Standards Correlations

R.1, R.3, R.4, R.6, R.7, W.3, SL.1, L.4, L.6

Learning Objective

Students will identify cause-and-effect relationships in a text about a teen who helps shelter dogs.

Key Skills

cause and effect, text features, vocabulary, inference, synthesizing, critical thinking, making a personal connection, narrative writing

Complexity Factors

Purpose: The text describes a teen’s experience developing a skill and using it for a good cause. 

 

Structure: The story is told from the first-person point of view.

 

Language: The language is conversational.

 

Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.

Levels

Lexile: 500L-600L 

Guided Reading Level: S 

DRA Level: 40

SEL Connection

This article and lesson promote social awareness and self-management skills.

Lesson Plan: He’s Saving Shelter Pets

Essential Questions

  • How can we use our skills for good?
  • How do we overcome physical challenges or learn to live with them?

Literature Connection

  • Nonfiction: Shelter Dogs: Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays by Peg Kehret
  • Novel: The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

1. Preparing to Read 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:

  • Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text beneath the title). What do you think bow ties have to do with shelter pets finding homes? Make a prediction. Answers will vary. Students may correctly guess that bow ties can help make animals look more attractive to people in search of pets.
  • Look at the photos of Sir Darius that are included in the article and read their captions. What do they tell you about him? The photos and captions tell you that Sir Darius loves dogs, that he learned how to sew from his sister, and that his mom helps him run his business when he’s in school.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

  • Point out the vocabulary box. Read the words (diagnosed, frustrating, determination, conquered, displaced) aloud and discuss their definitions
  • Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

  • Set a purpose for reading: Tell students that after reading, they’ll identify cause-and-effect relationships in the story. Point out the activity at the end of the story. 
  • Encourage students to pause at the end of each section so they can monitor their comprehension. Prompt them to take note of sentences they think tell them important ideas in each section, as well as any words or sentences they don’t understand.

2. Reading and Unpacking the Text

Guide students to read the article. Once they understand it well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Question (15 minutes)

  • How did Sir Darius’s fine-motor skills delay affect his life when he was younger? (cause and effect) When he was younger, Sir Darius found it difficult to make small movements with his fingers and hands. For example, he had trouble tying his shoes and writing with a pencil. It was also difficult for him to use a sewing machine, but with enough practice, he eventually learned.
  • Why did President Barack Obama write to Sir Darius? How did Sir Darius feel when he got the letter? (inference) President Obama wrote to Sir Darius to congratulate him on his work. He said that Sir Darius’s work would inspire many people. Sir Darius was very excited and proud to get a letter from the president. 
  • In the article’s opening section, Sir Darius writes that his sewing machine has helped him and thousands of dogs. How has it helped him? How has it helped thousands of dogs? (synthesizing) Sir Darius’s sewing machine has helped him by making it possible for him to earn money by doing something he loves: making bow ties. It has helped thousands of dogs because Sir Darius makes bow ties for dogs that add to their cuteness and possibly make people more likely to adopt them. Sir Darius also sells bow ties for pets and donates the money to animal shelters.

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

  • Why might dogs with bow ties be more likely to get adopted than dogs without bow ties? (critical thinking) Answers will vary. Sample answer: Animal shelters often have many pets available to adopt. Putting a bow tie, or any kind of accessory, on a dog can make it more noticeable and increase the chances that people will consider adopting it. 
  • Sir Darius uses his passion for sewing to help animals in need. What’s a skill you have or an activity you enjoy? How can you use this skill or hobby to do some good in your community? (making a personal connection) Answers will vary.

3. Skill Building and Writing

  • Assign students to work in small groups to complete the Spotlight Skill Workout: Cause and Effect activity.
  • Go further: Use our Sequence of Events Skill Builder, available in higher and lower level versions.  (Click here to view all your Skill Builders.)
  • Writing prompt: Imagine how it feels to be a dog or cat in a shelter, waiting to be adopted. From that pet’s point of view, write a paragraph describing daily life in a shelter and what it’s like to meet the person (or people) who will be your new family.

Learn Anywhere Activity

An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom

The Power of Practice

When Sir Darius was younger, he had trouble doing things like tying his shoes and writing with a pencil. He practiced making small movements with his hands by cutting fabric with scissors—and it worked! 

Think of something that was difficult for you at first but got easier with practice. (This can be anything, from skateboarding to video editing to cooking rice.) Then, on a blank  sheet of paper, write down the answers to the questions below.

  • What was the skill that was difficult for you?
  • Why was it difficult?
  • How did you feel about the skill when it was hard for you?
  • How long did it take for you to get better at it?
  • How did you feel about the skill after you got better at it?

If you feel comfortable, exchange papers with a classmate and read what they’ve written. You might be surprised by what you learn!

Language-Acquisition Springboard

Have students write summary questions for self-assessment.

Before reading, point out that unlike other articles in Action, the True Teen doesn’t come with Pause and Think questions at the end of each section. Let students know that they’ll be asked to come up with these questions after reading. Encourage them to try to think of suitable questions as they read.

After reading, divide students into pairs. Have one student in each pair write a question about the section “My Role Model” and a question about the section “In Style.” Have the other student write a question about the section “A New Idea” and one about the section “Passion Project.” Then have the students in each pair try to answer each other’s questions.

Sample questions:

  • For “My Role Model”: What did Sir Darius want to help his sister do? (He wanted to help his sister make things on her sewing machine.)
  • For “In Style”: What was the first thing Sir Darius made with a sewing machine? (The first thing Sir Darius made with a sewing machine was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bow tie.)
  • For “A New Idea”: What was Sir Darius watching on the news in 2017? (He was watching news about people and animals displaced because of hurricanes.)
  • For “Passion Project”: Who sent a letter to Sir Darius in 2018? (President Barack Obama sent Sir Darius a letter in 2018.)

Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.


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