Pine School Pals: Get The Ball!

• Small group; whole group; independent reading

• Watch What’s in a Comic? video (5 minutes)
  Show students the video What’s in a Comic? to help them understand features of comics, like speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and more.

Reading Focus: Problem and solution (30 minutes)

• As you begin to read, ask students to pay attention to the problem and solution in the story. Why are Tate and Riley frustrated with Jack? How do they solve their problem?

• Problem and Solution: (10 minutes)
  This activity helps students reflect on the structure of the comic. First they’ll write down the Pine School Pals’ problem (Jack keeps kicking the ball really far, then making Tate and Riley go get it). Then they’ll write down the solution (Jack finally gets the ball himself, and he stops kicking the ball so far away).

Special Note on Fluency Practice (20 minutes)

Our Mini Graphic Novels are a great way for kids to practice reading fluency. Here’s how they can do it:

• Have students read the mini graphic novel aloud in small groups. You can assign different students different roles. The characters are all listed on the first page to make this easy. 
• After students have practiced with their small groups, they can perform their “play” for the rest of the class (while reading from the magazine—they don’t have to memorize their parts). 
• Then you can discuss the story. What was the problem in the story? What was the solution?