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DODO Learning
Think Once. In Both Languages.
Lesson 17
Little DODO · Phase 3

When Words Don't Work

Mouse Soup · pp. 34-43 · Format A · Disposition: Making Connections · 25 min
Mouse Soup
Pages this lesson: 34-43
Fluency · Rhyme
Children build fluency by reading and reciting two classic nursery rhymes with strong rhythm and rhyme patterns.
Oral Fluency · Rhyme Recognition · Rhythm And Meter · Memorization
Introduce

Vocabulary Exploration· 5 min

Target words
  1. chirping 34: “There was a chirping sound”
  2. noise 34: “What is that noise?”
  3. loud 40: “Your music is too loud!”
  4. shouted 42: “Please!" shouted the mouse.”
Our mouse has a problem tonight. She hears sounds she doesn't want. Let's learn the words for those sounds together.
Exploration steps
  1. Show the word card and act out chirping like a cricket
  2. Students chorus each word three times with rhythm
  3. Match words to pictures: chirping cricket, loud music, shouting mouse
Expected responses
  • crickets make chirping
  • loud means really really noisy
Differentiation

Quiet kids: whisper chirping, then shout loud. Fast finishers: find rhyming pairs in the words.

Transition cue

Tap ears twice — listening time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't skip acting out volume — kids need body memory for loud vs chirping.

Why this matters: Act out volume changes so kids feel the difference between chirping and shouting.

Reading in Class· 10 min

Required reading pages: 34-43
Opening move: Point to the mouse in bed on page 34 — she's trying to sleep but something is keeping her awake.
This mouse keeps asking the cricket to stop. But the cricket keeps hearing something else. Let's read together and listen for what the cricket says every time.
Read-aloud steps
  1. Picture-walk pages 34-43: mouse in bed, one cricket, two crickets, three crickets, ten crickets, crickets leaving
  2. Read aloud once at storytelling pace, pausing at each 'What did you say?' moment
  3. Read again with students chorusing the cricket's repeated question: 'What did you say?'
Call-and-response refrains
  1. What did you say? 34: “What did you say?”
Expected responses
  • the cricket says what did you say
  • the cricket can't hear right
Differentiation

Struggling readers: point to the refrain on each page before chorusing. Fast finishers: count how many times the cricket misunderstands.

Transition cue

Hold up fingers for counting — Questions Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't rush the misunderstanding pattern — kids need time to notice the cricket hears wrong every time.

Why this matters: Chorus protects kids who can't yet read the cricket's misunderstanding pattern independently.

Questions Time· 7 min

Comprehension questions
  1. Why does the mouse want the crickets to stop? 35: “"T want to sleep," said the mouse.”
  2. What does the cricket keep hearing wrong? 36: “"You want more music? I will find a friend."”
Extension

Draw a time you said stop but someone didn't listen.

42: “"Please!" shouted the mouse. "I want to sleep.”

What students produce: A picture showing the child asking someone to stop and what happened next.

The mouse kept trying to tell the cricket to stop. But the cricket kept hearing more music instead. Have you ever tried to tell someone to stop and they didn't listen? Let's talk about that.
Expected responses
  • she wants to sleep
  • the cricket thinks she wants more music
  • my brother didn't stop tickling me
Differentiation

Quiet kids: pair-share before whole group. Fast finishers: draw two pictures — before asking and after asking.

Transition cue

Point to your drawing — Close Time.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't let one loud story dominate — count to three before accepting answers so quiet kids can think.

Why this matters: Talk-first protects kids who freeze at a blank page.

Conclusion· 3 min

Routine: My Connection · Disposition: Making Connections
Student-facing prompts
Recap: The mouse felt frustrated when
Take-home: Tonight I'll tell my family about a time I felt frustrated.
Today we connected to the mouse's frustration. She kept asking the cricket to stop, but the cricket didn't understand. Let's share our connections.
Expected responses
  • the mouse felt frustrated when the cricket brought more friends
  • I felt frustrated when my sister wouldn't stop singing
Differentiation

Quiet kids: thumbs up if you have a connection, then call on thumbs. Fast finishers: write one sentence about their connection.

Anticipated pitfalls

Don't accept 'I don't know' — offer the sentence stem again and wait five seconds.

Why this matters: Same shape every day so kids own the close.