The Trumpet of the Swan - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

See how hard work and perseverance can help someone overcome their shortcomings. The higher level questioning in this comprehensive novel study works great with small groups. Students are prompted to think about their future and imagine what they want to be when they grow up. Put events in the order they occur when Sam meets the swans. Describe what the teacher's first reaction to Louis was when he decided to go to school. Predict how the campers will react to Louis. Students write a poem about something they love, similar to what Sam did for the Head Man at the zoo. Label and describe the different parts that make up the anatomy of a Trumpeter Swan. 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 Trumpet of the Swan tells the story of a young swan without the ability to talk. Louis is a trumpeter swan. Unfortunately, he is unable to talk to other swans. Louis decides he needs to learn how to read and write so that he can properly communicate. He goes to his human friend, Sam, for help. Sam takes Louis to school with him, where he learns how to read and write, and is gifted with a slate and piece of chalk. When he returns to his family, Louis quickly learns that this method won't work, as other swans can't read what he writes on his board. In an effort to help his son, Louis' father steals a trumpet from a local music store. Finally, Louis is able to trumpet like the rest of the swans. However, now he faces a new problem—his father is a thief. Louis decides to leave the nest in an effort to earn enough money to pay for the stolen trumpet and restore his father's honor. What follows is a series of events that entwine Louis in the lives of several humans.




Stone Fox - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Students are introduced to the concept of sacrifice and how it's necessary to protect one's livelihood. The activities within this resource engage the reader and provide clarity of the subject matter. Identify statements about Grandfather's farm as true or false. Reflect on events that happen in a chapter, like what time do Searchlight and Willy race down main street. Make predictions on events that will happen in the story. Complete some online research to explain why Stone Fox might react to people in Willy's town a certain way. Explore the concept of selfless acts and find an example of it in the novel. Discuss how the supporting characters in the story impact the major characters. 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: Stone Fox follows the sacrifices Willy must make in order to save his Grandfather's farm. Willy lives with his Grandfather and dog, Searchlight, on a potato farm. Grandfather likes to play jokes on Willy. One day, Grandfather doesn't get out of bed. Willy calls for the doctor, who examines Grandfather and concludes that nothing is wrong with him, other than losing the will to live. When a tax collector comes to the farm, Willy learns that Grandfather will lose his home if they don't come up with the $500 he owes. Unable to get a bank loan, Willy decides to use his college fund to enter the National Dogsled Race, who's prize is exactly $500. All he needs to do is beat the legendary dog sledder Stone Fox, who's never lost a race. Willy and Searchlight have a hard road ahead of them if they want to compete. One last sacrifice may be what it takes in order to win.




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.




Nineteen Eighty-Four - Literature Kit Gr. 9-12


Book Description

Visit a dystopian society to see what an alternate 1984 could have looked like. The variety of engaging activities can easily be broken up for students over several weeks to coordinate with assigned reading. Use what you know about Winston’s memory of his mother to describe what family relationships are like in Oceania. Predict what will happen to Winston based on what you know of the world he lives in and the consequences of his actions. Identify statements about Winston and Julia’s first meeting as true or false. Use what you have already read about room 101 and predict how Winston will react to his experiences there. Describe what the word “betrayal” means to you, and how it relates to the events in the novel. List events from the book that connect to the plot’s major themes. 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: Nineteen Eighty-Four is the year of an alternate dystopian era in which there are three ruling nations: Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia. The former are partnered together in a war against the latter, and that’s how it’s always been. Or has it? Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth office. His job is to alter the history books so they line up with whatever the Party wants its citizens to believe. Everything is controlled by the Party, including language. Those that dare to have free thought are dealt with severely. Winston begins to question the Party and how things are run. He starts to rebel by purchasing a diary to write his thoughts in, beginning a relationship with a mysterious dark-haired woman, and seek out the Brotherhood who would like to see the Party taken down. But with the unseen eye of the Party leader Big Brother always watching, it’s only a matter of time before Winston is caught.




Matilda - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Explore the power of the mind and how anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Challenge students by expanding their vocabulary and testing their comprehension with writing prompts and assessment questions. Test comprehension with multiple choice questions that explores the character of Matilda. Expand your character study by reflecting on Matilda's view of C.S. Lewis' novels, and what she considers to be a drawback in them. Show understanding of tricky words from the book by matching them to sentences where they make the most sense. Conduct an interview with a partner to find out what they think of the novel. Compare physical and character attributes of two people from the story in a Compare/Contrast chart. 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: Matilda is the charming story of a very unusual little girl who, despite having two very horrible parents, learns how to read by the age of three. There are many other things about Matilda that are very special. She can solve arithmetic problems very quickly in her head, and she can move things about with the power of thought. Despite all of this she is a most pleasant little girl who is well liked by her classmates and by her wonderful teacher, Miss Honey. Matilda discovers the headmistress of the school, Miss Trunchbull, is actually Miss Honey‘s aunt and has cheated her out of her inheritance. Matilda sets her mind to work, and in the end Miss Honey recovers her stolen inheritance and adopts Matilda.




