Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
THIS IS A FANTASTIC RESOURCE TO INCLUDE ARTS AND WRITING IN YOUR UNIT THAT GOES WITH THE BOOK: SCARECROW, BY CYNTHIA RYLANT! (SEE MY SEPARATE LISTING) SCARECROW CYNTHIA RYLANT BOOK STUDY FABLES SETTING SEESAW GOOGLE SLIDE NO PREP! THIS FILE COMES WITH A PDF THAT HAS DIRECTIONS FOR DRAWING AND OTTER AND 3 DIFFERENT WRITING PROMPTS AND 6 DIFFERENT WRITING TEMPLATES. *FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK TO SEE NEW PRODUCTS AND RECEIVE DISCOUNTS. https://www.facebook.com/loopedintoliteracy *FOLLOW ME ON TPT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Sellers-Im-Following/Add/Looped-Into-Literacy.
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. […]
If you are featuring Cynthia Rylant in your next author study, this Cynthia Rylant Lapbook is the perfect culminating activity. Students can read and discover information about her life and accomplishments through her many children's books available as well as author information on the website provided. WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE CYNTHIA RYLANT LAPBOOK? Cover 3 Favorite books Timeline of her life Compare/Contrast Cynthia Rylant and the student Four descriptive books Words that Describe Cynthia's Work using evidence from the reading Just the Facts about Cynthia's Life Summarizing what I've learned The books I enjoyed Cynthia's Writing Process and Book Highlights HOW TEACHERS CAN USE THE CYNTHIA RYLANT LAPBOOK? In the classroom, I loved using Cynthia Rylant's books in the fall. My author study includes 10 of her titles and each book companion comes with before, during, and after activities for various comprehension skills. I used the lapbook as a culminating project for the author study, and it was fun for the students to analyze author's craft through it's completion. WHAT TEACHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT MY CYNTHIA RYLANT LAPBOOK: This was great to use with our author study. It was very helpful. My students loved the interactive activities that enhanced their understanding of author, Cynthia Rylant. The activities included were engaging and comprehensive! My second graders loved creating and sharing their lapbook! Wonderful hands on activity. Very user friendly. OTHER CYNTHIA RYLANT RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: The Relatives Came In November Silver Packages Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant When I was Young in the Mountain Christmas in the Country The Great Gracie Chase Snow All in a Day All I See or get 10 book companions in my... Cynthia Rylant Author Study Bundle Copyright © Comprehension Connection. Permission to copy for single classroom use only. Please purchase additional licenses if you intend to share this product.
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
Few books capture the reader like When I Was Young In The Mountains. Cynthia Rylant shares her most special memories of a family, a way of life and most important, a place. This Novel Study is easy to print and use. Includes: Vocabulary and Word Study Comprehension and Critical Thinking Writing Activities Sequencing Story Elements Predicting Making Connections Poetry Compare and Contrast Assessment and MORE. Perfect for whole class novel study, small groups, book clubs, literature circles, or independent study.
Cynthia Rylant is a favorite author of my students every year. It seems like all students either have a dog or want a dog. When I introduce a Henry and Mudge book, I am guaranteed to have a captive audience. I love it when students connect with authors. You never know when you might be teaching a future author. Cynthia Rylant's website encourages students to write to her. She will send a postcard to the teacher. I have a FREE packet that includes writing paper and morning messages that you may use. Through the years, I have been surprised when I received my standardized test results. There were always one or two students that scored lower than expected. I’ve also had surprises when grading work throughout the year. Students who seemed very capable when discussing stories orally, were not showing the same potential on paper. Rushing through their work and not paying attention to details seemed to be the cause of most of these surprises. Small words like “not” are important when answering questions. I’ve tried a variety of things to slow these students down. We circled important words of the sentence, rephrased question in the answer, highlighted details, and a variety of other techniques with modest success. One of the teams I was on used a phrase called “steal and slide”. This catchy phrase seemed to work the best for my students. Probably because it is a sporty-themed phrase, boys and girls liked it and used it. Students are told they need to steal some of the words in the question to slide in the answer. I used this technique with students as young as first grade. With young students, we completed the questions together. I taped the question on chart tablet paper or a white board (see picture above). Then I wrote the answers on chart tablet paper and then had volunteers circle the words that were stolen. By the end of the year, my higher ability students were able to answer questions on paper using this method. This method makes students slow down and pay attention to every word in the question because they may want to steal that word for their answer. I realize this method is not unique. Teachers have been telling their students to answer questions using words from the questions for a long time. My teachers told me to do that when I was a student because I was one of those who saw school work as a race. Your district may have you do the same type of activity but call it something else. I have several packets with steal and slide activities (questions for chart tablets paper and reading comprehension worksheets), including Henry and Mudge lessons. You can use the activities in these packet with whichever phrase your district uses. I have a Henry and Mudge bundle which includes the following books: The First Book, Under the Yellow Moon, and Take the Big Test. Also included with these packets are task cards. There are 5 task cards for each chapter. There are answer cards included so this can be set up as a self-checking center. Punch a hole and put the task cards on a ring. The cards are small - the perfect size for small hands. There are 2 recording sheets for each chapter.One has lines and the other one doesn't. Click HERE for the FREEBIE. Click HERE to check out my Henry and Mudge bundle. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. […]
We've known for quite some time that reading instruction needs to multisensory. In this post, Orton Gillingham strategies are explained.
