18 teacher’s guide beatrix potter · lesson 18 teacher’s guide beatrix potter ... why do you...

Number of Words: 314

L E S S O N 1 8 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

Beatrix Potterby Mary Reid

Fountas-Pinnell Level KBiographySelection SummaryThis biography tells the life story of children’s author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. The simply written narrative focuses on the development of her writing and drawing skills. The mix of historical photographs and drawings will delight young readers.

Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Biography

Text Structure • Third-person factual narrative• Major events presented in chronological order

Content • Potter’s early interest in animals and drawing• Development of Peter Rabbit stories• Potter’s life in the country and love of nature

Themes and Ideas • Infl uences on a writer’s life • Writer’s relationship with her readers• Interest in natural world

Language and Literary Features

• Third-person narrative• Figurative language (Her drawings had stories to tell!)

Sentence Complexity • Some complex sentences with clauses• Multiple items in a series with exclamation for emphasis (She also had a frog, a lizard,

and a bat!)Vocabulary • Names of animals and name of country (England)

Words • Irregular verbs in past tense (taught, drew, wrote)• Some content words might be unfamiliar (protected, builders, factories, national).

Illustrations • Many black-and-white period photographs • Original drawings by Beatrix Potter extend content.

Book and Print Features • Nine pages of text, easy-to-read captions, and illustrations on every page• No paragraphs – each sentence begins on a new line.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Target Vocabulary

accepted – agreed to somethingexpress – v. show what you are

feeling or thinkingfl uttering – moves with small,

quick movements

grand – large, special, or important

pretend – to imagine, or make-believe, that something is real, p. 9

prize – an award for winning a contest, p. 9

taught – told or showed what to do, p. 4

wonder – v. try to understand more about something, p. 6

Beatrix Potter by Mary Reid

Build BackgroundHelp children use their knowledge of Beatrix Potter’s books. Build interest by asking questions such as the following: Have you read a story about Peter Rabbit or another animal character? What did you enjoy most about it? Read the title and author and talk about the cover picture. Tell children that this is a book about the life of a real person.

Introduce the TextGuide children through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so that they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Pages 2 – 3: Explain that Beatrix Potter was born long ago in England. Point to England on a class map. She wrote and illustrated many books for children. Suggested language: On page 2 you can see a picture of Beatrix Potter when she was older. But on page 3 you can see a photograph of her as a young girl. She always loved nature. Her family lived in the country during the summer and Beatrix had many pets there. Why do you think she liked writing about animals in her books?

Page 4: Explain that Beatrix Potter taught herself to draw things she saw in nature. Look at one of the drawings she made as a young girl. How do you think she taught herself to draw?

Page 5: When she grew up, Potter wrote a story for a sick child about the rabbits on this page. Can you read the rabbits’ names? The names are written in Potter’s own handwriting.

Page 6: Explain that other children loved the story about the rabbit named Peter Rabbit so Potter wrote more stories about him. Her readers began to wonder what happened to Peter Rabbit so Potter kept writing more stories about him!

Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to fi nd out how how Beatrix Potter became a famous writer.

2 Lesson 18: Beatrix PotterGrade 2© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ReadHave children read silently while you listen to individual children read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind children to use the Analyze/Evaluate Strategy and to tell how they feel about the book as they read and why.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite children to share their personal responses to the book. Suggested language: What was the most interesting thing you learned about Beatrix Potter’s life?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help children understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• Beatrix Potter fi rst drew the natural world when she was a child.

• She wrote and illustrated “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” for a sick child.

• When she became successful, she bought a country home with a farm.

• A love and understanding of nature can change your life.

• Drawings can bring stories to life for readers.

• You can teach yourself new skills.

• Photographs can help readers better understand a book.

• The author’s attitude about her subject is that Potter was a beloved children’s book writer.

• Using original drawings helps readers visualize important information.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text to read aloud in small

groups. Remind them to use rising and falling tones in a way that is related to text meaning and punctuation, paying special attention to sentences that end in exclamation marks.

• 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. Work with children to divide the following words from the book into two and three syllables: country (p. 2); lizard (p.3), rabbits (p. 3), pictures (p. 5), animals (p. 8), factories (p. 10), national (p. 10).



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave children complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 18.7.

RespondingHave 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 SkillUnderstanding Characters

Target Comprehension Skill Remind children that they can use details in

the book to help them better understand a person’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:

Think Aloud

To learn more about Beatrix Potter, I’m going to pay careful attention to details in the book. On page 2 the writer says that Beatrix loved the country. On page 3 I fi nd out that she had many pets, such as rabbits, a frog, a lizard, and a bat. All these details help me understand how much Beatrix Potter loved the world of nature.

Practice the SkillHave children fi nd another detail in the book that tells them something important about Beatrix Potter.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave 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 the information in the book.

Assessment Prompts• Which words on page 7 help readers understand the meaning of the word perfect?

• What are three words that best describe Beatrix Potter?



English Language DevelopmentReading Support Pair English-speaking and English language learners and have them make a list of all the animals mentioned in this book (rabbits, frog, lizard, bat, caterpillars, pigs, sheep). Then be sure English language learners can describe what each animal looks like.

Cultural Support Explain that a national park, discussed on page 10, is a large park that is protected by the government of a country.

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: Who is this book about?

Speaker 2: Beatrix Potter

Speaker 1: What were her books about?

Speaker 2: animals

Speaker 1: What did Beatrix teach herself to do as a child?

Speaker 2: draw things in nature

Speaker 1: Why were her books so small?

Speaker 2: so children could read them

Speaker 1: Why did part of Beatrix Potter’s farm became a big park?

Speaker 2: to protect the land

Read directions to children.

Think About ItRead and answer the questions.

1. How did Beatrix Potter begin to write children’s

books?

2. Would you like to read a book by Beatrix Potter?

Why?

3. How do you think Beatrix Potter felt about children?

Why?

Making Connections What are some of your favorite books? How are they like the books Beatrix Potter wrote? How are they different?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Grade 2, Unit 4: Heroes and Helpers

Beatrix PotterThink About It

Lesson 18B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 7

Think About It



Name Date

Beatrix PotterThinking Beyond the Text

Think about the question below. Then write your answer in one paragraph.

In this book you learned that Beatrix Potter always loved the country and loved to be outside. How do you think her love of nature changed her life? Use details from the book in your answer.



Think About ItRead and answer the questions.

1. How did Beatrix Potter begin to write children’s

books?

2. Would you like to read a book by Beatrix Potter?

Why?

3. How do you think Beatrix Potter felt about children?

Why?

Making Connections What are some of your favorite books? How are they like the books Beatrix Potter wrote? How are they different?

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

Beatrix PotterThink About It

Lesson 18B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 7



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Student Date

Beatrix PotterRunning Record Form

Lesson 18B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 8 . 1 1

Beatrix Potter • LEVEL K

Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

cat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

5

6

When she grew up,

Beatrix still drew pictures.

One day, Beatrix wrote a story

for a sick child.

She drew pictures

that helped tell the story.

She called it “The Tale of

Peter Rabbit.”

The sick child loved the “Tale of

Peter Rabbit”!

Other children loved the story, too.

So Beatrix wrote many more.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/54 × 100)

%

Self-Correction Rate

(# errors + # Self-Corrections/ Self-Corrections)

1:



18 teacher’s guide beatrix potter · lesson 18 teacher’s guide beatrix potter ... why do you...

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