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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for John Henry

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Use John Henry by Julius Lester to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

This Caldecott Honor illustrated version of the "John Henry" ballad tells the story of John Henry's amazing life and death. The story begins with a fantastical description of John Henry's birth and then moves on to outline the events of his life. Full of vivid imagery and striking illustrations, this picture book makes an ideal anchor text for mini lessons focused on asking questions, making connections, making inferences, synthesizing, and identifying the author's purpose.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with John Henry in the drop down below.

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Asking Questions with John Henry

When paired with this asking questions resource set, John Henry provides an opportunity for students to question events that happen within the story. Use the included set of text-based questions to help readers examine their questions to determine which events in the story are an exaggeration of real life.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.1,RL.4.4,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

4.1A,4.1C,4.6A,4.6B,4.6I,4.7B,4.7C,4.7D,4.7E,4.7F,4.7G,4.8C,4.13A,4.13C,4.13E,4.13H

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with John Henry

The story of John Henry presents readers with a variety of messages. Use this mini lesson and set of activities support students as they examine the details of the story to draw conclusions about the author's message.

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,4.10C,4.10A,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.1A,4.7C,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C

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Making Connections with John Henry

Challenge students to make connections between the ballad of John Henry and their prior knowledge or tall tales, legendary characters, and real-world events with this making connections resource set.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.1,RL.4.3,RL.4.6,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9

TEKS Alignment

4.1A,4.1C,4.6A,4.6B,4.6E,4.6I,4.7A,4.7B,4.7C,4.7D,4.7E,4.7F,4.7G,4.13C,4.13E,4.13H

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Making Inferences with John Henry

John Henry is an ideal anchor text for a mini lesson focused on making inferences. Through using this Caldecott Honor book with this resource set students will have the opportunity to make inferences about character motivation and word choice.

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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Synthesizing with John Henry

Synthesizing text can be a difficult strategy for students to master. Use this mini lesson and set of resources to teach readers how to examine John Henry actions in the story in order to draw conclusions about his character.

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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Suffixes with John Henry

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use John Henry by Julius Lester as a springboard for instruction focused on suffixes.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RF.4.3,RF.4.4

TEKS Alignment

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Vocabulary Connections with John Henry

This set of vocabulary development resources for John Henry 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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Comprehension Assessment with John Henry

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of John Henry.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

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Running Record with John Henry

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with John Henry. 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 John Henry

Read John Henry 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 John Henry. 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 John Henry

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of John Henry 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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Retelling and Summarizing with John Henry

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

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Asking Questions with John Henry (Spanish)

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

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with John Henry (Spanish)

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

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Making Connections with John Henry (Spanish)

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

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Making Inferences with John Henry (Spanish)

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

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Synthesizing with John Henry (Spanish)

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

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Retelling and Summarizing with John Henry (Spanish)

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About the Book

Title: John Henry

Author: Julius Lester

Genre: Folktale

Themes: Award Winners

ISBN: 9780140566222

Publisher's Summary:

John Henry by Julius Lester is a vibrant retelling of the legendary American folk hero whose feats of strength and spirit have inspired generations. This picture book introduces young readers to John Henry, a larger-than-life character known for his incredible size, boundless energy, and ever-present optimism. From his miraculous birth, which even the sun, moon, and animals come to witness, John Henry grows so quickly and powerfully that he almost immediately sets out to help his family and community. Through acts like repairing his family's roof, chopping wood, and moving boulders, he becomes a symbol of determination and kindness.

The story's heart lies in John Henry's famous challenge: a race against a steam drill to carve a tunnel through a mountain for the railroad. While the contest is intense and the outcome poignant, the book focuses on John Henry's unwavering will and the impact of his actions rather than just the result of the race. Julius Lester's language is rich and playful, blending humor with moments of awe, while Jerry Pinkney's Caldecott Honor-winning illustrations bring the legend to life with warmth and grandeur.

John Henry serves as a powerful launchpad for classroom discussions about perseverance, heroism, folklore, and the human response to change and technology. Its approachable narrative and vivid imagery provide opportunities to explore themes of strength, resilience, and the idea that greatness comes in many forms. This book is an engaging resource for teaching American folklore and celebrating the triumph of the human spirit.

Content and Downloadable content Copyright ©2010-2025 Thinking Tree Enterprises, LLC. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners. Please see our Terms of Use.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for John Henry

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with John Henry in the drop down below.

Asking Questions with John Henry

Identifying the Author's Purpose with John Henry

Making Connections with John Henry

Making Inferences with John Henry

Synthesizing with John Henry

Suffixes with John Henry

Vocabulary Connections with John Henry

Comprehension Assessment with John Henry

Running Record with John Henry

Cause and Effect Matching with John Henry

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with John Henry

Retelling and Summarizing with John Henry

Asking Questions with John Henry (Spanish)

Identifying the Author's Purpose with John Henry (Spanish)

Making Connections with John Henry (Spanish)

Making Inferences with John Henry (Spanish)

Synthesizing with John Henry (Spanish)

Retelling and Summarizing with John Henry (Spanish)

Get Full Access to the Entire Library of Resources when You Join Today!

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