Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Written by Jeff Kinney
Copyright ©2007
Published by Amulet books

Reading Level: Grades 2-8
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.3
Lexile Measure: 970L
Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading: T
Accelerated Reader Points: 3.0
DRA: 50

Suggested Delivery: Independent Reading

Genre: Fiction, Graphic Novel, humor

Description:
Gregory is starting Middle School. And what he thought would be the best year of his young life turns out to be not as he expected. Follow Gregory as he learns what it means to be a true friend.

5 words/phrases to describe the book: middle school, friendship, growing up, humor, popularity

Technology to enhance learning:

Writing Tips from Jeff Kinney

Jeff Kinney has an entire playlist on YouTube.com where he gives writing tips to aspiring writers. Students who really like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series would like to see Jeff Kinney talk about writing the books and inspire students to love writing.

Watch the Movie:
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid follows the same storyline as the first book. This would be a great enrichment for students after reading the book.















Before During and After Activities:

Before Reading:
Have students read the description and look at the comics in the book and make a prediction of what will happen in the book.

During Reading:

APPARTS:

AUTHOR

Who created the source?  What do you know about the author?  What is the author’s point of view?

PLACE AND TIME

Where and when was the source produced?  How might this affect the meaning of the source?

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Beyond information about the author and the context of its creation, what do you know that would help you further understanding the primary source?  For example, do you recognize any symbols and recall what they represented?

AUDIENCE

For whom was the source created and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

REASON

Why was this source produced and how might this affect the reliability of the source?

THE MAIN IDEA

What point is the source trying to convey?

SIGNIFICANCE

Why is the source important?  Ask yourself, “So what?” in relation to the question asked.

After Reading:

Students can right a Diary Entry as one of the characters. Students can choose any character, besides Greg, and write a diary entry about how Greg is acting in the book. Gregory is not the nicest character in the book. Students would use inferential comprehension to think about how other characters feel about Greg. 

Vocabulary:

Edits: prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it

Contributors: a person who writes articles for a magazine or newspaper.

Backfired: of a plan or action) rebound adversely on the originator; have the opposite effect to what was intended

Ironic: happening in the opposite way to what is expected, and typically causing wry amusement because of this

Soprano: the highest of the four standard singing voices

Inflate: increase (something) by a large or excessive amount

Bogged: cause (a vehicle, person, or animal) to become stuck in mud or wet ground; (of a person or process) be unable to make progress.

Brainstorming:produce an idea or way of solving a problem by holding a spontaneous group discussion.

Wonderstruck

Written and Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Copyright ©2011
Published by Scholastic Press

Reading Level: Grades 3-7
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.4
Lexile Measure: 830L
Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading: W
Accelerated Reader Points: 4.0
DRA:60

Genre: Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel, Fiction

Description:
Ben and Rose both want different lives. Ben wants to meet the Father he never knew. Rose longs to be around people like her. Ben's story is told in words, Rose's story is told through pictures. This touching story will keep you hooked until the last page.

5 Words/Phrases to describe the Book: children living with disabilities, living with loss, friendship, reunion, mystery

Suggested Delivery: independent reading

Technology to Enhance Learning:

Space Oddity:

"Space Oddity" by David Bowe is a constant symbol in this book. Often Ben finds comfort in thinking about the song. Having the students listen to the song and see the lyrics before reading can help them understand the references.


Sign Language:
Sign language and learning sign language is also a big part of the book. Students can learn the sign language alphabet here and with a little practice students can sign their own names.

