Best Friends Q and U D

Focus Question:
What words can you spell using the letters qu?
Book Summary
Text Type: Fiction/Fantasy
Best Friends Q and U is the story of a dynamic duo and their adventures together.
Through simple text and colorful illustrations, students are introduced to the digraph
qu in an entertaining and engaging context. The book can also be used to identify
the author’s purpose and practice the skill of retelling.

Guiding the Reading

Lesson Essentials
Before Reading
Instructional Focus
Build Background
Retell to understand text
• Write the word friends on the board and read it
Determine the author’s purpose aloud to students. Ask students what makes someone
Describe information provided a good friend and have them turn to a partner to
by illustrations share their responses. Invite volunteers to share their
Discriminate short vowel /i/ sound discussions and record this information on the board.
Identify short vowel i Discuss with students activities that friends might do
together such as play games, tell make-believe stories,
Recognize and create subject-verb create art, and so on. Explain that they will be reading
agreement a story about two letters, Q and U, who are best
Place words in alphabetical order friends and do everything together.

Materials Introduce the Book

Book: Best Friends Q and U • Give students their copy of Best Friends Q and U.
Guide them to the front and back covers and read
(copy for each student)
the title. Have students discuss what they see on
Author’s purpose, subject-verb agreement, the covers. Encourage them to offer ideas as to
alphabetical order worksheets what type of book it is (genre, text type, and so
Discussion cards on) and what it might be about.
Book quiz • Show students the title page. Discuss the
Retelling rubric information on the page (title of book, author’s
name, illustrator’s name).
Vocabulary Introduce the Reading Strategy: Retell
Boldface vocabulary words also appear Explain that engaged readers stop now and then
in a pre-made lesson for this title on while they are reading to retell in their mind what
VocabularyA–Z.com. has happened so far in the story. Stopping to retell
• High-frequency words: at, in, they the events of the story helps readers understand and
remember what they are reading. Explain that when
• Words to Know retelling a story or event, it is important that the
Story critical: earthquake (n.), quilt (v.), details are explained in order. Point out that people
square (n.), squeal (v.), squint (v.), squish (v.) retell stories as part of their daily lives, such as what
they did over the weekend or what happened in a
television show they just watched. Use a book that
the class has recently read or a familiar story, and
demonstrate how to retell a story in correct order.
Invite volunteers to help you with the retelling.

Introduce the Comprehension Skill:

Author’s purpose
• Write the following words on the board: inform,
entertain, persuade. Ask students if they are
familiar with any of these words. Invite students
to share what they know about the meanings of
the words. Explain to students that inform means

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 Best Friends Q and U D

Guiding the Reading (cont.) described in the text? Have students view the pictures
on pages 8, 9, and 10 and answer the same questions.
to give the reader information on a topic, entertain Invite volunteers to share their answers with the class.
means to amuse the reader, and persuade means
to convince the reader to think a certain way. Skill Review
• Discuss with students that authors have a purpose • Model for students how to retell what you have
for writing their book. The purpose for writing the read so far. Have students retell the story from the
book may be to inform, entertain, or persuade. Point beginning to a partner. Listen to see whether they
out that an author may write for more than one include the events in detail and in the correct in
purpose. Explain to students that they should pause order. Encourage students to use transition words
often as they read to consider the author’s purpose. such as first, next, then, and finally when retelling
the story.
Vocabulary • Model identifying the author’s purpose.
Have students turn to the “Words to Know” box on Think-aloud: I know that when an author writes
the copyright page. Point out that these words can be a story, he or she is writing with a purpose. An
found in the story and that understanding the meaning author’s purpose may be to inform, to entertain,
of each word will help them better understand what or to persuade. As I read this story, I paused often
they read. Read the words aloud to students and as a to consider the details of the story and think about
group, discuss the meaning of each word. On the basis the author’s purpose. This story teaches about
of the definitions discussed, have students work in how the letters Q and U work together as a team.
groups to illustrate each vocabulary word on a poster. This story is illustrated and written in a way that is
Have students share their posters with the class. entertaining and fun, but it also teaches me about
words that contain the qu team. On the basis of this
Set the Purpose information, I know that the author’s purpose is
• Have students read to find out more about why Q to both to entertain and inform.
and U are a great team. Write the Focus Question • Have students work in small groups to consider and
on the board. Invite students to look for evidence in discuss why the author had more than one purpose
the book to support their answer to the question. when writing this story. Invite students to use
• Have students make a small question mark in their evidence in the text to support their findings.
book beside any word they do not understand or Have groups share their responses with the class.
cannot pronounce. These can be addressed in a • Model how to complete the author’s purpose
future discussion. worksheet. Have students discuss the details
they noted with a partner.
During Reading
Text-Dependent Questions After Reading
As students read the book, monitor their understanding Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their
with the following questions. Encourage students to book. Use this opportunity to model how they can
support their answers by citing evidence from the book. read these words using decoding strategies.
• What is the first thing Q and U do together?
(level 1) page 4 Skill Review
• What do Q and U do together in the square? Graphic Organizer: Author’s purpose
(level 1) page 5 Review the author’s purpose worksheet that students
• What do Q and U do together in the mud? completed. Invite volunteers to share their findings
(level 1) page10 with the class.
• What kinds of activities do Q and U like Comprehension Extension
to do together? (level 2) multiple pages
Discussion cards covering comprehension skills and
• Why are Q and U are great team? (level 3) strategies not explicitly taught with the book are
multiple pages provided for extension activities.
Text Features: Illustrations Response to Focus Question
Explain that illustrations, or pictures, help readers Have students cite specific evidence from the book
visualize and understand what is going on in the to answer the Focus Question. (Students’ responses
story. Sometimes pictures show readers more than should include the following: Words that can be
what the text says. Have students work with a partner spelled using the letters q and u include: quite, quirky,
to review the picture on page 7. Ask students: How quartz, quality, quack, quail, quilt, squeeze, squirt,
does this picture help you know more about Q and U? quarter, sequin, quest, squeal, queen, quiz, squish,
What details are shown in the pictures that are not squid, squint, aquarium, earthquake.)

