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Grade: all
Subject: Reading/Writing
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Teaching Activities for
101 Dog Street: The Story of Amos The Bummed-Out Canine
Grade Level: 2
Format: The following activities can be adapted whether you choose to use the book as a whole class read-aloud activity, small literature group, or small guided reading group.Choose one or more activity from each section to support comprehension before,
during, and after reading the book.Specific Sunshine State Standards are addressed and noted throughout activities. Florida'sSunshine State Standards are comparable to most other states' standards.
Summary: This humorous chapter book follows Amos through his discovery of the power of friendship. In the beginning, Amos is bummed out because he is so lonely in his new home after his owner Ned leaves him with his parents, who don't like dogs.
The neighborhood dogs invite Amos to join them on an adventure to discover something spectacular. Along the way Amos and the cast of hilarious and memorable characters discover that the most spectacular thing is to share your life with friends.
Students will giggle at the antics of the dogs and the rude squirrels they
hate; they will want to be friends with Tessee, the spunky wheelchair-bound girl who joins in the adventure and will beg to visit with the lovable dogs of 101 Dog Street again and again.Teaching Activities:
Activate Prior Knowledge Before Reading:
You can tell students a general summary of the book and explain that you are going to lead them through a few activities to get them ready to read the book.Sunshine State Standard LA.2.4.2.1 The student will write in a variety of informational/expository forms.
1. Amos actively keeps lists of things he hates and things he loves. Ask students to make their own lists of things they hate and things they love. Talk about why these lists might change as the students grow and learn (a three-year-old's list would look different from that of a seven-year-old's).2. In the book Ned and Tessee and her mother love dogs, but Ned's parents do not like dogs.
Ask students to make a Pro/Con chart for having a dog as a pet.
LA.2.1.6.1 The student will use new vocabulary that is introduced and taught directly.
LA.2.1.6.3 The student will use context clues to determine meanings of unfamiliar words.
LA.2.1.6.5 The student will relate new vocabulary to familiar words.
LA.2.1.6.9 The student will determine meanings of unfamiliar words by using a dictionary and digital tools.
3. Tell students that the book may contain new vocabulary words for them. You will provide them with a chart (see end of this document) that will help them preview and discover the meanings of the words. Read the words on the chart with the students and invite them to discuss the meanings if they would like to. Explain that as they are reading and come to each word, they are to record the context to help them discover its meaning, verify the meaning using a dictionary, and record synonyms for the word to help them better understand it. There are spaces for other words to be added by the teacher or students as they read.As an extension activity, you could ask students to write sentences or a story containing
the new vocabulary. To add support to this activity in a jigsaw format, you could assign pairs of students to each word and then ask them to "teach" the results to the class.
Another extension activity after the chart is completed is to create a match game with
each new vocabulary word and a synonym.4. In the book Jake gives Amos directions to find him using numbered steps and directional words. Have a few volunteers, or everyone, take turns giving a friend directions to different places in the classroom.
5. You may want to preview the dog breeds mentioned in the book, as it could help students better understand what each dog looks and acts like. You could show pictures of each breed from books or the internet, or share your own knowledge of the breeds. The breeds mentioned in the book are Blood Hound, Poodle, Bird Dog,
Shih Tsu, Labrador Retriever, and Terrier.Interact with the Text During Reading:
LA.2.1.7.8 The student will use strategies to repair comprehension of grade-appropriate text when self-monitoring indicates confusion, including but not limited to rereading, checking context clues, prediction, summarizing,questioning, and clarifying by checking other sources.1. You could ask students to keep a journal in which they record personal responses after each chapter. You could structure this to include specific comprehension strategies such as predicting, questioning, making connections, summarizing, or visualizing.
LA.2.2.1.7 The student will identify and explain an author's use of descriptive and figurative language, and examine how it is used to describe people, feelings, and objects.
2. The author, Shelley Mickle, uses similes throughout the text to help a reader see something ordinary in a new way. Similes are a poetic and creative part of writing that can enrich a text, making it memorable and unique. There is a "Simile Collecting Chart" at the end of this document you can use to help students gain control of this literary concept. On the first page of the text there are two similes you can use to model the use of the chart, "They (ears) hang down on his head like wet bread," and "loneliness sloshes inside of him like a fish tank with no fish."
