Dear Mr. Henshaw: Part 1
Information About This Unit
Description of Learning Unit:
Meet Leigh Botts, a ten-year-old boy who, through a series of letters written to his favorite author, learns about life and growing up. This is a wise and funny book about finding one's own place in the world. "Dear Mr. Henshaw" was written by Beverly Cleary, author of Beezus and Romana. Hands-on activities include listing things that bother you, researching and designing a poster about monarch butterflies, and researching and cooking canapes. You will explore the characteristics and uses of letters, and practice writing letters, too. You will create your own writing journal to store writing assignments throughout the year. Basickeyboarding will be introduced in this lesson as well as learning the home keys. You will continue practicing keyboarding in subsequent lessons. Quizzes, a game, a video, and an audio resource reinforce the objectives. This unit is designed to last one week, depending on how often you teach language arts. 
List of Objectives:
- You will read and answer questions about "Dear Mr. Henshaw" by Beverly Cleary.
- You will explore the characteristics and uses of letters.
- You will begin basic keyboarding lessons.
- You will construct awriting journal.
List of Materials and Supplies Needed for This Pathway:
- A printer and basic printing supplies
- A pencil
- Notebook paper
- Drawing paper or posterboard
- Markers, colored pencils, and crayons
- A pencil
- Choice of bread
- Choice of butter spread
- Choice of vegetables
- Choice of herbs or spices
- Dictionary
- Index cards
- Pen or pencil
Writing Assignments:
- Writing Journal
- A pencil and paper or word processing program and printer supplies
Printables:
- A printer and basic printing supplies
- A pencil
- Colored pencils
Links to Related Pathways (if any):
Langauge Arts Year 5, Week 2: Dear Mr. Henshaw: Part 2
Language Arts Year 5, Week 3: Dear Mr. Henshaw: Part 3
Links to Free Learning Material
Literature Activities:
| Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary | (no rating) |
Read pages 1-44 of "Dear Mr. Henshaw" by Beverly Cleary.
| What Bothers You | (no rating) |
On pages 27-28, Leigh tells Mr. Henshaw what bothers him. What bothers you?
| Monarch Butterflies | (no rating) |
In the novel "Dear Mr. Henshaw," Leigh goes often to the grove to see the Monarch butterflies. In this activity, you will gather information about Monarch butterflies in order to produce a poster telling about the butterfly.
| Canapes | (no rating) |
Leigh’s mother was in catering. One of the foods his mother brought home were canapés.
Language Arts Concepts:
| Characteristics of Letters | (no rating) |
Learn the different characteristics of letters in this lesson.
| Formal and Informal Friendly Letters | (no rating) |
This lesson focuses on the characteristics of formal and informal friendly letters.
| You Should Write Letters | (no rating) |
This short lesson gives reasons for writing letters.
| Letter Generator | (no rating) |
This interactive lesson will review parts of letters and allow you to practice letter writing.
| Vocabulary Words | (no rating) |
This week's vocabulary words are afford, diary, diorama, experience, disappointed, understanding, urgent, permission, nuisance, logbook, loner, and halyard.
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Writer's Workshop:
| Writing Journal | (no rating) |
Your child will create a writing journal.
| Letter to a Friend | (no rating) |
You will practice letter writing by writing a letter to a friend.
| Questions | (no rating) |
On pages 14-20, Mr. Henshaw asks Leigh a series of questions in his letter. You will try to answer them.
Keyboarding Skills:
| Introduction to Keyboarding | (no rating) |
You will begin keyboarding lessons. This is the introductory lesson.
| Learn the Home Keys | (no rating) |
You will be introduced to the home keys this week.
Learning Tools (worksheets, drills, printables, online games, tests, etc.):
| Dear Mr. Henshaw Letter | (no rating) |
See if you can answer the questions in this online quiz.
| Parts of a Friendly Letter Quiz | (no rating) |
Take this quiz about parts of a friendly letter.
| Vocabulary in Context | (no rating) |
Play this fun vocabulary game about words from pages 1-37 in "Dear Mr. Henshaw."
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Free Online Video:
| Beverly Cleary Mock Interview | (no rating) |
Watch this mock interview of Beverly Cleary set in 1955.
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Free Online Audio:
| Beverly Cleary Interview | (no rating) |
Listen to and watch this video interview with Beverly Clearly.
Free E-Books (and classics available in most libraries):