# data[].attributes.body
Where Did My Clothes Come From has a 500-600L Lexile and I am using it for first graders. The text structure for this book is very complex. The text is organized into different sections that explain how different types of clothing such as jeans, sweaters, etc. are produced. The author’s explanations are in consecutive order. Pictures that include captions are spaced throughout the text and the reader much decipher which illustrations go with which section of the text. Illustrations are important to understanding these texts. The illustrations help further explain and support the different kinds of machines and processes involved with making clothes.  The language features of this text are moderately complex. The language in this text is straightforward. The text contains many Tier 2 vocabulary words such as fancy, swells, and raw. It also has Tier 3 (content specific words) such as fiber and mill. These words are necessarily to understand the text. The sentences in this book are simple and compound. The purpose of this text is slightly complex. The purpose of the text is to answer the question “Where Did My Clothes Come From?” This purpose is stated explicitly many times and is given early in the book. The headings at the beginning of each section help further the reader’s understanding of the obvious purpose of each section. The meaning and purpose are very concrete. The knowledge demands for this text is moderately complex. The text assumes that the reader has some background knowledge related to the different types of clothing and machines. The text relies on common knowledge that clothes must be produced as well as some discipline-specific content knowledge about the machines and clothing.

For knowledge-based competencies we will be discussing vocabulary. Before reading certain pages of this text, I will ask my students important vocabulary words in this book with a whole group discussion.  Some of these words include fibers, machine, mill, producer, seller, and market. By asking questions in a whole group discussion, I will be able to see what the students already know about the vocabulary. We will come up with class definitions based on what we know and discuss how we think they will relate to the text. Afterwards, I will provide the correct definitions and see if the class’s predictions were correct. We will further discuss these words and how they relate to the text. For skills-based competencies, I want children to think about the clothes they are wearing and where they came from. I will pose the question, “How would you explain to someone where your clothes came from? Where did your clothes come
from?” I would give them some time to do a free write to this question. After this, we would give students the opportunity to share their writing on the projector. As a class, we will check for capital letters, punctuation, finger spaces, and other things we have learned that must be in out writing. The goal is to create structured writing that correlates to the topic at hand.

# data[].attributes.body
The Word Collector is a AD720L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure is moderately complex. The connection between words and their importance is implied, yet it’s something this age might have trouble with. The illustrations  are very interesting and serve as a visual representation of the text. They are crafted impeccably. However, they are not necessary to understand the text. The text follows a sequential order, and this order is clear. There is no lack of organization. There is one story line but sometimes it is hard to predict. The language features are very complex. There are many instances of figurative language in this book, such as “words that embrace your soul”, “delicious words”, “sowed words”, “wove threads of warm words”, “words being thrown like balls”, and many others. These are very abstract concepts that might be hard for a first grader. Vocabulary is fairly complex and can include some unfamiliar words such as magnificent, extraordinary, brotherhood, etc. The sentence structure includes compound and complex sentences. The meaning is moderately complex. The theme of words being important is something first graders will pick up on because it’s clear. However, the theme of words being used to change people’s heart is a portrayed in the text but more subtlety. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. Many themes are explored in the text and readers should be able to connect how words can change things after discussing their importance and examples. There are no references to other texts and few to cultural elements.

For knowledge-based competencies, we will work on vocabulary in this book. I will discuss adjectives and synonyms. There are so many different adjectives used in this book to describe things. I will explain what these two terms mean and how they relate. Then, in groups, we will play the semantic gradient game. Each group will get a different set a words and once finished, they will rotate. This is such a great opportunity for students to think about the importance of using describing words and how words correlate/have similar meaning.For skills-based competencies, we will work on syllables. There are many two-syllable words in this book. As a class, we will pick some out and decode them together. Then, in groups, students must find two other ones. After they find them, each group will share their words, help us decode it by using a method (tap, clap, etc.), then explain how they knew it was two- syllables.

# data[].attributes.headline
Johnny Appleseed: The Grand Old Man of the Forest

# data[].attributes.subject
Johnny Appleseed: The Grand Old Man of the Forest

# data[].attributes.body
Johnny Appleseed: The Grand Old Man of the Forest has a 740L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure is moderately complex. The story is told in the order of Johnny Appleseed’s life, but sometimes it can be hard to predict what is going to happen next. The reader knows it will be an event in his life, but the text doesn’t indicate/give clues to what it will be. The illustrations support the text and serve as a visual representation of the text to help strengthen student understanding. There is also a words to know section in the book that supports understanding and certain sections of the text. The language features are very complex. There are some abstract ideas that are complex. These can be hard for the reader to pick up on. The vocabulary in this text can be unfamiliar to this age, including words like eccentric and periodically. Subject-specific words such as cultivated, vegetarian, herbs, sapling, and settlement are included and rely on the text. The text contains tons of complex sentences. The meaning is moderately complex. The theme of not wasting food and having enough for everyone to eat is clear and stated frequently during the reading. There are also more subtle themes such as love the earth/the things on it and take care of it, that are not stated but are implied. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. Many readers have heard of Johnny Appleseed and about the themes in this book. For example, not wasting things and making sure everyone has food is something first graders have experience with. This is usually general knowledge they have been taught over the years. The text refers to a different time in history and different cultural elements.