Enrich and Extent Comprehension After Reading the Text:
LA.2.1.7.4 The student will identify cause-and-effect relationships in text.1. Explain to students that any good story has a chain of cause and effect events that make up the major plot development throughout the book. Remind students of the first major cause and effect events of this book: cause - Ned got a job far away; effect - Ned left Amos with his parents; cause - Ned's parents did not like Amos and worked a lot; effect - Amos was lonely.
Using large index cards or pieces of paper, challenge students to record and/or draw each major cause and effect event in order. Students can work in pairs or small groups for support.
Students should use the book to help support their work. You could assign a few chapters to each group and then facilitate a whole class assembly of the entire "time line" of the book.
LA.2.1.7.7 The student will compare and contrast characters and settings in one text.
2. Ask students to list all of the major characters in the book. Ask students to pick two of these characters to compare and contrast. You could demonstrate this technique using a Venn Diagram, with two overlapping circles. Each circle represents one character, with the overlapping middle being the space in which to record how the characters are similar. Students could add illustrations and then present their results to the class.
After completing these graphic organizers, students would be prepared to play a great
game of Charades. They would act out one of the characters, while friends guess which one.LA.2.4.2.2 The student will record information related to a topic.
LA.2.4.2.5 The student will write simple directions to familiar locations using "left and right," to create a map that matches the directions.3.Lead students through planning and building a model of 101 Dog Street. First students should draw a map of the neighborhood, referring to the text for accuracy. Then that map should be used as a blueprint for a 3-D model of the neighborhood, which can easily be created using cereal boxes and paper - get as creative and messy as you want! Finally, students should take turns writing directions for other students to travel through the neighborhood using dog toys and trucks. They should use numbered "doggy" steps as those Jake gave to Amos to find him.
LA.2.2.1.2 The student will identify and describe the elements of story structure, including setting, plot, character, problem, and resolution in a variety of fiction.
LA. 2.2.1.6 The student will write a book report identifying character(s), setting, and sequence of events.4. You could ask students to write a book report, including the setting, plot, characters,
problem, and resolution. This could serve as your major assessment for comprehension of the book.LA.2.4.1.1 The student will write narratives based on real or imagined events that include a main idea,
characters, a sequence of events and descriptive details.5. You could ask students to write another adventure for the dogs of 101 Dog Street. Remind them that a good narrative includes cause and effect and a problem and solution. Challenge them to include similes in their writing. And remember, it should be funny!
LA.2.4.1.2 The student will compose simple stories, poems, riddles, rhymes, or song lyrics.
6. Challenge students to write a poem, riddle, or song inspired by the characters of 101 Dog Street.
LA.2.4.2.4 The student will write communications, including friendly letters and thank-you notes.
7. Ask students to write a letter to either Amos or Tessee. These letters can be published on the web site www.wildonionpress.com.
LA.2.6.2.3 The student will analyze and select appropriate facts and communicate information in a simple report that includes a title, a main idea, and supporting details.
8. Challenge students to research their favorite breed of dog for a report. Give students some structure by brainstorming categories or questions to focus their research. You could create a note-taking graphic organizer and then gather research materials from the library, internet, and magazines.
9. Encourage students to produce pamphlets about how to properly care for dogs. They could do some research through local veterinarians' offices or animal shelters.
10. Clarify with students what was the spectacular thing in the book (the puppies and the friendship found at 101 Dog Street). Ask students to write about what is spectacular in their lives.
101 Dog Street: The Story of Amos the Bummed-Out Canine
New Vocabulary Chartburrows, page 58
enraged, page 55
odds, page 46
purebred, page 38
cautiously, page 32
bombarded, page25
shock, page 23
bay, page 17
traits, page 13
inherited, page 10
"He is a bummed-out dog dog
canine...canine is a
fancy word for dog."
canine, page 4Word and Page # Context Dictionary Meaning Synonym(s)
101 Dog Street: The Story of Amos the Bummed-Out Canine
Simile Collecting ChartWhy? What effect does the
author create?
Page
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