Happy Birthday Dr King!

1. KNOWLEDGE - Why is Jamal's grandfather so unhappy that Jamal fought to sit at the back of the bus? Give details.

2. ANALYZING - What does Jamal learn from talking with his grandfather? How is he different after the talk?

3. GENERATING - How does Jamal use what he learns from his grandfather in his skit? Explain.

4. INTEGRATING - Jamal says he did something "really stupid that turned out to be stupendous instead." What does he mean?

5. EVALUATING - What would you like to do for a school celebration of Dr. King's birthday? Be specific.

6. CONNECTIONS - Who do you think are the heroes in this story? What makes them heroic?

The Last Dragon

1. KNOWLEDGE - Give examples from the story of how Great Aunt helps Peter with his dragon.

2. ANALYZING - Why do Great Aunt's neighbors help Peter?

3. GENERATING - What does Peter mean when he sdays, "There's something about this dragon?"

4. GENERATING - Would this story be different if one person had repaired Peter's entire dragon? Explain.

5. EVALUATING - How does Peter change because of his experience fixing the dragon? Be specific.

6. CONNECTIONS - Compare Peter's experiences away from home with the experiences of another character in this theme.

Marven of the Great North Woods

1. KNOWLEDGE - Why is Marven so good at adjusting to life in the loggin camp? What problems does he solve there?

2. ANALYZING - What does Marven think of Jean Louis at first? How and why does his opinion change?

3. GENERATING - What do you think Marven will miss about the logging camp when he returns home? Be specific.

4. INTEGRATING - How do you think Marven's experience in the great north woods might have changed him?

5. EVALUATING - If you had to spend the winter at the logging camp, what would you worry about? What would you look forward to?

6. CONNECTIONS - Both Maria Isabel and Marven have problems getting used to a new place. Compare their experiences.

My Name is Maria Isabel

1. KNOWLEDGE - How does writing the essay help Maria Isabel?

2. GENERATING - Why do you think Maria Isabel feels that she is "caught in a sticky, troublesome spider's web of her own"?

3. GENERATING - Maria Isabel doesn't tell her parents that she is upset. Why do you think she keeps her feelings to herself?

4. INTEGRATING - Why is Charlotte's Web so important to Maria Isabel?

5. EVALUATING - If you had a difficult problem, would you solve it the way Maria Isabel did or a different way? Explain.

6. CONNECTIONS - What does this selection teach you abou t solving problems?

The Borrowers & Lord of the Fleas

1. ORGANIZING - What makes "The Borrowers" and "Lord of the Fleas" so amazing? Compare the two stories.


2. ANALYZING - Which stories in this theme are fantasies? For each story, list qualities that support your answer.

3. INTEGRATING - Name four tiny items the Clocks might borrow from you. What might they do with them?

4. EVALUATING - "Lord of the Fleas" shows that real like can be amazing. List two things you think are amazing in real life. Explain.

5. EVALUATING - What selection in this theme is the most amazing? Explain.

Heat Wave!

1. KNOWLEDGE - Many scenes in the story exaggerate an ordinary event until it becomes amazing. Give examples.

2. ANALYZING - What qualities make the girl so good at fighting the heat wave? Use details from the story.

3. GENERATING - If the farm had been out of lettuce seeds, how else could the girl have defeated the heat wave?

4. INTEGRATING - How is the heat wave like a character in the story? If the heat wave could talk, what would it say?

5. EVALUATING - Should the girl have told her neighbors why they had such an early snowfall? Why or why not?

6. CONNECTIONS - What do you think would happen if the stranger from Chris VAl Allsburg's story were at the farm during the heat wave attack?

Watch a Movie Version

View one of the many film versions of Cinderella. How does the movie compare to the story Cendrillon. Which version do you like better? Why?