The Lightning Thief - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Be encouraged to rise above failure and show just what you're made of. The provided Before and After reading activities really help to build student's reading comprehension. Make connections between the novel and well-known Greek myths by identifying the significance of the three old ladies Percy sees knitting. Make predictions about the plot by deciding whether Percy will find out about his parentage. Go back through the novel and make a list of clues that show the author's use of foreshadowing. Put key events from the novel in the order they occurred as Percy learns about his quest. Compare the Greek gods from the novel with their Roman counterparts. Detail some of the ways the gods of Olympus influenced events in the story, and how these influences impacted plot development. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The Lightning Thief follows the mythical adventures of a young boy with a legendary destiny. Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is close to being kicked out of another boarding school. But his real concern is the figures from Greek mythology who seem intent on killing him. On a school trip, Percy is attacked by one of his chaperones. He learns this person is really a Fury—a Greek deity of vengeance. With a magic sword tossed to him by his Latin teacher, Percy successfully kills the creature. He soon learns that he is, in fact, a demigod—half human and half Greek god. He makes his way to a summer camp for other demigods. Here he learns of his true parentage and why he struggles so much in school. Things get even stranger for Percy when he is thrust into a quest that can either save the world, or doom him forever.




The Higher Power of Lucky - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Run off with Lucky and experience a series of misadventures, all while searching for a place to belong. The chapter comprehension questions are easy for students to understand. Answer multiple choice questions about the town that Lucky lives in. Students determine how Lucky felt toward Lincoln, and defend their opinion with proof from the text. Research the "chukar" bird and find some interesting facts about it. Describe the dust storm event from the point of view of Brigitte or Miles' grandmother. In pairs, students investigate a topic from the novel and interview each other about that topic. On a Cluster Word Web, students write details about their chosen topic. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: In a small town in the California desert, a 10-year-old girl named Lucky is looked after by her new guardian Brigitte, after her mother dies. Worried that her new guardian will abandon her, Lucky seeks help from her "Higher Power." After discovering three "signs" to leave, Lucky runs away with her dog during a sandstorm. During this great misadventure, she inadvertently saves the life of a child. Their relationship is resolved when Brigitte reveals she is not moving away.




Kira-Kira - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Experience what it's like to rise up and fill a hole left by the loss of a family member. Help guide students through the novel with vocabulary prompts and comprehension activities. Imagine the challenges faced by a Japanese-American family moving from Iowa to Georgia in the 1950s. Explore the concept of prejudice and identify different groups who might experience this. Complete passages from the text with their missing vocabulary words. Reflect on the incident where Katie decides to shoplift and describe the worst thing about the experience. Find examples from the novel of foreshadowing and imagine to what it could be predicting. List the events comprising an incident in the novel in the order that it happened in a Flow Chart. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Kira-Kira (kee ra kee ra) is a Japanese word for glittering; shining. This unforgettable story is a coming-of-age tale of one family’s difficulties in adapting to a post-World War II society that is reluctant to welcome a Japanese family that is laboring in Georgia’s poultry plants. The story features Katie, her older sister Lynn and their younger brother, Sammy. When Lynn grows ill and eventually dies, it makes Katie realize that she must assume even more responsibility. Removed from the shadow of her high-achieving older sister, she even begins to improve in her schoolwork. This Newbery Medal winning-story deals with family relationships and the illness and death of a close family member in a sensitive, realistic manner.




The Summer of the Swans - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Spend the summer with Sara and the challenges she experiences while discovering herself. New ideas are provided for checking student comprehension of the novel. Set a purpose for reading by discussing the roles of family and the difficulties within. Describe how Sara sees her life as suddenly changing. State Sara and Wanda's differing opinions on Sara's haircut. Become a detective and determine whether Sara has sufficient evidence to accuse Joe of stealing Charlie's watch. Match vocabulary words from the novel to their synonyms. Step into the shoes of Joe and write a letter to an advice columnist about Sara and her rude behavior. List the problems faced by Sara and the possible solutions in a Problem-Solution Chart. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: A classic coming-of-age story of fourteen-year-old, Sara, who lives in a small town in West Virginia. This Newbery Medal winning-story centers on Sara and her troubled relationship with her remote father, her perfect older sister, and Joe Melby—a boy from school. All of these problems are quickly placed on the backburner when Charlie, her mentally disabled brother, wanders out of the house in the middle of the night and goes missing. While resolving this serious crisis, Sara discovers a great deal of herself. When she and Joe find Charlie safe and sound, Sara comes to grips with the knowledge that she is comfortable with who she is and who she is becoming.




