Used with In My National Park Backyard, students in grades 2 through 5 engage in lessons and activities written in a “gradual release” format (“I Do, We Do, Do Together, Do Alone”).  Students increase their vocabulary through games like "Act & Guess" and Memory.   Independent practice is provided for students using discussion cards, graphic organizers and intentionally planned, stopping pages in the text.  Although written for In My National Park Backyard, lessons and activities can be easily adapted to be used with other fiction texts.  
 
Common Core ELA Standards Aligned: 
Speaking and Listening: SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.2, SL.3.3, SL.4.1, SL.4.2, SL.4.3, SL.5.1, SL.5.2, SL.5.3
Reading Literature: RL.2.1, RL.2.2, RL.2.3, RL.2.5, RL.2.6, RL.2.7, RL.3.1, RL.3.2, RL.3.3, RL.3.4, RL.3.5, RL.3.6, RL.3.7, RL.4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.3, RL.4.4, RL.4.6, RL.4.7, RL.5.1, RL.5.4, RL.5.7
Language: L.3.3, L.3.4, L.3.5, L.3.6, L.4.3, L.4.4, L.4.5, L.4.6, L.5.3, L.5.4, L.5.5, L.5.6