19 pt’s terrible problem - houghton mifflin harcourt

Number of Words: 1,240

L E S S O N 1 9 T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

PT’s Terrible Problemby Jane Bingley

Fountas-Pinnell Level PFantasySelection SummaryPT is a rainforest frog who has no friends because he is poisonous to the touch. The animals run in fear from him. He doesn’t know how to solve his problem until he meets a lonely sloth. She gives PT clothes to cover his poisonous skin, winning PT and herself the friendship of the other animals.

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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Fantasy

Text Structure • Combination of second person (If you ever met him…) and third person (PT lived in the rainforest.) narratives

• Problem/solution structureContent • Rainforest animal names and typical characteristics and behavior

• Animals behave like peopleThemes and Ideas • The importance of friendship cannot be underestimated.

• Acceptance of others who are different can strengthen any community.• Creativity can help solve problems.

Language and Literary Features

• Questions directed to reader: And who would want to be friends with someone who causes pain?

• Exclamatory expressions: Very dashing!Sentence Complexity • Most are complex sentences with both dependent and independent clauses.

• Use of dashes to make complex sentences: It was true he was very small—only about an inch or so long, in fact.

Vocabulary • Scientifi c name for frog: Phyllobates Terribilis• Rainforest animal names, some may be unfamiliar: anteaters, crocodiles, jaguar, sloth

Words • Many multisyllable words• Words with prefi xes (disappeared, prehistoric, unfair) and suffi xes (harmless,

immediately, poisonous)Illustrations • Detailed illustrations depicting rainforest setting and animals

Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text• Use of italics and all capitals (“YEEEOW!”) to indicate emphasis

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

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Expand Your Vocabulary

bank – n. the rising ground at the edge of a lake, river, or sea, p. 6

clearing – n. an area of land cleared of wood and brush, p. 5

crocodiles –large, thick-skinned reptiles, p. 5

demonstrate – to show clearly, p. 13

distressed - upset, p. 9

jaguar - a large yellowish brown black-spotted cat larger than a leopard, p. 6

poisonous - containing poison, p. 8

PT’s Terrible Problem by Jane Bingley

Build BackgroundHelp students use their knowledge about rainforests. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: What animals do you know about that live in the rainforest? Read the title and author and talk about the frog on the cover. Tell students that this story is fantasy, so the animal characters are going to do things they cannot do in real life.

Introduce the TextGuide students through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:

Pages 2–3: Explain that this is a story about a rainforest frog called PT who has no friends. Suggested language: Turn to page 2 of this book. This picture shows PT all alone in the rainforest. The letters in PT’s name stand for Phyllobates Terribilis. It is pronounced fye-low-BA-teez ter-rib-BIL-iss. This is the scientifi c name for a real type of poisonous frog. Let’s read the last sentence on page 3: Whenever he touched another animal, a terrible thing happened: the other animal felt stinging, fi ery pain. What can you tell about PT from the picture?

Page 6: Explain that on this page, PT meets a jaguar. A jaguar is a large wild cat. Describe the jaguar you see in the picture. What do you think might have happened? How can you tell?

Page 7: Call attention to the illustration. The animal in the tree is a sloth. This sloth’s name is Myrtle. What can you tell about Myrtle from what she is wearing?

Page 9: Call attention to the illustration. Myrtle tells PT he has poisonous skin. Poisonous means “full of poison.” Look at PT’s expression. He is distressed to fi nd out that he is poisonous. Who wouldn’t be? Poor PT! How can he solve his problem?

Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out how PT solves his problem.

2 Lesson 19: PT’s Terrible ProblemGrade 3© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

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ReadHave students read PT’s Terrible Problem silently while you listen to individual students read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.

Remind students to use the Summarize Strategy and to tell important parts of the story in their own words.

Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite students to share their personal responses to the story. Suggested language: How do you think PT felt when he found a way to become friends with the other animals? Why do you think so?

Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help students understand these points:

Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text

• PT is poisonous so the other animals run away from him.

• PT meets Myrtle, who gives him clothes to cover his poisonous skin.

• Both PT and Myrtle become friends with the other animals.

• It’s important to have friends.

• Good friends help each other with problems.

• People should not fear others who are different.

• Creativity can help solve problems.

• The animal characters use realistic dialogue and display human emotions.

• The author uses vivid details and colorful verbs to bring the story to life.

• The author’s attitude is that acceptance of differences can improve the quality of life.

© 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H.

Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite students to choose a page from the text to read aloud. Remind them

to read with good momentum, using punctuation as signals for grouping words into meaningful phrases.

• Comprehension Based on your observations of the students’ reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind students to go back to the text to support their ideas.

• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind students that some words have more than one meaning. Readers must use the context, or surrounding words and sentences, to fi gure out the appropriate meaning of a word. Point out the word bank on page 6 and discuss its meaning in the story. Ask students to defi ne the following words as they are used in the story: seconds (p. 6), kind (p. 8), dashing (p. 11), and pile (page 13).



Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave students complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 19.9.

