Pele Book Note

Module 1 • Pelé

PELÉ Wit & Wisdom® Grade K Module 1: The Five Senses Set 1: Explore South America, Book 1 Literary Nonfiction Wordless Picture Book Fundations® Alignment Level K, Unit 1, Weeks 1–3

Book Summary In 1940, Edson Arantes do Nascimento was born in Brazil. His classmates called him Pelé. Pelé loved soccer.

His family didn’t have much money, so Pelé used whatever he could find as a soccer ball to play barefoot in the street with his friends. When Pelé was six, he got his first real ball. At age thirteen, he joined his first club team and received his first uniform. Later, he was invited to join the Brazilian national team. The next year, the team played in the World Cup in Sweden. Pelé scored two goals in the final game to help Brazil win, making Pelé the youngest World Cup champion in history at that time.

Teacher Note Wordless Picture Books are positioned as the first book of each set in Modules 1 and 2. Along with building new content knowledge, Wordless Picture Books are designed to promote concepts of print, support students’ understanding of basic story elements, and expand oral language and retelling skills. Use your knowledge of students’ abilities to determine when to introduce this book. Consider revisiting the book throughout the weeks specified on the back of the book, as appropriate, allowing students to demonstrate their growing skills and knowledge with telling and retelling a story.

Pelé is the first of two Wordless Picture Books in this module. Encourage students to study the illustrations closely to add details to each “reading” or retelling of the book. After listening to the About section read aloud, students can incorporate new details into their retellings. Students may need assistance using content vocabulary, such as equipment, goals, professional, soccer, team, and uniform. For more information on instructional strategies to use with Wordless Picture Books, see page 24 of this teacher resource.

Also, note that Pelé’s given name, Edson, is spelled slightly differently from Thomas Edison’s, for whom he was named.

World Connection Each year on November 19, Pelé Day is celebrated in Santos, Brazil. Pelé played for the Santos Football Club from 1956 to 1974.

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Module 1 • Pelé

Vocabulary Practice Using your knowledge of students’ vocabulary, select a limited number of words to introduce within the context of the book.

Let’s talk about one of the words in the About section of this book.

This word is soccer.

In this book, the word soccer means “a game played by two teams where players score points by kicking a ball into a goal.”

Pelé loved soccer just as his father did.

Additional Child-Read Vocabulary: equipment, famous, goals, invited, national, professional, stadium, uniform

Comprehension Discussion Guide To support students in retelling, consider discussing the following questions:

Characters are who the book is about. This book is based on a real person, so instead of characters, we will talk about the main people or main person in this book. Who is the main person in this book?

The setting tells where and when the book happens. What are the settings of this book?

The settings are streets, soccer fields, and stadiums.

The setting is Brazil.

The setting is Sweden.

Tell about the beginning, middle, and end of this book.

Notes:

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The main person in this book is a famous soccer player.

The main person in this book is Pelé.

At the beginning, Pelé learns to play soccer barefoot, using whatever he can find as a ball. In the middle, he gets a real ball, joins a team, and gets a uniform. At the end, Pelé plays on the national team and wins the World Cup for Brazil.

Module 1 • Pelé

Image Discussion Guide Possible Opening Questions

What do you notice about the images? What do you wonder?

What can you learn from the images? How do the images build your knowledge?

Page(s)

Things to Notice

More to Discuss

title page

Pelé has the number 10 on his shirt.

Traditionally, the number 10 jersey was given to a player in a forward position who usually scored goals. After Pelé wore the number 10 jersey, wearing this jersey number became an honor. It is now worn by one of the best players on a team.

1

The flag on the map is yellow, green, and blue.

This is the Brazilian flag. The yellow diamond represents the gold that can be found in Brazil. The green background stands for all the plants and forests that grow there. The blue circle represents the night sky.

18–19

Pelé is flying over water.

In 1958, Pelé and his team traveled to Sweden to play in the World Cup soccer tournament. Teams must qualify to be included. As of 2019, Brazil has qualified for every World Cup since it began in 1930 and has won five times.

26–27

Numbers are below the pictures on the page.

These numbers are called a timeline. The numbers show the order, or sequence, of some important events in Pelé’s life. The numbers at the bottom show Pelé’s age, and the numbers at the top show the year when each event happened.

Notes:

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Module 1 • Pelé

Teachable Moments Vocabulary | Clarifying Multiple-Meaning Words Some words can be used in different ways. For example, the word star can mean “a shape with five points.” It can also mean “a very famous person.”

Ask: “In the first sentence on page 28, ‘In 1940, in the country of Brazil, a future soccer star was born,’ what does the word star mean?”

If students need extra support, encourage them to use the other words and the illustrations to help them determine the meaning of the word star.

Retelling | Using Sequence Words When you retell a book, you tell about what happened. You describe the characters or people in the book, where the book takes place, and the events in order. When you retell the events, you can use sequencing words like first, then, next, and finally.

On pages 4–5, you could retell the events on these pages by saying, “First, Pelé collected materials, and then he stuffed them in a sock. Next, he tied the sock into a ball. Finally, he played with the ball.”

Show students the illustrations on pages 6 and 7.

Ask: “What happened first?”

Then ask: “How could you retell the events on these pages using sequencing words?”

Response Journal Ideas Depending on students’ readiness, they may draw, dictate, label, or write their responses.

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Choose an illustration or photograph that taught you something new. Share what you learned.

Choose a word you learned from this book. Draw a picture to show what it means.