For knowledge-based competencies, we will work on orally communicating what we think. During the IRA, I will pause and ask questions such as “Why do you think the author really stressed the fact that Johnny didn’t want anyone to go hungry?” Students will then do a turn and talk communicating their thoughts. They will use accountable talk such as “I agree”, “I disagree”, “I believe”, “The text says...”  and so on. I will then call on some groups to share. For skills-based competencies, I want to work on fluency with my students. On the second read of this book, I want to participate in a shared reading. I will ask the students to read with me (choral reading) and repeat my reading (echo reading) in certain, strategically chosen places. My goal with this is to work on prosody and model reading with expression with and without the teacher reading with you.

# data[].attributes.body
Spending and Saving Money is a 330L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure is slightly complex. The organization of the book is in chronological order and is very clear and explicit. It first starts with spending money and then explains how you can save this money to build interest. There is a glossary at the end for important key terms and details. This is not essential to the text but is a helpful resource and helps further the student’s knowledge. The language features of this book slightly complex. It uses very common terms such saving, spending, emergency, and interest. Readers should have some understanding of these words. Most sentences are simple. The vocabulary is subject specific but overall conversational and familiar. The purpose are slightly complex- The purpose is to understand the concept and importance of saving and spending money. This is a very focused, clear, and concrete purpose that is clearly stated. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. The book relies on practical and subject-specific knowledge of money and how it works. Students know that if you do not spend money it will accumulate. Background knowledge of certain concepts such as interest will help the reader’s comprehension.

For skills-based competencies, we will do a partner read of this text in small groups to work on fluency. While two partners are reading out loud, the other two will practice whisper reading to one another. Each group should practice the speed at which they read, decoding words correctly, and reading with expression. For knowledge-based competencies, we will orally discuss and do a shared writing of the book in small groups. On an anchor chart, I will list smart saving techniques based on the student’s answers and the text. I will ask why these are smart and how the text says they can help us save money. We will then take these phrases and form correctly structured sentences.

# data[].attributes.headline
Who’s Buying? Who’s Selling? Understanding Consumers and Producers

# data[].attributes.subject
Who’s Buying? Who’s Selling? Understanding Consumers and Producers

# data[].attributes.body
Who’s Buying? Who’s Selling? Understanding Consumers and Producers is a 560L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure of this book is slightly complex. The organization of the text is clear and explicit. It is very easy to understand. This book does not tell a story in chronological order since it is only giving the reader information. The illustrations provide readers with a visual picture that helps further explain each concept. However, these illustrations are not necessary to understand the text. The language features of this book are moderately complex. This text contains many vocabulary words that are known but readers might not know what they actually mean, such as, consumer, benefit, cost, supply, demand, and producer. The definition of the vocabulary words is given to give the reader a clear understanding of the word. Overall, the language features are explicit and easy to follow. The purpose of this book is moderately complex. The meaning and purpose of the text is to describe what a consumer and producer does. It then gives examples of each give examples. The concept can be difficult for first grade students; nevertheless, the illustrations and pictures help further the student’s understanding. Overall, the purpose is easy to identify based on the context given. The knowledge demands for this book are moderately complex. The reader should have experience and knowledge about purchasing goods, but they may not know about production process of goods. The text relies on some basic practical background knowledge of consumers and producers.

For skills based, I will focus mainly on phonological awareness and suffixes. Many words in this book have the suffix -er and -s (buyers, sellers, consumers, producers, buys, sells, services, etc.). After reviewing suffixes previously and reading this story once, I would explain to the students how we are going to read again and be “word detectives”. We are going to look for any word with a suffix. Once we find a word, I will write it down. After reading, we will discuss each word and what the suffix does to the word. For knowledge based, we will do a shared writing. After reading the text, we will have a group discussion on producers and consumers. I will ask some things that the children recently bought, and I will write them on an anchor chart. I will then ask if this makes them a producer or a consumer and why. I will have them do a turn and talk for this question, and then we will come back together to share out answers and finish our anchor chart. We will make sure to use text vocabulary in our shared writing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Let's Talk About Pets: Help! I Have A Hermit Crab

