Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Thank You, Mr. Falker

Use Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Thank You, Mr. Falker is the story of a young girl named Trisha who can hardly wait to start school. She excels at many things, but when she tries to read, she only sees a jumbled mess of letters. Just when she starts to believe she's as dumb as her classmates say, Trisha meets an exceptional teacher who refuses to let her fail. This uplifting story is perfect for introductory lessons on identifying author messages and synthesizing. It also supports practice in making connections, visualizing, and making inferences.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Thank You, Mr. Falker in the drop down below.

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Identifying the Author's Purpose with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Thank You, Mr. Falker

As they read this book, students will easily pick up on the author's broader purpose for writing it. They will enjoy connecting to the text and identifying the specific parts of the story that support the positive outcome.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Making Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Making Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Making Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thank You, Mr. Falker works well for supporting readers who need additional practice making connections to further their understanding of a theme. Readers will be able to apply prior knowledge and their own past experiences to make connections to Trisha and her struggle to read and do well in school.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Making Inferences with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Making Inferences with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Making Inferences with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The author of Thank You, Mr. Falker supplies detailed descriptions about the setting and emotions in this story. Using this lesson plan, readers will practice identifying words and descriptions that help them infer the specific feelings and thoughts of the main character.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Synthesizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Synthesizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Synthesizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

This text is longer than most picture books, which makes it a good resource for early lessons on synthesizing. Readers will demonstrate different strategies to sustain their comprehension throughout this text, and this lesson plan will help them recognize which strategies they are applying at specific points in the story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Visualizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Visualizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Visualizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker

This book is an excellent resource for helping students practice visualizing emotion. The author uses a great deal of descriptive language to express Trisha's problem and frustrations. Readers will be able to visualize Trisha's emotions by connecting to feelings they've had at a time when they've struggled.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Suffixes with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Suffixes with Thank You

Suffixes with Thank You, Mr. Falker

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco as a springboard for instruction focused on suffixes.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Vocabulary Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker

The first page of Vocabulary Connections with Thank You

Vocabulary Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker

This set of vocabulary development resources for Thank You, Mr. Falker 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 Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thumbnail for Running Record with Thank You

Running Record with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Thank You, Mr. Falker. 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.

Cause and Effect Matching with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thumbnail for Cause and Effect Matching with Thank You

Cause and Effect Matching with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Read Thank You, Mr. Falker 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 Thank You, Mr. Falker. 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.

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thumbnail for Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Thank You

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of Thank You, Mr. Falker 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.

Just for Fun with Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thumbnail for Just for Fun with Thank You

Just for Fun with Thank You, Mr. Falker

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.

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

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

Making Connections with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

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

Making Inferences with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

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

Synthesizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

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

Visualizing with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

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

Just for Fun with Thank You, Mr. Falker (Spanish)

Worksheet

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About the Book

The cover for the book Thank You Mr Falker
Title: Thank You, Mr. Falker
Author: Patricia Polacco
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Bullying, Family, Reading Month, Growth Mindset, Perseverance
ISBN: 9780399231667
Publisher's Summary:
The real-life, classic story of a dyslexic girl and the teacher who would not let her fail. A perfect gift for teachers and for reading students of any age. Patricia Polacco is now one of America's most loved children's book creators, but once upon a time, she was a little girl named Trisha starting school. Trisha could paint and draw beautifully, but when she looked at words on a page, all she could see was jumble. It took a very special teacher to recognize little Trisha's dyslexia: Mr. Falker, who encouraged her to overcome her reading disability. Patricia Polacco will never forget him, and neither will we. This inspiring story will make a beautiful gift for the special child who needs encouragement, or any special teacher who has made a difference in the child's life.
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