Curious George Rides a Bike by H.A. Rey - Teaching Ideas

In this 1952 book George shows off his bicycle tricks which lands him a spot in the animal show. He is so excited to be in the show, but his curiosity gets the better of him which results in him being cut. Bad little monkey aren't aloud to perform. George is so sad, but never fear, he saves a baby bear that escapes from his cage. His bravery and quick thinking have him back on his bike performing in front of the entire town, even the man with the yellow hat.

Lots of skills and strategies to help you create a lesson your students will love!

If you need a little extra help, I have a free questioning activity available and a whole packet of stuff just ready to help you out!

Reading level: 2.9

Theme: Curiosity

Genre: Humorous Fiction

Suggested Vocabulary: wild bronco, fleet, admiral, jolt, fanfare, bugle

Reading skills and strategies:

asking questions - {possible questions before} Where does George get the bike? Where did George learn to ride a bike? {possible questions during} How did George learn how to make a boat? Why did the man with the yellow hat go to the animal show without George? {possible questions after} Was George sad to leave the show?
author's point of view - third person point of view
author's purpose - entertain {evidence} George could ride his bicycle backwards. All the frogs and ducks got into the boats that George made. The ostrich was making horn noises because the horn was half way down its throat. All these things are silly and make the story entertaining.
beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} The two men from the animal show found George and asked him to be in the show. {most important event from middle} George alerted everyone that the baby bear was out and on the loose. {most important event from end} They asked George to be back in the show because he saved the baby bears life.
cause and effect - Why was it a special day? because it had been three years since the man with the yellow hat took George home from the jungle. Why could George do all sorts of tricks on his bicycle? because monkey's are good at that. Why did George not deliver the papers to the other side of the street? because he wanted to know what the river was like. Why did George make boats with the rest of the papers? because he thought it would be fun to have a boat of his own. Why did George's front wheel on his bicycle get out of shape? because he was watching the boats and not the road and he hit a rock. Why did the two men stop and take George with them? because they wanted George to ride his bike and do tricks in their animal show. Why did George give the ostrich his bugle? because he was curious if the ostrich would eat it. Why did the men tell George he had to go home? because George was a naughty monkey and naughty monkeys couldn't be in the show. Why did George sound the bugle? because the baby monkey got out. Why was George let back in the show? because he saved the baby bear.
characterization - describe George {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
compare & contrast - two of the Curious George books
connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Getting a new bike. Being able to do tricks on your bike. Being able to make a paper boat. Doing something good that makes everyone very happy. {possible text-to-text connections} connect this book to any of the Curious George books.
drawing conclusions & inferencing - How do you think George felt after saving the baby bear? {text clues} George has a smile on his face as he is handing the baby bear down. The book also says that everybody cheered and then the men let George back into the show. {what I know} If I do something good and people cheer and are happy then I feel very proud. {my conclusion} I think George felt very happy and proud that he saved the baby bear.
fact & opinion - {facts} It had been three years since the man in the yellow hat brought George home. George knew how to ride a bike. George and the man with the yellow hat were going to see the animal show. The wheel on George's bike got bent. George lowered the baby bear down in the newspaper sack. George got to ride his bike in the animal show. {opinions} Three years is a long time. George is the best at doing tricks on a bicycle. It is a lot of fun sailing boats. Ostrich's are mean. George is very smart.
plot - the turning point in the story was when George alerted everyone that the baby bear escaped from his cage.
predict - What do you think George will do on his bicycle? Do you think George will keep close to the house like the man told him to? Do you think George will do a good job delivering all of the papers? What do you think George will do with the papers he didn't deliver? What do you think George will do with is broken bike? Do you think George will try to feed the ostrich? Do you think George will still be in the show? If so, what will he do to be in the show? Do you think George can save the baby bear? How? Do you think George will miss the show?
problem & solution - {problem} George was a naughty monkey because he fed the bugle to the ostrich, now he can't be in the show. {solution} George is able to be in the show because he helps save the baby bear.
sequencing - It is a very special day and the man with the yellow hat gives George a bicycle.
story elements - list title, author, character's, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.

Click here it get this FREE questioning download (be advised, this download has the sheets for all for of the Curious George books I have reviewed, so you only need to download it once.) You can get it from my Teachers Notebook or TpT store.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Questioning-Activity-inspired-by-Curious-George-by-HA-Rey

IT'S FREE!!

For this book I created a science inquiry activity included in the above packet (shown in the picture below). Students will follow the boat building instructions in the book and then test to see if their ability to follow directions resulted in a boat that can float.