Shark Swimathon

$Shark Swimathon book cover$

Grade 2
5 skill lessons · 3 math-through-reading

Math

Skill lessons

The mathematics the book carries, taught directly. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign
2Keep the Goal Board for Four Days
3Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones
4Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five
5Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero?

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.

6The Word That Moves the Number
7Put the Sign Back in Order
8The Number Coach Blue Never Says

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.

9Goggles off, goggles on: reading Tiny's change of heart
10In record time or struggled: how the book grades effort and volume
11Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: retelling the week the book prints
12One bike, one month, one new plan: following the chain after Gil's fall
13Do it for the tacos: cheering with a reason the listener already wants

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Skill lessons

5 lessons on the mathematics the book carries. Each lesson has printable workbook pages and a separate teacher key.

1. Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign Fluency · Subtracting a two-digit number from a two-digit number, trading a ten when the ones will not give

The book puts one number on a sign and changes it four times: Coach Blue writes the goal, then takes each day's laps off it. Students work three of those subtractions, blocks first and writing second — 75 minus 61, 61 minus 17, 44 minus 19 — meeting one that needs no trade and two that do.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Set the goal on the sign (3 min)
Each pair builds 75 on the lap sign card with 7 ten-rods and 5 single cubes. Then say the number twice: seventy-five, seven tens and five ones. Slide rods into the left column and cubes into the right so tens and ones never mix. Leave the sign standing; every subtraction today starts from a sign.
Word preview: goal
Then she subtracted the total from the 75-lap goal.
On Tuesday, while the team warmed up, Coach Blue wrote their goal on a big sign.
2. Find Tuesday's laps with no trade (5 min)
The sign reads 75 before Tuesday and 61 after it. Take 61 off 75 with the blocks — one cube from five cubes, six rods from seven rods. Write 75 - 61 = 14 on the recording strip. Say out loud why nothing had to be broken open: there were enough ones to give.
Word preview: subtracted
Now we have 61 laps to go
3. Trade a ten to take seventeen (6 min)
Build 61 again and take away the 17 laps the team swam on Wednesday. One cube cannot give up seven, so trade one rod for ten cubes and count eleven ones. Take 7 ones and 1 ten, write 61 - 17 = 44, and check your sign against the number the book announces.
Word preview: total
Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
We have 44 laps to go
4. Trade again to take nineteen (6 min)
Build 44 and take away Thursday's 19 laps: trade a rod, count fourteen ones, take 9 ones and 1 ten. Write 44 - 19 = 25 under the other two subtractions. Ring the two that needed a trade and be ready to say what the ring means.
This time, no one got out after two laps. Everyone swam 3 except Gil. This time, he swam 4.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Set the goal on the sign (3 min)
Build 75 on the lap sign card with 7 ten-rods and 5 cubes, tens in one column and ones in the other. Say it twice: seventy-five, seven tens and five ones.
Word preview: goal
Then she subtracted the total from the 75-lap goal.
2. Trade a ten to take seventeen (6 min)
Take Wednesday's 17 laps off the 61 on your sign. One cube cannot give up seven, so trade a rod for ten cubes and count eleven ones. Take 7 ones and 1 ten, write 61 - 17 = 44, and check it against the book's number.
Word preview: total
Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
We have 44 laps to go

Three levels

Support: Hand the pair 61 already built, five rods and one cube standing in the columns, and do only 61 — 17. Trade the rod for ten cubes, count eleven ones aloud, then take 7 ones and 1 ten. The blocks stay on the mat while the subtraction is written, so the difference is read off rather than held in mind. The trade itself is not reduced.
At Grade: Work all three subtractions, blocks first and writing second, and ring the two that needed a trade. Say for each one whether the ones column could give before you touch it.
Extension: Work backwards from the sign alone. Given only 75, 61, 44 and 25, find how many laps the team swam on each of the three days. Then, for each day, decide from the ones digits alone — before subtracting anything — whether a trade will be needed, and prove one of your predictions with the blocks.

English learners

The blocks and the numerals carry across any first language: seven tens and five ones look the same in every classroom, and trading one ten for ten ones is a move a child can make before saying a word about it. What does not carry is the order inside take 17 off 61, since many languages name the smaller number first, and laps to go is an English idiom for what is left rather than for what is done. Run one sentence all lesson: how many laps to go, how many were taken away, and how many to go now. Students are welcome to count the trade aloud in their family language and give the finished sentence in English.

Materials

Base-ten rods and unit cubes, 9 rods and 20 cubes per pair
Lap sign card, one per pair, ruled tens and ones
Recording strip, one per student
Pencil
Word cards: goal, subtracted, total

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Lap Sign Card full page

Shark Swimathon — Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign

Lap Sign Card

Put ten-rods in the left column and single cubes in the right column.

Leave the sign standing. Every subtraction today starts from it.

Recording Strip half page

Shark Swimathon — Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign

Recording Strip

Build it with the blocks first. Then write the subtraction on its own line.

Ring the two that needed a trade.

1. ________________________________________

2. ________________________________________

3. ________________________________________

Word Cards card set

Shark Swimathon — Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign

Word Cards

Cut on every line.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Recording Strip full page

Shark Swimathon — Take the Day's Laps Off the Sign — Teacher Key

Expected responses

75 − 61 = 14. No trade. Five ones could give one.
61 − 17 = 44. A trade. One one cannot give seven, so a rod is broken into ten ones and eleven ones are counted.
44 − 19 = 25. A trade. Four ones cannot give nine, so a rod is broken and fourteen ones are counted.

Lines 2 and 3 are the two that should be ringed.

Support

A Support pair writes line 2 only, reading 44 off the blocks still standing on the mat. The trade itself is not reduced.

Extension

An Extension pair works from 75, 61, 44 and 25 and writes the same three sentences; the trade predictions and the proof are spoken and made with the blocks, not written here.

Read for

Close: the blocks are moved before the sentence is written, and the ring falls on exactly the two subtractions where the ones column could not give. Loose: three sentences written straight down the strip with the blocks untouched, or a ring drawn round the two subtractions with the larger answers.

Ask what the ring means. The wanted answer names the ones column, not the size of the number.

