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 Guidexplorers

For students reading at Literacy Level I/16, including:

English-language learners •Students reading below grade level •First-grade readers •

Metacognitive/Fix-Up StrategyStop, think, and write •

VocabularyRecognize high-frequency words •Develop Tier Two vocabulary •Develop Tier Three vocabulary •

Grammar, Word Study, and Language Development

Use adjectives •Use homonyms • Recognize the sentence structures • A(n) ____ has ____ and Many people ____.

Phonics Problem-solve by searching all the way •through wordsRecognize words with variant vowel • /är/

FluencyRead commas •

WritingWrite to a picture prompt •Write to a text prompt •

skills & strategies

Anchor Comprehension StrategyCompare and contrast •

Theme: communitiesComparing Two Cities (F/9) •People Work in Our Community (G/11) •Rural Communities (H/13) •

social studies Big idea:Readers learn about urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Types of CommunitiesLevel I/16

Introduce the Book• Give each student a copy of the book.

Remind students they will read about different types of communities. Pre­view the book, encouraging students to interact with the pictures and text on each page as you emphasize the elements from the page 3 chart that will best support their understanding of the book’s language, concepts, and organization. (Items in bold print in clude sample “teacher talk.”)

• Use a Graphic Organizer Draw a circle on the board and write the word Communities in the center. Read the word. Then attach three outer circles to create a concept web. Say: We will learn about three types of commu ni­ties. After we read, we will fill in the name of each type of com munity. We will also write where we find each type.

Before Reading

Make Connections and Build Background• Use Art Say: We will read a book

about different types of communities. Draw a simple sketch of a building, such as a post office. Say: Our com­munity has a post office. People can buy stamps and mail letters at the post office. Invite students to add other types of buildings to the drawing and tell the group what people in a community can do there.

Related ResourcesThe following Benchmark Education resources support this lesson.

Other Early Explorers Books• What Do Communities Have? (A/1)• Our School Community (C/4)• Jobs in a Community (D/6)• A Community Has Homes (E/8)• A Visit to the United Nations (J/18)• Sharing Our Stories (J/18)• The Red Cross (L/24)

Fluency and Language Development• Types of Communities Audio CD

Comprehension Resources• Types of Communities question card• Power Tool Flip Chart for Teachers• Student Bookmark• Compare and Contrast poster

Assessment• Early Explorers Overview &

Assessment Handbook• Grade 1 Comprehension Strategy

Assessment Book

Communities

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCTypEs of CommuniTiEs2

© 2008 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. Printed in Canada.ISBN: 978­1­60437­494­0

Pages Text and Graphic Features

Words to Discuss

English/Spanish Cognates

Sentence Structures

Cover title, author, photos

1 title, author, table of contents, photo

2–3 photos ranch, rural community, shopping mall, suburban community, subway, urban community

4 chapter head, photos, caption

community community/ la comunidad

5 photos, labels buildings A(n) _____ has _____.

6chapter head, photos, captions

urban, city

7 photo, caption apartmentsapartment/ el apartamento

8 photos, captions stores

9 photos trains, buses, subwaystrain/el tren, bus/el autobús

10chapter head, photos, captions

suburban Many people _____.

11 photos, caption fewer

12 photo, caption shopping malls

13 photo, caption cars car/el carro

14chapter head, photo, inset photo

rural, villages, farms, ranches

15 photo, caption stores

16 photos alike, different, typedifferent/diferente, type/el tipo

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC TypEs of CommuniTiEs 3

Rehearse Reading Strategies• Say: One word in this book is

different. Say the word different. What letters do you expect to see after /d/? Allow time for students to respond, assisting as needed. Then ask them to find the word different on page 6. Say: Search all the way through a word to help you when you read.

• Remind students to use other reading strategies that they are learning as well, such as looking at the pictures for additional information or rereading part of the sentence if something doesn’t sound right.

Set a Purpose for Reading• Direct students’ attention to the web.

Say: Now it’s time to whisper­read the book. Read to learn about three different types of communities.

Before Reading (continued)

• Pages 2–3 Words to Discuss Ask students to point to each photograph as you say its matching label. Repeat the process, inviting students to echo­read. After students Think/Pair/Share what they know about each word, fill in any missing details. Say: We will see these words in the book.

