Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map

$Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map book cover$

Grade 4
3 skill lessons · 4 math-through-reading

Math

Skill lessons

The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Printable workbook pages and teacher keys are not available for this book yet.

1First Number the Road, Second Number the River
2Marker Three, Marker Six, Marker Two
3Everything Counts From the Crossing

Math + reading

Math through the reading

The same book, entered through a sentence it prints. Change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it.

4Which Line Does This Number Belong To?
5Three, Then Six, Then Two
6How Far Back to the Turn?
7Two Threes on One Map

Reading

Reading and language lessons

The same book read as a text. What a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how the writing is put together - no mathematics.

8As Rare As Dogs With Wings
9The Line That Comes Back: Reading Burnaby's Song
10Settle Down, Mates: How the Robbers Talk
11Dim, Musty, Damp: Building a Mood One Word at a Time
12Cutting Edge and Sharp Thinking: The Joke in the Last Line

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Skill lessons

3 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Printable workbook pages and teacher keys are not available for this book yet.

1. First Number the Road, Second Number the River Concept · Locating a place from an ordered pair of numbers along two crossing lines

The book hands over one pair of numbers, 3 and 0, and a landscape already ruled by a road running one way and a river running the other. Per and Radius try the wrong three first and have to come back, which is what makes the order of the two numbers matter rather than merely stated. Students build the two crossing strips, travel both threes, then travel 3, 0 and 0, 3 and see two different stopping places. The pair is ordered: the same two numbers in the other order name a different spot.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Lay the two roads (4 min)
Tape a long road strip across your table and a river strip down it so they cross at one spot. Put a paper house on the crossing spot and say out loud that the house sits where the two strips meet. Walk two fingers out along the road and count the mile markers you pass, then start over at the house and walk up the river the same way.
Word preview: horizontally, vertically
The landscape below them lay divided into four sections.
A road ran across the countryside horizontally, while a river wound through the area vertically.
2. Try the river three, then the road three (6 min)
Per and Radius have the numbers three and zero and two places on the map showing three. Send your marker up the river to the third mark and stop; nothing is there. Bring it back to the house, send it out the road to the third mark, and stop there instead. Say which of the two threes the message meant and how the trip told you.
Word preview: three, zero
There are two places on the map with three, but I don't see a zero anywhere," said Radius.
Let's write up the river to the three there.
Let's go back where we started and follow the road out to the other number three.
3. Say the first number, then the second (6 min)
Radius works out the order and says it is like the alphabet. Take a card reading 3, 0 and move your marker the first number along the road, then the second number along the river, saying which strip each number sent you to. Now swap the card to 0, 3 and travel it the same way. Put a chip on each stopping place and say why the two chips are not in the same spot.
Word preview: first, second
The first number tells us which way to go on the X-X.
It's like the alphabet. X comes before y.
4. Send a partner to your spot (4 min)
Write a pair of numbers on a slip without showing it, then say the two numbers aloud in order while your partner walks the marker along the road first and the river second. Check that their chip landed on the spot you meant. Trade roles and say aloud which number did which job.
Word preview: first, second
If the first number tells us which way to go on the x-ax, reasoned radius, the second number must tell us which way to go on the y-ax.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Lay the two roads (4 min)
Tape a road strip across your table and a river strip down it so they cross at one spot, and put the paper house on the crossing. Walk two fingers out along the road, counting the marks you pass, then start again at the house and walk up the river.
Word preview: horizontally, vertically
A road ran across the countryside horizontally, while a river wound through the area vertically.
2. Say the first number, then the second (5 min)
Take the card reading 3, 0 and move your marker the first number along the road, then the second number along the river. Travel the card reading 0, 3 the same way and drop a chip at each stop. Say why the two chips are not in the same spot.
Word preview: first, second
It's like the alphabet. X comes before y.

Three levels

Support: Work only with the road strip laid out and the river strip left folded flat. Travel single numbers along the road and say which mark you stopped on, then unfold the river and add the second number only after the first trip is easy. Keep the house on the crossing at every trip so every count starts from the same place.
At Grade: Travel both cards, 3, 0 and 0, 3, and keep both chips down at once so the two spots can be seen together. Say a sentence naming which number sent the marker along the road and which sent it up the river.
Extension: Write a pair whose two numbers are the same, travel it, and say why the order stops mattering for that one pair while it still matters for 3, 0. Then find a second pair that behaves the same way and say what all such pairs have in common.

