A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge- Lead students to reading carpet.

Ask what they know

about sea life and more specifically, fish. Lead a discussion relating to this and encourage

students to share personal experiences they have with the sea and aquatic life like fish.

Pass out photographs of different living creatures of the sea and ask students to name

some creatures. Develop a discussion on whether the students have ever owned an item

that they did not want to share. Encourage students to express experiences they may have,

where they owned something they did not want to share and if they were made to share it

or not. Explain that in this book students will learn about one familiar sea creature, a fish,

who was met with a similar issue. Use this as an opportunity to activate students prior

knowledge, so that they may be able to relate to Rainbow Fishs experiences and his battle

with trying to share.

B. Preview/Predictions- Preview The Rainbow Fish by conducting a "Picture-walk" of the

book with students. Guide students in exploring the pictures provided in the book. Engage

students by asking them to view the books pictures in order to predict what Rainbow Fish

will decide to do when it comes to sharing. Hand out graphic organizers for the book that

include a place to insert the following information: the main characters, the setting, the

problem, and the solution. Guide students in filling out the graphic organizer.

C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge- Direct students focus on numerous vocabulary words

found in the text that they may not be familiar with. These words are as follows:

-ordinary -scales -amazed -proud

-glide -shimmer -shocked -wavering

Provide additional explanation for the meanings of these words, especially in the context they are

used in in the book. Ask students to visually locate these words within the text to help in

comprehension and recognition.

D. Set A Purpose for Reading- Encourage the students to begin reading The Rainbow Fish and

remind them that the fish will seek advice from someone before he makes his decision to

share. Ask students to read to discover whether Rainbow Fish will share and why.

II. Read Silently Instruct students to read the text in a small group setting, each student

reading their own copy until they discover the purpose set for reading. The teacher monitors

and observes for signs of difficulty, while providing assistance as needed. Encourage and

instruct students to record the information they have discovered in the purpose setting

question. This helps to build fluency and understanding.

III. Responding to Reading to Develop Comprehension

A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question

Develop discussion that relates to what students have discovered about the

purposes set forth for reading. Initially students should discover how proud the

Rainbow Fish is and his unwillingness to share. As the students read on they will

discover, the Rainbow Fish is left lonely and seeks advice on what he should do.

Discuss what he does with the advice he is given and how he feels doing it.

Determine the extent in which students are comprehending the text by monitoring

the accuracy of their responses. Answers should include, but are not limited to: He

starts to share, he shares with the fish, a peculiar feeling came over him, he felt

happy.
B. Clarify concepts and vocabulary

Continue creating discussion with students about the events of the story. Use this

as an opportunity to address concepts of interest or questions that arose from

reading. Encourage students to issues relating to not sharing and not being so

nice. Ask students to consider they way in which the Rainbow Fish responded

initially when asked to share his scales. Use this as opportunity to

present/integrate some higher level interpretive questions that naturally arise out

of the discussion. Possibilities might include: asking students to consider if

Rainbow Fish would have responded more politely, whether it would have

changed the way the other fish perceived him. Another focus for discussion might

include focusing on whether or not the fish were true friends if one of the main

reasons they liked Rainbow Fish was because he gave them his scales.

C. Supporting comprehension

Discuss the information students have added to their literacy journals and

encourage them to share what they have written or drawn in relation to the

information they discovered in reading. Support students understanding of The

Rainbow Fish by guiding them to add information to the appropriate portions of

their graphic organizers. Model how to complete the graphic organizer with

another book the students are familiar with.

D. Refer to additional Resources-

Allow, encourage, and inspire students to seek additional information about

aspects within the story by sharing appropriate sources that could be utilized to
 further learning, investigation, and inquiry. For example, in preparation for further

inquiry reading introduce students to the Weebly page that it is set up that

correlates with the Under the Sea emergent literacy until; this will help students

explore more information about different aquatic life. Encourage students to

utilize other forms of resources in order to unravel more about different aquatic

life (i.e. reference books, websites, etc). Use this opportunity to model inquisitive

behaviors to inspire students to seek information and further their investigation of

the topic.

E. Additional purpose setting questions

Encourage students to continue reading The Rainbow Fish and remind them the fish

will be reluctant to share even after he is given advice to do so. Ask students to

read to discover what the Rainbow Fish will do when the blue fish asks once more

for one of his scales. Pause before, during, and after the blue fish asks for a scale

for discussion on what is occurring.

Was the blue fish acting for too much of the Rainbow Fish, was he out of line for

asking for something so dear to Rainbow Fish's heart?

Is it selfish for the other fish to make Rainbow Fish feel obligated to give his scales

away to them?

The book says that Rainbow Fish became more and more happy as he gave away his

scales. Is this always true? If not, provide some examples.

Whats the point of being beautiful if you have no friends to admire your beauty? Is

the octopus right for stirring up this question?

IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies

Students will follow along reading with the teacher and will make use of a graphic

organizer to assist with the organization of events in The Rainbow Fish. The

teacher will demonstrate pacing by utilizing a pointer or a red laser light to point

to each word, making sure to keep an even pace between each word. This will

model to students on how to become fluent in reading and demonstrate how

students should be reading all books.

V. Applying the Literature/Extending Reading Across the Curriculum

Develop a discussion on what students know about what the sea is and what can be

found in the sea. This emergent literacy unit Under the Sea will require students

to engage in books that relate to and discuss subaquatic life, which may or may

not also containing underlying morals. Through this unit, students will learn more

about different sea life, more specifically the animals or organisms that natively

exist in it. Visuals and facts will be presented to children about the organisms that

are found in the ocean, which will reinforce the formation of new knowledge on

these foreign animals.