• Page 4 Spanish Cognate Ask: Does community sound like a word you know in Spanish? (Allow time for students to respond.) The English word community sounds like the Spanish word la communidad. Community and la communidad mean the same thing. What is your favorite place in our community? (Allow time for students to respond.) Write the word community on the board and ask students to locate it on page 4 in the book.

• Page 5 Sentence Structure Write A(n) ____ has ____ on the board. Read the sentence structure aloud and ask students to repeat it several times. Say: We use this sentence structure to describe something. Model using the sentence structure to tell about the photographs, such as A school has windows or A fire station has trucks. Then assist students in forming their own sentences using the structure. Say: This sentence structure is in the book. Can you find the structure on page 5? Frame the sentence. Let’s read the sentence together.

• Page 14 Graphic Feature Say: This page has an inset photo. An inset photo shows a detail about a bigger pho tograph. What does the big pho­to graph show? (a rural community) What does the close­up photograph show? (people and animals that live in the community)

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Observe and Prompt Reading Strategies• After the supportive introduction,

students should be able to read all or most of the book on their own. Observe students as they read. Take note of the graphophonic, syntactic, and semantic cues they use to make sense of the text and self­correct. Prompt individual students who have difficulty problem­solving independ­ently, but be careful not to prompt English­language learners too quickly. They may need more time to process the text as they rely on their first language for comprehension.

Use the Graphic Organizer to Summarize• Ask students to think about their

reading. Say: Look at our web. What are the three types of communities? As students respond, record the names of the three types of communities in the outer circles on the web. Ask: Where is each type of community located? Again, record students’ responses. Choral­read the entire web. Then ask students to use the graphic organizer to tell a partner about the book.

During Reading After Reading

Cue Source Prompt Example Page

Graphophonic Search all the way through the word. Are you blending the right sounds?

travel 9

Syntactic Think about the book’s sentence structure. Use the structure to make this sentence sound right.

An urban community has many stores.

8

Semantic What do you see in the picture that would make sense in this sentence?

drive 13

Communities

Suburban— near a large

city

Urban— in a large

city

Rural— often far

from a city

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC TypEs of CommuniTiEs 5

After Reading (continued)

Reading Strategy Mini-Lesson: Stop, Think, and Write• Reflect Ask: Did you understand

what you read? What parts were hard to understand? How did you help yourself?

• Model Say: I want to understand what I read. I use a strategy called stop, think, and write. I stop to think about the reading. Then I write my thoughts. Look at page 6. Let’s read together: An urban community has many people. The people come from different places. I think about something when I read these words and look at the photographs. Many people choose to live in an urban community. I will write this important detail. Model how to do so, and then explain that writing important details helps you remember what you read.

• Guide Invite students to read page 7 with you. Ask: What is one important detail about the tall buildings in an urban community? Do you have a question about the information? What would you like to learn more about? What part could you say in your own words? Record students’ responses, providing assistance if they need help composing their ideas. Say: Writing my thoughts and questions helps me understand the text.

• Apply Ask each student to turn to his or her favorite page, read the page to a partner, share a thought aloud, and write it down. Observe students as they stop, think, and write, providing assis tance if needed. See the Early Explorers Overview & Assessment Handbook for an observation chart you can use to assess students’ under­

standing of the monitor­reading strat­egy. Then say: You can stop, think, and write any time you read. Remem­ber to stop, think, and write to help you understand.

Answer Text-Dependent Questions• Explain Remind students they can

answer questions about books they have read. Say: We answer different types of questions in different ways. I will help you learn how to answer each type. Tell students today they will practice answering Prove It! questions. Say: The answer to a Prove It! ques­tion is not stated in the book. You have to look for clues and evidence to prove the answer.