English learners

The two number words that carry this lesson are first and second, and they are doing a job here they do not usually do: they are not saying who came first in a race, they are saying which strip a number belongs to. A child whose first language marks order with a word ending rather than a separate word can already think this and only needs the English shape. Rehearse the frame "the first number goes along the road, the second number goes up the river" until it can be said while the hand moves. Invite students to say the pair in their strongest language as they travel it, then in English, because the travelling is the same either way.

Materials

A road strip and a river strip of paper tape, one pair per pair of students
A small paper house, one per pair
A counting marker, one per pair
Number-pair cards reading 3, 0 and 0, 3, one set per pair
Two coloured chips, one pair per pair of students
Paper slips and a pencil, one each
Word cards: first, second, horizontally, vertically

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

2. Marker Three, Marker Six, Marker Two Representation · Reading and naming a position on a numbered line of markers

The road in this book is already a number line: it carries stone mile markers, the cousins stop at the third, get chased past the sixth, and have to come back to the second. Students build that line with seven markers and move a token along it, counting markers as they pass rather than sliding to the answer. What students end with is a position they can name by its marker number, which is the half of a coordinate this book most clearly funds.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Number the mile markers (5 min)
Set out seven stone markers along your road strip and number them from the house outward. Walk a horse token from the house to the third marker, counting the markers aloud as you pass them, and stop where Per stopped. Say the number of the marker your token is standing on.
Word preview: third
They stopped at the third one.
I've found Zack's initials carved here, along with another set of numbers.
2. Overshoot to six and come back to two (6 min)
The robbers push the cousins past marker six before they can turn round. Gallop your token from the third marker out to the sixth, then bring it back and stop it on the second, matching what Radius says they have to do. Do not slide the token straight to two: move it marker by marker so your hand passes every one, and say each number as you pass it.
Word preview: milestone
After passing milestone 6, they slowed to a walk.
If we want to get to the treasure, we have to return to mile 2 on this road.
3. Turn at the marker (5 min)
At the second marker the cousins leave the road and turn. Stand your token on marker two, lay a short lane strip out from that marker, and walk the token one step along the lane. Say the marker you turned at and the direction you turned, and leave the token standing at the end of the lane.
Word preview: turn
Together, they gow a back down the dusty road, making a hasty left turn at milestone two.
4. Name where your token stands (4 min)
Point at a partner's token and ask which marker it started from and which way it turned. Answer for your own token in one sentence that uses the marker number. Then move your token to a different marker and say the new sentence.
Word preview: marker
This must be our destination," said Radius checking the map.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Number the mile markers (4 min)
Set out seven markers along your road strip and number them from the house outward. Walk your horse token to the third marker, counting the markers aloud as you pass, and say the number it stands on.
Word preview: third
They stopped at the third one.
2. Overshoot to six and come back to two (5 min)
Gallop your token from the third marker out to the sixth, then bring it back marker by marker and stop it on the second. Say each marker number aloud as your hand passes it.
Word preview: milestone
If we want to get to the treasure, we have to return to mile 2 on this road.

Three levels

Support: Use four markers instead of seven and keep the token's whole journey inside them. Move to the third, then back to the second, saying each number as you pass it, and add markers five and six only once the short trip runs without a recount.
At Grade: Run the whole journey with seven markers and say the marker number at each stop without recounting from the house. Say the sentence naming the marker you turned at.
Extension: Put a marker halfway between two of yours and say what you would have to call it, given that the markers you already have are numbered. Say why the cousins never needed such a marker on this road.

English learners

The word marker does two things at once in this lesson: it is the stone the book describes and it is the number the stone stands for, and a child can be fluent in one meaning while the other stays invisible. Rehearse the frame "my token is standing on marker two", which keeps the object and the number in one sentence. Ordinal words are where the English is heaviest here, because third and sixth and second are irregular; let students count in their strongest language while the hand moves and say the ordinal in English only at the stop.

Materials

Seven small stones or counters as mile markers, one set per pair
A horse token, one per pair
A short lane strip of paper tape, one per pair
Word cards: marker, third, milestone

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

3. Everything Counts From the Crossing Concept · Using a fixed starting point where two lines cross, and counting out from it in four directions

