This is a story about Betty who wants to braid her hair. She gets it braided. Find out why she will never do it again…

1. Before you read

Read the title and discuss the cover illustration. Who is Betty? Does she have braids? What does her facial expression mean? What is her biggest desire? Page through the book and get learners to talk about each of the illustrations, and to summarise the events in the book, as they understand them from the illustrations. As you page through the book, pick out any challenging vocabulary and discuss it with the learners.

2. Let’s read

Start reading the book. Read with expression and enthusiasm as this begins to model good oral reading practices for learners. At the end of each page, allow learners to ask questions on events. Also discuss challenging vocabulary you come across; model to learners how to decode a challenging word, by re-reading the sentences, sounding out the word or looking
at contextual clues.

3. After you read

After reading, ask learners the following questions:

• Did you like the story? Which was your favourite part? Why?
• Re-tell the story as you remember it. Include the beginning, middle and end.
• Discuss the emotional trip Betty went through because of her hair. Have you ever been through something like that?

4. Curriculum connections

Dictionary time
Get learners to work through the story again and make a list of 20 challenging words. They should write these words in their personal dictionaries, accompanied by a definition (sourced from a dictionary) and an illustration. Alternatively get each learner to write their definitions on paper, place them all together in alphabetical order and create a class dictionary for the story.

It’s in the hair
How do you like your hair to be? Draw a picture of your best hairstyle – use a mirror and make it a self-portrait. Write a few
descriptive sentences about your hair.

5. Assessment

Is the learner able to:

• Read aloud from the book at own level in a guided reading group with teacher – whole group reads same story?
• Use decoding and comprehension skills when reading unfamiliar words to make meaning?
  Use the Assessment Tasks above as a suggestion for an activity or task.

Use the Assessment Tasks above as asuggestion for an activity or task.