Off aa

Focus Question:
What is the cat doing in the book?
Book Summary
Text Type: Fiction/Concept
Cats can be very energetic and jump off objects all around the house! In the story Off,
students will read a repetitive text about a mischievous cat. Students will also focus on
retelling to understand the text as well as identifying the high-frequency word off.

Guiding the Reading

Lesson Essentials
Before Reading
Instructional Focus
Retell to understand text
Build Background
• Ask students if they have a pet at home. Have
Classify information
students discuss with a partner what types of pets
Describe information provided they have or would like to have. Encourage students
by illustrations to share their answers and write them on the board.
Identify words that rhyme Invite students to discuss what they know about cats,
Identify word family -at including what cats like to do and where they live.
Recognize and use nouns Introduce the Book
• Give students their copy of Off. Guide them to the
Identify and use the high-frequency
front and back covers and read the title. Have
word off
students discuss what they see on the covers.
Encourage them to offer ideas as to what type
Materials
of book it is (genre, text type, and so on) and
Book: Off (copy for each student) what it might be about.
Classify information, word family -at, • Show students the title page. Discuss the
nouns worksheets information on the page (title of book, author’s
Retelling rubric name, illustrator’s name)

Vocabulary Introduce the Reading Strategy: Retell

Boldface vocabulary words also appear • Explain to students that one way to understand and
remember a story is to stop periodically and retell
in a pre-made lesson for this title on
the details of the story in their mind. Explain to
VocabularyA–Z.com. (*) word appears
students that when they retell a story or event, they
in the lesson but not the book retell the details in the order that they happened.
• High-frequency words: off, the • Have students recall a classroom routine with which
• Words to Know they are very familiar. Have them retell the routine
with a partner. Invite volunteers to share their
Story critical: chair (n.), computer (n.),
retelling with the class. Write the details on the
couch (n.), off (prep.), step (n.), towel (n.) board, making sure the events are in the correct
• Academic vocabulary: classify (v.)* order. Point out to students that by retelling their
classroom routine, they can now remember it easier.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill:

Classify information
• Explain to students that readers often take the
details or objects in the story and decide what
they have in common. By thinking about what
the details or objects have in common and sorting
them into groups, a reader can remember and
understand what the story is about. Point out to
students that when they sort objects into groups,
they are classifying information.

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 Off aa

Guiding the Reading (cont.) Skill Review

• Review retelling by having students start on page 3
• Write the following words from the story on the and retell the events throughout the story. Write or
board: bed, couch, table, chair. Have students draw the events on the board while students retell.
discuss with a partner what all of these objects have Remind students that it is important to retell the
in common. Invite volunteers to share their answers events correctly in the order in which they happened.
with the class. • Model classifying information. Write the following
Vocabulary words on cards and place the cards on the board: cat,
the, chair, couch, car, table, towel. Move the words
Have students turn to the “Words to Know” box on
around according to how students classify them.
the copyright page. Point out that these words can be
Think-aloud: Earlier, we classified objects in the story
found in the story and that understanding the meaning
by what they have in common. We agreed that all of
of each word will help them better understand what
the objects belong in a house and the objects are all
they read. Read the words aloud to students and as a
furniture items. Now we are going to classify words
group, discuss the meaning of each word. On the basis
that are found throughout the story. As I think
of the definitions discussed, have students work in
about how to group these words, I start by asking
groups to illustrate each vocabulary word on a poster.
myself what they have in common. I see that there
Have students share their posters with the class.
are multiple words that start with the letter Cc, and
Set the Purpose I can group them together. How would I classify the
• Have students read to find out more about the words table, the, and towel? Are there other ways
energetic cat and what it’s doing. Write the Focus we can classify the words other than by the first
Question on the board. Invite students to look for letter? Classifying information from a story helps
evidence in the book to support their answer to me better remember and understand the text.
the question. • Guide students to find other ways to classify the
• Have students make a small question mark in their words into different groups, such as counting the
book beside any word they do not understand or number of letters in the words or by the types
cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in of words.
a future discussion. • Model and discuss how to complete the classify
information worksheet, using evidence from the
During Reading text. Have students discuss the details they noted
with a partner.
Text-Dependent Questions
As students read the book, monitor their understanding After Reading
with the following questions. Encourage students to
support their answers by citing evidence from the book. Ask students what words, if any, they marked in
their book. Use this opportunity to model how they
• What is the cat doing on each page? (level 2) can read these words using decoding strategies and
multiple pages context clues.
• How does the cat feel when it jumps off the towel?
(level 2) page 8 Skill Review
• Where does the cat live? (level 2) multiple pages Graphic Organizer: Classify information
• Why do you think the cat is jumping off the car? Review the classify information worksheet that students
(level 3) page 10 completed with a partner. Have students share their
work with the group. List ideas on the board.
Text Features: Illustrations
Explain to students that illustrations are pictures in a Response to Focus Question
story that are drawn or created by an artist, and point Have students cite specific evidence from the book to
out that the pictures in this story are all illustrations. answer the Focus Question. (Students should include:
Explain that illustrations can help assist readers by giving The cat jumps off the bed, couch, table, chair, computer,
them additional details and information about the story towel, step, and car.)
as well as help them decode the text. Have students look
at page 7 and explain that by looking at the picture, Comprehension Check
they can see the cat is jumping off the computer. Then • Retelling rubric
have students find the word computer in the sentence.
Point out to students that looking at the illustration may
help them decode the word computer. Have students
work with a partner to review other illustrations in the
book and discuss how using those illustrations can help
them decode unknown words.

