B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Teacher’s Guide

• Small Group Reading Lesson • Skills Bank • Reproducible Activities

science 

Anchor Comprehension StrategyDraw Conclusions •

Phonemic AwarenessListening for words that end with /n/ •

Phonics Initial w •

High-Frequency Wordsfor, use, we •

Concept Vocabulary Water words •

Grammar/Word Study Compound words •

Science Big Idea Water is an essential element in our lives. •

skills & strategies

We Use WaterLevel C/3

00083_TG.indd 1 11/15/10 4:23:12 PM

2We Use Water

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Before Reading

Activate Prior KnowledgeEncourage students to draw on prior knowledge and build background for reading the text. Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Ways We Use Water” (left) or copy the organizer on chart paper, leaving the sections blank. Read the title to students. Ask them to predict ways that people use water. Write their ideas in the “Before Reading” section of the chart. Explain that they will come back to the chart after they have read the book.

Preview the BookRead the title and name of the authors to students. Ask:

• What is the boy doing? How is he using water?

Show students the title page. Ask:

• What are these children doing? How are they using water?

Preview the photographs with students, reinforcing the language used in the text. For example, say: The boy is drinking water from a water fountain. He uses water to drink. What do you see on the next page? What does a washing machine do? We use water to wash our clothes.

Set a Purpose for Reading Have students turn to page 2 and whisper-read the book. Say: I want you to read the book to see what ways it says we use water. Monitor students’ reading and provide support when necessary.

Review Reading Strategies Use the cues provided to remind students that they can apply different strategies to identify unfamiliar words.

Small Group Reading Lesson

ViSuAl CueS• Look at the beginning letter.

(w in we and water)• Look for familiar chunks

within the word. (un in fun)

StRuCtuRe CueS• Look for repeated language

patterns. (“We use water...”)

MeAning CueS• Think about what makes

sense in the sentence. • Look at the pictures to

confirm the meaning of the word.

Before Reading

how we use water

to drink

to wash clothes

to take a bath

to cook food

After Reading

how the book says we use water

to drink

to wash clothes

to clean

our hands

to put out fires

for cooking

to wash the car

for the plants

to have fun

Ways We use Water

00083_TG.indd 2 11/15/10 4:23:12 PM

3© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Observe and Prompt Reading StrategiesObserve students as they read the book. Take note of how they are problem-solving on text. Guide, or prompt, individual students who cannot problem-solve independently.

Reflect on Reading StrategiesOnce students have completed their reading, encourage them to discuss the reading strategies they used. Reinforce the good reading behaviors you noticed by saying:

• I noticed, [student’s name], that when you came to a word you didn’t know, you tried to sound it out. Did that help you read the word?

• [Student’s name], I saw that you tried to sound out the word firemen. You looked at the first letter in the word, then you checked the picture. That was good reading.

Build ComprehensionASK And AnSWeR QueStiOnS

Help students review text content and relate it to what they already know by asking some or all of the following questions.

• What does the book say are ways we use water? Let’s write those ways in the “After Reading” section of our prediction chart. (to drink, p. 2; for washing clothes, p. 4; to clean our hands, p. 6; firemen use water, pp. 8–9; for cooking, p. 10; to wash the car, p. 12; for the plants, p. 14; to have fun, p. 16) (Locate facts)

• Let’s look at both sections of our prediction chart. Which things on our list are mentioned in the book? (Answers will vary.) (Compare and contrast)

• How do firemen use water? (Firemen use water to put out fires.) (Make inferences)

• The book doesn’t answer that question. How did you figure out the an swer? (Answers will vary. Students may say they used what they already know about fire fighters.) (Identify sources of information)

• Why is water important? (Answers will vary. Students will probably know that all living things need water to survive.) (Use creative thinking)

We Use Water

Teacher Tip

After Reading

using the Skills BankBased on your observations of students’ reading behaviors, you may wish to select activities from the Skills Bank (pp. 6–9) that will develop students’  reading strategies.

Question typesStudents need to understand that they can use information from various places in the book, as well as background knowledge, to answer different types of questions. These lessons provide four types of questions, designed to give students practice in understanding the relationship between a question and the source of its answer.

•  Questions that require students to go to a specific place in the book. 

•  Questions that require students to integrate information from several sentences, paragraphs, or chapters within the book.

•   Questions that require students to combine background knowledge with information from the book. 

•  Questions that relate to the book topic but require students to use only background knowledge and experience, not information from the book.

