Dad's New Job

Social-emotional learning: Responsible decisionmaking (analyzing situations, reflecting); self-awareness (identifying emotions)

compare and contrast, inference, key detail, character, summarizing, main idea

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

• Have students look at pages 14 and 15. Read aloud the title and subtitle with the class. Point out that embarrass means to make someone feel very uncomfortable about something. Ask: What change in his dad’s life might embarrass Henry at school? Then direct students’ attention to the illustration. Ask: What is Henry’s dad doing in the picture? What do you think his new job might be? How might Henry feel in this picture?
• Have students look at the pictures and subheads on pages 16-19. Ask: What is happening in Henry’s classroom in the picture on page 17? Have students compare the pictures on pages 14 and 19. Ask them to predict how Henry will probably change by the end of the story. Encourage them to think about their predictions as they read.

Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)

• We have highlighted in bold seven vocabulary words that may be challenging and defined them on the page. Discuss the meanings of the words, focusing on how they are used in the story.
• Preview these words by projecting or distributing our vocabulary activity and completing it as a class. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow, where images and audio help students with comprehension and fluency.
  
• Highlighted words: desperate, sag, hollers, lousy, eagerly, architect, fascinating
  

Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)

• Call on volunteers to read aloud the Think and Read and Think and Write boxes on pages 14 and 19. These features and the fiction package support the story’s featured skill, how a character changes.
• As they read, remind students to look for clues that tell how Henry changes by the end of the story.
  

Reading and Unpacking the Text

• First read: Read the story as a class. Ask students to identify story details or vocabulary they don’t understand in each section.
• Second read: Distribute the Close-Reading and Critical Thinking Questions to the class. Preview them together. Ask students to read the story again and answer the questions as a class or in small groups.
  

Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes) 

• Read the first section. How do Henry and his friends feel about “Take Your Dad to School Day”? (compare and contrast) Henry’s friends are excited because their dads will get to tell the class about their exciting jobs. Henry is worried about the school event and doesn’t want to talk about it.
• Read “Dad Finds Out.” Why didn’t Henry give his dad the flyer about the school event? (inference) He doesn’t want his dad to speak to his class about his job.
  
• What does Henry’s dad do during the day? (key detail) His dad stays home and takes care of Henry and his younger sister. 
• How does Henry feel about his dad’s job in this part of the story? (how a character changes) Henry is embarrassed that his dad stays at home.
  
• Read “A Surprise Guest.” Why does Henry hug his dad goodbye without looking at him? (character) He feels guilty that he didn’t invite his dad to “Take Your Dad to School Day.”
  
• In this section, what do the other dads talk to Henry’s class about? (summarizing) They talk about their jobs, which include being a chef, a carpenter, a nurse, an architect, and a store manager.
  
• Read “What Will He Say?” Why didn’t Henry’s dad tell him he was going to speak to his class? (inference) Henry’s dad knew Henry was embarrassed because he stays home. He didn’t want Henry to worry in advance.
  
• Read “Dad’s Story.” Why does Henry’s dad say staying home to care for his family is the hardest job he’s ever had? (main idea) He’s learned how to do many new things such as cooking meals, organizing volunteer work, and taking care of emergencies.
• How does Henry feel when he hears his dad talk about his new job? (how a character changes) Henry is proud of his dad. He realizes that staying home and taking care of his family is an important job that his dad loves.
  

Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)

• At the end of the story, Henry says to his dad, “I wasn’t sure where you were, but there you are!” What does Henry’s greeting show about how he has changed? (how a character changes) Henry’s greeting is a joke that his dad always said to him when he’d come home from work. Repeating it to his dad shows his dad that Henry understands how important his new job is and how much he loves him.
  

• Distribute our How a Character Changes Activity. Have students work in pairs to complete it.
• Discuss the writing assignment in the Think and Write box with students. Review the format of a thank-you letter. Remind students to use the personal pronoun “I” since they are writing from Henry’s point of view. Have students complete the task in class or as homework and discuss their thank-you notes in class.