Summary

Gooney Bird Greene arrives in Mrs. Pidgeon’s second grade classroom in October. Gooney Bird creates quite a sensation. With her unique storytelling ability, she gets the entire class interested in sharing absolutely true stories about their own lives.

Activities

Prereading Activity:
Read together from the information about Lois Lowry and Gooney Bird Greene. Complete a graphic organizer called Summary Frame. A Summary Frame provides students with the following prompts:
Before I started reading about ______________, I knew _________.
In the article(s), I learned ____________________________________.
I also learned _______________________________________________.
I was surprised ________________________________________________

Chapter One

• Before reading this chapter, discuss what makes a story.
• Discuss how it might feel to be a new student in a new school.
• After reading the chapter, have the students fold an origami star.
• Discuss how putting something in one’s nose can harm one.

Chapter Two

• Before reading this chapter, read the story of How the Leopard Got His Spots.
• Read information about Gooney Birds and look at pictures of them. Some websites include the following;
  Laysan Albatross (site #1)
  Laysan Albatross (site #2)
• Have students draw their own pictures of Gooney Birds. Have students write one or two sentences about these birds at the bottom of their pictures.

Chapter Three

• Before reading this chapter, locate the country of China on a globe. Then in a United States atlas, locate all of the cities or towns that are called China.
• After reading the chapter, look up the word consume in a dictionary. Write down all of the definitions. Try to use each definition in a sentence. Predict which definition Gooney Bird was using when she said her cat was consumed by the cow.

Chapter Four

• Before reading this chapter, acquaint students with the game of Monolopy®. Have them attempt to play it.
• Have students color a picture of something magenta.
• Learn some information about Napoleon Bonaparte. Create a children’s picture book about Napoleon and add it to your classroom library.
• Create a graph of the various types of dogs the students have or would like to have. Which is the most popular?

Chapter Five

• Before reading this chapter, learn about the different parts of an orchestra: winds, brass, strings, and percussion. Show students pictures of various instruments in each part. Then listen to music played by a symphony orchestra.
• Create a class list of your own called "Writing Tips."

Chapter Six

• Proclaim a Gooney Bird Greene day and wear clothes that Gooney Bird might enjoy.
• Find pictures of purple loosestrife, yellow cosmos, and oxeye daisies. How do these flowers differ from flowers in your area?

Chapter Seven

• Create a terrarium for your classroom.
• Go back through the book and learn about all of the different dances that Gooney Bird mentions in her stories (Viennese waltz, tango, ballet, sarabande, circle, and tarantella). Describe the different types of dances mentioned. Find pictures of people doing these dances, watch people doing these dances if possible, and listen to the different types of music for these dances.

Post Reading Activity
Note: Teachers check Richie’s Picks for some hints on teaching points in the book that will help with these post reading activities.

• Write down all of the information the students have learned about writing and/or telling stories from Gooney Bird Greene.
• Have students begin working on stories of their own, using some of Gooney Bird’s titles for a start. After the students write their stories, have them take turns telling them.

About the Author

• Lois Lowry-Biography

• Carol Hurst’s Children's Literature Site

• Learning About Lois Lowry, photo, from Vandergrift site

• The Internet Public Library

• Lois Lowry Interview from BookSense

• student constructed Lois Lowry Timeline

Awards

• Beverly Cleary Children’s Choice Award Winner (Oregon), 2005

• Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Winner, 2004

• West Virginia Children’s Book Award Honor Book, 2005

More for the teacher

• Information about Gooney Bird Greene can be found on the book flap or online at: Houghton Mifflin Books, and at Lois Lowry - Books.

• a very brief biography of Middy Thomas

• Read more. Lowry, L. (2005). Gooney Bird and the room mother. Houghton Mifflin. grades 1-4

Links to other online guides for Gooney Bird Greene.

Assessment

Gooney Bird Greene
Accelerated Reader: Quiz #65304 EN; Book Level 3.9; Points= 2.0
Book Adventure (Sylvan): Quiz Level 3
Lexile= 590