Every Monday, I highlight a book from our school bookroom along with lesson plan suggestions.
Up North at the Cabin, by Marsha Wilson Chall
This book is a featured text in Strategies that Work by Anne Goudvis and Stephanie Harvey. There are several copies available for checkout in room 301 if you’d like to see detailed lesson plans around this book. If I’m feeling particularly energetic, I’ll see if I can copy the passage from Strategies that Work and add it to the book bag.
You can find a copy of this mentor text in the red “realistic fiction” bucket in the bookroom.
If you’re introducing your students to Caldecott winners, a good companion for this book might be Robert McCloskey’s Time of Wonder, which is about a child’s summer in Maine. (read the New York Times’ obituary of McCloskey here)
There is a CAFE menu included with this mentor text, and I’ve highlighted these as suggestions:
Comprehension
- Make a picture or mental image. There’s a lesson plan on visualization included in the book bag. Please return it, as this is the master copy.
- Compare and contrast within and between text. This would be a good time to introduce Time of Wonder, mentioned above. For contrast, you might want to try The Snowy Day, which takes place in an urban setting during the opposite season, and is perhaps a familiar text for students already.
Behaviors that Support Reading
- Increase stamina. This book works fine when broken into chunks, so it would be a nice fit for a lesson at the beginning of the year (or right after a break!) when you need to shorten your whole group lessons.
Please add any lessons or supplemental materials to the book bag so future teachers can utilize your good thinking!
Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed! Please leave a comment if you’ve found this helpful!
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