Unit Title: "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"

Subject Area: English Language Arts

Grade Level: 2-4

Time: 6 days

Key Concepts: Predicting, Brainstorming, and Illustrating

Barrett, J. (1978). "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs." Aladdin Paperbacks.

• Activate background knowledge with a discussion on weather and the title of the book.
• Connect the idea of weather to personal experiences.
• Tell students the theme of this week and focus for the day.
• Set the purposes for reading.
• Introduce the book and author.

• Make predictions about the book from the title and pictures.
• Read the book.
• As you are reading have the students:
• Think about what they already know about the topics mentioned in the book. They can write these down in a journal. Pause to let them think and write. Have them include personal experiences.
• Recognize literary genre – tall-tale or fantasy.
• Talk about the setting and connect it to the idea of different cultures.
• If needed, go back and reread sections while talking about genre or setting.
• Ask students, or tell them, why it is a tall-tale.

• Students respond in their journals, while I read the story.
• Give them 10 minutes to write in their journals at the end of the story, so they can finish what they began.

• Have the students make connections through personal experiences.
• Have the students work in groups of 2-4 and make a cluster or web focusing on weather and what they know or have learned. They can use the other related books at the back of the room.

Focus: Separating fact from fiction, Parts of speech, Unknown words

Stage 2: Reading

• Reread the story in groups. Have multiple copies of the book.
• Have the students look for things that are fact and fiction. They can make a T-chart to organize this. They can use any of the following: (real, fictitious) (fact, opinion) (fact, fiction).

Stage 4: Exploring

• As a whole class, we can make a word wall list of unknown words on the board.
• Use context clues and dictionaries to discover meaning, or if it is even a word. The students can be word detectives.
• Look at the parts of speech of these words and others.
• Individually, have the students choose anywhere from 3 to 10 words that they didn’t know and write their definitions, once they find them.

Focus: Verbs and tenses, Plot and Conflict

Stage 2: Reading

• Have the students review what the story was about or jog their memory.
• State the focus of the day.

Stage 4: Exploring

• In groups, have the students make a list of verbs from the book, and when they finish have them write them on the board.
• Use these words to teach about -ed, -ing, and other verb endings and their meanings.
• This can be linked to the actions in the book, so talk about plot and conflict also.
• Make a chart with present and past tense verbs. Have the students tell you how to sort the verbs.
• Students can copy these into their journals or notes.
• Have the students individually write two sentences of each tense using the verbs from the story.

Focus: Illustration, Bringing it all together

Stage 5: Applying

• Refresh the students’ memory about what they’ve done with the book: weather, unknown words, fact or fiction, verb tenses
• They will use these to create their final project. Tell them what they will be doing.
• Have them get ideas from each other and talk with a partner about what they are going to do.
• They can also get ideas from the other books about weather at the back of the room.
• Have them create the poster part of visually representing some form of weather (could be their favorite or one they’ve learned a lot about).

Focus: Description

Stage 5: Applying

• Go through the story and read sections over.
• Show the students how the author used many descriptive words to let the reader know and experience the story.
• Show how the author used a lot of description to show details.
• Then, have the students do the second part of the final project.
• They can write a paragraph about the weather represented in their poster, including :
• 3 sentences with different verb tenses
• one fact and one fiction statement
• 2 unknown words (that now they know) used in the sentences
• Of course, it must be about weather.
• Remind them to use description and detail like the author.
• Give the students a self-assessment sheet, so they can assess their own work on the unit and final project. They can include notes and comments.

Focus: Presentation

• Listening
• Day 1 – While I read the story and to each other in groups.
• Day 6 – Listen to other students’ presentations.
• Any day – Listen to books on tape, if they finish early.
• Talking
• Day 1 – Discussion to activate prior knowledge and group work.
• Day 2 – Talking about unknown words.
• Day 3 – Class discussion to jog their memories.
• Day 4 – Talk about their project ideas with other classmates.
• Day 6 – Project Presentations.
• Reading
• Day 2 – Reread book in groups.
• Day 5-6 – Read the paragraphs they and other students have written.
• Any day – Read any of the related books to weather in the back.
• Writing
• Day 1 – What they know about the topic of weather and personal experiences in their journals. Make clusters.
• Day 2 – Make a T-chart and write unknown words and definitions.
• Day 3 – Write sentences with verb tenses. Chart of verb tenses in their journals.
• Day 5 – Write a paragraph from the final project.
• Viewing
• Day 1 – While I read, they view the attractive pictures.
• Day 6 – View classmates posters, pictures, and paragraphs.
• Any day – View other related books at the back table. All the visual representations they’ve made (graphic organizers).
• Visually Representing
• Day 1 – Cluster or web
• Day 2 – T-chart
• Day 3 – Chart with verb tenses.
• Day 4 – Making posters of weather.

• Day 1 – Reading and discussing of the book the first time through.
• Day 2 – Making a list of unknown words and find out what they mean.
• Day 3 – Sorting of verbs into lists and the lesson on verbs.
• Day 6 – Give poster presentations.

• Day 1 – Making a cluster or web on weather.
• Day 2 – Rereading story and making a T-chart.
• Day 3 – In groups, they make a list of verbs from the story.
• Day 4 – Talk about ideas for final projects.

• Day 1 – Writing in their journals.
• Day 3 – Write sentences with verb tenses.
• Day 4-5 – Work on individual final projects.

• rafts
• afraid
• pancake
• weather
• storms
• tornado
• plates
• hungry
• shower
• clouds
• bonus : Chewandswallow

• A web with one word at the center – look for the roots, synonyms, antonyms, and meanings of the word. Ideas for a word – weather, sky, assorted, town, breakfast, incident, squeeze, land.

• Day 1 – Making Connections – text-to-self (personal experiences)

• Day 1 – Setting, relate to culture and the differences in the book
• Day 3 – Plot and conflict with verbs

• Day 5 – Details/ Descriptions – relate author’s writing to the student’s writing.

• Day 1 – Tapping prior knowledge, predicting, organizing ideas (making clusters), recognizing literacy genres
• Day 2 – Separating fact from fiction, organizing ideas (T-chart), use context clues, use a dictionary
• Day 3 – Recognizing parts of a sentence, parts of speech, applying spelling rules

• Make a colorful, attractive poster in class visually representing some form of weather.
• Write a paragraph about the poster representation. It must include: 3 sentences with different tenses of verbs, one fact, one opinion (or fiction), and 2 newly known words.
• Included with the final project is the self-assessment.

• Day 1 – Group Cluster or Web
• Day 2 – T-chart with fact and fiction
• Day 2 – The 3-10 unknown words and their definitions
• Day 3 – The 2 sentences for each tense of verbs
• Day 6 – The poster and paragraph presentations
• Day 6 – Self-assessment