Text: Tomas and the Library Lady | Day 1, Lesson 1

Learning Objective: We will describe characters and setting in a literary text by using key details and citing
evidence. RL1.1, RL1.4, SL1.2, SL1.4, SL1.6
Social Studies Standards: 3.A.1.e. Describe where places are located on a map using relative distance and
direction, such as near-far. 3.B.1.c. Describe places by how people make a living and where they live.

Lesson: The setting helps us understand where the story takes place.
Identifying characters and describing them helps us understand the story better.
Task: Students will explain why it is important that the reader know where in the United States Texas and Iowa
are and how that helps them understand the story.
Assign Partners for Turn and Talk (heterogeneously: students with better speaking skills partnered with those
who are still developing theirs to meet grade level standards).

Introduction & Establish Purpose

Today we are going to read a new story called Tomas and the Library Lady. This story is about a boy who loves
to read. He reads all the time and imagines he is part of the stories he reads. As we read today, we are going to
focus on the reading strategy of summarizing. When you summarize you are telling what happens in the story in
your own words. Good readers summarize so that they better understand what they are reading. To do this, we
are going to be putting the key details about characters and setting in our own words.
There are a few important vocabulary words for you to understand before I read. First is Texas. Texas is a state
in our country. The United States of America is made of 50 states. Does anyone know what state we live in?
Accept student answers. Thats right, we live in Maryland and it is here on the map. Texas is another state
and it is here on the map. The other state in this book is Iowa. It is here on the map. They look close on a map of
this size, but in a car, it would take from early in the morning until late at night to drive that far!
The other important phrase to understand is migrant worker. A migrant is a person who moves from one place
to another; when someone is a migrant worker, it means they move in order to have work and earn money.

Part I Read
Read pg. 13 (It was midnightI would pour the last drops of water on my face.)
1st Stopping Point: Model Think Aloud for Retelling: Wow! Just from reading the first two pages, I know a
lot about this story already. I know the main character is Tomas and I know what is happening to him. I also
know where the story is taking place, which helps me to feel like I am part of the story. Tomas is in a rusty, old
car on his way to Iowa, so that his parents can work on the farm. To help myself understand, I am going to use
my graphic organizer to write the details and then retell those details in my own words. Under key details I
am going to write rusty, old car which is the setting, on the way to Iowa, parents are farmers. Under retell in
my own words, I will write Tomas and his family are in a rusty, old car on their way to Iowa so that they can
work on a farm. I took the key details and then put the details into my own words.

Read pgs. 38 (Tomas was glad when the car finally stopped...Then you can teach us new stories)
2nd Stopping Point: Model Think Aloud for Retelling; Turn and Talk (focusing on key details; setting)
A lot is going on in this story. Let me take a minute and think about what is happening now. Tomas enjoys
playing outside with Enrique. When they get tired, they take a break under a tree and their Papa Grande tells
them stories. Tomas loves Papa Grandes stories and even knows what is going to happen next in the stories he
reads. Let me use my summarizing chart to help me organize all the details from this story. Under key details
I am going to write Tomas and Enrique play outside, Tomas and Enrique take a break under a tree, and Papa
Grande tells them stories. Those are all the KEY, most important details, from the part I just read. Under where
it says to retell in my own words, I am going to write my summary. When Tomas and Enrique get tired, they
take a break under a tree, and their Papa Grande reads them stories that Tomas loves.
Turn and Talk: One important detail in a story is the setting, or where the story takes place. How is this
setting different from the setting before?
Circulate and monitor student responses. Allow 23 students to share their thinking.
Read pgs. 916 (When they got hot, they sat under a tree with Papa GrandeHe ran home, eager to
show the new stories to his family.)
3rd Stopping Point, Turn and Talk: We are going to stop reading here for now. I have been modeling for you
how I can use key details to help me say what is happening in my own words. To finish today, I want you to
think about the key details regarding the setting. When you think about Texas, Iowa and migrant workers, why
do you think its important for the reader to understand where to find Texas and Iowa on a map?
Turn and Talk; Students share (looking for: to understand how far Tomas family traveled for work,
people work in different places; in our country, there are different states with crops that grow at
different times).

Send Off
Summarize and bring the lesson to a close. Today we read the first part of the story Tomas and the Library
Lady, and we worked on identifying the key details about characters and setting and saying what is happening
in our own words. When you are reading, it is important to think about the key details, or the most important
details, and how you can use them to help you understand what you are reading. When you go back to your
seat, you will put into your own words why it is important for the reader to understand where to find Texas and
Iowa on a map. You will also follow the directions to color Texas and Iowa and draw a path between them!

Supports for my learners:

LD, KP, PG, BrB: keep these students

with me on the floor after dismissing
others to independent work. First,
point to Texas; color it orange. Next,
point to Iowa, color it yellow. Draw a
path from Texas to Iowa to show
Tomas familys journey. Ask: Why is it
important that we understand where
to find Texas and Iowa on a map?
Take answers, should reiterate what
we discussed: it shows that Tomas
family has to go far for work, so we
understand that people work in
different places during different times
of the year.
Draft a response for those students
to copy onto their follow-up work.

BrB (IEP): monitor her writing, check

for understanding