Brainstorm Bear K

Focus Question:
Why does the family in the story brainstorm?
Book Summary
Text Type: Fiction/Realistic
The Miller family gets a big surprise when they go outside to set up a yard sale and find a bear
in a tree. How will they get it down? Brainstorm Bear is an entertaining and humorous story
about the many ideas the family comes up with for how to move the bear. The book can also
be used to teach students how to retell and identify problems and solutions.
The book and lesson are also available for levels H and N.

Guiding the Reading

Lesson Essentials
Before Reading
Instructional Focus
Retell to understand text Build Background
Determine problem and solution • Place students in small groups and provide each
group with a piece of chart paper. Write the word
Describe information provided by brainstorm on the board and read it aloud to
illustrations students. Invite students to share their knowledge
Identify initial consonant br-blend about the word brainstorm. Explain that to
Recognize and use quotation marks brainstorm means to create and share ideas. Point
out that when brainstorming there are no right or
Identify and use suffix -ing
wrong answers; it is an opportunity for people to
Materials be creative and use their imaginations.
• Explain to students that they will be reading a
Book: Brainstorm Bear
book about a family who finds a bear in a tree in
(copy for each student)
their yard. Have students work in small groups to
Problem and solution, quotation marks, brainstorm ideas about how they would try to get
suffix -ing worksheets the bear out of the tree. Remind them to use their
Discussion cards imaginations as they record their ideas in words or
Book quiz pictures on the chart paper. Invite each group to
share their brainstorming process with the class.
Retelling rubric
Introduce the Book
Vocabulary • Give students their copy of Brainstorm Bear. Guide
Boldface vocabulary words also appear them to the front and back covers and read the
in a pre-made lesson for this title on title. Have students discuss what they see on the
VocabularyA–Z.com. covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to what
type of book it is (genre, text type, and so on)
• Words to Know
and what it might be about.
Story critical: bouncing (v.), brainstorm (v.), • Show students the title page. Discuss the
distance (n.), trail (n.), trampoline (n.), information on the page (title of book, author’s
yard sale (n.) name, illustrator’s name).
• Academic vocabulary: different (adj.),
Introduce the Reading Strategy: Retell
probably (adv.), suggest (v.)
Explain to students that engaged readers stop now
and then while they are reading to retell in their mind
what has happened so far in the story. Point out that
stopping to retell the events of the story helps readers
understand and remember what they are reading.
Explain that when retelling a story or an event, it is
important that the details be explained in order. Use
an example of an everyday life event, such as running
errands, to demonstrate how to retell. Then, invite
students to turn to a partner and retell a different
everyday life event, such as what they did after
school the day before.

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 Brainstorm Bear K

Guiding the Reading (cont.) • Why does Mrs. Miller want Sam to brainstorm ideas
about getting the bear out of the tree? (level 2)
Introduce the Comprehension Skill: pages 6 and 7
Problem and solution • What is Mrs. Miller’s idea about getting the bear
• Write the words problem and solution on the board out of the tree? (level 2) page 9
and read them aloud to students. Explain that in • Why does the family decide to try Sam’s idea?
most stories, a character is faced with a problem that (level 1) pages 12 and 13
needs to be solved. Point out that the problem is a • What is the solution to the problem in the story?
difficulty or challenge that must be worked out or (level 1) page 14
solved and the solution is an action or process used • What other ideas could the family have tried to get
to resolve the problem. Explain that the story ends
the bear out of the tree? (level 3) multiple pages
when a solution to the problem has been reached.
• Point out that problems and solutions in stories Text Features: Illustrations
are similar to the problems and solutions we face Have students review the illustration on page 8.
in our everyday lives. Share a personal example of Point out that the pictures, or illustrations, in the
a problem and how a solution was found. Invite story are provided to help readers better understand
students to turn to a partner and share a problem- what they are reading. Ask students the following
and-solution scenario. Have volunteers share with questions: How does this illustration help you
the class and invite students to identify the problem understand what you are reading? What can you see
and the solution in each story. in the illustration that was not written by the author?
Have students work with a partner to review the
Vocabulary remaining illustrations and have them discuss how the
Have students turn to the “Words to Know” box on illustrations help them to better understand
the copyright page. Discuss each word with students. and remember the story.
Then, have students turn to the glossary on page 16.
Explain that the glossary provides definitions for the Skill Review
vocabulary words in the book. Point out the use of • Have students retell the story from the beginning
each content word and academic vocabulary word to a partner. Encourage students to use transition
in the book, and then use each word in a different words such as first, next, then, last, and so on when
model sentence. Have students work in groups to retelling the story.
create posters for these words. Have them include • Model identifying problem and solution.
on each poster the word and its part of speech, the Think-aloud: As I read, I pause to consider the problem
definition, the word in an example sentence, and faced by the characters in the story. I know that Sam
a picture illustrating the meaning of the word. and his family are trying to have a yard sale and
Set the Purpose the problem is that there is a bear in the tree. This
story is about how the family will solve this problem.
• Have students read to find out more about how the
Sam decided that they should brainstorm different
Millers get the bear out of the tree. Write the Focus
solutions to their problem. For example, Sarah
Question on the board. Invite students to look for
suggests they place the trampoline under the tree.
evidence in the book to support their answer to the
Sam decides that this is not a good solution because
question.
the bear will bounce off. As I continue to read, I will
• Have students make a small question mark in their pause and identify how the family eventually solves
book beside any word they do not understand or the problem of having a bear in the tree.
cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in a
• Model how to complete the problem-and-solution
future discussion.
worksheet. Then, have students discuss their
responses with a partner and determine the
During Reading problem and solution in the story.
Text-Dependent Questions
As students read the book, monitor their understanding After Reading
with the following questions. Encourage students to Ask students what words, if any, they marked in
support their answers by citing evidence from the book. their book. Use this opportunity to model how they
• What problem does the family in the story face? can read these words using decoding strategies and
(level 1) page 3 context clues.
• Why is having a bear in the tree a problem for
the family? (level 2) pages 4 and 5