* Follows Common Core Standards * This 30-page booklet-style Novel Study (a total 61 pages including answer key) is designed to follow students throughout the entire book. The questions are based on reading comprehension, strategies and skills. The novel study is designed to be enjoyable and keep the students engaged. Many different types of questions for students to think about and answer before, during and after they finish each chapter. Types of questions include: Narrative Elements Predict Connect Cause and Effect Reread to Clarify Parts of Speech Reflect Figurative Language Infer Vocab/Context Clues Sequence and more... Complete with a challenging, book-based Word Search and Word Jumble! *** Answer Key Included *** This booklet is in PDF format. For help printing a booklet in Adobe, click here *** Included in this download is a link that will direct you to a Google Docs version of the book study for distance learning. Gooseberry Park Novel Study - based on the book by Cynthia Rylant Images, fonts and clipart courtesy of: OpenClipart.org Illumismart@ Teachers Pay Teachers, L.L. Tisdel Jason’s Online Classroom (TPT) Dafont.com ClipartPanda.com DesignBundles.net FontBundles.net YeDraw.com AllThingsClipart.com DrawingImage.com/art 123RF.com MistiFonts.com ClassroomClipart.com ToadStool Printables @ Etsy.com Clipart.com Prince Padania @ Teachers Pay Teacher Store/Prince-Padania
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. […]
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
* Follows Common Core Standards * This 16-page booklet-style Book Study (a total 33 pages including answer key) is designed to follow students throughout the entire book. The questions are based on reading comprehension, strategies and skills. The book study is designed to be enjoyable and keep the students engaged. Many different types of questions for students to think about and answer before, during, and after finishing each chapter. Types of questions include: Narrative Elements Predict Connect Multiple Choice Reflect Cite Evidence Read for Details Vocab/Context Clues and more... Complete with a challenging, book-based Word Search and Word Jumble! *** Answer Key Included *** This booklet is in PDF format. For help printing a booklet in Adobe, click here *** Included in this download is a link that will direct you to a Google Docs version of the book study for distance learning. Poppleton in Fall Book Study - based on the book by Cynthia Rylant Images, fonts and clipart courtesy of: OpenClipart.org Illumismart@ Teachers Pay Teachers, L.L. Tisdel Jason’s Online Classroom (TPT) Dafont.com ClipartPanda.com DesignBundles.net FontBundles.net YeDraw.com AllThingsClipart.com DrawingImage.com/art 123RF.com MistiFonts.com ClassroomClipart.com ToadStool Printables @ Etsy.com Clipart.com
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
* Follows the Common Core Standards * The Poppleton BUNDLE contains 3 Novel Studies from the Poppleton book series by Cynthia Rylant. The novel studies total 48 pages (96+ pages including answer keys). Each Novel Study is in booklet-style format. This download includes 3 Novel Studies for the first 3 books in the Poppleton book series by Cynthia Rylant: Poppleton Poppleton and Friends Poppleton Everyday The questions are based on reading comprehension, strategies and skills. Each novel study is designed to be enjoyable and keep the students engaged. Many different types of questions for students to think about and answer before, during and after they finish each chapter. Types of questions include: Narrative Elements Predict Connect Infer Reflect Parts of Speech Cause and Effect Multiple Choice Vocab/Context Clues Character Traits and more... Each of the three novel studies are complete with a challenging, book-based Word Search and Word Jumble! *** Answer Keys Included *** ***The preview available is of Poppleton, which is one of the three novel studies included in the bundle. This is a .zip file. The files inside the compressed folder are all separate. Each booklet is in PDF format. For help printing a booklet in Adobe, click here *** Included in the downloads are links that will direct you to Google Docs versions of the book studies for distance learning. Images, fonts and clipart courtesy of: OpenClipart.org Illumismart@ Teachers Pay Teachers, L.L. Tisdel Jason’s Online Classroom (TPT) Dafont.com ClipartPanda.com DesignBundles.net FontBundles.net YeDraw.com AllThingsClipart.com DrawingImage.com/art 123RF.com MistiFonts.com ClassroomClipart.com ToadStool Printables @ Etsy.com Clipart.com
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
