This free sample provides reading activities and a writing prompt designed to use with the mentor text, When Lightning Comes in a Jar by Patricia Polacco from my resource, Better Than Basal for Volume 2. (Book not included.)
Why is this better than a basal? Because YOU get to choose the order and even the skills you want to cover with each book! A GOOD mentor text will provide opportunities to teach or review a variety of skills, not the ONE the teacher manual says you have to teach.
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WHAT ELSE DO I NEED?
There is a Sample Vocabulary Lesson for this book as well as a free mentor sentence lesson for this book, if you’d like to try it out.
Read about (with video included) how I tie everything together with this book!
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WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE BUNDLE FOR THE WHOLE YEAR?
The full product is JAM-PACKED with common core aligned lessons, graphic organizers, and writing prompts for 30 of your favorite mentor texts to use in grades 3-5! With over 100 graphic organizers WITH answer keys, you’ll be set for the year (and years after that, too)! It also includes the generic versions of the graphic organizers so you can use them with any book!
★ Activities are also provided as links to Google Slides for Digital Learning! ★
Activities cover skills such as:
Using evidence to describe, infer, and draw conclusions
Summarizing
Identifying and supporting theme
Identifying and supporting character traits
Explaining figurative language
Identifying vivid language
Visualizing
Supporting opinions
Comparing characters
Comparing texts to media and other texts
Defining words using context clues
…and more!
Activities are for the following books:
-The Golden Rule By Ilene Cooper
-The Name Jar By Yangsook Choi
-Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun By Maria Dismondy
-When Lightning Comes in a Jar By Patricia Polacco
-Firefly Mountain By Patricia Thomas
-14 Cows For America By Carmen Agra Deedy
-Those Shoes By Maribeth Boelts
-The Memory String By Eve Bunting
-The Adventures of Spider:How Spider Got a Thin Waist By Joyce Cooper Arkhurst
-The Spider and the Fly By Mary Howitt
-Cloud Dance By Thomas Locker
-In November By Cynthia Rylant
-Tikki Tikki Tembo By Arlene Mosel
-The Great Turkey Race By Steve Metzger
-The Honest-to-Goodness Truth By Patricia C. McKissack
-The Snow Globe Family By Jane O’Connor
-Snowmen at Christmas By Caralyn Buehner
-Martin’s Big Words By Doreen Rappaport
-Snow Day! By Lester Laminack
-The Day the Crayons Quit By Drew Daywalt
-Grace For President By Kelly DiPucchio
-George Washington’s Teeth By Deborah Chandra & Madeleine Comora
-Night Rabbits By Lee Posey
-Crickwing By Janell Cannon
-Pinduli By Janell Cannon
-Twilight Comes Twice By Ralph Fletcher
-My School’s a Zoo! By Stu Smith
-Chicken Sunday By Patricia Polacco
-Titanicat By Marty Crisp
-Voices in the Park By Anthony Browne
**There are 30 books in this set, and 10 NONFICTION books in the Nonfiction Reading and Writing Mini-Unit for Informational Texts**
If you don’t own all these books, I encourage you to take advantage of your library! They are all wonderful texts to share with your students!
★ Get the BIG bundle with all Volume 2 Mentor Sentences, Interactive Notebooks, Modifications, Vocabulary Activities, and Reading and Writing activities for all 40 mentor texts in the volume! Check out the Biggest and BEST Yearlong Bundle for Volume 2!
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Copyright © Ideas By Jivey, LLC
All rights reserved by author, Jessica Ivey.
Permission to copy for single classroom use only.
Electronic distribution limited to single classroom use only.
Not for public display.
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