Lessons & Units :: The Treasure 1st Grade Unit

Read-Aloud Lesson: The Treasure

Lesson Plan

The Treasure | 650L

The Treasure
Learning Goal
Explain how the journey of the main character illustrates the theme of the book.
Duration
Part 1: Approximately 20 minutes
 
Part 2: Approximately 10-15 minutes
 
Part 3: Approximately 10-15 minutes
Necessary Materials

Provided:
Detailed lesson plan
Graphic organizer for guided practice
Independent student worksheet

Not Provided:
The Treasure

 
  1. This lesson is a close reading of the entire text. So it’s important to engage students often, to enhance their learning. Here are two tips:

    •   When you ask the more complex questions from the lesson, ask students to “turn-and-talk” or “buddy-talk” before answering.

    •   Once you are deep into the lesson, instead of asking students every question provided, ask them to share with you what questions they should be asking themselves at that point in the text. This is also a great opportunity to use "turn-and-talk."
       
  2. Suggested teacher language is included in the lesson.

  3. We recommend you read the book once to your students, either the day or morning before teaching the lesson.

  4. This research-based, read-aloud lesson may seem long. Why do students need the lesson to be this way?
 

Part 1: Teacher Modeling and Questioning

 

Write the following student-friendly learning goal on the board, then read the learning goal out loud with the class:

We will see what we learn from reading about the journey the character takes.

 
Transition Students into the Text
 
Teacher says: Good things in life can be hard to get. Often we have to travel a long way to find something or achieve something of value. What was this man’s journey about? How did his journey turn out?
 
Read page 1 out loud, then stop. Page 1 ends with, “...his name was Isaac”.
1.
Teacher asks: The story begins by describing a character. What is the character’s name?
 
Students answer: The character’s name is Isaac.
 
Read page 2 out loud, then stop. Page 2 ends with, “...went to bed hungry”.
2.
Teacher says: We just read that Isaac lived in poverty. Even if I do not know what poverty means, I can try and figure it out from the rest of the sentence. “He lived in such poverty that again and again he went to bed hungry.”
3.
Teacher says (models thinking): If someone is going to bed hungry, again and again, I am going to conclude that that person doesn't have enough money to buy enough food to eat. And if he doesn't have enough money to buy food, then he is not going to have enough money for anything else. So when the author tells us that Isaac lived in such poverty that again and again he went to bed hungry, it means that Isaac was very poor and didn't have enough money for the basics, like food.
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Read pages 3-5 out loud, then stop. Page 5 ends with, “...paid no attention to it”.
4.
Teacher asks: What does a voice in Isaac’s dream tell him to do?
 
Students answer: The voice in Isaac’s dream tells him to look for treasure.
5.
Teacher asks: Where does the voice in Isaac’s dream tell him to look for treasure?
 
Students answer: The voice tells Isaac to look under the bridge by the Royal Palace.
6.
Teacher asks: Does Isaac listen to his dream? Why or why not?
 

Students answer:

  • Isaac does not listen to his dream because he thinks it is “only a dream.”
  • Isaac does not listen to his dream because he does not think it is important.
 
Read pages 6-7 out loud, then stop. Page 7 ends with, “...out on his journey”.
7.
Teacher asks: After the dream comes a third time, Isaac decides that it might be true. What does he do next?
 

Students answer (may vary but should resemble the following):

  • Isaac sets out on a journey.
  • Isaac goes on a journey for treasure.
8.
Teacher asks: Think about what the dream told Isaac. Where is he probably going on his journey?
 
Students answer: Isaac is probably going to the bridge by the Royal Palace.
9.
Teacher says (models thinking): The book uses the word “journey,” a word that means a long trip. That word makes me wonder how far Isaac will have to go to reach the bridge. Let’s find out.
 
Read pages 8-11 out loud, then stop. Page 11 ends with, “...over mountains”.
10.
Teacher asks: Where has Isaac gone so far?
 

Students answer:

  • Isaac has gone through forests.
  • Isaac has gone over mountains.
11.
Teacher says (models thinking): Isaac is walking through forests and over mountains. He must be traveling very far. I can see why the author used the word journey to describe this trip.
 
Read pages 12-16 out loud, then stop. Page 16 ends with, “...around it until dark”.
12.
Teacher asks: Where is Isaac now?
 
Students answer: Isaac is by the bridge at the Royal Palace.
13.
Teacher asks: Has Isaac completed his journey? Explain why or why not.
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • Yes, because he is at the bridge where his dream told him to go.
  • No, because he is not under the bridge where the treasure is.
 
Read pages 17-19 out loud, then stop. Page 19 ends with, “...he laughed again”.
14.
Teacher asks: What is the captain’s dream about?
 
Students answer: The captain’s dream is about treasure.
15.
Teacher asks: Where does the captain dream there is treasure?
 
Students answer: The captain dreams there is treasure under the stove in the house of someone named Isaac in the city where Isaac lives.
 
Read page 20 out loud, then stop. Page 20 ends with, “...his long way home”.
16.
Teacher asks: Where does Isaac start to go after the captain tells Isaac about his dream?
 
Students answer: Isaac starts to go home.
17.
Teacher asks: Why does Isaac start to go home even though he has not searched for treasure under the bridge? Support your answer with one or more details from the book.
 

Students answer (may vary):

  • The captain laughs at Isaac’s dream, so Isaac feels silly and starts to go home.
  • After hearing the captain say he dreamed of treasure under the stove of someone named Isaac in Isaac’s city, Isaac wants to go home to look under his stove.
 
