The One and Only Ivan

Jacket art by Patricia Caselao
Jacket design by Sarah Hoy

Written by Katherine Applegate
Illustrations by Patricia Castelao
Copyright ©2012
Published by Harper Collins Publishers
Applegate, K. (2012). The one and only Ivan. New York: Harper.

Awards: 2012 John Newbery Medal Winner

Reading Level: Grades 3-5

Grade Level Equivalent: 3.3

Lexile Reading Level: 570L

Accelerated Reader: 3.6

Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading: N

DRA: 34

Summary:

Ivan, a gorilla, has ben living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. A gifted artist Ivan creates drawings and paintings in his free time. When Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, arrives Ivan finds his purpose and begins to see things differently. 

Description: Fiction.

Friendship, Art, Hope, Animal Rights, Determination

Suggested Delivery:

This is a good book for read aloud, small group reading, and independent reading depending on the class. 

For middle grades I would use this book more for independent and small group reading based on the reading levels of the students. 

Classroom Activities:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYL2LxotA8

The class can watch this short video about the real Ivan that inspired Katherine Applegate to write "The One and Only Ivan".  The class can then discuss why keeping Gorillas and other animals in confined captivity is not good for the animals. 

I would suggest using the video during the reading about halfway through or at the beginning of the book so the students can have a better understanding of the true story that relates back to the fiction, 

Link to the World Wildlife Fund's website:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/gorilla

The gorilla section talks about why gorillas are endangered and what people can do to help. Showing students this website can open their eyes to the realities of animals that are going extinct and why it is important to preserve the species. 

I would suggest using this website before reading the book to scaffold the students understanding of gorillas and life in captivity.

Key Vocabulary:

Chest Beat: repeated slapping of the chest with one or both hands in order to generate a loud sound (sometimes used by gorillas as a threat display to intimidate and opponent).

Domain: territory.

the Grunt: snorting, piglike noise made by gorilla parents to express annoyance.

Me-ball: dried excrement thrown at observers.

9,855 days: (example) while gorillas in the wild typically gauge the passing of time based on seasons or food availability, Ivan has adopted a tally of days. (9,855 days is equal to twenty-seven years).

Not-Tag: stuffed toy gorilla.

Silverback (also less frequently, grayboss): an adult male over twelve years old with an area of silver hair on his back. The silverback is a figure of authority, responsible for protecting his family.

Slimy chimp (slag; offensive): a human (refers to sweat on hairless skin).

Vining: casual play (a reference to vine swinging).

Before, During, and After Activities:

Have a small, homogeneous, group of readers read this book for "book club."

Before reading students can read the description of the book and read the chapter titles. The students can then write their predictions of what the book will be about what the ending will be. The predictions can be sealed in an envelope and labled for the students to open at the end. This should create motivation amongst the readers to see who was right with their predictions. 

During reading have the students set how many pages or chapter per day they are expected to read. Have the students set the focus of the reading. Students can write either on paper, or create a blog for the teacher to see (www.edublog.org). The responses for during can include, but are not limited to:

• What do I think will happen next?
• What have I learned so far?
• What is the character feeling? How do I know?
• What kind of personal connections can I make so far?

After reading the students can open up their prediction envelopes to see if they were right. They can then write a response, either on paper or a blog format, talking about why they predicted what they did and what they learned along the way while reading. Other writing topics can include the author's message and the overall main idea of the story. 

An activity I would use with this story would be focused around character change. I would have students pick either Ivan, Ruby, or Bob and talk about how the character changed throughout the story. This should be coupled with evidence, specific page numbers, and a writing response on how and why the character changed/evolved.