The Stories Julian Tells
Unit 1 Lessons 1 - 42
In Unit 1, The Stories Julian Tells, the students will read literary and informational texts to learn that stories and books are important for learning about themselves and others. Students will understand that storytelling can be a way to connect to others and pass on family history and traditions. Students express their understanding by explaining how characters learn lessons through their experiences with one another and by writing their own story based on illustrations.
Books for this unit: The Bee Tree. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, My Librarian is a Camel, The Stories Julian Tells, and The Red Book.
Lesson 1: The Bee Tree and semantic maps
Students listen to the story The Bee Tree. Students practice reading aloud fluently and filling out a semantic map.
Lesson 2: Literal/nonliteral meanings and sequencing events
Students learn the difference between literal and nonliteral language. They reread The Bee Tree through a read aloud and sequence the story’s events.
Lesson 3: Writing with conjunctions and character contributions to actions
Students practice combining sentences about The Bee Tree using subordinating conjunctions. Students add character contributions to their Sequence of Events graphic organizer.
Lesson 4: Character traits and feelings
Students begin to track characterization of Mary Ellen and Grampa through their traits, feelings, and contributions to events on a character chart. Students identify the evidence that supports their understanding. Lesson 5: "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" and using context clues to determine meaning.
Students follow along with a read aloud of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." They determine the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary using context clues and practice sequencing the major events and character contributions to events in the story.
Lesson 6: How illustrations affect meaning
Students practice discussing the meaning of key illustrations throughout "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" in partnerships. Students share their findings in a class discussion of the illustrations and their meanings.
Lesson 7: Central message
Students reread "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" in partnerships. Students identify the central message of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" through a guided class discussion.
Lesson 8: Details that convey central message
Students identify details that convey the central message of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." Students explain how each detail conveys the central message.
Lesson 9: "My Librarian is a Camel" and main idea
Students follow along with a read aloud of “Australia” and practice identifying key details and main idea of the chapter. Students then choose a country to research. They read in groups about their country and take notes on key details and main idea.
10: Using text features
Students learn to gather more information about their country of research from the text features. They discuss with their groups how the text features help develop the main idea of their chapter.
Lesson 11: Turning research notes into presentation note cards
Students organize their research notes onto presentation note cards. Then they help outline what a strong presentation looks and sounds like and practice presenting information about their countries of research.
Lesson 12: Jigsaw presentations and taking notes
Students present on their countries of research in jigsaw groups and take notes on group members’ presentations.
Lesson 13: Comparing and contrasting
Students compare and contrast two different countries’ library systems using a Venn diagram. Then they practice writing a brief guided compare-contrast essay about the two library systems.
Lesson 14: “The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea,” nonliteral language and character motivations (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students listen to a read aloud of the chapter, “The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea”. Then they analyze the meaning of nonliteral language in the form of comparisons and discuss how character motivations in the text lead to character actions.
Lesson 15: Multiple meanings of words and central message
Students recount the story “The Pudding like a Night on the Sea”. They discuss the multiple meanings of the words “beat” and “whip” and discuss the central message of the story.
Lesson 16: Tracking character traits, motivations, and contributions across stories
In a jigsaw reading, students begin listing character traits, motivations, and contributions from “The Pudding like a Night on the Sea”. Then they listen to a read aloud of “Catalog Cats” and add to their charts in jigsaw pairs.
Lesson 17: Jigsaw sharing and central message
In a jigsaw sharing, students share their research on character traits, motivations, and contributions from the previous lesson. Then students discuss the central message of “Catalog Cats” in a whole-class discussion.
Lesson 18: “Our Garden” and identifying connections between sections and parts (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students read along while the teacher reads “Our Garden”. They discuss the function of adjectives and their effect on the story, and identify how parts of this chapter connect to and build off of sections from “Catalog Cats."
Lesson 19: Formulating an opinion statement and gathering reasons to support
Students learn what an opinion statement is and begin gathering reasons to support an opinion statement.
