Long Legs, Short Legs

Long Legs, Short Legs
Overview
This text describes the legs of various animals using the terms
long and short.
Level: B
Text Form: Description
Word Count: 35 words
KEY High-Frequency
Words
this, has
Reading Focus
• Make Connections
• Predict
• Visualize
Vocabulary
legs, dog, dinosaur,
spider, snake
Focus Questions
• What are the
characteristics of living
things? What is the
difference between
living and non-living
things?
• How are some animals
or plants alike and
different? How can we
group or sort different
kinds of animals or
plants?
Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd.
text supports
text challenges
• Strong picture–text match
• Repetitive sentence pattern
• Familiar concept (long and
short)
• Change in sentence pattern
on the last page
Word Work: has
Ask students to show their favourite page and locate the word has
on it. Use magnetic letters to make the word has. Scramble the
letters and have students reassemble the word. Prompt students
to locate the word has in the book and read the sentence. Then,
prompt them to find the word has again in a sentence on another
page and read it to a partner. You may also wish to have students
locate the word has in other books, charts, or lists in the classroom.
Assessment Opportunities
Note students’ ability to: use the photographs to predict the text;
use one-to-one matching as they read; locate and read the
high-frequency words; read the last page, which has a change in
text pattern; visualize; make connections.
Before
Show students the cover of the book and ask them to predict what
the book will be about. Discuss the photographs, making sure to
use the terms long and short. Ask students to visualize an animal
they know of, and ask them if it has long or short legs. Have
students make connections to seeing other animals that have
long or short legs.
Book Walk
Say:
• Let’s look to see which living things have long legs and which
have short legs.
Open the book to page 2. Ask students to name the animal. Ask:
• What do you notice about this dog’s legs?
Nelson Literacy 1: The Needs of Living Things
1
Read the sentence This dog has long legs. Ask:
• What letter would you expect to see at the beginning of the word has?
If necessary, prompt with a link to a familiar word. Have students locate the word has.
Repeat this conversation for pages 3, 4, and 5.
On page 6, have students locate the word spider. Ask:
• What letter do you see at the beginning of the word spider?
Leave pages 7 and 8 for the students to read on their own.
Give students a purpose for reading. Say:
• Read the book on your own. Think about which living thing is your favourite.
During
While students are reading, listen to them individually and prompt them as needed.
Encourage the use of picture cues and letter–sound relationships to solve words. Allow
students time to self-correct before you intervene. You might remind students to check the
photographs or get their mouths ready to say the words. On pages 4 and 5, if students need
support with visualizing, ask:
• Did you hear the thumping of the dinosaur’s feet?
On pages 6 and 7, ask students to imagine how the insects’ legs would feel on their bodies.
On page 8, for students who are having difficulty with the change in pattern, have them
frame the word no with their two index fingers. Ask:
• What other word do you know that looks like this word? You know the word go. Go will
help you read no.
Once students have finished the first reading, encourage them to use tally marks on a sticky
note to record the number of times that they read the book.
After
Revisit the purpose given for reading. Say:
• Tell me which living thing was your favourite.
Discuss the last page and how students solved the change in word pattern.
Praise the reading behaviours observed, such as one-to-one matching, rereading, using the
photographs, and other strategies students used to crosscheck as they read.
Print the sentence This snake has no legs! on a sentence strip. Point out the bolded word no.
Point to and read the sentence with students. Discuss how the bolded word means that you
read that word with emphasis.
Have students read their favourite page to themselves or to a partner, pointing to the words.
Responding to the Text
Have students work independently or with a partner to make a new page for the book using
the pattern This _________ has long legs. This _________ has short legs.
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Nelson Literacy 1: The Needs of Living Things
Copyright © 2011 by Nelson Education Ltd.
ISBN: 9780176515737