Elmer Elevator....Reading and Writing about My Father's Dragon

My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Garnett is a classic! It is a fabulous, accessible read for Special Education students and English Language Learners. We have started our Reader's and Writer's Interactive Notebooks as our back-to-school activity. The group I am doing this activity with are 4th, 5th, and 6th grade resource students with an array of eligibilities, including autism, emotional disturbance, and learning disabilities. Some are English Language Learners as well. I am always pleasantly surprised when I pull out this book, which was written in 1948, and kids can't wait to read ahead to the next chapter. Below is a knapsack (isn't that a great vocabulary word?) that some English Learners from Korea created several years ago.... I am not a big laminator, but glad I have covered this knapsack in plastic, because it has gotten a lot of use! The kids read the list of items Elmer packed for his trip to Wild Island, and study the knapsack carefully to make sure there are the right number of lollipops and apples in it!