Shared Reading Plan

“Busy Bees”

Book Information:

Book: Busy Bees

Author: Sue Whiting

Illustrated by: Stuart Martin

Level: First/Second Grade

Introduction:

“Busy Bees” by Sue Whiting is a book based on my insect themed lesson plan. This book
not only engages children through the use of repetition and illustration, but also through the use
of different colored, glittery and shiny plastic wrap like paper. This not only draws the child’s
attention but makes them want to pay attention because of the multitude of colors used for each
flower in the book. This book is great for children because it allows children to have fun and
learn facts about bees at the same time. The book talks about how bees move flower to flower
collecting pollen to take back to their hive and bring to other flowers. It shows the every day life
of a bee through the use of a rhyming scheme and repetition of the words Bzzz! Bzzz!

This is a great book for shared reading because it helps student’s work on their alphabet
knowledge, phonological awareness through rhyming, and pointing out sight words. This
story uses multiple sight words that can be beneficial to students, like they and stop. The
students will not only learn sight words and rhyming schemes, but they will have
knowledge on bees and their day to day life. The best part about using this book for shared
reading is that it draws in the students using illustration and color, and they learn at the
same time and will hopefully want to learn more about different insects using the series of
Sue Whiting’s books.

Focus 1: Alphabet Knowledge

Activity to teach Alphabet Knowledge: Letter Basketball

Alphabet recognition is very important when it comes to students learning how to read
and write. Reading and writing go hand in hand, so without that knowledge students can have
difficulty as they progress through elementary school. A game I think would be fun for students
is called Letter Basketball. All you have to do is cut copy paper in half and write uppercase and
lowercase letters on several pieces. You put a trash can 4 feet away and place the papers with the
letter on the floor. You call a student’s name and give them a letter to pick up. They then go and
pick up the uppercase and lowercase letter, crumple it up if they are correct and try to score a
basket. If they miss, they get as many chances as needed to get the “ball” in the basket and after
they make it and get it correct, each student receives a piece of candy from the price box. After
each student makes it in, we will pause to discuss words that came to mind when they picked up
their letter. For example, if I call the letter “B”, students can say bee, beans, buttons, boy, etc.
Each student who participates can add the word to our word wall for the letter being asked.

Focus 2: Phonological or Phonemic Awareness

Standard/Indicator:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2

Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.E
Add or substitute individual sounds (phonemes) in simple, one-syllable words to make new
words.

Activity to Teach Phonemic Awareness: Bean Bag Sound Toss

You will make a chart with three columns, the first saying word, the second saying how many

sounds in the word, and the third saying bean bag points. Then, you will write words with 1-5

sounds in the left-hand column. Have the students count how many sounds they hear in each

word and write that number in the middle column. You will then give your child 5 bean bags and

place a basket in front of them. The distance can differ depending on the child. Children throw a

bean bag for each sound they hear in a given word. For example, in my book I would have

students focus on the word b/ee/s and d/i/ve. There are plenty of words in the book rhyming with

these two words and plenty of similar words I can teach to my students. A point is received for

each bean bag that makes it into the basket. You should make sure your child is saying the

sounds they hear as they throw the bean bag. When they are finished throwing, have them count

up their points to determine the grand total.

Focus 3: Sight Words

Standard/Indicator:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3
Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.C

Read common high-frequency words by sight (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Activity to Teach Sight Words: Magic Letter Learning

Use a white crayon or white oil pastel, have students write their sights words repetitively on five

different pieces of paper. You will then give the student water color paint. It can be any color of

their choice. Children will then paint over the white paste or crayon and see the words magically

appear on the paper. This is a great twist to teaching sight words because children get really

excited and enthusiastic about this “magic”. Not only is this fun for children, but it is a creative,

hands on way to get students involved. In this case, the sight words in the book “Busy Bees” are

to, the, they, are, best. So each sheet will contain one of the words and by repetitively writing the

word and seeing it, students will be more likely memorize these sight words.

Focus 4: Analogizing Words

Standard/Indicator:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.D

Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the letters that differ.

Activity to Teach Analogizing Words: Word Identification

Using paint color samples, I would write prefixes for both letter combinations and single letters down

on the far left hand side of the strip. I would then cut out individual paint samples with the root word

and a hole where the pre-fix should be. Students can move the individual sample up and down in order

to make words. This will help students identify other words that sound like or remind them of the key

words there supposed to use. In this case, the key words would be best, bees, hive, and hop.

Focus 5: Phonics

Standard/Indicator:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3

Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.B
Associate the long and short sounds with the common spellings (graphemes) for the five major
vowels.

Activity to Teach Phonics: Battleship Phonics

This is based on the game Battleship. I would draw a grid on the board with initial sounds

written across the top, and medial and final sounds written together down the left side of the grid.

I would let the students know that I have chosen a few squares as ‘special squares’ that they

should seek out. They find these squares by volunteering to say a whole word made up of a letter

at the top and the side of the grid. The intersection of this row and column highlights a particular

square. The object is for the students to find all your designated special locations. In this activity

students will be using the endings -ive, -ack, -op, -est, and -ime. There will be multiple letters

going down the left hand side. The key words they will be looking for are time, rest, best, stop,

hop, back, and hive.

To conclude my shared reading plan, these activities are all equally important to me. To

be a good reader and writer, you need to first know how to pronounce and understand words. If
you don’t understand, then there is no way you will become a good reader. By understanding

sight words and being able to break down other words to form new words, you are not only

expanding your vocabulary, but making it easier for yourself when you want to read new books.

By simply knowing the ending of a word, it makes it easier to read new words if you just change

the beginning.