Standards & curriculum

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

2. Keep the Goal Board for Four Days Application · Running a four-stage subtraction to track how many are left toward a goal

Coach Blue never announces a day's total; she announces what is left. The book runs that loop four times, from 75 down to nothing. Students keep the board themselves: total the day's laps from what the swimmers did, subtract that total from the number standing on the board, write the new number, and begin the next day from it. This is application because the subtraction is never handed over — the day supplies it.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Post the goal and Tuesday's number (5 min)
Rule your goal board into four day rows and write 75 at the top. The book gives Tuesday's finished number, so write 61 in the first row and find the laps that took: 75 - 61 = 14. Say the row aloud, 75 to go, 14 swum, 61 to go, before you touch the next one.
Word preview: goal
On Tuesday, while the team warmed up, Coach Blue wrote their goal on a big sign.
Now we have 61 laps to go
2. Total Wednesday's laps (4 min)
Six sharks swim on Wednesday. Put out two counters for Tiny and three for each of the other five. Then count the whole set: two, and three, and three, and three, and three, and three. Write the day's total in the second row. This number is nowhere in the book, so your counters are the proof of it.
Word preview: all
All six sharks swam one lap, the length of the pool and back.
Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
3. Take each day off the board (6 min)
Subtract Wednesday's 17 from the 61 standing above it, trading a ten with rods and cubes, and write 44. Then total Thursday the same way, five sharks at three laps and Gil at four, and take 19 off 44 to write 25. Every row must start from the number the row above finished with.
Word preview: subtracted
When she finished, she subtracted Wednesday's total from the number of laps they still needed to meet their goal.
We have 44 laps to go
Everyone swam 3 except Gil. This time, he swam 4.
4. Finish the board at zero (5 min)
Gill cannot race, so five sharks swim on Friday and each of them swims five laps. Build the five fives, total them, and take that total off the 25 standing on the board. Write the last number, then read the whole board top to bottom in four sentences.
Word preview: each
The doctor said I can't race for a whole month.
We can make it if we each swim five laps.
There are zero ones and zero tens left.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Total Wednesday's laps (4 min)
Put out two counters for Tiny and three for each of the other five sharks. Count the whole set and write the day's total. The book never says this number, so the counters are your proof.
Word preview: all
Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
2. Finish the board at zero (5 min)
Five sharks swim on Friday because Gill cannot race, and each swims five laps. Build the five fives, total them, take that total off the 25 on the board, and read the finished board aloud.
Word preview: each
We can make it if we each swim five laps.
There are zero ones and zero tens left.

Three levels

Support: Hand the pair the two day totals already counted, 17 and 19, on cards. The board work is unchanged: take each total off the number standing above it and write what is left. What is lifted is the counting, not the running subtraction.
At Grade: Total each day from the swimmers and run the board yourself from 75 down to nothing, writing the day total and the number left in every row.
Extension: Cover the Wednesday row and hand the pair only 75, 61 and 44. Rebuild the hidden total, then decide which day's total was fixed by the day before it and which were not, and say what that means for the last number on the board.

English learners

The direction words are what need teaching. To go, left and still needed all name the same quantity in this book, and a child may hear three different numbers where there is one. Fix a single sentence and use it in every row: how many were swum, and how many laps to go. Students may total in their strongest language and read the row in English.

Materials

Goal board, one per pair, ruled into four day rows
Dry-erase marker
Counters, 25 per pair
Base-ten rods and unit cubes, 9 rods and 20 cubes per pair
Word cards: all, each, goal, subtracted

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Goal Board full page

Shark Swimathon — Keep the Goal Board for Four Days

Goal Board

Write the goal at the top. Fill in one row for each day.

Every row starts from the number the row above finished with.

Word Cards card set

Shark Swimathon — Keep the Goal Board for Four Days

Word Cards

Cut on every line.

Day Total Cards Support card set

Shark Swimathon — Keep the Goal Board for Four Days

Day Total Cards

Cut on the line. Put one card beside the row it belongs to.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Goal Board full page

Shark Swimathon — Keep the Goal Board for Four Days — Teacher Key

Expected responses

Goal at the top: 75.

Tuesday. Laps swum 14, laps to go 61. The board gives the finished number, so the day total is found by 75 − 61.
Wednesday. Laps swum 17, laps to go 44. Two for Tiny and three for each of the other five: 2 and 15. The 17 is counted from the counters; it is not stated anywhere.
Thursday. Laps swum 19, laps to go 25. Five swimmers at three and Gil at four: 15 and 4. Then 44 − 19, a trade.
Friday. Laps swum 25, laps to go 0. Five swimmers at five laps each, counted by fives to twenty-five, then 25 − 25.

Support and Extension

Support: the 17 and 19 cards are handed over, so the counting is lifted and the running subtraction is not. Every row is still taken off the number standing above it.

Extension: with the Wednesday row covered and only 75, 61 and 44 in hand, the hidden total is 17. Wednesday's and Thursday's starting numbers were fixed by the day before them; Tuesday's was fixed by the goal. What follows for the last number is said aloud, not written here.

Read for

Close: each row's laps-to-go becomes the next row's starting number with nothing recalculated from 75, and the two day totals are counted out before they are subtracted. Loose: every day subtracted from 75, so the rows read 61, 58, 56; or a total written straight from the book, which never states one.

Standards & curriculum

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

3. Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones Representation · Representing two-digit numbers as tens and ones and trading one ten for ten ones

Four numbers stand on Coach Blue's sign across the week — 75, 61, 44 and 25 — and the book ends by naming the last one in tens and ones. Students build each sign number with rods and cubes, draw it as sticks and dots, then trade one ten for ten ones and show by counting back that the number did not change. The point is the representation itself: one quantity in three forms, and the trade as a move you can watch happen.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Build the four sign numbers (6 min)
Take the number cards 75, 61, 44 and 25 one at a time and build each on the trading mat with rods and cubes. Say every number twice, once as its name and once as its tens and ones. Line the four builds up left to right so the week's shrinking is in front of you.
Then she subtracted the total from the 75-lap goal.
Now we have 61 laps to go
We have 44 laps to go
2. Draw what you built (4 min)
Draw each of the four numbers with a stick for every ten and a dot for every one, keeping sticks and dots in separate columns. Write the two-digit numeral under each drawing. Count one drawing back to check that the sticks and dots match the numeral you wrote.
3. Trade one ten for ten ones (5 min)
Go back to 61 and trade one rod for ten cubes. Count what is on the mat now, five tens and eleven ones, and say whether the number changed. Prove your answer by counting the whole mat back to sixty-one, then make the same trade on 44.
4. Clear the mat to zero (5 min)
Build 25 and take it all away, one ten and then the rest, until the mat is empty. Say what is left in the book's own words and write the numeral 0 under your last drawing.
Word preview: left
There are zero ones and zero tens left.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Draw what you built (4 min)
Draw 61 and 44 with a stick for every ten and a dot for every one, sticks and dots in their own columns, and write the numeral under each drawing.
Word preview: ones
2. Trade one ten for ten ones (5 min)
Build 61 and trade one rod for ten cubes. Count the mat, five tens and eleven ones, and prove the number did not change by counting the whole mat back to sixty-one.

