The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Copyright 2003
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Lexile Measure: 670L
Grade Level: 4-5

Forgiveness, Light, Love, Soup

The Tale of Despereaux ("being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread") is the tale of a brave little mouse out to save the princess from a horrible rat foe, Roscuro.  Despereaux sacrifices the reputation of his family and his own safety to complete his destiny and come to the rescue of his true love, like a true knight would. This adventure novel will be sure to hold the attention of all of your students for a read-aloud!

Teachers, here are some suggestions for activities and resources that go along with this novel:

Key Vocabulary:

• adieu, chiaroscuro, empathy, furlough, perfidy, portentous, remorse

Before Reading Activity:

• Students can research medieval themes such as chivalry, knights, princesses, castles, and dungeons because many of these topics are seen throughout the reading.

During Reading Activity:

• Students can create character maps for each section of the novel.  Then at the end they can compare and contrast the characters Despereaux, Chiaroscuro, and Miggery Sow.

After Reading Activity:

• When students are finished reading the novel have them watch the movie of The Tale of Despereaux and compare and contrast what they have read to what they see.

Web Resources:

• Here are some discussion questions for students to ponder while reading the novel.
• Here is a 20 page, field tested teacher's guide with teaching strategies from each section of the book!

"The world is dark,

and light is precious.

Come closer, dear reader.

You must trust me.

I am telling you a story."

DiCamillo, K., & Ering, T. B. (2003). The tale of Despereaux: being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. Cambridge : Candlewick Press.

Bud, Not Buddy

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Copyright 1999
Published by Yearling
Lexile Measure: 950L
Grade: 6

Comedy, Adventure, Depression, Woop, Sloop, Zoop

Bud, Not Buddy is the tale of a boy in search of his father.  Bud never met his father, but believes that when his mother died, she left him clues, including flyers advertising Herman E. Calloway and his famous band.  He believes that the clues will lead him to his father.    Christopher Paul Curtis's book will leave your students laughing and seeing how Bud forms relationships that change his life.

Teachers, here are some suggestions for activities and resources that go along with this novel:

Key Vocabulary:

• depression, commence, devastator, Hooverville, locamotive, shantytown, knickers, moldering, exaggerate, snaggletooth, copasetic, prodigy

Before Reading Activity:

• Have students research causes of the Great Depression and organizations that helped people who were affected.  What organizations today help people in need?

During Reading Activity:

• Students can make a scrap book to track all of Bud's adventures.

After Reading Activity:

• Have students create a comic strip of their favorite scene of the novel using this Comic Strip Creator.

Web Resources:

• check out these discussion questions that go along with the novel!
• Look here for a list of activities that go along with the book!

Curtis, C. P. (1999). Bud, not Buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.

Everything for a Dog

Everything for a Dog by Ann M. Martin
Copyright 2009
Published by Feiwal and Friends
Lexile Measure: 890
Grade: 6

Dog, Boy, Tragedy, Friendship, Family

Everything for a Dog is a story of desire and tragedy from multiple perspectives.  This is a great book to teach perspective with! The three main characters are Bone (a dog), Charlie, and Henry.  Ann M. Martin develops resilient characters who provide insight into into the hardships of each of their lives.  The characters' stories intersect and leave the reader yearning for more.  This is a great book for your dog-lovers, or anyone that has ever had or wanted a dog!

Teachers, here are some suggestions for activities and resources that go along with this novel:

Key Vocabulary:

• ambled, coax, swiveled, tentatively, predator, tantalizing, exuberant 

Before Reading Activity:

• This book is written through the voices of three narrators, which give multiple perspectives for students to have to follow. This might be their first encounter with different perspectives in one book, so it is important that they are aware of the structure of the text. Explain to students that there can be multiple narrators in a single book.  Have each student write a paragraph about recess in their journals, so that they can compare how each of their perspectives of the same event are different.

During Reading:

• Create a character web so that students can more easily follow the characters as their lives intersect. 

After Reading:

• Give students a writing prompt for their journals such as this one: "In the book, all Henry wanted was a dog.  Have you ever wanted something so much that you would do anything for it? Write a persuasive letter to a parent or guardian, convincing them to let you have what you want."