 

During Reading

00083_TG.indd 3 11/15/10 4:23:12 PM

4We Use Water

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Build ComprehensionClASSify And CAtegORize

Model Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Ways We Use Water” or copy the chart on the board. Explain that one way to organize information is to group things that are alike in some way. Point out that the book tells about ways we use water. Those ways can be put into groups. Model for students how to group the information and record it on the chart. Use the following think-aloud.

Sometimes when I read, I notice that the information can be put into groups. Grouping things that are alike in some way will help me remember the information. I can use a graphic organizer like this to decide how things are alike. The title of the chart is “Ways We Use Water.” I want to put the ways we use water into three groups. Look at the words at the top of the three columns. These name the groups: “to clean things,” “to keep things alive,” and “to have fun.” Now I read the first entry in the “Activities” column—“to drink.” In which of the three groups should I put “to drink”? Does drinking water clean things? No. Does drinking water keep things alive? I know that people have to drink water to live. So drinking water does keep things alive. I will put a check mark in the box under that heading. Now let’s read the next entry and decide what group to put it in.

Practice and Apply Guide students as they read the next way we use water and decide in which column to put a check mark. If you think students can complete the chart independently, distribute copies and monitor their work. Allow time for students to share their recorded information.

MonitoringComprehension•  Are students able to revisit 

the text to locate specific answers to text-dependent questions? If they are having difficulty, show them how to match the wording of the question to the wording in the text. 

•  Are students able to find answers to questions that require a search of the text? If they are having difficulty, model how you would search for the answer. 

•  Can students combine their background knowledge with information from the text to make inferences? If they are having difficulty, model  how you would answer the question. 

•  Are students’ answers to creative questions logical and relevant to the topic?

•  Do students’ completed graphic organizers reflect an ability to use shared characteristics to classify and categorize information? If students are having difficulty, provide more modeling. 

Teacher Tip

Small Group Reading Lesson (continued)

Ways We use Water

Activities

  to drink    ✓

  to wash our clothes  ✓

  to clean our hands  ✓

  to put out fires    ✓

  for cooking    ✓

  to wash the car  ✓

  for the plants    ✓

  to play in      ✓

to Clean things

to Keep things Alive

to Have fun

00083_TG.indd 4 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

5We Use Water

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

interactive WritingHave students use the information from their graphic organizer “Ways We Use Water” to write sentences about how we use water. Say: The book tells us about ways we use water. Our graphic organizer lists all the ways the book mentions. Let’s think of a sentence that tells how we use water. (Possible sentences include “We use water to clean things.” and “We drink water.”) Repeat the sentence aloud several times with students so they can internalize the language pattern. Collaborate with them to write the sentence on chart paper or on the board one word at a time. Start by saying the first word slowly. Ask: What sound do you hear at the beginning of this word? What other sounds do you hear? Let students write the known sounds in each word, then fill in the remaining letters for them. Continue until the sentence is completed.

Write independentlyHave students write their own sentence based on the book. Encourage them to articulate words slowly, use spaces between words, and write known words fluently.

When students have completed their sentences, conference with them individually. Validate their knowledge of known words and letter/sound correspondences by placing a light check mark above students’ contributions. Provide explicit praise as you write the message conventionally for students to see.

Reread for fluencyAsk students to reread We Use Water with a partner. Have them take turns reading alternate pages. Then ask them to take turns reading the whole book to each other.

Connect to HomeHave students read the take-home version of We Use Water to family members. Suggest that they ask family members to talk about other ways people use water.

Teacher TipModeling fluency •  Read sections of the book 

aloud to students to model  fluent reading of the text. 

•  Model using appropriate  phrasing, intonation, volume, expression, and rate. 

•  Have students listen to you read a portion of the text and then read it back to you.

√√ √√ √√√√ √√ √√ √ √√√ √√√

We u s w a t r t o w a c h t h e c a r .

We use water to wash the car.

00083_TG.indd 5 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

Phonemic Awareness: listening for words that end with /n/Say the word clean. Ask students to listen carefully to the sound at the end of the word. Say clean again. Then say the word can and ask students if can ends with the same sound as clean. Tell students that you will say some words. They are to say “yes” if a word ends with /n/ and “no” if a word ends with another sound. Say these words: water, firemen, car, fun, wash, plan, put.

Phonics: initial wWrite the word water on the board. Say the word and have students repeat it. Ask them what sound they hear at the beginning of the word. (/w/) Underline the letter w and point out that w makes the /w/ sound in water. Ask students to find other words in the book that begin with the letter w and the sound /w/. (we, washing, wash) Write the words on the board and underline each w. Then ask students to think of other words that begin with the letter w and the sound /w/. Write the words on the board. Have volunteers underline the w in each word.