Three levels

Support: Work only 61 and 44, and keep the number card face up beside the mat so the numeral never has to be held in mind while the blocks are moved. The trade is unchanged: one rod out, ten cubes in, count the whole mat back.
At Grade: Build, draw and trade all four sign numbers, writing the tens-and-ones name under each drawing.
Extension: Trade twice on 75 — one rod, then a second — and write all three names for the one number: seven tens five ones, six tens fifteen ones, five tens twenty-five ones. Then say which of the three names is the useful one if 28 laps have to come off, and show on the mat why the other two are not.

English learners

Ten-ness is the same everywhere and the blocks say it without English. The number words are not: many languages build teens and tens in a different order than English does, so fifteen and fifty collide for a child hearing them for the first time. Have students point at the mat while they say the number, and practise one sentence naming the tens, the ones, and the number they make. Counting the trade in a first language before naming it in English is welcome, and the drawing is a report a student can give with no words at all.

Materials

Base-ten rods and unit cubes, 9 rods and 20 cubes per pair
Number card set: 75, 61, 44, 25, one set per pair
Trading mat, one per pair, ruled tens and ones
Blank paper
Pencil
Word cards: left

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Trading Mat full page

Shark Swimathon — Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones

Trading Mat

Build each number with rods in the left column and cubes in the right column.

When you trade, one rod leaves the left column and ten cubes come into the right.

Sign Number Cards and Word Card card set

Shark Swimathon — Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones

Sign Number Cards and Word Card

Cut on every line. Take the number cards one at a time.

Sticks and Dots Sheet full page

Shark Swimathon — Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones

Sticks and Dots Sheet

Draw a stick for every ten and a dot for every one. Keep sticks and dots in their own columns.

Write the numeral on the first line and the tens-and-ones name on the second.

When the mat is empty, write the numeral here: __________

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Sticks and Dots Sheet full page

Shark Swimathon — Show the Laps Left in Tens and Ones — Teacher Key

Expected responses

Seven sticks and five dots. 75. Seven tens and five ones.
Six sticks and one dot. 61. Six tens and one one.
Four sticks and four dots. 44. Four tens and four ones.
Two sticks and five dots. 25. Two tens and five ones.
The last line, after the mat is cleared: 0.

The four drawings may stand in any order, but the numeral under a drawing has to match the sticks and dots above it.

The trade, which is not written on this sheet

61 traded once is five tens and eleven ones, and counting the whole mat back still gives sixty-one. 44 traded once is three tens and fourteen ones. The number does not change; only the way it is held does.

Support and Extension

Support: two frames only, 61 and 44, with the number card face up beside the mat.

Extension: the same frames hold the one number 75 traded twice, so three names are written — seven tens five ones, six tens fifteen ones, five tens twenty-five ones. Which name is the useful one for taking 28 off, and why the other two are not, is shown on the mat and said aloud.

Read for

Close: sticks and dots stay in their own columns, the dot count never reaches ten, and the name is read off the drawing. Loose: ten or more dots left standing in the ones column, or a numeral written from memory of the card rather than counted back from the drawing.

Standards & curriculum

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

4. Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five Concept · Finding a missing part when the whole and one part are known, within 100

The goal never moves: seventy-five laps. What changes is how it splits, laps already swum on one side and laps still to go on the other. The book states one side of that split on three different days and never the other. Students shade a seventy-five bar to show both parts, find the missing part each time, and write the pair of number sentences that says one split two ways.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Split the bar into two parts (5 min)
Take the seventy-five bar strip, marked in tens. Shade from the left end the laps the sharks have already swum by the end of Tuesday. That leaves 61 squares open. Label the shaded part swum and the open part to go. Read the whole strip as one number, then read each part as its own.
Word preview: goal
Then she subtracted the total from the 75-lap goal.
Now we have 61 laps to go
2. Find the missing part three times (6 min)
The book gives the open part on three days, 61 and then 44 and then 25, and never gives the shaded part. Find each shaded part by taking the open part off 75 with counters or blocks, and write the three pairs on your recording strip. Keep the whole, 75, written at the top of every pair.
Word preview: needed
We have 44 laps to go
When she finished, she subtracted Wednesday's total from the number of laps they still needed to meet their goal.
3. Write the split two ways (4 min)
Pick one day and write both sentences for it: 75 - 61 = 14 and 14 + 61 = 75. Point at the strip while you read each sentence aloud, and show your partner that your finger covers the same two parts both times.
Word preview: total
4. Check the parts against the sign (5 min)
Line up your three shaded amounts. Check each one against the sign number for that day by adding. The two parts have to make 75 every time. Fix any pair that does not, and say out loud which part you changed and why.
Coach Blue had already put up the team's numbers.
The sharks all rushed over to the sign.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Write the split two ways (4 min)
Write both sentences for one day: 75 - 61 = 14 and 14 + 61 = 75. Read each aloud while your finger covers the same two parts of the strip.
Word preview: total
2. Check the parts against the sign (5 min)
Add the two parts for each of the three days. Every pair has to make 75. Say which part you changed for any pair that did not.
Coach Blue had already put up the team's numbers.

Three levels

Support: Work one day only, the 61 day, and leave the counters sitting on the strip while both sentences are written so the two parts stay in sight. Both sentences are still required; the number of days is what is reduced.
At Grade: Find all three missing parts and write both sentences for at least two of the days.
Extension: Show on the strip why the shaded part can only grow across the week and the open part can only shrink. Then decide what would have to be true of one day's total for the open part to run past the end of the strip, and say whether the book's numbers ever came close.

English learners

The part-part-whole picture is language-free: two pieces of one strip say the relation before any sentence does. English hides that relation in small words — to go, still, already — and a child may read to go as laps completed. Anchor both sentences to the strip with a finger and rehearse the pair frame: ___ swum and ___ to go make 75, and 75 take away ___ leaves ___. Reasoning aloud in a first language and reporting the pair in English is welcome.

Materials

Seventy-five bar strip, one per pair, marked in tens
Colored pencil
Two-color counters, 25 per pair
Recording strip, one per student
Pencil
Goal board, one per pair, ruled into four day rows
Word cards: goal, needed, total

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Seventy-Five Bar Strip full page

Shark Swimathon — Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five

Seventy-Five Bar Strip

Shade from the left end the laps already swum. Leave the rest open.

Label the shaded part swum and the open part to go.

Recording Strip full page

Shark Swimathon — Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five

Recording Strip

Write the whole at the top of every pair, then the two parts.

Then write both sentences for two of the days.

Whole: __________

__________ swum and __________ to go.

Whole: __________

__________ swum and __________ to go.

Whole: __________

__________ swum and __________ to go.

Both sentences

__________ − __________ = __________

__________ + __________ = __________

__________ − __________ = __________

__________ + __________ = __________

Word Cards card set

Shark Swimathon — Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five

Word Cards

Cut on every line.

