
K-2-525: Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett
Season 5 Episode 42 | 26m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Take a Look! It's in a book!
Take a Look! It's in a book! Norman the goldfish isn’t what this little boy had in mind. He wanted a different kind of pet — one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don’t go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought?
Reading Explorers is a local public television program presented by Valley PBS

K-2-525: Not Norman: A Goldfish Story by Kelly Bennett
Season 5 Episode 42 | 26m 7sVideo has Closed Captions
Take a Look! It's in a book! Norman the goldfish isn’t what this little boy had in mind. He wanted a different kind of pet — one that could run and catch, or chase string and climb trees, a soft furry pet to sleep on his bed at night. Definitely not Norman. But when he tries to trade Norman for a "good pet," things don’t go as he planned. Could it be that Norman is a better pet than he thought?
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship(lively music) - Good morning, super readers.
Happy Friday.
So thank you for joining us in our Valley PBS classroom.
I'm Mrs. Nix - Hi, and I'm Mrs. Vang.
- And I'm Mrs. O'Leary.
- And this is a place where we come to learn, to practice, and to, - [All] Grow our brains.
- To become even stronger readers, writers and thinkers.
So let's get started by warming up our brains with some ear training called.
- [All] Daily Phonemic Awareness.
- Now, today, with our daily phonemic awareness, we're going to be doing some blending.
One of the best strategies for practicing blending, in my opinion, is getting out our arms.
I'm going to give you some sounds and we're going to blend them together.
So put your arm out at home.
And here we go.
Here are some sounds.
B. L. A. K. Now blend it together.
B, l, a, k. Good job.
Go fast.
Black.
Excellent job.
Let's do it again.
How about, K L I P K, l, i, p. Clip.
Great.
Let's do a third word.
How about this one?
G. L. A. S. G, l, a, s. Glass.
Good job.
Last one.
Let me see if I can trick you.
Here we go.
S. L. I. M. S, l, i, m. Slim.
Great job.
That was fantastic.
Did you notice a sound that was in all of those words we were practicing today?
- I noticed a sound.
- I did too.
- What is it?
- It was that.
- [All] L sound.
- And we've got a song that's going to help us practice that l sound with a lemon.
Here we go.
Let's get ready.
You guys can dance too, right with us at home.
♪ I licked a lemon ♪ ♪ And it had a sour taste ♪ ♪ I licked a lemon ♪ ♪ And I made a funny face ♪ ♪ I like lemon candy ♪ ♪ And I like lemonade ♪ ♪ And I like lemon cake and pie ♪ ♪ But a lemon I can't take ♪ ♪ I licked a lemon ♪ ♪ And it had a sour taste ♪ ♪ I licked a lemon ♪ ♪ And I made a funny face ♪ ♪ I like lemon candy ♪ ♪ And I like lemonade ♪ ♪ And I like lemon cake and pie ♪ ♪ But a lemon I can't take ♪ (teachers cheering) - That always makes me wanna laugh - It's a sour lemon.
- Right?
Absolutely.
- Yes.
- Loved it.
That was great.
- All right, boys and girls.
Let's start our phonics lesson.
And today is the last day that we will be focusing on that l sound with our lemon card, l, lemon and it spelled with an L. And we're blending, and building, and reading words and letters that have the l sound in them.
So before we start blending and building words, let's look at some of our L blends.
Okay.
That we've been reviewing.
So the very first one is sl, sl.
Good job.
Say them with me, boys and girls The next one, bl, bl.
Good job.
Fl.
Nicely done.
You guys know these now, kl.
Very nice.
pl.
Super super-duper.
gl.
Very, very nice.
So I'm gonna put those back.
So when we start blending and building, we'll have them to make our words.
Now, remember, these are not words.
These are just two letters that we're blending quickly together.
So if you look over here, I have two of our short vowel cards up.
I've got our apple card, which says, a, apple, and spelled with an A, and then I have our inset card, which is our i, insect, spelled with an I card.
And we went over that last week, all week long.
So underneath each of the cards, we're going to blend out these words and then we're going to create and build words just right from these words.
I'll show you what I mean.
So let's blend out this first word together.
L A P Do it again.
L A P Lap.
Very good.
So boys and girls, if I take one of our blends, and I put it right at the beginning.
I cover up that L and I put it right in front of the A and the P, do I have a new word?
I do.
Yes.
What is it?
Can you blend it out?
Sl, a, p. Slap.
Very good.
They've got a new word.
Let's do another new word with that same a short vowel sound.
Let me pick this one.
And I want to just put it right in front of the S and the L. So now I have the FL remember what that sound is?
Fl, a, p. Flap.
