Gardener and the Scarecrow, The 6-pack Author: Dot Meharry ISBN: 9780790321288 Lesson Plan Blackline Master Grade Level: 1 Reading Level: E Strategy/Skill: Making predictions, Using graphic sources Genre: Realistic Fiction Theme/Topic: Environment Classification: Fiction Fluency: Early

Overview

In this humorous narrative, the gardener needs to find a way to keep the greedy birds from pecking at his vegetables.  The students will enjoy working out what the gardener has in mind!

Suggested Purposes

This text supports the comprehension strategies of:

• making and confirming predictions
• noting details in illustrations

There are two other Dragonflies books about this character:

• The Gardener (emergent)
• The Gardener’s Maze (early).

Text Features (Focus on only one or two per session.)

• the initial consonant blends – cl, sc, st, tr
• the digraphs -ch – chased, stitch; -sh – shed, shouted; -th – that, the, they, this
• the lively verbs – chased, clipped, pecked, shouted
• the irregular verbs – came, kept, made, put, said, was, went
• the variety of word endings – clipped, clipping; garden, gardener, gardening
• the -y ending – scary
• the compound word – scarecrow
• the use of repetition for effect and to suggest time passing on page 7
• the sentences running over two lines
• the use of commas for phrasing
• the clear narrative structure
• the markers of time – in the morning, that night
• the gardener’s imperative language
• the way the gardener talks to himself
• the battle between the gardener and the birds
• the clues in the illustrations
• the surprise ending

For more information please see our Lesson Plan