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Recording Strip and Bar full page

Shark Swimathon — Laps Swum and Laps to Go Make Seventy-Five — Teacher Key

Expected responses

The whole is 75 on every pair. The open part is the number on the sign that day; the shaded part is what is missing.

14 swum and 61 to go.
31 swum and 44 to go.
50 swum and 25 to go.

Both sentences, for whichever days the pair chose:

75 − 61 = 14 and 14 + 61 = 75.
75 − 44 = 31 and 31 + 44 = 75.
75 − 25 = 50 and 50 + 25 = 75.

On the bar, the shaded end for the first day covers 14 squares and 61 stay open.

Support and Extension

Support: the 61 day only, both sentences still written, with the counters left sitting on the strip.

Extension: shown on the strip and argued aloud — the shaded part can only grow because each day adds laps to what is already swum, and the open part can only shrink because the whole never moves. The open part could only run past the end of the strip if a day's total were larger than the laps still to go; the largest day here is 25, taken off 25.

Read for

Close: the two parts on every line add to 75, and the addition sentence uses the same two parts as the subtraction sentence rather than new numbers. Loose: the shaded part written as the difference between two sign numbers, so 61 and 44 give 17 rather than 31; or the addition sentence written as 75 + something.

Standards & curriculum

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

5. Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero? Reasoning · Totalling five equal groups within 25 and judging whether the total meets a goal

On Friday the team is one shark short and 25 laps stand on the sign. Stripes proposes five laps each. Students count who is left in the water, build five equal groups of five, total them, set that total against the 25 still to go, and decide whether the plan reaches zero — then say why in a sentence that carries both numbers. The reasoning is the work here; the computation is small and the argument is not.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Count who is swimming (4 min)
Set out one counter for each shark on the team, then take out the counter for Gill, who cannot race. Say the count that is left. Then say which sentence in the book told you to take one out.
Word preview: all
All six sharks swam one lap, the length of the pool and back.
The doctor said I can't race for a whole month.
2. Build five groups of five (6 min)
On the five-row work mat, put five counters into each of five rows, one row for each swimmer. Count the rows by fives, touching a whole row for each number word you say: five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. Write the total under the mat.
Word preview: each
We can make it if we each swim five laps.
3. Set the plan against the sign (5 min)
Write 25 for the laps still to go beside your total for the plan, and take one from the other. Decide out loud whether the plan reaches zero, falls short, or goes past, and mark your board with what you decided.
There are zero ones and zero tens left.
4. Say why, with the numbers in it (5 min)
Tell your partner what you decided using the frame card, and your sentence has to contain both numbers. Then answer one question back: suppose only four sharks could swim — does your sentence still hold? Change it if the answer changes it.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Count who is swimming (4 min)
Put out one counter for each shark, then take out Gill's because he cannot race. Say the count that is left and name the sentence that told you to take one out.
Word preview: all
The doctor said I can't race for a whole month.
2. Set the plan against the sign (5 min)
Five swimmers at five laps each make 25. Write that beside the 25 still to go, take one from the other, and decide out loud whether the plan reaches zero.
Word preview: zero
There are zero ones and zero tens left.

Three levels

Support: Leave the five rows of counters standing on the mat while the sentence is spoken, and give the frame card with both numbers already printed on it so the argument is built by filling two blanks rather than composed from nothing. The decision stays the student's own.
At Grade: Build the five groups, compare the total with 25, decide, and give a partner a sentence that contains both numbers.
Extension: Argue the other side first. Take Tiny's position, that the team cannot do it without Gill, and build the strongest case for it out of the week's numbers before answering it with your own. Both sides have to contain a number.

English learners

Equal groups are visible: five rows of five is an argument a child can point at before saying it. The English that carries the argument is not visible — each, enough, still to go, and the because-clause all have to be built. Give the frame on a card and practise it: Five sharks swim five laps each. That is ___ laps, and ___ laps are still to go, so the plan ___. Students may argue it with a partner in their first language first and give the framed sentence in English.

Materials

Counters, 25 per pair
Five-row work mat, one per pair
Goal board, one per pair, ruled into four day rows
Sentence frame card, one per student
Word cards: all, each

Workbook

Print these for the class. They carry your edits, and they print in black and white.

Five-Row Work Mat full page

Shark Swimathon — Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero?

Five-Row Work Mat

Put five counters in each row, one row for each swimmer.

Count the rows by fives and write the total under the mat.

Total for the plan: __________

Laps still to go: __________

Take one from the other: __________

Our decision: ______________________________

Sentence Frame Card and Word Cards card set

Shark Swimathon — Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero?

Sentence Frame Card and Word Cards

Cut on every line. Keep the frame card in front of you when you say your sentence.

Frame card

Five sharks swim five laps each.

That is __________ laps, and __________ laps are still to go,

so the plan ______________________________

because ______________________________ .

Word cards

Sentence Frame Card with the Numbers Printed Support half page

Shark Swimathon — Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero?

Sentence Frame Card

Say your sentence from this card. Two blanks are yours to fill.

Five sharks swim five laps each.

That is 25 laps, and 25 laps are still to go,

so the plan ______________________________

because ______________________________ .

Teacher key (1 page) — not for the class

Teacher Key: Work Mat and Sentence Frame full page

Shark Swimathon — Five Sharks, Five Laps: Does the Plan Reach Zero? — Teacher Key

Expected responses

Counters left after Gill's is taken out: five swimmers.
Five rows of five counters, counted by fives: five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five. Total for the plan: 25.
Laps still to go: 25.
Take one from the other: 0.
Our decision: the plan reaches zero. Falls short and goes past are both wrong here, and a pair should be able to say why from the 0.

The sentence

There is no single wording. A strong sentence carries both numbers and joins them: five swimmers at five laps each make 25 laps, and 25 laps are still to go, so the plan reaches zero exactly.

The question back, asked and answered aloud: with only four swimmers the plan makes 20, which is five short of 25, so the sentence no longer holds and has to change.

Support and Extension

Support: the frame card with 25 and 25 already printed, the five rows left standing on the mat, and the decision still the student's own.

Extension: Tiny's side argued first and answered, both sides carrying a number — for instance that the week's days ran 17 and 19 with six swimmers, so five swimmers at five laps each is more than any day the team has managed.

Read for

Close: the total comes from counting whole rows by fives rather than counting every counter, and the spoken sentence holds both 25s and says what follows from them. Loose: a decision given with one number in it, or with neither, so that reaches zero is asserted rather than argued.

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.

6. The Word That Moves the Number Integrated · Students total one day of the swimathon twice, once as the book's sentence says it and once with a single word swapped, and show that the two totals leave two different numbers on Coach Blue's sign.

