“Look, Ava,” Lu said. “My tooth is loose!”
Ava smiled at him. Her front tooth was gone.
She lost it last week. Mason had lost two.
PAUSE AND THINK: What do you think will happen next?
Art by Jennifer Naalchigar
Lu's Loose Tooth
Lu’s tooth was loose. At last! It was his first loose tooth.
By Kenn Nesbitt
From the December 2022/January 2023 Issue
Lexiles: 370L
Guided Reading Level: I
Featured Skill:
Main Idea,
Common Core Standards
TEKS Standards
Now Lu was going to lose a tooth too!
Lu pushed it with his tongue.
But it did not fall out.
Lu tugged it with his fingers.
It did not fall out.
Lu wiggled it all week.
It still did not fall out. But now the tooth felt weird. It was hanging there.
“What if it stays like this?” Lu asked Ava. “What if it never falls out?”
“Just twist it,” Ava said. That seemed like it would hurt.
“Get a string,” said Mason. “We can tie it to your tooth. Then I’ll hold it and run.”
“No way!” said Lu.
When Lu went to bed, his loose tooth was still there.
When Lu woke up, his loose tooth was still there.
“Mom,” Lu said, “my tooth is stuck. Something is wrong with it.”
“Don’t worry, Lu,” his mom said. “Eat your breakfast. It will fall out soon.”
Lu took a bite of his toast and–wow! His tooth fell out.
At last! And it didn’t even hurt.
Lu showed the kids in class.
“Same one as me,” said Ava.
Liam said, “I have a loose tooth. It has been loose all week. I wonder if it will ever fall out.”
“It will,” said Lu.
And he smiled.
Activities
(3)
Skills Activities
Answer Key
(1)
About the Story
Social Emotional Learning Focus
Problem solving
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. IMPLEMENTATION SUGGESTIONS
Shared Reading
- Our early-reader fiction stories are short, simple, and digestible. They allow you to focus on comprehension and story elements. Gauge the readability of this text for your class. Students can whisper read, you can read aloud, or you can invite individual students to read portions of the text.
Technology Time
Online Read-Aloud
- Click the Read-Aloud button at the top of the digital issue to hear the story read aloud by a professional voice actor! This online resource promotes fluency and increases comprehension.
1. BEFORE READING
Preview the Title and Set a Purpose for Reading (5-10 minutes)
- Tell students they are going to read a fiction story. It is about a boy named Lu who has his very first loose tooth.
- Open your magazines to “Lu’s Loose Tooth.” Point out the Read and Think prompt: “As you read, think about Lu’s problem. How does it get solved?”
2. READ THE STORY (10-20 MINUTES)
- Read the story together. Check comprehension with the Pause and Think questions. You may want to have children turn and talk to a partner to discuss each question and then volunteer their ideas.
3. AFTER READING: FOCUS ON SKILLS
ELA Focus: Comprehension (10 minutes)
- Using the Lu’s Loose Tooth skills page, children can show their recollection of key details and events by writing each character’s ideas.
ELA Focus: Sequencing (20 minutes)
- Use Put the Story in Order skills page to practice sequencing with children.
ELA Focus: Main Idea (10 minutes)
- The I Lost a Tooth hands-on activity provides a fun opportunity for children to engage with the main idea of the story and build personal connections.
Text-to-Speech