Lesson 20: “Because of Figs” and answering questions in complete sentences
Students begin to prepare for the cold-read task by reading “Because of Figs” independently. Then, in partner pairs, they answer questions about the text in complete sentences.
Lesson 21: Tracking character contributions and changes across chapters
Students begin to track Julian’s contributions to events across chapters of the text "The Stories Julian Tells." They prepare to write an opinion essay for the following lesson by formulating an opinion statement about how Julian has changed across the chapters.
Lesson 22: Drafting an opinion essay
Students write a first draft of an opinion essay using their prewriting reasons chart for guidance. They write their opinion statement, reasons, and conclusion in complete sentences.
Lesson 23: “Gloria Who Might Be My Best Friend” and point of view (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students prepare for the Cold-read task by reading “Gloria Who Might be My Best Friend” independently. Then they differentiate their point of view from Julian’s and have a formal class discussion about the chapter, leading up to the chapter’s central message.
Lesson 24: Brainstorming story elements
Students continue the brainstorming part of the narrative writing process by brainstorming the sequence of events of their story and adding dialogue.
Lesson 26: “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” independent reading and partner discussion (From More Stories Julian Tells)
Students read “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” independently and discuss how characters contribute to events and how events build off of each other throughout the chapter.
Lesson 27: Discussing nonliteral language and meaning
Students participate in a formal class discussion in which they discuss the nonliteral language from the chapter “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” as it relates to the meaning of the chapter.
Lesson 28: Cold-read task, part 1 (Comprehension Test)
Students read part 2 of the chapter “I Learn Firefighting”—”Superboy and Me”—independently and answer multiple choice questions to demonstrate understanding of the text.
Lesson 29: Cold-read task, part 2 (Comprehension Test)
Students read part 3 of the chapter “I Learn Firefighting”—”Huey Makes the Leap”—independently and answer multiple choice questions to demonstrate understanding of the text. Then they read the written response question and brainstorm their response.
Lesson 30: Cold-read task, part 3 (Comprehension Test)
Students write the essay response to the written response question.
Lesson 31: Brainstorming for the culminating writing task
Students begin brainstorming for the culminating writing task by discussing the lessons that each character learned in "Stories Julian Tells."
Lesson 32: Writing a first draft of the culminating writing task
Students craft their opinion statements and outline their essay using their lessons brainstorming chart for support. Then they draft the first draft of their essays using their prewriting graphic organizer as a guide.
Lesson 33: Drafting a conclusion and revising
Students draft a conclusion and revise their opinion essay.
Lesson 34: Editing and publishing opinion essays
Students complete the writing process to answer the prompt: What is a central message that is conveyed through Julian, Huey, and Father's actions in "The Stories Julian Tells?"
Lesson 35: Brainstorming ideas for a narrative story
Students practice the brainstorming step of the narrative writing process with the short video “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.” Students outline the story elements and the sequence of events and add dialogue to events through partner share.
Lesson 36: Reading and discussing "The Red Book"
Students begin the brainstorming step in the narrative writing process by reading "The Red Book" and brainstorming the story that accompanies the images. Then they discuss the story’s deeper meaning through setting, mood, and character changes.
Lesson 37: Rehearsing and ordering events
Students begin the brainstorming step in the writing process for the extension task. They select a predetermined section from "The Red Book" from which to write an accompanying story. Then they rehearse the story’s events orally and in writing.
Lesson 38: Brainstorming the introduction and conclusion
Students revise their story outlines based on partner feedback from the previous lesson. Then they brainstorm an introduction and conclusion to their stories after discussing a model introduction and conclusion from "The Stories Julian Tells."
Lesson 39: Writing the first draft
Students write the first draft of their stories in their reading logs using their story outline as a guide.
Lesson 40: Revising and editing a first draft
Students use peer review to revise and edit the first drafts of their stories.
Lesson 41: Publishing and creating a visual
Students illustrate an image to accompany their stories and write the final draft of their stories on the computer.