Friendship and imagination are the elements found within each of the beautifully written books by Cynthia Rylant. Who doesn't love her characters? This set gives students a place to dive deeper into each of these beloved children books. Concepts Addressed: ★Reading Comprehension ★Compare/Contrast ★Author Analysis ★Character Analysis ★Cause & Effect ★Story Elements ★Opinion Writing ✂️ Along with the writing, you also get a craftivity as an incentive for students to finish drafting/editing/publishing their writing! This is great for displaying in the hall or as a project! Books Covered: ►Henry & Mudge: The First Book ►Henry & Mudge and the Wild Goose Chase ►Henry & Mudge and Annie's Good Move ►Henry & Mudge and the Happy Cat ►The Old Woman Who Named Things ►The Relatives Came ►Poppleton ►Poppleton in Winter ►Mr. Putter & Tabby Pour the Tea ►Mr. Putter & Tabby Spill the Beans ►Mr. Putter & Tabby Write the Book ►Mr. Putter & Tabby Fly the Plane Table of Contents: p.2- Thanks p.3-5 – Preview p.6 – Table of Contents p.7 – Author Biography p.8-10 – AR Tracking Pages p.11- All About the Author Writing p.12 – Author Analysis p.13-17 – Book Characters Analysis p.18-23 – Compare and Contrast p.24-35 – Cause and Effect p.36-47 – Story Elements p.48-49 – Opinion Writing p.50-52 – Craftivity p.53 - Standards p.54 - Credit Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.2 With prompting and support, retell familiar stories, including key details. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.3 With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.6 With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.9 With prompting and support, compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.5 Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.9 Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in stories. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, andhow to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2 Recount stories. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.9 Compare and contrast the themes, settings, and plots of stories written by the same author about the same or similar characters (e.g., in books from a series) ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ You may also enjoy these author studies! Robert Munsch Patricia Polacco Leo Lionni Doreen Cronin Mercer Mayer Eric Carle Kevin Henkes Cynthia Rylant Marc Brown Dr. Seuss Tomie dePaola Laura Numeroff Mo Willems Aesop Judy Schachner Donald Crews H. A. Rey Lois Lowry Beatrix Potter Norman Bridwell ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ Don't forget to leave feedback. For each dollar spent you get 2 credits for your next purchase on the TpT site, IF you leave feedback. Also, please make sure it is fair feedback. Remember, I am a real person, who isn't perfect. If you find a problem, PLEASE email me first. Most likely, I can get it fixed for you the same day. ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ ✏ For a "behind-the-scenes" look at my creating, you can follow me on these platforms: ❤️Facebook ❤️Instagram ❤️Twitter You can also contact me anytime you need to by [email protected]
Get your students excited about reading Cynthia Rylant! Leverage your students’ ♥love♥ of chatting with their ☺friends☺ for this NO-PREP, meaningful, & fun “Find Someone Who Has Read” game and comparison contrast writing activity about Rylant’s books! Perfect opening OR closing activity for a Cynthia Rylant author study—AND it aligns to Common Core! Activity 1: Find Someone Who Has Read Have students move around the classroom and find classmates that have read each of the famous books listed on the “Find Someone Who Has Read” activity, asking, “Have you read ____ by Tomie dePaola?.” You may also encourage students to share opinions about the books they’ve read and persuade their friends to read their favorites. Students sign the boxes of the books they’ve read. Challenge students to find a different person to sign each space, but don’t worry if not all spaces get filled in the time allowed. I find empty spaces motivate my students to independently seek out these “mystery” books! Hehe..sneaky teacher! Activity 2: Venn Diagram Students partner up to discuss the books they’ve both read using “Find Someone Who Has Read” activity to guide them. Partners choose 2 books to compare & contrast using the Venn diagram. (During this step, my students use a handy Comparing Multiple Texts Bookmark} to help them compare and contrast text at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.) Activity 3: Comparison/Contract Essay Finally, students use the comparison/contrast writing page to write 2 paragraphs explaining how the author’s books are both similar and different. For support, comparison and contrast words and a writing checklist are included. (I have my writers highlight the must use words and challenge words in different colors, or simply point out the boxes as vocabulary suggestions, depending on their level.) For further differentiation, you may choose to have students complete their paragraphs individually or as partners! Finally, students share their comparison and contrast writing, and encourage their class to check out the books they have yet to read! Looking for another