Sailor Moo

Teacher’s Guide
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

Old Cricket

Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler

Illustrated by Ponder Goembel

Pre-reading

Group discussion questions:

How many of you have chores? What are they? Do you ever feel like not doing them? Why? Have you ever tried to get out of doing your job?

Knowledge:

1. Explain what you think this means; “You don’t get to be an OLD cricket by being a dumb bug.”
2. Who are the characters in the story? Who do you think is the most important, why?

Comprehension:

1. Describe in your own words what happens in the story.
2. Give examples of where Old Cricket makes a decision in the story. Does it happen more than once?

Application:

1. Collect at least ten excuses you hear people use during the day.
2. Predict what Old Cricket will say when his wife asks him to take out the trash the next morning.

Analyze:

1. How would the story be different if written through the eyes of the wife? The crow?
2. Read The Little Red Hen and compare these two stories where people avoid work.

Synthesize:

1.          Imagine what each person would say to Old Cricket if they knew he was “faking it.”

2.          Do you think Old Cricket’s wife had any idea that he didn’t really have a creak in his knee? What makes you think so or not?

Evaluation:

1. Which illustration is your favorite? Why?
2. Do you think Old Cricket will ever fake out his friends again? Why or why not?

Multiple Intelligence Projects for

Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler

Illustrated by Ponder Goembel

Verbal/ Linguistic:

Write a story about one of the other characters from Old Cricket.

or

Write a series of haiku poems (5-7-5 syllables) about the scenes in the book.

Logical/ Mathematical

Fill out the chart on character emotions below.

Visual/ Spatial

Ponder Goembel’s illustrations are remarkably detailed. Choose a common item and really study it (even under a magnifier). Make a list of details you noticed you never had before. Then, create a piece of art (in any media you prefer) that incorporates what you discovered.

Body/Kinesthetic

Pretend you are Old Cricket’s personal trainer. What exercises might improve his poor overall health. Write a prescription including aerobic and weight-training exercises that you think will help him. Illustrations are optional. Then, create an exercise plan for yourself and stick with it!

Musical Rhythmic

Divide the class into sections and assign each small group a sound: creak- creak-creak

crick-crick-crick, crack-crack-crack and hic-hic-hic

Then, let the students either make the sounds with their voices, or provide some hand held instruments and have them experiment to create the sound with their tools (or other objects). Then, the teacher can act as composer and point to each section creating a musical ensemble of pain! Brave teachers can allow students to try, or create new whining sections to vary the composition.

or

Make up a song about Old Cricket using a traditional tune as your base:

Old McDonald

Mary Had a Little Lamb

Here’s a finger play about a cricket for younger audiences:

The Little Cricket

(Point to one finger at a time.)
The first little cricket played a violin.
The second little cricket joined right in.
The third little cricket made a crackly song.
The fourth little cricket helped him along.
The fifth little cricket cried, "Crick-crick-cree.
The orchestra is over and it's time for tea?

Interpersonal:

Choose an animal from Old Cricket to learn more about. Then, in small groups create a poster or pamphlet about what you learned. Be sure to divide the work equally among group members. At the end of the project, team members will “grade” the members for how hard they worked and cooperated.

Intrapersonal:

Everybody would like to bail sometimes on things they have to do. Instead, as a class, write a list of things you can tell yourself when you need to get things done. Make a poster or scroll and keep it up for a few weeks as a positive reminder.

Examples to get you started:

Do what you don’t want to do most, FIRST. Then, it is out of the way.

Treat yourself to something when you get something difficult done.

Teacher’s guide provided by www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com

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Old Cricket by Lisa Wheeler

Illustrated by Ponder Goembel

Choose the emotion that best suits the character:

happy

confused

relieved

aggravated

hurt

afraid

disappointed

impatient

annoyed

loving

excited

impatient

Fill in the following chart about each character in the book:

                                                            Emotion:                                  How you know:

Old Cricket
Mrs. Old Cricket
Cousin Katydid
Neighbor Ant
Crow
Doc Hopper