Mrs. McNosh by Sarah Weeks - Teaching Ideas | The Picture Book Teacher's Edition

Mrs. McNosh and her great big squash is a fun book your students will LOVE. It is a book told in rhyme with colorful illustrations that tell the story of a runaway squash. Mrs. McNosh not only has to figure out how to stop it from rolling over everything in its path, but she has to figure out what to do with it when if finally stops. Your students won't believe what Mrs. McNosh does with the squash!

Below is a list of reading skills, strategies and ideas you can use to create a great lesson to go with this read aloud.

Reading level: 2.2

Theme/subject: plants

Genre: humorous

Suggested Vocabulary/phrases: squash, paperboy, clothesline, gents

Reading skills and strategies:

Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what a squash is. I wonder what a squash tastes like. I wonder how big it got. {possible questions during} I wonder how the squash got so big. I wonder if all her neighbors will be mad. {possible questions after} I wonder how long the squash will last. I wonder what else she could have done with the squash. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
Author's point of view – Third. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this (her, she, Mrs. McNosh).
Author's purpose – entertain {evidence} the story is told in rhyme. The illustrations are bright and colorful. It was silly when the squash looked like the paperboy’s head. All these things make an entertaining story.
Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} Mrs. McNosh planted a squash seed. {most important event from middle} The squash grew so big it started to roll away. {most important event from end} Mrs. McNosh scooped the insides out so she could live in it.
Cause and effect – Why did Mrs. McNosh plant a squash? Because it was the first day of spring. How come the squash flattened the cat? Because it rolled from the garden. How come the squash looked like the paperboy? Because it was round and looked like a head. How come Mrs. McNosh was worried? Because she didn’t know who to slow the squash down. How come Mrs. McNosh slapped the squash? Because she was trying to slow it down. Why did Mrs. McNosh start scooping the insides of the squash out? So she could live in it.
Character analysis - describe Mrs. McNosh {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
Classify & categorize – food – fruits and vegetables
Compare & contrast – Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash and either the book Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh or Mrs. McNosh Hangs her Wash. All three are stories about Mrs. McNosh.
Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Planting seeds. Planting squash. Having your veggies grow extra big. Being worried about something because of what you did. Figuring out the perfect solution to your problem. {possible text-to-text connections} Connect to Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh or Mrs. McNosh Hangs her Wash. All three are stories about Mrs. McNosh.
Drawing conclusions & inferencing – Why do you think Mrs. McNosh thought that slapping and scolding the squash would have stopped it from rolling? {text clues} It was out of control and she didn’t know what to do. {what I know} When I get scolded for something I stop what I am doing. {my conclusion} I think Mrs. McNosh thought that slapping and scolding the squash would stop it from rolling around.
Fact & opinion – {fact} Mrs. McNosh planted a squash. The squash was bumpy and fat. The squash crashed through a clothesline. Mrs. McNosh picked the squash. Mrs. McNosh slept in the squash. {opinion} Squash is delicious. Squash is the easiest vegetable to grow. Everyone was mad at Mrs. McNosh in the book. Really big squash make the best houses. It is hard to scoop out the insides of a squash.
Main idea & details - {main idea} Mrs. McNosh grew and enormous squash. {details} It squashed the cat. It rolled away. It ran over the trash cans. Mrs. McNosh cleaned it out and turned it into a house.
Plot - the turning point or climax in the story was when Mrs. McNosh picked the squash.
Predict – What do you think the story is going to be about? How do you think Mrs. McNosh will stop the squash? What do you think Mrs. McNosh is going to do with the squash? What will Mrs. McNosh do with the squash after she cleans it out?
Problem & solution - {problem} Mrs. McNosh’s squash rolled away. {solution} She picked it.
Sequencing – Mrs. McNosh planted a squash. It started to grow. It started to roll. It flattened the cat. It knocked over trash cans and smashed a fence. Mrs. McNosh slapped and scolded the squash. Mrs. McNosh picked the squash. She scrapped the insides out. Mrs. McNosh fell asleep in the squash.
Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
Strong thought – Mrs. McNosh’s squash was causing problems all around her house. If you were her neighbor what would you do or say to her about her squash?
Visualize – Mrs. McNosh decided to clean out the inside of the squash and use it as her house. Visualize what you would do with the squash.

Mrs. McNosh is at it again, this time with her wash. She not only hangs up her "normal" wash, she goes crazy and hangs up everything else that come her way. She gets so crazy with the things she hangs on her clothesline the postman actually runs away for fear of being pinned to the line. Your kids will just crack up at the very last picture of what is hanging on the line!

Below is a list of skills, strategies and ideas that you can use to create a great lesson.

I created a combo pack that includes a ton of skills and strategies for both books. You will have so much to choose from you will be able to pull these books out and use them over and over throughout the year.

Reading level: 2.2

Theme/subject: jobs

Genre: humorous

Suggested Vocabulary/phrases: postman, clothesline, wrings out, removable teeth

Reading skills and strategies:

Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what the book is going to be about. I wonder why she is hanging up her wash. {possible questions during} I wonder why she hung up some bats. {possible questions after} I wonder how the chair stays on the clothesline. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
Author's point of view – Third. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this (her, she, Mrs. McNosh).
Author's purpose – entertain {evidence} the story is told in rhyme. The illustrations are bright and colorful. It was silly when she is sleeping in the chair on the clothesline. All these things make an entertaining story.
Character analysis - describe Mrs. McNosh {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
Classify & categorize – The things Mrs. McNosh hangs on the line – clothes and other things
Compare & contrast – Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash and either the book Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh or Mrs. McNosh Hangs her Wash. All three are stories about Mrs. McNosh.
Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Doing wash. Washing clothes by hand. Putting clothes on the clothesline. {possible text-to-text connections} Connect to Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh or Mrs. McNosh Hangs her Wash. All three are stories about Mrs. McNosh.
Drawing conclusions & inferencing – Why is the postman running away? {text clues} Mrs. McNosh is hanging up the mail. The postman sees everything that Mrs. McNosh has put on the line. {what I know} Mrs. McNosh is hanging everything up. {my conclusion} I think the postman is running away because he doesn’t want Mrs. McNosh to hand him up on the clothesline.
Fact & opinion – {fact} Mrs. McNosh does wash on Mondays. Mrs. McNosh hangs what she’s washed on the clothesline. Mrs. McNosh hangs herself in a chair. Mrs. McNosh hangs up dresses. Mrs. McNosh hangs up the news. {opinion} The postman was scared. The bats didn’t like being on the clothesline. Shoes shouldn’t be hung on a clothesline. The wedding dress was very pretty. Mrs. McNosh shouldn’t have taken her hair down.
Sequencing – You can have the students sequence what Mrs. McNosh hangs on the clothesline.
Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.