Skills Unit 2 Teacher Guide - EngageNY

Text from Student Reader
• The text of the Student
Reader is reproduced
here for your convenience.
However, student referral
to the text in front of them
is a critical element of
Close Reading.
Page 38
The hare smiled. “You and I?”
he said. “Is this a joke?
Page 38
“What would be the point?
Those legs of yours are like
stumps.”
It must take you from sunrise
until sundown to hike a mile!”
“Will you join me in a race?”
said the hedgehog.
“I will join you!” said the hare.
“Good,” said the hedgehog.
“We will race south from this
fence up to the house on the
hill. But I can’t race till I have my
lunch. I’ll be back at one.”
Page 40
Then the hedgehog went home
and spoke to his wife.
“Wife,” he said, “at one I will run
a race with the hare.”
“What?” said his wife. She
frowned and asked, “Are you
out of your wits? He’s so fast!
You can’t hope to win a race
with him.” “Trust me,” said the
hedgehog. “I have a plan.”
Vocabulary Instruction
• As the text is read aloud,
stop after each sentence
containing targeted
vocabulary to explain
meanings or to check
student understanding.
Stumps (Page 38) – the short
part left in the ground after a
tree is cut down
“It must take you from sunrise
to sundown to hike a mile!”
(Page 38) – unkind expression
to denote extreme slowness
South (Page 38) – one of the
four cardinal directions
“Are you out of your wits?”
(Page 40) – unkind expression
that means something like “Your
idea is crazy. Are you using your
brain to think hard about this?”
Lesson
Text Dependent Questions
• After any targeted
vocabulary has been
defined and/or discussed,
ask the text-based
questions.
• Begin with a “winnable”
question that will help
orient students to the text.
• The sequence of questions
should build a gradual
understanding of the key
details of the text.
• Questions should focus on
a word, phrase, sentence,
or paragraph.
Reread this sentence: The hare
smiled, “You and I?” he said. “Is
this a joke?” Why does the hare
think the hedgehog is joking?
Why does the hare compare the
hedgehog’s legs to stumps?
What part of the day do we
experience sunrise?
What part of the day do
we experience sunset or
sundown? So how long does
the hare suggest it will take the
hedgehog to hike a mile?
How does the hedgehog’s wife
feel about his plan?
Who are the characters in the
story?
Responses
• Answers should reference
the text.
• Multiple responses may be
provided using different
pieces of evidence.
• Inferences must be
grounded logically in the
text.
The hare is implying that an
animal with short little legs,
who is not known for his speed,
couldn’t possibly win a race
with him. The hare thinks the
hedgehog is joking and couldn’t
be seriously challenging him to
a race.
The hedgehog’s legs are short
because the hare says they are
like stumps. Stumps are the
short parts of trees left behind
after trees are cut down.
Morning
Nighttime
The hare suggests it will take
the hedgehog from morning to
night to hike a mile.
The hedgehog’s wife is not sure
about the success of the plan.
Her doubts are: “Are you out
of your wits? He’s so fast! You
can’t hope to win a race with
him.”
There are three characters in
this story: the hare, hedgehog
and the hedgehog’s wife.
90 Unit 2 | Lesson 9
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