author? Get ALL of the following authors in my Author Study BUNDLE or by click the links below! Aliki Byrd Baylor Chris Van Allsburg Cynthia Rylant David Shannon Dr. Seuss Eric Carle Eve Bunting Jon Scieszka Judy Blume Mem Fox Patricia Polacco Roald Dahl Steve Jenkins Tomie dePaola ☮, ♡, & happy teachering! -Amber Genzink Terms of Use: This purchase is for personal classroom use only. ©2014 Teachering, Amber Genzink. All rights reserved. This resource is for use by 1 teacher only (the original downloader). If other teachers at your school would like to use the materials, please purchase additional licenses. At the time of purchase, these additional licenses can be purchased for half price. :) Copying for other teachers or classrooms, or departments, schools, or the school systems is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. It may NOT be uploaded to school/district servers, or to any website, or shared digitally or by printed copies. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Thank you for respecting my time and work. I appreciate your business and support, and will continue to do my best to bring you high quality, helpful elementary resources!
Over 300 pages of graphic organizers and responses that support an Author Study of Cynthia Rylant! Inside you will find: About the Author Research Activity Unique Author Characteristics Graphic Organizer Book Title/Quick Summary Author Hall of Fame What do you love about this author? Graphic Organizer What do we want to try in our own writing? Graphic Organizer Author's Craft Graphic Organizer Writer's Craft with Example from Text Graphic Organizer Characters Cross-Book Graphic Organizer Setting Cross-Book Graphic Organizer Plot Cross-Book Graphic Organizer Comparing and Contrasting Two Different Texts Comparing and Contrasting Two Different Characters Comparing and Contrasting Two Different Settings Comparing and Contrasting Two Different Plots Books Included: Night in the Country The Relatives Came An Angel for Solomon Singer All in a Day Appalachia In November The Old Woman Who Named Things Missing May Gooseberry Park This Year's Garden Ludie's Life Every Living Thing But I'll Be Back Again When I Was Young in the Mountains Christmas in the Country Snow For each of these books, you will find: Characters/Plot/Setting Graphic Organizer Character/Character Traits Graphic Organizer Character Change Throughout Story Graphic Organizer Time/Place Graphic Organizer Problem/Solution Graphic Organizer Sensory Images Graphic Organizer Plot: Determining Importance of Events Graphic Organizer Questions I Had Before Reading/While Reading/After Reading Graphic Organizer Prediction with Evidence from Text Graphic Organizer Inference with Evidence from Text Graphic Organizer Inference with Text Clues Graphic Organizer Lesson/Theme Response Lesson/Theme Picture Activity Author's Craft in Text/Example from Text Graphic Organizer Word/Sentence I Love/Reason I Love It Graphic Organizer Favorite/Least Favorite Part Response Hope this helps with your Author Study! Enjoy!
I just finished working on this author study for Patricia Polacco. It is very similar to the author study I did for Cynthia Rylant. At the end of this unit, I plan to compare the two authors. Click below to download the lesson notes: Patricia Polacco Author Study I use the Patricia Polacco books shown below in the unit, but will have a basket full of her other titles for the students to explore during stations. To keep track of all of our thoughts and new learning, we will create a foldable again. The kids love it...and so do I! Here is an example of mine: Front cover Inside the left flap: Inside the right flap: The middle flap- inside: Under the inside flap: The back: We add to our foldable or our journal daily during the unit. In the unit, we read the story, The Keeping Quilt. During this time, the students will create their own quilt square. Inside the quilt square they draw/write about something that is important to them. We will put the squares together to create a large class quilt. I plan to create a large quilt by using gallon size ziplock bags and taping them together with colored duct tape. The students can then slide their quilt square into the bag from the back. Here's an example I found: The unit download also includes the pages that go with the culminating acitivity. The activities are the same as the Cynthia Rylant unit because I allow the class to choose which activity they want to complete. Click below to download the pages that go with the unit. Patricia Polacco Unit Pages To end the unit, we will discuss how the Patricia Polacco stories are similar/different to the Cynthia Rylant stories and why. Here is a quiz for the end of the unit: Patricia Polacco Quiz I hope you find something useful here. I would still like to create an author study unit for Eve Bunting as well (because I REALLY love her books too), but we'll see if I have time for that!
