Common Core Standards – ELA (K-3)
Hello, teachers!
Below are some suggestions on how to relate Whispers of the Wolf to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. Whispers of the Wolf also comes with end notes which provide further informational text for each illustration.
KINDERGARTEN
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
Since Whispers of the Wolf (WoW) is a picture book, there are many opportunities to discuss the relationship between the illustrations and the text. Some of the finer points are described below under grades 1 and 3. Some initial questions to ask might be: what can you tell about the setting based on the pictures? Is the climate hot or cold? Dry or wet? Is this a story that takes place today or a long time ago?
FIRST GRADE
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
WoW uses onomatopoeia on numerous occasions to convey the main character's, Two Birds, sensitivity to his surroundings. For example, onomatopoetic words are used to depict the sound of heart beats, the wind, ululation, and the howling of a wolf.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.5
Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.
WoW includes both a story as well as several pages of end notes which provides additional informational text for each illustrated spread. How are these two sections different?
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Illustrations in WoW are used to describe the architecture and dress of the characters during the 1500's before the Spanish came, as well as the setting of the Desert Southwest around the Four Corners region of the United States. On the page where Gray Bear shows the wolf pup to the other children – can you tell whether Two Birds or Gray Bear is more confident from the body language used for? Two Birds arms are held close to his body and he is avoiding eye contact with anyone. Gray Bear, on the other hand, has a much more relaxed body stance and is looking directly at Two Birds.
SECOND GRADE
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
Please note that WoW is not a traditional folktale or legend from the Pueblo culture. It is realistic fiction depicting Pueblo people as they really could have existed in that time period and setting. The central theme is one of respect and compassion for all living things, including oneself.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Adoption of the wolf pup allows Two Birds to discover his own sense of self-worth and leads him to much greater involvement in his community. It is important to note that his initial limitations were self-imposed – he was never bullied or deemed "less than" by anyone but himself.
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
At one point, Two Birds tells Gray Bear that he is too noisy – “If you talked a little less, listened a little more, you might hear him. And you might also catch more rabbits!” The structure of his friendly advice is repeated by Gray Bear on the next page – “If you walked a little less, ran a little more, you’d get faster!" This exchange demonstrates both that Gray Bear paid attention to Two Birds' words, and that he is also not above a little teasing himself.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
In the beginning, Two Birds cares a great deal that he is not a fast runner – does Gray Bear? Also, how do Two Birds and his wolf view the world differently at the end of the story? Although the wolf cannot actually speak, his point of view on being confined is certainly different than Two Birds'. How can a reader or listener tell this?
THIRD GRADE
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
WoW is not a traditional folktale or legend from the Pueblo culture. It is realistic fiction depicting people as they really could have existed in that time period and setting. The central theme is respect and compassion for all living things, including oneself. Compassion for other living things is expressed by Two Birds when he frees his wolf. But Two Birds' greater struggle is giving permission to himself to be less than perfect when compared to his more athletic peers. At the end, he finally understands and accepts that there are traits unique to himself that are just as valued by his community.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
Notice how in general, the time of day shifts from morning at the start of the story, to night. This emphasizes the beginning/middle/end arc of Two Birds' relationship with his wolf. It also allows the use of warmer colors during the initial honeymoon period of their relationship, culminating in the use of more unsettling green skin tones at the high points of Two Birds' internal conflict over the confining of an inherently wild animal.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
Since Whispers of the Wolf (WoW) is a picture book, there are many opportunities to discuss the relationship between the illustrations and the text. Some of the finer points are described below under grades 1 and 3. Some initial questions to ask might be: what can you tell about the setting based on the pictures? Is the climate hot or cold? Dry or wet? Is this a story that takes place today or a long time ago?
FIRST GRADE
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
WoW uses onomatopoeia on numerous occasions to convey the main character's, Two Birds, sensitivity to his surroundings. For example, onomatopoetic words are used to depict the sound of heart beats, the wind, ululation, and the howling of a wolf.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.5
Explain major differences between books that tell stories and books that give information, drawing on a wide reading of a range of text types.
WoW includes both a story as well as several pages of end notes which provides additional informational text for each illustrated spread. How are these two sections different?
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Illustrations in WoW are used to describe the architecture and dress of the characters during the 1500's before the Spanish came, as well as the setting of the Desert Southwest around the Four Corners region of the United States. On the page where Gray Bear shows the wolf pup to the other children – can you tell whether Two Birds or Gray Bear is more confident from the body language used for? Two Birds arms are held close to his body and he is avoiding eye contact with anyone. Gray Bear, on the other hand, has a much more relaxed body stance and is looking directly at Two Birds.
SECOND GRADE
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.2
Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
Please note that WoW is not a traditional folktale or legend from the Pueblo culture. It is realistic fiction depicting Pueblo people as they really could have existed in that time period and setting. The central theme is one of respect and compassion for all living things, including oneself.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Adoption of the wolf pup allows Two Birds to discover his own sense of self-worth and leads him to much greater involvement in his community. It is important to note that his initial limitations were self-imposed – he was never bullied or deemed "less than" by anyone but himself.
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
At one point, Two Birds tells Gray Bear that he is too noisy – “If you talked a little less, listened a little more, you might hear him. And you might also catch more rabbits!” The structure of his friendly advice is repeated by Gray Bear on the next page – “If you walked a little less, ran a little more, you’d get faster!" This exchange demonstrates both that Gray Bear paid attention to Two Birds' words, and that he is also not above a little teasing himself.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.6
Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
In the beginning, Two Birds cares a great deal that he is not a fast runner – does Gray Bear? Also, how do Two Birds and his wolf view the world differently at the end of the story? Although the wolf cannot actually speak, his point of view on being confined is certainly different than Two Birds'. How can a reader or listener tell this?
THIRD GRADE
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
WoW is not a traditional folktale or legend from the Pueblo culture. It is realistic fiction depicting people as they really could have existed in that time period and setting. The central theme is respect and compassion for all living things, including oneself. Compassion for other living things is expressed by Two Birds when he frees his wolf. But Two Birds' greater struggle is giving permission to himself to be less than perfect when compared to his more athletic peers. At the end, he finally understands and accepts that there are traits unique to himself that are just as valued by his community.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)
Notice how in general, the time of day shifts from morning at the start of the story, to night. This emphasizes the beginning/middle/end arc of Two Birds' relationship with his wolf. It also allows the use of warmer colors during the initial honeymoon period of their relationship, culminating in the use of more unsettling green skin tones at the high points of Two Birds' internal conflict over the confining of an inherently wild animal.