Author: Katherine Applegate
Illustrator: Patricia Castello
Copyright: 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Reading Level
Fountas and Pinnell: Level M
Lexile: 570L
Accelerated Reader: 3.6
A riveting, gut
wrenching, edge of your seat, heart warming, and passionate tale of friendship
and heroism told from the eyes of a gorilla.
Suggested delivery: small group read aloud preferably
within reading groups
2 electronic resources to support/extend text for
students to engage with explanations of how they support
At this website, students can hear or
read the true story of a gorilla named Ivan who was the inspiration for this book to enhance their visualization while
they are reading.
Although the global read aloud happened
already, the activities and responses from all around
the world are still available to view and students can participate in the various activities and post to a
classroom blog that the teacher creates to aid
in their comprehension of the story.
3 Evidence-based teaching suggestions to use in grades
3-6
Key Vocabulary:
1. Domain- The space where animals live in a zoo or circus
setting.
2. Silverback- a figure of authority, responsible for protecting
its family;
commonly known in the book
as the head gorilla in the pack
3. Vining- Refers to the act of swinging on vines in the
woods.
4. Claw-stick- A stick with a sharp object on the end used
for training animals.
5. Juvenile- Another way to say a child or young person.
6. billboard- A flat
board usually outdoors, that messages and advertisements
are posted on just like the one seen in The One and Only Ivan.
Before Reading Strategy:
Before students begin reading the story, the teacher will
explain that the novel is fiction but based on a real animal. The teacher can
show a short video clip about the real gorilla to help the students visualize
the character when they begin reading.
The students should also be introduced to the vocabulary
that will be used multiple times in the text and can have a vocablulary chart
that has the six terms that might be challenging and their definitions already
on it. Students should be encouraged to write any other unknown words on the
chart and the group will come up with definitions for these words so that
students will be able to look back and remember next time they come across
those words
During Reading Strategy:
Although the book will be read in reading groups, the
students should silently read a chapter at a time and think about the main idea of what they are reading. Once they are finished silently reading, the group
will discuss what happened as well as any unknown vocabulary words that came up during the reading. They will be encouraged to add all words that are discussed into their vocabulary chart for future reference.
The teacher can facilitate the discussion by having inferential as well as literal comprehension questions ready for the students
to answer throughout the discussion to make sure that they are understanding
the main idea and key events that are happening in the story. Also, once the students have become more familiar with this activity, the teacher can ask students to come up with discussion questions for the group to answer and allow the students to take turns leading the discussion.
After Reading Strategy:
After the students finish reading the story, explain the
writing activity and break it up one piece at a time. Start with a
brainstorming map about their chosen character and everything they know about
them. Encourage the student to write specific examples from the text.
Once they have a good
idea about their character, have the students create a story map for their
short story to help their writing flow and make sense. Then let them begin writing.
Have students read
aloud the first draft of their story to the other students in their reading
group and receive feedback from their peers that they can use to revise and
make their story even better.
The last step is to
proofread the story with the teacher to check for spelling, punctuation, and
grammar mistakes that they need to fix. Once they have marked up the changes
they need to make, they will be able to type their story on the computer and
draw a picture that goes along with it. The stories can be put into a bulletin
board or displayed around the classroom somehow for other students who did not
participate in the activity to read.
Writing Activity for Inferential Comprehension:
Students will write a short story about the lives of the
animals after the story ended. They will choose to write from the perspective
of Ivan, Bob, or Ruby and will have to explain and describe how the character
is living now and how they feel about their new life. Students will also be
given a scenario from the teacher of an imaginary event that happened at the
zoo and the students will have to incorporate it into their short stories and
describe how their character would have handled the event based on evidence
from how their character was described in The
One and Only Ivan.
Students will be graded based on how detailed their short story is and how much evidence from the text they used to explain how their character would handle the imaginary scenario to see what they inferentially comprehended about the characters in the story and their feelings that were not explicitly stated.
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