TEACHER'S GUIDE FOR:

100 Day

By Anastasia Suen
Illustrations by Christine Powers

Focus: Concepts of Print

• one-to-one matching
• story told by pictures and captions
• using an exclamation point

Supportive Text Features

• familiar concept
• text in white box in lower left hand corner of page

High-frequency Words: is, day, we, to, with

Getting Ready to Read

1. Introduce the concept and vocabulary by asking open-ended questions:
   • Tell me some things we do in school.
   • Why is the 100th day of school special?
         
2. Connect children’s past experiences with the book vocabulary:
   • Hold the book, calling children’s attention to the title. Read: “100 Day.”
   • Give children the book and have them look at the pictures.
   • Ask them what they see the class doing.
3. Remind children of the strategies they know and can use with unfamiliar words:
   • Ask them, “What will you do if you come to a word you don’t know?”
   • Encourage children to look at the pictures and the beginning sound of the word.
4. Be aware of the following text features:
   • The book contains only four lines of text.
   • Pictures tell most of the story.
   • The four sentences contain familiar words and match the pictures.
   • Sentences serve as captions.    

Reading the Book

1. Set a purpose by having children look at the picture first and then read the sentence.

2. Have children read quietly, but out loud. Each child should be reading at his or her own pace. Children should not read in chorus. Listen to children as they read by leaning close or bending down beside each child.

3. Look for these reading behaviors during the first reading:
   • Do the words they say match the printed words in the book? (voice to print match)
   • Do they look at the pictures before they read the text or after they read?
   • What do they do if they encounter an unfamiliar word? (appeal to you, try a strategy)
   • Do their eyes go up to the picture before reading the new word in the pattern?
   • Are they saying the initial sounds of words before saying the whole word?
   • Are they saying the individual letter sounds /c/ - /o/ - /u/ - /n/ - /t/ or blending the sounds?
   • Do they reread if they come to an unfamiliar or unknown word?
   • Have they self-corrected any mistakes?
   • Is there any inflection or speech-like sound to their reading?
   • Have they responded with a laugh or other sound as they read the text?
   • Do they make comments as they read?

4. As children read, suggest a reading strategy if they are struggling: “Try looking at the picture to make sense of the print.” Encourage children to take a guess or use the beginning letter sound.

5. Possible teaching points to address based on your observations:
   • Notice words with capital letters.
   • Use a finger or marker to help move from the end of one line of text to the beginning of the next line.
   • Ask and answer a question.

After the First Reading

1. Have children confirm their predictions about the story.

2. Focus children’s attention to the white space surrounding the sentences. Talk about whether or not this feature made it easier for them to read the text.

3. Talk about the captions that go with the pictures. Discuss what is happening in the picture and whether or not the words match the activities. Brainstorm other sentences that might be put under each picture.

4. Make connections between what children in the story did for 100 day and what your class did or will do for the 100th day of school.

Second Reading

1. Have children reread the book in a whisper voice or to a partner.

2. This is a time for assessment. While they are reading, watch what children do and what they use from the teaching time. Alternatively, you might take a running record on one student as an assessment of the student’s reading behavior.

Cross-Curricular Activities   
   
Art: Help children make and decorate a 100-day hat. Have them write the numeral 100 on a square piece of colored oak tag and decorate it with favorite stickers.  Cut a 3” strip of construction paper long enough to go around each child’s head. Staple it to the unfinished side of the colored oak tag to form a graduation style cap. (A cloth skullcap may be substituted for the strip of construction paper.) Photograph the group wearing their hats and place on a “100 Day” bulletin board.
    
Math: Children make a 100-Day necklace, looping dry cereal and beads on a string. Have children count out 10 cereal loops and put them in a cup. Next, have children put the 10 pieces on a string or piece of yarn followed by a bead. Repeat the process, counting out 10 cereal loops, stringing them, and stringing one bead until children string 100 pieces in all. The beads will allow children to count by tens and keep track of how many cereal loops are on the necklace.

Science: Compare the weight of 100 pennies, 100 cotton balls, 100 marbles, and 100 wooden toothpicks. Discuss why the groups do not weigh the same. Tell children what each object is made out of and have them brainstorm other items that are made of metal, cloth, glass, and wood. Ask: “What are the properties of each material?”    

Social Studies: Investigate how your community honors people who turn 100 on their birthday. Compare the way the class celebrates the 100th day of school with the way a person might celebrate his or her 100th birthday.    

Writing: Have children make a list of 100 ways to celebrate the 100th day of school.    

EL DÍA 100

Guided Reading™: C        DRA: 3        Reading Recovery®: 4

The book introduction and guided reading lesson follow the outline for the English edition. Children need exactly the same support and strategy instruction as their English-speaking classmates.

Be aware that many children speak dialects or may mix Spanish and English. During the introduction, help children understand that “book language” does not always match the words we use every day. In this story, the word hasta may pose a problem. Use the word to direct children in counting from one to 10 or 20.

If children have difficulty with concepts or words in the story, see the article “Guided Reading with Emergent Readers” for suggestions.

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