Reading with Curious George is a comprehensive author‑study resource built around the classic works of H.A. Rey. The unit provides structured weekly routines for comprehension, word study, creative thinking, and personal response. Students engage with a wide range of Curious George stories each offering predictable formats for reading responses, phonics practice, grammar skills, and higher‑order thinking. The teacher section outlines how to model responses, transition students from whole‑group to small‑group to independent reading, and conference with students to set individualized goals. The resource also includes nonfiction background information on chimpanzees, supporting cross‑curricular science connections.

The program is designed for flexible implementation: whole‑class author studies, small‑group guided reading, or individualized reading programs. Reproducible worksheets, creative activities, evaluation sheets, and student tracking sheets support long‑term organization and differentiated instruction. Students explore curiosity, problem‑solving, community helpers, and personal responsibility through George’s adventures, while developing foundational literacy skills such as phonics, vocabulary, retelling, inferencing, and written response. The creative extension tasks comic strips, postcards, research projects, story quilts, and more allow students to demonstrate understanding in varied and engaging ways.

Learning Expectations

1. Familiarize students with an author’s writing style and recurring themes.
2. Develop literacy strategies to obtain meaning from print and pictures.
3. Read to find new information and make connections to real‑world topics.
4. Strengthen creative and narrative writing skills.
5. Identify and describe story elements (character, setting, plot, problem, solution).
6. Make inferences and predictions using textual and visual evidence.
7. Expand vocabulary through phonics, word study, and context clues.
8. Build oral communication skills through discussion, retelling, and sharing responses.
9. Encourage enjoyment of books, curiosity, and engagement with diverse texts.

Introduction Includes

• Teacher Notes: instructional tips, modeling strategies, weekly routines.
• Teacher Input Suggestions: prompts for introducing stories, guiding discussions, and connecting texts to students’ experiences.
• Ideas for Introducing Vocabulary: pre‑teaching unfamiliar words using mini‑lessons.
• List of Skills: phonics, grammar, comprehension, inferencing, retelling, creative thinking.
• Teacher Evaluation Sheets: rubrics for comprehension, word study, creative tasks.
• Student Activity Tracking Sheets: individualized reading logs for comprehension, word study, creative activity, and teacher comments.
• Mini‑Lesson Resources: grammar books (nouns, verbs, adjectives), collective nouns, etc.
• Creative Templates: postcards, bookmarks, storybook shape.
• Folder Setup Instructions: laminated file folder system for long‑term organization.
• Bulletin Board Ideas: author photos, book jackets, student work displays.

Common Core Standards Alignment

Grade 1

• Skills: sequencing, retelling, phonics, blends, digraphs, simple written responses, text‑to‑self connections.
• Standards:1.1, RL.1.2, RL.1.3, RL.1.7, RF.1.3, RF.1.4, W.1.3, W.1.8, SL.1.1, SL.1.2, L.1.4, L.1.5

Grade 2

• Skills: inferencing, comparing/contrasting, compound words, contractions, opinion writing, story mapping.
• Standards:2.1, RL.2.3, RL.2.6, RL.2.7, RF.2.3, RF.2.4, W.2.1, W.2.3, W.2.8, SL.2.1, SL.2.2, L.2.4, L.2.5

Grade 3

• Skills: evaluating character motivation, point of view, multi‑step word study, informational writing, text evidence.
• Standards:3.1, RL.3.3, RL.3.6, RL.3.9, RF.3.4, W.3.1, W.3.3, W.3.4, SL.3.1, L.3.4, L.3.5

Canadian Curriculum Standards Alignment

Ontario

• Reading comprehension, oral communication, vocabulary, writing responses, media literacy; Visual Arts: creating & reflecting.

British Columbia

• ELA: exploring stories, making connections, creative writing, oral storytelling; Arts Education: visual expression.

Alberta

• ELA: comprehension, responding to literature, vocabulary; Arts: creating and reflecting.

Saskatchewan

• ELA: viewing/representing, comprehending, oral language; Arts Education: visual response.

Manitoba

• ELA: reading strategies, responding to texts, creative writing, discussion.

Quebec

• Competencies: reading/listening to literary texts, writing; Arts: visual response.

Atlantic Provinces

• Literacy: comprehension, vocabulary, creative writing; Arts: visual arts.

Yukon / NWT / Nunavut

• Follow BC/AB/ON‑aligned frameworks.

List of Activities

Reading Activities for Each Book

Students will need a dedicated place to record their answers, as the chapter‑question pages are not designed for writing directly on them. Before beginning the author study, set students up with a workbook or folder system so their responses stay organized and easy to assess. Every story comes with PowerPoint, Word, and PDF versions, giving you the flexibility to use the resources in the way that best suits your classroom.

Every Curious George story includes:

• Comprehension Questions (literal, inferential, evaluative)
• Word Study (phonics, blends, digraphs, plurals, contractions, root words, syllables)
• Thinking About the Story (personal connections, opinions, reflections)

Book Titles:

1. Curious George
2. Curious George Goes to the Aquarium
3. Curious George Bakes a Cake
4. Curious George at the Ballet
5. Curious George Plays Baseball
6. Curious George at the Beach
7. Curious George Goes to the Circus
8. Curious George Goes to a Costume Party
9. Curious George Goes to the Dentist
10. Curious George and the Dinosaur
11. Curious George and the Dump Truck
12. Curious George at the Fire Station
13. Curious George Flies a Kite
14. Curious George Goes to the Hospital
15. Curious George Goes to an Ice Cream Shop
16. Curious George Learns the Alphabet
17. Curious George and the Pizza
18. Curious George at the Railroad Station
19. Curious George Rides a Bike
20. Curious George Goes to School
21. Curious George Goes Sledding
22. Curious George Takes a Job
23. Curious George Visits a Police Station
24. Curious George Walks the Pets

Creative Activities (1–25)

These activity cards are designed for flexible classroom use and work best when prepared ahead of time. Colour, mount, and laminate the cards to create durable centre materials that can be placed on tables, tucked into literacy bins, or handed out individually. Because the cards do not include writing space, students will need a notebook, workbook, or reading folder to record their responses. Setting this up before beginning the author study ensures that all comprehension, creative writing, and reflection tasks stay organized, easy to assess, and ready for conferencing.

1. Alphabet Book
2. Hero Award
3. Monkey Bookmark
4. Writing a Slogan
5. Comic Strip
6. Making a Pictograph
7. Get‑Well Card
8. Party Invitation
9. Writing a Postcard
10. Writing About George
11. Want‑Ad (George’s nanny)
12. Story Quilt
13. Recipe for George
14. Safety Rules
15. Chimpanzee Research Book
16. George’s Game Board
17. Secret Code
18. Story Passport
19. Paper Bag Puppets
20. Behavior Report Card
21. Acrostic Poem
22. Monkey Limerick
23. New Curious George Tale
24. Painting a Scene
25. Book Poster

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