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 Best Friends Q and U D

Guiding the Reading (cont.) • Explain to students that when the subject is singular,
or refers to only person, place, or thing, the regular
Comprehension Checks verb ends in an -s. Write a new subject on the board
• Book quiz • Retelling rubric such as teacher. Write several verbs on the board such
as explain, read, talk. Have students work in groups
to pair the subject with the verbs, and remind them
Book Extension Activities to make sure the subject and verb agree.
• Read page 4 aloud to students as they follow along.
Build Skills Invite a volunteer to identify the subject (they) and
Phonological Awareness: Short vowel /i/ sound the verb (quack). Point out that the subject refers
• Say the word quick aloud to students, emphasizing to more than one person and the verb does not
the short vowel /i/ sound. Have students say the need the -s at the end of the word. Read page 5
word aloud and then say the /i/ sound. Have aloud to students and invite them to underline
students practice saying the /i/ sound to a partner. the subject and circle the verb.
Repeat the process with the following words: pit, • Check for understanding: Have students work with
quit, sit, fin, spin, tip. a partner to reread pages 6 and 7 and underline
• Read pages 5 and 9 aloud to students. Have them the subject in each sentence and circle the verb.
raise their hand when they hear a word that Review students’ responses as a class.
contains the short vowel /i/ sound (quilt, in, quiz). • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have
• Check for understanding: Say the following words one students complete the subject-verb-agreement
at a time and have students give a thumbs-up signal worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers
if the word contains the short vowel /i/ sound: mitt, aloud after students finish.
might, pine, pin, sip, sight, knit, still, quiet, write, wig. Word Work: Alphabetical order
Phonics: Short vowel i • Review or explain the process of putting a list
• Write the words quit and hit on the board and say of words in alphabetical order. Remind students
them aloud with students. Then run your finger under to look at the first letter of each word and then
the letters in the word as students say the whole word decide which word begins with the letter that
aloud. Ask students to identify which letter represents comes first in the alphabet.
the short vowel /i/ sound in each word. • Write the alphabet on the board. Underneath,
• Write the following words on the board, leaving out write the words pumpkin and costume. Have a
the vowel: tin, kit, tick, spin, dim, win, rim. Say each volunteer explain which word would appear first
word, one at a time, and have volunteers come to the in alphabetical order (costume) and why (because
board and add the short vowel i. Cc comes before Pp in the alphabet). Circle the Cc
and Pp and compare their locations in the alphabet.
• Check for understanding: Invite students to work
Erase the circles when the discussion is complete.
with a partner to reread pages 5 through 9. Have
students circle all words with the short vowel i. • Write the words Halloween, ghost, robot, and
Review students’ findings as a class. mummy on the board. Have a volunteer explain
how to place these words in alphabetical order.
• Independent practice: Read pages 10 through 12 aloud
Circle the Gg, Hh, Rr, and Mm on the board and
to students and have them work independently to
compare their locations in the alphabet. Erase the
identify and circle all of the words containing the
circle when the discussion is complete.
short vowel i. Review students’ responses as a class.
• Check for understanding: Write the following
Grammar and Mechanics: words on the board: boo, pumpkin, costume,
Subject-verb agreement carrot, robot, ghost, Halloween, monster. Have
students work in small groups to write the words
• Write the following sentence on the board: The in alphabetical order on a separate sheet of paper.
boy eat Halloween candy. Read it aloud, and have Discuss students’ responses.
students share with a partner what is wrong with
the sentence. Invite a volunteer to share with the • Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and
class how to change the sentence so it is correct. have students complete the alphabetical order
Change the sentence so it reads as follows: The worksheet. If time allows, discuss their answers
boy eats Halloween candy. Read the sentence aloud after students finish.
aloud and ask students to give a thumbs-up signal Connections
if the sentence sounds correct.
• See the back of the book for cross-curricular
extension ideas.

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