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 Off aa

Book Extension Activities Grammar and Mechanics: Nouns

• Turn to page 3 of the story. Have students point to
Build Skills the cat in the picture. Explain to students that cat is
Phonological Awareness: Rhyme a noun. Explain that a noun is a word that names a
• Say the word bear aloud to students and have them person, place, or thing. Have students turn to page
repeat the word. Read the sentence on page 6 aloud 4 and point to the word couch. Explain that couch is
to students. Have them identify the word that sounds also a noun. Have students work with a partner to
like bear. Point out that bear and chair have the same decide whether a couch is a person, place, or thing.
sound at the end of the word, so the words rhyme. • Check for understanding: Have students work with
• Say the following words to students and have them a partner to underline the noun on each page of
repeat the words: care, dare, fair, hair. Periodically their book. When they have underlined the nouns,
stop and remind students that these are called have students take turns reading the nouns aloud
rhyming words. and sharing whether each noun names a person,
place, or thing.
• Check for understanding: Say the following words one
at a time and have students raise their hand when • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have
they hear a word that rhymes with chair: lair, couch, students complete the nouns worksheet. If time
pear, rare, stare, step, tear, wear, car, flair, cat. allows, discuss their answers.

Phonics: Word family -at Word Work: High-frequency word off

• Write the words cat, bat, fat on the board and read • Point out to students that the word off appears on
them aloud with students. Run your finger under every page of the story. Write the word off on the
the letters of each word while saying the sounds board and spell it aloud. Then say off again aloud
aloud. Explain to students that the words all belong and have students clap and say each letter.
in the word family -at. Have students discuss why • Have students turn to page 3 and point to the word
they think the words are in the word family -at with off in the book. Once all students have found the
a partner. Invite volunteers to share their answers word, guide them to spell it aloud. Continue to
with the class. have students turn to each page in the story and
• Write the ending -at on the board several more circle the word off while saying it aloud.
times and read the ending together. Explain to • Check for understanding: Have students practice
students that, when creating a word family, the first writing the word off on a separate sheet of paper.
letter changes while the end stays the same. Invite
a volunteer to write the letter Hh at the beginning
Connections
of -at on the board. Run your finger under the • See the back of the book for cross-curricular
sounds in the word and read the word aloud with extension ideas.
the class (hat). Continue inviting volunteers to write
consonants at the beginning of -at written on the
board. When finished, read each word as a class.
Remind students that the words are all in the -at word
family. Point out that the words in a word family all
rhyme because they end with the same sound.
• Check for understanding: Have students write the
letters Mm, Ss, Bb, Ff, Rr, and Pp on a separate sheet
of paper. Hand them each a card with -at written
on it. Have students work with a partner to practice
reading words they created by placing the -at card at
the end of each consonant written on their paper.
• Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have
students complete the word family -at worksheet.
If time allows, discuss their answers.

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