The book's landscape is cut into four by a road one way and a river the other, and its closing pages name the spot where the two meet. Students find that crossing on their own strips, count out from it four ways, and drop chips into the four pieces the strips make. The concept is that one fixed spot makes every count mean something: the same number three names four different places until you also say which way you went from the crossing.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the crossing (5 min)
Lay your road strip and river strip so they cross, and slide a chip to the one spot that sits on both strips at once. Move the chip a little way along the road and say whether it is still on the river; move it back and check again. Leave the chip on the crossing and put the paper house over it.
Word preview: origin, zero
Where they meet in the middle, at zero, is known as the point of origin.
The house in the hill looks like it's drawn inside a giant zero," said Per.
2. Count out from the crossing four ways (6 min)
Starting with your finger on the crossing every time, count three marks out along the road one way, then start again and count three the other way. Do the same up the river and down it. Say each time how far you went and which way, and notice that the number three named four different spots.
Word preview: positive, negative
The numbers on the axes are both positive and negative.
3. Sort the land into four (5 min)
The two strips cut your table into four pieces. Drop a chip anywhere that is not on a strip and say which of the four pieces it landed in, using the road and the river to say it. Do this four times so that every piece gets a chip, and say what all the chips in one piece have in common.
Word preview: sections
The landscape below them lay divided into four sections.
4. Say what the crossing is for (4 min)
Take away the paper house and put a chip somewhere on the road. Tell your partner how far it is from the crossing and which way, then have them do the same for a chip on the river. Say in one sentence why every count in this lesson started at the crossing.
Word preview: crossing
Together, they looked for negative 3, negative 3.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the crossing (4 min)
Lay your road strip and river strip so they cross, and slide a chip to the one spot that sits on both at once. Move the chip a little along the road and say whether it is still on the river, then bring it back.
Word preview: origin, zero
The house in the hill looks like it's drawn inside a giant zero," said Per.
2. Count out from the crossing four ways (5 min)
With your finger on the crossing each time, count three marks out along the road one way, then three the other way, then three up the river and three down. Say how far and which way each time.
Word preview: positive, negative
The numbers on the axes are both positive and negative.

Three levels

Support: Work with the road strip only. Put your finger on the crossing and count three marks one way, then come back and count three the other way, saying which way each time. Add the river once the two road trips can be told apart in words.
At Grade: Count out from the crossing all four ways and say how far and which way each time. Drop chips into all four pieces and say what the chips in one piece share.
Extension: Put a chip on the road itself, off the crossing, and say which of the four pieces it belongs to. Say what is different about a chip that lands exactly on a strip, and whether the crossing itself belongs to any piece.

English learners

The word crossing carries this lesson and it is a word most children already own from roads, so what transfers is the idea and not the term; the term to build is the fixed starting point. Rehearse the frame "I started at the crossing and went three that way", which forces both halves into one sentence, and let the hand do the pointing while the words are still coming. Direction words are the load here rather than number words, so accept a gesture plus a number at first and add the English direction word after.

Materials

A road strip and a river strip of paper tape, one pair per pair of students
A coloured chip, one per pair
A small paper house, one per pair
Four coloured chips, one set per pair
Word cards: crossing, origin, sections

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

Math through the reading

The mathematics is reached through a sentence the book prints: change one word in the reading and the numbers change with it. These carry their own standards, matched against these lessons rather than inherited from the skill ones.

4. Which Line Does This Number Belong To? Integrated · Students travel two number pairs that use the same digits in different orders and say, in a full sentence, which line each number was spent on.

Students travel two number pairs that use the same digits in different orders and say, in a full sentence, which line each number was spent on.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Build the two lines and name them (5 min)
Students tape a road strip across and a river strip down so the two cross, put the house on the crossing, and say aloud which strip runs across and which runs up and down, using the book's own two direction words.
2. Travel the pair one number at a time (6 min)
Students take the card reading 3, 0, spend the first number along the road and the second along the river, and drop a chip. They say which line took each number as their hand moves, not after.
3. Travel the same digits in the other order (5 min)
Students take the card reading 0, 3, travel it the same way, and drop a second chip. They put both chips down at once and say why the same two digits did not send them to the same place.
4. Say the rule to a partner (4 min)
Students say the pair aloud to a partner who travels it without seeing the card, then check the chip landed where it was meant. Partners say back which number went to which line.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Build the two lines and name them (5 min)
Students tape a road strip across and a river strip down so the two cross, put the house on the crossing, and say aloud which strip runs across and which runs up and down, using the book's own two direction words.
2. Travel the pair one number at a time (6 min)
Students take the card reading 3, 0, spend the first number along the road and the second along the river, and drop a chip. They say which line took each number as their hand moves, not after.

Three levels

Support: Work with the road strip alone until single numbers can be travelled and named without a pause, then unfold the river and add the second number. Keep the house on the crossing so every trip starts from the same place, and say the line's name aloud at every stop even when only one line is in play.
At grade: Travel both cards and keep both chips down together, and say a full sentence naming which number was spent on which line for each pair.
Extension: Write a pair whose two numbers are equal, travel it, and say why the order stopped mattering for that pair alone. Then say what would have to be true of a pair for the order never to matter.

