A new friend, a new perspective, and a new light are all found in Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan. Ivan, a gorilla, was content with his life until a baby elephant befriended him. Readers find synonyms, answer comprehension questions, and create alliterations and similes as they read how Ivan's perspective changes throughout the story.

Concepts

responding to literature, studying literature, novels

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Watch videos of real gorillas, apes, and chimpanzees that have been taught human skills
• Require scholars to find antonyms along with synonyms

Classroom Considerations

• Includes just a preview of a full novel study
• Uses resources from the library or Internet for research 
• Topics in the story touch on the idea of evolution

Pros

• Allows learners to think about the story before reading with a prediction pre-reading activity
• Offers a link for additional information about the story

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.5.1 RL.5.2 RL.5.3 RL.5.4 RL.5.5