Very good.
Nice.
That's a new word.
Just by adding a new beginning to the word.
Let's see.
Let's do one more.
How about this one?
Put this in front of it, and we have a new one word that we're building a new word.
And what do you think it is?
Kl-ap Clap.
(Mrs. O'Leary claps) Give yourself a round of applause, you did a great job.
All right.
Let's go over to our insect card now.
And our short vowel I, which is i.
And let's blend this out, l, i, p. Lip.
Very good.
Very good.
And so we want to make them build a new word.
And so I'm gonna take the FL, and I'm gonna ask you to read that word and blend it.
Very good.
Very good.
I think I heard it.
Fl, i, p. Flip.
Very nice.
You want to do another one?
All right.
Let's take the CL.
Oh, I've got it over here with my short A, and I want to put it right here, and I have a new word.
Think about it, blend it out.
Make sure you're using the short I vowel sound now.
kl, i, p. Clip.
Very, very good.
Very nice.
Let's do one more.
I got it.
How about this one right here?
Cover up the C and the L. Now I have made a new word and try to read it.
Good job.
Sl, i, p. Slip.
Very good.
Very good blending, very good building words.
And so let's move over here and read a passage that has some L blends in it.
Wanna grab a pen real quick, cause I want to circle them as we read them.
Again, we have our title first, and then we have a little passage.
So let's read the title.
Sam can plan.
Sam can plan.
All right.
You're right.
I see PL there.
And when we see those two letters together, we try to say them quickly and blend them.
And that's what we're talking about all week long is blending letters together.
Okay.
So let's go.
Sam can plan.
Very good.
There's plan again.
Sam can sit.
You see any L blend words in there?
Me neither.
Sam can flip.
Very good.
Flip.
FL is a blend, is our L blend when we put an F with it.
He can go up.
Ooh.
I think that was actually a high-frequency word last week.
He can come down.
I know that was a high-frequency word last week.
And last sentence, Sam can plan.
All right.
And there's the PL.
Very good reading, boys and girls.
And very good blending.
Let's start thinking about our high-frequency words.
Cause as you can see, when we read things, they pop up a lot.
And Mrs. Nix is gonna help us with that.
- Awesome job.
Thank you, Mrs. O'Leary.
And yes, they do.
We often see those high frequency words in our reading, we're using them in our writing.
And we can't always sound them out because they don't always follow the rules.
Some do, but not all of them.
This week, we've been practicing four different words.
And so I want us to go through and practice them together.
So help me read them.
Here we go.
We have Be Good Come And pull.
So using those four words, I have four sentences right here.
Do you remember which one goes with which?
Help me out.
Let's look at our sentences.
I will (hums) back.
Which word did we use there?
Do you remember?
I hear you.
Let's try it.
I Will Be Back You got it.
Great job.
Okay.
Let's try another one.
He had a (hums) hit.
He had a (hums) hit.
He had a pull hit?
That doesn't make any sense.
He had a good hit.
Nicely done.
Let's put that one there.
He, had, a, good, hit.
Great job.
Look at these sentences.
We're already reading.
Wonderful.
How about this one?
I can (hums) it up.
I can (hums) it up.
Okay.
I can.
Pull it up.
Yes, I can.
I can pull it up.
All right.
Last one.
Try it with me.
Can you (hums) here?
Can you (hums) here?
Can you come here?
Do your parents ever say come here?
Or a family member or a friend?
Can you come here?
That's right.
That's how we use it in a sentence.
So all of these are our high-frequency words we've been working with all week.
You could be writing your own sentences, or looking for them as you are reading.
And I bet you're finding them, right?
Okay.
The other thing that I'm encouraging you to do all week long is as you're reading your stories, I want you to think about and make a movie inside your mind as you're listening to, or reading a story.
Can you make your own movie?
Today, you're going to listen to the story and it's called Not Norman.
Sometimes we have a pet that maybe we're not that excited about.
You're going to find out about that.
And I want you to practice making those visualizations as you're listening to this story.
- [Mrs. Vang] Not Norman, A goldfish story, by Kelly Bennett, illustrated by Nancy Jones.
Read about a boy who had special pet fish.
When I got Norman, I didn't want to keep him.
I wanted a different kind of pet, not Norman.
I wanted a pet who could run and catch.
Or one who could climb trees and chase strings.
A soft, furry pet to sleep on my bed at night, not Norman.
All Norman does is swim around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around.
"This is it, Norman."
I decide.
"I'm trading you for a good pet."
Norman does it move.
Not even a fin twitches.
How can I trade him like this?
No one will want to sorry-looking fish in a gunky ball.