Students total one day of the swimathon twice, once as the book's sentence says it and once with a single word swapped, and show that the two totals leave two different numbers on Coach Blue's sign.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Sort the swimmers the sentence tells you to (4 min)
Students read Thursday's two sentences off the strip, then load six lanes to match: three counters into five lanes and four into the sixth. They underline the one word that told them to keep that sixth lane out of the group.
2. Total the day and take it off the sign (6 min)
Students add the lanes to get the day's total, then take it off the 44 standing on the sign, trading a ten with rods and cubes, and write the new sign number under their total.
3. Swap the word and run it again (5 min)
Students take the second strip, reload the six lanes to match the swapped sentence, total the day again and subtract again from 44. Both results stay on the desk side by side.
4. Say which word moved the number (5 min)
Each student writes one sentence about their own two results that uses the swapped word correctly, then reads it to a partner, who checks the sentence against the lanes rather than against the answer.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Sort the swimmers the sentence tells you to (4 min)
Students read Thursday's two sentences off the strip, then load six lanes to match: three counters into five lanes and four into the sixth. They underline the one word that told them to keep that sixth lane out of the group.
2. Swap the word and run it again (5 min)
Students take the second strip, reload the six lanes to match the swapped sentence, total the day again and subtract again from 44. Both results stay on the desk side by side.

Three levels

Support: Give the pair the six lanes already loaded for the book's sentence and ask only for the swapped loading. Reading the second sentence and deciding where Gil's counters go is the whole task, and the first total is handed over so the comparison still has two sides. The subtraction from 44 is not reduced.
At grade: Load, total and subtract both versions, then write the sentence that names what the word did to the number.
Extension: Find a second word in the book whose swap would move a number, name the sentence it lives in, and produce both results. Then find a word in that same sentence whose swap changes nothing at all, and say what makes the difference between the two.

English learners

Quantity, counters and the subtraction itself transfer from any first language. The exclusion word is the hard part: languages mark except, apart from and other than in very different places in a sentence, sometimes before the group and sometimes after, and a child who is fluent in the arithmetic can still load the wrong lane. Put the two sentences side by side on the strip, have students point at the lane the word moves before they say anything, and rehearse one frame: All of them swam ___ . Only ___ swam ___ . Students may talk the swap through in their strongest language and write the final sentence in English.

Materials

Six-lane counter mat, one per pair
Counters, 25 per pair
Two sentence strips per pair, one printed with Thursday's two sentences and one with the swapped sentence
Base-ten rods and unit cubes
Recording strips and pencils
The 44 from Wednesday, written where the whole class can see it

Standards & curriculum

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

IB PYP developmental alignment

Phases are not grades. The Primary Years Programme is a developmental continuum and your school places each student in a phase, so this names the strand the lesson works in and the phases it could sit across. Confirm against your own school's placement.

Number · Phases 1–3

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.
Phase 3: Extend number understanding to larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and efficient strategies for the four operations.

7. Put the Sign Back in Order Integrated · Students receive the week's swims and sign numbers as cards with the day names stripped off, and restore the order by working out which swim turns which number into which.

Students receive the week's swims and sign numbers as cards with the day names stripped off, and restore the order by working out which swim turns which number into which.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Match each swim to the number it leaves (6 min)
Students total each swim card with counters, then hunt the number cards for the one it produces and write the subtraction on the strip between them.
2. Lay the cards in the only order that works (5 min)
Students build the row from 75 down to nothing, each card's finishing number becoming the next card's starting number, and place the injury card where it changes what the last swim can be.
3. Argue one placement to a partner (5 min)
Each student picks one card and says why it cannot sit anywhere else in the row. The reason has to be a quantity; a day name is not an answer, because the cards do not carry any.
4. Retell the week with the number in every sentence (4 min)
Pairs retell the four swims in order, every sentence naming the total swum and the number left, and finish on what the sign says at the end.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Lay the cards in the only order that works (5 min)
Students build the row from 75 down to nothing, each card's finishing number becoming the next card's starting number, and place the injury card where it changes what the last swim can be.
2. Retell the week with the number in every sentence (4 min)
Pairs retell the four swims in order, every sentence naming the total swum and the number left, and finish on what the sign says at the end.

Three levels

Support: Hand the pair the four number cards already in order, 75, 61, 44 and 25, and ask only that the swim cards be matched to them. The totalling and the reason are unchanged; what is lifted is holding four subtractions in mind at once while searching.
At grade: Order swims and numbers together, write the subtraction between each pair, and place the injury card.
Extension: Swap two swim cards on purpose and run the row again. Find every number that changes and the one number that does not, then explain why the last card's own quantity stops being right the moment it moves.

English learners

The card row is a picture of order that needs no English, and the subtraction under each pair is readable in any language. What needs building is the connective that carries an argument about order: before, after, because, that is why. Many students can point at the right card long before they can say why, so accept the pointing first and then supply the frame: This one comes before that one, because ___ laps to go turns into ___ laps to go. Students may work out the order in their strongest language with a partner and give the retelling in English; the retelling is the part worth rehearsing twice.

Materials

Event cards, four, each carrying one swim with no day name on it
Number cards, five: 75, 61, 44, 25 and 0
One injury card carrying the sentence about the doctor
Counters, 25 per pair
Base-ten rods and unit cubes
Recording strip and pencil
A blank sign ruled tens and ones, for the class row

Standards & curriculum

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

IB PYP developmental alignment

Number · Phases 1–3

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.
Phase 3: Extend number understanding to larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and efficient strategies for the four operations.

8. The Number Coach Blue Never Says Integrated · Students find the Wednesday total the book withholds, using the two sentences that fix it, and must hand in the number and the line that funds it together.

Students find the Wednesday total the book withholds, using the two sentences that fix it, and must hand in the number and the line that funds it together.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Hunt for the sentences that fix the swim (4 min)
Students read the two printed sentences, the one that counts the whole team into the pool and the one that says who swam what on Wednesday, and mark the words that say how many sharks and how many laps each. All the others gets underlined.
2. Build the day and count it (6 min)
Students load six lanes to match what they marked, count the whole set, and write the total they get on the evidence card. Nobody writes a number they have not built.
3. Pair the number with its line (5 min)
Students copy the sentence they used underneath their number and read it aloud to another pair, who check the lanes against the words rather than against the answer.
4. Check the sign (5 min)
Students take their total off 61 with rods and cubes and compare it with the number Coach Blue announces. A pair whose sign does not land on 44 goes back to the sentence, not to the counting.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Hunt for the sentences that fix the swim (4 min)
Students read the two printed sentences, the one that counts the whole team into the pool and the one that says who swam what on Wednesday, and mark the words that say how many sharks and how many laps each. All the others gets underlined.
2. Pair the number with its line (5 min)
Students copy the sentence they used underneath their number and read it aloud to another pair, who check the lanes against the words rather than against the answer.

