Description
Since meeting the chickens and the fox in the first title of the popular series, The Chickens and the Fox, young readers have seen the sly fox try over and over to outwit the clever chickens. In Chicken Guard Dog, the fox tries to outsmart the chickens once again. But, this time the chickens get help from a friend when the fox digs a tunnel under their fence. Chicken Guard Dog, part of the illustrated The Chickens and the Fox set, is a G leveled, Upper Emergent title.
Level G Readers
Chicken Guard Dog is a G leveled, Upper Emergent reader (Levels F-H), based on independent evaluation by Fountas & Pinnell using the F&P Text Level Gradient™. Level G readers use clusters, blends and digraphs, as well as consonant and vowel letter-sound relationships to solve words. They connect words that mean the same or almost the same, and use context and pictures to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary. Level G readers can quickly and automatically recognize seventy-five or more high-frequency words within continuous text. When reading out loud, they are able to demonstrate (without using a finger to point at words) appropriate rate, phrasing, intonation, and word stress.
Upper Emergent Readers
Upper Emergent readers recognize that reading has a variety of purposes and reading different kinds of books is enjoyable for distinct reasons. They should be reading both fiction and nonfiction/informational books. Reading nonfiction helps young students develop background knowledge, which increases their comprehension ability by enabling them to make sense of new ideas. Additionally, informational texts have the potential to motivate students to read more by tapping into their personal interests. Encouraging students to explore a broad array of informational texts can help them see that the real world is as interesting and amazing as any fictional one. MaryRuth Books offers many fiction and nonfiction/informational leveled readers, suggested and used by Reading Recovery® and Guided Reading educators, when teaching Upper Emergent readers.
Coordinating Activities:
- Use these directions to make an MRB Chickens and Fox Animal Cracker Box to store your Chickens and the Fox books.
- Go from a chicken to a fox with our Chicken and Fox Word Ladder.
- Look in the chickens’ coop and figure out What’s Happening Here?
Kery –
Last year I discovered the Chicken and the Fox series. I will use these much more now. Who’s in the Chicken Coop? was excellent for helping one of my students become more expressive in her reading. It was a turning point for her.
Lisa Kalmanash –
Dear Ms. Coulton,
My Reading Recovery student, Melissa, loved reading the books in The Chickens and the Fox series. After reading them all, while waiting (hopefully) for additional titles, Melissa decided to write her own book featuring these characters. As you can see, she was influenced by your craft and sees herself, not only as a reader, but also an author! Thank you for inspiring many of our young readers and writers. I hope you enjoy The Sneaky Fox.