Sophia, who has autism, brings her service dog Riley to school to help her cope when times get rough in class. Here’s a news clip explaining Riley’s job is in the classroom. (Note: Riley’s mom describes her daughter as a “selective mute.” You might explain to students that this means that she chooses not to speak in certain situations, but can speak when she feels comfortable and relaxed.)
Back to Teacher View
Student View
© JOE POLILLIO 2014
Kevin and Daisy
In this nonfiction text, students will learn about Kevin, who has autism and benefits from equine therapy. The second article is an interview with a girl whose brother has autism.
By Jane Bianchi
From the October / November 2017 Issue
Learning Objective: In this nonfiction text, students will learn about Kevin, who has autism and benefits from equine therapy. The second article is an interview with a girl whose brother has autism.
Lexiles: 510L, 570L, 830L
Guided Reading Level: L
DRA Level: 20
Featured Skill:
Compare and Contrast,
Standards
Audio
()
Activities
(3)
Download All Quizzes and Activities
Reading Kit
Skills Activities
Quizzes
(1)
Answer Key
(1)
Can’t-Miss Teaching Extras
Sophia & Riley
Discussion Autism
This story provides a great opportunity to discuss autism with your class. Ask students if they have known any people who have autism, and whether this article has helped them better understand autism.
Even More Context!
This short news report talks about equine therapy for kids with autism—watch it to give your students further context!
Better Understanding
You can help your students better understand autism using this colorful booklet created for children from kindergarten to fifth grade by the Autism NJ organization. Pages 4-7 are especially insightful, because they deal with siblings and friends.
More About the Article
Content-Area Connections
Social-Emotional Learning: empathy, friendship, family, relationships
Science: animals
Key Skills
Compare and contrast, main idea, supporting details, inference, summarizing, drawing conclusions, text evidence, key details
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. PREPARING TO READ
Explore Text Features/ Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)
Direct students’ attention to the title and subhead, as well as the labels on the upper-left corner of page 10 that say “Paired Texts” and “One topic, two texts.” Then ask them to read the title and subhead of the paired text on page 13. Ask students what the one topic of both texts is. (kids who have autism and how they deal with their challenges)
Point to the photos and captions on pages 10, 12, and 13. Read and discuss the captions with students.
Point to the label at the top of page 13. Read it aloud. Ask if students have read interviews in the past. What do they think they will find out in this interview?
Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 11 and the writing prompt for the One of a Kind contest on page 13. Remind them to look for similarities and differences between Kevin and Carl as they read the texts.
Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)
We have highlighted in bold the five terms that may be challenging and defined them on the page. Preview these words by projecting or distributing our vocabulary activity and completing it as a class. You can also play our interactive Vocabulary Slideshow.
Highlighted terms: reins, equine therapy, challenges, startle, bond
2. CLOSE READING
Reading and Unpacking the Text
First read: Students should read the article and the interview for general comprehension.
Second read: Distribute the close-reading and critical-thinking questions. Preview them as a class.
Have students read the story again, as a class or in small groups, pausing to answer the questions.
Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)
- Read the first section of “Kevin & Daisy.” Why is the time that Kevin spends with Daisy the best part of his week? (main idea) Their time together helps Kevin better cope with his autism.
- Read “What Is Autism?” How are kids like Kevin affected by autism? (key details) Autism affects how kids learn and communicate with others.
- In the same section, why does Kevin say he is just like everyone else? (inference) Kevin likes the same activities that other kids do—reading, watching TV, and playing video games.
- Read “A Strong Connection.” How does being with Daisy help Kevin deal with his autism at home? (supporting details; summarizing) To stay calm while he rides Daisy, Kevin closes his eyes and takes deep breaths. He does this at home when he is upset with his brother.
- Read the interview with Grace Dupont, “My Brother Has Autism.” What does Carl do well? What challenges does he face? (summarizing) He’s good at spelling, geography, directions, and remembering things. However, he has problems getting along with people and makes movements that may look strange.
- What conclusions can you draw about Grace’s feelings about her brother? (drawing conclusions) She loves and respects him. She is proud of what he accomplishes and of his loving relationships with his family and friends.
Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)
- In what ways are Kevin’s and Carl’s lives alike? In what ways are they different? (compare and contrast; key details) Both Kevin and Carl face challenges because of their autism. They are both good at many things that make their lives interesting. However, they have difficulties interacting with other people. Equine therapy is an important part of Kevin’s life and helps him stay calm and focused. Carl doesn’t take part in equine therapy. His daily challenges seem to be more severe than Kevin’s.
3. SKILL BUILDING
Connecting Texts
Distribute our compare and contrast activity. Have students complete the activity in small groups.
Discuss the writing task in our “One of a Kind” contest described in the box on page 13. Have student pairs talk about the experiences they will write about in their essay and the details they will include. Remind the class to include an opening paragraph that summarizes the main idea of their essay and that each of the remaining paragraphs should support this main idea.
Differentiate and Customize
For Independent Readers
After reading, have students look for information that they find interesting or surprising. Have student pairs discuss their reactions. What did they like the best? The least? Would they recommend that other kids read these texts?
For Guided Reading Groups
Have students take turns reading the texts aloud. Ask them to connect the texts to their own experiences. Ask students how the paired texts have affected their awareness of the challenges and strengths of kids who have autism.
For ELL Students
Point out that both texts tell students about kids with autism, but each one does it in a different way. Then work with students to identify the text features in the story and in the interview. Help students identify and read the section headings and the interview questions.
For Advanced Readers
Have students write a letter to either Kevin or Carl in which they express their feelings about the story or interview. Ask them to explain what they learned, what they liked the most about each article, and why they felt this way.
For On Level Readers
In a one-page essay, describe a time when you had trouble fitting in, or when you were an especially good friend to someone who needed one. Be sure to include many details.
Text-to-Speech