This 4-week printable novel study for the book Wishtree by Katherine Applegate is one of my favorite novel units for 4th-6th grade readers because it engages even the most reluctant readers. Your students focus on key comprehension skills and dive deep into the plot and core features of the text using these student-friendly novel activities for comprehension and vocabulary while enjoying this rich realistic fiction novel about one middle schooler's journey to save his family's home.
These Wishtree book study activities are standards-aligned and build essential reading comprehension skills in a book club format that can be done whole class, in small groups, or as an individual novel study even if you're teaching remotely.
Your students will be deeply engaged in the story with each day's purposefully matched activity. Running book clubs in your classroom has never been easier!
Your download includes:
✔ Daily Wishtree chapter questions available in student-friendly printables
✔ Text-based daily vocabulary
✔ Instructional planning guide
✔ Answer keys
In this Novel Unit for Wishtree you'll find:
1) Student comprehension practice (up to 20 instructional days)
- Each day's work focuses on a single standards-based comprehension skill
- Short, written responses include opportunities to apply thinking to text
- Designed with reluctant and struggling learners in mind
- Built-in graphic organizers to support skill acquisition
- Approachable questions help make connections & start conversations
- No boring multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions!
- Available in student-friendly trifolds or cut & paste journal prompts
2) Approachable practice with key reading standards and skills including:
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Text analysis and responding to literature
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Summarizing and identifying the main idea of large and small passages of text
- Exploring how character development and change occurs through events of the plot
- Making inferences and drawing conclusions based on text clues
- Analyzing theme
- Identifying cause and effect relationships
- Interpreting theme
- And so much more!
3) Text-based & academic vocabulary
- One target word identified for each day's reading
- In the daily slide with an embedded link to an online thesaurus
- Includes opportunity to generate a personal definition and use the word in context
- Fosters connections between vocabulary knowledge through synonyms and antonyms
- Opportunities to make connections to academic vocabulary for daily skills
4) Teacher support materials
- Unit scope & sequence lays out the day's comprehension & vocabulary focus
- Answer Keys for all comprehension activities
- Tips for preparation and implementation
