Now that Edward from Santa's Book of Names has learned how to read, he reads everything he can, from cereal boxes at breakfast to storybooks at bedtime. Sometimes the stories that Edward reads seem real, and once he even thinks he sees a dinosaur peeking into his bedroom window.

Edward likes all kinds of books, but his favorites are adventure stories. One night, when Edward falls fast asleep while reading a book he borrowed from the library, he suddenly awakes to find his bed surrounded by fierce pirates! What will Edward do?

Little, Brown, and Company 

Reading Strategies ~ Strategies That Work by Stephanie Harvey

Edward and the Pirates is a wonderful story to introduce what good readers naturally do when they read books... VISUALIZE!

This book actually shows Edward using the visualizing strategy as he reads and David McPhail, author/illustrator, does an awesome job portraying the images that Edward sees when he reads. This would be a great opportunity to introduce the visualizing strategy to students!

Questioning Strategy

When we use the questioning strategy with students, it is important that we encourage students to ask questions before they read, during their reading and after they finish their reading. Edward and the Pirates will make students wonder and question whether Edward is using his imagination or are these events actually happening in his house! It is also important to teach students how to categorize their questions so they know how to get their questions answered if there is an answer at all. This lesson will provide opportunities for students to question Edward's adventures.

Materials needed:  The book, Edward and the Pirates, Three-Column Chart with Before, During, After on the top of the columns; markers; Categorizing Questions Chart.

1. Introduce book, by reading the title and looking at the picture on the front cover. Ask students what questions they may have about this book before they start reading. Record these questions in the first column of the Chart.
2. Begin reading the story, stopping after pages to ask students what questions their minds are generating now as you read. Record these questions in the second column of the Chart.
3. Some questions that the students ask may get answered as you read. Acknowledge those as you read, but revisit after you complete the book.
4. After you finish the story ask students what questions they are left with now that the story is over. Record these in the third column.
5. At this point you could stop the lesson and continue the remainder on another day. If time permits complete the next activity.
6. Now go over your Categorizing Questions Chart. (See pages 84-85 in Strategies That Work). Explain to students that sometimes our questions are answered and sometimes they are not. We find the answer to our questions in many different ways.
7. Go through the questions that were generated from the students before, during and after the reading. Code the questions to see if they got answered or not. Going over the questions is a great way to review the story with the students.
8. Questioning usually leads to inferring as well, so look for opportunities for students to inferences.

Options: This activity could be adjusted with using the Wonderings Chart for the primary grades.

Writing Strategies ~ 6+1 Traits of Writing by Ruth Culham

Edward and the Pirates is an excellent text to use when you're teaching the trait of Voice. In the story, we really see Edward's passion for books, and can make connections to the books that have touched us throughout our lives. It's also a great segue into lessons on the trait of  Ideas, specifically discovering the best information (details) to convey the main idea. As we watch Edward's characters come to life, we remember what makes books come alive to us! The author's ability to include great detail directly impacts the reader's ability to visualize and experience the story.

*Teaching Voice: Finding the Golden Thread*

"Voice is the golden thread that runs through a piece of writing. It's how the reader knows it is really you speaking... the sense that a real person is speaking to you and cares about the message." ~Culham, pg. 102.

Edward is a good example of the Voice trait because the author, David McPhail relates to the reader on a very emotional level. He's speaking to those of us who have ever found ourselves caught up in a story, eager to keep turning the pages and disappointed when the excitement ends with the final page. When your students find themselves wishing they were a character in a story or identifying with the character's emotions, they're experiencing the author's Voice. It makes the reading experience that much more powerful.

Lesson Ideas for Voice:

• Make a Book of Books You Love (6 + 1 Traits, page 128) The books we love most are often those that ring with voice. Make lists of favorites and share them aloud. Keep a class book of favorites and ask students to add names and titles to it regularly. And be sure to tell students what you've been reading. Share favorite passages and let them see how good writing affects you. Give students time to do the same, either in small groups, in large groups, or with younger students. Listen carefully to what they have to say. What a refreshing alternative to the standard book report. And, look, no papers to correct!
• See 6 + 1 Traits, pages 125-128 for more lessons on Speaking Directly to the Reader
• Teaching Ideas: Discovering the Best Information to Convey the Main Idea - Oftentimes, the details we read in a story are so rich and vibrant that we're able to not only see the events playing out in our minds, but we begin to feel like we're actually there, experiencing the emotions of the characters and becoming swept up in the actions of the story. Edward enjoyed every story with this type of zeal, and in his mine he became the characters he was reading about. When an author includes just the right information, the reader is enveloped in the story, and can live it rather than just reading it.

David McPhail has given the main character, Edward, many positive character traits. Edward is very MOTIVATED to read. In fact, he reads everything he can get his hands on. He shows RESPECT FOR LEARNING as he reads everything from cereal boxes to seed catalogs to monuments to books. He demonstrates the traits of INITIATIVE, EFFORT and SELF-RELIANCE by going to the library on his own and checking out his own books (not depending on Mom and Dad to do it for him). His CREATIVITY allows him to become part of the stories he reads. In his mind, he travels along with Admiral Peary, rescues Robin Hood from the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, carries the shield for Joan of Arc, and even sees a tyrannosaurus outside his window. This CREATIVITY also carries over into his dream as he COURAGEOUSLY stands up to the pirates and imagines his parents coming in to save him.  When he realizes the pirates can't read, Edward shows COMPASSION by offering to read the book to them after RESPECTFULLY asking his parents' permission.

• Take your students on a virtual treasure hunt!  Students must solve a variety of clues and follow directions to reach the treasure.

• Take a high seas adventure with pirates at this National Geographic Kids website! The interactive site requires students to select the pirate, the ship, and the booty!

• Students will use their problem-solving skills to divide the treasure in How Do Pirates Divide the Gold?

• Students can use pattern blocks to show fractions and their algebraic equations with Fraction Action.

• Students can develop their map-making and map-reading skills by designing and solving treasure hunts. Click here for directions to create a Treasure Hunt activity.

• Read about more of Edward's adventures in Santa's Book of Names and Edward in the Jungle.

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