Three levels

Support: Reread the two sentences aloud twice while the pair loads the lanes, and give them a mat with one lane already marked Tiny so that all the others can be pointed at rather than held in mind. They still find the number themselves and still copy the line.
At grade: Find the sentences, build the day, produce the number and the line together, and check the result against 44.
Extension: Find a second total the book withholds, the one for the day after, and show which two sentences pin it down to a single number. Then say what would have to be missing from the page for a total to become impossible rather than merely hidden.

English learners

The lanes and the counters carry the quantity without English, and a student who cannot yet read the sentence can still build the day once it is read to them, which is why the rereading is built into the Support rather than offered as a favour. What has to be taught is the quantifier phrase: all the others names a group by subtraction, and languages mark that in very different ways. Rehearse the frame while pointing at the mat: One shark swam ___ . All the others swam ___ . Students may state the total in their strongest language and then read the English sentence aloud from the card.

Materials

A printed strip carrying the sentence that counts the team into the pool and the Wednesday sentence
Six-lane counter mat with one lane marked Tiny
Counters, 20 per pair
Evidence cards, one per pair
Base-ten rods and unit cubes
Pencil
The 61 from the day before, shown from the start; the 44 shown only after the evidence cards are handed in

Standards & curriculum

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

IB PYP developmental alignment

Number · Phases 1–3

Phase 1: Develop meaning for counting, quantity, number relationships, simple operations, and early fractions in meaningful contexts.
Phase 2: Develop place value and whole-number operations, mental strategies, fractions, and mathematical language for practical problem solving.
Phase 3: Extend number understanding to larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and efficient strategies for the four operations.

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.

9. Goggles off, goggles on: reading Tiny's change of heart Reasoning · Reading how a character's feeling changes, using what the character does

The book shows Tiny's feelings twice with her hands rather than with a feeling word: she takes her goggles off when she says the team cannot do it, and puts them back on when she says they are fearless. Students read the printed passage in parts, underline the two goggle actions, attach a feeling word to each one, and defend the sentence where the moment turns. The language work is inferring feeling from an action the text prints, not from a word the text supplies.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the moment the team almost quits (5 min)
Read this passage aloud in a group of three, one reader taking Tiny, one taking Stripes, one reading the rest. Then underline the two things Tiny's hands do. Say aloud what Tiny's hands do first and what they do last.
Word preview: goggles, firmly
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.
2. Name the feeling under each action (6 min)
Look only at the two printed sentences. On a sticky note write one feeling word for Tiny when she takes her goggles off, and one feeling word for Tiny when she puts them back on. Stick the two notes on the chart under the sentence each one belongs to, and say the sentence that made you choose it.
Word preview: fearless
We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly.
Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.
3. Find the sentence that turns the moment (5 min)
Reread the passage with your group and put a star beside the one sentence where the team stops giving up and starts trying again. Tell your partner why you chose that sentence and not the one before it. Listen to your partner's choice before you defend your own.
Word preview: gathered
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.
4. Say the feeling change in one sentence (4 min)
Say one sentence to the class using this frame, filling both blanks from the printed passage: Tiny felt ____ when she ____. Say it twice, once for the goggles coming off and once for the goggles going back on. Do not read the frame itself aloud, only your finished sentence.
Word preview: moaned
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the moment the team almost quits (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud in a group of three, one reader as Tiny, one as Stripes, one for the rest. Underline the two things Tiny's hands do.
Word preview: goggles, firmly
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.
2. Name the feeling under each action (5 min)
Write one feeling word for Tiny at each printed sentence and stick it under that sentence on the chart. Say the sentence that made you choose it.
Word preview: fearless
We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly.
Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.

Three levels

Support: Work only with the two short printed sentences in step two, not the whole passage. Point to the goggles in each one, then choose your feeling word from three the teacher offers aloud: sad, sure, worried. Say the whole sentence frame with your word in it.
At Grade: Use the whole printed passage. Choose your own feeling word for each goggle action and name the printed sentence that supports it before the class accepts it.
Extension: Explain why the author showed Tiny's feelings with her goggles instead of writing a feeling word, and find one other place in the printed passage where a character's certainty is shown by how she speaks rather than by what she says.

English learners

Feeling words for sure and unsure transfer directly from most home languages, so translate first and label second. The English habit of reporting a gesture and letting the reader supply the feeling is what has to be taught, so say the inference out loud every time: she took off her goggles, so she felt ____. Rehearse the frame Tiny felt ____ when she ____ three times with a partner before saying it to the class, and give the two feeling words in your strongest language first.

Materials

Printed passage: the sharks gather around Coach Blue
Pencil for underlining
Printed passage: Tiny takes off her goggles
Printed passage: Tiny puts her goggles back on
Sticky notes
Feeling-word chart
Sentence frame strip: Tiny felt ____ when she ____
Word cards: goggles, firmly, fearless, gathered, moaned

Standards & curriculum

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

10. In record time or struggled: how the book grades effort and volume Concept · Distinguishing shades of meaning among closely related verbs and manner phrases

In four printed sentences the book finishes the same five laps four different ways, and in three more it has three different sets of voices call out. Students circle the manner words, place two swimmers on an effort line, rank three calling verbs by loudness and read their line at that volume, then swap one word out and say what they stop knowing. The skill is reading the shade of a verb, not the count of the laps.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the finish and mark the how-words (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, then circle every word that tells HOW a shark finished, not what she did. Circle the words in record time and the word struggled. Say each circled word aloud in the sentence it came from.
Word preview: record, struggled
Strikes finished her five laps in record time. Flip and flap finished their laps next. Finn struggled to the end of his fifth lap. Tiny was the only one left swimming.
2. Sort the two finishes on the effort line (5 min)
Draw a line across your paper with easy at one end and hard at the other. Write Strikes at one end and Finn at the other, using only the printed sentences to decide. Tell your partner which printed word put each shark where you put her.
Word preview: effort
Finn struggled to the end of his fifth lap. Tiny was the only one left swimming.
Strikes finished her five laps in record time. Flip and flap finished their laps next. Finn struggled to the end of his fifth lap. Tiny was the only one left swimming.
3. Read the three calling words and rank them (6 min)
Read the printed passage aloud, each of three students taking one calling line. Circle chanted, called and yelled, then put them in order from quietest to loudest and be ready to argue your order. Read your line aloud at the volume your circled word asks for.
Word preview: chanted, yelled
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
4. Swap one word and say what breaks (4 min)
Take the printed sentence about Finn and say it aloud again with finished in place of struggled. Tell your partner what you no longer know about Finn once the word is swapped. Then say the original sentence aloud so the class hears the difference.
Word preview: swap
Finn struggled to the end of his fifth lap. Tiny was the only one left swimming.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the finish and mark the how-words (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner and circle the words that tell HOW a shark finished. Say each circled word in its own sentence.
Word preview: record, struggled
Strikes finished her five laps in record time. Flip and flap finished their laps next. Finn struggled to the end of his fifth lap. Tiny was the only one left swimming.
2. Read the three calling words and rank them (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud in threes, one calling line each. Circle chanted, called and yelled and order them from quietest to loudest, reading your line at that volume.
Word preview: chanted, yelled
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.