Read pages 21-23 out loud, then stop. Page 23 ends with, “...of the way he walked”.
18.
Teacher says: Isaac is going on another long journey, but now he is traveling in the opposite direction.
19.
Teacher asks: As Isaac travels, how is he getting from place to place?
 
Students answer: Isaac gets rides sometimes but is walking most of the way.
20.
Teacher says (models thinking): I am noticing that Isaac has spent most of the story walking from one place to another. First he went from his home to the bridge by the Royal Palace. Then he walked around the bridge for days. Now he is going home. I wonder whether all this traveling will eventually lead him to a treasure.
 
Finish reading the story.
21.
Teacher asks: Where does Isaac find the treasure?
 
Students answer: Isaac finds the treasure under his stove.
22.
Teacher asks: Let's take a closer look at the illustration on page 25. Notice how Isaac is looking for the treasure underneath his stove. Based on the illustration, explain whether Isaac is having an easy or hard time finding the treasure underneath his stove.
 
Students answer: Isaac is having a hard time finding the treasure. He has to dig underneath his stove and remove a lot of stuff before he finds his treasure.
23.
Teacher says: Isaac builds a house of prayer and writes these words in one of its corners: “Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near.”
24.
Teacher asks: Did Isaac travel far to discover what is near? Explain why or why not.
 
Students answer (may vary but should resemble the following): Yes, Isaac traveled a long way to the bridge, where he discovered that the treasure was actually under his stove.
25.

Teacher asks: Did Isaac need to travel far to discover the treasure? Explain why or why not.

 
Students answer (may vary): Yes, Isaac needed to travel far to discover the treasure. If he had not gone to the bridge by the Royal Palace, he would never have learned from the soldier there that treasure was under his stove.
26.
Teacher says: Think about how Isaac’s life changed because of his travels.
27.
Teacher asks: What was Isaac’s life like before he went on his journey?
 

Students answer (both of the following answers are acceptable):

  • Isaac went to bed hungry.
  • Isaac was poor.
28.
Teacher asks: Did Isaac travel a long way or a short way? Support your answer with one or more details from the book.
 
Students answer: Isaac traveled a long way. The book says that he walked through forests and over mountains to get to the bridge by the Royal Palace.
29.
Teacher asks: What was Isaac’s life like after he found the treasure?
 

Students answer (both of the following answers are acceptable):

  • Isaac was happy.
  • Isaac was never poor again.
30.
Teacher says: The change in Isaac’s life is a very important part of this story. It helps readers understand the theme, or main idea, of the book. The main idea is that sometimes people have to go far away to figure out that they actually had what they needed all along. They just did not know it before their trip.
 

Part 2: Guided Practice and Discussion

 
For this oral lesson, it is suggested to have the completed graphic organizer on the board with the answers concealed. After students provide a correct answer, reveal the corresponding answer on the graphic organizer.
1.
Teacher says: We talked about the journey that Isaac went on to find treasure. Now we are going to look closely at each part of his journey.
2.
Teacher says: I will get us started. After Isaac sets out on his journey, the first places we read about him going are forests.
3.
Teacher asks: Where does Isaac go next?
 
Students answer: Isaac goes over mountains next.
4.
Teacher asks: Then Isaac reaches the capital city. Where does he go when he reaches the capital city?
 
Students answer: Isaac goes to the bridge by the Royal Palace.
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5.
Teacher asks: When Isaac gets to the bridge, he does not dare to search for the treasure because of the guards. What does he do instead?
 
Students answer: Isaac returns to the bridge every morning and wanders around it until dark.
6.
Teacher asks: After speaking with the captain, Isaac begins his journey home. Where does he go first on his way home?
 
Students answer: Isaac goes over mountains.
7.
Teacher asks: Where does Isaac go next on his way home?
 
Students answer: Isaac walks through forests.
8.
Teacher asks: Where does Isaac’s journey end?
 
Students answer: Isaac’s journey ends at home.
 

After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed and discussed with the class, ask the following two discussion questions.

 
Teacher asks: Was it worth it for Isaac to make that long journey? Why or why not?
 

Students answer (may vary): Yes, Isaac’s journey was worth making. Even though the journey was long and took time, finding treasure at the end made up for it. Isaac was very poor and after the journey he had enough treasure to buy food.

No, Isaac’s journey was not worth it. Isaac had to travel far to get to the bridge and did not find any treasure under it. The treasure under Isaac’s stove was there to begin with and could have been discovered without him going away.

 
Teacher asks: Think about the words Isaac writes in the house of prayer: “Sometimes one must travel far to discover what is near.” Explain how the story demonstrates, or shows, that sometimes a person must travel far to discover what is near.
 
Students answer (may vary): The story shows Isaac traveling far to discover what is near. Isaac goes a long way to the bridge. At the bridge he learns about a treasure under the stove in his house. If he had not made the journey to the bridge, he would not have found out about the treasure in his own home.
 

Part 3: Student Independent Practice

 
Read each question out loud to your students and have each student complete the worksheet independently. For questions 5 A) and 6, you can have students draw their answers, answer orally, or write their answers depending on your students’ progress. If you have them write their answers, you may want to write the word(s) on the board for them to copy. Question 7 is a class discussion question.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

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User Comments

Great close reading text.

Submitted by rellis1_2186854 on 8/10/16

This is a Great Read -Aloud Lesson that I look forward to utilizing in my classroom! This lesson is sure to teach students how to think, and understand what is being read to answer the comprehension questions.

Submitted by pwarren385_1495057 on 8/6/15

Excellent comprehension lesson! I will definitely implement this plan in my next read-aloud and or whole-group student reading lessons

Submitted by feniciasimmons_1468642 on 6/20/15