Lesson 42: Presenting in a silent gallery walk
Students prepare questions to ask their readers about their stories and images. Then students read their classmates’ stories, view the accompanying images, and leave feedback for writers in a silent gallery walk.
Books for this unit: The Bee Tree. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, My Librarian is a Camel, The Stories Julian Tells, and The Red Book.
Lesson 1: The Bee Tree and semantic maps
Students listen to the story The Bee Tree. Students practice reading aloud fluently and filling out a semantic map.
Lesson 2: Literal/nonliteral meanings and sequencing events
Students learn the difference between literal and nonliteral language. They reread The Bee Tree through a read aloud and sequence the story’s events.
Lesson 3: Writing with conjunctions and character contributions to actions
Students practice combining sentences about The Bee Tree using subordinating conjunctions. Students add character contributions to their Sequence of Events graphic organizer.
Lesson 4: Character traits and feelings
Students begin to track characterization of Mary Ellen and Grampa through their traits, feelings, and contributions to events on a character chart. Students identify the evidence that supports their understanding. Lesson 5: "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" and using context clues to determine meaning.
Students follow along with a read aloud of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." They determine the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary using context clues and practice sequencing the major events and character contributions to events in the story.
Lesson 6: How illustrations affect meaning
Students practice discussing the meaning of key illustrations throughout "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" in partnerships. Students share their findings in a class discussion of the illustrations and their meanings.
Lesson 7: Central message
Students reread "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" in partnerships. Students identify the central message of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" through a guided class discussion.
Lesson 8: Details that convey central message
Students identify details that convey the central message of "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore." Students explain how each detail conveys the central message.
Lesson 9: "My Librarian is a Camel" and main idea
Students follow along with a read aloud of “Australia” and practice identifying key details and main idea of the chapter. Students then choose a country to research. They read in groups about their country and take notes on key details and main idea.
10: Using text features
Students learn to gather more information about their country of research from the text features. They discuss with their groups how the text features help develop the main idea of their chapter.
Lesson 11: Turning research notes into presentation note cards
Students organize their research notes onto presentation note cards. Then they help outline what a strong presentation looks and sounds like and practice presenting information about their countries of research.
Lesson 12: Jigsaw presentations and taking notes
Students present on their countries of research in jigsaw groups and take notes on group members’ presentations.
Lesson 13: Comparing and contrasting
Students compare and contrast two different countries’ library systems using a Venn diagram. Then they practice writing a brief guided compare-contrast essay about the two library systems.
Lesson 14: “The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea,” nonliteral language and character motivations (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students listen to a read aloud of the chapter, “The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea”. Then they analyze the meaning of nonliteral language in the form of comparisons and discuss how character motivations in the text lead to character actions.
Lesson 15: Multiple meanings of words and central message
Students recount the story “The Pudding like a Night on the Sea”. They discuss the multiple meanings of the words “beat” and “whip” and discuss the central message of the story.
Lesson 16: Tracking character traits, motivations, and contributions across stories
In a jigsaw reading, students begin listing character traits, motivations, and contributions from “The Pudding like a Night on the Sea”. Then they listen to a read aloud of “Catalog Cats” and add to their charts in jigsaw pairs.
Lesson 17: Jigsaw sharing and central message
In a jigsaw sharing, students share their research on character traits, motivations, and contributions from the previous lesson. Then students discuss the central message of “Catalog Cats” in a whole-class discussion.
Lesson 18: “Our Garden” and identifying connections between sections and parts (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students read along while the teacher reads “Our Garden”. They discuss the function of adjectives and their effect on the story, and identify how parts of this chapter connect to and build off of sections from “Catalog Cats."
Lesson 19: Formulating an opinion statement and gathering reasons to support
Students learn what an opinion statement is and begin gathering reasons to support an opinion statement.
Lesson 20: “Because of Figs” and answering questions in complete sentences
Students begin to prepare for the cold-read task by reading “Because of Figs” independently. Then, in partner pairs, they answer questions about the text in complete sentences.
