by Lois Lowry
What problem does Mrs. Pidgeon's class have? How does Gooney Bird Greene solve it?
Would you like to have a lead role in a play or not? Why?
How did the second grade class get new dictionaries?
Do you know how to look up words in a dictionary? Give three tips on how to find words.
There are lots of new words in this Gooney Bird book! As you read, color or place a check mark in the box that best describes how well you know the word.
Project:
Try to use three of the new words from the list above in the next week. Be prepared to share an example of when you used them with the class! Or, illustrate the meaning of three of the words.
Gooney the Fabulous
DISCUSSION GUIDE:
What is a fable? What animal would you choose to write a fable about? What animal name starts with the same letter as your name? What lesson or moral would you try to teach?
Barry says that having a teddy bear is a "baby thing." How do Mrs. Pidgeon and the class set him straight? Do you have a special animal too?
How did the second graders in Mrs. Pidgeon's class help Beanie and Barry to revise their fables? What did each of them need?
How did the Chihuahua fable have an open (or ambiguous) ending? Do you like these kinds of endings?
What was Nicholas so upset about all week? How did Gooney Bird help him solve his problem?
As you read Gooney the Fabulous fill out the following graphic organizer about the fables as you read them.
Projects:
Write your own fable. Be sure that it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Try to use dialogue and build suspense. Don't forget to use the word SUDDENLY!
Gooney Bird is So Absurd
DISCUSSION GUIDE:
Describe Gooney Bird Greene's fashion choices. What is the most surprising? Would you wear a brain-warming hat or not?
What is a couplet? How does each couplet tell us something about the writer? Can you write one too?
Mrs. Pidgeon brings in the poems her mother wrote as mentor texts for the children. What other poets do you like to read?
Which of the poetic forms (list, haiku, or limerick) is your favorite? Why? Which poem from the story is your favorite?
Why does Mrs. Pidgeon miss school? How do the children help?
Project:
Try your hand at a haiku, a list, and a limerick. After revising, choose your favorite poem and illustrate it for a bulletin board display.
Gooney Bird On the Map
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
Brainstorm everything you can remember about Gooney Bird Greene. How would you describe her? Would you like to be friends with her?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Why is February an exciting month for the second-graders at Watertower Elementary? What are they studying in Mrs. Pidgeon's class?
Gooney Bird tells her teacher, "I like to be different." Do you? Why do you think some children like to stick out while others prefer to blend in? Is there a right or a wrong way to be?
How do the candy hearts that Mrs. Pidgeon shares with the children at lunch seem to match the children and adults who get them? What would you like your candy heart to say?
Describe the project that Gooney Bird comes up with out in the snow. Why does it not work out? How do they revise the project to be more beneficial?
Explain how this lesson teaches not just geography but how it's not good to gloat (e.g. about vacation plans.)
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
Give each student a copy of the table below so they can use these words from the book in new ways!
GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITY
Create a map on a large sheet of bulletin board paper (especially if you don't have snow) and have children recreate the geography program from the book. Or, research states that they would like to visit!
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and children's author, created this guide.
Gooney Bird Books by Lois Lowry
Gooney Bird Greene
Gooney Bird and the Room Mother
Gooney the Fabulous
Gooney Bird Is So Absurd
Gooney Bird on the Map
