Unit: Stellaluna Lesson Type: Read-Aloud
Read-Aloud Lesson: Stellaluna
Reading Comprehension Unit: Stellaluna
Lesson Grade Level: 1st/ 2nd
Common Core Standards Met: TBD
Learning Goal: Students will be able to identify key events in Stellaluna to determine the theme of the story.
MaterialsProvided:
1. Detailed lesson plan
2. Graphic organizer for guided practice
3. Independent student worksheet
Materials Not Provided:
Stellaluna
Note To Teacher: The following lesson provides optional, suggested language for the teacher.
Part I: Teacher Modeling and Teacher-Led Questioning
Learning Goal: Students will be able to identify key events in Stellaluna to determine the theme of the story.
Note to Teacher:This lesson is intended to be used while you read the book out loud to your students. Ideally, this will be the second time you read this book to your students.The first time, just read the book out loud to the class all the way through, without stopping.
1.Write the learning goal on the board (before class starts), then read the learning goal, out loud, with the class.
2. Transition your students into the text:
Suggested language:“Have you ever seen a bat in a bird’s nest? Have you ever seen a bird hanging upside down in a cave? How could a bat and a bird be friends? Let’s read and find out.”
3.Read pages 1-2, then stop. (Page 2 ends with “…she flew out to search for food.”)
4. Teacher asks students: “The author just introduced two characters in this story. Who are they?”
Suggested student response(Have students answer using complete sentences):“They are Mother Bat and her baby, Stellaluna.”
5. Teacher asks students:“What does the author tell us about them?”
Suggested student response:“The author tells us that they are fruit bats and fly at night. Mother Bat loves Stellaluna and carries her as she searches for food.”
6.Read pages 3-5, then stop. (Page 5ends with“…again she dropped.”)
7.Teacher asks self out loud:“The author writes that Stellalunaclutched a thin branch.I don’t know what ‘clutched’ means. Again, the story says Stellalunaclutched a thin branch. I am going tofigure out what ‘clutched’ means by reading the sentence before and the sentence after.”
8. Teacher answers self out loud:“The author writes that ‘the dark leafy tangle of branches caught Stellaluna as she fell,’ so we know that she’s no longer dropping through the air by the time she’s clutching. And whatever clutching is, she’s doing it to a ‘thin branch.’ Her motion has stopped, she has her wings wrapped around her, and she’s doing something to a thin branch. If ‘clutch’ means something like ‘hold onto,’ that would make sense here. Looking at the picture on the facing page, holding onto a branch is exactly what Stellaluna appears to be doing.”
9.Teacher asks students: “Next we learn that Stellaluna is ‘trembling with cold and fear.’ Why might she be feeling this way?”
Suggested student response:“Right after Stellaluna is described as being afraid, she calls out for her mother. She is separated from her mother. She is a baby and is probably frightened to be all by herself.”
10. Read pages 6-9, then stop. (Page 9 ends with “In dropped a big green grasshopper!”)
11.Teacher asks self:“The author writes, ‘Stellaluna was terribly hungry—but not for the crawly things Mama Bird brought.’I wonder why Stellaluna didn’t want to eat the crawly things?”
12.Teacher answers self out loud: “On page one the author told usStellaluna is a fruit bat so she would rather eat fruit than insects.”
13.Read pages 10-11, then stop. (Page 11 ends with“…fall and break your necks!”)
14.Teacher states out loud:“The author writes that ‘Stellaluna learned to be like the birds.’ When I read that Stellaluna is trying to be like the birds, I know that ‘to be like’ means that she is trying to be similar to them or trying to fit in and act like the birds.”
15. Teacher asks students:“Give me examples from the text of how Stellaluna is trying to act like a bird.”
Suggested student response: “She stayed awake all day and slept at night.She ate bugs even though they tasted awful.”
16:Read pages 12-13, then stop. (Page 13 ends with“Stellaluna behaved as a good bird should.”)
17.Teacher states out loud:“I’m going to take a close look at the picture of Mama Bird and Stellaluna. It looks like Mama Bird is angry. I’m going to go back to the text to see why she might be angry. Mama Bird says to Stellaluna, ‘You are teaching my children to do bad things.’ That’s why Mama Bird is angry at Stellaluna.”
18: Read pages 14-19, then stop. (Page 19 reads “How embarrassing!”)
19: Teacher statesout loud:“The author just told us on the page before that Stellaluna tried to make a graceful, or smooth, landing. Now look at the picture.”
20. Teacher asks students: “Does it look like Stellaluna made a smooth landing?How does the illustration and text help you tell whether Stellaluna is landing gracefully like the birds?”
Suggested student response:“No, it doesn’t look like a smooth landing in the picture.”
