Genre: Drama Author’s Purpose: Entertain Comprehension Skill: Compare & Contrast By: Douglas Love

1. Blame it on the Wolf Genre: Drama Author’s Purpose: Entertain Comprehension Skill: Compare & Contrast By: Douglas Love Compiled by Terry Sams, Piedmont

2. Summary This play lets the wolf tell his side of the story.  What really happened with the three little pigs?  Did the wolf threaten them as some say?  And did the wolf really go after Little Red Riding Hood's grandma?  Could it be that the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood have misunderstood him?  In this play, a jury hears testimony from the three pigs, Little Red, and others, and learns that there are always two sides to a story!.

3. Genre - Drama A drama is a play that has a cast of characters. The author of a play is called a playwright. It is usually performed on a stage in a theater before an audience. It will have a setting. The dialogue tells what the actors say.A drama has stage directions that tell the actors how to interpret the speeches or move around the stage.

4. Comprehension Skill: Compare and Contrast • Compare is to tell how two things are alike. • Contrast is to tell how two things are different. • Use their comparisons to look for meaning and author’s purpose • Clue words such as like or as show comparisons. • Clue words such as but, instead, and unlike show contrasts.

5. Compare and Contrast “The Three Little Pigs”

6. Comprehension Skill Review: Theme • The theme of a story is what the author wants us to learn from the story. • It is the story’s “big idea”. • Most stories do not tell what the “big idea” is. • Readers need to find it themselves. • A good way to find the theme is to ask: What does the author want me to learn from this story?

7. Practice Theme There are always two sides to a story. Pigs don’t listen very well. Wolves are nice. Which sentence is the theme for Blame it on the Wolf? Why do you think this theme makes sense?

8. Vocabulary Strategies –Unfamiliar Words • When you read, you may come across a word you do not know. • To figure out the meaning of the unfamiliar word, look for clues in the sentences or paragraph around it. • A clue might be found in specific details or examples given near the unknown word. • You can also use a dictionary to clarify word meanings.

9. Research Skill – Evaluate Reference Sources pg. 383j • There are many sources you can use to find information. You can use books, magazines, encyclopedias, videotapes, audiotapes, CD-ROMs, and even the Internet. • When you evaluate references sources, you decide which sources are reliable and up-to-date, and which are most useful for your purposes.

10. Encyclopedias Videos Newspapers How to Books Internet Dictionaries Biography Books Types of Reference Materials

11. Weekly FluencyCheck - Read with Expression • Model or review ways to read with expression, for example, reading play dialogue with attention to how the characters should speak. • When reading a play with others, each reader should think about how their character might speak his or her lines. • Dialogue should sound like conversation rather than words being read from a page. • Each character should react to what the other characters are saying.

12. Rhythm and Cadence • Read aloud the bird’s dialogue on page 377, starting with “It’s falling! It’s falling!” • This should sound like a poem because the words have rhythm and rhyme. They flow from one line to the next. • Rhythm creates a beat, as in music, for the words. Fast rhythm can make the words sound light and happy. Slow rhythm can make it sad and serious.

13. Read to Find Out - Pg. 362-373 • What is the setting of the first scene? • What is the wolf trying to do in this story? • Who decides the wolf is innocent or guilty? • How are the pigs’ and wolf’s stories different?

14. Read to Find Out – Pg. 374-383 • What did the animals do that effected the outcome of the story? • Which character in the story is most different from the others? • How are Auntie Pot Pie and Big Red related? • What proves that the wolf is not guilty? • What is a moral that can be learned from this story?

15. Writing Assignment • Choose one of the following and write as directed. • Create a wanted poster for Wolf. Be sure to include a description of the criminal as well as the list of crimes and possible rewards for his capture. • What happens to Auntie Pot Pie after Wolf’ trial? Is she charged with a crime? Write a story telling what happens to her after the trial is over.

16. Good Stuff • ABC Spelling words • Compare Contrast Tips • Compare and Contrast Quizzes • Graphic Organizers • Reader’s Theater Scripts • More Reader’s Theater • Spelling Concentration • What Really Happens in a Court of Law? • Scholastic – Wolves • Reading Test • Spelling Test

17. Words to Know • character • courtroom • guilty • evidence • rescued

18. More Words to Know • appalling • defendant • verdict • witness • wolflike

19. character • a person or animal in a book, play, film, story, or poem

20. the room in which courts of law meet courtroom

21. evidence • facts; proof

22. guilty • having done wrong

23. rescued • saved

24. appalling • filling with horror or fear

25. defendant • a person against whom a charge is brought in court

26. verdict • the decision of a jury

27. witness • a person who takes an oath of truth in a court of law

28. wolflike • similar to a wolf

29. The trial took place in the courtroom.

30. The trial took place in the courtroom.

31. The wolf is my favorite character.

32. The wolf is my favorite character.

33. The defendant was found guilty of the crime.

34. The defendant was found guilty of the crime.

35. The dog let out a wolflike cry.

36. The dog let out a wolflike cry.

37. The lawyer presented the evidence to the jury.

38. The lawyer presented the evidence to the jury.

39. The verdict of the jury was not guilty.

40. The verdict of the jury was not guilty.

41. She pled guilty to the crime.

42. She pled guilty to the crime.

43. Each pig was called to be a witness against the wolf.

44. Each pig was called to be a witness against the wolf.

45. Charlie was rescued by the fireman.

46. Charlie was rescued by the fireman.

47. Chicken Little said he was so frightened, it was appalling!

48. Chicken Little said he was so frightened, it was appalling!

49. Spelling WordsContractions • we’ll • what’s • would’ve • I’m • doesn’t • could’ve • I’d • he’ll • wouldn’t • I’ll

50. Spelling WordsContractions • she’ll • shouldn’t • we’ve • they’ll • let’s • it’s • they’d • that’s • he’d • you’d Click on Contractions for a Concentration Game