Criss Cross - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Students get insight into themselves while reading about this group of teenagers' journey to self-discovery. Incorporate a variety of challenging questions dealing with opinions of the reader as well as asking for evidence from the text to support those opinions. Come up with reasons why most people tend to be reluctant to speak their mind. Identify what motivated Pastor Don to give free guitar lessons. Students find quotations that may appear next to their picture in a yearbook and reflect on how it applies to them. Write complete sentences using vocabulary words found in the text. Design an information card for the Rhododendron plant. List the main events from the novel in the order in which they happened on a Sequence Chart. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: Criss Cross is a Newbery Medal-winning story about several teenage characters living in the small town of Seldem in the 1970s. The story intersects between several characters, each with their own issues and each one trying to discover who they are as individuals. There is the shy, introspective Debbie; the multitalented Lenny; the nerdy, guitar-playing Hector; and the brainy, all-together sister of Hector, Rowanne. Criss Cross is a story that deals with first love, the importance of communication among friends and family, self-identity, and coming-of-age. Each character is portrayed in a refreshingly unique and poignant manner, creating a novel that is both humorous and thought-provoking throughout.




Roller Girl - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Escape into the thrilling world of roller derby with Astrid, as she faces new experiences and the loss of a friend. The activities in this resource are geared for a mix of small group, partner and individual work, allowing teachers to determine student comprehension of the book’s content and vocabulary. Students make predictions about key plot points before reading the chapter. Answer multiple choice questions about Astrid’s time at roller derby camp. Determine the reason behind Astrid’s motives for lying to her mother. Identify synonyms of key vocabulary words found in the story. Imagine what it might be like for Nicole to be friends with Astrid. Put yourself in Astrid’s position and come up with a plan to apologize to Zoey. Describe and compare the different settings depicted in the story. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Roller Girl tells the story of 12-year-old Astrid, who discovers that people change as they grow older. Astrid is best friends with Nicole. They do everything together. One day, Astrid’s mother takes the girls to a roller derby bout. Astrid falls in love with the sport, and suggests she and Nicole sign up for the summer camp. However, Nicole doesn’t want to do roller derby; instead, she wants to go to ballet camp. Because of this, Astrid and Nicole start to drift apart. Astrid has high hopes for roller derby, but soon finds out that it’s a lot harder than she imagined. As she practices day and night, trying to get better, she learns valuable lessons on managing expectations and friendships. In the end, Astrid learns that there’s nothing wrong with friends growing and following their own path. Roller Girl is a graphic novel depicting the journey every young girl finds themselves while growing up.




Dear Mr. Henshaw - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Explore the ultimate first-person narrative through the eyes of a young boy and his tale of self-discovery. Our resource is developmentally appropriate for students with special needs who read at a lower grade level. Students predict who Mr. Henshaw might be, and why he would be receiving a letter. Find antonyms to the vocabulary words found in the novel. Answer multiple choice questions about Leigh. Students become Leigh and write their own list of questions for Mr. Henshaw. Solve the mystery of the lunch thief. Create a to-do list for writing based on what Mrs. Badger suggests to Leigh. Imagine how Leigh and Mr. Henshaw's relationship would progress through the years and write a new letter from Leigh as an adult. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: This Newbery Medal-winning classic story is about Leigh Botts, a young boy who lives with his divorced mother and misses his father. The book is a collection of letters written from Leigh to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. The letters show increasing emotional and literary complexity as Leigh grows. They also reflect his desire to become a writer. Through his journal, Leigh learns a great deal about writing and about himself. The diary reveals Leigh's loneliness at school and details his troubles with an unknown schoolmate. When Leigh is in sixth grade, Mr. Henshaw writes back to answer the ten questions Leigh sent to him for the Author Report assignment. Through his journal, Leigh learns a great deal about writing and about himself.