• Model Use the first Prove It! question on the question card. Say: I will read the question to figure out what to do: People can buy more things in urban and suburban communities. How can you tell? This question asks me to make an inference. I know because the question asks about something that is not explained in the book. I already know that an inference has only one or two clues. What words in the question will help me? (Allow student responses.) Yes, I need to find clues and evidence about things people can buy in urban and suburban communities. Model looking through the book. Say: On page 15 I read that people in rural communities visit urban or suburban communities to buy things. The cap tion says people can get some things in a rural community. These clues suggest that the stores in rural com munities do not have as many things as the stores in urban and suburban communities. I have located the clues and evidence

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I need. The clues support my answer. The answer makes sense.

• Guide Ask students to answer the other questions on the question card. Use the Power Tool Flip Chart and Student Bookmark to provide addi­tional modeling as needed. Remind students to ask themselves: What is the question asking? How can I find the answer? Does my answer make sense? How do I know?

Build Comprehension: Compare and Contrast• Explain Create an overhead trans­

parency of the graphic organizer on page 12 or draw it on the board. Label the columns All Communities Have . . ., Urban Communities Have . . ., Suburban Communities Have . . ., and Rural Communities Have . . .. Say: Nonfiction books sometimes tell how things are alike and different. We compare by telling how things are alike. We contrast by telling how things are different.

• Model Say: Let’s figure out how communities are alike and different. Ask students to turn to pages 4 and 5. Say: We read that people live, work, and have fun in a community. A com munity has things people need. A community has buildings. These are ways all communities are alike. Write these details in the first column under All Communities Have . . .. Then ask students to turn to pages 6 and 7. Say: Urban communities are different from other types of communities. Urban communities have many people and many tall buildings. Write these details in the second column under Urban Communities Have . . ..

• Guide Say: Let’s find some other ways urban communities are different. What do we learn about urban com munities on pages 8 and 9? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, urban communities have many stores. Urban communities have trains, buses, and subways. We can add these facts under Urban Communities Have . . . on the graphic organizer.

• Apply Ask students to work with a partner to find ways suburban commu­nities and rural communities are differ­ent. If more support is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process for pages 10–13 and 14–15. Finally, read the completed graphic organizer aloud and invite students to echo­read.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC TypEs of CommuniTiEs 7

After Reading (continued)

Home Connection• Give students the take­home version of

Types of Communities to read to fam­ily members. Encourage students to work with a friend or family member to draw a picture showing something they would see in a rural, urban, or suburban community. Invite them to bring their pictures to share with the group.

Reader ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. Model and use think­alouds as needed to scaffold students before they try the activities on their own. • Tell what you saw in your mind as you

read the book.• Tell something you learned from

the book. • Tell why you think the author included

many photographs in the book.• Rate the book with a 1 (don’t like),

2 (okay), or 3 (like a lot). Tell why you chose that rating.

• Write a question you would like to ask about rural, suburban, or urban communities.

• Write a word that describes each type of community.

Write to a Picture Prompt• Describe a Place Tell students that

they will talk about a picture from the book. Then they will write about the picture. Ask them to turn to page 7. Say: I can use this picture to describe a place in the book: The city sky­scrapers stand straight and tall like trees. Now I will write my idea. Model writing your sentence on the board. Ask students to use a picture to tell a partner about a place in the book. Allow time for students to share their descriptions, providing assistance as needed. Then say: You used a pic ture to tell about a place in the book. Now write your idea. When you finish, read your writing to a partner.

Write to a Text Prompt• Retell Say: Think about your favorite

part of the book. Then write about your favorite part in your own words. When you finish, read your writing to a partner.

Phonics: Variant Vowel /är/• Ask students to locate the word large

on page 6. Write large on the board and circle the letters “ar.” Say: The letters “ar” in the middle of the word large sound like the word are. Slowly draw your finger under the word as you say the sounds. Then ask students to do the same in their books. Repeat the process with apartments on page 7, cars on page 13, farms on page 14, and are on page 16.

• Ask students to brainstorm words that have the /är/ sound. Write the words on index cards. Then spread the cards out in a pocket chart or on a table. Read each word, inviting students to echo­read.

Mini-Lessonsfor Differentiating Instruction

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCTypEs of CommuniTiEs8

• Say: Find the word that completes my sentence. Then pick up the matching card. Model the process using one of the suggested words, such as Cats can see in the ____. (dark) Then invite each student to make up a sentence with one of the /är/ words.