When I dropped Norman into his nice clean bowl, he starts dipping and flipping, flapping his fins around.
He looks so goofy I have to laugh.
"Don't think that just because you made me laugh, I'm going to keep you."
I tell him.
"Tomorrow you're out of here."
Norman blows a stream of bubbles.
The next day, I take Norman to school with me.
If I talk him up real good during Show-and-Tell, maybe someone will want him.
On the way there, we see my friend Austin.
Austin has a real cool dog and seven puppies.
"Want to swap one of your pups for Norman?"
I ask.
"Who's Norman?"
asks Austin.
"My goldfish."
I say.
By the time I rescued Norman, half his water is gone!
"I'm sorry."
I tell Norman when we get to school.
"I'm really sorry."
He just stares at me all googly-eyed.
Finally, it's my turn to Show-and-tell, just as I started to talk about goldfish, Emily shouts, "Jenny's gone.
Who let my snake loose?"
Does anyone hear the story of how I got Norman?
Does anyone even ask to hold this bowl?
No.
They're all jumping and screaming and chasing the snake.
Not Norman.
He's looking right at me.
"Thanks for listening."
I tell him.
That afternoon, we go to my music lesson.
As soon as it's over, I'm taking Norman back to the pet store.
I take out my tuba and begin to play.
(tuba bellowing) I glance over at Norman.
He's swaying back and forth.
(Mrs. Vang gurgles), he mouths.
"Look!
Norman's singing."
I say.
"Pay attention!"
snaps Maestro, "And try to play the proper notes."
Maestro makes me stay for extra practice.
By the time my lesson is over, it's too late to go to the pet store.
"Don't think that just because you like my music, I'm going to keep you."
I tell Norman.
He glugs.
That night.
I'm sound asleep when, SCREECH!
SCRITCH!
What's that noise?
SCRATCH!
SCRITCH!
SCREECH!
Yikes, there's something at the window.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot Norman!
He isn't scared.
He isn't swimming around in circles either.
He glugs and give me a little wave.
I'm not alone.
Together, Norman and I slide open the curtains.
It was just a broken tree branch.
"Thanks for watching out for me, Norman."
On Saturday, I take Norman to the pet store, just like I said I would.
I look at the cats and dogs and snakes and birds.
I look at the hamsters and mice and lizards too.
They all look like good pets, but they are not Norman.
When I got Norman, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep him.
But now, even if I could pick any pet in the whole world, I wouldn't trade him.
Not Norman.
- I love that story.
- You did?
I did too, Retell.
- Can I retell it?
- Ricky.
How about we answer some questions.
I want you to be using your brain.
- Yep.
Your brain.
- And I want you to be thinking about this question that I have for you.
- Okay.
- But guess what, boys and girls?
If you want to retell the story to your pet, or your mom, or your dad, or your brother, your sister, that's a great idea to do tonight.
All right.
But today I want you guys to be using your brain and I want you to help me answer this question.
Are you ready?
- I'm ready.
- Okay.
So it says, "How has the meaning of the phrase Not Norman changed from the beginning to the end of the story?"
So throughout the whole story they kept saying, "Not Norman", "Not Norman", right?
Or "Not Norman" or "Not Norman".
You see how I read that?
That's what we called expression.
So when you reading, you have to pay attention to what you're reading so you can change your expression as you're reading.
Because in the beginning, let's read it.
I put the first page here to help us.
It says, "When I got Norman.
I didn't want to keep him.
I wanted a different kind of pet, not Norman."
Oh, poor Norman.
So in the beginning of the story, how did he feel about his pet, Norman?
- He didn't like him.
- You're right?
What did he do?
What did he say from our texts?
You remember?
- He wanted a different pet.
How rude.
- I mean, yes, but he just didn't know.
Remember he really wanted a pet, but he got Norman and Norman was a fish and he didn't want Norman, remember?
And he kept wanting to - He kept wanting to trade him.
- Yes, he did.
I know.
So in the beginning, he wanted a different pet, right?
So when he said not Norman, he's really saying, "Not Norman."
Because he didn't want Norman as a pet.
Now at the end of the story.
So here I got that last page of our story for us.
Let's really quickly together.
It says, "When I got Norman, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep him.
But now, even if I could pick a pet in the whole world, I wouldn't trade him.
Not Norman."
You see how I read that?
I didn't go, "Not Norman" No, because how was he feeling at the end of the story?
He said, "Even if I could pick a pet in the whole world, I wouldn't trade him.
Not Norman."
So at the end of the story, how was he feeling?
Do you remember?
- Oh, he loved Norman.
- He did.
And what did he say?
He said he wouldn't trade norm for another pet, for any other pet.