 Web Resources:

• Have students create a Voki! Voki is an online tool that students can use to create an avatar of a character in a book.  This gives the students the opportunity to be creative and use their knowledge of the characters to create them themselves!
• Create a Story! Use this scholastic tool, from Scholastic's Flashlight Readers, to choose a scene, character, and a story starter.  Students can create up to five scenes to complete their stories!

Martin, A. M. (2009). Everything for a dog. New York : Feiwel and Friends.

Number the Stars

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Copyright 1989
Published by Laurel Leaf
Lexile Measure: 670L
Grade: 5

Courage, Secrets, Family, Friends, War

Number the Stars is the story of Annemarie Johansen, a 10 year old girl living in Copenhagel in 1943.  It is a great historical fiction novel to teach children about the Nazi's relocation of the Jews in Copenhagen.  It deals with bravery and one's ability to put the welfare of others before themselves.  It is a very child appropriate account of the threat that the Nazi's put on the Jewish community in Copenhagen.  This would be a great novel for students to read independently and then deal with collaboratively.

Key Vocabulary:

Star of David, swastika, Nazi, rationed, typhus, disdainfully, relocate, sabotage, tentatively, specter, tantalize

Teachers, here are some suggestions for activities and resources that go along with this novel:

Before reading:

• Read The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark and lead a class discussion about what it means to be a brave citizen.
• SL.5.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
During reading:
• BLOG! Students can use BLOG sites, such as blogspot.com in order to share their feelings about the book.  The characters in this novel demonstrate many acts of bravery and loyalty, which will provoke a reaction from students.  Have them use technology to share their reactions with their peers and parents!
• W.5.6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.
After reading:
• Students can read Little Red Riding Hood and create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting Annemarie to Little Red Riding Hood. 
• RL.5.3. Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
Web Resources:
• Discussion Questions: This link will provide you with discussion questions for your students to ponder while reading this novel.
• Study Guide: This link will provide you with an in depth study guide and activity ideas for before reading, active reading, responding.
Lowry, Lois. Number the stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989. Print.

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Copyright 1993

Published by  Dell Laurel-Leaf

Reading Level: Lexile 760L

Mystery, Intrigue, Knowledge, Secrets, Utopia

The Giver is a science fiction book based on the idea of Communism.  It is a novel that will intrigue students and make them think about the society we live in.  In the novel, the main character, Jonas, lives in a place where everybody is assigned a job, a family, and no one is burdened with memeories of the past.  It seems like this is the best life for everyone until Jonas becomes the Receiver of memories and realizes the secrets of his town, as well as what everybody is missing out on.  This is a great book to get children thinking about society and what is best for a community.  This would be a great book for independent reading, then a group discussion to go over the differences between society.

Key Vocabulary:

Supplementary, Ironic, Adherence, Aptitude, Transgression, Nurture, Churn, Aprehensive, Palpable

Teachers, here are some activities and resources for this book:

Pre Reading Activity:

• Have students create a short story describing their "perfect" society and what would be included in it.  Encourage them to write about how history would help the community grow and what aspects of the society we live in now they would keep or change.

During Reading:

• Discuss symbols from the novel (such as the apple, colors, hair style for each age, etc.) then have students make up their own symbol for something that they would like to celebrate in their lives.  They can create a symbol, draw it, and write a description of it, then explain to the class why they chose it and what it means to them.

Post Reading:

• This would be a great time to provide differentiation into the lesson and assign a project that gives students the opportunity to choose how they would like to express themselves. Students can discuss the last chapter of the book and form ideas about the ending.  Give students the option to draw or paint the last scene, write another chapter (creating a more clear ending),  compile a soundtrack for different parts of the book, or act out important scenes from the novel.

Web Resources:

• Teacher Cyberguide: This link will provide you with five activities that encourage students to work with different aspects of the novel, such as their own community, society, and memories. 
• A Teacher's Resource: This link splits the novel into five sections of reading and provides activities to connect with the novel, to read, to discuss, to practice, and to express themselves.

Lowry, Lois. The giver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.