Fountas-Pinnell Level NHumorous FictionSelection SummaryMouse, a classroom pet, escapes. Convinced that no one will listen to a mouse, he pretends to be the teacher and e-mails the school principal with requests that will better all the pets’ lives. When his ruse is discovered, Mouse types a request to the class for better care. Everyone agrees to take better care of the classroom pets.
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Characteristics of the Text Genre • Humorous Fiction
Text Structure • Third-person narrative, with embedded e-mails, told in chronological order• Viewpoint keeps shifting from humans to animals, with both merging at the end.
Content • Computer e-mailing• Classroom pets/pet care; classroom jobs
Themes and Ideas • A classroom pet needs care 24/7, not just during classroom hours.• Children learn about responsibilities through classroom jobs.• Using trickery to solve problems is not ultimately effective.
Language and Literary Features
• The animals have human behaviors (e.g., talk, e-mail, have human responses).• Humor builds as Mouse’s e-mail requests escalate.• Repetition is used to humorous effect (p. 3; principal’s reactions to emails).
Sentence Complexity • Variety of sentence lengths and complexity, with statements, questions, exclamations• Commas set off words, clauses, phrases (pp. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6); colon in e-mail (p. 13)
Vocabulary • School-related terms a mix of familiar/unfamiliar: principal, aquarium, custodian• Other possibly unfamiliar words: scurried, solution, variety, diet, negotiate, compromise,
apologize, rapped, impatientWords • Many compounds, multisyllabic words: responsibility, variety
• Many words with -s, -ed, -ing; some affi xes (latest, suddenly); abbreviation (Ms.)• Decoding challenges: principal, aquarium, custodian, negotiate, either, impatient, promise,
messageIllustrations • Cartoon-like art that supports text and enhances humorous impact of story
Book and Print Features • Thirteen pages of text, all a mix of text and art with some text (e-mails) part of the art• Italics used for emphasis (p. 11)
compromise – n., a settlement of an argument with each side giving up something, p. 11
consequence – something that happens as a result of another action, p. 2
negotiate – to discuss so that two sides can fi nd a way to agree about something, p. 11
solution – an answer to a problem or an argument, p. 5
E-Mails from the Teacher by Rachel Fogelberg
Build BackgroundUse children’s knowledge of classroom pets to build interest, using a question like this: Imagine your class had a pet mouse or hamster that could tell you what it wanted. What do you suppose it would ask for? Identify the author. Discuss the title (making sure children are familiar with e-mail), and discuss the cover. Tell children that this selection is humorous fi ction, so it is a made-up story that is meant to make readers laugh.
Introduce the TextGuide children through the text, noting important ideas and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary so they can read the text successfully. Here are some suggestions:
Pages 2–3: Introduce the setting and some of the characters and explain that this is a story about a mouse who fi nds a clever solution to some classroom problems. Suggested language: This story takes place in a school. The illustrations show Ms. Monroe and some children in her class who are doing their classroom jobs. What are their jobs? Ms. Monroe reminds her class about the consequence of not doing the classroom jobs. What might the result be?
Pages 4–5: Talk about the illustrations and the time shift. On page 4, you can see that a pet named Mouse gets out of his cage. He hides and comes out later. How can you tell from the picture on page 5 that it is now nighttime?
Page 10: Mouse talks to the classroom pets and fi nds out that they all have problems that need to be solved. His solution is to write Ms. Silva, the principal, e-mails about the problems. But Mouse signs Ms. Monroe’s name to the e-mails. Is this a good solution? Why or why not?
Now turn back to the beginning of the story and read to fi nd out what problems the animals have and how these problems are solved.
ReadHave children read silently while you listen to individual children read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed.
Remind children to use the Infer/Predict Strategy , and to use clues to fi gure out more about story parts.
Discuss and Revisit the TextPersonal ResponseInvite children to share their personal responses to the story.Suggested language: Do you think Mouse’s solution to the pets’ problem was a good one? Why or why not?
Ways of ThinkingAs you discuss the text, help children understand these points:
Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text
• A classroom pet escapes and begins to e-mail the principal about the pets’ problems.
• Because Mouse signs the teacher’s name, the principal gets mad at Ms. Monroe.