Before, During, and After Reading Activities:

Before Reading:

I Wonder Why: The teacher begins by making "I Wonder Why" statements related to the reading topic to encourage students to activate prior knowledge. As students become more adept, the questions can become more complex and require higher level thinking skills. During Reading: CAUSE AND EFFECT CHAIN This strategy helps students recognize cause and effect relationships. The cause and effect chain may be used to look at a series of events that are a result of one another or are caused by one another, like a chain reaction. The cause and effect chain graphic organizer reinforces the idea that each CAUSE brings about a related EFFECT, that in turn each EFFECT becomes a CAUSE for the next effect, and that all CAUSES lead to the final EFFECT. The example of a trail of dominoes being knocked over often helps students visualize this relationship. If one domino does not fall, the final effect will change. 1.         Distribute the Cause and Effect Chain graphic organizer. 2.         Students begin the chain by writing the initial cause in the first box. Students continue filling in effects and causes until the chain is complete. 3.         Students may be directed to enter signal words on the lines provided between the boxes.  After Reading: Timeline: Because the story occurs during two different decades a good way to assess comprehension would be to have the students great two timelines. One for Ben's Story and one for Rose's story. A great thing to look for is when the two stories collide.  Writing Activity: A writing activity to assess with this book could be in the form of an exit slip. Along with the timeline have students write short(1 to 2 sentence(s)) summaries for each event that occurs.  Vocabulary: Undulating: move with a smooth wavelike motion Revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.  Personalize: design or produce (something) to meet someone's individual requirements Archive: a collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people Meteorite: a meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground. More than 90 percent of meteorites are of rock, while the remainder consist wholly or partly of iron and nickel. Engraving: the process or art of cutting or carving a design on a hard surface, especially so as to make a print. Acquisition: an asset or object bought or obtained, typically by a library or museum.

5 Elephants

Written by Rob Laidlaw
Copyright ©2014
Published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Reading Level: Grades 3-8
Lexie Reading Level: 1110L
Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading: Z

Genre: Non-fiction

Description: Follow 5 elephants as they discover the difficulties of living in captivity. This story will make you take a serious look at the conditions in which elephants live today and in the past.

5 words/ phrases to describe the book: Elephants, Survival, Family, Struggles, Captivity.

Suggested Delivery: Small Group Reading ( Reciprocal Teaching), Independent Reading for Information.

Technology to Enhance Learning:
www.newsela.com has news articles that can be converted based on reading level. Here is one about cracking down on the illegal very market. With this tool teachers can differentiate based on their students' reading level.

Here is a video about Elephants in captivity. Visual resources are always great in a classroom because they are beneficial to different types of learners.










Before, During and After Reading Activities:

Before Reading:
Take a look at the vocabulary. There is a glossary in the back of the book with tier III words used in the text. Give students plenty of time to prepare. This is a long non-fiction text for some students. Students can look at the chapter titles and pictures to get a feel for the book. Students should Write down what they want to learn from the text.

During Reading:
This is a great text for Reciprocal Teaching. This is a type of learning where each student has a job in a group of 4 or 5.

• summarizer
• questioner
• predictor
• clarifier

Students read a section or chapter independently or as a group. While reading students should be pulling out the key information. The summarizer summarizes the passage, the questioner comes up with questions about the text to discuss with the group. The predictor writes down and discusses predictions before reading and what he/she expects for the next reading, and the clarifier answers and clarifies questions about the text. For additional information about reciprocal teaching here is an article from reading rockets.

After Reading:

Because this text is so informational and dense it's a good idea to isolate key themes and ideas. This text is a great start for writing prompts and persuasive essays. 

Writing Prompt Examples:

• Do you think elephants should be kept in zoos and circuses? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the author chose to write this book? What is his message?
• What are some of the struggles elephants in captivity face? use examples from the text.
• What can people do to help animals who are living in poor conditions?

Vocabulary:

Allomother: a female elephant who comforts, assists and protects the calves of other female elephants

Boma: a livestock enclosure, often used to contain large animals

Bull elephant: an adult male elephant

Cow elephant: an adult female elephant

Dentine: the hard, bony material that teeth and tusks are made of

Ecology: a branch of science that looks at living things and their relationships to the environments in which they live

Extinction: the state when all members of a species have died out

Herbivores: animals that feed on grass and other plants

Mahout: an indian word for a person who owns and rides an elephant

Matriarch: a mature female elephant who acts as a leader of a family

Pachyderm: an old term for a large animal with hooves and thick skin, like an elephant or a hippopotamus

Poaching: the illegal hunting, killing or collection of wild animals or plants

Rewilding: the process of preparing an animal to live in the wild