C is for City

Teacher’s Guide for

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Pre-reading

List the letters of the alphabet on the chalkboard and then brainstorm as many words as you can that begin with each letter. Then, circle the ones that would only be seen in a city. After that, put squares around the ones you might see in your own neighborhood. Discuss the difference.

Knowledge:

1. First without looking at the list on the last page, try to locate as many items for each letter that you can. Then, peak and see how you did.
2. Now, locate the items on the list that you missed.

Comprehension:

1. Describe a city in your own words.
2. List three things that are in the book that you may not see in your own neighborhood. List three things that ARE the same.

Application:

1. If you were going to write an ABC about your own hometown, how might you go about getting ideas for it?
2. Choose your favorite illustration from the book and explain why you picked it.

Analyze:

1. Which letters do you think would be the most difficult to find enough words for?
2.  Examine the illustrations for Q & R pages. From what view is the artist drawing the picture? How do you know?

Synthesis:

1. Play eye spy with a friend using the book. You know, “ I spy with my little eye, something that is brown and white and black” (the dog with the newspaper in his mouth on the “A” page.

Evaluation:

1. Looking closely at each picture, decide what you think is going to happen next.
2. Can you find the cat on each page? Make a list of where he appears.

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Multiple Intelligence Projects for

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Verbal/ Linguistic

Color in the vocabulary chart to best match your understanding of some of the words in C is for City.

Logical/ Mathematical

Word Problems:

1. Count the number of kids that appear in C is for City, and then divide by 26 (number of letters in the alphabet).
2. Count how many cars appear in the book and add the number of kids in your class.
3. How many balloons would you need for each kid to get two?
4. At the doughnut shop, the kids want a piece of cake. If the mom has $4.00 and each slice cost $1.50, how many can they buy?
5. If the trombone player usually gets $10.00 an hour, how many hours will he have to play to get $30.00?

Visual/ Spatial

On construction paper, copy large letters one for each student. Then, students can search through magazines and catalogs to cut and paste items that begin with their letter. Sew together for an instant ABC book.

Body/ Kinesthetic

Give each student a lunch bag with a letter attached to it, and then let them search the room for at least one item that begins with it. SHARE. Trade bags, and begin again. (This is also a great activity to play at home, especially with letters that are confusing).

Musical/ Rhythmic

Pair students in groups of two or threes and assign them a page from C is for city. With small hand-held instruments they can create a tune that matches a letter poem. Put them together for a fantastic song.

Interpersonal

Write the names of common objects (preferably one beginning with each letter of the alphabet) and then post them around the room. Walk around to familiarize the kids with the words. With a matching set of cards, send them off to find the pair. To encourage cooperation, have them work together. When they are done, they can replace the notes, and round two begins.

Intrapersonal

Give students a golf ball size amount of play doh each and an index or half sheet with the alphabet printed in both upper and lower case (D’Nealian, etc.). Then, one at a time have students roll out their letters. Then they can mark whether they knew how to create the letter without looking, or with help. A fun way to assess letter knowledge.

Vocabulary Graph

C is for City by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Pat Cummings

Color in the block that best matches what you know about each word.

	I KNOW this word	I’ve heard this word before	I need to learn more about this word
arcade
Afghans
butcher
boulevard
deli
dazzle
El train
elders
factory
frail
grocer
Hasidim
kosher
knishes
laundromat
majorette
nightclubs
oboes
stickball
skyscraper
tourists
uncanny
vermillion
yams