# data[].attributes.subject
Let's Talk About Pets: Help! I Have A Hermit Crab

# data[].attributes.body
Let's Talk About Pets: Help! I Have A Hermit Crab is a 810L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure is slightly complex. Connections between concepts are explicit and you can clearly see the information you need to know to take care of a hermit crab. The text features give extra information about hermit crabs; therefore, they are not essential to understanding content. Text features do help enhance and deepen the reader’s understanding. The pictures give a visual element to the text, but they are not necessary to understand content. The language features are very complex. This text includes vocabulary that is extremely subject specific and unfamiliar, such as crustacean, gills, exoskeleton, substrate, molting, and many others. Sentences are pretty complex and contain a lot of information. The purpose is slightly complex. The purpose of how to care for a hermit crab is women throughout the text as the author describes the pet in detail as well as ways, we can best take care of it. This purpose is clear and concrete throughout the book. The knowledge demands are moderately complex. This book is so informational that the reader doesn’t really need a lot of background knowledge. It does rely on some discipline-specific knowledge and practical knowledge like how to care for pets (food, water, etc.). It mixes simple ideas of what food to feed hermit crab with more complex

For knowledge-based competencies, we would work on comprehending the information from the text. As we read certain pages of the text in an IRA, students will participate in a shared writing. I will have a chart with different columns labeled things like “diet”, “home life”, and “supplies”. As we read and these things come up in the text, we will add them to out anchor chart, so we know how to care for our pet and what we learned. For skills-based competencies, my students would work on integrating ideas from the text to form strong opinion pieces. After reading select pages of this book in an IRA, we will discuss on an anchor chart what we need to do as we prepare to get our new hermit crab class pet. Based on the knowledge from the text, students will do an opinion piece of writing to the question “Do you think you will be a good owner of our class pet? What are some ways you can care for him/her?”. Students will check for finger spaces, capital letters, punctuation, commas when needed, and other things they know first graders need in their writing.

# data[].attributes.body
Where are you from? is a 640L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure is moderately complex.  It is clear and has a natural dialogue. The book is sometimes difficult to predict because you do not know what is about to happened next. Abuelo refrains from clearly answering the question of where he is from. He replies with a more visual and attractive answer. As the young girl asks her Abuelo “Where am I from” he explains the places and the people that she comes from. The graphics help to support the reader by giving the reader a visual explanation of the text. Illustrations are especially helpful when the text introduces new words such as “pampas”. The language features are very complex. It is written as a poem that includes tons figurative language. It holds abstract and figurative language as the girl’s Abuelo tells her where she is from. These two components continue throughout the whole book. Abuelo proves how the question “Where are you from” is a complex question and that lacks a simple answer. The vocabulary words used is fairly complex and subject specific and is unfamiliar to the readers. This includes words such as “pampas”, “gauchos”, and “the southern cross”. The meaning is very complex. The purpose of the book is the importance of knowing where you come from. This is your identity and heritage. These are all concepts that many of us, especially students from different backgrounds and cultures, ask daily. This book shows how we are all proudly unique and come from different backgrounds. These are all fairly easy to infer, but it will not be easy for first graders to do without guidance. It is more abstract than concrete. The knowledge demands are very complex. The idea that people come from different places and have different identities is uncommon to readers. Background knowledge of these challenging abstract concepts and vocabulary will need to be built to understand the text. It includes moderate levels of discipline-specific knowledge centered towards these concepts.

For knowledge-based competencies, we will do a K-W-L chart and an interactive read aloud. This will be the first read. Before doing an IRA, we will discuss things we know about identity and where we come from. Then we discuss things we wonder. After reading, we will add things we learned and some more things we wonder about. Students will then use the K-W-L to aid us in a shared writing explaining where the little girl comes from. For skills-based competencies, we will do an interactive writing to work on writing fluently and with structure. I want my students to think about where they come from. After reading for a second time the next day, we will write a proper paragraph explaining where we come from based on where we live. I will have students come up and place things like punctuation, capital letters, and other grammatical things we need to include in our writing.

# data[].attributes.body
Tia Isa Wants a Car has a AD630L Lexle. My audience with this is text is first grade. The text structure for is moderately complex. The organization of this text is clear and in chronological order. It is told from a first-person point of view. Sometimes the main character references memories of her family that live in a different area. Because of this, the reader must keep track of who the narrator is talking about at that time. Different parts if the story is told through dialogue and stories. The illustrations are supplemental to the text and support readers' comprehension by showing exactly what the characters are doing in a visual format.The language features are very complex. The language is extremely explicit and easy to understand. However, many words are in Spanish. This language is complex and unfamiliar for children to read unless they understand this language. The text contains certain Tier 2 words, such as swooped and creaky, which may also be unfamiliar to some readers. There are multiple examples of figurative language, like “muddy like ogre shoes”  and “ as tall as a pinch”.  There are also some sentences with more complex meaning, like “a beach has foamy water that reaches all the places I cannot go”. The meaning of this text is moderately complex. There are multiple levels of meaning in this text. The theme of saving money is clear and explicit; however, the theme of missing family members who are in another place is more subtle. There is also a theme of consumers buying goods and services. These themes are easy to identify but some of them are subtle. The knowledge demands for this text are moderately complex. The experience of saving money is a common concept to most readers. It does not reference other texts. There are cultural references, such as the the food Tia Isa cooks, and the words in Spanish. Readers will probably not be familiar with these concepts because they are not extremely concrete.

