Subjects
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
The Lemony Snicket book series comes to an end with the publication of book 13.
Anticipation Guide
Before reading this week's News for Kids article, ask students what they know about the series of Unfortunate Events books, as told by Lemony Snicket. Let students share what they know and some of the favorite events/parts they remember from the stories.
News Words
Introduce to students the words in the News Word Box on the students' printable page: mysterious, popular, orphans, destroyed, relative, and published. Ask them to use one of those words to complete each of these statements:
Read the News
Click for a printable version of this week's news story Lemony Snicket Series Comes to an End (Unfortunately).
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More Facts to Share
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this week's news story.
Comprehension Check
Recalling Detail
Think About the News
Discuss the Think About the News question that appears on the students' news page. Which students came up with
the most unique pseudonyms? You might have them continue the activity as homework. They and their parents can
have fun around the dinner table coming up with pseudonyms.
Follow-Up Activities
More about pseudonyms. Authors are not the only ones who use pseudonyms. Many actors and singers use pseudonyms, or stage names, instead of their birth names. You might copy the activity below onto a board or chart and have students use this List of Pseudonyms from Wikipedia to match the people's birth names and pseudonyms. The correct answers are: 1.a, 2.g, 3.h, 4.f, 5.d, 6.e, 7.c, 8.b.
1. Alicia Keys | a. Alicia Augello Cook |
2. Bono | b. Calvin Broadus |
3. Elton John | c. Dana Owens |
4. Eminem | d. Eric Bishop |
5. Jamie Foxx | e. James Todd Smith |
6. LL Cool J | f. Marshall Mathers III |
7. Queen Latifah | g. Paul Hewson |
8. Snoop Dogg | h. Reginald Kenneth Dwight |
Compare and contrast. Share with students the movie version of Snicket's first three books. Have them compare the movie to the books. What changes were made? What things were just the same as in the books?
Writing. If students have read some or all of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, ask them to write a paragraph that explains a favorite part or that tells why they liked (or did not like) the series. For students who have not read any of the books, ask them to write a paragraph about one of their favorite books; they should explain what they liked most about the book.
Just for fun. Check out the Stuff for Brats on the Lemony Snicket Web site. There you will find a crossword puzzle, a word search, a secret message to decode, and much more.
Critical thinking. Share with students the TIME for Kids interview with Daniel Handler. The interview was given on the eve of the debut of Book the Thirteenth: The Ending. Have students work in groups to come up with additional questions they would like to ask Daniel Handler.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News questions on the news story page or in the Comprehension Check section.
Lesson Plan Source
Education WorldNational Standards
National Standards LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
See recent news stories in Education World's News Story of the Week Archive.
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World®
Copyright © 2006 Education World
10/11/2006