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Lexile Level: 570L

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This text set and novel study is built around the idea of identity. As Ivan struggles to understand and accept who he really is, so do many of the characters in these stories. How do we come to understand who we are? How do stories teach us about  identity? How are we different and similar to one another? These are all questions that are actively explored in this set of texts.

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Lexile Level: AD570L

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Lexile Level: AD560L

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Lexile Level: 610L

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Lexile Level: 570L

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When Crispin turns seven, he's expected to breathe fire like all of the other dragons but it seems like he's breathing everything but fire. He's just not quite like the other dragons and this story details his journey with his self-identity. What once set him apart, eventually sets him free as he learns to find the benefits of being uniquely you.

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Social Justice Standards connected to this theme:
ID.K-2.1 I know and like who I am and can talk about my family and myself and name some of my group identities.

ID.K-2.2 I can talk about interesting and healthy ways that some people who share my group identities live their lives.

ID.K.2.3 I know that all my group identities are part of me—but that I am always ALL me.

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Movie by Carlos Saldanha based off The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (Lexile Level: AD760L). The book may be included as as a secondary source here.

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Much like Ivan, Ferdinand was raised in a not-so-typical environment which sets him apart from the other bulls. With the help of his friends, Ferdinand must escape his fate with the most infamous bullfighter. Through the ups and downs of finding his identity and purpose, Ferdinand reminds us that there is power in forging our own paths.

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Think/pair/share: Children will
compare and contrast the story of Ferdinand and Ivan: Both characters rely heavily on their friends but don't have typical characteristics of others like them. The teacher may prompt the children with questions such as "What made them different?" "How did their friends help them?" "What did people think of them vs. what were they really like?"

This is an important task as children think creatively and dig deep for connections between two books (or pieces of media). It's valuable to encourage children to find connections across literature and in their lives.

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Think/pair/share: Children will share and discuss about a time when they may have felt like they didn't fit in. What made them feel that way? How did you overcome it? The teacher may ask children to consider ways we can show kindness to each other. If children are comfortable, they may volunteer to share what they discussed with the whole group.

Understanding these deeper questions will aid children with understanding the theme of the story and comprehension. It also helps children relate to the story and opens a conversation about social justice and acceptance.

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As a whole group read aloud, the teacher will read the book and ask the class to identify the 8 different things that Crispin breathes. The teacher can write these down in random order and ask the class to help classify and sort the words by beginning letter, then putting them into an alphabet organizer.

Phonics is valuable because it allows children to figure out how to read words they have never seen before. This activity will allow children to break down these key words from the book and begin thinking about how their make-up so that they can become sight words. Better understanding these words from the text will aid in children's comprehension and fluency as they begin reading.

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Recalling the story, children will think of 8 different things they would breathe instead of fire if they were in Crispin's shoes. Children will recreate the story with their own ideas by drawing an image of themselves breathing the material and adding a caption to identify and explain the new material.

This activity will allow children to consider structure and order of the story as they recreate their own version. As children draw out and label their ideas, they must consider how books are organized to best present their ideas.

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After watching the movie, the teacher can introduce the book during a read aloud. As they read, the teacher may identify key words in the book, writing them and discussing them as they go. At the end of the book, the children will write and spell these focus words in their personal dictionaries, which each child keeps at their desk to reference as they write or read.

It's important for children to understand key words in texts to aid in comprehension and fluency as they become more advanced readers. Thinking about spelling, children will become more attentive to their writing and form a useful tool (personal dictionary) to support their future literacy.

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Children will compare and contrast the Ferdinand book and movie by sharing and discussing ideas with a partner or two. The teacher may provide prompts such as, "What happened in both the movie and book?" "What did you notice was different about these two works?" "Which one did you like better and why?" Then, as a group the teacher will create a Venn diagram and ask children to share what they have come up with.

I think it's important for children to study a variety of media and consider how they can all offer valuable information (sometimes in different ways). Children may consider text structures, order, and sequence and how they transfer over into movies. Children may even practice this with other books, making books into movies or movies into books.

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Children can create a flip book with related questions to the book: She is taller than... She can stack... She can sing like... ect. They can answer the questions with pictures, words, or both.

The teacher may provide these questions before reading the book to allow children to be more active readers and listeners and be attentive to specific information. The ability to fill out the flip book will help children recall information and assess comprehension.

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This book talks about what it means to be "proud." The teacher may spark discussion about what this word means to each child? As a group, the teacher can spell the word and provide definitions and synonyms. Each child will add this word to their vocabulary notebooks and draw a picture of something or doing something that makes them proud.

This activity provides children with an opportunity to discover how a word can have multiple meanings and implications. Applying it to their lives and considering ways to illustrate and define a word will support a child's understanding and acquisition of focus vocabulary.

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This book is filled with expressive language and text: As the teacher reads the book aloud, she will pause on certain pages and engage the children in a literacy scavenger hunt. As a group, the children will look for and point out certain letters, words, capitals, and punctuation.

Concepts about print involve understanding the difference between letters, words, punctuation and directionality. This activity will help children recognize the way these concepts are used in books and what function they may serve.

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In conjunction with the literacy scavenger hunt, children may also search for sight words. Every child will have notecards with sight words on them; as the teacher reads she will pause at the end of a page and ask children to hold up a notecard with a sight word they see on the page.