Poppleton in Winter is a great Growing Reader book with 3 fun stories- Icicles, The Bust, The Sleigh Ride. In Icicles Poppleton meets a new friend. In The Bust Poppleton decides to made a bust of his neighbor Cherry Sue and The Sleigh Ride story is about Poppleton and his friends going on a sleigh ride to celebrate his birthday. Your students will love these stories and now you can create a quick and meaningful activity or lesson with the information and ideas below. But, if your students need practice with compare and contrast you can use the FREEBIE I created to go with it (found below). Reading level: 1.9 Theme/subject: winter, friends and friendship Genre: fiction *This book contains 3 separate stories. Icicles The Bust The Sleigh Ride Suggested Vocabulary/phrases: (Icicles) icicles, bonk, finch, picket fence (The Bust) pagoda, hooked a rug, make a bust, mold, molding, molded, tweaked (The Sleigh Ride) disappointed Reading skills and strategies: Asking questions - {possible questions before}I wonder what the story is going to be about. I wonder what Poppleton is going to do in winter. {possible questions during}(Icicles) I wonder if anyone is going to get hurt from the icicles falling on them. I wonder if Poppleton will take the icicles down. I wonder what Poppleton and the finch are going to make with the icicles. (The Bust) I wonder what a pagoda is. I wonder what Poppleton is going to make this winter. I wonder what a bust is. I wonder why he doesn’t just invite Cherry Sue over. I wonder if Cherry Sue will like the bust. (The Sleigh Ride) I wonder if Poppleton will ever get that sleigh ride. {possible questions after} (Icicles) I wonder what more adventures Poppleton and finch will do together. (The Bust) I wonder what Poppleton’s next project will be. (The Sleigh Ride) I wonder what Poppleton will want to do next year for his birthday. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions. Author's point of view – Third. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this (him, his, they). Author's purpose – entertain. {evidence} Have students find evidence from one or all of the stories. Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} (Icicles) Poppleton liked his icicles. (The Bust) Poppleton was trying to figure out what to do this winter. (The Sleigh Ride) Poppleton called all his friends to go on a sleigh ride. {most important event from middle} (Icicles) Everyone kept telling Poppleton to get rid of the icicles. (The Bust) Poppleton kept going to Cherry Sue’s to see what she looked like. (The Sleigh Ride) Everybody was busy and couldn’t go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton. {most important event from end} (Icicles) Finch and Poppleton turned the fallen icicles into a fence. (The Bust) Cherry Sue came over so Poppleton could finish the bust of her. (The Sleigh Ride) All Poppleton’s friends came over and surprised him with cookies and cakes for his birthday. Cause and effect – (Icicles) How come Poppleton didn’t listen to anyone about his icicles? Because he loved his icicles. How come finch bumped into the icicles? Because he wasn’t looking where he was going. Why did finch feel bad? Because he knocked down all of Poppleton’s icicles. Why was Poppleton glad finch knocked down the icicles? Because Poppleton made a new friend. (The Bust) Why did Poppleton hook a rug? Because winter always made him feel creative. Why did Poppleton go buy clay? Because he was going to make a bust of his neighbor Cherry Sue. How come Poppleton kept going over to Cherry Sue’s house? Because he kept forgetting what she looked like. Why did Cherry Sue tweak Poppletons nose? Because Poppleton was driving her crazy. Why did Cherry Sue give Poppleton a little kiss? Because the bust looked just like her when he was done. (The Sleigh Ride) How come Cherry Sue could not go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton? Because she was making cookies. How come Hudson could not go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton? Because he was baking a cake. How come Fillmore could not go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton? Because he was stirring some fudge. How come Poppleton was disappointed? Because there was no one to go on a sleigh ride with him. Why did all of Poppletons friends surprise him? Because it was his birthday. How come Poppleton didn’t make a birthday wish? Because he had everything he wanted. Character analysis - describe Poppleton {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character} Character change – (The Sleigh Ride) Poppleton was sad at the beginning of the story because there was no one to go on a sleigh ride with him. At the end of the story Poppleton was happy because all his friends remembered his birthday, brought him cookies and cakes and took him on a sleigh ride. Compare & contrast – Compare Poppleton in each story. Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} (Icicles) having icicles hanging from your house. Having icicles fall off your roof. (The Bust) being creative during the winter. Having made something with clay. (The Sleigh Ride) Wanting to do something but not being able to find someone to do it with you. Being surprised on your birthday. Going on a sleigh ride. {possible text-to-text connections} Connect each of the books. Main idea & details - (Icicles) {main idea} The story is mostly about Poppleton loving his icicles. {details} Gus the mail turtle told him to take them down but he wouldn’t. Poppleton would measure his icicles. Finch and Poppleton ended up making a picket fence with the icicles after they fell down. (The Bust) {main idea} The story is mostly about Poppleton making a bust of his neighbor Cherry Sue. {details} Poppleton went to the art store to get clay for the bust. Poppleton went to Cherry Sue’s house to see what her hair looked like. Cherry Sue came over and sat for 5 hours so Poppleton could finish the bust of