Three levels

Support: Work with the two printed sentences on the effort line only. Put one finger on in record time and one on struggled, and say fast for one and hard for the other before you place the names. One word, one placement.
At Grade: Circle every manner word in both printed passages, place both swimmers on the effort line, and rank the three calling verbs, naming the printed sentence behind each decision.
Extension: Argue the loudness ranking against a classmate who ordered the three calling verbs differently, using only what the printed sentences say about who is speaking and how many of them there are.

English learners

Manner verbs are where English hides information other languages put in a separate word, so chanted, called and yelled will all translate to one verb plus an adverb. Give that translation first, then keep the English verb whole. Rehearse each calling line at its own volume with a partner before reading it to the class, and let students say which of the three volumes their strongest language marks with a different word.

Materials

Printed passage: the sharks finish their five laps
Coloured pencil for circling
Printed passage: Finn struggles to the end
Effort line strip: easy to hard
Printed passage: the team calls Tiny through her last lap
Volume-order strip: quietest to loudest
Word cards: record, struggled, effort, chanted, yelled, swap

Standards & curriculum

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

11. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: retelling the week the book prints Application · Retelling events in order using the text's own time words

Three of this book's day-openers survive as clean sentences, each opening with its own time phrase, and the closing sentence adds two more. Students underline the time words, order shuffled day cards against the printed passages rather than against a calendar, retell each day in one sentence that starts with that day's own words, and close the retell with the final sentence. The work is ordering and retelling language, not counting anything.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the three day-openers and find the time word (5 min)
Read the three printed day-openers aloud in order with your table. Underline the words that tell you which day it is: On Wednesday, on Thursday, On Friday. Say aloud which one comes first, next and last.
Word preview: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
On Wednesday, the sharks couldn't wait to get into the pool. Sharks to the water, coach Blue Yeldd, she blew her whistle. The sharks swam as hard as they could. Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
All the sharks arrived early on Thursday. I hope we can make it set stripes looking at the sign. I hope so too, Gil said.
On Friday, everybody warmed up and was ready to go. Everybody that is except Gil.
2. Put the day cards in the book's order (5 min)
Cut the three day cards apart, shuffle them, and lay them back down in the order the book tells them. Check your order against the printed passages, not against a calendar. Tell your partner the one printed word that proved each card's place.
Word preview: order
On Wednesday, the sharks couldn't wait to get into the pool. Sharks to the water, coach Blue Yeldd, she blew her whistle. The sharks swam as hard as they could. Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
All the sharks arrived early on Thursday. I hope we can make it set stripes looking at the sign. I hope so too, Gil said.
On Friday, everybody warmed up and was ready to go. Everybody that is except Gil.
3. Retell each day in one sentence (6 min)
For each day card, say one sentence beginning with that day's own printed time words and telling one thing the sharks did that day. Take the one thing from the printed passage for that day and nowhere else. Say all three sentences in a row to your partner without stopping.
Word preview: retell
On Wednesday, the sharks couldn't wait to get into the pool. Sharks to the water, coach Blue Yeldd, she blew her whistle. The sharks swam as hard as they could. Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
All the sharks arrived early on Thursday. I hope we can make it set stripes looking at the sign. I hope so too, Gil said.
On Friday, everybody warmed up and was ready to go. Everybody that is except Gil.
4. Add the last card and close the retell (4 min)
Read the printed closing sentence aloud and underline its two time phrases, the next day and the next month. Lay this fourth card after Friday and say your whole retell again, ending with the closing sentence in your own words.
Word preview: next
The next day, the sharks made the sports page of the Ocean City news, and the next month, the whole team made it to swim camp.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the three day-openers and find the time word (4 min)
Read the three printed day-openers aloud in order and underline the words that name the day. Say which comes first, next and last.
Word preview: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
On Wednesday, the sharks couldn't wait to get into the pool. Sharks to the water, coach Blue Yeldd, she blew her whistle. The sharks swam as hard as they could. Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
All the sharks arrived early on Thursday. I hope we can make it set stripes looking at the sign. I hope so too, Gil said.
On Friday, everybody warmed up and was ready to go. Everybody that is except Gil.
2. Retell each day in one sentence (5 min)
For each printed day, say one sentence that begins with that day's own time words and tells one thing from that passage. Say all three in a row to your partner.
Word preview: retell
On Wednesday, the sharks couldn't wait to get into the pool. Sharks to the water, coach Blue Yeldd, she blew her whistle. The sharks swam as hard as they could. Tiny stopped after two laps, but all the others swam three.
All the sharks arrived early on Thursday. I hope we can make it set stripes looking at the sign. I hope so too, Gil said.
On Friday, everybody warmed up and was ready to go. Everybody that is except Gil.

Three levels

Support: Order two day cards, Wednesday and Friday, before adding the third. Read only the first printed sentence of each passage and point to the day word in it. Retell with the frame On ____, the sharks ____.
At Grade: Order all three day cards from the printed passages and retell each day in one sentence that begins with that day's own time words.
Extension: Explain why the book's own words settle the order even for a reader who does not know the days of the week, pointing to the printed sentence that would still fix Friday's place if the day names were removed.

English learners

Day names are among the first English nouns to transfer, so post the three days in both languages and let students say the order in their strongest language first. The English fronted time phrase with its comma, On Wednesday, the sharks, is new, so rehearse that opening shape three times before the retell. The frame On ____, the sharks ____ is the one to practise with a partner.