Lesson 21: Tracking character contributions and changes across chapters
Students begin to track Julian’s contributions to events across chapters of the text "The Stories Julian Tells." They prepare to write an opinion essay for the following lesson by formulating an opinion statement about how Julian has changed across the chapters.
Lesson 22: Drafting an opinion essay
Students write a first draft of an opinion essay using their prewriting reasons chart for guidance. They write their opinion statement, reasons, and conclusion in complete sentences.
Lesson 23: “Gloria Who Might Be My Best Friend” and point of view (From The Stories Julian Tells)
Students prepare for the Cold-read task by reading “Gloria Who Might be My Best Friend” independently. Then they differentiate their point of view from Julian’s and have a formal class discussion about the chapter, leading up to the chapter’s central message.
Lesson 24: Brainstorming story elements
Students continue the brainstorming part of the narrative writing process by brainstorming the sequence of events of their story and adding dialogue.
Lesson 26: “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” independent reading and partner discussion (From More Stories Julian Tells)
Students read “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” independently and discuss how characters contribute to events and how events build off of each other throughout the chapter.
Lesson 27: Discussing nonliteral language and meaning
Students participate in a formal class discussion in which they discuss the nonliteral language from the chapter “I Learn Firefighting: I Wish for Smokey the Bear” as it relates to the meaning of the chapter.
Lesson 28: Cold-read task, part 1 (Comprehension Test)
Students read part 2 of the chapter “I Learn Firefighting”—”Superboy and Me”—independently and answer multiple choice questions to demonstrate understanding of the text.
Lesson 29: Cold-read task, part 2 (Comprehension Test)
Students read part 3 of the chapter “I Learn Firefighting”—”Huey Makes the Leap”—independently and answer multiple choice questions to demonstrate understanding of the text. Then they read the written response question and brainstorm their response.
Lesson 30: Cold-read task, part 3 (Comprehension Test)
Students write the essay response to the written response question.
Lesson 31: Brainstorming for the culminating writing task
Students begin brainstorming for the culminating writing task by discussing the lessons that each character learned in "Stories Julian Tells."
Lesson 32: Writing a first draft of the culminating writing task
Students craft their opinion statements and outline their essay using their lessons brainstorming chart for support. Then they draft the first draft of their essays using their prewriting graphic organizer as a guide.
Lesson 33: Drafting a conclusion and revising
Students draft a conclusion and revise their opinion essay.
Lesson 34: Editing and publishing opinion essays
Students complete the writing process to answer the prompt: What is a central message that is conveyed through Julian, Huey, and Father's actions in "The Stories Julian Tells?"
Lesson 35: Brainstorming ideas for a narrative story
Students practice the brainstorming step of the narrative writing process with the short video “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.” Students outline the story elements and the sequence of events and add dialogue to events through partner share.
Lesson 36: Reading and discussing "The Red Book"
Students begin the brainstorming step in the narrative writing process by reading "The Red Book" and brainstorming the story that accompanies the images. Then they discuss the story’s deeper meaning through setting, mood, and character changes.
Lesson 37: Rehearsing and ordering events
Students begin the brainstorming step in the writing process for the extension task. They select a predetermined section from "The Red Book" from which to write an accompanying story. Then they rehearse the story’s events orally and in writing.
Lesson 38: Brainstorming the introduction and conclusion
Students revise their story outlines based on partner feedback from the previous lesson. Then they brainstorm an introduction and conclusion to their stories after discussing a model introduction and conclusion from "The Stories Julian Tells."
Lesson 39: Writing the first draft
Students write the first draft of their stories in their reading logs using their story outline as a guide.
Lesson 40: Revising and editing a first draft
Students use peer review to revise and edit the first drafts of their stories.
Lesson 41: Publishing and creating a visual
Students illustrate an image to accompany their stories and write the final draft of their stories on the computer.
Lesson 42: Presenting in a silent gallery walk
Students prepare questions to ask their readers about their stories and images. Then students read their classmates’ stories, view the accompanying images, and leave feedback for writers in a silent gallery walk.