Lit Information Lesson

By: Cynthia Johnson

Dear Mr. Henshaw by: Beverly Cleary
Georgia Standards:
ELACC5W4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
S5L1. Students will classify organisms into groups and relate how they determined the
groups with how and why scientists use classification.
a. Demonstrate how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and
how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal).
SS5E1: The student will use the basic economic concepts of trade, opportunity cost,
specialization, voluntary exchange, productivity, and price incentives to illustrate
historical events.
SS5E2: The student will describe the functions of four major sectors in the U. S.
economy.
SS5H9 The student will trace important developments in America since 1975.
b: Explain the impact of the development of the personal computer and the Internet
has had on American life.
Task Definition: This unit, designed to supplement the teaching of Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly
Cleary, consists of five activities that address the following four questions, respectively:

What is the day-to-day life of a trucker like?

What is the history of the monarch Butterfly?
How could the products Leighs father hauled in his truck be used in recipes that could
be offered by a catering business preparing meals for kids?
Leigh was a writer of short stories; he also had a pen pal. What would it be like to
publish a story and/or have a pen pal over the Internet?

In this activity students gather information about Monarch butterflies in order to produce a
short report or a poster telling about the butterfly. They could work individually on this activity ,
but working with a partner who is a strong reader would help the students be more successful.
URL: http://www.MonarchWatch.org/

Students, individually or in pairs, will explore different sites on the Internet to design a catering
business run by and for kids. They will create a name, menus, prices, and signs to advertise their
business. They will search and create recipes that they think kids might like for their parties.
Epicurious Food : URL: http://www.epicurious.com/e_eating/e02_recipes.html
Teams of 2-4 students pretend they are truckers, hauling a load of vegetables up the coast from
San Diego to Crescent City, California. Using various web sites students will check weather and
road conditions, plot their course, and investigate the various crops they haul on their trip. The
team will plot their course, keeping in mind the time, fuel, and speed limit constrictions.
MapQuest: http://www.mapquest.com/
Weather Information: http://www.weather.com
Beverly Cleary Biography: http://www.beverlycleary.com/about.aspx

1. Information Seeking Strategies:

Determine all possible sources using:

Textbooks
Encyclopedia
Library resources
Internet
Online Encyclopedias
Experts (Business Owners

2. Location & Access: Locate sources:

Library books and encyclopedia

Videos/DVD
United Streaming
Galileo

3. Use of Information:
Read Dear Mr. Henshaw
View websites and Internet Sources
Take notes on paper
Take notes on cards
Use a graphic organizer
Use a recorder

4. Synthesis:
Organize and construct the presentation to help other students understand the
text.

5. Evaluation:
Rubric for Dear Mr. Henshaw