21.Teacher states: “Yes, it’s clear in the illustration that Stellaluna did not make a smooth landing. Also, the author wrote, ‘How embarrassing!’ because Stellaluna is embarrassed that she did not make a smooth landing.”
22.Read pages 20-23, then stop. (Page 23 ends with“…birds went home without her.”)
23.Teacher asks students:“Why do the birds decide to go home when the sun sets?”
Suggested student response:“Flitter ‘warned’ that the sun was setting, which suggests some kind of danger. Then Flap says that they will get lost in the dark if they don’t go home.”
24.Read pages 24-29, then stop. (Page 29 ends with “You are my baby.”)
25.Teacher asks out loud:“When Stellaluna is hanging by her thumbs, is she hanging upside down? Why or why not?”
Suggested student response:“Stellaluna is hanging right side up for a bird but upside down for a bat.”
26.Read pages 30-31, then stop.(Page 31 ends with“…bug as long as you live.”)
27.Teacher asks out loud: “Why is Stellaluna afraid to fly at night?”
Suggested student response:“Stellaluna is afraid because she thinks that she and the other bats will crash into trees if they fly in the dark.” Some students may also explain, “Stellaluna has this fear because after staying awake all day and sleeping at night with the birds, she doesn’t realize that she has the ability to see in the dark.”
28.Read pages 32-39, then stop.(Page 39 ends with“…limb above them.”)
29.Teacherasks students:“What happens to the birds when they try to fly at night?”
Suggested student response:“The birds can’t see anything. They’re about to crash until Stellalunaswoops down and rescues them.”
30.Read pages 40-41, then stop. (Page 41 ends with“‘And that’s a fact.’”)
31.Teacher states out loud:“Stellalunatried to fit in with the birds. However, when she flew shecould not land gracefully. Shedidn’t like eating bugs and slept upside down. She preferred to be active at night and sleep during the day. On the other hand,the birds landed gracefully on branches when they flew.The birds ate insectsand slept at night.”
32.Teacher asks students:“Is Stellaluna just like the birds or different from them? Explain your answer.”
Suggested student response: “Stellaluna shares a few similarities with the birds, because
bothStellaluna and the birds have wings and can fly. However, Stellaluna and the birds are also quite different. The birds sleep in a nest, whereas Stellaluna sleeps hanging upside down. The birds like to eat bugs but Stellaluna likes to eat fruit. In addition, Stellaluna can see in the dark while the birds can only see well during the daytime.”
33.Teacher asks students:“Despite their differences, how doStellaluna, Pip, Flitter, and Flap feel about each other at the end of the story?”
Suggested student response:“Despite thedifferences betweenStellaluna and thesethree birds,they’re friends. They may not understand how they can be so different and similar at the same time, but they recognize the friendship that exists among them.”
Part II: Guided Practice and Discussion
Note to Teacher:
Both completed and incomplete versions of the graphic organizer are provided.
This guided practice section is an important step to ensure that students understoodthe theme of the story and were able to identify the most important information from the text.
Complete the graphic organizer (see the following page) with your students, out loud, as a whole group based on the suggested questions below. Have a completed graphic organizer on the board and reveal each answer one at a time as students provide the correct response.
1.Teacher asks students:“Wheredoes the storyStellaluna take place?”
Suggested student response:“Stellaluna takes place in a warm, sultry (humid) forest far, far away.”
2.Teacher asks students:“Who is the story about?”
Suggested student response:“The story is about a fruit bat named Stellaluna. The other characters are Mother Bat, the birds Flap, Pip, Flitter, and Mama Bird.”
3.Teacher asks students:“What is the bigproblem forStellaluna in the story?”
Suggested student response:“The big problem for Stellaluna is that she becomes separated from her mother and has to learn to live with the birds!”
4.Teacher asks students:“How does Stellaluna plan to solve the problem?”
Suggested student response:“To solve her problem, Stellalunatries to live like the birds.”
5.Teacher asks students:“What happens as Stellaluna tries to solve her problem?”
Suggested student response:“She eats bugs, sleeps at night in a nest, and tries to land gracefully after flying.”
6.Teacher asks students:“How does the story turn out? How is Stellaluna’s problem solved?”
Suggested student response:“Stellaluna’s problem is solved when a group of bats discover her. She is reunited with her mother and starts living like a bat. Despite this change, she maintains her friendship with Pip, Flitter, and Flap.”
7.Teacher asks students:“How does Stellaluna feel during different parts of the story?”
Suggested student response:“When she is separated from her mother, Stellaluna is afraid. When trying to fit in with the birds, she feels embarrassed because she cannot land like the birds. When she is reunited with her mother and the bats, she seems happy to be with them and living like other bats. At the end of the story, she feels a strong friendship with the birds.”
8.Teacher asks students:“What lesson doStellalunaand the young birds learn over the course of the story?”
