Reading with Phoebe Gilman is a rich author‑study resource built around the imaginative and beloved works of Canadian author‑illustrator Phoebe Gilman. The unit provides structured weekly routines for comprehension, word study, creative thinking, and personal response. Students engage with a wide range of Gilman’s picture books, each offering predictable formats for reading responses, vocabulary development, 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 cross‑curricular science connections, art extensions, and hands‑on activities inspired by themes such as balloons, pigs, pirates, and fairy tales.

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 imagination, problem‑solving, perseverance, family, and creativity through Gilman’s stories while developing foundational literacy skills such as vocabulary, retelling, inferencing, descriptive writing, and creative expression. The creative extension tasks of comic strips, treasure maps, riddles, puppets, poetry, and more allow students to demonstrate understanding in varied and engaging ways.

Learning Expectations

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

Introduction Includes

• Learning Objectives
• Author Biography
• List of Resources
• Teacher Input Suggestions: prompts for introducing stories, guiding discussions, and connecting texts to students’ experiences.
• Set up and Planning Ahead Ideas
• Bulletin Board Ideas
• Introduction
• Discussion Topics
• Teacher Information
• Noodle Pudding Recipe
• Teacher Evaluation Sheets: rubrics for comprehension, word study, creative tasks.
• Student Tracking Sheet
• List of Skills
• Story Summaries

Common Core Standards Alignment

Grade 1–2

Skills: retelling, sequencing, vocabulary, descriptive writing, simple inferencing, text‑to‑self connections. Standards: RL.1.1–1.7, RL.2.1–2.7, RF.1–2, W.1–2, SL.1–2, L.1–2

Grade 3

Skills: inferencing, comparing texts, descriptive paragraphs, creative writing, vocabulary expansion. Standards: RL.3.1–3.7, RF.3.4, W.3.1–3.4, SL.3.1, L.3.4–3.5

Grade 4

Skills: analyzing themes, interpreting character motivation, extended writing, comparing stories. Standards: RL.4.1–4.6, W.4.1–4.4, SL.4.1, L.4.4–4.5

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 Phoebe Gilman story includes:

• Comprehension Questions (literal, inferential, evaluative)
• Word Study / Vocabulary (context clues, grammar, descriptive language)
• Thinking About the Story (personal connections, opinions, reflections)
• Crossword Puzzles (reinforce comprehension, vocabulary, interpret clues, and apply key words in context.)

Book Titles

1. The Balloon Tree
2. Jillian Jiggs
3. Little Blue Ben
4. The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs
5. Grandma and the Pirates
6. Something From Nothing
7. Jillian Jiggs to the Rescue
8. The Gypsy Princess
9. Once Upon a Golden Apple

 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 Writing

1. New Story
2. Fairy Tales
3. Monster Machine
4. New Story #2
5. Letter Writing
6. Riddles
7. Poetry – Couplets
8. Word Search
9. Comic Strip
10. Treasure Map
11. Acrostic Poetry

Art Activities

1. Picture Making
2. Poster
3. Puppet
4. Painting
5. Modeling

Research Activities

1. Pigs
2. Pirates
3. Gypsies
4. Poetry About Pigs

Reading Extensions

1. Descriptive Paragraph
2. Book Critic
3. Making Comparisons
4. Storytelling
5. Character Sketch
6. Mapping 

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