illustration of question mark and a dollar bill
ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHARLES LEHMAN; MARTIN WILLIAMS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (DOLLAR BILL)

Interview with a Dollar Bill

Our character Question Mark gets all the details about this famous American symbol.

From the September 2020 Issue
Lexiles: 400L
Guided Reading Level: G
DRA Level: 16-18
Featured Skill: Reading Fluency,
Vocabulary: billion, George Washington, President, cotton
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, L.2.4.a Use sentence-level context as a clue to a word’s meaning
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:

  • billion
  • George Washington
  • president
  • cotton

1) Question Mark: Hi! I am here with a dollar bill.

Dollar Bill: Hi, kid. You can call me Buck.


2) QM: OK, Buck. Why should kids know about you?

DB: I am money. You can buy stuff with me.


3) QM: How many dollar bills are there?

DB: There are a lot of us— more than 12 billion in the world.


4) QM: Wow! Who is on your front?

DB: That guy is George Washington.


5) QM: Was he our first president?

DB: That’s right, kid.


6) QM: What are you made of?

DB: I am made mostly of cotton, like a T-shirt.


7) QM: What happens if you rip?

DB: Take me to the bank. You can get a new dollar bill.


8) QM: Thanks, Buck. Let's go buy lunch. 

Slideshows (1)
Activities (1)
Skills Activities
Slideshows (1)
Activities (1)
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 (4 minutes)

  • Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This issue’s featured words are billion, George Washington, president, and cotton.
  • These aren’t all necessarily new words for kids! But since they will be reading out loud, it’s important to practice words in advance that may be hard to read.

Introduce Question Mark and Pair Kids Up (5 minutes)

  • Introduce kids to our character Question Mark on page 22. Share that he will be appearing in every issue of Storyworks 2. His interviews will give kids great practice in reading fluency.
  • Partner kids up. One partner should be Question Mark, and the other should be the dollar bill.
  • Time for props! The kids who are playing Question Mark should get out a pencil or highlighter pen. That will be their microphone.

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. This will be especially important for kids to pay attention to when they get to the end of a column

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

ELA Focus: Comprehension (15 minutes)

Extension: Make a Microphone (20 minutes)

  • We have a Question Mark interview in every issue. Kids can make microphones from balls of tinfoil and toilet paper rolls to use for the interview. Just stuff the tinfoil ball into the toilet paper roll. You can keep these all year long!

4. AFTER READING 

  • Kids will read the interview multiple times.
  • Tell kids that they should read with expression. How should questions sound when you read them out loud? What are the personalities of Question Mark and the dollar bill?
  • Tell kids they can have fun with it. Each time they read the interview, they will get better at it.
  • First Read: Each partner should quietly read the interview to him 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. Remember, the child playing Question Mark should hold their pencil like a microphone while asking questions. It’s OK if kids stumble on words.
  • Third Read: Now kids will read it out loud again. They are getting used to this.
  • Fourth Read: They will be amazed at how much more fluently they read this the fourth time around. They just got so much practice with reading fluency! 

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