her. (The Sleigh Ride) {main idea} The story is mostly about Poppleton wanting to go on a sleigh ride. {details} Poppleton called Cherry Sue to go on a sleigh ride. Poppleton was sad that none of his friends could go on a sleigh ride. Poppleton’s friends came over and surprised him for his birthday and took him on a sleigh ride. Plot – (Icicles) the turning point or climax in the story was when finch knocked all the icicles down. (The Bust) the turning point or climax of the story was when Cherry Sue tweaked Poppleton’s nose. (The Sleigh Ride) the turning point or climax of the story was when his friends come to surprise him for his birthday. Predict – (Icicles) What do you think the story is going to be about? Do you think Poppleton will take the icicles down. Do you think anyone will get hurt because of those icicles? What do you think finch and Poppleton will do with the fallen icicles? (The Bust) What do you think the story will be about? What do you think Poppleton will create? Do you think Poppleton will invite Cherry Sue to come over? Do you think Cherry Sue will like the bust of her? (The Sleigh Ride) What do you think the story is going to be about? Do you think anyone will be able to go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton? What do you think Poppleton will do since nobody can go on a sleigh ride? Problem & solution – (Icicles){problem} the problem is that Poppleton loves his icicles but nobody else does. {solution} after finch knocked the icicles down Poppleton and finch made a picket fence. (The Bust){problem} Poppleton couldn’t remember what Cherry Sue looked like. {solution} Cherry Sue came over to sit for Poppleton to finish the bust. (The Sleigh Ride){problem} There was nobody to go on a sleigh ride with Poppleton. {solution} All Poppleton’s friends came over and surprised him with cookies and cakes and a sleigh ride. Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution. IT'S FREE!! Happy planning!
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. […]
A blog for teachers to find example questions and ideas for different reading skills and strategies for over 100 different picture books.
Cynthia Rylant is a favorite author of my students every year. It seems like all students either have a dog or want a dog. When I introduce a Henry and Mudge book, I am guaranteed to have a captive audience. I love it when students connect with authors. You never know when you might be teaching a future author. Cynthia Rylant's website encourages students to write to her. She will send a postcard to the teacher. I have a FREE packet that includes writing paper and morning messages that you may use. Through the years, I have been surprised when I received my standardized test results. There were always one or two students that scored lower than expected. I’ve also had surprises when grading work throughout the year. Students who seemed very capable when discussing stories orally, were not showing the same potential on paper. Rushing through their work and not paying attention to details seemed to be the cause of most of these surprises. Small words like “not” are important when answering questions. I’ve tried a variety of things to slow these students down. We circled important words of the sentence, rephrased question in the answer, highlighted details, and a variety of other techniques with modest success. One of the teams I was on used a phrase called “steal and slide”. This catchy phrase seemed to work the best for my students. Probably because it is a sporty-themed phrase, boys and girls liked it and used it. Students are told they need to steal some of the words in the question to slide in the answer. I used this technique with students as young as first grade. With young students, we completed the questions together. I taped the question on chart tablet paper or a white board (see picture above). Then I wrote the answers on chart tablet paper and then had volunteers circle the words that were stolen. By the end of the year, my higher ability students were able to answer questions on paper using this method. This method makes students slow down and pay attention to every word in the question because they may want to steal that word for their answer. I realize this method is not unique. Teachers have been telling their students to answer questions using words from the questions for a long time. My teachers told me to do that when I was a student because I was one of those who saw school work as a race. Your district may have you do the same type of activity but call it something else. I have several packets with steal and slide activities (questions for chart tablets paper and reading comprehension worksheets), including Henry and Mudge lessons. You can use the activities in these packet with whichever phrase your district uses. I have a Henry and Mudge bundle which includes the following books: The First Book, Under the Yellow Moon, and Take the Big Test. Also included with these packets are task cards. There are 5 task cards for each chapter. There are answer cards included so this can be set up as a self-checking center. Punch a hole and put the task cards on a ring. The cards are small - the perfect size for small hands. There are 2 recording sheets for each chapter.One has lines and the other one doesn't. Click HERE for the FREEBIE. Click HERE to check out my Henry and Mudge bundle. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Can you believe it is November already?! Where has the time gone? I thought I’d pop in today and share our little author study with you this week. I fell in love with Cynthia Rylant’s work about 5 years ago when I was introduced to her “Mr. Putter and Tabby” books through my reading series. […]
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
Author's craft is an important skill for upper elementary. This free lesson using In November will help students grow as readers and writers.