Vocabulary• Tier Two Vocabulary Pronounce the

word basic and ask students to repeat it. Say: We need certain things every day to live a happy and healthy life. A community helps people get these basic things, such as homes, jobs, and food. Discuss other basic things communities should have, such as streets or roads and clean water. Then model a sentence, such as Pencils, paper, and books are basic things we use at school. Invite students to share their own sentences, providing assis­tance as needed. Ask: What word have we been talking about? Yes—basic. Let’s try to use the word basic many times today. We can use the word at school and at home.

• Tier Three Vocabulary Review the book with students and write the phrases rural community, suburban community, and urban community on the board. Record the words farm, ranch, buildings, shopping mall, skyscraper, city, stores, and subway on index cards. Ask students to read the words with you. Mix the word cards and place them facedown on the table. Choose a card and model an oral sentence using the word with one of the phrases on the board. Invite students to take turns choosing a card and making up their own sentences.

Continue the game until each student has had several turns. For additional practice, students may work as a group or in pairs to complete the vocabulary activity on page 11.

Grammar, Word Study, and Language DevelopmentAdjectives

• Model Explain that authors some­times use describing words when they write. Tell students words that describe nouns are adjectives. Ask them to turn to page 5. Say: The author says stores are in most communities. Many com­munities have schools, fire stations, and banks. The words most and many describe the number of com­munities that have these things. I can use the adjectives most and many, too. Point to objects in the classroom as you model simple sen­tences, such as: I have many books on my desk. Most of the books are from the school library.

• Guide Invite students to read the third and fourth sentences on page 8 with you. Ask: Which words are adjectives? (large, small) Why are large and small adjectives? (Large and small describe the sizes of the stores.) What could you describe with the adjective large? What could you describe with the adjective small?

• Apply Write the last sentence from page 6 on the board and underline the adjective different. Invite student partners to make up their own sen­tences using the word different. Repeat the process for the last sen tence on page 7 (some, tall) and the last sentence on page 13 (suburban, fewer).

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Homonyms

• Model Explain that some words are spelled alike and sound alike but have different meanings. Tell students that these words are homonyms. Ask them to turn to page 5. Say: One photograph shows a bank. The word bank is a homonym. A bank can be the ground along the edge of a river. A bank can also be a building where people keep money. I think the photograph shows a building where people keep money. This meaning of the word makes sense in the book.

• Guide Invite students to read page 16 with you. Ask: Which word is a homo­nym? (type) What does type mean here? (one kind) What else could the word type mean? (writing by touching the keys on a computer keyboard)

• Apply Pair students. Ask them to find homonyms on pages 8 (stores), 12 (place), and 13 (drive). Then invite partners to act out two different mean ings of one of the words. If more sup port is needed, utilize all or part of the “Guide” process instead.

Fluency: Read Commas• Say: When we read, we do not run

all of the words together. Instead, we watch for commas to see when we should pause.

• Ask students to turn to page 5. Read the third sentence without pausing. Then read the sentence again, pausing at the commas. Say: I paused twice because I saw two commas. Pausing makes the sentence sound right. Pausing also helps me understand that the author is listing three more things communities have. Read the sentence again, asking students to echo­read.

• Ask students to turn to page 9 and point to the commas. Then choral­read the page with them, pausing at the commas. Ask: How many types of transportation does the author list on this page? Repeat the process for the second sentence on page 13 and the second sentence on page 16.

• Invite students to take turns rereading Types of Communities with a partner. Remind them to pause when they see a comma so their reading will sound right and make sense.

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Name: Date:

Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks. Use the words from the box. Then read the paragraph to a partner.

farm rural shopping mall skyscrapers suburban urban

An __________________ community has many people.

The community is in a large city. The community may have

tall buildings called __________________. A __________________

community has many people, too. The community is near a

large city. The community often has a __________________ with

many stores. A __________________ community is often far

from a city. People in this type of community may live

on a __________________.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC TypEs of CommuniTiEs11

Name: Date:

Types of Communities

All Communities Have . . .

Urban Communities

Have . . .

Suburban Communities

Have . . .

Rural Communities

Have . . .

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