Pine School Pals #2: The Cup Tower

Watch the Video “What’s in a Comic?” (10 minutes)

• This video teaches kids about the features of a comic.
• Before watching, tell kids to look out for four features they might find in a comic.
• After watching, ask for kids’ help 7to fill out a list of comic features on chart paper. The features mentioned in the video are panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and onomatopoeia.
• Tell kids to look for those features in the mini graphic novel. They can fill in our “Comic Features Hunt” skills sheet after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

• Open your magazines to “The Cup Tower.” Ask kids: What kind of story is this? (a comic, or a mini graphic novel)

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 fiction bookmark for this story.

• Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a class.
• These stories are also great to read as short plays that kids can perform for others in the class!

• The stories in the Pine School Pals series ask students to brainstorm their own solutions to the problems the characters face. After students read the mini graphic novel, it’s time to have a class discussion.
• Ask students the questions on page 17. They will likely have a variety of opinions and answers, and that’s OK. There is no one right answer. The point is to get kids thinking and talking. These discussions can help them when real challenges arise in the classroom.
• Write down kids’ ideas on the board or chart paper.

Extend the Story With an Activity (20 minutes)

• The comic ends with Malik asking readers for advice. What should he do? We give you two versions of a page that students can use to share their opinions and create their own ending to the story. One version of this skills page has more writing for students to do, and one has less.
• Tell students they will be finishing the story on this skills page. Students can fill the page out individually or they can discuss their responses and fill it out in pairs or small groups. They can use the earlier classroom discussion to give them ideas for what to write.

ELA Focus: Comic Features Hunt (10 minutes)

• Pass out the “Comic Features Hunt” printable.
• Kids can use the mini graphic novel to fill it out and learn about the different features of comics/graphic novels.

Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)

• Pass out the quiz to assess comprehension of the story.
• We also offer a lower-level quiz.
• Both quizzes are now available in multiple- choice and written-answer formats.

Independent Learning: 

Whole Issue Scavenger Hunt (30 minutes)

• We created a scavenger hunt for several stories in this month’s Storyworks 2, including the mini graphic novel. 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.