Co

py

righ

t © M

cGra

w-H

ill Ed

uca

tion

Unit 5 Week 1

Genre Fantasy

GR K

Word Count 474

Lexile 390

ReadNote Taking Have children take notes as they

read. Encourage children to record:

• important ideas

• unfamiliar words

• any questions about text that they have

Children can also fi ll in a graphic organizer,

noting the important events for each section.

Reread

COLLABORATE

Discuss Notes Ask children to share

their questions. Then work with them

to go back into the text to fi nd evidence to

answer the questions. Discuss evidence

children cited in the text.

Chapter 1 (pages 2–5)

Phonics Say the word car. Remind children

that when a is followed by r, the two letters

together can make the sound as in the word

car. Then have children fi nd words in this

chapter with the r-controlled vowel sound

spelled ar.

Specifi c Vocabulary Point to the fi rst

sentence on page 5. Ask: What does squeaked

mean? How does Mrs. King feel when she steps

on a toy that squeaks? How can you tell?

Spark’s Toys

BEYOND LEVELBEYOND LEVEL

PAIREDREAD Sorting Fruit

Fantasy

by Nora Carsonillustrated by Kristin Varner

b C

Spark’s ToysSpark’s Toys

FC_BC_CR14_LR_G1_U5W1_L20_BEY_119639.indd 3 2/21/12 3:29 PM

8383Card

CLOSE READING

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How can we classify and categorize things?

What Makes the Text Complex?

Foundational SkillsDecode words with the r-controlled vowel ar Children can practice

reading words with ar.

S tructural Analysis Children can practice reading contractions

with not.

Access Complex TextSpecifi c Vocabulary The use of unfamiliar language may be a

challenge for children.

Connection of Ideas Children will need to make inferences and make

connections between details in the text to understand the story.

AS

ReadHave children read “Sorting Fruit”

independently, taking notes as they read. Ask

what type of text “Sorting Fruit” is. How can

they tell?

Reread to Compare Texts

COLLABORATE

Ask partners to discuss sorting.

Ask: What are some diff erent ways

you can sort fruit? How does this compare to

how Spark sorts his toys? Have partners share

their fi ndings.

Chapter 1 (continued)

Comprehension Check Remind children that

point of view is the way a character thinks or

feels. Ask: How does Spark feel about his toys?

Why is it hard for Spark to put his toys away?

Cha pter 2 (pages 6–7)

P honics Have children fi nd a word on page 6

with the r-controlled vowel sound spelled ar.

Structural Analysis Point out the word

couldn’t on page 7. Explain that this word is a

contraction. A contraction is a shortened form

of two words. The apostrophe takes the place

of a missing letter or letters. Have children

point to the apostrophe. Explain that couldn’t

means “could not.” Have children fi nd another

contraction with not on the page.

Connection of Ideas Remind children

that titles, including chapter titles, can give

readers clues as to what the text or sections

of text will be about. Have children reread the

chapter title: “Spark’s Favorite Toy.” Ask: How

does the chapter title relate to what Spark liked

to play with around the house?

Comprehension Check How does Spark feel

about his boxes? How do you know?

Chapter 3 (pages 8–11)

Connection of Ideas Review with

children that authors don’t always say things

directly in the text. Ask: How is the big surprise

also a little surprise?

Specifi c Vocabulary Point to the word

sorted on page 10. Explain that when you sort,

you put similar things together. Ask: What did

Spark sort? Why did he need to sort?

Comprehension Check How does Mrs. King

feel about Rose? What does she expect?

How does Spark feel at the end of the story?

How do you know?

PAIRED READ “S o r t i n g Fr u i t ”

Write About ReadingWAnalytical Writing

Ana W

Inform Have

children compare

both texts. Have them explain

how both selections describe

diff erent ways to sort or

classify. Have partners use evidence

from the texts to support their writing.

Write About ReadingWAnalytical Writing

Ana W

Inform Have children write a response

to the text using the Essential

Question. How does Spark classify his

toys? Have them use evidence from

the text to support their ideas.

Compare TextsHow can we sort things?

Genre Nonfiction

Stoc

kbyt

e/G

etty

Imag

es

13

001_016_CR14_LR_G1_U5W1_L20_BEY_119639.indd 13 3/11/12 5:16 PM

Co

py

righ

t © M

cGra

w-H

ill Ed

uca

tion

BEYOND LEVEL Spark’s Toys Unit 5 Week 1

Answer Key

C H A P T E R 1Phonics:

Then have children fi nd words in this chapter with the r-controlled vowel sound spelled ar. Spark, yarn

Specifi c Vocabulary:

What does squeaked mean? How does Mrs. King feel when she steps on a toy that squeaks? How can you tell? Answer/Evidence A toy that squeaks makes a loud sound. Mrs. King is scared or surprised when she steps on the duck. The duck makes a sound. I can see the sound lines in the picture.

Comprehension Check:

How does Spark feel about his toys? Why is it hard for Spark to put his toys away? Answer/Evidence Spark really likes his toys. He plays with balls and yarn. It is hard for Spark to put his toys away because he wants to play with them. He is too busy playing to clean up.

C H A P T E R 2Phonics:

Have children fi nd a word on page 6 with the r-controlled vowel sound spelled ar. large, Spark

Structural Analysis:

Have children fi nd another contraction with not on the page. didn’t

Connection of Ideas:

How does the chapter title relate to what Spark liked to play with around the house? Answer/Evidence The chapter title is “Spark’s Favorite Toy.” In this chapter I learned that what Spark likes to play with the most are boxes.

Comprehension Check:

How does Spark feel about his boxes? How do you know? Answer/Evidence Spark likes boxes a lot. When he says, “this is the life,” he means that he could stay in a box and play or sleep all the time.

C H A P T E R 3Connection of Ideas:

How is the big surprise also a little surprise? Answer/Evidence The big surprise is that Mrs. King brought home a little kitten. A kitten is a baby cat.

Specifi c Vocabulary:

What did Spark sort? Why did he need to sort? Answer/Evidence Spark sorted his toys into boxes. He needed to put his toys away to make room for Rose.

Comprehension Check:

How does Mrs. King feel about Rose? What does she expect? Answer/Evidence Mrs. King wants to take care of Rose. She expects Spark to help care for Rose and to make room for the kitten’s things.

How does Spark feel at the end of the story? How do you know? Answer/Evidence Spark feels happy. I know because the text says he likes to play with Rose, and that he could play with his toys in a box when Rose was sleeping.

W R I T E A B O U T R E A D I N GInform Have children write a response to the text using the Essential Question. How does Spark classify his toys? Have them use evidence from the text to support their ideas. Children’s responses will vary but should include that Spark sorts his toys into boxes. He sorts them by size.

P A I R E D R E A DRead:

Have children read “Sorting Fruit” independently, taking notes as they read. Ask what type of text “Sorting Fruit” is. How can they tell? Answer/Evidence It is a nonfi ction selection about how to sort fruit. There are photos of real fruit.

Reread to Compare Texts:

Ask partners to discuss sorting. Ask: What are some diff erent ways you can sort fruit? How does this compare to how Spark sorts his toys? Have partners share their fi ndings. Children’s responses will vary but could include that you can sort by color, by shape, and how a fruit feels. Spark sorts his toys diff erently, by size.

W R I T E A B O U T R E A D I N GInform Have children compare both texts. Have them explain how both selections describe diff erent ways to sort or classify. Have partners use evidence from the texts to support their writing. Children’s responses will vary but should include that in the story, Spark uses boxes to sort his toys by their size. In the nonfi ction selection, it shows how to sort fruit by color, shape, or feel.