Reading with the Kids of Bailey School is a full‑year author study resource built around the wildly imaginative chapter‑book series by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. The unit provides predictable weekly routines for comprehension, word study, creative thinking, and personal response while students explore mythical creatures, mysteries, and humorous adventures. 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 supports cross‑curricular connections to folklore, mythology, research skills, and seasonal celebrations.

The program is designed for flexible implementation: whole‑class author studies, small‑group guided reading, literature circles, or individualized reading programs. Reproducible worksheets, creative activities, evaluation sheets, and student tracking sheets support long‑term organization and differentiated instruction. Students explore themes such as friendship, bravery, problem‑solving, and critical thinking while developing foundational literacy skills including comprehension, vocabulary, inferencing, written response, and character analysis. Creative extension tasks including making posters, maps, poems, research projects, and story writing allow students to demonstrate understanding in varied and engaging ways.

Learning Expectations:

• Familiarize students with an author’s writing style, recurring characters, and series structure.
• Develop literacy strategies to obtain meaning from print and illustrations.
• Read to find new information and make connections to real‑world topics (mythology, legends, mysteries).
• Strengthen creative, narrative, and opinion writing skills.
• Identify and describe story elements (character, setting, plot, problem, solution).
• Make inferences and predictions using textual evidence.
• Expand vocabulary through word study, context clues, and descriptive language.
• Build oral communication skills through discussion, retelling, and sharing responses.
• Encourage enjoyment of books, curiosity, and engagement with diverse texts.

Introduction Includes:

• Objectives and List of Resources
• Author Information and Story Summaries
• Notes Page
• Answer Keys
• Student Tracking Sheets
• Teacher Evaluation Record Sheets
• Vocabulary and Techer Input Suggestions

Common Core Standards Alignment

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, multistep 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

Grade 4

• Skills: analyzing theme, summarizing, multi‑paragraph writing, vocabulary development, research skills.
• Standards: 4.1, RL.4.2, RL.4.3, RL.4.9, RF.4.4, W.4.2, W.4.3, W.4.8, SL.4.1, L.4.4, L.4.5

Canadian Curriculum Standards Alignment

Ontario: reading comprehension, oral communication, vocabulary, writing responses, media literacy.

British Columbia: exploring stories, making connections, creative writing, oral storytelling.

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

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

Manitoba: reading strategies, responding to texts, creative writing, discussion.

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

Atlantic Provinces: 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.

Book Titles Include:

1. Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots
2. Werewolves Don’t Go to Summer Camp
3. Santa Claus Doesn’t Mop Floors
4. Leprechauns Don’t Play Basketball
5. Ghosts Don’t Eat Potato Chips
6. Frankenstein Doesn’t Plant Petunias
7. Aliens Don’t Wear Braces
8. Genies Don’t Ride Bicycles
9. Pirates Don’t Wear Pink Sunglasses
10. Witches Don’t Do Backflips
11. Skeletons Don’t Play Tubas
12. Cupid Doesn’t Flip Hamburgers
13. Gremlins Don’t Chew Bubble Gum
14. Monsters Don’t Scuba Dive
15. Zombies Don’t Play Soccer
16. Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade
17. Elves Don’t Wear Hard Hats
18. Martians Don’t Take Temperatures
19. Gargoyles Don’t Drive School Buses
20. Wizards Don’t Need Computers
21. Mummies Don’t Coach Softball
22. Cyclops Doesn’t Roller-Skate
23. Angels Don’t Know Karate
24. Dragons Don’t Cook Pizza
25. Bigfoot Doesn’t Square Dance

Extension Activities

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.

Creative Activities:

1. Write a Letter
2. Cartoon
3. Character Poster
4. Crossword Puzzle
5. Writing a Song
6. Story Writing
7. Word Search Puzzle
8. Story Telling

Art Activities

1. Picture Making
2. Paper Bag Puppet
3. Book Poster
4. Painting

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