Word Detective

Before the book is read, choose up to five words in the book that are unfamiliar to most of your students. Then, as they read, have the students find these words and try to infer the meaning by reading around the word. If they can’t infer the meaning, have them look...

Build Knowledge with Current Events

Explain to students that wildfires are a pretty common event globally. It is estimated that over 100,000 wildfires happen in the United States alone each year. So how do they begin? First, there may be a lack of water in the area. This is known as a drought. During...

Prior Knowledge: KWL

Draw a three-column chart on chart paper. Label the three columns as follows: WHAT I KNOW ABOUT WILDFIRES WHAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT WILDFIRES WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT WILDFIRES                   Before reading the book, fill in...

Text Forms and Features

Show the front cover to the students.  Ask them what they notice about the two illustrations on the front cover. Why do you think the illustrator drew two separate illustrations? Read the title of the book and then analyze the illustrations. What do they think the...

Discuss the Themes

This story has many themes including hope after a tragedy, resilience, family and the ecological recovery after a forest fire. Discuss each theme and its meaning with students and then ask them to share any personal connections they have with a theme.