Before Reading
Introducing the Book
Direct children’s attention to the cover, the title page, and to the section headings. Explain how the section headings separate important parts of the story and how all the information in each section relates to the heading or title. Encourage children to notice how the illustrations connect to the text. Pose questions to children that will help to set a purpose for reading. Ask: Do the illustrations give you clues about what is going to happen in the story, or what the story is about? Do the section headings help you to frame your thinking? Model Think Alouds as a strategy children can use to help them remember details in the story. For example, on page 5 children could think aloud, "I would not want to be around someone who was angry all the time. I wonder if Max is lonely as well as angry."
Building Background
Explain that you are going to discuss different kinds of emotions that people experience, such as anger or happiness. Ask children to think of other emotions that everyone feels from time to time (joy, fear, hate, sadness, love). Record their responses on chart paper or the chalkboard. Ask children to describe each emotion—for example, what caused the emotion, how did it feel, and how did they or people they know handle the emotion? Ask volunteers to give an example of an emotion they felt, what caused it, and how they dealt with it. Was their solution—how they dealt with the emotion—effective? Would they now handle it differently? If so, how and why? Ask: When you had a difficult time dealing with a particular emotion, was there someone who was able to help you? How did that person help? Talk about the importance of expressing emotions and not holding them inside or "toughing it out."
Reading Strategies
Invite children to work in small groups or as partners. Have them pose and discuss questions after reading one or two story chapters. Questions raised while reading Max will stimulate predictions and deepen children’s commitment to the story. Children’s questions and discussion will reveal that they can use what they know about Max to predict what will happen next. Questions and discussion will also allow children to demonstrate that they understand the story.
Go to During Reading
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