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Teachers

 


© 2007 Steve Gray
from Rising Moon’s
There Was  Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea

 

 

Teachers,

Looking for ways to use my books in your classroom?
Download the creative, standards-based lesson plans below. 

For information regarding my author visits to schools, classrooms and libraries, click here.
  
I hope this page proves helpful!

Warmly,

Jennifer Ward

 

 
 

 Standards-based Lesson Plans
 for Jennifer Ward's books



TOOLS FOR TEACHERS
Ready-to-use lesson plans with everything you need to teach language arts, science, math, social studies, music and art.  Just click and print!

DISCUSSION GUIDES
Quick and easy prompts to engage thinking on various levels about literature.  Perfect for sub-plan fillers and story time.  Just click and print.   

THEMATIC LESSON PLANS

Story Mapping & Sequencing Lesson for
THERE WAS A COYOTE WHO SWALLOWED A FLEA
(sequencing events in a story & retelling a story)

Here's a really fun and hands-on way to engage students in the skills of recalling details, retelling a story and sequencing events in a story. 
 
1. Reproduce an image of "Coyote", such as I did on the three-fold display board, above.
2. Attach a bandana around "Coyote's" neck, using a glue gun or stapler (just to give him more dimension.)
3. Cut a slit approximately 1/2 inch wide in "Coyote's" mouth.  Students will "feed" Coyote the items he swallows in the book through this slit.
4. On the back of the display board, tape a large, zip-lock baggy at the slit (coyote's mouth), so that the items the students place in his mouth fall into the baggy.
5. Reproduce the items "Coyote" swallows from the worksheet. 
http://www.jenniferwardbooks.com/Tools%20Coyote.pdf  (page 3 of 7)
6. After reading the story to students, allow them to re-tell the story in sequence as they feed "Coyote" (through the slit in the mouth) the characters and items in the story, There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea.

Story Mapping Lesson for THE SEED AND THE GIANT SAGUARO

(sequencing events in a story)

Circular plots are ideal for teaching the skill of sequencing events in a story.
Here's a simple and fun lesson to use with students.
Materials needed:  book The Seed and the Giant Saguaro
hula hoop, adhesive velcro, reproducible images.

Because The Seed and the Giant Saguaro has a circular plot (the story ends back where it started), you can use a hula hoop and cut-outs as a means to allow children to retell the story in sequence, in a hands-on fashion. After sharing the story with children during a read aloud, allow them to demonstrate their comprehension and sequencing skills by retelling the events that occurred in the story, via placing the events in proper order on the  hula hoop, clock-wise!

Copy and cut out the images provided (links below).  Place adhesive velcro on the back of each image.  Place adhesive velcro on the hula hoop at approx. 12:00,  1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 and 11:00.


The correct sequence of events are as follows:
1.  Sagauro (12:00)
2.  Fruit drops from saguaro (1:00)
3.  Packrat finds fruit (3:00)
4.  Snake finds packrat (5:00)
5.  Roadrunner finds snake (7:00)
6.  Coyote finds roadrunner (8:00)
7.  Storm arrives (9:00)
8.  Packrat drops fruit/seeds (10:00)
9.  Seed grows to new saguaro (11:00)


Email me and I will send you the images for The Seed and the Giant Saguaro to use with this lesson. Once they're copied, mount them onto tag board and place adhesive velcro on the back>

-saguaro (copy twice)
-fruit (copy twice)
-packrat
-snake
-roadrunner
-coyote
-storm clouds

Grants
Considering hosting an author visit? Funds tight for your classroom or library?  Here are some fantastic resources that may help. 

Educator Resources

 

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