001_2_046138_LR6_4OL_SPA_COVER_R1 1 4/14/08 11:11:02 AMNumber of Words: 536
L E S S O N 2 9 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E
Ratón y Cocodriloby Anna Halloran
Fountas-Pinnell Level KFolktaleSelection SummaryRatón, who is clever, lives a happy life with plenty to eat. One day he sees tasty fruit trees across the river. To cross the water, he must outsmart Cocodrilo. He tells Cocodrilo he must count all the crocodiles for the Rey feast. He asks Cocodrilo to get his family and friends to line up. Ratón crosses the river on the crocodiles’ backs.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-32396-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited.
Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format.
Characteristics of the Text Genre • Folktale
Text Structure • Third-person narrative• Plot proceeds in sequence to the end• Predictable ending
Content • Less powerful animal using guile and cleverness to trick a natural enemy • Food as a need, a pleasure, and a motivator• Animals behaving like humans
Themes and Ideas • Cleverness is better and more useful than might.• Large animals attempt to prey on smaller, weaker animals.• Even those who have been outsmarted can appreciate cleverness.
Language and Literary Features
• Conversational language• Predictable characters
Sentence Complexity • Split dialogue• A mix of simple sentences (some with prepositional phrases) and longer compound and
complex sentences.Vocabulary • Many vivid verbs, some of which might not be familiar, such as asustarse, se inclinó, se
interesó, reunió, respondió, refunfuñaron, había engañadoWords • Many multisyllable words, some of them challenging, such as extraño, deliciosas, misión,
astuto, abundante, agradecidoIllustrations • Colorful, stylized drawings support the text.
Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text, illustrations on every page• Four to eight lines of text per page
2_323961_OL_LRTG_L29_MouseAndCroc_SPA.indd 1 1/22/10 4:55:06 AM
Target Vocabulary
agradecido – que da las gracias por algo, p. 10
asustarse – sorprenderse y sentir temor por algo que ocurre de repente, p. 4
buscar – tratar de encontrar algo, p. 5
contener – guardar o conservar dentro de algo, p. 9
echar – lanzar, p. 14 extraño – inusual, poco común,
p. 6
inclinarse – doblar el cuerpo en cierta posición, p. 3
pueblo – grupo de viviendas en un área rural, p. 3
Ratón y Cocodrilo by Anna Halloran
Build BackgroundHelp children use their knowledge of animal stories and trickster tales to build interest in the story. Ask questions such as the following: ¿Qué cuentos leyeron o escucharon en los que un animal engaña a otro? ¿Qué animales son más hábiles para engañar a otros: los grandes o los pequeños? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell children that this story is a folktale, a kind of story that is passed from generation to generation over many, many years.
Introduce the TextGuide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:
Page 3: Explain that this is a story about Ratón, who lives by a river full of crocodiles. Suggested language: Vayan a la página 3. Ratón mira el otro lado del río. ¿Qué ve del otro lado? El texto dice: Junto al pueblo, al otro lado del río, vio árboles llenos de sabrosas frutas. Se inclinó sobre el agua para poder ver mejor. ¿Ratón vive en el pueblo? ¿Cuál creen que será el problema en este cuento?
Page 4: Miren el dibujo. El texto dice: Ratón saltó hacia atrás asustado. Usen la información que les da el dibujo para imaginarse por qué Ratón se asustó. Ahora, pongan ustedes cara de asustados.
Page 5: Vayan a la página 5. Ratón tenía que buscar una manera de cruzar el río para poder comer las frutas que estaban del otro lado. ¿Qué es lo que Ratón va a buscar? ¿Cómo creen que logrará cruzar el río sin que los cocodrilos lo coman?
Ahora, vuelvan al comienzo del cuento para descubrir qué hace Ratón para llegar al árbol con frutas sabrosas.
2_323961_OL_LRTG_L29_MouseAndCroc_SPA.indd 2 1/22/10 4:55:06 AM
ReadHave children read Ratón y Cocodrilo silently while you listen to individual students read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.
Remind children to use the Summarize Strategy and to stop to tell important events as they read.
Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite children to share their personal responses to the story.Suggested language: ¿Qué opinan del plan de Ratón? ¿Creen que estuvo bien al alardear que podía ser más listo que Cocodrilo?
Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help children understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• Ratón wants fruit from the other side of the river.
• Ratón tricks Cocodrilo and all his friends and family into helping him cross the river safely.
• The crocodiles realize that clever Ratón has tricked them again.
• Being smart and using your head is more powerful than being big and strong.
• An animal or person’s size is not important.
• Everyone respects someone who is clever.
• The story is a folktale, with animals that have human characteristics and behave like humans.
• The ending, in which a smaller animal outwits a bigger animal, is predictable but satisfying.
Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text to act out or use for
Reader’s Theater. Remind them to use good expression, and to say the dialogue as if the characters are really speaking.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the children’s reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind children that longer words are often formed from shorter, familiar words and other smaller parts. For example, the word asutado, on page 4, is made from the verb asustar and –ado. Point out that fi nal r in asustar is dropped to form asustado.
2_323961_OL_LRTG_L29_MouseAndCroc_SPA.indd 3 1/22/10 4:55:07 AM
Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave children complete the questions on Hoja reproducible 29.7.
RespondingHave children complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension Skill Remind children that they can understand
story characters by thinking about the character’s actions and what they mean. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
En la página 4, dice que Cocodrilo saltó del agua e intentó morder a Ratón con sus dientes. ¡Eso quiere decir que Cocodrilo se quiere comer a Ratón! Yo creo que, si tuviera la oportunidad, se lo comería. Lo que Cocodrilo hace me ayuda a entender qué clase de animal es.
Practice the SkillHave children share another example in the story of how thinking about a character’s action and what it means helped them understand that character.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave children write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story.
Assessment Prompts• Ratón can best be described as _________________________________________.
2_323961_OL_LRTG_L29_MouseAndCroc_SPA.indd 5 1/22/10 4:55:10 AM
Nombre Fecha
Ratón y CocodriloPensar más allá del texto
Piensa en las siguientes preguntas. Después, escribe tu respuesta en uno o dos párrafos.
En la página 13, Ratón dice: “¡En cuanto a mi informe al Rey, le diré que Ratón puede ser más listo que Cocodrilo cualquier día!”. ¿Qué te dice esto sobre Ratón? ¿Qué crees que ocurrirá la próxima vez que Ratón y Cocodrilo se encuentren? Da detalles del cuento para fundamentar tu respuesta.
