Level C

Lesson Plan Space

About the Book
Text Type: Nonfiction/Concept Page Count: 10 Word Count: 42

Book Summary
This book captures the awe and wonder that space evokes
in children and adults alike. Simple sentences identify the
brilliant photographs, making the text as accessible as it is
fun. Early emergent readers will relish learning about the
beauty of the world beyond our own, and teachers will
love the ease of teaching scientific vocabulary.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy
• Connect to prior knowledge

Objectives
• Use the reading strategy of connecting to prior
knowledge to understand text
• Identify main idea and details
• Discriminate initial and final consonant /s/ sound
• Identify initial and final consonant Ss
• Recognize and use common nouns
• Recognize the high-frequency word see

Materials
Green text indicates resources available on the website
• Book—Space (copy for each student)
• Chalkboard or dry erase board
• Highlighters
• Main-idea-and-details, initial and final consonant Ss, nouns worksheets
• Discussion cards

Indicates an opportunity for students to mark in the book. (All activities may
be demonstrated by projecting book on interactive whiteboard or completed with
paper and pencil if books are reused.)

Vocabulary
*Bold vocabulary words also appear in a pre-made lesson for this title on VocabularyA–Z.com.
• High-frequency words: are, in, see, the
• Content words:
Story critical: comets (n.), day (n.), Moon (n.), night (n.), planets (n.), satellites (n.), sky (n.),
space (n.), stars (n.)

Before Reading
Build Background
• Write the word space on the board and point to it as you read it aloud to students.
Repeat the process and have students say the word aloud.

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 Level C
Lesson Plan (continued) Space
• Have students close their eyes and think of the last time they looked up at space. Ask them
to draw a picture of what they saw.
• Invite students to share their picture with the class and describe what they saw in the night sky.
Tape their pictures to the board.

Book Walk
Introduce the Book
• Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title with them. Ask what they
think they might read about in a book called Space. (Accept all answers that students can justify.)
• Show students the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title of book, author’s name).
Introduce the Reading Strategy: Connect to prior knowledge
• Explain to students that good readers make connections between what they already know and
new information they read. Remind students that thinking about what they already know about
the topic of the book will help them understand what they read.
• Model connecting to prior knowledge using the information on the cover.
Think-aloud: When I look at the cover, I immediately think of looking at the night sky and seeing
brilliant stars. I also like looking at the glowing white Moon. Sometimes, I even see a star that
looks red or green, which is actually a planet seen from very far away. The title of this book is
Space, and based on what I already know about space, I think that this book will teach about
the stars, the planets, and the Moon.
• Point to the pictures on the board and explain to students that these pictures show prior
knowledge they have about space. Ask students to share with a partner how their prior
knowledge—what they drew in the picture—will help them to better understand the book.
• As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted
strategy presented in this section.
Introduce the Comprehension Skill: Main idea and details
• Explain to students that every book has a main idea, which is the big idea that is the subject of
the book. Read the title to students. Explain that the title often provides clues about the book’s
main idea. Invite students to share predictions about the main idea of this book.
• Explain to students that the main idea of this book is: There are many things in space. Write the
following sentence on the board: There are many things in space. Point to each word as you read
the sentence aloud with students.
• Model how to identify details.
Think-aloud: I know that every book has details that help to explain the main idea. In this book,
Space, I see a picture of a lot of stars on the cover. On most nights, I can see stars in the sky, and I
know that they are a part of space. This information helps to explain the main idea that there are
many things in space. Stars must be a detail in the book.
• Review the pictures that students created earlier and discuss other items that students have seen
in space. List these objects on the board. Have students share with a partner whether they think
any of these might be details in the book.
Introduce the Vocabulary
• While previewing the book, reinforce the vocabulary words that students will encounter.
For example, while looking at the picture on page 6, you might say: What a lovely picture of
the Moon! The word Moon starts with the /m/ sound. Point to the word Moon on this page.
• Show students pictures of different objects in space from the book, or draw pictures of these
words on the board. Call out a word and have students point to the picture on the board. Write
the word under the picture on the board.

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 Level C
Lesson Plan (continued) Space
• Remind students to look at the picture and the letters with which a word begins or ends to
figure out a difficult word. For example, point to the word Planets on page 7 and say: I am
going to check the picture and think about what would make sense to figure out this word.
I see different space objects in the picture: stars and planets. The first word on this page starts
with the /p/ sound. The word stars starts with the /s/ sound, though. The only word that starts
with the /p/ sound that makes sense in this sentence is planets. The word must be planets.
Set the Purpose
• Have students use what they already know about space to help them read the book. Remind
them to think about the details that support the main idea as they read.

