The War with Grandpa - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Explore the complexities of intergenerational family relationships as one boy declares war on his older relation. Bring this novel to life for students, with well-designed and thorough vocabulary and chapter assessments. Imagine the problems that may arise from a grandparent moving in. Draw a scene from the novel as it is being described. Come up with reasons behind certain characters' actions. Complete sentences with words from the reading. Students get into the mind of Peter to understand his motives and reactions. Create a "How Not to Start a War Handbook", detailing helpful tips on how to avoid fighting with family members. Detail all the things Grandpa did to get revenge on Peter in a 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 War with Grandpa is a story about a young boy and his grandfather at odds. 10-year-old Peter Stokes loves his grandfather and is excited to learn that he will be coming to live with the family. That is, until he learns that grandpa will be taking over Peter's bedroom. Peter's two best friends encourage Peter to stand his ground and do something about this injustice. Peter soon declares war on his grandfather, who proves to be an even match. The two attack and counterattack each other until escalations lead to one finally surrendering.




The War with Grandpa


Book Description

Don't miss the laugh-out-loud classic about a boy who leaps into battle when he's forced to share a room with his grandfather--now a major motion picture starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour, Rob Riggle, Cheech Marin, and Oakes Fegley! Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves right into Peter’s room, forcing him upstairs. Peter loves his grandpa but wants his room back. He has no choice but to declare war! With the help of his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender the room. But Grandpa is tougher than he looks. Rather than give in, Grandpa plans to get even. They used to be such great pals. Has their war gone too far? WINNER OF TEN STATE READING AWARDS AN IRA-CBC CHILDREN'S CHOICE "Peter tells this story with honesty and humor....By the story's end, Peter has learned much about the causes and effects of war--and human dignity."-School Library Journal "The humor of the story derives from Peter's first-person account and from the reader's recognition of Peter's valiant effort to maintain two mutually exclusive emotions."-The Horn Book Magazine




Little House on the Prairie - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Find out what life on the prairie was really like with this retelling of actual events. The thorough and comprehensive questions are great for small group work. Students put themselves in Laura's shoes as she experiences the hardships of living on the prairie. Test student comprehension of key vocabulary words found in the novel. Students explore what they learn about life on the prairie, particularly with how Pa builds the log cabin. Challenge students to describe Laura's surroundings while living on the prairie. Reenact your favorite scene from the novel in small groups. Complete a story map graphic organizer, following the events that take place during Laura's time on the prairie. 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: Little House on the Prairie follows one family's journey to a new home and new beginnings. Laura lives in a house in the Big Woods. But the area is becoming too crowded. Her father decides to uproot and move out to the prairies, where the land is vast and plentiful. On their journey, the family must cross two great rivers before the ice melts. They camp out alone with very little between them and their harsh environment. Soon they arrive on the prairie and choose a place to settle. But their hardships don't end there. While they build their new log cabin and get used to their surroundings, the family must survive illness, fires, wolves, and an increasing native population. As they finally settle in and prepare to plant their first crop, the family's year living on the prairie comes to an end. Little House on the Prairie is an educational story about what life was like in the American Midwest during the 19th century.




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.




The Cricket in Times Square - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Be uprooted and dropped into a busy and overwhelming city to learn about friendship and belonging. Take all the work out of planning a lesson so there's more time focused on comprehension and engaging hands-on follow-up activities. Do some research on the importance of crickets in the Chinese culture. Compare Chinatown with Times Square by listing three differences. Describe Chester's dream and what he did in response to it. Find the words the author used to represent sounds and explain what sounds they represent. Imagine what it would be like for Harry and Tucker to visit Chester in the country. Get into the 'skin' of Tucker to tell how he would act if he found money in Times Square. 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 Cricket in Times Square is the Newbery Honor-winning story of a cricket who finds himself taken away from his country home and dropped right in the Times Square subway station. Chester Cricket enjoys his home in Connecticut; however, one day he is brought to the city and immediately misses home. While in Times Square, Chester meets Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat, who quickly become friends with the musical insect. Chester is also adopted by Mario, a young boy who's family runs a small newspaper stand in the station. Throughout the story, Chester finds himself amidst many obstacles and struggling to prove he belongs in the big city.




