Article
Illustrations by Charles Lehman
Question and Answer, Partner Reading,

Interview With a Soccer Ball

From the December 2020 / January 2021 Issue
Lexiles: 450L
Guided Reading Level: J
DRA Level: 16-18
Vocabulary: juggled, tournament, countries
Topic: Social Studies,
Common Core Standards
  • RF.2.4a-c Reading fluency RI.2.1 Key details RI.2.4 Vocabulary RI.2.5 Nonfiction text features RI.2.10 Read grade 2- appropriate informational text SL.2 Participate in conversations about grade 2 texts
TEKS Standards
  • Theater
    (1) Foundations: inquiry and understanding. The student develops concepts about self, human relationships, and the environment using elements of drama and conventions of theater. The student is expected to: (D) role play, imitate, and re-create dialogue.
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CHARLES LEHMAN

Hi! I’m Question Mark.

Before you read, practice saying these words:

  • tournaments
  • countries
  • juggled

1) Question Mark: Hi! I’m here with a soccer ball.

Soccer Ball: High five!


2) QM: I have a lot of questions. Do you like being a soccer ball?

SB: I love it! More people play soccer than any other sport. It’s the best game ever.


3) QM: Is soccer called soccer everywhere?

SB: Nope. It’s called football in most of the world.


4) QM: Are all soccer balls black and white?

SB: No way. They started making us black and white years ago. That helped people see us better on TV. But we can be any color.

Eric Eric/Shutterstock.com

 

5) QM: What is your favorite part of soccer?

SB: I like being juggled! That’s when soccer players use their feet and knees to keep me off the ground. They can’t touch me with their hands. One time, someone juggled me for more than 10 hours!


6) QM: Are there any big soccer tournaments?

SB: Oh, for sure! There’s a men’s World Cup and a women’s World Cup. They happen every four years. Soccer teams from many countries play. The next one is in 2022. Will you watch?


7) QM: Wow, soccer ball. I am a real fan!

Slideshows (1)
Activities (1)
Skills Activities
Slideshows (1)
Activities (1) Download All Quizzes and Activities
Skills Activities

More About the Article

Social Studies Focus

American symbols; Economics

Social-emotional Learning Focus

Cooperation (partner reading)

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
Download the Lesson Plan

1. BEFORE READING

Preteach Vocabulary (3-5 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This article’s featured words are juggled, tournament, and countries.

2. PRETEACH NAVIGATING THE PAGE (3 MINUTES)

  • Point out the numbers in the interview. Explain that kids will read the questions and answers in the order of the numbers. It will be important to pay attention to this when they get to the end of a column.

3. READ THE INTERVIEW MULTIPLE TIMES (15-30 MINUTES)

  • If you live in a district where kids can partner up, pair kids up to read the interview a few times out loud.
  • Tell kids that they should read with expression. How should questions sound when you read them out loud? What are the personalities of the characters?
  • First Read: Each partner should quietly read the interview to himself or herself. This is to get the meaning and the feel of the interview.
  • Second Read: Now the pairs will read their parts out loud to each other. The child playing Question Mark can hold a pencil like a microphone while asking questions.
  • Third and Fourth Reads: Kids will be amazed at how much more fluently they read this each time. They just got so much practice with reading fluency! NOTE: On our website, you can find this interview read aloud, with each word highlighted along the way. Kids can listen to it to hear fluent reading modeled for them.
  • If you live in a district where kids can’t be partners right now, you can be Question Mark, and you can call on different students to play Soccer Ball in small group instruction. Ideally each student will get a chance to read a part more than once.

REMOTE LEARNING LESSON PLAN

1. BEFORE READING

Assign Vocabulary Slideshow (10 minutes)

  • Assign students the online vocabulary slideshow to preview independently. This article’s featured words are juggled, tournament, and countries.

2. READ THE INTERVIEW

Here are three ways to use this feature if you are doing remote learning.

Remote Option A: Live Synchronous Instruction (15-30 minutes)

  • Share the article on your screen. Point out the numbers in the interview. Explain that kids will read in the order of the numbers.
  • You can play the part of Question Mark, using your pencil as a microphone. Call on different students to read Soccer Ball’s answer.

Remote Option B: Family Fluency Activity (15-30 minutes)

  • Have kids practice reading the interview aloud with a family member several times.
  • When they are ready, they can read the interview out loud with their family member and record it on a phone. The person playing Question Mark should hold a pencil as a microphone.
  • Then they can post their interviews to the learning management system you use. For a fun way to build your classroom community, have kids watch each other’s interviews.
  • Kids can also email you their filmed interviews.

Text-to-Speech