Stay Where I Can See You

I. Preparation for Reading

A. Activate/Build Prior Knowledge

Develop a discussion relating to the students experiences at the beach and encourage students
to share their experiences with the class. Bring in sand and shells from the beach and pass
around to the group. Have students describe what they feel, how it smells, and what they hear.
Discuss the importance of staying within sight of their guardians when in a busy place. Have
the students discuss a time when they or they may have seen someone wander too far from
their guardian. Some examples may be if they or a friend ever got lost at a park, or beach, or
even in a store. This will be used as an opportunity to have students use prior knowledge so
that they will be able to relate to the experiences that Toby went through being separated from
his mom on the beach.

B. Preview Text and Make Predictions

Next students are going to preview the reading by conducting a Picture-Walk. The teacher will
guide students in reviewing the pictures that are in the book in sequence. The teacher will then
ask the children to look at a picture and predict what they think is going to happen next.
Students will be guided in coming up with a timeline using the pictures to organize what they
think is going to happen to Toby on a graphic organizer. This activity will end after the
students reach the page that Toby is picked up by a child. They will have to read the story to
find out what is going to happen to him next.

C. Develop Vocabulary Knowledge

As there is a discussion being held during the Picture-Walk there will be emphasis placed on
vocabulary words that will be used in the lesson. Students will hear the words in the story and
then be given the vocabulary word in a different context and have to try to guess what the word
means. After knowing what all of the words mean, the group will go over the words again, but
will have to stand up and act out the words.

Guarding
Flock
Approach
Thump
Seaweed
Glance
Fierce
Outstretched

D. Set a Purpose for Reading

 The teacher will encourage the students to begin reading the story by reminding them the
importance of staying where they can be seen by an adult. The turtles come into contact with
many dangers; students will have to identify what happens to the turtles after escaping the
seagulls.

II. Read Silently

Students will be instructed to read silently their copies of the book until they discover the
purpose set for reading. The teacher will monitor and observe for signs of difficulty, while
providing assistance as needed. The students will be encouraged to record or illustrate the
information that they discovered in the purpose setting question. This helps the student gain an
understanding and keeps track of what they already know.

III. Responding to Reading to Develop Comprehension

A. Revisit Purpose Setting Question

Develop a discussion that relates to what the students discovered about the purpose set
for the reading. Initially the students should discover that the turtles made it safely to the
ball of seaweed, because they stayed close to their mother. As the students read on, they
will discover the importance of staying where they can be seen. As the students encounter
each danger that the turtles face, discuss with the students the feelings that may have
overcome Toby and some thoughts that may have come through his head. Determine the
students understanding by the accuracy of their responses. Answers should include, but
are not limited to: Toby felt scared, he thought he would never see his family again, he
may have felt sad, he may feel alone.

B. Clarify Concepts and Vocabulary

Continue to create discussion with the students about the events that happened in the
story. Use this discussion to acknowledge concepts of interest or questions that may have
arisen during the reading. Ask students to consider what may have happened if Toby did
not get separated from his mother. This will be used as an opportunity to integrate some
higher level interpretative questions that may naturally come from the discussion. Some
of the possibilities may include: What is the importance of staying where you can be
seen? Another area of focus may be Why was it important that the young boy brought
Toby back to his family?

C. Supporting Comprehension

Have students share the information that they have written down or drawn during the
reading in relation to the information that they discovered during reading. Support the
students understanding of Stay Where I Can See You by assisting them in adding
appropriate information to their graphic organizers. Show an example of a teacher
completed organizer.
D. Refer to Additional Resources

Encourage students to seek additional resources about information in the story by sharing
appropriate sources that they can use to further their learning. For example, students will
have access to the Weebly page emergent literacy unit for Under the Sea that correlates
with the book. Students will have access to books that relate to different aquatic life such
as the book One Tiny Turtle.

E. Additional Purpose Setting Questions

Encourage the students to continue reading Stay Where I Can See You by reminding
them that the turtles face many dangers throughout the story. Pause after each danger that
the turtles face and discuss what is occurring.

Read to discover why the turtles ended up on the beach.

Read to discover how Toby got separated from his family.

Read to discover what happened to little Toby after he got picked up by Ben.

Read to discover why Ben told Toby to dont stay where I can see you.

IV. Review/Reread and Explore Strategies

The students will reread to build fluency. The students will have to focus on a pacing
strategy that will develop through extensive amounts of reading. This will enable students
to work on their rate and their reading flow. They will learn how to pace their reading and
be flexible with their reading rate based on what they are reading. After the students have
a set speed they will practice reading at that speed. Students will rotate reading a page of
the story to the teacher. This will enable the students to work on their pacing skills and
increase their fluency.

V. Exploring
Engaging students in the learning is a very important aspect of teaching. The teacher will
instruct students to write a persuasive letter to the Mayor of Atlantic City and explain
why it is important to keep the ocean free of debris for the sea animals. This task will
teach students letter writing, common and proper nouns, and addressing an envelope.
Students will also create posters, in small groups, about the effects that pollution in our
ocean has on different types of marine life, ideas of how to reduce pollution, and options
for clean-up. These posters will then be presented in the hallway of the school as science
fair projects. Along with the letter and poster the class will start a marine plant tank in the
classroom. This will teach students the importance of light and water quality for the
plants and how to help them grow. The tank will give students the responsibility of
maintaining water quality and level.