Jenny Found a Penny Book

Jenny is a girl that wanted to buy a Piggy bank. She did not have enough money so she had to earn her money by helping others. She found some extra money, enough to get the Piggy bank that she always wanted. First, I read the story "Jenny found a Penny". As I read the story, I allowed the students to use paper money to figure out Jennys total amount of money. This was a great idea because an ELL student were able to recognize the paper coins when seeing them, instead of just hearing the name of the coin. Next, I allowed the students to add the money and explain their reasoning. While reading the story, I asked questions to better help the children understand. The students were allowed to make predictions. For example, in one part of the story, Jenny dropped her coin jar. When Jenny dropped her jar full of coins, the money spilled on the sidewalk. So, I asked the question "How do you think Jenny felt when she spilled her coins? Would you feel the same way?" "What do you predict will happen next?" "What do you think Jenny is saving her money for?" The students shared their thoughts about the incident. As a teacher I will take notes of the predictions so that we could see whether our predictions were correct. I will explain to my students that our predictions will change as we continue reading. Predictions change with the more information you receive. We will discuss and share our thoughts as a class.