By Beverly Cleary

1. "Dear Mr. Henshaw" By Beverly Cleary Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

2. Summary Slide • Compare and Contrast • Confirm Predictions • Purpose • Compare and Contrast • Author’s Purpose and Perspective • Characterization • About the Author • Websites Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

3. Text Structure: Compare and Contrast • Remember that comparing and contrasting can help you better understand relationships between objects. • Describe how a crayon and a pencil are alike. • How are a crayon and a pencil different? Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

4. Compare and Contrast: “Best Friends Selena and Julie are both ten years old. They have been best friends for two years, even though Selena does not speak much English. Selena is from Honduras. She speaks Spanish very well. Selena is teaching her friend, Julie, some Spanish. Julie is teaching Selena to speak better English. Every afternoon, the girls do their homework together. They crunch on their favorite snack, raw carrots. Sometimes Julie has to bring her little sister along. She draws and colors while the girls study. Selena loves little Patty and wishes that she had a baby sister or brother. After they finish their homework, Selena and Julie go over to the city park. Selena takes her roller blades. She is a wonderful skater. Julie brings her scooter. She loves to ride. When Patty comes along, all the girls play on the swings and slide. They all enjoy that! It is good to have a best friend. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

5. Make and Confirm Predictions Good readers use strategies, such as making and confirming predictions, to monitor their comprehension as they read. Good readers are active readers, and as they read they use their own knowledge and what the author says to make predictions. Later, they use story information to confirm their predictions. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

6. Purpose • Read “Dear Mr. Henshaw” – pages 536 to 555. • As you read keep track of the problems Leigh encounters and the solutions to these problems. Goal: Five problems with solutions. • Read “The Chinese Language Puzzle” – pages 556 – 559. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

7. Compare and Contrast Use the following pages to summarize the story. Compare and contrast how Leigh’s feelings about the lunchbox thief change along the way. • p. 538: • pp. 539 – 541: • pp. 542 – 543: • pp. 544 – 545: Leigh is having problems. Someone is stealing his lunch. Leigh makes an alarm for his lunchbox. His alarm works, but no one tries to steal his lunch, so he doesn’t catch the person. Leigh decides that he is glad he didn’t find out who the thief was because he or she would have been in big trouble. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

8. Author’s Purpose and Perspective • What is the author’s purpose for “Dear Mr. Henshaw? • An author’s perspective is his or her viewpoint about the subject matter of a selection. The author often reveals this viewpoint through the main character’s words, thoughts, and actions. • In his March 16 entry, Leigh says that he doesn’t miss his father as much as he use to. This seems to show the author’s viewpoint that problems can seem easier to handle as time passes. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

9. Author’s Purpose and Perspective Find words and phrases that give clues to the author’s viewpoint on the following subjects: “Bad lunches…jelly sandwiches on that white bread that tastes like Kleenex.” • School Lunches: • What should be in a school lunch: • Leigh’s parents’ divorce: • Leigh’s lunchbox alarm: • Writing: salami rolled in cream cheese 1) Can’t finish letter to dad, 2) worries dad will remarry, 3) worried about stepson replacing him, 4) misses dad 1) made him the center of attention, 2) impressed principal and teachers, 3) felt like a hero, everyone loved it and wanted on 1) hard time deciding on a topic, 2) wrote about personal experience, 3) real author’s have books turned down, keep trying, don’t stop, 4) write about something you know, strong feelings about, 5) write like you, don’t imitate someone else Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

10. Characterization • An author gives clues about a character’s personality and traits through his or her words, thoughts, and actions and through the words and actions of other characters. • In Leigh’s diary entry for March 15, Leigh says he doesn’t want the lunchbox thief to get into trouble. I think the author wants to show that Leigh is forgiving and understanding. • See if you can explain what the following show about Leigh’s character. • He had to buy a new notebook because he filled up the old one. His actions show he likes to write. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

11. he’s creative. • He built an alarm for his lunch box. This action shows • He bought a black lunchbox to replace the cartoon character one. This action shows • He couldn’t talk to his dad when he phoned. This action shows • he was sensitive to the kids making fun of him. that he couldn’t express to his father what he is really feeling about his being gone. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

12. About the Author • Born in McMinnville, Oregon • Lived on a farm in Yamhill, with no library • 1934 went to college in California • Went to University of Washington entering School of Librarianship • She was the Children’s Librarian in Yakima, until she married Clarence Cleary and moved to California. • Children asked, “Where are the books about kids like us?” • She wrote Henry Huggins. The original name for Ribsy, the dog, was Spareribs. • Harcourt Author Site • Beverly Clearly Official Website Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

13. Websites • Reading Skills Rocket: Text Structure: Compare and Contrast • Test Tutor: Text Structure: Compare and Contrast • Test Tutor: Characterization • Grammar Practice Park: Subject-Verb Mix-up: Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”

14. Credits • Harcourt Trophies – Distant Voyages, Chicago: Harcourt, 2003. • MacMillan Connections – Landscapes, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. Theme 5: School Rules “Dear Mr. Henshaw”