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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Cool Bean

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Use The Cool Bean by Jory John to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

This comprehensive resource set for The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald offers a variety of literacy activities to deepen students' understanding of the story. From identifying the author's purpose in teaching kindness to making inferences about the bean's emotions, to exploring text structure through cause and effect, each packet helps students engage with foundational reading skills. Students will also enjoy word work and vocabulary activities, and an extension activity that encourages creative thinking and reflection on friendship and confidence.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Cool Bean in the drop down below.

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Cool Bean

Whether it's exploring why the author shows the bean feeling left out, thinking about why the cool beans act kindly, or understanding what message the author wants to share about friendship, The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald is ideal for learning about the author's purpose. This resource packet helps students identify clues in the story and illustrations to understand why the author wrote this story. Through engaging questions, students will discover how the author teaches an important lesson: kindness, confidence, and being true to yourself.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.2,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7D,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.10B,2.10A,2.9C,2.8C,2.7E,2.1A,2.7C,2.7B,2.7A,2.6I,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Making Inferences with The Cool Bean

Whether it's inferring how the bean feels when he's left out or figuring out what it really means to be "cool," The Cool Bean is perfect for practicing inference skills. This resource packet encourages students to look closely at the illustrations and read between the lines to understand characters' emotions, actions, and motivations. Through guided questions and fun activities, students will develop their ability to make inferences and deepen their understanding of the story's message on kindness and inclusion.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.6,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7C,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.8C,2.8B,2.7F,2.7E,2.7D,2.1A,2.7B,2.6I,2.6F,2.6E,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Understanding Text Structure with The Cool Bean

Whether identifying the bean's big problem of feeling left out, describing the cool beans, or comparing and contrasting the beans' actions from beginning to end, The Cool Bean by Jory John and Pete Oswald helps students build foundational comprehension skills. Students will use both text and expressive illustrations to answer questions that reveal the story's structure and uncover the message about kindness and friendship.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.2.4,RL.2.5,RL.2.7,RL.2.10,RF.2.3,RF.2.4,SL.2.1b,SL.2.2,SL.2.3,W.2.8,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7E,2.13G,2.13E,2.13C,2.10C,2.10B,2.9C,2.8C,2.7F,2.1A,2.7D,2.7C,2.7B,2.6I,2.6A,2.1D,2.1C

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Vowels with The Cool Bean

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use The Cool Bean by Jory John as a springboard for instruction focused on vowels.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how long "E" with vowel pairs "ee" and "ea" are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with vowels.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RF.2.3

TEKS Alignment

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Vocabulary Connections with The Cool Bean

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Cool Bean 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.2.4a,L.2.5a,L.2.6

TEKS Alignment

2.7E,2.7F,2.3A,2.3B,2.3D

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Comprehension Assessment with The Cool Bean

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Cool Bean.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Running Record with The Cool Bean

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Cool Bean. 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 The Cool Bean

Read The Cool Bean 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 a hands-on and interactive way.

This resource includes matching/sorting cards and a sorting mat for four cause and effect sentences in The Cool Bean. 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 The Cool Bean

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of The Cool Bean 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

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Self Potraits with The Cool Bean

In the book The Cool Bean, we learn that being "cool" means being kind, unique, and true to who you are. With this activity, students can explore what makes them a "cool bean" by drawing themselves with fun details that show their unique style. Afterward, they'll write a sentence or two about what makes them special. This activity encourages self-expression and helps students celebrate what makes them one of a kind!

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Kindness Chain with The Cool Bean

In The Cool Bean, we saw how acts of kindness help everyone feel included. With this activity, students can think about a kind action they did and write or draw it on a link strip. Each link will join together to create a class kindness chain, showing how everyone's kindness adds up!

Common Core State Standards Alignment

TEKS Alignment

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

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

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Making Inferences with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

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

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Understanding Text Structure with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

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

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Self Potraits with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Worksheet

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Kindness Chain with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Worksheet

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About the Book

Title: The Cool Bean

Author: Jory John

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Themes: Friendship, Kindness, Self Acceptance, Personal Growth

ISBN: 9780062954527

Publisher's Summary:

The Cool Bean by Jory John is a heartwarming picture book that explores the ups and downs of friendship and fitting in at school. Through the charming tale of a little bean who feels left behind by his once-close friends, students are invited to reflect on issues of self-esteem, kindness, and what it truly means to be "cool." The main character, a garbanzo bean, tries everything to regain the camaraderie of the so-called cool beans, only to discover that outward appearances and popularity are less important than acts of kindness and being true to oneself. Featuring engaging, expressive illustrations by Pete Oswald, this story is both funny and relatable, resonating with young readers who may have experienced similar feelings of exclusion or insecurity. The Cool Bean is ideal for classroom discussions about friendship, inclusion, and character values, providing teachers with a gentle, humorous way to address these important topics. Its playful tone and visual puns keep students entertained while delivering a valuable message that kindness and empathy are the coolest qualities of all.

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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Cool Bean

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Cool Bean in the drop down below.

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Cool Bean

Making Inferences with The Cool Bean

Understanding Text Structure with The Cool Bean

Vowels with The Cool Bean

Vocabulary Connections with The Cool Bean

Comprehension Assessment with The Cool Bean

Running Record with The Cool Bean

Cause and Effect Matching with The Cool Bean

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with The Cool Bean

Self Potraits with The Cool Bean

Kindness Chain with The Cool Bean

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Making Inferences with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Understanding Text Structure with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Self Potraits with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

Kindness Chain with The Cool Bean (Spanish)

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