Lessons & Units

Dogs Don't Tell Jokes 5th Grade Unit

Dogs Don't Tell Jokes

Dogs Don't Tell Jokes

Fountas and Pinnell
O
Lexile
560L
Genre
Realistic Fiction
Concepts Taught
Cause and Effect, Character, Genre, Plot, Predicting, Theme

Lessons

Genre Lesson Realistic Fiction Identify the realistic elements of realistic fiction by making personal connections.
Textual Analysis Comedy Q & A Use the Textual Analysis process to answer comprehension questions about a text.
Lesson 1 Analyzing Relationships Analyze character relationships.
Lesson 2 Predicting Events in Realistic Fiction Make a prediction about what will happen in a work of realistic fiction using text evidence and prior knowledge.
Lesson 3 Identifying Plot Conflicts Identify two plot conflicts in the text (Character vs. Character and Character vs. Self).
Lesson 4 Theme Matters Use recurring events in order to identify and examine a theme in a work of realistic fiction.
Lesson 5 Character and Relationship Changes Explain what drives a change in characters and their relationships.

Build Background Knowledge

Build background knowledge for this unit by introducing your students to the genre of comedy. Comedy has been an art form since Ancient Greece, about 4,000 years ago. Originally, comic performance was a way for people to make fun of public figures and politicians. Aristophanes was the most famous Greek comedian who made fun of the Greek thinker Socrates in his play, "The Clouds." Aristophanes used his comedy to show how Socrates had his "head in the clouds." Today, we call this satire. Comedy was also used to describe plays that had happy endings, as opposed to the ancient tragedies in which heroes fell. Also discuss in class what makes a joke funny. Introduce the principles of humor: The Rule of Three (in which two things are similar and one thing is out-of-context; e.g. "a doctor, a nurse, and giraffe walked into a coffee shop"), Juxtaposition (when two things that are not alike are put together; e.g. a childlike teacher), and Surprise (e.g. the Interrupting Cow joke).

Teacher and Student Materials

Pacing Guide

Pacing Guide for Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes

Day 1

Begin Genre Lesson (through Guided Practice)

Read Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes,Chapters 1-2

Day 2

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 1-2

Begin Reading Chapters 3-8

Finish Genre Lesson

Begin the Genre Lesson Independent Practice in the Student Packet

Day 3

Finish Reading Chapters 3-8

Complete the Genre Lesson Independent Practice in the Student Packet

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 3-8

Day 4

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 3-8

Textual Analysis Lesson

Ask students to bring in a photograph of a friend or family member for the next lesson.

Day 4

Begin Lesson 1

Day 5

Lesson 1 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 1 in the Student Packet

Day 6

Begin Lesson 2

Day 7

Lesson 2 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 2 in the Student Packet

Day 8

Begin Reading Chapters 9-14

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 9-14

Day 9

Finish Reading Chapters 9-14

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 9-14

Day 10

Begin Lesson 3

Day 11

Lesson 3 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 3 in the Student Packet

Day 12

Begin Reading Chapters 15-24

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 15-24

Day 13

Finish Reading Chapters 15-24

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapters 15-24

Day 14

Begin Lesson 4

Day 15

Lesson 4 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 4 in the Student Packet

Day 16

Begin Reading Chapter 25 and “The Critics Raved”

Begin the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapter 25 and “The Critics Raved”

Day 17

Finish Reading Chapter 25 and “The Critics Raved”

Complete the Student Packet Worksheets for Chapter 25 and “The Critics Raved”

Day 18

Begin Lesson 5

Day 19

Lesson 5 (continued)

Complete the Independent Practice for Lesson 5 in the Student Packet

Day 20

Review for the Unit Assessment

Day 21

Unit Assessment

 

User Comments

Homeschooling my 5th grade son. I taught in the classroom for fiver years. I absolutely LOVE literature units. I am going to try this one with him. I'll let you know!

Submitted by lynesabell on 1/28/15

I really like the break down of the lessons and the background knowledge information that is provided.

Submitted by smagro on 10/10/14

I used this book as a Read Aloud to my entire 4th/5th grade split. Due to budget, we weren't able to buy all of the students their own copy. My students loved, just loved this book! I love this website, and thanks for allowing my students to have fun while learning!

Submitted by Rae on 12/11/13