Beginning Reader Literacy Lesson Plan

Lost in the Fog Written by Donna Taylor and Illustrated by Allan Eitzen
Kristi Fletcher
Goal: Increased Sight Word Recognition and Fluency
Guided Reading & Discussion 15-20 minutes
At the beginning of the lesson guided reading and discussion serve to introduce
students to themes in literature, concept of story, and elements of literacy. The book is
introduced and the title is used as a predictor for story theme. The students participate by
providing interpretations of the title and connecting those predictions to their prior knowledge.
The teacher scaffolds discussion by asking specific questions about the term fog and evokes
from students what it feels like to walk or drive through the fog. Sensory concepts of word are
made explicit and the students can engage with the emotional content of the book better
through this initial vocabulary prepping.
The teacher creates a bridge for empathy with the characters by presenting the theme
of being lost. The teacher asks students to share moments when they have been lost and
what feelings those evoked. The teacher asks how they found their way book, hinting at
another concept of the story to be noticed through the reading. Further analysis of the cover
illustration allows students to engage in robust predictions.
As the teacher reads through the story special emphasis is given to conflict and
resolution. Pauses are used to ask students to evaluate how the characters respond to being
lost. Empathy primed earlier is used to help students put themselves in the characters place
and make additional interpretations of their actions and motivation. At the end of the telling
the teacher engages students in a grand conversation about the difficult situation the
characters found themselves in. Students are asked to give evaluations of the characters
decisions. The teacher listens patiently and encourages students to connect with the book, as
well as negotiate meaning on aspects of the story they did not understand.

Easy Reading/ Repeated Readings 5-10 minutes

Students are given time to re-read the story using the skills and overall concepts
developed during readings with the class. This opportunity allows the teacher to differentiate
instruction for students who may need additional help. ESL students can re-read page 5
specifically where exclamations help give clues as to what the characters are thinking. Explicitly
teaching this aspect of prosody may be necessary to help ESL students understand underlying
meaning. The teacher can ask students to explain the feelings of the expressions- engaging the
student in discussion over meaningful content which they are highly motivated to talk about.
The students can be asked to re-read the exclamations dramatically in order to practice the
specific skills learned.
Additional readings with students give opportunity to focus on aspects of grammar in
language. Re-reading pages 2 to 4 focusing on the And they did construction can help scaffold
a difficult grammar structure. The teacher can explicitly explain that did refers to an action
done in the past. Connections should be made to other forms of the verb do enabling
students to gain further concepts of how verbs change to denote timing. Students can apply
this knowledge by first looking at the sentence Lets go for a walk on page 3 and writing about
what action the characters ended up doing. The teacher can check to see how the students
completed the thought with versions of And they did take a walk.

Word Study 15 minutes

Word study can focus on short o words, especially with the phonogram og. On page 2
the teacher can highlight the sentence A dog, a frog, and a hog sat on a log. The teacher can
model the sound of each of these words by repeating them and asking the students to listen for
the sound. The teacher can ask for volunteers to help find other words in the sentence that
rhyme with the word dog. The teacher can use word cards of the words dog, frog, hog,
and log on a word chart to draw students attention to word similarities. The teacher can ask
students to identify what they notice about the letters in the words. The teacher can explain to

students that most rhyming words end with the same sound and letters. This pattern should
help students to decode similar grammar patterns. Several rhyming sentences can be read
aloud to reinforce this idea.
Dont try to jog through the wet bog.
Did you see that frog jump over the log?
Out of the fog came a hog wearing just one clog.
Students can participate by identifying the rhyming words in each of these sentences. After
stating that the word end in og the teacher can ask students to think of other words they
know that also end in og.
The teacher can then add additional words to the word chart including lost, said,
help, and the. Students can be asked to come up and identify which words do not have the
short o sound or the og phonogram. In order to further practice short o sounds the students
can practice using a short 0 vowel sort. An assessment sort where students are required to
identify the short o vowel pattern in a collection of words can be used to give the teacher
feedback on the literacy development of each student.

Sentence Writing 5-10 minutes

Students can add the words dog, fog, frog, hog, log, help, lost, said, and the
to their personal dictionary, reinforcing language use that comes directly from literature. The
student can use the word wall to help them write the word correctly while simultaneously
focusing on the mechanics of writing the word correctly. Once the students have a good
sample of the word on their page they can illustrate the word above. This gives the students an
opportunity to reinforce the meaning of the word in a creative way. It also enable them to use
the illustrations from the text as reference points for the meanings of the new words.

The teacher can give the students a journal prompt based on the story. This will give
students an opportunity to express their opinion- making the writing process highly motivated.
Students can be asked Write advice for someone who is lost. The teacher can explicitly
explain what advice means if the students need further clarification. They can provide
examples of types of advice for their classmates to hear. The teacher can model writing a
sample sentence by writing her own example of advice on the board. This also provides an
opportunity for the teacher to model correct writing mechanics. The teacher can incorporate
one of the new words to help reinforce new vocabulary. In order to assess students
understanding the teacher can make mistakes as she writes her sample sentence and ask
students to help fix her mistakes. This is a good way of making the writing environment
comfortable and helping students engage in revision of others and their own writing.
The students can use their writing to make lost and found safety posters with advice for
those who are lost. The teacher can advocate using as many phonics and high frequency words
as possible. Students can use the word wall or their personal dictionaries for scaffolding on
spelling and incorporating the new words. The teacher can engage students in a discussion of
the different pieces of advice offered and the students can be asked to predict why the advice
would help people who are lost.

Daily Read Aloud 5-10 minutes

The daily read aloud time is a great opportunity to incorporate the theme of the reading
with social studies. In the story the characters were lost and realized they could get back home
once they found familiar landmarks and surroundings. The teacher can engage students
background knowledge by discussing this theme with the students and extending the
conversation to landmarks near their own homes or in their own towns. The teacher can ask
students what they would use if they needed to see how close to home they were. An

awareness of community and the way spatial orientations create community can be developed
through this initial conversation.
In order to build students fluency and prosody the teacher can read a book aloud which
is above their literacy level. This help students be exposed to new vocabulary and grammar
structures while relating to the illustrations and concept of story they already have some basic
frameworks for understanding. For this lesson Miroslav Saseks classic This is New York
seems to provide an excellent piece of literature for a classroom read aloud. The story follows
one man as he walks through New York and explains various landmarks and aspects of his
community. The text is written almost as a travel guide for children. It not only gives students
an opportunity to use their concepts of landmarks and spatial awareness but it allows them to
contrast the landmarks in their own community with those of New York.
As a follow up activity students can create a map of their own community. The teacher
can help students identify landmarks to include, as well as help them incorporate streets into
their map. The students can explain the map to their classmates engaging in meaningful
dialogue about the content learned in class. First grade VA standards of learning for Social
Studies under Geography can assist the teacher in how to structure and assess this assignment.
Geography
1.4 The student will develop map skills by
a) recognizing basic map symbols, including references to land, water, cities, and roads;
b) using cardinal directions on maps;
c) identifying the shapes of the United States and Virginia on maps and globes;
d) locating Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and Richmond, the capital of
Virginia, on a United States map.
1.5 The student will construct a simple map of a familiar area, using basic map symbols in the
map

legend.
1.6 The student will describe how the location of his/her community, climate, and physical
surroundings affect the way people live, including their food, clothing, shelter, transportation,
and recreation.

Bibliography
Sasek, Miroslav. (2003). This is New York. Universe.
Taylor, D. (1996). Lost in the Fog. NJ: Modern Curriculum Press.
Virginia Standards of Learning:
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/history_socialscience/next_version/st
ds_history1.pdf