For knowledge-based competencies, I will do an interactive read aloud with this book. I will pause and ask strategic questions. While we read, we will fill out an anchor chart as a class outlining the different things the main character does to save money for Tia Isa. After reading and discussing, students will compromise a paragraph outlining three things the main character does to save money for Tia Isa with the teacher there to guide them. For skill-based competencies, we will play the homophones game. I will use the Tier 2 words in the text along with similar words. They will define each word then put the word in a sentence.

# data[].attributes.body
Before We Eat: From Farm to Table has a Lexile score of AD740L and it is for 3–7-year-olds I am using it for a first-grade class. This book's text structure is slightly complex.  The organization of this text is very clear and easy to understand. It uses a rhyming pattern which is typically more enjoyable for the reader. This book really relates concepts well, such as how food goes from the ground and from animals, to being harvested, to being packaged and sold in stores, and then to their tables. This book’s language demands are moderately complex. The language in this book is very explicit and common. Children will already know most of these words before reading. However, there are some words that might need some more explanation because they are more academic and complex, such as “sows”, “gratitude”, “grazied”, and “grime”. The meaning of this book is slightlly complex. The meaning of the text is implied and very easy to understand. The author is clearly thanking everyone that had a part in the meal’s journey to the plate. This is stated and the only theme. However, students may find it hard to grasp the fact that it really takes all those people to get their food to them. It might be something they need to think about and need it broken down more in other visuals or writing. The knowledge demands for this book are slightly complex.  Most students will know that their food comes from somewhere, but they might not have the full picture. The concepts are not necessary to understand before reading. The book truly explains it in simple, concrete ideas. It also doesn’t refence other books or ideas. So, knowing some information of how their meals get to them may be something that can help them understand better as they read, but if they do not have this background knowledge, it is okay. The book introduces this concept in concrete ways they can understand without having prior knowledge.

For skills based competencies, I would use this book as a shared reading on the second read targeting fluency in my classroom. I would sit in a reading circle with my class, and we would participate in an echo reading. As I read, I’d make sure to model good reading such as reading at an appropriate speed (rate), with accuracy, and with expression (prosody). I would also model think alouds and insert strategic questions when appropriate. I really want my students to think about the process our food goes through. For knowledge based, we would look at the vocabulary in the book. Before reading, we would review words such as “sows”, “gratitude”, “grazied”. I’d show them a chart with the word, a colored picture, the definition, a sentence, and a sentence from the book. Then we’d beginning reading and stop at these words. After, we'd take words from the book that we feel is important to know for understanding the text and complete a Frayer model chart.

# data[].attributes.body
Something Special for Me is a 610L Lexile and my audience for this book is first grade. The text structure of this book is moderately complex. The organization of this text is clear. The text is written in chronological order. The text is implicit and subtle at times due to that fact that occasionally it is hard to predict whether Rosa will find a special birthday present or not. The illustration in this book support readers’ understanding of the text by providing a visual that furthers the student’s knowledge. The language features of the text are moderately complex. The language is largely explicit and easy for the reader to understand. The text contains some Tier 2 words, examples include dumped and hollered. Most sentences are primarily simple and compound. The meaning of this text is moderately complex. There are multiple levels of meaning in this text that can be clear or subtle. The theme that deciding things can be hard is clear and explicit. However, the theme that items that connect to our families are usually the most “special”, is subtle. Overall, the purpose is implied based on context. The knowledge demands for this text are moderately complex. The experience of picking out a birthday present is common to most readers. Maybe they have done this for themselves or someone else. Some of the important details of the book, such as camping gear and the enjoyment of camping, may be less familiar to some readers. The text primarily focuses on practical knowledge.

For knowledge-based competencies, we will work on comprehension and chronological order. After doing an IRA, we will discuss how the story flows and goes in order. We will talk about how the outcomes if events would be different if the story was in a different order. I will give groups a strip of paper that includes an event from the story. Each group will come up to the board and we will place the event on there. As a class, we will have to determine where that event goes on the timeline of the story and how we know that. For skills-based competencies, we will do a shared writing. After reading, asking strategic questions, and doing the chronological order activity, we will point our attention to an anchor chart. On this chart will be some phrases such “Rosa’s choices”, “Rosa’s feelings” and “Rosa’s final choice and why”. We will explain each of these and then put a sentence explaining each. Students will then go back and independently write explaining if they think Rosa made the right choice or not, using text evidence to support their thoughts.