The goal is to allow children to become more fluent in recognizing important words (or sight words) in a text. As children become more comfortable, they will become more fluent readers. Children may also work in pairs (a more advanced reader with a struggling reader) to help build and reflect on their fluency.

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Working in small groups, each group will roll a dice. Groups will be assigned a part of the story according to the number they role and will discuss as pairs their part. Groups will share with the class what they have come up with.

This activity allows children to reflect on the story to assess their comprehension. Children will consider in-depth the characters, setting, themes, and even the meaning behind the title. Text structure is also considered here as groups discuss certain structures and aspects of the book.

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Thinking on the 8 new words each child has thought of and recreated their story with, each child will write their words in their personal dictionary journals: these journals are a personal collection of words for each child to assist them in writing and vocabulary.

This activity is designed to dive deeper into words: Children have thought of new words and now will work towards dissecting them. With a focus on spelling/inventive spelling, kindergarteners will begin to experiment with letter sounds and word study.

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The teacher will begin by listing the words that the children identified as rhyming. The teacher will write these words on the board and ask the children to examine these words: What is the same about them? Let's look at the prefix, ending letter, and base word. The teacher may do this for a couple pages in the book.

Understanding morphology helps children understand language: beginning to study words and their sounds will help children as they begin to form words and sentences. It is this understanding that will eventually lead to fluency and comprehension in reading and writing.

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This activity can precede the morphology activity: The teacher can reread the book and ask the children to identify the words on each page that rhyme. Can you identify the rhyming words? What makes these words rhyme?

Children are experimenting here not only with morphemes, but phonemes and phonics as well. As children recognize words, they will dive deeper into their sounds and composition which will help them as they read and write.

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Think/pair/share: Children will be asked to think about one weakness they may have. On the other hand, what is a special skill you may have? How did you come to have this skill or how can you improve your weakness?

To make literacy engaging and relevant to children, it must be relatable. Building background knowledge here is essential in helping children understand the theme of the book and making personal connections to the characters and concepts.

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Letters are one way that print appears in our environment. Each child will write/construct a letter to Molly to make her feel welcome in our classroom. What would you say to her?

Print concepts foster reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition and here, they offer an opportunity to consider how letters are structured and written. This also opens conversation about the beginning activity on kindness and how we can show this to one another.

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The One and Only Ivan is a moderately complex text for kindergarten as it contains multiple levels of meaning and more complex, figurative language. This novel also requires the reader/audience to have a fair amount of background knowledge about the themes and setting discussed, and there may be a handful of young children who are unfamiliar with such topics. However, despite language, the overall text structure is simple with the occasional use of flashbacks but no shifts in point of view which will lend well in the use of this novel as a read aloud.

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Not Your Typical Dragon is only a fairly complex text for kindergarten children as it it comprised of simple text structures and illustrations that support comprehension. Some vocabulary may be slightly more advanced and unfamiliar, but it still within the realm of understanding with appropriate scaffolding and instruction. Knowledge demands are low, as the experiences portrayed in the book are clearly fantasy but are still full of rich meaning.

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The Story of Ferdinand is full of rich cultural references and elements, making it slightly more complex for young readers but is balanced out by its simple text structure and subtle use of figurative language. It has a simple narrative supported with clear illustrations, although some vocabulary may be moderately complex and unknown to some children.

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Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon is a very simple text for young readers. This book explores a single theme from one perspective and is relatable to most readers. While some aspects are exaggerated, it is made clear to the reader and uses simple, clear, explicit language and illustrations that are easy to understand. This book is appropriate for beginning readers to read independently or to use as a read aloud.

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Perfectly Norman is a mix of varying levels of complexity as it contains multiple layers of meaning and explores experiences that require the reader to understand figurative and abstract themes. However, the overall structure is fairly simple and vocabulary and language is largely familiar and conversational.

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Giraffes Can’t Dance is a more complex text as it introduces figurative language and many references to cultural elements and experiences. Some vocabulary may be unfamiliar to young children, but as the story is told in rhyme it is relatable and structured in simple sentences to engage the reader. The meaning conveyed in this book is more abstract, but still common and empathetic for young children.

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Much like all of the stories we've read and reflected on, our stories are what shape and tell the story of our identity.

Children will create an autobiography, considering their identity: What their strengths and weaknesses are, how they are different and similar to one another, and significant life experiences they may have had. Children will use text and illustrations to create their autobiographies and be encourage to consider spelling as they use focus vocabulary that has been collected from all of the texts (can be found in vocabulary notebooks and personal dictionaries).

Children will employ what they know and have learned about print concepts and text structure as they create their books. This culminating activity allows children to work individually, think creatively and deeply, and share their work and ideas respectively with one another. This theme and activity promote literacy development alongside prosocial behaviors and diversity.

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Molly Lou Melon is a little different, but she doesn't mind; her grandma always taught her to be proud of who she was. Like Ivan, Molly must make the most of her unique talents but this book tells the story of her true identity and how she turns her flaws into fortunes.

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Norman was perfectly normal... until he wasn't; and then he was perfectly set apart from everyone else. Like Ivan with his painting abilities, Norman tries everything to hide his wings before learning that what sets him apart also makes him who he is. Maybe he's not so different after all?

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Giraffe's can't dance and gorilla's can't paint: For Gerald, he yearns to dance to fit in while Ivan possesses the ability to paint which sets him apart. Either way, it's about finding what makes you you in a journey of self-identity and expression.