Visualizing

     


Picture It!
This book is about a caterpillar and a goose.

Watch the video below, and listen to their story.

                                            

Farfallina and Marcel by Holly Keller is a story of a goose and caterpillar who became friends.  They met on a rainy day,and  Farfallina,the caterpillar, was nibbling on a leaf.   Marcel noticed the nibbling caterpiller, and told Farfallina that she was eating his umbrella.  They began to have a conversation, and became friends. They decided to play hide and seek.  Farfallina could hide really well on the limb of a plant.  Marcel had a hard time finding Farfallina, but Farfallina could find Marcel quickly.  

Then, one day Farfallina climbed up a tree, and went to sleep. Marcel came by the tree everyday to find Farfallina.  He did not find her.  Marcel did not give up his search, and he looked for her each day. 

Then one day Marcel began to notice that his reflection began to change in the pond, and Farfallina began to awake.  She emerged from the cocoon, and wondered how long she had been in the tree.  She immediately began flying around looking for Marcel.  When Farfallina reached the pond, she saw a goose swimming.  She told the goose that she was looking for her friend.  Marcel agreed to help her, and offered her a ride on his back.  During the ride,  Farfallina began to tell the goose that she was looking for her friend Marcel.  Marcel was so excited to realize that Farfallina was the beautiful butterfly on his back.  He flapped his wings happily, and shouted that he was Marcel.  Both of the friends were happy to be reunited.  

Farfallina and  Marcel remained the best of friends.  They even flew south together when the leaves began to turn orange.  

This is a wonderful tale about metamorphosis and friendship, 

despite the life changes one faces.  A caterpillar and a gosling 

become friends, and play together every day. Then the caterpillar 

changes into a butterfly, and the gosling grew into a goose.  This 

book teaches young ones that animals go through changes. It also 

implies that people can change and grow over time, but still remain

friends.

This book is a wonderful text to use while teaching visualizing. Students can either listen to a read aloud, or participate in a shared reading of the text.  After reading, students should be asked questions about the sequence of the story.  Next, students should draw the sequence of the story on the story wheel.  Finally when the illustrations are finished, students can retell the story to their partner while using the story wheel.  

"Farfallina and Marcel would be a great read-aloud for younger

 children to accompany any science unit on life cycles. A great 

activity to go along with the book would be the life cycle of the 

butterfly foldable below.  In addition, I can do a mini-lesson on 

friendship, and what it means to be a true friend!" Cassandra Lewis

"I really like Farfallina and Marcel.  Visualizing and drawing the sequence of events on a story wheel helps students to confidently comprehend the text.  Teachers could also integrate this English Language Arts lesson plan with a Life Science lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly.  If students can draw the sequence of events of a story, they can also write about the story."  Heather Coleman  

 

                                                                                 

                                                                                                       

Source: http://reading.ecb.org/downloads/vis_lp_StoryWheel.pdf
http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/visualizing/visual_lessonplans.html