TEACHER'S GUIDE FOR:

Where is my Puppy?

By Caroline Hatton
Illustrations by Hideko Takahashi

Focus: Concepts of Print and Reading Strategies

• reading a patterned sentence
• reading a question
• sequencing
• using question marks and an exclamation point

Supportive Text Features

• familiar words and concept
• patterned sentence
• strong picture/text match

High-frequency Words: where, is, my, he, in, the, here

Getting Ready to Read

1. Introduce the concept and vocabulary by asking open-ended questions:
   • Where might you look for a lost puppy?
   • Tell me what you would do if your puppy were lost.
2. Connect children’s past experiences with the book vocabulary:
   • Hold the book. Call children’s attention to the title. Read: “Where Is My Puppy?”
   • Have them predict what might happen in the story and suggest some story words.
   • Give children the book and have them look at the pictures.
   • Ask them what they see happening in the pictures.
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 patterned sentence is in the form of a question: “Is he in the bed?”
   • Only one word changes on each page.
   • The new words are familiar: bed, tub, yard, car, kitchen.
   • The first and last sentences are different: “Where is my puppy?” and “Here is my puppy!” Notice that a question mark is used in the first sentence and an exclamation point is used in the last sentence.
   • The puppy appears in every picture, but not where the boy is looking.

Reading the Book

1. Set a purpose by telling children to find out how the boy found his puppy.

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 /y/ - /a/ - /r/ - /d/ or blending the sounds?
   • Do they reread if they come to an unfamiliar or unknown word?
   • Have they self-corrected any mistakes?
   • Do they use the question mark to affect how they read the sentences?
   • 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:
   • Use the question mark as an indication of how to say the sentence.
   • Read the words like the boy might say them—inflection to enhance meaning.

After the First Reading

1. Have children retell the story in their own words. They will be making inferences and drawing conclusions based on the pictures and the words read.

2. Focus children’s attention on the word “in” which appears in the patterned sentence. Discuss what other words might be substituted: on, under, near, behind, etc.

3. Have children find the puppy on each page. Ask them: “Where is the puppy?” and have them answer using the appropriate preposition (on, under, next to, behind, etc.)

4. Look at the cover and brainstorm some other things the boy might be saying.

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

Music: Teach children the song, “Did You Ever See a Lassie?” changing the words to “Did you ever see my puppy?” Add verses to the song based on the book.    
    
Art: Make a puppy sock puppet, attaching felt ears, wiggly eyes, and a felt tongue with glue. Use the puppets to play a hide and seek game that encourages children to ask, “Where is my puppy?” and answer with a sentence that uses a preposition: He is “under” the bed. (next to, on, in, near, by, behind)

Math: Ask children to bring a stuffed animal to school. Make simple bar graphs, recording the animals’ sizes, colors, shapes, etc.     

Science: Generate a list of living things and then discuss the needs of living things. Make a chart of what all living things need. Return to the story and talk about how the family meets the needs of the puppy.

Social Studies: Discuss which animals make the best pets. Make a list of a pet owner’s responsibilities. Compare and contrast the responsibilities of taking care of different pets. Visit a pet store or invite a veterinarian to talk about caring for a puppy.    

Writing: Read CAN I KEEP HIM? by Steven Kellogg. Have children write about a pet they would like to have and how they might take care of it.

¿DÓNDE ESTÁ MI PERRITO?

Guided Reading™: B        DRA: 2        Reading Recovery®: 2

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 yard in the English edition is jardín, translated as garden, in the Spanish edition.

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