Successful readers ask questions before, during, and after reading in order to monitor and increase comprehension. In this story, readers can ask questions about something that that can easily be overlooked in the text, why the old lady ate the critters she did?

• The teacher will read There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, modeling questioning techniques. She will say to the students, “Let’s think. First, the old lady swallowed a fly. She then swallows a spider. I wonder why she chose a spider? Hmm... what do I know about spiders? I know that they eat flies. I think the old lady swallowed the spider to catch the fly in her tummy.”
• Teacher will continue modeling asking why the old lady then swallowed a bird and then a cat.
• Beginning on page 8, with the old lady swallowing a dog, the teacher will have the students ask questions about the choices the lady is making and their reasoning behind their answers.

Successful readers create pictures and images in their mind as they read to get a clearer picture of what is happening in the text. The reader should use his/her senses to connect with the characters and events in the story.

• Read the story to the students without showing the illustrations.
• Using the iPad app Doodle Buddy, students will draw what they are picturing in their mind using their senses as the teacher reads.
• Students will share and explain their illustrations after reading.
• Teacher will share the illustrations in the text to compare to student drawings.

In order for students to learn to read fluently, teaching strategies should emphasize a comfortable, fluid, rapid reading. Students should read the text as it is written by the author, paying careful attention to the punctuation used. In this way, the student feels what the author wants him/her to feel.

• Model the reading for the students emphasizing the questioning tone of why the old lady swallowed each critter (ex. I don’t know WHY she swallowed a FLY?).
• Model how exclamation points change the tone in reading and give more feeling to the words (ex. Well, fancy that, she SWALLOWED A CAT!).

Successful readers change the rate they read. It is important to teach students strategies so they know how fast or how slow to read parts of a book. A successful reader understands that the rate of reading must change according to the purpose for one’s reading.

• Discuss with students the reason the author wrote, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. By using Carver’s (1990) analogy, emphasize that the book is an example of third gear and is purely for entertainment. Since it is written in a sing- song fashion, it should be read using different rates of speed.
• Discuss with students that the design of the text varies between a straight-forward print and a circular writing. The circular writing should be read more quickly than straight-forward text. Teacher modeling of the first few pages will help students understand this change.

By observing the illustrations used in a story, students will increase their vocabulary and understand the meaning of a word when used in context. By using Cross Checking, students see if the pictures match what they believe the word to be.

• The words to focus on in There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly would be fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, cow, and horse.
• Since there is a popular song for this story, integrating music would further enhance the students’ exposure to the new vocabulary. Children tend to remember song lyrics more readily than reading the words. Play the song repeatedly as students follow along in the text or provide a song sheet with the vocabulary words highlighted.