During Reading
Student Reading
• G
 uide the reading: Give students their copy of the book. Have a volunteer point to the first word
on page 3 (In). Point out to students where to begin reading on each page. Remind them to read
the words from left to right.
• Ask students to place a finger on the page number in the bottom corner of page 3. Have them
read to the end of page 5, using their finger to point to each word as they read. Encourage
students who finish before others to reread the text.
• Model connecting to prior knowledge.
Think-aloud: On page 6, I see a picture of the Moon covering most of the page. I love looking at
the Moon at night. Sometimes the Moon is a full moon, sometimes it is a crescent moon, and
sometimes I can’t see it at all. I know that the Moon is big, but it looks small compared to the
rest of the sky around it, and that thought helps me understand that space is a very big place.
I believe that other objects in addition to the Moon must be in space.
• Have students describe what they have seen in space to a partner. Have the partner listen closely
and draw a picture of what their partner describes. Then have them switch roles and repeat the
activity. Invite volunteers to share their drawing with the class. Ask students to share how talking
about what they already know about space will help them to understand the book.
• Review the main idea of the book: There are many things in space. Ask students to discuss with
a partner whether the Moon is a detail that supports the main idea of the book. Invite volunteers
to explain why the Moon is a detail of the main idea.
• Introduce and explain the main-idea-and-details worksheet. Write the word Moon on the board.
Have students write the word and draw a picture that represents the word Moon in one of the
spaces on their worksheet.
• Check for understanding: Have students read to the end of page 8. Encourage them to share
how they connected to prior knowledge as they read. (Accept all answers that show students
understand how to connect to prior knowledge.)
• Ask students to think about other details they read that support the main idea: There are many
things in space. Have them choose one of the details to draw on their worksheet. Ask them to
label their drawing using the word from the book. Have volunteers share the detail about which
they drew and wrote.
• Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to use what they already know
about space to help them understand new information as they read.

Have students make a small question mark in their book beside any word they do not
understand or cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in the discussion that follows.

After Reading
• Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their book. Use this opportunity to model how
they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.

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 Level C
Lesson Plan (continued) Space
Reflect on the Reading Strategy
• Think-aloud: When I read page 10, I thought about what I have seen in space. I know I have seen
many stars, as in the picture on page 10. I also know I have seen the Moon. I would like to see a
comet and a satellite, but I know that they are hard to see.
• Collect all the pictures of space that students drew while reading the book. Have students work
in groups to look over the pictures and discuss how thinking about what they already knew
helped them to understand and enjoy the story. Periodically rotate the pictures so the groups
have a chance to examine them all.
Reflect on the Comprehension Skill
• Discussion: Read the main idea on the board with students. Review the details that students drew
on their worksheet. Invite them to explain why each of the details on their worksheet matches
the main idea of the story.
• Independent practice: Have students complete the main-idea-and-details worksheet. If time allows,
discuss their responses.
• Enduring understanding: In this book, you learned about some of the objects you can see in space.
Now that you know this information, how big do you think space is? Do you think there
is more to explore in space? Explain.

Build Skills
Phonological Awareness: Initial and final consonant /s/ sound
• Say the word Sun aloud to students, emphasizing the initial /s/ sound. Have students say the word
aloud and then say the /s/ sound.
• Say the word planets aloud to students, emphasizing the final /s/ sound. Have students say the
word aloud and then say the /s/ sound.
• Point out that the first word, Sun, begins with the /s/ sound, while the second word, planets, ends
with the /s/ sound.
• Read pages 7 and 8 aloud to students. Have them clap their hands once when they hear a word
that begins with the /s/ sound, and clap their desk once when they hear a word that ends with
the /s/ sound.
• Check for understanding: Say the following words, one at a time: see, satellites, flies, and ships.
Have students clap their hands once if the word begins with the /s/ sound and clap their desk
if the word ends with the /s/ sound.
Phonics: Initial and final consonant Ss
• Write the word sky on the board and say it aloud with students.
• Have students say the /s/ sound aloud. Then run your finger under the letters in the word as
students say the whole word aloud. Ask students to point at the letter that represents the
/s/ sound in the word sky. Ask if the /s/ sound comes at the beginning or the end of the word.
• Write the word comets on the board and repeat the process. Remind students that words can
begin or end with the letter Ss. Point out that some words can even start and end with the
letter Ss.
• Have students trace the letter Ss on their desk while saying the /s/ sound.

