Thunder Cake Teaching Plan - Grades: 3–5 About this book
Introduce the Read Aloud Spark children's interest in the story
by having them work in small groups to: - brainstorm and list
common sounds people are afraid of. - share experiences of how
they handle the sounds they list. When children gather as a
class again, invite them to compare their lists. Have them
identify sounds that are common to all of the lists. You may
want to point out that talking about a fear is one way to reduce
it. Sharing fears often makes people feel safer. Encourage
children to mention experiences in which older members of their
families have shared their wisdom about overcoming fear in ways
that were helpful to them. Share the Read Aloud Display the
cover of the book, read the title and names of the author and
illustrator. Talk about the cover picture, and ask children to
identify the characters. Ask children to predict what a thunder
cake could be. Read the story aloud. As you read, pause at
strategic places to ask children to pr