RespondingHave students complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.

Target Comprehension SkillCause and Effect

Target Comprehension Skill Remind students that they can think about what happens

in a story (the effect) and why it happens (the cause). Model the skill, using this Think Aloud:

Think Aloud

Look at page 11. PT is surprised to fi nd out that Myrtle has many clothes in Size Frog in her closet. Why would a sloth have frog-sized clothes? It’s because Myrtle once had a toad for a roommate. When he took off, the toad left his clothes in Myrtle’s closet. The closet full of Size Frog clothes is the effect. The toad leaving his clothes behind is the cause.

Practice the SkillHave students write one sentence that tells about another cause-and-effect relationship in the story.

Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave students write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story.

Assessment Prompts• The fi rst paragraph on page 3 is mainly about

________________________________________________________________.

• Reread the last paragraph on page 10. What does by accident mean?

• Complete this sentence in your own words: The reader can tell that Myrtle is kind because she

________________________________________________________________.



Read directions to students.

Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is PT’s problem at the

beginning of the story?

All the animals run from him because they feel pain when they

touch him.

2. Think within the text Why does Myrtle say that she

understands how PT feels?

The other animals don’t seem to like Myrtle, either, because

she is so slow.

3. Think beyond the text Myrtle tells PT that she sits

still and reads the encyclopedia while everyone else is

running around saving the world. Which of these would

you rather do? Explain your answer.

Responses will vary.

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author

includes dialogue in this story?

Possible response: The dialogue helps readers understand the characters and

makes the story more interesting.

Making Connections PT cannot help being poisonous—he was born that way. Think of another story in which a character has a difficulty that he or she has to live with. Describe the difficulty and tell how the character adapts.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Critical Thinking© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Name Date

Grade 3, Unit 4: Extreme Nature11

PT’s Terrible Problem

Critical Thinking

Lesson 19B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 9 . 9

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English Language DevelopmentReading Support In Introduce the Text (p.2) include as much practice as needed to help students become familiar with the language structures of the book.

Idioms The story contains some idioms that might be unfamiliar. Explain the meaning of expressions such as in his right mind (page 5) and all things in good time and by the way (page 10).

Oral Language DevelopmentCheck student comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches your students’ English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the student.

Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced

Speaker 1: What is the frog’s name in the story?

Speaker 2: PT

Speaker 1: Where does PT live?

Speaker 2: in the rainforest

Speaker 1: Who helps PT?

Speaker 2: Myrtle the sloth

Speaker 1: Why do the animals run away from PT?

Speaker 2: His skin is poisonous.

Speaker 1: What does Myrtle give to PT?

Speaker 2: She gives him clothes to wear.

Speaker 1: Why aren’t the animals afraid of PT at the end of the story?

Speaker 2: He is wearing clothes to cover his poisonous skin.



Name Date

PT’s Terrible ProblemThinking Beyond the Text

Write a paragraph answering the following questions:

In the story, Myrtle is a good friend to PT because she helps him solve a big problem. How might PT be a good friend to Myrtle? What problems might he help her solve?



Critical ThinkingRead and answer the questions.

1. Think within the text What is PT’s problem at the

beginning of the story?

2. Think within the text Why does Myrtle say that she

understands how PT feels?

3. Think beyond the text Myrtle tells PT that she sits

still and reads the encyclopedia while everyone else is

running around saving the world. Which of these would

you rather do? Explain your answer.

4. Think about the text Why do you think the author

includes dialogue in this story?

Making Connections PT cannot help being poisonous—he was born that way. Think of another story in which a character has a difficulty that he or she has to live with. Describe the difficulty and tell how the character adapts.

Write your answer in your Reader’s Notebook.

Name Date

PT’s Terrible Problem

Critical Thinking

Lesson 19B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 9 . 9



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Student Date Lesson 19

B L A C K L I N E M A S T E R 1 9 . 1 3

PT’s Terrible ProblemRunning Record Form

PT’s Terrible Problem • LEVEL PRunning Record FormRunning Record Form


Behavior Code Error

Read word correctly ✓cat 0

Repeated word, sentence, or phrase

®cat

0

Omission —cat 1

Behavior Code Error

Substitution cutcat 1

Self-corrects cut sccat 0

Insertion the

ˆcat 1

Word told Tcat 1

page Selection Text Errors Self-Corrections

13

14

PT began to understand.

Clothes would cover his poisonous skin!

It took a few days for the animals in the forest to understand

that PT was safe to touch. He and Myrtle had to demonstrate

several times.

Finally, a couple of brave monkeys swung over to PT and

shook his gloved hand. After that, everyone wanted to shake

PT’s hand! They couldn’t believe that they’d ever been afraid of

such a nice little frog.

Best of all, the animals began to take time to get to know

Myrtle. She was very generous with her knowledge—and her

wardrobe.

Comments: Accuracy Rate (# words read

correctly/98 × 100)

%

Total Self- Corrections


19 pt’s terrible problem - houghton mifflin harcourt

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