Westward to Oregon - Rigby

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
WARMING UP
Begin the lesson by rereading a familiar Big Book or poetry chart.You may wish to
ask a volunteer to pick a favorite.
SETTING THE SCENE
• Tap into children’s prior knowledge.
Have you ever moved or taken a long trip with your family? What was it like? How did
you feel? What do you think a long trip in a covered wagon would be like?
• Introduce the book and provide children with an overview.
• Make predictions about the book. Invite children to look at the cover.
Tell me about what you see on the cover. Have you ever seen wagons like these? When
did you see them? What might Lizzie’s family see on their journey?
READING THE TEXT
1. Read the title page. Prompt children to predict what will happen in this book.
Tell your neighbor what kind of trouble you think the people in a wagon train might
encounter on a long journey like this.
2. Use a pointer as you read the Big Book.You may also want to read the words of
the different characters in different voices. Allow children ample time to view the
illustrations without interrupting the flow of the story.
3. Before turning to page 12,ask:
What do you think Mama will do if Papa is not back by morning? How do you think
Lizzie feels? How can you tell how she feels? How would you feel?
Allow children opportunities to express their opinions and experience the
suspense of the story as you read the rest of the book.
RETURNING TO THE TEXT
1. Discuss the story. Use open-ended questions.
Why do you think Mama treated Lizzie differently than Papa did? Why do you think
Mama decided to stay behind when the wagon train left in the morning? Were you
surprised? What would you have done?
2. Reread sections of the book. Invite children to read some of the dialogues.
Remember,the reading should be focused on enjoyment.
SMALL-GROUP/INDEPENDENT WORK
Introduce children to various center activities that will accompany your class study of
this book. (You may wish to delay the introduction of the Word Zone until you have
introduced inflected endings on Day 4.) Each child may then choose his or her own
activity,or you may wish to assign activities to each group. Use this time to meet with
guided reading groups.
SHARING TIME
Set aside a brief amount of sharing time,five to ten minutes,at the end of the session.
Invite volunteers to share with the class what they learned while participating in
Small-Group/Independent Work. Invite children to tell their classmates something
they had difficulty with and what they did to problem solve. ✓
✓
Coaching Point
Display a map of North America
and invite volunteers to locate
Oregon and where you are. Then
explain that most wagon trains
traveling the Oregon Trail started
their journey in Missouri. Use the
map’s scale to point out the
distance between the two states.
Coaching Point
Children may have difficulty
understanding who is speaking,
because some of the quotations
do not have dialogue tags. Point
out that the author begins a
new paragraph each time a
different character speaks.
✓Assessment
These questions may be used on
any day during sharing time to
gather information about
children’s learning and interests
during center time.
• Describe the wagon you
made in the Artist’s Studio.
• Tell me about the books
you read in the Book
Nook. Were there any
books similar to Westward
to Oregon?
• Did you write in your
journal? If so, what
descriptive phrases with
sensory details did you
include?
• Which words with -ed did
you make in the Word
Zone? With -ing? What are
their root words?
Westward to Oregon 51