The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: What makes a hero?

• Reading and discussing “The Playground Monster” along with the other hero-themed texts in the magazine (the nonfiction article  “The Dog That Saved a Town,” the fiction story “The Space Rock,” and the poem “Hero”) should give kids wonderful insight into what it means to be a hero in the world.
• Through the above genres, students will discuss: What traits do heroes have? How do heroes act? What does it mean to be a good person?
• “The Playground Monster” also stands on its own. It’s not only super fun, but it also gives kids great experience reading and thinking about graphic novels as a literary form.

Choose a Video (We have two!) 

(10 minutes)

• You have two choices for a video with this story. 

1. “What Is a Hero?”
(This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

• Before your students watch, ask them to think about: “Do all heroes have capes and superpowers? What are some words we can use to describe heroes?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the questions again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.
  

2. “What’s in a Comic?”

• Our second option for a video teaches kids all about the features of a comic.
  
• Before watching this video, tell kids to look out for four features they might find in a comic.
• After watching, ask for kids’ help to fill out a list of comic features on chart paper. The features mentioned in the video are: panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and onomatopoeia.
  
• Tell kids to look for those features in the comic, or mini graphic, that they’re about to read. 
  

Preview Vocabulary

(2 minutes)

• Play the online vocabulary slideshow. This story’s featured words are obstacle and persevere. They also appear in this month’s Big Read nonfiction article, “The Dog That Saved a Town,” so that kids get more practice with the words in different contexts. 
  

Set a purpose for reading
(5 minutes)

• Open your magazines to “The Playground Monster.” Ask your kids: What kind of story is this? (a comic, or mini graphic)
• Next, read the Think and Read prompt on page 14: “As you read, think about who the hero in the story is. Why?” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

• Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a class.
• Point out the context clues that help define the bold vocabulary words. For example, after the bold word obstacle, you can find the phrase “that gets in the way,” which helps to define the word. And after the bold word persevere, kids can find “We keep going! We never give up!” 
  

Extend the Story With an Activity

(20 minutes)

• Kids can “finish” the story with the “My Crabbit Trap” printable. They design/draw their own crabbit trap and explain how it will work.
• This activity sneaks in a Next Generation Science Standard in engineering.  It also lets kids think about the story in a critical way.
• To do the printable, kids need to think about: What features does the crabbit have? How could it be trapped? 
  

(5 minutes)

Kids learned about features of a comic if they watched our “What’s in a Comic?” video. Now they can use our “Comic Feature Hunt” printable to find these features in “The Playground Monster.” This story has all four elements of a comic!

ELA Focus: Vocabulary

(10 minutes)

Use the Word Work printable to deepen students’ understanding of the vocabulary words persevere and obstacle.

Read Other Books in the Series

(time varies)

• “The Playground Monster” is a stand-alone story and is easy to understand with no prior knowledge. But it is also part of the Notebook of Doom series by Troy Cummings!
• Check out books in these series from the library. These early chapter books are written just for second-graders.
  

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities

(time amount varies)

Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.

Paired Texts 1 and 2 Nonfiction: The Dog That Saved a Town (pages 6-11) and Fiction: The Space Rock (pages 24-29)

• These stories ask a similar question to that of “The Playground Monster.” Who are the heroes in these stories? Why are they heroes?
• Kids can compare the heroic actions of the characters in “The Playground Monster” with those of Balto in “The Dog That Saved a Town” and of the family in “The Space Rock” using our “Do a Hero Chart” printable. How are the heroes alike and different?