Mercy Watson

Author Connection

One of the first Novel of Kate DiCamillo, “Because of Winn-Dixie,” talks about the dog that Kate DiCamillo could not have at that moment because she lived in a small apartment that did not allow pets. Although Katie DiCamillo’s series on Mercy Watson does not have a direct connection to her life, the novels she wrote do. Most of her novels talk about abandonment, which is clearly connected to her life. Katie DiCamillo’ s father abandoned the family when they move to Florida due to Kate’s chronic pneumonia. Kate DiCamillo will be presented on the first day of class. I will briefly give an appropriate biography of her, and then I would let students write a question they would like to ask her. Students will put the questions in a box, and they will get an answer by the end of the week. Students will be reading the Mercy Watson series. I would describe Mercy Watson as Kate’s best friend, and let students create their own friend to tell a story.

They can choose an animal or any living individual that they want. I want students to learn to be creative, and express their feelings through writing. I think kids will be more interested in the author after they learn that she also lived in Florida just like them.

Learning Activities

Overview:

Day 1: Who is Kate DiCamillo?

Introducing Mercy Watson, Read Mercy Watson To the Rescue, rotations.

Day 2: What did Mercy Watson do on her last adventure? Read Mercy Watson Goes for A Ride. Class discussion. Rotations

Day3: Discuss who to call in case of an emergency. Read Mercy Watson Fights Crime. Class discussion. Rotations.

Day 4: Discuss costumes. Read Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise. Class Discussion. Rotations

Day 5: Discuss animal control. Read Mercy Watson Thinks Like a Pig. Class Discussion. Rotations.

The five books above will be read to students for Read-Alouds each day. Prior to the Read-Aloud, there will be a discussion on the theme of the book we are about to read. After reading the book, we will all share our thoughts on the book leading to a discussion on what would the student done different to solve the problem Mercy Watson was in. Following that, students will move to rotations where they will be focusing on activities and retelling the story in

groups.
The first lesson of the week will be to introduce Kate DiCamillo and her friend Mercy Watson. Students will know that Mercy Watson will go in a different adventure every day and we’ll be discussing how Mercy Watson could be safer or stay out of trouble. I will keep the name of the books a mystery for each day, so that the kids only focus on one book per day. Students will be able to read the book again during rotation where they will focus on the illustrations and try to retell the story on his or her own words.
Students will break in three different groups (Green, Yellow, and Red) where they will complete different activities on the book we just read. The three groups will have a chance to read the book again if needed. The green group will be doing guided reading with the teacher. The Yellow group will be working on retelling the story in their own words and changing the end of the story. The Red group will be focusing on drawing a part of the story that they liked and focusing on identifying the main characters and key idea of the story.