Posts tagged ‘cats’
141. Coming On Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson
Retell: Ada Ruth can’t wait for her mom to return home from Chicago. The story takes place during World War II. Ada Ruth’s mother has gone North to seek jobs on the railroad. With help from her grandmother and her new feline friend, Ada Ruth is able to wait patiently for her mom to come on home.
Topics: goodbyes, World War II, Chicago, family, pets, cats, poverty, hunger
Units of Study: Historical Fiction, Talking and Writing About Texts, Social Issues
Tribes: personal best
Reading Skills: inference, prediction, interpretation
Writing Skills: tucking in details about setting, zooming in on small moments
My Thoughts: This is a great text to read aloud during an Historical Fiction unit. It’s a useful text for modeling how readers think about symbolism (or alternatively how writers incorporate symbolism). For example, it would be helpful to point out the meaning of the kitten in the story. One could read the story without giving much thought about the kitten’s importance. However, upon closer reading, one could read into the kitten’s significance. Perhaps the kitten is a symbol that represents Ada Ruth’s hope that her mother will write soon. Perhaps the kitten symbolizes her loneliness.
85. Kat Kong by Dav Pilkey
Retell: Explorers from Mousopolis land on an uncharted island where they meet the terrifying “beast” Kat Kong. They bring him back to Mousopolis in order to seek fame and fortune. When Kat Kong escapes his shackles, citizens are terrified.
Topics: cats, mice, greed, exploration, monsters, humor, puns
Units of Study: Fantasy
Tribes: mutual respect
Habits of Mind: finding humor
Reading Skills: monitoring for sense
My Thoughts: This is the adorable sequel to Pilkey’s book, Dogzilla. Similar to the style of Dogzilla, Kat Kong includes ‘cheesy’ puns and idioms, all related to cats. For example, when Kat Kong ravages the city the butcher cries, “The cat’s got my tongue!” I plan to read this book aloud when I want to focus on the reading skill monitoring for sense. I find that many books written for upper elementary students are highly engaging, but can also be really confusing. Many of my students are English Language Learners and often don’t understand when an author slips in a joke. Using Kat Kong as an a model could remind students to seek out humor throughout their reading.
Teachable Texts 