Novel study: Lucky Charms and Birthday Wishes

Although this is a unit developed for instruction in language arts, it has a curriculum focus for healthful living. The unit usually takes about 4–5 weeks to complete. A major piece of this unit focuses on identifying and listing characteristics of people.

A lesson plan for grade 3 English Language Arts

By Michael Miller

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Related topics

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• list ideas of what makes a good friend and contribute to the class web
• preview and explore the story through a teacher-led discussion
• predict what they think will happen in the story
• explore new vocabulary words and word attack strategies
• answer two comprehension questions about the pages that were read

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 hour

Materials/resources

Student:

• Lucky Charms and Birthday Wishes by Christine McDonnell
• journal
• pencils

Teacher:

• Lucky Charms and Birthday Wishes
• chart paper for webbing
• markers
• transparencies
• teacher created vocabulary list
• comprehension questions:
  • According to Emily, what would make a good lucky charm?
  • What did the author mean by, “You could never tell?”

The journal is made by folding an eleven-by-seventeen-inch piece of construction paper in half and placing notebook paper in the middle and stapling along the edges. Each activity is completed in the journal.

Pre-activities

Use the opening question, “What makes a good friend?” as a pre-activity. Give the children a few minutes to make a list of things that make someone a good friend. On the chart paper, construct a basic web to map all of the student responses. Discuss.

Activities

1. Begin by exploring the front and back cover of the book. Discuss the picture on the front. Identify the author/illustrator. Read the back cover and discuss why this part is important.
2. Explore the title page and table of contents. Begin looking through the book at the pictures and discuss what one can see and/or predict about what will happen in the story.
3. Have students draft four sentences predicting what they think the story will be about or what they think will happen. Have them write it in their journals.
4. Have some students share their predictions and ask why they made that prediction.
5. Display 4–5 vocabulary words for pages 2–6 on a transparency. Choose words in which you think your children may have difficulty. Discuss strategies for figuring out these words. Use them in a sentence.
6. Read the comprehension questions to the students before you begin reading.
   • According to Emily, what would make a good lucky charm?
   • What did the author mean by, “You could never tell?”
7. Begin the novel by reading pages 2–6 aloud to the students while they follow along with their own books in hand.
8. Answer the first comprehension question as a class to model complete sentences. This will also give them an idea of what you are looking for.
9. Then allow time for students to work on the comprehension questions with teacher monitoring as this is completed.
10. Ask for volunteers to share their responses.

Assessment

• Ask each child to contribute at least one statement to the web on “What makes a good friend?”
• Involve each student in the discussion during preview.
• Observe student predictions while they are writing in their journals. Have some students share.
• Elicit word attack strategies and have students write them on the inside cover of their journal.
• Observe students while working on the comprehension questions. Have some students share.

Supplemental information

All of these activities are ones that I have developed. The reading for this lesson includes pages 2–6 in the novel, Lucky Charms and Birthday Wishes by Christine McDonnell. ISBN: 0140318860.

Comments

I have taught this unit for several years and the children really enjoy it. It is developmentally appropriate reading for 3rd graders.