English learners

The words first and second are doing an unfamiliar job here, naming a line rather than a place in a sequence, and that is the whole difficulty for a child working in a new language. Rehearse the frame the first number goes along the road, the second number goes up the river until it can be said while the hand is moving. Many languages mark order with an ending rather than a separate word, so the thinking is already available and only the English shape is new; invite students to say the pair in their strongest language as they travel it and in English at the stop.

Materials

Paper tape strips marked in units, two per pair
A house token
Number-pair cards reading 3, 0 and 0, 3
Coloured chips
A large pair of crossing strips on the board with a house at the crossing

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

5. Three, Then Six, Then Two Integrated · Students walk a token along a numbered road in the book's order, then try to reorder the events and find the journey stops working.

Students walk a token along a numbered road in the book's order, then try to reorder the events and find the journey stops working.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Build the road and stand the token at the house (4 min)
Students lay out seven numbered markers along a road strip with the house at the crossing, and walk the token out and back once so that counting markers is the way the token moves.
2. Walk the four events in the book's order (7 min)
Students take four event cards in order and move the token to match each one, saying the sequence word and the marker number together at every stop.
3. Swap two cards and walk it again (5 min)
Students trade the positions of two event cards, walk the token by the new order, and say aloud the marker the token cannot reach and why the cousins would not have known to go there.
4. Retell the journey without the cards (4 min)
Students put the cards face down and retell the journey to a partner in order, naming every marker number, while the partner walks the token to check.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Walk the four events in the book's order (7 min)
Students take four event cards in order and move the token to match each one, saying the sequence word and the marker number together at every stop.
2. Swap two cards and walk it again (5 min)
Students trade the positions of two event cards, walk the token by the new order, and say aloud the marker the token cannot reach and why the cousins would not have known to go there.

Three levels

Support: Work with three events instead of four, dropping the overshoot past six, and keep the event cards face up in a row so the order is visible while the token moves. Say the marker number at each stop before the sequence word is added.
At grade: Walk all four events, then swap a pair and say which marker becomes unreachable and what the cousins would be missing at that point in the story.
Extension: Find the one event in the chain that could be moved without breaking anything and say why it is different from the other three. Then say what would have to change in the story for marker three to be movable.

English learners

Sequence words are the hard part here and they are heavier than they look, because the book's order runs outward, further outward, and then back, which is not a straight progression. Rehearse the frame first they stopped at marker three, then they were chased past marker six, then they came back to marker two, so that each sequence word arrives attached to a number. Let students count the markers aloud in their strongest language while the token moves, and say the ordered sentence in English at the stop.

Materials

A road strip with seven numbered markers
A horse token
Four event cards
A large numbered road on the board with a token the class can see

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

6. How Far Back to the Turn? Integrated · Students count the numbered stones between the overshoot and the turn by walking them, and say the number in a sentence that names both markers.

Students count the numbered stones between the overshoot and the turn by walking them, and say the number in a sentence that names both markers.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the two numbers the book gives (5 min)
Students hear the two sentences read apart from each other, find marker six and marker two on their road, and put a chip on each so both stated numbers are visible at once.
2. Walk the stones between them (6 min)
Students walk the token from marker six back toward the house, stopping on every stone and saying its number aloud, and stop when the token reaches marker two.
3. Count what the token passed (5 min)
Students count the stones the token actually stood on between the two chips and say the number, then check a partner got the same number by walking it themselves.
4. Say the number in a full sentence (4 min)
Students say one sentence that carries the answer and both marker numbers, and say how they got it, so that the count and the two stated numbers are spoken together.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Walk the stones between them (6 min)
Students walk the token from marker six back toward the house, stopping on every stone and saying its number aloud, and stop when the token reaches marker two.
2. Count what the token passed (5 min)
Students count the stones the token actually stood on between the two chips and say the number, then check a partner got the same number by walking it themselves.

Three levels

Support: Put the two chips down first and leave them there, so the start and the stop are never in doubt while the token moves. Walk the token one stone at a time with a finger on each stone as its number is said, and count the stones a second time before saying the answer.
At grade: Walk the stones, count them, and say the answer in a sentence naming both markers and how the number was reached.
Extension: Ask what the count would be if the cousins had been chased past marker seven instead, walk it, and say what happens to the count each time the overshoot goes one stone further. Say whether that pattern would keep working.

