Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Knots on a Counting Rope

Use Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Knots on a Counting Rope is the poignant story of a young Navajo boy and his beloved grandfather. The grandfather tells the story of the boy's birth and the ways the boy has learned to "see" things even though he is blind. This story is perfect for a lesson on visualizing and identifying author messages as well as asking questions and understanding text structure.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Knots on a Counting Rope in the drop down below.

Asking Questions with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Asking Questions with Knots on a Counting Rope

In Knots on a Counting Rope, the author intentionally holds back the fact that the boy is blind. This intentional omission will engage readers, encouraging them to look for clues in the text and illustrations to make inferences about the story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Knots on a Counting Rope

This lesson plan is an extraordinary resource for supporting a lesson on identifying broader messages within a story. The author of Knots on a Counting Rope presents complex messages about the passage of time, the ability to overcome a disability, and the importance of family and traditions.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Making Inferences with Knots on a Counting Rope

The first page of Making Inferences with Knots on a Counting Rope

Making Inferences with Knots on a Counting Rope

Knots on a Counting Rope is the perfect anchor text for a mini-lesson focused on making inferences. Use this lesson plan and set of resources to show students how to use clues in the text to better understand character relationships and key details in the text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Understanding Text Structure with Knots on a Counting Rope

The first page of Understanding Text Structure with Knots on a Counting Rope

Understanding Text Structure with Knots on a Counting Rope

Using Knots on a Counting Rope as an anchor text, readers will learn how to comprehend a text that incorporates more than one-character perspective. The story is told from both the boy's perspective and the grandfather's perspective. This book also relies heavily on its illustrations to enhance its meaning, and it introduces students to the purpose of the ellipsis (...) in text.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Visualizing with Knots on a Counting Rope

The first page of Visualizing with Knots on a Counting Rope

Visualizing with Knots on a Counting Rope

Knots on a Counting Rope is a uniquely perfect text to support readers as they learn to visualize while reading. The main character in the book is blind and, therefore, relies on his grandfather's descriptive language to understand the world in which he lives. As they read through this story, students can use the grandfather's descriptions to create their own mental images.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Parts of Speech with Knots on a Counting Rope

The first page of Parts of Speech with Knots on a Counting Rope

Parts of Speech with Knots on a Counting Rope

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Knots on a Counting Rope by Bill Martin Jr. as a springboard for instruction focused on parts of speech.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Vocabulary Connections with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Vocabulary Connections with Knots on a Counting Rope

This set of vocabulary development resources for Knots on a Counting Rope 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
TEKS Alignment

Running Record with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Running Record with Knots on a Counting Rope

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Knots on a Counting Rope. 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

Cause and Effect Matching with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Cause and Effect Matching with Knots on a Counting Rope

Read Knots on a Counting Rope 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 Knots on a Counting Rope. 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

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Knots on a Counting Rope

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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Knots on a Counting Rope

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Knots on a Counting Rope 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

Writing with Knots on a Counting Rope

Thumbnail for Writing with Knots on a Counting Rope

Writing with Knots on a Counting Rope

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 Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

Making Inferences with Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

Understanding Text Structure with Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

Visualizing with Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

Writing with Knots on a Counting Rope (Spanish)

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

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About the Book

The cover for the book Knots on a Counting Rope
Title: Knots on a Counting Rope
Author: Bill Martin Jr.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Cultural Diversity, Self Awareness, Family
ISBN: 9780590994484
Publisher's Summary:
A grandfather and his blind grandson, Boy-Strength-of-Blue-Horses, reminisce about the young boy's birth, his first horse, and an exciting horse race.
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