Specific Criteria: Relevant Details

Focus Trait: Ideas

Specific Criteria: Relevant details

In the beginning of the story, Al does not have any friends. Using chart paper, ask the students to generate a list of things that Al did to try and make friends.

In the end, what did he do that helped him make many new friends?

Focus Trait: Organization

Specific Criteria: Beginning, middle, end

Using sentence strips write out the following three sentences. Read each of the sentences aloud and have students place them in the order that they occurred in the story.

Big Al saves the other fish.

Big Al was lonely.

Big Al tried to make new friends.

Focus Trait: Sentence Fluency

Specific Criteria: Complete sentences, sentence construction

Using the template, have each student complete the sentence “I am a good friend because______.” and then draw a picture to illustrate their sentence.

Focus Trait: Voice

Specific Criteria: Revealing self (through words/pics)

Ask students to pretend that they are Big Al and, as a large group or in smaller groups, write a letter to the other fish about why you would make a good friend. Record the letter(s) and read them together as a group.

For an extension, have students share their ideas using the voice of Big Al.

Focus Trait: Word Choice

Specific Criteria: Vocabulary, Word meanings

Talk about how Big Al was lonely because he had no friends and talk about what lonely means. Read the attached sentences and then have the students tell you whether the situation in the sentence would make them feel lonely or not.

For an extension, ask students to tell about something that would or has made them feel lonely.

Focus Trait: Conventions

Specific Criteria: Letter vs. Word

Choose a sentence from the book and write it on chart paper. Have students underline the whole words in the sentence with a marker or crayon. Have them circle individual letters. Compare and contrast the letters to the words.