Patricia Polacco
Lesson plans for Chicken Sunday and other books

|Polacco: Author Study| |Babushka Baba Yaga| |Chicken Sunday| |The Keeping Quilt| |Pink and Say| |Rechenka's Eggs| |Thank You, Mr. Falker|

Author Study

Patricia Polacco
The author's home page. Be sure to click on the link "For Teachers."

Patricia Polacco, Author Study
Suggestions for working with Thunder Cake, Babushka's Doll, Babushka Baba Yaga, Uncle Vova's Tree, and others.

Video Interviews with Patricia Polacco
Links to several short interviews with the author, biography, bibliography, and transcript. Access requires RealOne Player, available via link onsite if your computer doesn't already have it.

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Babushka Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga
The student will read two versions of a folk story and compare the treatment of the main character in the two versions.

Do You Have a Babushka?
This lesson will familiarize students with the author Patricia Polacco. Students will use appropriate resources to gather information about Polacco, categorize the information, and record it in a graphic organizer (concept map).

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Chicken Sunday

Chicken Sunday
Vocabulary.

Chicken Sunday
Vocabulary and a variety of crosscurricular activities to support the novel. Access requires Adobe Reader or compatible application.

Chicken Sunday Word Search
In this printable puzzle, students search in the grid for words to complete the puzzle below it. Answers are included.

Pysanky: Not Just a Pretty Egg
This cross-curricular unit incorporates art and core subjects, including Chicken Sunday, into a study of pysanky.

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The Keeping Quilt

Family Tree and Patchwork Quilt
Students investigate their family trees and create a patchwork block for a class quilt.

The Keeping Quilt
Summary, discussion questions, activities, and related titles.

The Keeping Quilt
Five lessons: 2 develop literacy skills, 1 researches family history, and 2 develop math skills. (The WebQuest link at Lesson 3 is unfortunately dead.)

Quilts of Many Colors
After reading The Keeping Quilt, students make their own classroom "quilt."

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Pink and Say

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Rechenka's Eggs

Rechenka's Eggs
Pre-reading and post-reading activities.

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Thank You, Mr. Falker

Best of Times, Worst of Times
Students will produce a narrative about a personal experience, with a focus on the trait of organization. This 11-page document includes writing prompt and anchor papers. It requires Adobe Reader or compatible application for access.

Digging Deeper: Developing Comprehension Using Thank You, Mr. Falker
This teacher read-aloud and follow-up whole-group instruction provide a basis for improved higher-level reading comprehension. Teachers work with the whole class to model making predictions and personal connections, envisioning character change, and understanding the themes of the book. Response journals can also be used to further student connections to the characters and themes in the book.

Teacher Feature
Students respond to reading using graphic organizers and technology like Inspiration.

Thank You, Mr. Falker Guide
List of post-reading activities.

Writer's Workshop MiniLesson
Focus on writing leads.

Why, Thank You!
Students hear examples of Idea and Voice. Class discusses the book's different writing traits and the theme ideas. Students write a thank you note to their hero, as an at-home activity.

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