Have students work with a partner to look through the book and find all the words that
begin or end with the letter Ss. Have students underline words with an initial consonant /s/ and
circle words with a final consonant /s/. (They will both underline and circle words that have both.)
• Check for understanding: Write the following words on the board, leaving off the letter Ss: nights,
say. Say each word, one at a time, and have students decide whether the letter Ss should come at
the beginning or end of the word. Have volunteers come to the board and add the initial or final
consonant Ss to each word.

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 Level C
Lesson Plan (continued) Space
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the initial-and-final-
consonant-Ss worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers.
Grammar and Mechanics: Nouns
• Remind students that nouns are words that name people, places, and things.
• Have each student point to one object in the room that can be named with a noun.
Randomly call on students and have them share the noun they chose. Write or draw these
nouns on the board.
• Write the word girl on the board, if it was not already generated by the class. Ask students to all
whisper the name of one of the girls in class. Write a name from the class beside the word girl.
Explain to students that some of these nouns have names and those names are nouns, too.
We call the nouns that are not names common nouns, and we call the nouns that are names
proper nouns. Write the phrase common noun above the word girl, and the phrase proper noun
above the girl’s name.
• Invite volunteers to share more girls’ names from class. Write all of these names under the phrase
proper noun.
• Point out to students the many names that match the one common noun. Explain to students
that a common noun describes an object in general, while a proper noun describes a specific
example of that common noun. For example, there can be many girls, but there is only one
Eunice Martinez (use an example from your class).

Check for understanding: Pass out highlighters. Have students locate and highlight all examples
of common nouns in the book. Remind students that if the noun is a name, it cannot be a
common noun.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the nouns worksheet.
If time allows, discuss their responses.
Word Work: High-frequency word see
• Tell students that they are going to learn a word that is often used in books they read. Write the
word see on the board and read the word aloud. Have students read the word with you.
• Ask students to write the word see on the top of their desk with their finger as you spell it aloud
with them, pointing to each letter on the board as you say the letter name with students.
• Read the sentence on page 3 aloud to students. Have students point to the word see. Explain
that the word see describes the action of looking at something.
• Have students play a modified “I Spy” game. Assign students to groups and choose one student
from each group. That student finds one item in the room and gives the group clues about the
identity of that object. Clues must be in the following format: I see something (adjective). After
the group guesses correctly, assign a new student to choose an object. Repeat until all members
of each group have had a chance to choose an item and give clues.
• Check for understanding: Have students use the word see in oral sentences with a partner.

Build Fluency
Independent Reading
• Allow students to read their book independently. Additionally, allow partners to take turns
reading parts of the book to each other.

Home Connection
• Give students their book to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.
Have them identify the main idea and details of the book to someone at home.

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 Level C
Lesson Plan (continued) Space
Extend the Reading
Informational Writing and Art Connection
Share with students that they are going to create a book that explores a new setting, just as their book
explored space. Guide students in choosing a new location—the desert, for example. Use books, online
sources, magazines, and other multimedia resources to research the desert. Direct students to choose one
object or animal that they know is a part of the desert and draw that item. Write the following sentence
on the board: A _________ is in the desert. Have students write the sentence underneath their picture,
filling in the blank to match the picture. Collect all the pages and staple them together with a title page
and an introductory page.
Visit WritingA–Z.com for a lesson and leveled materials on informational report writing.

Social Studies Connection

Discuss with the class what more they would like to learn about space, and compile a list of questions.
Take students to a local air and space museum or university with a planetarium or other venue
that teaches about space. Alternately, invite an expert from one of those locations to visit the class.
Encourage students to look or ask for information related to their questions. After the visit, guide the
class in discussing all the new information they learned and the questions they answered. Create a class
presentation about space, along with an illustrated poster, to present to another class.

Skill Review
Discussion cards covering comprehension skills and strategies not explicitly taught with the book
are provided as an extension activity. The following is a list of some ways these cards can be used
with students:
• Use as discussion starters for literature circles.
• Have students choose one or more cards and write a response, either as an essay
or as a journal entry.
• Distribute before reading the book and have students use one of the questions
as a purpose for reading.
• Cut apart and use the cards as game cards with a board game.
• Conduct a class discussion as a review before the book quiz.

Assessment
Monitor students to determine if they can:
• consistently connect to prior knowledge to understand text
• accurately identify the details that support the main idea of the book during
discussion and on a worksheet
• consistently discriminate initial and final consonant /s/ sound during discussion
• correctly identify and write the letter symbol that represents the /s/ sound during
discussion and on a worksheet
• properly use common nouns during discussion and on a worksheet
• accurately use the high-frequency word see during discussion

Comprehension Checks
• Book Quiz
• Retelling Rubric

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