A Wordy Read Aloud!

Title: Flora & Ulysses

Author: Kate DiCamillo 

Copyright: 2013

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Guided Reading Level: U

Genre: Fiction

This book has won: 

The John Newbery Medal

Summary: This super novel is...super! Kate DiCamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux, provides readers with yet another amazing novel. The novel is about a young girl named Flora, who saves a squirrel and names him Ulysses. Flora soon realizes Ulysses has some pretty awesome superpowers and fights (literally) to keep him as a pet. Flora's divorced parents are not really happy about Flora keeping Ulysses, so they want to get rid of him. On top of this, Flora's mother believes she does not have many friends, so she practically makes Flora befriend a "strange" boy named William. However, Flora and Ulysses have a few tricks up their sleeves and eventually convince Flora's parents that Ulysses means no harm due to some crazy adventures, and Flora comes to really like William as a friend.

Suggested Delivery: Classroom Read Aloud

Key Vocabulary:

• Capacious
• Cynic
• Indomitable 
• Malfeasance
• Mundane
• Preternaturally
• Surreptitious

*This novel is very wordy, which makes it perfect for a classroom read aloud! A couple of words I even had to look up, which is embarrassing!*

Electronic Resources:

• This is a great book trailer for the novel. Students will love to watch this before the classroom read aloud. It's a great introduction to the novel!

• Students would love creating a comic strip for their favorite scene within the novel. Students can work with partners and this activity will help creativity thrive. This can also be used for a "during read aloud" activity to increase comprehension skills. Here is a great website for creating appropriate comic strips - Comic Strip Maker

Increasing Comprehension Skills:

Before Read Aloud:

• Since this book is very wordy, it would benefit students to complete a word knowledge chart before the read aloud starts. I included my sample word knowledge chart below for this novel. Also, a word wall would be a wonderful idea! Keep adding words to the word wall throughout the novel! There are so many great words in this novel! 

• Briefly brainstorm ideas regarding the cover of the novel as a group before reading. Point out the Newbery Medal, Ulysses flying, and what Flora is holding. This will help with prediction skills. 

During Read Aloud:

• Each night, assign one word detective sheets for one of the seven key vocabulary words. Here is a link for a blank word detective sheet. Since these words are difficult, dissecting each word with this worksheet will really help students understand the words in every way possible.

• Students should create Text to Text, Text to Self, and/or Text to World connections to characters within the novel. Have them make a chart in their journals, or create a chart in small groups or with partners. There are plenty of chart ideas and here is website with some great ones: Making Connections 

After Read Aloud:

• Have students create a wordle for the vocabulary words in the novel. This will just be a fun way to express the words in the novel and students will love this activity.  I created a sample wordle for this novel below. 

• Discuss and summarize the novel! Highlight important events, and use this summary star template as a guide.  If the template seems to young for your classroom, create a timeline of events either electronically or through a paper or whiteboard activity.  Here is an electronic resource for creating a timeline online. 

Writing Activity:

Students might love to answer a question like this in their reading journals as a short essay:

If you were to pick an animal and give that animal superpowers, what animal would it be and why? What would you name your superhero animal? Does your superhero animal have friends and/or enemies? Relate your answer to examples in the novel of Ulysses and his special superpowers!

Tiffany Tidbit -
This novel is pretty much the most creative children's novel I have read so far. DiCamillo's use of incredibly rich vocabulary words makes this an amazing book to use as a classroom read aloud. I fell more and more in love with Ulysses throughout the novel. The theme of friendship was something that I enjoyed very much when reading about Flora and William. I also believe that students will greatly benefit from reading about the parents in the novel - especially students who have divorced parents. This is certainly a book I recommend!