Postcards from Camp

Postcards from Camp by Simms Taback

Before You Read:

• Have you ever been to sleep-away-camp?
• If you've never been to camp, have you ever spent more than one night away from home?
• What kinds of feelings might you experience if you were to spend many nights away from home? (no, not pure joy--think negative. What is it called when you miss home a lot?)

While You Read:

• Use the pictures on the front of each card to infer what the card will be about.
• After reading each postcard, decide what the author's purpose is (to inform, persuade, or entertain). Each card will have a different purpose. 

After You Read: 

• How did Michael's attitude about camp change? 
• What is the theme of this book? 
• Why did the author create this book the way that he did? What was his purpose for using the postcards rather than just writing a story? 

If you would like more resources, click here. 

Clever Jack Takes the Cake

Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming

Before You Read:

• Review the elements of fiction (plot, setting, character, theme)

While You Read:

• What qualities do you admire in Jack?
• What problems did Jack encounter and how did he solve them?
• Make predictions about what you think will happen next as you read.

After You Read:

• Write a summary of the plot.
• What is was the setting?
• Who are the characters?
• What is the theme of the story? (There can be more than one). 
• Why is the book called Clever Jack? 

If you would like more resources for this book, click here.  

Thunder Birds: Nature's Flying Predators

Thunder Birds: Nature's Flying Predators by Jim Arnosky 

Before You Read: 

 Students will need a piece of colored paper and a pencil. Please follow these directions for folding the paper:
1. Tri-fold the paper (in thirds).
2.  While the paper is still tri-folded, fold it in half.
3. When you open the paper, you should have six boxes.

These directions are an example of _________ text.
 (Hint: What you have been studying for the last 2 weeks!)

Write the book's title and author in the first box. 

While You Read:

•  Listen for interesting facts about each type of predator birds. Write one interesting fact about the birds in each box.  
• Why did Jim Arnosky use fold-outs for this book? 

After You Read:

• What do you notice about Jim Arnosky's writing style? Is it boring? Why or why not? Does Expository writing have to be boring? How can you spice up your Expository writing like Jim Arnosky does?
• What is the author's purpose? How do you know that this is his purpose?

Teachers, in the example that I gave you, I only used 4 boxes for notes because I ran out of time when I did this lesson with 3rd grade. You can read the entire book and use all of the boxes, or you can  skip around like I did. 

If you would like more resources on this book, click here.


 

Ruth and the Green Book

Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey

Before You Read: 

•  Review the qualities of Literary Nonfiction.
• Make a prediction about what you think The Green Book is?
• What do you know about the Civil Rights Movement?
• How were African Americans treated in the South in the 1950s and 60s?  

While You Read: 

• Why can't the family use the restroom at the service station? If you were in their situation, how would this make you feel?
• Why do you think the family could not stay at the hotel?
• What is "Jim Crow?"
• Why did Ruth give Brown Bear to the boy? What does this reveal about Ruth's character?

After You Read: 

• Read the last page of the book "The History of the Negro Motorist Green Book." 
• How is this page different from the rest of the book?
• What is the author's purpose for including this page?
• What qualities make this book Literary Nonfiction?
• What are some of the obstacles that the family had to overcome while traveling? How did the Green Book help them overcome these obstacles? Support your answer with text evidence (proof) from the story. 
• Was this book difficult to understand if you did not have background knowledge about the Jim Crow Laws and the Civil Rights Movement? Why is schema (background knowledge) so important to making inferences? 

Click here for a look at the real Green Book. 

You can leave comments for your class. Each class that leaves a thoughtful comment will receive smelly bookmarks! 

Hot Diggity Dog: The History of the Hot Dog by Adrienne Sylver

Before you read:

• Review the qualities of fiction and nonfiction (expository) texts:

    --What makes a book fiction?
    --What makes a book nonfiction?
    --What qualities do both of these share?
    --Preview the text and predict: Is this fiction or nonfiction?

While you read:

• What were some of the causes of the hot dog coming to America?
• What caused the hot dog to become popular during the Great Depression?
• What caused the hot dog to become a popular food in American stadiums?
• What are the steps for how a hot dog is made?
• Since many Americans try to eat healthy, what effect has this had on the hot dog?

After you read:

• Is this book fiction or nonfiction? Support your answer.
• What is the main idea? List some details that support the main idea.
• What's your favorite way to eat a hot dog? 

You can see see my blog post about teaching this lesson with 3rd grade. 

Comment below with your responses! When your class leaves a thoughtful comment, each student will get a smelly bookmark from the library!