Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Grandfather’s Journey

Use Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

In Grandfather's Journey, Allen Say tells about his Grandfather's love for both America and his homeland in Japan. Following his Grandfather's footsteps, Say begins to understand why his grandfather was torn between the two countries. The story's vivid text and beautiful illustrations will help students to practice understanding text structure, making inferences, retelling and summarizing, asking questions, and visualizing.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Grandfather’s Journey in the drop down below.

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Asking Questions with Grandfather's Journey

The author/illustrator uses pictures that show more about the characters and events than is expressed in the text. This will prompt students to ask questions about the story and give them a chance to practice this important comprehension strategy.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.4,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1c,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.13A,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.1A,3.7D,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Making Inferences with Grandfather's Journey

Making inferences is an important comprehension skill. While reading Grandfather's Journey, students will receive clues that will help them to "read between the lines."
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.4,RI.3.7,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7G,3.7F,3.7E,3.7D,3.1A,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6F,3.6B,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with Grandfather's Journey

Allen Say tells the story of Grandfather's Journey in a linear sequence. Students will be able to remember what happened first, next, etc. as well as the settings in which the events took place, practicing the important skill of retelling and summarizing.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.2,RL.3.4,RI.3.7,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.8D,3.7G,3.7F,3.1A,3.7D,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6G,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Understanding Text Structure with Grandfather's Journey

Allen Say uses various types of text, including: sequencing, description, problem and solution, and cause and effect in his story. With this mini lesson, students can practice understanding text structure, while reading a beautiful story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.5,RI.3.7,RI.3.8,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7F,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.10C,3.10B,3.9E(iii),3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.1A,3.7E,3.7C,3.7B,3.6I,3.6H,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Visualizing with Grandfather's Journey

Allen Say's descriptive text and detailed illustrations will help students who need practice visualizing while they read. This mini lesson will help them to practice checking their comprehension of the plot and settings as they go along.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RI.3.1,RI.3.5,RI.3.7,RI.3.10,RF.3.3,RF.3.4,SL.3.1d,SL.3.2,SL.3.3,W.3.8,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7C,3.13H,3.13E,3.13C,3.10C,3.9D(iii),3.9D(ii),3.9D(i),3.7F,3.7E,3.1A,3.7B,3.7A,3.6I,3.6E,3.6D,3.6A,3.1E,3.1D,3.1C
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Compound Words with Grandfather's Journey

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say as a springboard for instruction focused on compound words.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how compound words are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with words.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.3.3,RF.3.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with Grandfather's Journey

This set of vocabulary development resources for Grandfather's Journey 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.3.4a,L.3.5b,L.3.6
TEKS Alignment
3.7E,3.7F,3.3A,3.3B
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Comprehension Assessment with Grandfather's Journey

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Grandfather's Journey.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Running Record with Grandfather's Journey

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Grandfather's Journey. 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.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Matching with Grandfather's Journey

Read Grandfather's Journey 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 Grandfather's Journey. 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.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Grandfather's Journey

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Grandfather's Journey 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.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Writing with Grandfather's Journey

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.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Asking Questions with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

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

Making Inferences with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

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

Retelling & Summarizing with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

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

Understanding Text Structure with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

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

Visualizing with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

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

Writing with Grandfather's Journey (Spanish)

Worksheet

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About the Book

The cover for the book Grandfather's Journey
Title: Grandfather’s Journey
Author: Allen Say
Genre: Biography, Autobiography
Themes: Family, Cultural Diversity, Decision Making, Award Winners, History
ISBN: 9780547076805
Publisher's Summary:
Through pensive portraits and delicately faded art, Allen Say pays tribute to his grandfather's persistent longing for home that continues within Allen. This restlessness and constant desire to be in two places speaks to a universal experience as well as the deeply personal ties of family to place, and what it means to be at home in more than one country. Both a celebration of heritage and a poignant exploration of the struggles we inherit, Grandfather's Journey is a modern classic perfect for every household
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