The Tale of Despereaux Novel Study Unit: Hybrid Book Unit w/ Questions & Vocab

Immerse your students in the enchanting world of The Tale of Despereaux with this novel study unit. Designed for teaching literature groups or book clubs, this student-friendly resource includes various materials, from comprehension questions and writing prompts for reading response to vocabulary activities. Engage your students in focused text analysis, literature response, and vocabulary development, all while exploring the captivating story crafted by Kate DiCamillo. Ignite your students' love for reading, critical thinking, and language skills with this captivating Despereaux book unit.

In addition to the traditional trifolds, this set includes a new digital format ideal for classroom or homeschool learning.

Your download includes:

✔Daily comprehension prompts in 3 formats for differentiation

• Foldable trifold brochures
• Cut & paste journal prompts for interactive notebooks
• Google Slides

✔Weekly word of the day flip books for text-based vocabulary

✔ Easy-to-follow directions for printing & prep

✔ Instructional planning guide

✔Answer keys

✔NEW (Optional) post-reading Minibook with enrichment projects

In this The Tale of Despereaux Novel Unit you'll find:

1) Student comprehension practice (up to 30 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 both printable trifolds, reading journal prompts, and Google Slides

2) Approachable practice with key reading standards and skills, including:

• Generating summaries & identifying main ideas
• Text analysis from the perspective of self & characters
• Identifying point of view & analyzing its impact
• Making inferences and drawing conclusions based on text clues
• Analyzing characters, including traits, development, and comparisons
• Exploring plot & generating predictions
• And so much more!

3) Text-based & academic vocabulary

• One target word identified for each day's reading
• A flexible, foldable format allows for studying and applying new vocabulary.
• 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
• Instructions for digital Google Drive version

*Digital Access Note: This resource includes digital access via GOOGLE SLIDES. You will need Internet access and a free Google account OR Google Classroom for the digital versions. Learners will work on computers or iPads. Upon purchasing, you will download documents containing links to digital files and easy-to-follow instructions that will get you started in minutes! These are easily shared digitally between you and your students.

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How Novel Units from Differentiated Teaching Work...

▸ Teachers can introduce the day's vocabulary word & discuss them before reading.

▸ Students complete just one section of the trifold or a single Google Slide daily.

▸ Daily work focuses on target skills needed for success in reading vs. plot recall.

▸ The low-pressure format provides novelty & encourages student engagement

▸ Less overwhelming to reluctant readers and writers

▸ Requires deep analysis and application of text-based knowledge

▸ Encourages discussion about skills & strategies

Here's why teachers & homeschool families love these novel units...

♥ This was truly a great resource for our novel study. I used the weekly foldables to go along with the chapters, and we used the vocabulary as our warm ups. The students loved it, and the questions in the foldables were rigorous and engaging. - Matthew B.

♥ I have really enjoyed using these trifolds in the classroom with my students. They have enjoyed using them too. They like that they are different from a boring worksheet and that they cover many chapters. I like that each day there is a specific skill to work on so I can tell what we need to go back and review another day. Thank you for creating a very useful and fun resource! - Michelle M.

♥ This worked perfectly for the chapter book we were reading in class. It covers a variety of different standards multiple times, so students get multiple opportunities to practice and gain confidence in the standard. I already recommended this resources to other teachers in my school. - Dawn J.

♥ I love this unit and so do my students! I love that it involves minimal planning/preparation and touches on a wide range of literacy skills. The planning guide was incredibly useful and one of the reasons I selected this resource out of many others. It was also easy to combine some of the activities to make the unit fit my timeline. - Ms. Marcella

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Other Novel Studies for Books by Kate DiCamillo:

✔Because of Winn-Dixie

✔The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

✔Flora & Ulysses

✔Tiger Rising

Or grab the Kate DiCamillo Bundle at a HUGE discount: Kate DiCamillo Bundle

Other Novel Study & Literature Circle Resources You Might Also Enjoy...

• Stuart Little by E.B. White
• The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater

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Terms of Use:

© Rebecca Davies. All rights reserved by the author. These materials are intended for personal use in a single classroom only. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. For use in multiple classrooms, please purchase additional licenses. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements in this PDF are copyrighted and cannot be extracted or used outside this file without permission or license. See the product file for clip art and font credits.