* Follows Common Core Standards * This 14-page booklet-style Book Study (a total 29 pages including answer key) is designed to follow students throughout the entire book. The questions are based on reading comprehension, strategies and skills. The book study is designed to be enjoyable and keep the students engaged. Many different types of questions for students to think about and answer before, during, and after finishing each chapter. Types of questions include: Narrative Elements Predict Connect Multiple Choice Reflect Cite Evidence Read for Details Reread to Clarify Vocab/Context Clues and more... Complete with a challenging, book-based Word Search and Word Jumble! *** Answer Key Included *** This booklet is in PDF format. For help printing a booklet in Adobe, click here *** Included in this download is a link that will direct you to a Google Docs version of the book study for distance learning. Poppleton in Summer Book Study - based on the book by Cynthia Rylant Images, fonts and clipart courtesy of: OpenClipart.org Illumismart@ Teachers Pay Teachers, L.L. Tisdel Jason’s Online Classroom (TPT) Dafont.com ClipartPanda.com DesignBundles.net FontBundles.net YeDraw.com AllThingsClipart.com DrawingImage.com/art 123RF.com MistiFonts.com ClassroomClipart.com ToadStool Printables @ Etsy.com Clipart.com
Analyzing author's craft is a challenging skills for many students. In this freebie featuring the book, In November by Cynthia Rylant, students will record text evidence of description, mood/tone, imagery, and author's viewpoint. This blog post walks through the lesson and includes other teaching ...
This author study can be used to teach the following concepts and reading strategies. Researching the author and making a web with information learned. Story maps Comparing and contrasting (text-to-self) Retelling Comprehension Questions- The Relatives Came, The Great Gracie Chase Text-to-Self c...
Join us as we explore story elements, learn about beluga whales, sea stars, Morse code, and lighthouses in this Family Literature and Activity Guide inspired by Cynthia Rylant's heart-warming tale The Lighthouse Family - The Whale. You'll find language lessons and activities, open-and-go nature study guides, STEM projects, crafts, recipes, and more! Important: This is a PDF download. No physical product will be mailed to you. Print at home or at your favorite printing store. Activity sheets are best printed single sided. What's included in the Family Literature and Activity Guide: • explore nature studies on beluga whales and sea stars • create art projects inspired by the story like our fence-line of sunflowers or baking soda sea stars • complete a 'staying warm' experiment to see how beluga whales adapt to the chilly waters of the Arctic • create beluga whale life cycle rocks to celebrate each developmental stage • inspired by our story, explore ways to manage our feelings and create your own DIY stress ball • learn about Morse code and send messages with light signals • discover how lighthouses work and make a lighthouse suncatcher • explore a new language lesson for each of the six chapters, including a setting art invitation, dialogue with stick puppets, narrate the chapter with origami props, go on a verb hunt, character profiles, and more. • bake berry dumplings and enjoy vegetable stew just like our characters • complete vocabulary studies and discussion questions *Please note, the story books and other materials in the product photos are for staging purposes only and are not included with your purchase. Upon purchase you will receive a PDF download file which includes the Google Drive link to your Guide due to file size. If you have any difficulty accessing your Guide file, don't hesitate to contact me and we will figure it out together. From our family to yours, Jacqueline
This is a complete book study bundle that corresponds with Cynthia Rylant's Poppleton series. There are 6 short answer comprehension questions, vocabulary practice page, and a writing prompt for each chapter of each book. Answer key is provided for each file. Products included in this bundle: Poppleton Poppleton in Spring Poppleton Everyday Poppleton and Friends Poppleton Forever Poppleton in Fall Poppleton Has Fun Poppleton in Winter
Kids will love sharing what they’ve learned about their family history and heritage with these 9 family tree activities– such a fun way to explore genealogy! (Also, be sure to check out our list of family-themed picture books for kids at the end of the post.) Follow Buggy and Buddy on Pinterest! Back when I …
