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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Leo the Late Bloomer

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Use Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Leo the Late Bloomer doesn't do anything right - at least not yet. He is young and isn't progressing as quickly as his father would like. However, his mother knows to be patient and give him the time he needs to bloom. Students will find encouragement in Robert Kraus' message. The simple text and vibrant illustrations make this text for an ideal choice for mini lessons focused on making inferences, identifying the author's purpose, understanding text structure, retelling and summarizing, and making connections.
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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Leo the Late Bloomer in the drop down below.

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with Leo the Late Bloomer

Robert Kraus had a clear message to convey when he wrote Leo the Late Bloomer. Help your students determine the ways authors make their purpose for writing known to their readers with this effective lesson plan and collection of resources.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.1.2,RL.1.6,RL.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7E,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10C,1.10B,1.10A,1.8C,1.8B,1.8A,1.7F,1.1A,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6G,1.6E,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Making Connections with Leo the Late Bloomer

It won't take long for readers to discover connections between the main character and themselves in Leo the Late Bloomer. Use this text to help students to understand text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text strategies with the accompanying lessons.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.1.1,RL.1.4,RL.1.9,RL.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7D,1.13E,1.13D,1.13A,1.10E,1.8C,1.8B,1.7F,1.7E,1.1A,1.7C,1.7B,1.7A,1.6I,1.6E,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Making Inferences with Leo the Late Bloomer

Leo the Late Bloomer is an ideal book for supporting readers who are learning to make inferences. Most students have experienced the feeling of lagging behind in one area of life or another, so they will be able to empathize with Leo and infer how he is feeling throughout his journey.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.1.1,RL.1.7,RL.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7D,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.9C,1.8C,1.8B,1.7F,1.7E,1.1A,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6F,1.6E,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Retelling & Summarizing with Leo the Late Bloomer

Retelling and summarizing is a key skill for early readers to master. Leo the Late Bloomer offers students ample opportunity to practice retelling important details about the text. The small number of characters and clear problem and solution will enable students to feel confident in their ability to retell the story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.1.1,RL.1.2,RL.1.3,RL.1.7,RL.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7F,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10A,1.9C,1.8D,1.8C,1.8B,1.8A,1.1A,1.7E,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6G,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Understanding Text Structure with Leo the Late Bloomer

Leo the Late Bloomer is an ideal anchor text for teaching beginner readers about the text structures used in picture books. Readers will learn how to identify description, cause and effect, and problem and solution text structures by participating in this focused mini lesson.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
RL.1.1,RL.1.6,RL.1.7,RL.1.10,RF.1.1,RF.1.2,SL.1.1b,SL.1.2,SL.1.3,SL.1.5,W.1.5,W.1.8,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7E,1.13E,1.13D,1.10E,1.10D,1.10C,1.10B,1.9C,1.8C,1.8B,1.8A,1.7F,1.1A,1.7D,1.7C,1.7B,1.6I,1.6G,1.6E,1.6D,1.6A,1.1D,1.1C
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Inflectional Endings with Leo the Late Bloomer

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus as a springboard for instruction focused on inflectional endings.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment
RF.1.3,RF.1.4
TEKS Alignment
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Vocabulary Connections with Leo the Late Bloomer

This set of vocabulary development resources for Leo the Late Bloomer 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.1.4a,L.1.5c,L.1.6
TEKS Alignment
1.7F,1.3A,1.3B,1.3C,1.3D
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Comprehension Assessment with Leo the Late Bloomer

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of Leo the Late Bloomer.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment
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Running Record with Leo the Late Bloomer

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Leo the Late Bloomer. 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 Leo the Late Bloomer

Read Leo the Late Bloomer 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 Leo the Late Bloomer. 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 Leo the Late Bloomer

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Leo the Late Bloomer 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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TEKS Alignment
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Writing with Leo the Late Bloomer

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
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Identifying the Author's Purpose with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Connections with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Making Inferences with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Retelling & Summarizing with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Understanding Text Structure with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer
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Writing with Leo the Late Bloomer (Spanish)

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About the Book

The cover for the book Leo the Late Bloomer
Title: Leo the Late Bloomer
Author: Robert Kraus
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Growth Mindset, Family, Self Awareness, Perseverance
ISBN: 9780878070435
Publisher's Summary:
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus is a warm and reassuring picture book that celebrates the unique pace at which every child learns and grows. The story follows Leo, a young tiger cub who struggles to keep up with his friends and classmates. Unlike the other animals, Leo cannot read, write, draw, or even speak, which leaves his father anxiously watching and waiting for signs of progress. In contrast, Leo's mother remains calm and supportive, convinced that her son will "bloom" in his own time.

Set against vibrant jungle illustrations, Leo's journey is both relatable and uplifting for young readers who may feel left behind or pressured to meet certain milestones. The book's gentle message—that it's perfectly normal to develop skills at one's own pace—offers comfort to children and reassurance to parents and educators alike. Leo the Late Bloomer fosters empathy, patience, and confidence, making it an excellent resource for classroom discussions about growth, self-acceptance, and supporting one another. Teachers will find it especially useful for sparking conversations about perseverance and for reminding students that everyone learns differently, and that's okay.
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