Suggested student response:“Strong friendships can develop regardless of differences.”
Note to Teacher:After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed and discussed with the class, ask and discuss the following extension question:
1.Teacher asks students:“What happens to the three young birds at the end of the story?”
Suggested student response:“The birds learn a little about what it means to be a fruit bat. They try hanging upside down among bats and flying at night. They experience a little of what Stellaluna must have felt when she was living with them. They recognize that they and Stellaluna are different and similar at the same time.”
GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (Literary)
Graphic Organizer Type: Story Grammar Frame
Story Grammar FrameStory Title and Author: What is the title? Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
Setting:Wheredoes the storyStellaluna take place?
Characters: Who is the story about?
Problem:What is the big problem forStellaluna in the story?
Plan to solve the problem: How does Stellaluna plan to solve the problem?
Attempt(s) to solve the problem: What happens as Stellaluna tries to solve her problem?
Ending:How does the story turn out? How is Stellaluna’s problem solved?
Feelings:How does Stellaluna feel during different parts of the story?
Theme:What lesson do Stellaluna and the young birds learn over the course of the story?
Story Grammar Frame
Story Title and Author:What is the title? Who is the author? Who is the illustrator?
Stellaluna is written and illustrated by Janell Cannon.
Setting:Wheredoes the storyStellaluna take place?
Stellaluna takes place in a warm, sultry (humid) forest far, far away
Characters:Who is the story about?
The story is about a fruit bat named Stellaluna. The other characters are Mother Bat, the birds Flap, Pip, Flitter, and Mama Bird.
Problem:What is the big problem forStellaluna in the story?
The big problem for Stellaluna is that she becomes separated from her mother and has to learn to live with the birds!
Plan to solve the problem: How does Stellaluna plan to solve the problem?
To solve her problem, Stellalunatries to live like the birds.
Attempt(s) to solve the problem:What happens as Stellaluna tries to solve her problem?
She eats bugs, sleeps at night in a nest, and tries to land gracefully after flying.
Ending:How does the story turn out? How is Stellaluna’s problem solved?
Stellaluna’s problem is solved when a group of bats discover her. She is reunited with her mother and starts living like a bat. Despite this change, she maintains her friendship with Pip, Flitter, and Flap.
Feelings:How does Stellaluna feel during different parts of the story?
When she is separated from her mother, Stellaluna is afraid. When trying to fit in with the birds, she feels embarrassed because she cannot land like the birds. When she is reunited with her mother and the bats, she seems happy to be with them and living like other bats. At the end of the story, she feels a strong friendship with the birds.
Theme: What lesson do Stellaluna and the young birds learn over the course of the story?
Strong friendships can develop regardless of differences.
Part III: Student Independent Practice
Note to Teacher:
Both the student question set and teacher answer sheet are provided.
This independent practice section is an important step to check for student understanding of the text. It also serves to reinforce the learning goal. Students should be given time to independently complete the question set. Ideally, there will be a thorough review of the completed question set so that the teacher has the opportunity to provide corrective feedback to students as needed.
Teacher Guide & Answers
Discussion Guide
To the Teacher: Use the text-dependent questions below to facilitate a whole class discussion to ensure students comprehend the text.
- What happens to Stellaluna at the beginning of the story?
Suggested answer:At the beginning of the story, an owl attacks Mother Bat and Stellaluna. Mother Bat then drops Stellaluna, who falls and eventually lands in a bird’s nest.
- Describe one challenge Stellaluna experiences when she is living with the baby birds and Mama Bird.
Suggested answer:Answers will vary. One challenge Stellaluna experiences while living with Mama Bird and the baby birds is that Stellaluna had to eat bugs, though she is a fruit bat. In addition, whileshe can fly like the baby birds, Stellaluna can’t land like the baby birds and she feels embarrassed. Furthermore, Mama Bird makes Stellaluna sleep with the baby birds in the nest, instead of hanging upside-down by her feet.
- How does Stellaluna’s life change after the other bats and her mother find her?
Suggested answer:Stellaluna starts to live like a bat instead of a bird. She eats fruit instead of bugs, realizes she can fly at night, and goes back to sleeping upside down.
- What lesson doStellaluna and the young birds learn in the story?
Suggested answer:Strong friendships can develop regardless of big differences.
Directions: You have been provided with a sentence based on the text. Break down the sentence and write the key words or phrases that best complete the question words below. The first question has been completed for you.
One night an owl attacked Mother Bat and Stellaluna in the sky.
What? an owl
- (did) What? attacked Mother Bat and Stellaluna
- Where? in the sky
- When? one night
- Read the following sentence: “Wrapping her wings about her, she clutched the thin branch, trembling with cold and fear.”
What does the word clutched mean?