📄 Home review📚 Source catalog
DODO Learning
Think Once. In Both Languages.
Lesson 08
Little DODO · Phase 1

Action Words in Motion

From Head to Toe · pp. 4-27 (heavy) · Format B · Disposition: Making Connections · 25 min
From Head to Toe
Pages this lesson: 4-27
Grammar · Verbs · Action Words
Students identify and use action words (verbs) that tell what happens in simple sentences.
Action Words · Verbs · Sentence Structure · Identifying Verbs
Introduce

Vocabulary Exploration· 5 min

Sound focus: action verbs
Target words
  1. turn 4: “and I turn my head.”
  2. bend 6: “and I bend my neck.”
  3. wave 10: “and I wave my arms.”
  4. clap 12: “and | clap my hands.”
  5. stomp 24: “stomp my foot.”
Today every animal shows us an action word — a doing word. When the penguin turns, when the giraffe bends, when you stomp — those are action words. Let's act them out together.
Exploration steps
  1. Show each action word card and physically act out the movement together
  2. Students chorus each action word while performing the motion
  3. Point to body parts on the illustration as you name each action verb
Expected responses
  • turn my head
  • I can bend
  • stomp like the elephant
Differentiation

Quiet kids: pair with a movement buddy; fast finishers: add two more action words from the book.

Transition cue

Wiggle fingers — Reading Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't skip the physical acting — kids who can't yet read independently need the body anchor.

Why this matters: Physical movement cements action words faster than cards alone.

Reading in Class· 10 min

Required reading pages: 4-27
Opening move: Point to the penguin on page 4 and ask what its body is doing.
Each animal asks us the same question. Listen for it. When you hear 'Can you do it?' we all answer together: 'I can do it!' Let's practice that now.
Read-aloud steps
  1. Picture-walk pages 4-27: name each animal and the body part it moves
  2. Read aloud once at storytelling pace, pausing for students to perform each action
  3. Read again with students chorusing 'I can do it!' after each animal's question
Call-and-response refrains
  1. Can you do it? 4: “Can you do it?”
  2. I can do it! 27: “I can do it!”
Expected responses
  • I can do it
  • Can you do it
  • the penguin turns his head
Differentiation

Struggling readers: follow the pictures only first pass; fast finishers: name the action word on each page.

Transition cue

Touch toes twice — Questions Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let the movement become chaos — one animal at a time, chorus the refrain before moving on.

Why this matters: The refrain rhythm protects kids who struggle with longer sentences.

Questions Time· 7 min

Comprehension questions
  1. Which word on this page tells what the penguin does? 4: “and I turn my head.”
  2. Find the action word that shows what the elephant does. 24: “stomp my foot.”
Extension

Pick one action word. Use it in a sentence.

10: “and I wave my arms.”

What students produce: One sentence with an action word from the book.

Action words tell what happens. The penguin turns. The elephant stomps. Now you pick an action word from our book and tell me what you can do with it.
Expected responses
  • turn
  • I can wave my arms
  • The cat can arch
Differentiation

Quiet kids: whisper sentence to partner first; fast finishers: use two action words in one sentence.

Transition cue

Clap hands three times — Wrap-Up Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't accept 'I like the penguin' as an action sentence — prompt for what the penguin does.

Why this matters: Sentence stems protect kids who freeze at blank prompts.

Conclusion· 3 min

Routine: My Body Can Do It · Disposition: Making Connections
Student-facing prompts
Recap: I can do it when I...
Take-home: Show your family one action word from the book.
Every animal in our book moved a body part. You moved with them. Now tell me: what can your body do? Finish this sentence: I can do it when I...
Expected responses
  • I can do it when I jump
  • when I clap my hands
  • I can wiggle my toe
Differentiation

Quiet kids: act out the motion instead of saying it; fast finishers: name three actions.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let one loud kid dominate — count to three, then call on quiet voices.

Why this matters: Same close shape daily so kids own the routine.