M.C. Higgins, the Great - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Follow one boy's struggle as he faces many challenges that threaten the safety and livelihood of his family. Students fully comprehend the language of the novel with vocabulary practice. Explore the idea of phobias while relating it back to the character, M.C. Describe the tragic event that was narrowly averted due to the carelessness of the mining company. Predict how M.C. and the girl will make it to the end of the tunnel. Do some research and write a report on yodeling. Identify what is a fact and what is an opinion in the novel. 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: M.C. Higgins, the Great is a Newbery Medal-winning story about a young boy who is overcome with many challenges while living with his poor, African-American family on Sarah’s Mountain. M.C. Higgins must overcome the prejudice that surrounds his best friend with the help of a mysterious girl who appears on the mountain. Also, M.C. tries to get his mother’s singing voice recorded so he and his family can leave the mountain. The greatest challenge M.C. must face is a coal mining company that have been strip-mining the area above their house, leaving a huge pile of slag (spoil heap) piled dangerously on the mountain above their house. M.C. is convinced that the pile will one day give way and bury their house and everyone in it; therefore he stands guard by sitting on a high pole.




Owls in the Family - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Your students will get a hoot out of this story about a boy and his adventures with two owls. Target your students' need for independent reading skills. Demonstrate any prior knowledge on the subject of owls before reading the book. Find the word that best matches the vocabulary word from the novel. Show comprehension with multiple choice and true or false questions. Explain why the owls didn't know how to fly, and why Billy didn't show them. Convert inches to centimeters to find out how tall Wol is and how wide his wingspread is. Rewrite a passage from the book in Weeps the owl's point of view. Complete a web to show Wol's encounters with each character from the story. 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: This is one of Farley Mowat’s funniest books about a boy and two rescued owls named Wol and Weeps. Billy loves all animals. He has rats, mice, over thirty gophers and two dogs. It only seems natural that Billy and his friends search the sloughs and bluffs to find owlets. The boys rescue a pair of owlets from an untimely death, and end up keeping them for over three years. The adventures Billy, his friends and the owls have together are not typical. Participating in the local Pet Parade, owls following him to school, and having an owl arrive for dinner with a skunk are only a few funny incidents in Owls in the Family.




The City of Ember - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

A dystopian future set underground brings to light the struggles that humanity will endure in order to survive. The variety of engaging activities can be easily broken up over several weeks to coordinate with assigned reading. Describe in detail the city of Ember, from how it looks to how it operates. Analyze the chapter titles and dissect what they could allude to. Explain what we as readers discover about Ember when Doon visits the library. Answer comprehension questions about events in the book surrounding Doon’s investigation in the tunnels. Create your own list of instructions that have been damaged and have a partner decipher what they are for. Plot the important moments or points of action from the story in a Pipeline Timeline 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 City of Ember tells the tale of a society living underground for hundreds of years and the two kids who must bring them into the light. Hundreds of years earlier, a group of people descended underground in hopes to save the human race from extinction. They had enough supplies and power to last them for over 200 years, at which point, instructions on how to return to the surface would be revealed. The only problem is, no one knows these instructions exist, and when they are revealed, they are destroyed. It’s up to Lina and Doon to decipher the few clues they have, locate the way out, and get this news back to their people. But it’s not that easy. In their attempts to find the way out, Lina and Doon stumble on a conspiracy that involves the Mayor and city guards. As such, they are now being hunted as fugitives. Their nearly impossible task just got harder. Now they must race against the clock to escape from Ember with no knowledge of where they are going, and how they can get back to save everyone else.




The House on Mango Street - Literature Kit Gr. 7-8


Book Description

Experience the discrimination of race, gender and class felt by one girl in this coming-of-age story. The layout and variety of activities in this resource will keep students engaged and involved in the reading. Use metaphors and figurative language to describe things that bring comfort, much like Esperanza’s thoughts on her mother’s hair. Describe Nenny’s personality based on what’s been revealed in previous chapters. Put events surrounding Esperanza’s poetry writing in the order as they occur in the chapter. Explain why the author might choose specific spelling as a plot device. Choose words that mean the same as the vocabulary word found in the reading. Write your own persuasive argument, similar to Esperanza’s argument for eating at school. Record the symbolism of shoes used throughout the novel by detailing their use on a flowchart. 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 House on Mango Street follows Esperanza Cordero as she tells stories from her childhood living on Mango Street in a series of vignettes. Esperanza is a young Latina girl living in a mostly Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. She is not happy with her home on Mango Street. Her neighborhood is poor, and the people that live within it are treated like second class citizens. Esperanza experiences a lot of hardships growing up, from discrimination against her race, to men abusing their wives. Esperanza witnesses all this in her neighborhood, and vows to make a better future for herself. The House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age story that explores tough topics that force a young girl to grow up quickly.




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.