Mmm, Cookies! by Robert Munsch - Teaching Ideas



Kids just love Robert Munsch and his silly stories. This story is about a boy named Christopher. He finds some play clay and makes a cookie for his mom and dad to eat, and they actually take a bite! The cookie was so gross they ran to the bathroom and brushed their teeth! Christopher thinks this is sooooo funny {and so do the students}. Will Christopher keep having people eat his clay cookies or will someone trick him into eating a clay cookie? Have fun reading this silly story and finding out what happens to Christopher.

Reading level: 3.5
Theme: manners & conduct
Genre: humorous fiction

Suggested Vocabulary: whapped

Reading skills and strategies:
  • asking questions - {possible before questions} Why are there stars and moons on the cookie? Why do the people in the back look sick? {possible middle questions} Why is Christopher giving everyone clay cookies and letting them actually eat them? Why did Christopher's teacher make him a clay cookie? Why did Christopher make such a big cookie? Why did Christopher's mother and father look scared of the giant cookie? {possible after questions} I wonder if Christopher got in trouble for making his mom and dad eat a clay cookie.
  • author's point of view - third person
  • author's purpose - pure entertainment
  • beginning, middle, end - {the MOST important event from the beginning} - Christopher made a clay cookie and had both his mom and dad eat it. {the MOST important event from the middle} Christopher's teacher made a clay cookie and fed it to him. {the MOST important event from the end} the class made real cookies and Christopher made a huge one to take home to his mom and dad.
  • cause and effect - What caused Christopher's mom to run and brush her teeth? Christopher made her take a bite of a clay cookie. Why did Christopher's mom and dad call his teacher? so they could warn her about what he is doing with the clay cookies. Why did Christopher's mom and dad look so scared at the end of the book? because Christopher brought home such a huge cookie.
  • characterization - describe Christopher {looks, feelings and characteristics}
  • connections - text-to-self connections - playing with clay, making cookies with clay, taking a bite of clay, making cookies at school.
  • drawing conclusions & inference - Why do you think the teacher let Christopher actually take a bite of the clay cookie? {clues from story} Christopher made his mom and dad take a bite of a clay cookie. {what I know} I know that if someone keeps doing something they won't stop till it is done to them so they can understand how you feel. {my conclusion} I think the teacher let Christopher take a bite out of a clay cookie so he could see that it doesn't taste good and that he shouldn't do that anymore.
  • plot - the turning point in the story is when Christopher's teacher makes him take a bite out of a clay cookie.
  • predict - What do you think the story is about? Do you think his mom will actually take a bite of the cookie? What do you think the teacher is going to do? Why do you think Christopher made is real cookie so big?
  • problem & solution - {problem} Christopher is making clay cookies and letting people take a bite out of them. {solution} The teacher decides to give Christopher a taste of his own medicine, she makes a clay cookie and lets him take a bite.
  • sequencing - Christopher makes a clay cookie. He gives it to his mom. He gives it to his dad. Christopher goes to school. His teacher makes a clay cookie. Christopher gets to school and takes a bite of his cookie. The class makes real cookies. Christopher takes home a giant cookie.
  • story elements - list title, author, genre, theme, setting, characters, beginning, middle & end, or problem & solution.
  • strong thought - Students may have strong thought every time someone starts to take a bite out of a clay cookie. 
  •  visualize - Visualize what the clay cookie looked like.
Here is a questioning worksheet you can use with this book.

Click the picture to download the worksheet.

Happy reading!

6 comments

  1. Hi Shawna

    Great blog! I'm your newest follower!

    I love picture books too! We can learn so much from a story.
    I love the way you have organised your tags - it will be easier for me to find the things I want to read!

    We are reading Charlotte's Web next term as a class novel but each week in our Literature lesson we will focus on a different picture book (or two) with a theme of friendship. I will have to get my Teacher Librarian to check out the books you have recommended to see that we have them on our shelves!

    Thanks for sharing (in such an organised way!)


    Jane
    The Learning Curve

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    1. Hi Jane!
      Thanks for being my newest friend. I wanted this to be as user friendly as possible so I am glad it works for you. There is also a searchable book list on the left that you can open. It is in a google docs excel format which lets you search by author, title, theme or freebie attached to it. There is a blog post on how to use use labeled A Searchable Book List. I hope you find some books that will work for your read alouds!
      Shawna

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  2. Good morning, Shawna - I showed off your blog when I was training in Puerto Rico on Wednesday!!! Just LOVE your reviews and integration suggestions. We're showcasing Hey, Little Ant today at the Corner.

    Barbara

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    Replies
    1. Hi Barbara,
      Thanks for sharing my blog. I hope they could see some value in it. I am rather new with not many reviews and a stack of books sitting next to me. I just wish I had more time to do all I want, but I am practicing my patience. Thanks to you {and the Miss Representation movie I just saw} I am really trying to look at the books with more of a character eye and how we can use it to incorporate teaching character. You, by far and the master at that!
      Shawna

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  3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Robert Munsch - and I LOVE listening to him read his own stories!!
    Thank you for the freebie!
    jenross1018@yahoo.com
    the teacher's cauldron

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jen,
      Robert Munsch is pretty great with lots of books...there will be many more "reviews" to come! Thanks for the comment, it is always good to hear from my friends.
      Shawna

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Thoughts and comments are always welcome!