Suggested Reading Level: Matching Books to Readers – C/ Basal Pre-Primer

Core Concepts/Vocabulary: seasons, traveling words

Materials:

Synopsis: Tilley has one cool granny! No matter what the season, Grandma can always find something exciting to do!

Online Activities:

1. Sorting Activity. Using the mouse, students must find all the words that end in the letter “p” and group them together. Then students must find all the words that begin with the letter “s”.
2. Keyboarding Activity. Using the keyboard, students must type the letters to spell the season displayed on the screen (word model provided.)
3. Complete the Word Activity. Using the mouse, students must choose the correct letter from a pull down menu to complete each word (illustration provided.)

Pre-Reading Activity: Bring a variety of outdoor clothing to class, some appropriate for each season (scarf and mitts, umbrella and rubber boots, sunscreen and bathing suit, sweater). Have a student volunteer to wear just one piece of clothing. Display the following writing frame: I wear ______________________. As a class, complete the sentence based on the dress of the volunteer. (Remember to talk through this process, pointing out capital letters, periods, and high frequency words.) Complete a number of sentences using this frame. Read the sentences as a class.
Then, dress a student volunteer in a silly combination of this clothing for the season you are in and ask the class to respond. What’s wrong? What would be better? Facilitate a discussion about seasonal dress – why is it important to dress for the season?

Return to the sentences previously written. Ask: what could we add to each sentence to make it more interesting? (If the class is stuck, suggest: I wear _________________ in the (season). Remind students that telling us when something happens is an important way of adding DESCRIPTION to writing.

Setting the Purpose for Reading: Look at the “cover” of this book. What do you think it will be about?

Who can tell me what a Grandma is? What do you do with your grandma?

Let’s read this story to find out all of the things Tilley does with his Grandma.

Comprehension Questions:

• What does Tilley’s Grandma like to do in the Summer? Fall? Winter? Spring?
• Does Tilley like being with his Grandma? How can you tell?
• Is Tilley’s Grandma a lot like grandmas that you know? Explain.

Bright Ideas:

• Class research. We have learned about how we prepare for the changes in seasons – what about animals? Read some books about animals native to your area and find out how they get ready for the seasons. Record your findings, as a class, on a chart.
  
• Tilley’s Grandma uses lots of different vehicles to get around. Brainstorm as a class: how many different vehicles can you name? Record your answers on a web. As an extension, have each child choose their favorite vehicle from the web and draw a picture of it on a small card. Create a picture graph as a class to find out which vehicle is the class favorite.

Printable Resources:

• Dress Tilley for the Seasons. Give each student a page, divided into 4 sections, with a picture of Tilley in each section. Have students print one season in each box and draw appropriate clothing on Tilley for each season.
  
• Mini -book – Create your own version of the Grandma and Tilley story.

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