“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”
Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery Medal-winning classic, A Wrinkle in Time, has captivated young readers for generations. Blending science fiction, fantasy, and deep human emotion, Meg Murry’s journey across time and space to rescue her father remains one of the most compelling ELA novel studies for 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade classrooms.
Whether you are hosting a whole-class reading unit, running middle school literature circles, or facilitating independent book clubs, here is how you can teach A Wrinkle in Time with zero prep time while building critical reading comprehension and vocabulary skills!
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🌟 Why A Wrinkle in Time Belongs in Your Reading Curriculum
1. Celebrates Individuality & Inner Strength
Meg’s journey is all about embracing her “faults” and learning that being different is her greatest strength. It provides rich opportunities for meaningful social-emotional learning (SEL) discussions on conformity, self-acceptance, and resilience.
2. High-Interest Genre Crossover
For students who prefer sci-fi or fantasy over realistic fiction, this book is a massive hit. Exploring dimensions, tesseracts, and the battle between light and darkness keeps even reluctant readers completely hooked.
3. Rigorous Vocabulary Development
With over 100 context-rich vocabulary words, the novel challenges middle-grade students to expand their academic vocabulary and master context clues across every chapter.
I offer a novel study for A Wrinkle in Time that contains everything you need to teach this novel in both a printable format as well as a Google Drive format for those of you in paperless classrooms!
📦 What’s Included in the Complete A Wrinkle in Time Unit (Print + Google Apps™)
Planning a multi-week unit for a complex sci-fi novel can take endless hours. This all-in-one novel study unit delivers everything you need from start to finish—offered in both printable PDF and interactive Google Drive™ (Google Slides & self-grading Google Forms) formats.
👩🏫 1. Teacher Planning & Management Packet
Detailed Daily Lesson Plans & Pacing Guide: Step-by-step roadmap for your daily reading schedule.
Chapter/Section Guide: Keep your reading schedule organized and on track.
Vocabulary Word Wall Cards: Printable cards and digital Google Slides formats to reinforce academic vocabulary.
Proactive Parent Letter: Pre-written communication explaining the themes and fantasy elements of the book.
Complete Answer Keys: Hassle-free grading for every student task.
📝 2. Student Practice & Workbooks
100+ Vocabulary Context Practice: Targeted practice covering essential vocabulary words across the book.
Chapter-by-Chapter Comprehension Questions: Short-answer questions designed to push students into deeper critical thinking, inferencing, and textual evidence retrieval.
In-Depth Character Studies: Analysis activities focusing on Meg Murry, Charles Wallace, Calvin O’Keefe, and IT.
★ Exclusive Post-Reading Analysis Tasks: Deep-dive extension projects available only in this complete unit bundle!
✏️ 3. Self-Grading Quizzes & Assessments
Section Quizzes (Print & Self-Grading Google Forms™): Easily monitor comprehension after every few chapters.
Bonus Extension Packets: Includes a Story Elements Interactive Notebook Packet and End-of-the-Book Projects usable with any novel!
“I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
Few stories capture the hearts of upper elementary students quite like Katherine Applegate’s Newbery Medal-winning masterpiece, The One and Only Ivan.
Inspired by the true story of a real shopping mall gorilla named Ivan who spent 27 years in a glass enclosure, this powerful novel explores themes of friendship, empathy, animal welfare, and keeping promises. Written in accessible, poetic verse with short, fast-paced entries, it is one of the most effective ELA anchor texts for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th-grade classrooms.
Whether you are hosting a whole-class read-aloud, running literature circles, or facilitating independent book clubs, here is how you can teach The One and Only Ivan with zero prep time while building critical ELA and cross-curricular reading skills!
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🌟 Why The One and Only Ivan Belongs in Your Reading Curriculum
1. Sparks High-Interest Nonfiction Connections
Unlike purely fictional stories, Ivan serves as a perfect launchpad for cross-curricular reading. Students naturally become curious about the real Ivan, gorilla and elephant behavior, and the moral debate surrounding animal captivity vs. wildlife sanctuaries.
2. Teaches Point of View & Literary Devices
Written from Ivan’s first-person perspective, the novel provides a masterclass in voice, sensory details, figurative language, and character development—making deep literary analysis approachable for reluctant readers.
3. Fosters Deep Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
As Ivan forms an unbreakable bond with Stella the elephant and Ruby the baby elephant, students reflect on empathy, compassion, standing up for others, and what it truly means to be a good friend.
I offer a novel study for The One and Only Ivan that not only incorporates comprehension and vocabulary activities, but also non-fiction aspects for students to learn about Silverback Gorillas, elephants, animals living in captivity vs. the wild, and, of course, the story of the real-life Ivan!
📦 What’s Included in the Complete Ivan Unit (Print + Google Apps™)
Creating chapter questions, vocabulary lists, and assessments for a 300+ page book can take dozens of hours. This all-in-one novel study unit delivers everything you need from start to finish—offered in both printable PDF and interactive Google Drive™ (Google Slides & self-grading Google Forms) formats.
👩🏫 1. Teacher Planning & Management Packet
Detailed Daily Lesson Plans & Pacing Guide: Step-by-step roadmap for your daily reading schedule.
Vocabulary Word Wall Cards: Printable cards and Google Slides to reinforce academic vocabulary.
Proactive Parent Letter: Pre-written communication explaining the themes of the book.
Complete Answer Keys: Hassle-free grading for every student task.
📝 2. Student Practice & Skill Workbooks
Vocabulary Context Practice: Targeted practice covering 59 essential vocabulary words across the book.
Section-by-Section Comprehension Questions: Short-answer questions designed to push students into deeper critical thinking and inferencing.
In-Depth Character Studies: Graphic organizers focusing on Ivan, Stella, Ruby, and Bob.
Book vs. Movie Comparison: Engaging analysis tools comparing the novel to the Disney film adaptation.
★ 4 Exclusive Post-Reading Analysis Tasks: Deep-dive extension projects available only in this complete unit bundle!
Please check out the completed The One and Only Ivan Novel Study that contains both a printable and Google Drive™ compatible format available in my store.
🎁 Download a FREE Sample & Start Teaching Today!
Want to test out the unit before committing? Download a Free Sample that includes all student activities and teacher plans for Chapter 1!
You can purchase this novel study at the following locations:
💬 Join the Conversation!
Have you taught The One and Only Ivan or its companions (The One and Only Bob and The One and Only Ruby) in your classroom?
Join our free teacher community, Book Talk with The Teaching Bank, to share ideas, grab freebies, and connect with upper elementary and middle school educators!
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I’m Shelley from The Teaching Bank. I have taught 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades.
My goal is to provide lessons and units for K-12 that are practical and ready to teach with minimal prep needed.