Materials

Printed passage: Wednesday at the pool
Printed passage: Thursday morning
Printed passage: Friday warm-up
Pencil for underlining
Day cards: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Scissors
Printed passage: the next day and the next month
Word cards: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, order, retell, next

Standards & curriculum

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

12. One bike, one month, one new plan: following the chain after Gil's fall Reasoning · Tracing a cause to its effects across two places in a story, and joining them with because

Gil's fall is printed as a cause with its result in the next sentence, and the effect reaches the whole team two passages later. Students underline the cause and the result, write a because-sentence using only the printed words plus because, circle the two sentences where the team's decision flips, and say the three-link chain aloud naming its source each time. The skill is causal language, and no link in the chain is a number.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read what happened to Gil (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner, one of you as Gil. Underline the sentence that says what Gil did and the sentence that says what the doctor said. Say aloud which one caused the other.
Word preview: explained, moaned
I fell off my bike. Gil explained sadly. The doctor said I can't race for a whole month. Oh no, tiny and stripes moaned.
2. Build the because-sentence (5 min)
Write one sentence on your strip joining the two underlined sentences with because. Use only words the printed passage gives you plus because. Read your strip aloud and let your partner check that both halves come from the printed passage.
Word preview: because
I fell off my bike. Gil explained sadly. The doctor said I can't race for a whole month. Oh no, tiny and stripes moaned.
3. Follow the effect out to the whole team (6 min)
Read the second printed passage aloud in your group. Circle the sentence that shows what Gil's news did to the team, then circle the sentence that shows the team deciding something different. Tell your partner what changed between those two circled sentences.
Word preview: gathered
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.
4. Say the whole chain out loud (4 min)
Say the chain to the class in three linked sentences: what Gil did, what the doctor said, and what the team decided. Take every link from one of the two printed passages and name which one as you go. Say it once, then say it again faster without stopping.
Word preview: chain
I fell off my bike. Gil explained sadly. The doctor said I can't race for a whole month. Oh no, tiny and stripes moaned.
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read what happened to Gil (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud with a partner. Underline what Gil did and what the doctor said, and say which one caused the other.
Word preview: explained, moaned
I fell off my bike. Gil explained sadly. The doctor said I can't race for a whole month. Oh no, tiny and stripes moaned.
2. Follow the effect out to the whole team (5 min)
Read the second printed passage aloud in your group. Circle the sentence showing what Gil's news did to the team and the sentence where the team decides otherwise, and say what changed between them.
Word preview: gathered
The sharks gathered around Coach Blue. We can't do it without Gill said Tiny, taking off her goggles. Oh yes, we can, said Stripes firmly. She looked at the sign. We can make it if we each swim five laps. Remember, Gill said, we're sharks. And we're fearless, finished Tiny, putting her goggles back on.

Three levels

Support: Stay inside the first printed passage. Point to the fall, point to the doctor, and say the two-link chain aloud with the frame Gil can't race because ____ before writing anything down.
At Grade: Work across both printed passages, write the because-sentence from the printed words, and say the full three-link chain naming which passage each link came from.
Extension: Argue whether the team's new plan is an effect of Gil's fall or a choice they made anyway, using only sentences printed in the two passages to support your side.

English learners

Because-clauses transfer in meaning but not in position: many languages put the reason first, so students may say Because Gil fell, he can't race, which is correct English and worth naming as a second option rather than a mistake. Rehearse both orders aloud with a partner. Let students say the whole chain in their strongest language once before saying it in English, and keep the frame Gil can't race because ____ visible throughout.

Materials

Printed passage: Gil explains what happened
Pencil for underlining
Sentence strip for the because-sentence
Printed passage: the sharks gather around Coach Blue
Coloured pencil for circling
Cause-and-effect chain chart
Word cards: explained, moaned, because, gathered, chain

Standards & curriculum

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

13. Do it for the tacos: cheering with a reason the listener already wants Application · Speaking to encourage someone, giving a reason the audience already cares about

The book prints three cheers in a row and only the last two carry a reason, one of which the story planted several pages earlier when Flop said tacos were his favourite. Students read the cheers aloud in parts, trace the taco reason back to the printed sentence that planted it, write and perform a cheer of their own in the book's Do it for shape with a reason they can point to, then say what the cheering changed. All of the work is speaking and listening.

Full lesson — 20 minutes

1. Read the three cheers and name who each one is for (5 min)
Read the printed passage aloud in threes, one cheer each. For each cheer, say aloud who is being cheered and what reason the cheer gives. Underline the reason inside the second and third cheers.
Word preview: chanted, cheer
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
2. Find where the tacos reason came from (5 min)
Read the second printed passage aloud and underline the sentence that first put tacos in the sharks' heads. Then read the taco cheer in the third printed passage and tell your partner why that cheer would make no sense without the earlier sentence.
Word preview: favorite
As the sharks rested, Flip said, I wonder what kind of food we'll get at swim camp. Maybe tacos. Tacos are my favorite said flop.
Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
3. Write and say your own cheer with a reason (6 min)
Write one cheer on a strip using the book's own shape, Do it for ____, and fill the blank with a reason you can point to in a printed passage. Say your cheer aloud to your group at the volume your chosen calling verb asks for. Your group says back which printed sentence your reason came from.
Word preview: reason
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
As the sharks rested, Flip said, I wonder what kind of food we'll get at swim camp. Maybe tacos. Tacos are my favorite said flop.
4. Cheer the last lap together and say what it did (4 min)
Stand and say the three printed cheers in order as a class, then read the last printed sentence aloud. Tell your partner one thing the cheering changed for Tiny, using a sentence that starts with The cheering. Sit back down and say your partner's sentence back to them.
Word preview: gasp
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.

Short version — 9 minutes

1. Read the three cheers and name who each one is for (4 min)
Read the printed passage aloud in threes, one cheer each. Say who each cheer is for and underline the reason inside the second and third.
Word preview: chanted, cheer
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
2. Write and say your own cheer with a reason (5 min)
Write one cheer on a strip using the book's shape, Do it for ____, with a reason you can point to in a printed passage. Say it aloud to your group and let them name the sentence it came from.
Word preview: reason
Go tiny, the rest of the team chanted. Do it for Gil, Stripes called. Do it for the tacos, flip and flop yelled. Finally, with a big gasp, tiny made it to the end of her fifth lap.
As the sharks rested, Flip said, I wonder what kind of food we'll get at swim camp. Maybe tacos. Tacos are my favorite said flop.

Three levels

Support: Say only the first printed cheer, Go tiny, and then one reason cheer copied whole from the passage. Choose your reason from the two the book prints rather than inventing one, and say it at your group's volume.
At Grade: Read all three printed cheers in parts, trace the taco reason to its earlier printed sentence, and write and perform your own Do it for cheer with a reason you can point to.
Extension: Explain why Do it for the tacos is funny and Do it for Gil is not, using what the two printed passages tell you about who wants tacos and who is hurt, then write a third cheer that works on both listeners at once.

English learners

The imperative cheer shape Do it for ____ is short and transfers well, so it is a good first thing to perform aloud in English. The English habit of leaving the verb bare with no subject is the piece to teach; name that as the shape of a call, not a broken sentence. Rehearse the frame Do it for ____ three times with a partner before performing, and invite students to give the reason in their strongest language first, then in English.

Materials

Printed passage: the team calls Tiny through her last lap
Pencil for underlining
Printed passage: the sharks talk about camp food
Printed passage: the taco cheer
Cheer strips
Word cards: chanted, cheer, favorite, reason, gasp

Standards & curriculum

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