English learners

The difficulty here is holding two numbers that arrive in different sentences several lines apart, which is a memory load in any language and heavier in a new one. Give the two sentences on separate strips so both can be seen at once, and rehearse the frame from marker six back to marker two the token passed four stones. Counting aloud in the strongest language while the hand moves is welcome, and the English sentence belongs at the end when the number is already secure.

Materials

A road strip with seven numbered markers
A horse token
Two chips
The two book sentences on separate strips
The two sentences displayed apart from each other, then side by side

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

7. Two Threes on One Map Integrated · Students take a side on which of the map's two threes the Viking meant and argue it to Radius using the numbers on the map.

Students take a side on which of the map's two threes the Viking meant and argue it to Radius using the numbers on the map.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hear the disagreement (4 min)
Students hear Radius's objection and Per's reply read out, find both threes on their own strips, and mark each with a chip so the two candidates sit side by side.
2. Pick a side and gather the numbers (5 min)
Students choose one of the two threes and work out what they would say the zero is doing under their choice, keeping both numbers of the pair in hand.
3. Argue it to Radius (7 min)
Students take turns speaking to a partner playing Radius, giving their position and naming both numbers and what each is doing. The partner presses the objection Radius actually makes, that no zero is visible.
4. Say what would change your mind (4 min)
Students say what they would need to see on the map to switch sides, and any student who did switch says which sentence moved them.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Hear the disagreement (4 min)
Students hear Radius's objection and Per's reply read out, find both threes on their own strips, and mark each with a chip so the two candidates sit side by side.
2. Argue it to Radius (7 min)
Students take turns speaking to a partner playing Radius, giving their position and naming both numbers and what each is doing. The partner presses the objection Radius actually makes, that no zero is visible.

Three levels

Support: Take a position card that names one of the two threes so the choosing is done, and spend the time on saying what the zero is doing. Rehearse the answer to Radius's objection once with a partner before saying it to the group, keeping both chips in view while speaking.
At grade: Choose a side, account for both numbers, and answer Radius's objection that no zero is visible on the map.
Extension: Argue the side you did not choose, then say which of the two arguments is harder to make and exactly which number is the reason. Say what the cousins would have needed on the map for the question never to have arisen.

English learners

This lesson asks for argument, which is the heaviest oral demand in the set, so the mathematics has to be secure before the speech is. Rehearse the frame I think it is the three on the road, because the zero is the house, so that the position and its reason arrive in one sentence with both numbers inside it. Let students plan the argument in their strongest language with a partner and deliver it in English, and accept pointing at the two chips as part of the argument rather than as a substitute for it.

Materials

Two crossing strips
A house token
Two chips marking the candidate threes
Position cards
The two sentences of the disagreement displayed one above the other

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

Reading and language lessons

5 lessons on the reading and language the book carries - what a word means in its sentence, how a character is shown, how a text is built. No mathematics: these are matched against the English language arts curricula, which are a different and smaller set than the mathematics ones.

8. As Rare As Dogs With Wings Concept · Reading a comparison that exaggerates on purpose

Radius could have said maps are hard to find. He compares them to something that does not exist at all, and the exaggeration is the joke. Students unpack the comparison, decide what it claims about how many maps there are, and then test a second sentence to see whether it exaggerates or reports. The skill is reading a deliberate overstatement and saying what it is really claiming.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Unpack the comparison (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud. Name the two things being compared and the two small words that join them. Then tell your partner what Radius is actually claiming about how easy it is to find a map in Angleland, in plain words with no comparison in it.
Word preview: rare
Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings, replied Radius.
2. Test how far the exaggeration goes (5 min)
Dogs with wings do not exist. Say to your group what that means about the number of maps Radius is claiming exist — none at all, or very few. Then say which of those two he really means, and point at what else in the story proves it.
Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings, replied Radius.
3. Rule on a sentence that does not exaggerate (5 min)
Read this span aloud. Decide with your partner whether it exaggerates or simply reports what happened. Write your ruling in the ledger with the reason beside it, and be ready for somebody to disagree.
Word preview: dismounted, consult
They walked their horses carefully through the forest, and at last the lake came into view. They dismounted and walked to the water's edge to consult the map again.
4. Write an exaggeration that carries a claim (5 min)
Look again at the sentence reprinted here. Write one sentence of your own about something rare in your school, using as rare as and something impossible. Read it to your group; they say back what your sentence is really claiming, in plain words.
Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings, replied Radius.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Unpack the comparison (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud, name the two things compared and the joining words, then say the plain claim underneath the comparison.
Word preview: rare
Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings, replied Radius.
2. Test how far the exaggeration goes (4 min)
Say whether Radius is claiming there are no maps at all or very few, and say what in the story settles it.
Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings, replied Radius.

