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DODO Learning
Think Once. In Both Languages.
Lesson 06
Little DODO · Phase 3

Button Hunt: Describing What We See

Frog and Toad Are Friends · pp. 30-40 · Format B · Disposition: Observing & Describing · 25 min
Frog and Toad Are Friends
Pages this lesson: 30-40
Fluency · Riddle
Children solve riddles by listening for rhyming clues and decoding descriptive language.
Rhyme Recognition · Context Clues · Descriptive Language · Oral Fluency
Introduce

Vocabulary Exploration· 5 min

Sound focus: describing words (adjectives)
Target words
  1. black 32: “That button is black.”
  2. white 32: “My button was white.”
  3. small 34: “That button is small.”
  4. big 34: “My button was big.”
  5. round 35: “My button was round.”
Toad lost a button. He finds lots of buttons, but none are right. Let's learn the words Toad uses to describe what he sees. These words tell us how things look.
Exploration steps
  1. Show each word card paired with its opposite: black-white, small-big, square-round.
  2. Students chorus each pair, then hunt for the words on the story pages.
  3. Act out the opposites with gestures: small hands close, big hands wide.
Expected responses
  • black is dark, white is light
  • small means little, big means huge
Differentiation

Fast finishers: draw one button and label it with two describing words. Quiet kids: pair with gesture partner.

Transition cue

Hold up imaginary button — Button Hunt Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't rush the opposite pairs — kids need both words to understand the contrast.

Why this matters: Opposite pairs help kids lock the describing words before Toad's hunt.

Reading in Class· 10 min

Required reading pages: 30-40
Opening move: Point to Toad's jacket on page 30 — one button is missing from the row.
Toad is upset. Every button he finds is wrong. Let's chorus his words each time he says no. Listen for the pattern — what makes each button wrong?
Read-aloud steps
  1. Picture-walk pages 30-40: notice each wrong button Toad finds and his growing frustration.
  2. Read aloud once at storytelling pace, pausing at each button discovery.
  3. Read again with students chorusing Toad's refrain: 'That is not my button!'
Call-and-response refrains
  1. That is not my button! 32: “That is not my button”
Expected responses
  • he keeps saying 'that is not my button'
  • the buttons are all different colors and sizes
Differentiation

Struggling readers: point to the picture of each wrong button before chorusing. Fast finishers: count how many wrong buttons Toad finds.

Transition cue

Tap head — thinking cap on for Questions Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let chorus become shouting — Toad is frustrated, not angry at first.

Why this matters: Toad's frustration builds — let your voice show it so kids hear the rhythm.

Questions Time· 7 min

Comprehension questions
  1. Which describing word on this page tells us the button's color? 32: “That button is black.”
  2. Which describing word on this page tells us the button's size? 34: “That button is small.”
Extension

Pick one button Toad found. Say a sentence using its describing word.

37: “There, on the floor, he saw his white, four-holed, big, round, thick button.”

What students produce: One complete sentence using a describing word from the story.

Toad used lots of describing words to tell Frog what was wrong with each button. Let's find those words on the pages and use them in our own sentences.
Expected responses
  • the button is black
  • I found a small button on the path
Differentiation

Quiet kids: start with picture-pointing before sentence-building. Fast finishers: use two describing words in one sentence.

Transition cue

Close the book gently — Wrap-Up Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't accept one-word answers — push for the full sentence frame.

Why this matters: Sentence frame protects kids who freeze: 'The button is ___.'

Conclusion· 3 min

Routine: I Noticed · Disposition: Observing & Describing
Student-facing prompts
Recap: I noticed Toad's button was...
Take-home: Tonight, find one thing at home and describe it using two words.
Toad noticed every little detail about his button. Today we practiced noticing too — colors, sizes, shapes. Let's share one thing we noticed in the story.
Expected responses
  • white and round
  • Toad got really mad
Differentiation

Quiet kids: turn-and-tell a partner first before whole-group share. Fast finishers: notice something about the jacket on the last page.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let kids retell the whole story — one noticed detail only.

Why this matters: Same frame every day anchors the close — kids own the noticing move.