Cynthia Rylant is a favorite author of my students every year. It seems like all students either have a dog or want a dog. When I introduce a Henry and Mudge book, I am guaranteed to have a captive audience. I love it when students connect with authors. You never know when you might be teaching a future author. Cynthia Rylant's website encourages students to write to her. She will send a postcard to the teacher. I have a FREE packet that includes writing paper and morning messages that you may use. Through the years, I have been surprised when I received my standardized test results. There were always one or two students that scored lower than expected. I’ve also had surprises when grading work throughout the year. Students who seemed very capable when discussing stories orally, were not showing the same potential on paper. Rushing through their work and not paying attention to details seemed to be the cause of most of these surprises. Small words like “not” are important when answering questions. I’ve tried a variety of things to slow these students down. We circled important words of the sentence, rephrased question in the answer, highlighted details, and a variety of other techniques with modest success. One of the teams I was on used a phrase called “steal and slide”. This catchy phrase seemed to work the best for my students. Probably because it is a sporty-themed phrase, boys and girls liked it and used it. Students are told they need to steal some of the words in the question to slide in the answer. I used this technique with students as young as first grade. With young students, we completed the questions together. I taped the question on chart tablet paper or a white board (see picture above). Then I wrote the answers on chart tablet paper and then had volunteers circle the words that were stolen. By the end of the year, my higher ability students were able to answer questions on paper using this method. This method makes students slow down and pay attention to every word in the question because they may want to steal that word for their answer. I realize this method is not unique. Teachers have been telling their students to answer questions using words from the questions for a long time. My teachers told me to do that when I was a student because I was one of those who saw school work as a race. Your district may have you do the same type of activity but call it something else. I have several packets with steal and slide activities (questions for chart tablets paper and reading comprehension worksheets), including Henry and Mudge lessons. You can use the activities in these packet with whichever phrase your district uses. I have a Henry and Mudge bundle which includes the following books: The First Book, Under the Yellow Moon, and Take the Big Test. Also included with these packets are task cards. There are 5 task cards for each chapter. There are answer cards included so this can be set up as a self-checking center. Punch a hole and put the task cards on a ring. The cards are small - the perfect size for small hands. There are 2 recording sheets for each chapter.One has lines and the other one doesn't. Click HERE for the FREEBIE. Click HERE to check out my Henry and Mudge bundle. Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.
Teach gratitude and thankfulness this Christmas with the book Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant.
The leaves may have been falling, but poetry was in bloom among my first grade poets this week. Each November, I kick off our new month with the book entitled In November by Cynthia Rylant. It's a quick, yet powerful read that really paints a picture and appeals to all five of our senses. The running text reads like a poem. The illustrations by Jill Kastner paint a watercolor-like tour through the images, sounds and traditions that November brings. Trees without arms spread their branches "like dancers." Food in November is "better than any time of the year," and animals "sleep more." Many of the pages begin with "In November..." This was my inspiration to make pattern poems with my first graders that paint just as clear of a picture in our minds as does Cynthia Rylant. Another inspiration for this product was this neat dollar store find of the stationary on which we published our poems. Here's the directions for this writing workshop. 1. I read aloud the book and had the children recall the images that the author and illustrator described as happening "In November." 2. I asked children if they noticed any patterns about the way many of the pages began. They were able to, right away, tell me that the words "In November" repeat. 3. We discussed the meaning of the word "pattern" and applied it to the fact that a poem that starts the same way, repeatedly, is called a pattern poem. 4. Students watched me model writing a few lines of my In November Poem. I noted how I used the book for help and also was sure to come up with my own ideas, too. 5. Students went to their desks to complete drafts of their poems. The template was copied on white paper. Grab your template here--free all November. I had picture books about Thanksgiving, fall, etc. everywhere. 6. We had writing conferences and edited accordingly. Thank you to my editors for all your help. 7. Students copied their final drafts onto the template printed on the fancy fall stationary. 8. We had a celebration! Students read aloud their poems sitting on the author throne. Click here to read my post on making your own author throne. It was a Mr. Giso's Room to Read Bright Idea (#3). I'm really happy with the results! I hope you will be too. I'm please to announce that I have passed the "5 Star Blogger" challenge from the Organized Classroom Blog. Check it out! Best wishes to all my friends for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving week!
