Mr. Poppers Penguins Novel Study Companion

About this resource

A novel study companion for readers in grades 3 to 5 who are reading the novel *Mr. Popper's Penguins*, ready to print and hand out. Every chapter has its own questions with room to write, five daily reading skills each get a practice page, and the unit ends with a cut-and-glue story order, a penguin craft, an end-of-book test and a full answer key. Every student page has a big name line and one short instruction with a picture, so a student, a paraprofessional or a sub can start without you.

This resource is made for use with the novel *Mr. Popper's Penguins*. The book is not included: students read their own copy. Not affiliated with the author or publisher; for use with the book. The questions, word meanings, practice passages and pages are original to Bright Path Sped, and the pictures are not from the book.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (35 pages)

• 1 Start Here page with the plan, the three levels and how scoring works, plus a 20-chapter reading plan with the chapter titles we know (one question set a day over 12 days, or two a day over 6) that gives every chapter a skill of the day
• 12 vocabulary words with a kid-friendly meaning and an example sentence for each (explorer, expedition, Antarctica, admiral, parcel, crate, waddle, lonely, perform, audience, tour, hatch), with two blank lines for your own words
• 3 word work pages at three levels: starting (5 sentences, circle the word that fits), building (6 sentences filled in from an 8-word bank, two words left over) and ready for more (write your own sentence for 4 words, plus a word from the student's book)
• 1 character page for Mr. Popper, Mrs. Popper, Captain Cook, Greta and one more character of the student's choice, with a 12-word trait bank and a line for proof from the book
• 36 chapter questions on six question pages: 12 question sets covering all 20 chapters of the book, 3 questions in each set, two sets a page, 3 writing lines under every question
• 6 skill pages: context clues (3 practice sentences and a box for a word from the book), inference (3 clue-know-think rows and a book row), point of view (a short story, two feelings, who tells the book), cause and effect (4 practice rows and 2 rows from the book) and two summarizing pages (Somebody-Wanted-But-So-Then, and beginning-middle-end with drawing boxes)
• 4 story-order pages: 6 pieces to cut (one page), glue in order at two levels (faint pictures in the boxes, then numbered boxes only) and a retell page in the student's own words (First, Next, Then, After that, Later, Last)
• 2 penguin craft pages: 6 pieces (head, body, 2 flippers, 2 feet) with 6 glue targets the same size as the pieces and the finished model shown
• 2 end-of-book test pages: 10 circle-the-answer items, 5 vocabulary matches and 3 written answers, 24 points in all
• 4 answer key pages: words and story order, the five skills, the test (with a 0-3 table for the written answers) and the chapter questions (what a full answer includes for each of the 12 sets)
• 1 Who Did What class data page (9 student rows, a chapter check) and 1 family letter
• 1 credits page

Three Levels, Marked With Shapes

Word work comes at three levels, and story order at two levels plus a retell, marked with a circle, a square and a triangle instead of a number, so students at one table are not comparing papers: starting, building and ready for more. The same cut pieces serve both glue levels.

Questions About This Book, All 20 Chapters

The book has 20 chapters, and every chapter or short run of chapters has its own set of 3 questions written for this story: Mr. Popper and his dream, the voice on the radio, the penguin who arrives, the troubles at home, Greta, the baby penguins, money worries and the performing tour. Chapter titles are listed for chapters 1-15; chapters 16-20 are one set about the ending. Each set also has a skill of the day (character, context clues, inference, point of view, cause and effect, or summarizing), and the skill pages practice on short scenes written in our own words from the story. All questions, scenes and word meanings are our own writing; no text from the book is copied.

Answer Key And Scoring

Closed items (word work, test parts 1 and 2, skill practice) have one right answer in the key. Chapter questions and written work say **answers will vary**: score each answer 2, 1 or 0 with the notes for all 12 sets, and give credit for any reasonable inference or opinion that has a reason from the text.

Cutting Built For Small Hands

There are 2 cutting pages with 12 pieces in all: 6 story pieces (3.8 by 2.95 inches each) and 6 craft pieces (2.4 inches square). Every piece sits edge to edge in a grid, so each cut is one straight line.

Prep

Print, then cut. You need scissors, glue sticks and crayons. Print the two cutting pages on card stock if you want them to last; everything else works on paper.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A print-and-write PDF. It is not a fillable PDF and it is not Google Slides or a PowerPoint file. The penguin, iceberg, envelope, paint bucket and microphone pictures are Whimsy Clips art; the penguin craft pieces are drawn for this unit; the fonts are KA Fonts. The file is secured so the art cannot be lifted out of it. The vocabulary words are our own choices for a story about explorers and penguins, not a list from the book, so swap in any word your class meets.

Who This Is For

Grade 3, 4 and 5 teachers, special education and resource room teachers, and tutors or parents who want chapter-by-chapter questions, vocabulary, skill practice and a test for this novel in one printable file.

How To Use It

Before you read, go through the words to know and do word work at each child's level. After each chapter (or short run of chapters), the student answers that set's 3 questions. On skill days, teach the skill page first. Cut and glue the story order, build the penguin, then give the end-of-book test and mark it with the key.