Out of the Dust - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

The Great Depression is the setting for this tale of overcoming hardships. This resource is designed to help struggling readers understand the book. Make predictions about Billie Jo’s future playing the piano. Put events in order as they happen to Billie Jo and her classmates. Students imagine making the same decisions Billie Jo faces regarding her future. Identify the metaphor Billie Jo uses for her father and what it means. Compare and contrast your own holiday traditions with the ones celebrated by Billie Jo’s community. Explore key sequences of events from the story on a plot train graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: Out of the Dust tells the story of Billie Jo as she struggles during the Great Depression while living on a farm in Oklahoma. Billie Jo lives with her parents on a small farm with very little money and insufficient crops. Drought rages across the country. With no water, nothing can grow and soon the ground turns to dust. Dust is everywhere. It’s in their food, their clothes, their beds, their mouths, and even their eyes. There is no break from it. The only good thing is Billie Jo’s love of playing the piano. She inherits this from her mother, who soon allows her to start playing at shows. However, things get worse for the family when tragedy befalls their small farm. An event causes Billie Jo to lose her mother and unborn brother. She also injures her hands so severely that she can no longer play the piano. Billie Jo and her father soon drift apart. It’s only a matter of time before Billie Jo must decide whether to leave the farm for a better life, or stay and watch her farm and father be swallowed in dust. Told from her perspective, Billie Jo’s voice is evident as she retells the hardships her and her family have endured while trying to survive, living among the dust.




The Girl Who Drank the Moon - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Several stories come together in a climactic battle between a witch, a bog monster, a dragon, and a powerful girl in order to save the villages from an impending volcanic eruption. The worksheets are easy to use and not too overwhelming for student comprehension. Students imagine having Luna’s magical powers and brainstorm ways they would use it. Become familiar with unfamiliar words by determining their root word. Put yourselves into the mind of the villagers to determine why they would continue to sacrifice a child each year. Identify similes and metaphors used in the chapters. Draw the map that Luna created using detailed descriptions from the chapters. Identify key vocabulary words from the novel using synonyms, antonyms and word associations. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, our worksheets incorporate a variety of scaffolding strategies along with additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key. About the Novel: The Girl Who Drank the Moon follows the tale of Luna who must quickly overcome the obstacles that were hidden from her in order to save the ones she loves. In the Protectorate village, each year the Elders sacrifice a newborn baby to the witch who lives in the forest. This sacrifice ensures the Protectorate’s safety for another year. What the villagers don’t know, is that there is no witch, at least not an evil one living in the forest. Not knowing why these babies are left to die, the witch Xan finds them and takes them to nearby villages to be raised. To sustain them on this journey, Xan feeds the babies starlight. One year, Xan mistakenly feeds the baby moonlight, which fills the child with magic. Xan decides to raise the girl herself in order to keep those around her safe from her magic. She names the child Luna. The story follows Luna as she grows and discovers her magic, while also coming head-to-head with the real evil of the forest.




The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

A family travels south in hopes of straightening out their misbehaving son, only to experience violence and racism that threaten their safety. The worksheets are laid out in a way that “makes sense” for students to follow along with the novel. Put events from the novel in the order they occur at Kenny’s school. Predict whether Kenny will be able to mend his friendship with Rufus. Explain why Kenny and his mother react a certain way to Byron’s hairstyle choice. Put yourselves into the author’s shoes and speculate why Kenny’s near-drowning experience was put into a certain perspective. Design a sign to post at Collier’s Landing to warn people that it is not safe to swim there. Identify elements of literature from the novel with a story elements graphic organizer. Aligned to your State Standards and written to Bloom's Taxonomy, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 follows Kenny and his family as they experience firsthand the violence and racism engulfing the South in the 1960s. Kenny is a fourth grader living with his family in Flint, Michigan. The winters are cold and the family must huddle together for warmth. At school, Kenny experiences bullying from his classmates, only saved by his brother—the biggest bully of all—who picks on Kenny at home. The two look after their younger sister as she starts to learn right from wrong in Sunday school. As Kenny’s brother’s behavior starts to get out-of-control, their mom and dad decide to send him down to Birmingham, Alabama to live with his grandmother over the summer. Hoping she’ll straighten him out, the family sets off in their “Brown Bomber” on the long drive down south. When they arrive, they experience fear, violence and racism that culminates in a tragedy that shakes them to their core. From this experience, Kenny must overcome his insecurities and deal with real world issues at a very young age.