Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The One and Only Ivan

Use The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate to turn your read aloud or small group work into a time to improve comprehension and talk about the text in purposeful ways.

Katherine Applegate's best-selling novel, The One and Only Ivan, celebrates the power of unexpected friendship. Inspired by the true story of a silverback gorilla who lived in a circus-themed mall in Washington state, this captivating story promises to be a favorite year after year. Through engaging students in deep conversations about character word choice and actions, readers will have the opportunity to explore the universal themes that make Ivan's story so memorable.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The One and Only Ivan in the drop down below.

Instructional Overview

The first page of Book Club for The One and Only Ivan Instructional Overview

Instructional Overview

The instructional overview includes instructional background for determining theme, instructional objectives for each of the Book Club meetings, and a list of the materials and preparation necessary to the The One and Only Ivan Book Club.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Management Resources

The first page of Book Club for The One and Only Ivan Management Resources

Management Resources

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

Meeting 1

Examining the main character's actions, dialogue, feelings, and experiences in The One and Only Ivan will help lead the reader to discovering the theme that author Katherine Applegate presented in this novel.

Meeting 2

Using details from the text to support their summarization of the main idea is a critical skill for readers. During this The One and Only Ivan Book Club, students will develop this skill as it relates to tracking the main character.

Meeting 3

This Book Club meeting for The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate dives deep into examining the main character's words and actions to discover the theme of the text. Students will continue to track important ideas and supporting details using a graphic organizer.

Meeting 4

Students will work together to brainstorm possible themes for Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan. By looking for connections between all of the students' ideas, the central message of the text will emerge.

Meeting 5

Building on the theme work from the last The One and Only Ivan Book Club, students will take their thinking further by exploring universal themes for this text.

Vocabulary Connections with The One and Only Ivan

The first page of Vocabulary Connections with The One and Only Ivan

Vocabulary Connections with The One and Only Ivan

This set of vocabulary development resources for The One and Only Ivan 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 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

Focus Assessment and Rubric

The first page of Book Club for The One and Only Ivan Focus Assessment and Rubric

Focus Assessment and Rubric

Use this six-question assessment to determine whether or not students understand the key concepts associated with determining theme.

Running Record with The One and Only Ivan

Thumbnail for Running Record with The One and Only Ivan

Running Record with The One and Only Ivan

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The One and Only Ivan. 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.

Management Resources - Spanish

The first page of Book Club for The One and Only Ivan Management Resources

Management Resources - Spanish

The management resources include a Book Club Calendar, conversation prompts, Student Self-Evaluation forms, Reading Response Board (with optional Common Core alignment), and an Expectations for Book Club anchor chart.

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

Unlock the potential of the books in your school and classroom libraries with lesson plans, activities, and resources expertly designed to help you meet your instructional goals
  • Teach with the best children's books
  • Always have access to new resources
  • Get access to Digial Classroom - perfect for centers
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay super organized with a personal file cabinet and dashboard
30 Day Risk-Free Guarantee, Cancel Anytime

About the Book

The cover for the book The One and Only Ivan
Title: The One and Only Ivan
Author: Katherine Applegate
Genre: Fantasy
Themes: Award Winners, Friendship
ISBN: 9780061992254
Publisher's Summary:
Having spent twenty-seven years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.
Content and Downloadable content Copyright ©2010-2024 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.
©BookPagez.com 2010 - 2023

Resource Downloading disabled

Your ability to download resources is currently disabled. Please contact us at support@bookpagez.com

Oops!  It looks Like You're Getting Carried Away. 

When you joined BookPagez, you agreed to follow our Terms of Use. Based on your download activty, it looks like you've gotten carried away.

You are allowed to download resources to use in your classroom for the duration of your subscription. You are not allowed to bulk download resources. In other words, it's against the rules to download all (or most) of the resources. That's stealing, and it's not nice.

Please check your email for a message from us. Reply to the email and let us know what's going on so we can reactivate your account.
In order to continue, please indicate that you agree with the terms above

Get instant access to this resource plus thousands more when you join today.

  • Teach with the best books
  • Always have access to new resources (published every month!)
  • Get full access to Digital Classroom
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay organized with your personal file cabinet and dashboard