Three levels

Support: Support: name the two things compared and say the plain claim in one sentence. Skip the ruling on the second span and write your own comparison with the teacher offering two impossible things to choose between.
At Grade: At Grade: unpack the comparison, judge how far it exaggerates, and rule correctly on the second span.
Extension: Extension: argue whether the exaggeration is Radius being funny or Radius being genuinely discouraged, using what he says immediately around it as your evidence.

English learners

Comparison with as ___ as is a fixed English frame and a learner often knows the equivalent frame at home, so what is new is the frame's shape, not the idea. Write as ___ as ___ on the board and fill it three times chorally before anyone works alone. Invite an exaggeration for rarity from the student's strongest language; if it names something different from a winged dog, that difference is worth discussing aloud.

Materials

Printed passage strip: Maps of Angleland are as rare as dogs with wings
Exaggeration ledger
Printed passage strip: They walked their horses carefully
Word cards: rare, dismounted, consult

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

9. The Line That Comes Back: Reading Burnaby's Song Concept · Hearing how repetition and rhyme build a song

The robbers arrive singing, and the song is built out of a line that returns and a run of words that all end alike. Students say the song aloud, find the returning line, mark the rhyming ends, and then say what a song built this way tells you about the singers before they have done anything. The transcription of the song is damaged in a word or two and is quoted whole and unaltered; the pattern students work with survives intact.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Say the song and find the line that returns (5 min)
Read this song aloud with your group, all together, twice. One line appears at the start and again at the end, nearly word for word. Underline it both times and say aloud what a song does to a listener when it circles back to where it began.
Word preview: baddest
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.
2. Mark the words that end alike (5 min)
Read the song aloud again, stopping hard on the last word of each part: band, land, can, band. Circle all four. Tell your partner which three truly rhyme and which one is the odd one out, and say it aloud to prove it.
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.
3. Say what the song claims about the singers (5 min)
Read the song aloud one more time and find the two things it says the singers do. The robbers are describing themselves. Say to your group whether they sound ashamed or proud, and point at the word that settles it.
Word preview: snatch
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.
4. Match the song against the men (5 min)
Here is the song again beside the sentence where the robbers actually appear. Say to your group whether the men in the second span live up to their own song, pointing at the words in each. Then say which the author wants you to trust.
Word preview: bandits
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.
Six gruffy bandits burst through the trees and barrelled toward them, waving sticks.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Say the song and find the line that returns (5 min)
Read this song aloud twice with your group. Underline the line that appears at the start and again at the end, and say what circling back does to a listener.
Word preview: baddest
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.
2. Mark the words that end alike (4 min)
Read the song aloud again, stopping on the last word of each part, and circle the four. Say which three rhyme and which is the odd one out.
Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band, where the baddest lot in all the land, we sneak and snatch wherever we can, where bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band.

Three levels

Support: Support: say the song aloud with the group and do the returning line only. Underline it twice and stop there; the rhyme work can wait.
At Grade: At Grade: mark the returning line and the rhyming ends, and say what the song claims about the singers.
Extension: Extension: the word baddest is not standard English and the author chose it anyway. Argue to your group what it does for the song that worst would not do, using the rhyme and the singers' pride as your reasons.

English learners

Rhyme in English rests on vowel sounds a learner may not yet separate, so band and land can sound identical to can. Say all four aloud slowly, exaggerating the ends, and let students sort by ear before they look at spelling. Frame: '___ and ___ rhyme because they end with the same sound.' A student who can sing the pattern back without naming it has heard it, and that is the skill.

Materials

Printed passage strip: Bad old Burnaby in his Brighon band
Rhyme-and-repeat marker
Printed passage strip: Six gruffy bandits burst through the trees
Word cards: baddest, snatch, bandits

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

10. Settle Down, Mates: How the Robbers Talk Reasoning · Noticing how an author gives a character a distinct way of speaking

