The Pokémon Café

Culture

sushi, seaweed

Essential Question

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is, what can we learn from the foods we eat?

• Reading and discussing “The Pokémon Café” along with the other themed texts in the magazine (the fiction, “Stone Soup” the paired texts, “The Gingerbread Man” and “Real Gingerbread”; the past to present feature, “The History of Tacos”; and the poetry kit, “A Lot Dog”) will help kids think about this question.

Show “The Big Question” Video (10 minutes)

• Watch “The Big Question: What Can We Learn From the Foods We Eat?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)
• Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question “What can we learn from the foods we eat?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

Preview Vocabulary (5 minutes)

• Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This story’s featured words are sushi and seaweed.

Text Preview Bookmarks (5-10 minutes)

• Our skills page has both fiction and nonfiction options for kids to cut out to help them preview the text. They can use the nonfiction bookmark for this story.

• You can read this short article aloud together as a class, in small groups, or individually.
• Point out the nonfiction text features, such as a the globe, as you go. Ask, what does it show?

ELA Focus: Quiz (10 minutes)

• Pass out the quiz for a quick comprehension check.
• We offer both multiple-choice and written- answer formats for the quiz.

ELA Focus: Write Key Details to Nosey at [email protected] (20 minutes)

• It’s time to help Nosey fill out her Fact File! Print out Nosey’s Fact File from the Resources section of our website. Kids can find facts from the article. They can work in small groups or individually.
• Each fact box is scaffolded to help kids know what to write.
• You can also do this as a whole class activity and email their Fact Files to Nosey at [email protected]. Nosey will write back!

ELA Focus: Parts of Speech (15 minutes)

• Using the printable “My Yummy Day” students can fill in the blanks with different parts of speech to create a silly story about cooking a meal.

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time amount varies)

• Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.
• Pairable Texts: the fiction, “Stone Soup” (pages 24-29); the paired texts, “The Gingerbread Man” and “Real Gingerbread” (pages 18-21); the past to present feature, “The History of Tacos” (pages 22- 23); and the poetry kit, “A Lot Dog” (page 32)
• These texts ask questions similar to those posed in the story.
• Kids can compare the texts by using our “Yummy Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?

Independent Learning: Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (15 minutes)

• We created a scavenger hunt for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including the mini read. The scavenger hunt can be done by students independently at home or during class time.
• This is a self-contained group of slides that guide your students on a scavenger hunt through the whole issue. It’s not only fun, it also helps them make text-to-text connections.
• To find it, look in your Resources section. Scroll down to Activities. You will see it there.