James and the Giant Peach - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Gain a sense of wonder as you travel across the Atlantic in a giant peach. Help students understand reading comprehension and aid them with higher-order thinking questions. Make predictions about what will happen next, and get into the heads of the characters by explaining what they mean with their dialog. Think about the magic power that changes the peach and imagine how it would affect a person, insect or animal. Write a sentence using alliteration to describe an object or event. Complete a KWL Chart on one of the creatures from the book. 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: A humorous and entertaining fairy tale about the adventures of a boy named James and his insect friends. An old man gives James green magical crystals that do wonders on a peach as it grows bigger than a house. With his insect friends, James flies from England to New York City with the help of 502 seagulls, and lands on the pinnacle of the Empire State Building. His friend, Old-Green-Grasshopper, becomes part of the New York Symphony Orchestra. Silkworm and Miss Spider set up a factory and make ropes for tightrope walkers. Ladybug gets married to the Head of the Fire Department. Glow-worm becomes the light inside the Statue of Liberty. Centipede is made Vice-President of a high-class firm of boot manufacturers. Earthworm makes commercials for a face cream company.




Charlotte's Web - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Step out on a farm and learn the true meaning of friendship among the animals. Use a variety of true or false, fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions to check comprehension. Sequence events from the story in the order that they happened. Students share their opinions on the lifespan of animals on a farm. Write the vocabulary word from the book next to its meaning. Write the name of the character next to their quote from the novel. Describe how Wilbur tried to make himself look 'radiant'. Predict what Charlotte's 'masterpiece' will be. Describe Templeton's character using examples from the book. Complete a Spider Web Map to list the main ideas of 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: Charlotte’s Web is a magical story about childhood, friendship, and loyalty. An eight-year-old girl named Fern saves the life of a newborn piglet named Wilbur and the adventure begins. Soon, Wilbur and the other animals in the barn cellar are a great part of Fern’s life. Wilbur notices that everyone in the barn is busy except him. He becomes lonely and sad. A sweet voice comes out of the darkness of the barn cellar and says, “I’ll be a friend to you.” The voice belongs to a small gray spider named Charlotte A. Cavatica. Charlotte turns out to be a wonderful friend. She listens to Wilbur and enjoys his child-like ways. Soon he finds out what might happen to him when the cold weather comes. Charlotte promises to find a way to save his life. Through the wondrous writings in her web, Charlotte does save Wilbur’s life. And because he is her true friend, Wilbur saves Charlotte’s future.




Fantastic Mr Fox - Literature Kit Gr. 3-4


Book Description

Demonstrate the power of determination with this tale about a clever Fox who outsmarts the surrounding farmers to feed his family. Our consistent vocabulary, comprehension and short-answer format makes this resource easy to use. Written in such a way so educators can choose to use a small part as supplemental material with their existing unit. Introduce students to grade-level words they will come across during their reading. Test comprehension by answering true or false questions about the farmers. Find a quote in the novel that demonstrates foreshadowing. Become a news reporter and come up with 10 questions to ask the farmers about why they dig up the ground. Complete a character sketch of Mr Fox by identifying what he thinks, hears and loves. 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: Fantastic Mr Fox is the classic story by Roald Dahl of a fox who outsmarts a few farmers to steal food from them. Mr Fox lives underground with his wife and children. At night, Mr Fox visits his neighboring farmers and robs them of their livestock. The farmers retaliate by waiting for Mr Fox by his hole, ready to ambush him when he leaves. When that fails, the farmers then try to dig up Mr Fox's home. When that fails, they decide to starve out the Fox family. Mr Fox then comes up with a plan to get food. He gets the help of his friend Badger, and the pair dig their way to the farmers' food. Their success leads to Mr Fox creating an underground neighborhood where all the animals can all live together in safety.




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.




My Side of the Mountain - Literature Kit Gr. 5-6


Book Description

Discover the loneliness that comes with a solitary and independent life. The quizzes and activity pages make this resource accessible for all students. Students choose their own animal to become their faithful companion, much like Frightful is to Sam. Elaborate on Sam's realization that he is low in vitamin C by researching other vitamins and explaining what they provide to the human body. Test comprehension with multiple choice questions that ask about how Sam spends Christmas on the mountain. Predict how long it will be before Sam sees his father again. Identify the different relationships Sam makes with both animals and other people during his time in the Catskill Mountains. Aligned to your State Standards, additional crossword, word search, comprehension quiz and answer key are also included. About the Novel: My Side of the Mountain follows one boy's journey into the wilderness and the most unlikely realization he finds there. Sam Gribley is an adolescent boy who lives in a small New York City apartment with eight brothers and sisters. He hates feeling trapped and dreams of living in the wide open space that only the wilderness can provide. He decides then to run away to his grandfather's abandoned farm in the Catskill Mountains. On the way, Sam recounts how he survives a snowstorm and befriends a falcon and weasel. He learns many skills from people he meets on his journey that will help him to survive his independent lifestyle. However, Sam finds his solitude more lonesome than he thought, and soon yearns for human interaction. This coming-of-age story follows the mental and physical growth of a young boy as he discovers who he really is.