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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Diary of a Worm

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Use Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Who knew earthworms and humans had so much in common? In the charming Diary of a Worm, students will meet a young worm who, like most boys and girls, loathes his homework, loves hanging out with his best friend, and can't help but pick on his sister. This is a fun story to support lessons on making connections, asking questions, and making inferences, all while introducing students to unique text structures.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Diary of a Worm in the drop down below.

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Asking Questions with Diary of a Worm

The whimsical portrayal of a worm and his family written in diary format will inspire a natural sense of curiosity while reading. Your lesson on asking questions about the characters and the events in the book to deepen comprehension will be practically automatic.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.1,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.1c,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.13A,2.8C,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.6I,2.6E,2.6B,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Making Connections with Diary of a Worm

Diary of a Worm makes it easy—and funny—for readers to connect their daily activities and experiences to those of an earthworm and his friends and family.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.2,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.1A,2.1C,2.1D,2.6A,2.6E,2.6I,2.7A,2.7B,2.7C,2.7D,2.7E,2.7F,2.8C,2.13C,2.13E,2.13G

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Making Inferences with Diary of a Worm

Are you looking for a fun, engaging lesson plan to support readers as they learn to make inferences while reading? Diary of a Worm will encourage children to draw upon their own daily experiences to understand how a fictitious worm might be feeling based on the events that the worm writes about in the pages of his diary.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.6,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.8C,2.8B,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.6I,2.6F,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Understanding Text Structure with Diary of a Worm

This is a uniquely perfect lesson plan for teaching students how to read and comprehend different text structures. The author uses a non-traditional diary format to relate the story of a worm and the life he leads right beneath our feet. Readers will also learn how to navigate speech bubbles in illustrations to deepen their reading experience.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.4,RL.2.5,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7E,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.10B,2.9C,2.8C,2.7F,2.1A,2.7D,2.7C,2.7B,2.6I,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Digraphs with Diary of a Worm

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin as a springboard for instruction focused on digraphs.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how long vowel digraphs (ai, ea, ei, oa, ay, ia, ie) are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with long vowel digraphs.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RF.2.3,RF.2.4

TEKS Alignment

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Vocabulary Connections with Diary of a Worm

This set of vocabulary development resources for Diary of a Worm highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

L.2.4a,L.2.5a,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7E,2.7F,2.3A,2.3B,2.3D

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Comprehension Assessment with Diary of a Worm

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Diary of a Worm.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

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Running Record with Diary of a Worm

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Diary of a Worm. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

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Cause and Effect Matching with Diary of a Worm

Read Diary of a Worm then have some fun matching cause and effect sentences from the book. By using these cause and effect cards, students will demonstrate both their comprehension of the text and their understanding of cause and effect relationships in hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in Diary of a Worm. Each cause card is marked with a square and each effect card is marked with a circle, making it easy to support students who struggle with matching cause and effect relationships.

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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Diary of a Worm

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Diary of a Worm includes several examples of cause and effect relationships, making it easy to use as a springboard for modeling or independent practice.

This simple resource includes four sentence stems. Each sentence stem presents an effect. Students will use what they know about the book to fill in the cause of the effect.

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Personification with Diary of a Worm

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.

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Asking Questions with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

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Making Connections with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

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Making Inferences with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

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Understanding Text Structure with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Student Practice Page and Answer Key
Reader's Notebook Prompt
Graphic Organizer

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Personification with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

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About the Book

Title: Diary of a Worm

Author: Doreen Cronin

Genre: Fantasy

Themes: Friendship, Laugh Out Loud

ISBN: 9780060001506

Publisher's Summary:

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin is a playful and imaginative picture book that invites readers to experience the daily life of a young worm through his humorous diary entries. The story is told entirely from the worm's point of view, blending real facts about worms with silly, relatable situations that will make children laugh. The worm lives with his family, goes to school, plays with his friends (including an arachnid buddy), and gets into mischief—just like any child might. He faces challenges unique to worms, like dodging hopscotch players on the sidewalk and struggling to do the hokey pokey without legs. The book's lively illustrations and witty captions add extra layers of fun and detail, making it a hit during read-alouds and independent reading alike.

Diary of a Worm is not only entertaining but also educational, offering opportunities to discuss the differences between fact and fiction, the importance of earthworms in the environment, and the value of seeing the world through someone else's eyes. Teachers will find this book especially useful for lessons on point of view, journal writing, and environmental science, as well as for sparking creative projects where students imagine life from an animal's perspective. With its blend of humor, heart, and earth-friendly messages, Diary of a Worm is a delightful addition to any classroom library.

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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Diary of a Worm

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Diary of a Worm in the drop down below.

Asking Questions with Diary of a Worm

Making Connections with Diary of a Worm

Making Inferences with Diary of a Worm

Understanding Text Structure with Diary of a Worm

Digraphs with Diary of a Worm

Vocabulary Connections with Diary of a Worm

Comprehension Assessment with Diary of a Worm

Running Record with Diary of a Worm

Cause and Effect Matching with Diary of a Worm

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Diary of a Worm

Personification with Diary of a Worm

Asking Questions with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Making Connections with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Making Inferences with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Understanding Text Structure with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

Personification with Diary of a Worm (Spanish)

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