Book Talk Tuesday: Diary of a Worm

I'm linking up again with Mrs. Jump's class for Book Talk Tuesday.

This week I'm going to be sharing one you've probably already read... Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. I promise this post will be worth reading even if you've already read this book!

In this story, the main character, Worm, is telling his story through journal entries. Kiddos will learn about being a worm...

... and meet Worm's friend Spider...

If you haven't read this one, I can promise your kiddos will love it and laugh, asking for it to be read again! I didn't use this book as a read aloud this past year (I did the year before) but it still was VERY well loved in my classroom library!

Reading Level: DRA 18
          Guided Reading K
                         Lexile 360L

Resources for teaching...

Web Resources:

• Writing Lesson: This lesson from scholastic will have kiddos writing an animal diary after researching about that animal.
• Sequence Lesson: This lesson (also from scholastic) offers a printable to help students organize the order of events in the story.
• Activity Ideas: Here are a bunch of activity ideas for using this book in your classroom

Vocabulary: This book has pretty simple vocabulary. If your students do some worm research following reading this book, you may want to use some words that relate to worms for vocabulary instruction. For example: topsoil, compost, decompose, nutrients, minerals

Activities:
Before Reading:

• Create a KWL (filling out the K&W) to find out what your kiddos already know and want to learn about worms. This is a great activity to do if you plan on doing some nonfiction reading about worms or having students research about worms.

During Reading:

• Have students answer comprehension questions aloud as you read. I have my students "teach" each other the answer in the "teach, okay" Whole Brain Teaching model, but a turn and talk for this would work just fine. Use the questions below so students are ready to complete the comprehension sheet after reading. Click below for a copy of 2 versions of comprehension sheets (one with and one without sentence frames).

After Reading:

• To practice fluency, use this reader's theater version of Diary of a Worm. Click below to get a copy.

Extensions: Nonfiction/Science

• Have kiddos research worms! Click below for a kiddo-friendly worm fact sheet...

•  After your kiddos learn about worms, have them fill out one of these 2 facts sheets...

Hope you can use one or more of these freebies in your classroom! If your kiddos like this book, make sure you check out Diary of a Spider & Diary of a Fly too!