Concepts About PrintHave students turn to page 2 in the book. Say: There is one capital letter on this page. Show me the capital letter. After students have pointed to the capital W, ask them how they knew it was a capital letter. (It is a big letter, bigger than the other letters.) Ask students to find the lowercase w on the page. Then write W and w side by side on the board. Point out that in this case the only difference between the capital and lowercase letters is their size. Have students look through familiar books and find other pairs of capital and lowercase letters to add to the board.

6We Use Water

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Skills Bank

waterwe

washingwash

waitwalkwebwing

WBTD

wbtd

00083_TG.indd 6 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

7

High-frequency Word VocabularyWrite the words we, use, and for on the board. Tell students that you are thinking of one of the words. Give them a clue: This word has two letters. Ask them what the word is. Repeat with another word and another clue: This word ends with /r/. Divide students into three groups and give each group one of the words. Have each group think of a new clue for their word. When groups are ready, have them share their clues while the other groups guess the word.

Concept Vocabulary: Water wordsRecall with students that they have talked about many ways we use water. Have them brainstorm words associated with water. Ask: What do you think of when I say the word water? Suggest that students think of words that tell what we use water for, what water looks and feels like, where water is found, and so on. Record students’ suggestions on the board. Possible words are wet, rain, river, wash, ocean, waves, flood, clean, drink, thirsty, ice, swim, cold, and fun. Then assign one word to each student. Ask them to draw a picture that they can label with their word.

Word Study: Compound wordsWrite the words fire and men on the board and read them aloud. Talk with students about the meanings of both words. Then write the word firemen and read it aloud. Explain to students that when two words are put together to make a new word, the word is called a compound word. Talk about what the word firemen means and how that meaning is related to the meanings of the two small words. Ask students to name other compound words or look for compound words in familiar books. Possible words are flashlight, backyard, upstairs, homework, outside, and newspaper. Write the words students offer on the board and divide each into its two component words, or have volunteers do so.

f lash/lightback/yardup/stairs

home/workout/side

news/paper

Copyright © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 

ISBN# 978-1-4108-0008-4

weusefor

00083_TG.indd 7 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

Skills Bank

8We Use Water

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Build ComprehensiondRAW COnCluSiOnS

explain • Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “We Use Water” or draw it on the board. Say: An author can’t give us every bit of information in a book. We figure out some things on our own, using the author’s words and photographs as clues. Figuring out something using three or more clues is called drawing a conclusion.

Model • Say: Let’s draw a conclusion about We Use Water. On pages 4 and 5, we see that we use water to wash clothes. On pages 6 and 7, we see that we use water to clean our hands. On pages 12 and 13, we see that we use water to wash our cars. Record this evidence in the first Clues box on the graphic organizer. Say: Now we need to use the clues to draw a conclusion. I see that these three clues have to do with washing. We can conclude that we use water to wash many things. Write this in the first Conclusion box.

guide • Say: Now let’s draw a conclusion about another important use for water. Look at pages 2 and 3. The boy is drinking water from a water fountain. What other pages show water being used for eating or drinking? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, pages 10 and 11 show water being used to cook food. Pages 14 and 15 show water being used for plants. Record this evidence in the second Clues box on the graphic organizer. Then ask: What can we figure out from these clues? (Again allow time for students to respond.) Yes, we can conclude that people and plants need water. Write this in the second Conclusion box.

Apply • Ask students to work with a partner to draw another conclusion from the book. Remind them to use word and photographic clues to figure out things the author doesn’t say. After the partnerships share, record their ideas on the graphic organizer. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo-read.

00083_TG.indd 8 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

name _______________________________________________________  date __________________

©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCWe Use Water

We use WaterDraw Conclusions

Clues Conclusion

00083_TG.indd 9 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

Notes

We Use Water©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC10

00083_TG.indd 10 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

Notes

11©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCWe Use Water

00083_TG.indd 11 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

name _______________________________________________________  date __________________

Ways We use Water

Activities

  to  drink   

  to  wash  our  clothes 

  to  clean  our  hands 

  to  put  out  fires   

  for  cooking   

  to  wash  the  car 

  for  the  plants   

  to  play  in     

to Clean things

to Keep things Alive

to Have fun

00083_TG.indd 12 11/15/10 4:23:13 PM