Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Click Clack Book)

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You might stop at the place in the book where the farmer reacts to the note that reads, "Sorry. We're closed. No milk today." Talk with students about the farmer's shadow on the wall. What does that mean? What do the cows want? What does it mean to go on strike? Follow the procedure from Session 2 as you write and read the words, and then change the first letter or letters to make new words. Remind students that they can use this same method when they come to a word they do not know when reading or writing. Of course, not all new words can be solved using rimes or word families, but the principle applies to many words. For the /-en/ word family, words include den, men, pen, ten, when, and then. For the /-ow/ word family, words include how, now, brow, chow, and plow.

When Farmer Brown refuses their demands, the cows leave another note to say they are going on strike. “Sorry. We’re closed. No milk today.” In the next letter, the cows raise their demands and request electric blankets for hens. The farmer again refuses and the hens refuse to lay eggs. Farmer Brown will not give in to their demands, so they go on strike and withhold their milk. It's not long before the hens feel the chill in the barn and join the strike. Investigate persuasive writing… Can you write a more persuasive letter from the cows to Farmer Brown?Farmer Brown begins to hear typing sounds coming from his barn. He discovers that his cows have found an old typewriter in the barn and are using it to type letters requesting things from Farmer Brown, such as electric blankets to keep them warm at night. Farmer Brown refuses, and the cows withhold their milk until they get what they ask for. Soon, the cows type a similar letter about the hens asking for blankets which Farmer Brown refuses to provide. The hens join the cows and refuse to lay eggs.

Farmer Brown thought that it was impossible that his cows could type. Write a new story about something an ‘impossible’ event that actually takes place. Listen to the sounds that a typewriter makes. Could you use these within your own composition or song?Post the five notes in the classroom for students to use as a resource when they are reading and writing. Students should be able to read the word family words in each note and can try using these words in their own writing. Look at the cows’ letters. How could they improve their writing? Could they use more exciting vocabulary? Could they use additional punctuation? Finish this session by having students reread all five notes with fluency and expression, as you have modeled and they have practiced in previous sessions.

Introduce the words families in the second note, which are /-en/ and /-ow/. Tell students that you will use the words they already know, hens and cows, to make new words. Also, point out that you will be taking the s off the end of each word. Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows’ point of view, explaining how they are feeling. Read the book again and show students the chart paper with the second note to Farmer Brown typed by the cows asking for electric blankets for the hens.After the reading, draw students' attention to the chart or poster paper with the first note typed by the cows to Farmer Brown asking for electric blankets in the barn. Gather highlighting tape, a magnetic board and letters, and a whiteboard with dry-erase markers. Make sure that students will be able to easily see these materials from where they are sitting in the classroom. It's important for students to be able to see as you write the word family words and change the first letter to create new words.

This puts Farmer Brown in a tizzy because every fool knows you can't run a farm with no milk and no aiggs! So he dusts off his own typewriter and bangs out a letter reminding the cows and hens that they are animals and he demands that they produce for him. Next, introduce the concept of rime or word families. A rime is the first vowel in a word and all of the letters that follow. In the word dear, the rime or word family is /-ear/. In the word cow, the rime or word family is /-ow/. Students can be taught how to change the beginning sound or letters of a known word family to make a new word.Look through the text for any new words that you are to familiar with, e.g. neutral, ultimatum. Use a dictionary to find out what these words mean. Have students read aloud together the first note from the cows while you point to each word on the chart paper. During this shared reading, it is important for your voice to model fluency and expression.