The robbers do not speak the way the cousins speak. They drop words out of their sentences, use their own vocabulary, and one of them is given a voice described before he says anything. Students compare two spans of robber speech, list what is different about the words and the sentences, and say what the differences tell them about who these men are. This is about how speech is written, not about who says what.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. List what is missing from the sentences (5 min)
Read this span aloud, taking a different robber's line each. Two of these sentences are missing the word that would normally start them. Say each one aloud as you would say it in your own speech, then say the robber's version, and tell your partner what got dropped.
Word preview: pelf
The robbers entered the cave, all talking at once. Your sneeze chased them two young ones off. Can't be far away. Find the pelf, maybe they'll have gold or coins. Rest in this old cave first, and then...
2. Collect the words only they use (5 min)
Read the same span again. Find the word the robbers use for what they hope to steal. Nobody else in this story uses it. Write it on your chart and, from the sentence around it, say what you think it means without a dictionary.
The robbers entered the cave, all talking at once. Your sneeze chased them two young ones off. Can't be far away. Find the pelf, maybe they'll have gold or coins. Rest in this old cave first, and then...
3. Hear a voice described before it speaks (5 min)
Read this span aloud. The author tells you what the voice sounds like before you get the words. Say the line the way those two describing words tell you to. Then say to your group how the same words would sound in a bright, cheerful voice, and what would be lost.
Word preview: stern, mates
A stern, gravely voice said, Settle down, mates. Time for a bit of shut-eye. Soon, loud snores could be heard.
4. Set the robbers beside the cousins (5 min)
Here is a robber span and a cousin span side by side. Fill both columns of your chart with what each pair of speakers does with words and sentences. Then say one sentence to your group naming the clearest difference and what it tells you about the two groups.
Word preview: cutting-edge
A stern, gravely voice said, Settle down, mates. Time for a bit of shut-eye. Soon, loud snores could be heard.
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. List what is missing from the sentences (5 min)
Read this span aloud, a line each. Say two of the sentences the way you would say them, then the robbers' version, and name what got dropped.
Word preview: pelf
The robbers entered the cave, all talking at once. Your sneeze chased them two young ones off. Can't be far away. Find the pelf, maybe they'll have gold or coins. Rest in this old cave first, and then...
2. Hear a voice described before it speaks (4 min)
Read this span aloud. Say the line the way the two describing words tell you to, then say what a cheerful reading would lose.
Word preview: stern, mates
A stern, gravely voice said, Settle down, mates. Time for a bit of shut-eye. Soon, loud snores could be heard.

Three levels

Support: Support: work one robber sentence only. Say it as the robber says it and then as you would say it, and name the one word that is different. Do not do the comparison chart.
At Grade: At Grade: name the dropped words, work out pelf from its sentence, and read the gravelly line the way the description asks.
Extension: Extension: argue whether the author is making the robbers sound frightening or making them sound ridiculous, drawing on both what they say and how the narrator describes the voice saying it.

English learners

English drops subjects in casual speech in ways textbooks never show, so a learner reading 'Can't be far away' may reasonably decide the sentence is broken. Say the full version and the dropped version side by side and name the dropping as a choice speakers make. Frame: 'He says ___ but he means ___.' Ask whether the student's strongest language drops words the same way; many do, and hearing that named makes the English feel less arbitrary.

Materials

Printed passage strip: The robbers entered the cave
Voice comparison chart
Printed passage strip: A stern, gravely voice said
Printed passage strip: We're fine
Word cards: pelf, stern, mates, cutting-edge

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

11. Dim, Musty, Damp: Building a Mood One Word at a Time Reasoning · Tracing how word choice builds mood across a scene

Three spans in this book describe dark enclosed places, and each is built from a small handful of words doing the atmospheric work. Students collect the mood words from each span, sort them by which sense they reach, and then say how the mood changes when the boat comes out of the mist. The evidence is always the describing words, never the events.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Collect the words that make it feel closed in (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud. Three words are doing all the atmospheric work: dim, musty, cobwebs. Put each on your mood log and say beside it which sense it reaches — what you see, what you smell, what you touch.
Word preview: musty
In the dim light, they could make out a musty room full of cobwebs.
2. Do the same in the cave (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud. Add flickered, damp and cavern to your log with the sense each one reaches. Tell your partner which single word here does the most work, and say what the sentence would feel like with that word removed.
Word preview: flickered, cavern
Candle light flickered on the damp walls of the large cavern.
3. Feel the mood turn (5 min)
Read this span aloud. The mood shifts partway through. Find the sentence where it turns and say what changes: the words before it are about struggling, the words after it are about something arriving quietly. Add glided and mist to your log.
Word preview: floundered, glided
While Barnaby's band floundered about, Per and Radius pulled themselves onto the big rock, gasping. As they did, a small boat appeared through the mist and glided toward them. A huge gray Viking stood in its bow.
4. Say the mood in one sentence with evidence (5 min)
Using your log and the three spans reprinted here, say one sentence to your group in this shape: 'The mood in this part of the book is ___, and I know because the author chose the words ___ and ___.' Both words must appear in the spans in front of you.
In the dim light, they could make out a musty room full of cobwebs.
Candle light flickered on the damp walls of the large cavern.
While Barnaby's band floundered about, Per and Radius pulled themselves onto the big rock, gasping. As they did, a small boat appeared through the mist and glided toward them. A huge gray Viking stood in its bow.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Collect the words that make it feel closed in (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud. Put dim, musty and cobwebs on your mood log and say which sense each one reaches.
Word preview: musty
In the dim light, they could make out a musty room full of cobwebs.
2. Do the same in the cave (4 min)
Read this sentence aloud and add flickered, damp and cavern to your log. Say which word does the most work and what its removal would cost.
Word preview: flickered, cavern
Candle light flickered on the damp walls of the large cavern.

