new words by changing the ending to ing. 3 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Writing about Reading Critical Thinking Have children complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 5.9. Responding Have children complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill. Target Comprehension Skill Story Structure Remind children that stories have characters, a setting, and events that happen, called the plot. Usually the events include a problem that the characters face, and a solution to the problem. Model the skill, using a Think Aloud like the one below: Think Aloud In this story, the main character is Bernie. The other characters are Mom, Grandma, and Bernie s friends. The setting is the Gentle Creek Home, where Grandma lives. The problem of the story is that Bernie s puppy is missing. Bernie s problem is solved when Grandma finds Gus-Gus in her bed. Practice the Skill Have children share an example of a character, setting, and problem in another story. Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text Have children write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story. Assessment Prompts What seems hard to believe in this story? Which words on page 13 help the reader understand the meaning of the word snuggled? 4 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Read directions to children. English Language Development Reading Support Provide more support for children by clarifying tricky vocabulary such as insisted, gathered, noticed, shrieked, bellowed, snuggled. Idiom Explain the meaning of the expression show up (page 3) and talk about how Mom expects Gus-Gus to come out from hiding. Oral Language Development Check 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: Who does Bernie go to visit? Speaker 2: Grandma Speaker 1: What kind of pets does Bernie have? Speaker 2: a dog and a puppy Speaker 1: Where does Bernie find Gus-Gus? Speaker 2: in Grandma s bed Speaker 1: What happens when the pets notice one another? Speaker 2: They chase each other and make a lot of noise. Speaker 1: Why is Bernie worried? Speaker 2: No one can find Gus-Gus. Speaker 1: What does Gus-Gus like to do? Speaker 2: He likes to hide under blankets. Speaker 1: Why do you think Gus- Gus left the living room? Speaker 2: It was very noisy and the animals were chasing each other. Name Read and answer the questions. Date Lesson 5 BLACKLINE MASTER 5.9 Where is Gus-Gus? 1. Where do Bernie and his mother go on Saturday morning? 2. Why do you think that Bernie and his friends bring their pets to the Gentle Creek Home? 3. Grandma says that pets teach us how to love. Do you agree? Explain your answer. Making Connections Think about all the different animals you read about in Where Is Gus-Gus? and Teacher s Pets. Which animal do you think makes the best pet? Why? Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook., Unit 1: Neighborhood Visit 5 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Name Date Where Is Gus-Gus? Thinking Beyond the Text Think about the question below. Then write your answer in one or two paragraphs. On the last page of the story, Grandma tells Bernie to visit again. She says, Pets teach us how to love. They even remind us to laugh. What does this statement show you about Grandma s character and personality? Do you think she has a good sense of humor? How can you tell? 6 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Name Read and answer the questions. Date Lesson 5 BLACKLINE MASTER 5.9 Where Is Gus-Gus? 1. Where do Bernie and his mother go on Saturday morning? 2. Why do you think that Bernie and his friends bring their pets to the Gentle Creek Home? 3. Grandma says that pets teach us how to love. Do you agree? Explain your answer. Making Connections Think about all the different animals you read about in Where Is Gus-Gus? and Teacher s Pets. Which animal do you think makes the best pet? Why? Write your answer in your Reader s Notebook. 7 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?
Student Date Lesson 5 BLACKLINE MASTER 5.13 Where Is Gus-Gus? LEVEL L Where Is Gus-Gus? Running Record Form page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections 2 One Saturday morning, I was sleeping. Suddenly, I heard something I did not want to hear. Mom s voice boomed, Wake up, Bernie! I groaned. But it s the weekend. I want to sleep. Bernie! she insisted. We re going to see Grandma today. Remember? 3 I did remember. My friends and I were going to visit Grandma at the Gentle Creek Home. We were all bringing our pets. My dog Oscar licked my sleepy face. He was ready to go even if I wasn t. Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read correctly/81 100) % Total Self- Corrections Behavior Code Error Read word correctly cat 0 Repeated word, sentence, or phrase Omission cat 0 cat 1 Behavior Code Error Substitution cut cat 1 Self-corrects cut sc cat Insertion the ˆcat 1 Word told T 1 cat 0 1413616 8 Lesson 5: Where Is Gus-Gus?