So did the meaning of Not Norman change?
Yes, it did.
So, by the end of the story, Not Norman means what?
And we did most of the work already, Not Norman means, do you want to help me?
Okay.
Thank you.
So not Norman means?
He wouldn't trade Norman for another pet.
Right?
Because he realized that Norman was a great pet.
Did you guys enjoyed that story?
Oh, I know Retell did.
Awesome.
Now.
Opinion writing.
Because it says, "Which pets are the best and why?
So guess what?
In opinion writing, it's what you think.
So if you think a pet is the best pet, guess what?
You're right.
If I think a different pet is the best pet, guess what?
I'm right because it's our opinions.
So what we think and how we feel.
So we're gonna be working on some opinion writing.
So let's get our friends to help us.
Are you ready?
Let see.
Can you call them to come help us?
- Friends, I need help.
Tina.
Scooter.
- Oh, here they are.
They already heard you.
- Hi, Retell.
- Okay.
Can you guys help us today?
So this is a fun one today.
Which pets do you think is the best pets?
So let's just brainstorm some ideas.
Okay.
Give me some ideas.
- Oh.
- Oh, Tina.
- Ms. Vang, I know.
Remember I told you?
I said, "Mrs. Vang, I am allergic to hair."
- You are.
- So I have the best pet in the whole wide world.
And I just loved that the story and you just read it, and it just reminded me of it.
And so I just want to say, I-love-fish!
- Oh, fish.
That makes a great pet, doesn't it?
- Fish.
Love my fish.
- Okay.
But remember we're not eating them, they're our pets.
Right?
Okay.
Fish.
Great idea.
Oh, I see Scooter thinking.
Okay Scooter, what kind of pet do you think is the best?
Scooter says a dog.
How many of you guys agree?
Oh, a dog is a great pet.
Okay.
Oh, Scooter do you have another one?
Oh, another one.
Okay.
Scooter says a dog.
Let's see.
What else Scooter?
What else can make a great pet?
Oh, Scooter says a cat.
Oh, I see lots of you guys saying yes you love cats.
- I love cats.
- You do.
You know?
I have another one.
- Oh.
Yes, Tina.
- I have another one.
And it's really great because it's another thing that I can have as a pet.
because it doesn't have any fur.
- Ooh, let me think.
- And I think we read about it earlier in the week.
It's a lizard.
- A lizard?
Great idea.
Okay.
So you guys gave me some great ideas.
Okay.
So I'm going to ask Tina, because Tina, you just said lizard.
And I put my sentence start to help you guys if you need it.
I think the best pet is a, - Lizard.
- Yey!
- Yes.
Thank you for helping.
Because?
Give me a reason.
Why do you think a lizard to say great pet?
I want you to guys to think.
Tina?
Why do think?
- All right.
I have it!
- Okay.
- It's because it's small.
And doesn't have an hair.
- Oh, I love it.
What a great idea.
- Lizard.
- Great idea.
So your sentence is going to say, "I think the best pet is a lizard because it is small and does not have hair."
Is that a good sentence?
(Mrs. Vang gasps) Thumbs up, great sentence.
You guys are doing such a great job, boys and girls.
So I want you guys to finish your reasons for why you think the pet that you chose is the best.
So if you said a fish, or a cat, or a dog, I want you guys to think of your reasons.
And boys and girls.
I will love it if you guys will write to us here in our PBS classroom so that we can see it.
- Write to me.
- So right to us, boys and girls, so that we can listen.
Now we have another great friend who's gonna share one of their books with us.
- Hi.
My name is Bogey and I'm a senior.
Today, I want to talk to you guys about a book I've been reading.
It's called Back To School With Bigfoot.
Ever worry about going back to school?
Well, let me tell you.
If you're a Bigfoot, your worries just got bigger.
How do you find clothes that fit?
Let alone shoes?
What if the lunchroom just isn't built for someone your size and you don't get me started back to school haircut.
If you want to find out more, read the book.
It's called Back To School With Bigfoot.
- That was a great story, Bogey.
I can't wait to check that one out and find out what it's like for Bigfoot to to be going to school.
All those crazy obstacles.
It's amazing.
- Guess what?
That's right so.
- Knock knock.
- [Mrs. Nix And Mrs. O'Leary] Who's there.
- Snow.
- [Mrs. Nix And Mrs. O'Leary] Snow who?
- Snow use, this joke is over.
- Oh my golly.
You guys have a wonderful weekend.
We'll see you guys back here next week.
- Buh-Bye.
- Take care.
Oh my goodness.
That was so much fun.
(lively music)
Reading Explorers is a local public television program presented by Valley PBS