Summary The rhyming text of this book explores many differentkinds of weather. It also explains how, at different times and in differentparts of the world, these various kinds of weather can be found.

by Paul Rogersgenre: science nonfictionword count: 158

Level H

What Will the Weather Be Like Today?

Background InformationThis book features many major ecosys-tems of the world, including deserts,forests, grasslands, wetlands, oceans,and arctic tundras. An ecosystem isformed by the interaction of a commu-nity of organisms and its environment.This book focuses on a variety of differ-ent ecosystems and the weather thatmakes each system unique.

For more information about weather,see www.wildwildweather.com.

Supportive Text FeaturesThe simple illustrations and colorful details drawchildren in to the subject matter and support thetext. Rhyme makes the text predictable and funto read. Together, the illustrations and therhyme scheme will help children decodeunfamiliar words. In this way, the art and textmake the subject of weather accessible and easyto understand.

Praise children for specific use of “Behaviors toNotice and Support” on page 39 of the GuidedReading Teacher’s Guide.

Challenging Text FeaturesThis book is written like a poem. Some phrases orlines end with periods or other end marks that donot fall on a spread. Encourage children to payclose attention to commas and end marks. Helpchildren understand that sometimes a thoughtcontinues onto the following page. Remindchildren that regardless of how text appears on apage or pages, a thought ends with an end marksuch as a period.

TEACHING OPTIONSTEACHING OPTIONS

Comprehension StrategyUnderstanding Figurative Language Have you ever noticed that sometimes authorscompare two things in a creative way? Thishelps us to understand or picture what theauthor means or wants to say.

• Let’s read aloud this sentence from the story:The world has awakened. Is the world aperson or an animal? Can it really wake up?What is the author comparing the world to?How does this sentence help us to understandor picture what the author is trying to say?

• Now let’s read aloud the words on the lastfour pages. Can the sun and rain really playand paint a rainbow? What are the sun andrain really doing? What does the author wantyou to imagine when he writes that the sunand rain meet to play and paint a rainbow?

Phonics and Word-SolvingStrategiesReading Words With r-Blends Guide children to read story words with r-blends, such as frog, dry, and bright. Point outthat each word begins with an r-blend.

• Write the word frog on the chalkboard orchart paper. Point to the letter f and say /f/.Point to the letter r and say /r/. Slowly slideyour finger under the letters fr and say /fr/.Explain to children that the letters fr stand forthe r-blend at the beginning of frog. Blend theword aloud as you run your finger under frog.

• Repeat this procedure with the story wordsdry and bright. Have children find other wordsin the story with r-blends.

Reading Multisyllabic WordsTell children that words are made up of syllables,and each syllable has one vowel sound.

• Call attention to the word moment on the firstpage. Point out that moment has twosyllables. Ask children to clap the word andidentify the syllables. Cover the secondsyllable in moment, and tell children thatwhen they see a syllable that ends with avowel, it usually has the long vowel sound.

• Have children pronounce the first syllable inmoment. Then cover mo and have childrenread the second syllable. Ask children howmany syllables are in moment.

• Call attention to fading on the same page.Have children use the same procedure toidentify the syllables.

Oral Language/Vocabulary• Ask children to describe the weather of the day.

Then have them look for a picture in the bookthat is like the weather they see outside. Askchildren to compare and contrast the weather ofthe day with the weather in the book.

• Ask children to describe and talk about theanimals in the book. If children do not knowmuch about an animal, have them describehow the animal appears in the book and askquestions they have about that creature.

Extending Meaning ThroughReading and Writing• Have children review the pictures in the book

without reading the text. Then ask children towrite sentences about the illustrations on stick-on notes and post them on the appropriatepages. Invite children to read what they wroteon the notes, from the beginning of the book tothe end. (Expository)

• Ask children to draw pictures that show theirfavorite kinds of weather. Then have childrenwrite sentences that describe the details of theweather. How does it make them feel? Howdoes it make things look? What smells, tastes,or sounds are associated with it? (Descriptive)

Fluency PracticeCall attention to the different forms ofpunctuation in the book. Model how toread a sentence with a question mark,a comma, and a period. Then havechildren echo read with you, readingeach page after you. Afterwards, havechildren reread the book to partners.

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