Groundhog Gets a Say by Pamela Curtis Swallow - Teaching Tips

What a wonderful book! Swallow does a fantastic job weaving groundhog facts into a very funny story. Your students will enjoy the humor as well as walk away with some fun facts about groundhogs, a definite must read for Groundhog Day!

Below are the teaching tips I came up with to go with this book.

Reading level: 2.9

Theme/subject: Groundhog Day, Animals

Genre: Informational

Suggested vocabulary/phrases: king of the mound, rodents, marmots, excitable, hoggy-paddle, blimp, blimp with legs, predators, submarine periscope, thickets, chompers, burrow, gnaw, hibernate, body rhythms,

Reading skills and strategies:

• purpose for reading – To learn about Groundhogs
• author's purpose – inform
• evidence
• The author explains what kind of animal a ground hog is and its different names.
• The author tells what a groundhog eats.
• The author shows what their burrow looks like.
• organization
• ideas or topics – the text is organized by topics
• Different names
• Their burrow
• Who they are related to
• Different people that like them
• What they can do
• Predators
• Different places they can live
• What they eat
• About their teeth
• What they do when they find a mate
• classify & categorize –
• classify animals
• categorize ones that hibernate and ones that don’t
• compare & contrast –
• Other holidays that have an animal associated with it (Easter, Thanksgiving)
• The groundhog to the squirrel
• fact & opinion –
• Facts
• Groundhogs are related to squirrels
• Groundhogs can whistle
• Groundhogs can move about 700 pounds of dirt and rock in a day
• Groundhogs teeth stop growing while it hibernates
• Groundhogs chatter their teeth to scare their enemies away
•  
• Opinions
• Groundhogs always see their shadows
• Everybody loves groundhogs
• Groundhogs are the best kind of rodents to have around
• The groundhog is better than the Easter Bunny

• main idea & details –
• Main idea – The text is mostly about all the things groundhogs can do.
• Details
• A groundhog cannot run very fast
• A groundhog can swim
• A groundhog uses his front teeth to gnaw through sticks
• predict –
• What do you think the story will be about?
• Who do you think the groundhog is related to?
• What do you think a groundhog can do better, run or swim?
• What do you think a groundhog eats?
• How do you think a groundhog keeps its teeth from growing too long while he hibernates?
• story elements –
• title – Groundhog Gets a Say
• author – Pamela Curtis Swallow
• topic - Groundhogs
• organization – by topic
• KWL – have students give you this info
• summarize main idea –
• author – Pamela Curtis Swallow wrote
• book title – Groundhog Gets a Say
• author’s purpose – to inform the readers
• statement about topic – that there is more to a groundhog than just Groundhog’s day.
• at least 2 detail – Groundhogs can move up to 700 pounds of dirt and rock without getting dirt in their ears and they make burrows that other animals can’t wait to move into.

I know it is too late for this year, but you will be all set for next February!! Here are some One Pager activities that I created to go with this book.

You can find these One Pagers in the growing Holiday Bundle. This bundle so far, includes 6 different books and will continue to grow as I find more holiday books.

Happy reading!