• The problem is solved by having Mouse e-mail any problems to Ms. Monroe or to the students.
• It is not good to use trickery to solve a problem.
• Taking care of pets is a full-time job.
• Doing classroom jobs teaches students how to be responsible people.
• The author builds humor by having the e-mails from Mouse get more and more demanding.
• The viewpoint keeps shifting from people (principal, teacher, students) to animals, until the end, when they all get together.
• The author uses repetition to add humor (oops on page 3).
Choices for Further Support• Fluency Invite children to select one of the e-mails (pp. 6, 8, 10, 11, 13) to read
expressively. Remind them to think about the mood in their e-mail. How does Mouse want his words to sound to the principal? Their voices should match the mood.
• Comprehension Based on your observations of the children’s reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind children to go back to the text to support their ideas.
• Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind children that some longer words are compounds, made up of two smaller words. Use classroom (p. 6) as an example, dividing it into class/room. Have children practice taking apart and reassembling other compounds from the text: everyone, bookcase, herself, something, and sunfl ower.
Writing about ReadingCritical ThinkingHave children complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 11.9.
RespondingHave children complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill.
Target Comprehension SkillConclusions
Target Comprehension Skill Remind children that they can use story details and what they
know to fi gure out more about story characters and what is happening in a story. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below:
Think Aloud
I’m thinking about some of the problems the animals have—they don’t like having the lights out at night or having the heat turned off at night. I know that Ms. Monroe and her students are only in the classroom during the day. I can draw a conclusion that nobody has been thinking about what happens to the animals at night.
Practice the SkillHave children talk about what conclusions they can draw about Mouse’s personality from his actions in this story.
Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the TextHave children write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story.
Assessment Prompts• What word best describes Mouse?
English Language DevelopmentReading Support Help children understand the time change in the story, from what the humans are doing in the daytime to what Mouse is doing at night, as he talks to the other pets and writes his emails.
Cognates Link several vocabulary words to their related Spanish counterparts: compromise/componenda, consequence/consecuencia, negotiate/negociar, solution/solución.
Oral Language DevelopmentCheck children’s comprehension, using a dialogue that best matches their English profi ciency level. Speaker 1 is the teacher, Speaker 2 is the child.
Beginning/Early Intermediate Intermediate Early Advanced/ Advanced
Speaker 1: Who sends e-mails to the principal about the pet’s problems?
Speaker 2: Mouse
Speaker 1: When he sends e-mails, who does Mouse pretend to be?
Speaker 2: Ms. Monroe (the teacher)
Speaker 1: At the end, the class promises to take better care of whom?
Speaker 2: the classroom pets
Speaker 1: What does Mouse fi rst do to try to solve the pets’ problems?
Speaker 2: He sends e-mails to the principal named Ms. Silva.
Speaker 1: At the end of the story, what does Mouse agree to do if any new problems come up?
Speaker 2: He’ll e-mail any problems to Ms. Monroe or to the students.
Speaker 1: What is Mouse’s original plan for solving the pets’ problems? How does this plan change at the end?
Speaker 2: At fi rst, he e-mails requests to the principal and signs Ms. Monroe’s name. At the end, he agrees to e-mail his requests to Ms. Monroe or to the students.
Read directions to children.
Think About ItRead and answer the questions.
1. Why does Rabbit want more hay?
2. What problem do the animals have? How does
Mouse try to solve it?
3. Pets depend on people for the things that they need.
What do people depend on pets for? Explain your
answer.
Making Connections The animals in E-Mails from the Teacher and Click, Clack, Moo both want things. Who iss more polite? Who gets what they ask for right away? Why?
2_302744_AL_LRTG_L11_E-Mails.indd 62_302744_AL_LRTG_L11_E-Mails.indd 6 7/30/09 8:00:45 AM7/30/09 8:00:45 AM
Think About ItRead and answer the questions.
1. Why does Rabbit want more hay?
2. What problem do the animals have? How does
Mouse try to solve it?
3. Pets depend on people for the things that they need.
What do people depend on pets for? Explain your
answer.
Making Connections The animals in E-Mails from the Teacher and Click, Clack, Moo both want things. Who is more polite? Who gets what they ask for right away? Why?
