Article
Steenz

A Laugh From Old Mrs. Wilson

By Monique D. Hall
From the March / April 2021 Issue
Lexile: 290L
Guided Reading Level: L
DRA Level: 20-24
Vocabulary: hilarious

A Laugh from Old Mrs. Wilson

By Monique D. Hall, Art by Steenz

video (2)
video (2)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (7)
video (2)
video (2)
Slideshows (1)
Activities (7) Download All Quizzes and Activities

About the Story

ELA Focus

Features of graphic novels

Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

LESSON PLAN

Essential Question 

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: What makes something funny?

  • Reading and discussing “A Laugh From Old Mrs. Wilson” along with the other funny/humor-themed texts in the magazine (the nonfiction article, “What is Dav Pilkey’s Superpower?,” the paired texts, “What’s in a Joke?/How to Tell a Joke,” and the poem, “My Teacher Calls Me Sweetie Cakes”) should give kids insight into what makes certain things funny.
  • Through the above genres, students will discuss: Why do we like to laugh? Why do different people find different things funny? How do jokes work?
  • This story also stands on its own. It’s not only fun, but it also gives kids great experience reading and thinking about graphic novels as a literary form. 

1. BEFORE READING

Choose a Video (We have two!) (10 minutes)

  • You have two choices for a video with this story.

1. “The Big Question: What Makes Something Funny?”  (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

  • Before your students watch, ask them to think about this: “What makes something funny?”
  • Watch the video.
  • After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

2. “What’s in a Comic?”

  • Our second 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 to 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 “A Laugh From Old Mrs. Wilson.” Ask kids: What kind of story is this? (a comic or a mini graphic novel)
  • Next, read the Think and Read prompt on page 13: “As you read, think about the ways different people find different things to be funny.” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

2. READ THE STORY (10-15 MINUTES)

  • Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a class.
  • As they read, ask kids to note when the boys think something is funny but Mrs. Wilson does not.

3. AFTER READING

Extend the Story With an Activity (20 minutes) 

  • Kids can “finish” the story with the “What Happens Next?” printable. They’ll fill in the voice bubbles for the characters and create their own comic panel.
  • This activity works in the skill of making inferences.

Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)

ELA Focus: Comic Features Hunt (10 minutes) 

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

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 TextsWhat is Dav Pilkey’s Superpower?” (pages 6-11), “What’s in a Joke?/ How to Tell a Joke” (pages 18-21), and “My Teacher Calls Me Sweetie Cakes” (page 32)

  • These texts ask questions similar to those posed in the mini graphic novel. What makes something funny? How can different people find different things humorous?
  • Kids can compare the humor in the texts using our “Funny Chart” printable. How are the texts alike and how are they different? 

Parts of Speech: A Silly Day at School (15 minutes)

The Silly Day at School printable is a Mad Libs-style fill-in-the-blank activity. Kids can practice being funny and learn parts of speech! 

NEW! Special Lesson for Independent Learning While Remote (30-40 minutes) 

  • We created a brand-new resource to make it easy for your students to do an independent remote lesson with the mini graphic novel.
  • Look in your Resources section for the “Slide Lesson.” It’s a self-contained group of slides that walk your students through the Mini Graphic Novel.
  • This easy-to-use group of Google Slides walks your students through watching the video “What Makes Something Funny?” and then answering a question about it, reading the story independently, answering three questions after reading, and then doing our “What Happens Next?” inference page.
  • It’s a simple way to take the resources we have already created and put them in one place so you don’t have to create anything new! 

Text-to-Speech