Original URL: http://school.familyeducation.com/reading-instruction/parenting/30306.html

Frog by Kim Taylor

Summary of the Story

Written from a frog's point of view, this informational book describes how a tadpole grows into a frog.

Introducing the Story

• Read the title of the book on the cover, pointing the word Frog as you say it. Have children repeat the title as you point to each word.
• Point to the pictures on the cover. Ask children what he or she think each picture is. (tadpoles, a frog on a lily pad) Ask: Have you ever seen a frog?

Reading the Story for the First Time

• Read the story, moving your finger under the words as you read.
• After reading, ask: Did you know frogs start out as tadpoles? Have you ever seen a frog or a tadpole? Where do you think we could go to see a frog or a tadpole?

Recalling the Story

• After you have finished reading, ask children the recall questions below. Continue to ask these questions when you reread the book, until he or she knows the answers.

Reading the Story Again and Again

• Give open-ended prompts on each page. For example, ask: What's happening on this page? What is the frog in this picture doing? Do less reading of the words to the story each time you read, leaving more and more of the "reading" or retelling to the children.
• Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures. Ask what, when, where, why, and how questions. For example, ask: What is the tadpole doing in this picture? (It is eating a plant.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about. Evaluate children's response. Expand if it is incorrect by giving the correct word. Ask children to repeat the word. If he or she needs help in answering a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book.
• You may wish to discuss the prompts shown below.

Extra Activities

• Have children read Frog to each other.
• Children can draw pictures that show how a tadpole develops into a frog. Help them write captions that tell about each of their pictures.

Recall Questions
Ask the following questions to check children's understanding of the story.

1. What is the name of this book? (The book is called Frog.)
2. What is this book all about? (It explains how a tadpole develops into a frog.)
3. What are frog eggs called? (They are called frogspawn.)
4. What hatches out of the frogspawn? (tadpoles)
5. How does a tadpole breathe underwater? (It breathes through its gills.)
6. What do tadpoles eat? (They eat plants and insects that fall into the water.)
7. What happens as the tadpole gets older? (Its gills close up and it grows little legs.)
8. How long does it take for a tadpole to become a frog? (12 weeks)

Prompts
Use the following questions after the second or third reading of Frog. There are questions for every one or two pages of the story.

1. What can you see here? (You can see frog eggs.)
2. What is all around each egg? (The eggs are surrounded by jelly.)
3. What comes out of the eggs?(tadpoles)
4. Have you ever seen a tadpole? What did it look like?
5. What does this picture show? (It shows tadpoles.)
6. Why do these tadpoles look different from the ones on the previous page? (Their gills have closed up.)
7. What has happened to these tadpoles? (Their back legs have begun to grow.)
8. What is the tadpole eating? (It is eating a plant.)
9. How has this tadpole grown? (It now has front and back legs.)
10. What can you see here? (You can see frogs.)
11. How do the young frogs look different from the older frog?(They are much smaller. They still have long tails.)
12. How do frogs eat? Can you show me how a frog eats? (Frogs eat bugs by snapping them with their tongues.)
13. Have you ever seen a frog catch a bug?
14. What do these pictures show? (The pictures show how a frog grows from an egg into a tadpole and then into a frog.)

Vocabulary

The words listed below come from the story and its pictures. As you page through the book, point to the pictures and ask the child to name the object or the action shown. This will help the child learn new words. You can use the words below, or you can choose words you think will interest the children. Below are words for every one or two pages of the story.

• frog, frogspawn
• tadpole, gills
• swimming, plants
• back legs, eating
• stick, front legs
• adult frog, tail
• lily pad, tongue, bug
• growing