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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Summer My Father Was Ten

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Use The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

Every year, a young girl and her father plant a garden, and every year, the father tells his daughter the same story about his childhood neighbor's garden. The summer the father turned 10, he and his friends got caught up in a moment of poor judgment and destroyed the neighbor's vegetables. This wonderful story is full of important lessons about cause and effect, responsibility and how to make amends. It is also an excellent resource for working with advanced readers on visualizing, making inferences, and synthesizing.

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Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Summer My Father Was Ten in the drop down below.

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Summer My Father Was Ten

This is an ideal text and lesson plan for advanced readers who need additional practice identifying the author's purpose to enhance their comprehension of a text. In this book, the author reveals more than one message. The first message about integrity is tied to the theme of the book, while other messages can be recognized through character development, cause and effect, and problem and solution.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.2,RL.4.3,RL.4.6,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9

TEKS Alignment

4.7D,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.10C,4.10A,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.1A,4.7C,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C

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Making Inferences with The Summer My Father Was Ten

The story-within-a-story format of this book provides high-level readers with effective practice making inferences. Students will identify clues that help them make inferences about the emotional consequences that occur when the young boys destroy the neighbor's garden. Students will also infer how the father and his daughter react to the coming-of-age story in the present day.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.1,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9

TEKS Alignment

4.7C,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.8B,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.7D,4.1A,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6F,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C

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Synthesizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten

The Summer My Father Was Ten is a sophisticated text that can be used to challenge advanced readers. The story-within-a-story text structure introduces readers to multiple characters who represent past and present. There are also many different emotions and messages to pick up on. Students will need to demonstrate their ability to apply different comprehension strategies throughout this text in order to fully comprehend its meaning.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.1,RL.4.2,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.5,RL.4.6,RL.4.7,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9

TEKS Alignment

4.7D,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.8C,4.8B,4.8A,4.7G,4.7F,4.7E,4.1A,4.7C,4.7B,4.7A,4.6I,4.6H,4.6E,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C

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Visualizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten

In The Summer My Father Was Ten, a father teaches his young daughter a meaningful lesson from his childhood. The descriptive language used by the father in his story will support your students as they practice creating images of the action sequences in their minds.

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RL.4.1,RL.4.3,RL.4.4,RL.4.7,RL.4.10,RF.4.3,RF.4.4,SL.4.1c,SL.4.1d,SL.4.2,W.4.8,L.4.6,W.4.9

TEKS Alignment

4.7B,4.13H,4.13E,4.13C,4.10D,4.10C,4.7F,4.7E,4.7C,4.1A,4.7A,4.6I,4.6E,4.6D,4.6B,4.6A,4.1C

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Syllables with The Summer My Father Was Ten

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use The Summer My Father Was Ten by Pat Brisson as a springboard for instruction focused on syllables.

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

Common Core State Standards Alignment

RF.4.3,RF.4.4

TEKS Alignment

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Vocabulary Connections with The Summer My Father Was Ten

This set of vocabulary development resources for The Summer My Father Was Ten 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.4.4a,L.4.5c,L.4.6

TEKS Alignment

4.7E,4.7F,4.3A,4.3B

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Comprehension Assessment with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Use this Common Core aligned comprehension assessment to evaluate students' comprehension of The Summer My Father Was Ten.

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Running Record with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with The Summer My Father Was Ten. 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.

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Cause and Effect Matching with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Read The Summer My Father Was Ten 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 The Summer My Father Was Ten. 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.

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Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Understanding cause and effect is a key comprehension and language skill. The text structure of The Summer My Father Was Ten 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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True or False with The Summer My Father Was Ten

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.

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Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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

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Making Inferences with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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

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Synthesizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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

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Visualizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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

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True or False with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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About the Book

The cover for the book The Summer My Father Was Ten

Title: The Summer My Father Was Ten

Author: Pat Brisson

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Themes: Summer, Relationship Skills, Social Awareness, Friendship

ISBN: 9781563978296

Publisher's Summary:

Every spring, a young girl and her father plant a garden together, filling it with tomatoes, peppers, onions, marigolds, and zinnias. As they work, her father shares a story from his own childhood—the summer when he was ten years old. That year, an innocent game of baseball with friends led to a mistake: the boys accidentally destroyed their neighbor Mr. Bellavista's beloved vegetable garden. The father's memory of the disappointment and sadness on Mr. Bellavista's face becomes a powerful lesson about taking responsibility for one's actions and making amends. In the aftermath, the young boy bravely chooses to help Mr. Bellavista rebuild his garden, forging a new friendship and starting a tradition that lasts for years to come.

The Summer My Father Was Ten gently explores themes of responsibility, forgiveness, and the healing that comes from acts of kindness. The story weaves together the joy of gardening, the importance of intergenerational relationships, and the way family traditions can grow from even the most difficult experiences. The book's luminous watercolor illustrations beautifully capture the warmth of neighborhood life and the emotional journey of its characters. Teachers will find this book a wonderful choice for discussions about empathy, making amends, and the lasting impact of our choices. With its universal message and heartfelt storytelling, it's an ideal addition to classroom units on character education, community, and family traditions.

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Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for The Summer My Father Was Ten

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with The Summer My Father Was Ten in the drop down below.

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Making Inferences with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Synthesizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Visualizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Syllables with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Vocabulary Connections with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Comprehension Assessment with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Running Record with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Cause and Effect Matching with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Cause and Effect Sentence Stems with The Summer My Father Was Ten

True or False with The Summer My Father Was Ten

Identifying the Author's Purpose with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

Making Inferences with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

Synthesizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

Visualizing with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

True or False with The Summer My Father Was Ten (Spanish)

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