The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka Included: A brief excerpt from the book and rigorous question set activities promoting higher level-thinking development

Additional Resources Interview with Jon S

Tier 1 Excerpt from book Jacob’s Ladder Goals & Objectives Habits of Mind

Excerpt Narrator Jack retells many classic fairy tales in an irreverent, sarcastic, and comical matter, changing everything we thought we knew about the beloved stories and their characters. Obtain the book from a school library to read the story in its entirety and complete the ladder activities.

Students will be able: Ladder A A1 Sequencing - To list in order of importance specific events or plot summaries A2 Cause and Effect - To identify and predict relationships between character behavior and story events, and their effects upon other characters or events. A3 Consequences and Implications - To predict character actions, story outcomes, and make real-world forecasts. Ladder C C1 Literary Elements - To identify and explain specific story elements such as character, setting, or poetic-device. C2 Inference - To use textual clues to read between the lines and make judgments about specific textual events, ideas, or character analysis. C3 Theme/Concept - To identify a major idea or theme common in the text. Ladder D D1 Paraphrasing - Students will be able to restate lines read using their own words. D2 Summarizing - Students will be able to provide a synopsis of text sections. D3 Creative Synthesis - Students will create something new using what they have learned from reading and their synopses.

Habits of Mind Working Interdependently Thinking about Thinking (metacognition) Innovating, Creating, Imagining Refer to Jacob’s Ladder Story Table for Ladder A, C & D Thinking Questions.

Tier 2 Rigor (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A, C & D Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames). Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete. A1— The sequence of the book is mixed up. Use a graphic organizer to sequence the events of the adventures in the story. Include five most important events. A2—As a reader, what do you think is the effect of the illustrations, book features (including title page, table of contents, author features), and font colors and size have on your understanding and enjoyment of the story? C1—Make a list of atleast 10 of the story elements that are used to make it funny and humorous? C2—To be able to laugh at the stories what do you think readers need to know and understand? Give specific examples of several stories within the book. D1—Using your own words and art work, tell what happened at the end of the book (after the endpaper).

Tier 3 Rigor (Discussion) High Level Strategies with Ladder A, C & D Questions

Discussion Strategies: Think-Pair-Share, Write-around, 3-4 Podcast slides (Pixie, Frames). Choose 2 of 3 questions below to complete. A3—How are typical consequence of fairy tale characters used or exaggerated in this book? Why is that important to the meaning of the stories? C3—After reviewing the original stories used in this book, select one of the stories. How does the theme/concept/message change when the story is tolde from the author’s view point as compared to the original? D2—The author wants YOU to review this book. Write your review in two – three sentences. D3— Using three fairy tales you know, create a mised up version. Make sure to include the common features of a fairy tale and a common theme or message.

Tier 4 Reflections/Relevance

Choose one of the writing ideas to complete. Be creative. 1. Make a puppet show, Reader’s Theater, or play of one of the tales included in the book. Present “show” to an audience. 2. Read several versions (or fractured versions) of one of the tales in the story. Write a review of your favorite. Suggested project strategies: Write a podcast script; create a puppet show; develop a PSA; a PowerPoint presentation; write and be an actor in a skit; write a persuasive speech and give before the class.