The book would be a good text to use for an interactive read aloud in a 2^nd grade classroom. As previously stated, the words in the text are not overly difficult, but the message of the story could be difficult for students to obtain on their own. If the book was an interactive read aloud, the teacher could dig deeper into the text through questioning the students (second read). Teacher prompted questions would help the students to understand the deeper meaning of the story about the boy and Uncle Willie’s volunteering to help those in need. Examples of this line of questioning could include: “Why does the boy say, ‘Let’s go’ when Uncle Willie is talking to the Can Man?” (A: the boy feels uncomfortable, he doesn’t want Willie to stop, he’s in a hurry); “What does the boy say when he sees the lady on the bench? How does it make him feel?” (A: he says she looks lonely, and it makes him feel sad); and “What do you notice about the boy on this page compared to Uncle Willie? Why is he standing stiffly against the wall?” (A: Uncle Willie is smiling while the boy does not look happy. The boy is uncomfortable or maybe overwhelmed.)

An example of end of book activities could be a graphic organizer and a writing task. For the graphic organizer, students would be asked to draw an image, thought bubbles, or a thinking web that illustrates what they think the main intention of the story is and give examples that support that thought. They would then use that pre-writing activity to help them to complete the prompt by answering, “What did the main character learn from Uncle Willie and working in the soup kitchen?”, “How did the main character change during the story?”, and “Why is the main purpose of this story?” The students could be given sentence starters, refer back to an anchor chart made during the reading/while answering the questions during the IRA.

Reader and Task Considerations: The most challenging part of this text will be the issue of homelessness and poverty the book touches on. I can provide support by offering information or answering any questions they may have about the topic at hand.

I would use this book with a 2^nd grade classroom to help teach the students the -ea vowel combination. The book uses words like please, near, reached, reappear, and disappear. The students could be given a list of words and be asked to find the -ea vowel combination words. They could give an example of how each of those words could be used in a sentence.

I would use this book in partner with other books that had focuses on other vowel combinations. While we read the different books, we could create an anchor chart that has the vowel combination, the sound it makes, and a few examples of those vowel combo words.

I would use this book in a 3^rd grade classroom. I would use yellow questions after reading this book as a class. I could ask, “How are ___ and ___ similar? And how are they different?” I could also ask, “What was the effect of ___.” Specific to the text: How are toes and hooves similar? They’re used to walk on. How are they different? Hooves are one solid piece. What is the effect of having toes (moneys) verses hooves (horses)? Monkeys can grasp things with their toes and horses cannot.

I think this would be a good strategy to use with this book because the questions could gradually get more complex and promote higher order thinking.

“All About Ants” would work well for monitoring comprehension by thinking about the text and the author/illustrator’s choice of text features (table of contents, headings, bold words, glossary, index, maps, diagrams, etc.). The students could help in completing a chart about Non-Fiction text feature tools. The chat would consist of three columns with at least six rows of content. This book contains several clear text features. There are headings, picture captions, bolded words, and several other examples. The chart would require students to identify a text feature, find the pages where the text features are found, and discuss why the author chose to add certain text tools.

I would use this book with 2^nd grade students. This book talks about Mae’s dream to become an astronaut as a little girl, how she was discouraged and encouraged along the way, and how she was able to reach her goals and achieve her dreams. We could use the story to create an “I wonder” chart. We would stop halfway through (when Mae’s teacher tells her to become a nurse) and fill out the “I wonder” part of the chart and complete it after finishing the book. I think this book would be good to use connection comprehension strategies. I would end by the students doing an activity where they would write a paragraph and draw a picture about what they aspire to be when they become adults.

This book would be great in working on students with their comprehension. Since it is geared toward upper elementary school, I would use it in a 4^th grade class in the latter part of the year. Before reading, I would have a discussion with the class about what a legend and why they are important while also explaining n to them that some of the things included in legends may or may not be true. My biggest focus would be the after reading writing assignment. Students would be prompted with two questions they would need to make inferences about from the story: 1.) “Why is it important for Little Gopher to paint pictures telling the story of his tribe?” 2.) “How do you think Little Gopher felt when he couldn’t become a warrior?” I would tie the second question into a personal connection by asking, “Have you ever felt that way?” Finally, I would have a short creative writing and sharing opportunity by asking students about a talent that they have. If they could not think of something, I would tell them something they do well in class.

This book could be used to identify and compare rhyming words. There are several found in the text. Examples of words that rhyme in the book are bop and hop, saxophone and alone, and lollipop and stop. This book would also be best shown to the class in a video. There is a cute segment of Read Between the Lions that reads this book with sound effects. https://youtu.be/8JJCODv6wMA

I would use this magazine to make a KWL chart with my students. Before reading, they would tell the class what they already know about dogs and what they wonder. After reading they would tell what they learned from the text. They could also identify which of their questions were answered in the reading. The KWL chart could be paired with a writing activity where the students write a 1-3 sentence response about something they learned while reading.

I would use this magazine to make a wonder/learned T chart with my late 1^st grade or early 2^nd grade students. On one side of the chart, they would share t things they wonder and questions they have. On the other side, they would share the information they learned through the text. I would also pair this non-fiction magazine with a non-fiction children’s book that matches the subject. They could add to the chart with information from this story as well. Once the chart is complete, I would give the students a think sheet. On the think sheet, students would be asked to draw in something they learned in each of the three boxes and label it. For students with more advanced writing skills, they could write a paragraph. For students with less advanced writing skills, they could use one to two words labels for their pictures. The students would also be provided with a separate word bank with words they may want to use on their think sheet.

I would use this book with a 2^nd grade class as an IRA. Before reading, I would explain what a legend is (assuming we had not read one before) and how some of the information may not be exactly true. I would use the IRA method to point out key details and ask questions throughout the story while also bringing attention to how important the images are. Examples of questions could be: “How is the moon feeling now? How do you know? How can the picture help you decide how she is feeling?”, “Why was she sad?”, and “How did becoming happier change the moon’s shape?” After reading, I would help the students make a true false chart with information from the book that was true versus information that was false. For example, it is true that the moon does change phases, and it is false/not true that the moon is a person. I would also have them complete a short writing activity with three to five sentences about what it means to be a good friend since the book touches on that while also going through the moon’s phases.