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 Brainstorm Bear K

Guiding the Reading (cont.) • Invite volunteers to create examples of dialogue

using the names of various classmates. For example:
Skill Review “I’m ready for recess,” said Juan. Record their
sentences on the board and invite students to
Graphic Organizer: Problem and solution
correctly add quotation marks to each sentence.
Review the problem-and-solution worksheet that
• Check for understanding: Have students work in small
students completed. Have students share their work
groups to reread pages 5 through 9. Invite them
in groups. Invite volunteers to share with the rest of
to circle each set of quotation marks and identify
the class.
which character is speaking and what is being said.
Comprehension Extension Review each group’s findings as a class.
Discussion cards covering comprehension skills and • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have
strategies not explicitly taught with the book are students complete the quotation marks worksheet.
provided to be used for extension activities. If time allows, discuss their answers.

Response to Focus Question Word Work: Suffix -ing

Have students cite specific evidence from the book to • Write the word climbing on the board and read it
answer the Focus Question. (Reasons should include aloud with students. Identify the root word (climb)
the following: The family is brainstorming because and write it next to the word climbing. Invite
they must solve the problem of having a bear in students to use each word in a sentence.
a tree when they are setting up for a yard sale.) • Explain that a suffix is a syllable, or group of letters,
added to the end of a word to change its meaning
Comprehension Checks and that an example of a suffix is -ing. Point out that
• Book quiz • Retelling rubric adding the suffix -ing to a word changes the word
to describe an action that is happening right now, or
in the present tense. Explain that when a word ends
Book Extension Activities with the letter e, the e must be dropped and then
the suffix -ing is added, as in the word making.
Build Skills
• Write the following words on the board: look,
Phonics: Initial consonant br-blend trade, search. Read each word aloud with students
• Write the word brainstorm on the board and read it and invite volunteers to add the suffix -ing to each
aloud with students. word and use it in a complete sentence.
• Have students say the /br/ sound aloud. Then, • Check for understanding: Have students work in pairs
run your finger under the letters in the word to reread pages 10 through 12 and circle all of the
brainstorm as students say the whole word aloud. words containing the suffix -ing. Have students
Ask students to identify which letters represent share their findings with the class.
the /br/ sound in the word brainstorm. Repeat this • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have
process with the word broke. students complete the suffix -ing worksheet. If
• Check for understanding: Write the following words time allows, discuss their answers.
on the board, leaving off the initial consonant
blend: brave, broke, broom, brown, and brush. Connections
Invite volunteers to come to the board and add • See the back of the book for cross-curricular
the initial consonant blend to each word. extension ideas.

Grammar and Mechanics: Quotation marks

• Read the last sentence on page 4 aloud to students
as they follow along. Ask them to identify which
character is speaking and what they character
is saying.
• Review or explain that quotation marks are
punctuation marks used to show that a character is
speaking. Have students circle the quotation marks
in the last sentence on page 4. Have them locate
the comma inside the quotation marks. Explain that
the comma is placed inside the quotation marks
to separate the character’s words from the rest
of the sentence.

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