hate that cat Archives

A few years ago, my students designed a Facebook page for a favorite character in the book, Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise. I was surprised how much critical thinking was involved. The students needed to pick a significant scene from the story, summarize it from the point of view of a character in the form of a Facebook post, and then respond to the post from the point of view of a different character.

It was challenging for students to think about one story event from several angles. The finished writing activity reveals quite a bit about a student’s understanding of events in the story, character traits, and character interactions and motivations. It is a short activity but packed with reading skills, and the results are completely entertaining! It also had the bonus of incorporating technology skills since my students completed the Facebook page digitally.

I recently assigned the activity again, and it did not disappoint. My students were in three separate reading groups this time around, but all students completed the Facebook page based on a character from their assigned book. It is such an easy activity to adapt to any novel study.

In my classroom, I inserted the blank FACEBOOK TEMPLATE that I designed as a background in a PowerPoint slide and then added text boxes as placeholders on top of the background. I shared the template with my students, and they clicked in the text boxes to add their writing. They also inserted pictures, used bullet points, and changed font sizes (potentially tricky technology skills for 4th graders).

For younger students or classrooms/homes without computer or printer access, the activity could be handwritten using THE TEMPLATE. The basic Facebook page with the text box outlines can be printed, and students draw profile pictures and neatly write posts, likes, and replies.

The samples above are related to the novels, Dying to Meet You, Love That Dog, and Hate That Cat. Complete novel units are available for purchase in my teacher store. Click the book names to see more details about the novel studies.

During the month of February, my students and I work on a poetry unit. A key piece to the POETRY UNIT is the novel, Hate That Cat, by Sharon Creech. I love this book. I cry in front of my students when I read this book. I want to be the character, Miss Stretchberry, in this book. Miss Stretchberry is that once-in-a-lifetime teacher who changes a child’s entire school career. She sees all of the hidden strengths in Jack, the narrator in the story, and spends time nurturing those qualities. She also sniffs out Jack’s worries or troubles and gently solves problems. In return, Jack rises to the occasion and is motivated to stretch his capabilities while he has Miss Stretchberry as a teacher.

Characters like Miss Stretchberry are some of my favorite, so I started building a list of books with inspirational teacher characters. I wish I had more book titles, but here is my first draft. I probably could expand the list into movie titles like Dead Poets Society or Stand and Deliver because movies with inspirational teachers get me too.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Hank Zipzer by Henry Winkler (pay attention to the music teacher)
Homesick by Kate Klise
Love That Dog and Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech
No Talking by Andrew Clements
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, 7th grade+ (pay attention to the math teacher)
The Secret School by Avi
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Word after Word after Word by Patricia MacLachlan
The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill

For adults (and particularly teacher adults), try the book Educating Esme by Esme Raji Codell.

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hate that cat

Facebook Character Activity

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Terrific Teachers Book List

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