Image of a brown and white puppy sitting in grass
Lee McLean/SWNS (All Images); Nosey illustration by Sarah Leighton; Jim McMahon/Mapman® (globe)

A Puppy Found Treasure

From the May/June 2024 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will practice getting information from text and images.

Lexile: 350L
clickable image of nosey, the dachshund, with instructions to click and listen to the article
World map highlighting England

Alicia and Ollie live in a place called England.

Not long ago, a girl named Alicia Clark got a new puppy. She named the puppy Ollie. She and her dad took Ollie on his first walk.

Ollie’s First Walk

Image of hands holding gold coins

Ollie found coins that were worth $8,000!

On the walk, Ollie sniffed around. Then he started to dig. There was something shiny in the dirt. It was gold coins! He had found treasure!

The Best Treasure of All

An expert looked at the coins. They were more than 100 years old. They were worth a lot. 

Alicia hugged her puppy. To her, he was the best treasure of all.

Activities (0) Download All Skill Activities

More About the Article

English Language Arts Focus 

Nonfiction text features/key details

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

IMPLEMENTATION

  • Whole Group

PAIRINGS AND TEXT CONNECTIONS

  • In this issue: “Background Builder: Ahoy, Pirates!” “Big Read-Aloud: The Search for Pirate Gold,” “Paired Text: Toys or Treasures?”

SUGGESTED READING FOCUS

Nonfiction text features/key details (20 minutes)

  • This story takes place in England, so introduce this article by helping students understand where that is. Look at the pictures and caption on the page to help give a sense of place.
  • Read the article aloud while students follow along in their magazines. If time allows, read it a second time with student volunteers for each section. 
  • Ask students to share their thoughts and reactions to what Ollie found. How would they feel in Alice’s place?

AFTER-READING SKILLS PRACTICE

Skills: Key details (15 minutes)

EXTENSION ACTIVITY

Skill: Fiction Writing (10 minutes)

  • Encourage students to write a creative story about their dog digging up something unique or surprising in the backyard. Students can use this sentence starter to begin their story: I couldn’t believe that my dog dug up _____!

  • Image of a cow with its tongue sticking out

    Silly Decodable

    The Boo Cow

    Have fun with decodable text.

  • Image of a variety of toys from years and years ago

    Paired Texts

    Toys or Treasures?

    Could your old toys be worth a lot of money?

  • Illustration of art teacher announcing to students that it's time for last project of the year

    Mini Graphic

    Sticky Situation: It Is Not Summer Yet

    Enjoy a mini graphic novel about self-regulation.

Text-to-Speech