Sailor Moo Cow at Sea by Lisa Wheeler,
Illustrated by Ponder Goembel
Prediction Guide:
1. Do you think Sailor Moo wants to be at sea?
2. Look closely at the title page: what types of hats are on it?
3. Who wears each of these types of hats?
4. Can you guess how they might be important to the story?
Comprehension Questions:
Knowledge:
1. Tell why Sailor Moo wanted to go out to sea.
2. Recite the different kind of ships she went on.
Comprehension:
1. Retell the story of Sailor Moo in your own words.
2. Describe the feline fishing boat. What did Sailor Moo do for them?
Application:
1. What does, “If ye be yellow” mean? (Hint: the answer is in the next sentence)
2. Why do you suppose the feline fishing boat had so many dead fish on it?
Analysis:
1. Figure out why Sailor Moo calls the manatee, “her cousins of the sea.”
2. Which boat do you think Sailor Moo most liked to sail with: the feline fishing boat or the crusty cattle barge? Why?
Synthesis:
1. What would you have done if you saw the storage of rare jewels?
2. How would the story be different if the jewels had been on the cat ship?
Evaluation:
1. Do you think Angus and Sailor Moo will ever ship back out to sea? Why or why not?
2. What do you think the other cow pirates do after Angus leaves?
Multiple Intelligence Projects
Sailor Moo, Cow at Sea by Lisa Wheeler
Illustrated by Ponder Goembel
Verbal/ Linguistic
Create postcards from Sailor Moo back to her farm. Write detailed descriptions of what she is seeing and doing. What types of things do people usually tell about their vacation?
Visual/ Spatial
On the other side of the postcard, color, paint, or design scenes that capture her adventures at sea. Then, make a postcard of your own of an adventure you’d like to have.
Or
Using a shoebox, create a diorama of one scene from the book. Use materials from around the house to build your miniature cow at sea scene.
Logical/ Mathematical
Count the number of animals that appear throughout Sailor Moo. Graph the different types of animals: cats, cows, birds and fish. Brainstorm other ways to classify them- (perhaps mammals?) Make your own graph or you can use an on-line graph maker at:
http://nces.ed.gov/NCESKIDS/Graphing/
For homework: Have students convert their finding from one type of graph to another. (For example, if the original was a bar, convert it to a pie graph)
Body/Kinesthetic
Collect a bunch of hats and talk about which jobs wear which kind of hats. List all the different hats that are seen in Sailor Moo. Students can put on a hat, and give an impromptu speech about what they do in that hat.
or
Dress up as pirates, and act out the scene where Sailor Moo is rescued by the manatees.
Musical/ Rhythmic:
Find the rhyming pairs throughout Sailor Moo. Then, try to list at least one more word that would rhyme with each pair. Can you make another sentence that would fit in with the storyline?
OR
Can you make a tune that you can sing to the whole text of Sailor Moo? Or, accompany the teacher as she reads it with a harmonica or other instrument. Be sure not to drown out the reading though;0)
Interpersonal:
Working in pairs dream up another story idea about an animal that wants adventure where she is not expected to be. Think of at least five animals and the places they might want to go. Then choose the best one together, and brainstorm some problems your critter will run into along the way. Write your adventure, and share it with Mrs. Wheeler!!
Intrapersonal:
Sailor Moo doesn’t really fit in too well on the Cat’s Meow. But, she makes friends anyway. Write Sailor Moo a short note about a time when you felt out of place, and what you did, like her, to feel better.
www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com
