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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for How Many Days to America?

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Use How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Eve Bunting's story of a family forced to flee their home in the dead of night is one that takes a departure from the traditional immigration story. The stark description of the family's journey across the Caribbean will keep students on the edge of their seat and provide them with a keen perspective of what it means to be a modern-day pilgrim.
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with How Many Days to America? in the drop down below.

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Determining Importance with How Many Days to America?

Students will have plenty of opportunities to determine which parts of this story are most important to remember. With it's blend of fiction and honest description of a modern day pilgrimage, How Many Days to America? is a smart choice to use when teaching readers to determine importance.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.4.1,RL.4.2,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9
TEKS Alignment
4.7C,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.10A,4.8C,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.7D,4.1A,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6H,4.6G,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C
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Making Inferences with How Many Days to America?

Use this lesson plan and set of resources to encourage readers to make inferences about the events and the characters described in How Many Days to America?
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.4.1,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9
TEKS Alignment
4.7C,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.8B,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.7D,4.1A,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6F,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with How Many Days to America?

Use this lesson plan and set of resources to challenge students to identify the key elements within this sophisticated story in order to summarize How Many Days to America?
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.4.2,RL.4.3,RL.4.6,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9
TEKS Alignment
4.7D,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.8C,4.8B,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.1A,4.7C,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6H,4.6G,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C
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Synthesizing with How Many Days to America?

The family's story in How Many Days to America? is one that may be difficult for readers to fully understand. Help them to comprehend the information presented in this book with this synthesizing lesson plan and set of resources.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.4.1,RL.4.2,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.5,RL.4.6,RL.4.7,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9
TEKS Alignment
4.7D,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.8C,4.8B,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.1A,4.7C,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6H,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C
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Visualizing with How Many Days to America?

How Many Days to America? offers readers a rich description of what it means to board a boat, sail across the sea, and land on America's shores. Use this lesson plan to help your students make strong mental images while reading this story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.4.1,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.7,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9
TEKS Alignment
4.7B,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.10D,4.10C,4.7F,4.7E,4.7C,4.1A,4.7A,4.6I,4.6E,4.6D,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C
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Comprehension Assessment with How Many Days to America?

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of How Many Days to America?
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Vowels with How Many Days to America?

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting as a springboard for instruction focused on vowels.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.4.3,RF.4.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with How Many Days to America?

This set of vocabulary development resources for How Many Days to America? 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.4.4a,L.4.5c,L.4.6
TEKS Alignment
4.7E,4.7F,4.3A,4.3B
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Why People Leave Home: Understanding Refugees

This Knowledge and Fluency Passage offers a carefully crafted passage that introduces students to the experiences of refugees, helping them understand the reasons behind the family’s urgent journey in How Many Days to America? By building background knowledge about why people leave their homes and the challenges they face, students can connect more deeply with the story’s themes of hope and resilience. Use this passage before reading the book to prepare students for a more meaningful and empathetic engagement with the text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
|replace-resource-ccss|
TEKS Alignment
|replace-resource-teks|
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Cause and Effect Matching with How Many Days to America?

Read How Many Days to America? 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 How Many Days to America?. 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 How Many Days to America?

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of How Many Days to America? 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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Writing with How Many Days to America?

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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Determining Importance with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Inferences with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling & Summarizing with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Synthesizing with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Visualizing with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Writing with How Many Days to America? (Spanish)

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About the Book

The cover for the book How Many Days to America?
Title: How Many Days to America?
Author: Eve Bunting
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Thanksgiving, Cultural Diversity
ISBN: 9780547531625
Publisher's Summary:
How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting is a powerful picture book that sensitively introduces young readers to the refugee experience through the eyes of a child. The story follows a family forced to flee their Caribbean homeland when soldiers arrive and threaten their safety and freedom. Leaving behind cherished belongings and their former life, the family, along with others, embarks on a perilous journey across the sea in a small fishing boat, hoping to find sanctuary in America.

Throughout their voyage, the family faces numerous hardships, including a broken motor, dwindling food and water, illness among the passengers, and encounters with thieves. Their journey is marked by uncertainty and fear, yet also by hope and perseverance. The arrival in America coincides with Thanksgiving, and the family is greeted with warmth, food, and a sense of safety they have not known for some time.

This book offers a compassionate and age-appropriate lens for discussing themes of immigration, displacement, and gratitude. The illustrations by Beth Peck add depth and emotion, portraying both the harrowing journey and the relief of newfound freedom. How Many Days to America? is an invaluable resource for teachers aiming to foster empathy and discussion about refugees, the meaning of home, and the broader message of Thanksgiving in the classroom.
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