Lesson Plans for MAX level P

Expand the Reading

Writing Connection
Ask children to think of a time when they experienced a strong emotion similar to Max’s. Have them draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of paper and put the name of the emotion (happy, angry, afraid, lonely, etc.) inside. Next, have them draw several lines out from the circle and make other circles at the end of the lines. Have children write words in the circles that describe what happens when they feel happy, sad, fearful, etc. Ask: What happened when you were happy? Where did you go, what did you do?

Finally, help children write a paragraph using the words in their circles. Ask them to illustrate what they have written. Ask volunteers to share their work. Encourage children to take their work home and share it with their family.

Social Studies Connection
Have children plan a trip they would like to take with their families. Ask them to first think of a special place they would like to visit, like Max going to a reptile farm. To learn about their special place, children will do research, such as: when to go, how to get there, and what to wear. Provide time for children to go to the library, use the Internet, and to look at magazines and newspapers. Ask a local travel agent for materials that he/she could supply for research. If possible, ask the travel agent to come to the class to explain what travel agents do to make trips fun, interesting, and memorable.

After children have gathered their data, ask them to pretend that they are travel agents. Explain that in order to go on their trip, they must have ten people who want to go. Their job is to convince ten classmates that their trip will be the best. Ask children to use pictures and other persuasive materials to encourage their classmates to vote for their trip.

Reading Independently
Allow children to read the book independently or with a partner. As they read, encourage them to think about experiences they have had that are similar to Max’s.

Home Connection
Have children take the book home to share with a family member. Ask them to share with their family about what makes them feel angry, sad, or happy. They should also ask family members to share what makes them feel angry, sad, happy, etc.

Have children plan a real or pretend trip with their family. Each member of the family should take responsibility for some part of the trip, like locating maps on the Internet or finding special places to visit along the way. When children return to school, ask them to share their trip plans with the class. Using yarn, pinpoint on a map where they want to go. Write the child’s name outside the map, attach the yarn to his or her name, and then stretch the yarn to the place on the map he or she would like to visit.

Assessment
  • Monitor students’ responses in the Comprehending the Text section to assess how well they understand the text or story.
  • Monitor reading to see if children are using the effective reading strategies.
  • Monitor children as they read aloud to check for understanding and to see if they are using appropriate reading strategies such as: Think Alouds, questioning, predicting, etc.
  • As children write their stories (Writing Connection), monitor their work to determine how well they connect their words to their illustrations.
  • Check the Skills and Comprehension Activity Sheets for understanding, following directions, and ability to retell the story using the Story Map.


Go to "Max" main page