Three levels

Support: Support: work the first two spans only and name the sense each word reaches, choosing from see, smell and touch offered on a card. Skip the mood-turn span.
At Grade: At Grade: log the words from all three spans and name the sentence where the mood turns.
Extension: Extension: floundered and glided sit in the same span and describe two different ways of moving through water. Argue what the author gains by putting them so close together, and what would be lost if both groups had simply swum.

English learners

Mood words are dense here and several are low-frequency even for a fluent reader — musty and cavern will be new to most of the class, not only to learners. Teach them with a picture and a gesture, not a definition. Frame: 'The word ___ makes me ___.' Let students name the mood in their strongest language and give the English evidence word; naming the feeling accurately matters more than naming it in English.

Materials

Printed passage strip: In the dim light
Mood log
Printed passage strip: Candle light flickered
Printed passage strip: While Barnaby's band floundered about
Word cards: musty, flickered, cavern, floundered, glided

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.

12. Cutting Edge and Sharp Thinking: The Joke in the Last Line Representation · Reading a phrase that carries two meanings at once

The cousins finish the story by describing what they did in three phrases that all belong to an axe: cutting-edge, sharp, and get a handle on. They are talking about a map and their own cleverness, and every phrase means two things at once. Students find the three phrases, say both meanings of each, and then check the phrases against the object that makes the joke work. The lesson never asks what an axis is.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Find the three phrases doing double duty (5 min)
Read this span aloud, taking one cousin's half each. Three phrases in it sound like ordinary praise but also describe a tool: cutting-edge, sharp thinking, and get a handle on. Underline all three and read the span again with a partner, stressing each one.
Word preview: cutting-edge
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.
2. Say both meanings of each phrase (5 min)
Fill your ledger with three rows. In the first column write what the phrase means about the cousins and their map. In the second write what it means about a tool you could hold. Say each pair aloud to your partner before you write it.
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.
3. Find the object the joke rests on (5 min)
Read this sentence aloud. It is what the Viking says as he hands over what he is carrying. Say to your group what he is giving them and how that connects to the three phrases you underlined. A joke like this only works if the reader has been shown the object first.
Word preview: measure, growled
This is treasure of the greatest measure, he growled, protected.
4. Judge whether the joke lands (5 min)
Read both spans reprinted here once more, one after the other. Say to your group whether a reader who missed the earlier axes would still get the ending, and what exactly they would miss. Then rank your three phrases from cleverest to weakest and defend your top one.
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.
This is treasure of the greatest measure, he growled, protected.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Find the three phrases doing double duty (5 min)
Read this span aloud, a half each. Underline cutting-edge, sharp thinking and get a handle on, then read it again stressing each one.
Word preview: cutting-edge
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.
2. Say both meanings of each phrase (4 min)
Fill three rows of your ledger: what each phrase means about the cousins, and what it means about a tool.
We're fine. We found a cutting-edge map, began radius, and used some sharp thinking to get a handle on our location, finished per.

Three levels

Support: Support: work one phrase only, sharp thinking. Say what sharp means about a knife and what it means about a person, and stop there.
At Grade: At Grade: find all three phrases and give both meanings of each in the ledger.
Extension: Extension: the two cousins split the joke between them, one starting the sentence and the other finishing it. Argue what that split does that one speaker saying all three phrases would not, using the words that mark who is speaking.

English learners

Puns are the hardest thing on this page for a learner, because they need two English meanings held at once and idioms like get a handle on are not decodable from their words. Teach the tool meaning first with a real or drawn axe, then the figurative one. Frame: '___ can mean ___ or ___.' Invite a double-meaning phrase from the student's strongest language and let them explain it to the class; that explanation is the same skill.

Materials

Printed passage strip: We're fine
Double-meaning ledger
Printed passage strip: This is treasure of the greatest measure
Word cards: cutting-edge, measure, growled

Standards & curriculum

Choose your curriculum above to see the standards for this lesson.