Gabby Solves The Pokémon Problem

Friendship, Coorperation, Kindness

The big question of this issue of Storyworks 2 is: What does it mean to be friend?

• Reading and discussing “Gabby Solves: The Pokémon Problem,” along with the other friendship-themed texts in the magazine (the Big Read, “The Grandpa and the Penguin”; the Fiction, “Sasha’s Solo”; and the Poem, “The Fabulous Five”) should give kids insight into what makes a good friend.
• Through the above stories, students will discuss: What makes someone a good friend? How can you be a good friend? Can you be a good friend in good times and also in bad times?
• This story also stands on its own. It’s not only fun, but it also gives kids great experience reading and thinking about graphic novels as a literary form.

Choose a Video (We have two!) (10 minutes)

1. “What Makes a Good Friend?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

1. Watch “The Big Question: What Does It Mean to Be a Friend?” (This video also goes with other stories in this month’s Storyworks 2.)

• Before your students watch, ask them to think about the question: “What does it mean to be a friend?”
• Watch the video.
• After watching, ask the question again. Write students’ ideas on chart paper.

2. “What’s in a Comic?” (5 minutes)

• Our second video teaches kids about the features of a comic.
• Before watching, tell kids to look out for four features they might find in a comic.
• After watching, ask for kids’ help to fill out a list of comic features on chart paper. The features mentioned in the video are: panels, speech bubbles, thought bubbles, and onomatopoeia.
• Tell kids to look for those features in the mini graphic novel. They can fill in our “Comic Features Hunt” skills sheet after reading.

Set a Purpose for Reading (5 minutes)

• Open your magazines to “Gabby Solves: The Pokémon Problem” Ask kids: What kind of story is this? (a comic, or a mini graphic novel)
• Next, read the Think and Read prompt on page 13: “As you read, think about what Max and Daniel could have done differently. ” Encourage children to think about this prompt as they read.

• Kids can read this story individually, in small groups, or as a class.
• As they read, ask kids to note who is being a good friend and when.

Extend the Story With an Activity (20 minutes)

• Kids can “finish” the story with the “What Happens Next?” printable. They’ll fill in the voice bubbles for the characters and create their own comic panel.
• This activity helps develop the skill of making inferences.
  

Assessment: Quiz (10 minutes)

• Pass out the quiz to assess comprehension of the article.
• We also offer a lower-level quiz.
• Both quizzes are now available in multiple-choice and written-answer formats.

ELA Focus: Comic Feature Hunt (10 minutes)

• Pass out the Comic Feature Hunt printable.
• Kids can use the mini graphic novel to fill it out and learn about the different features of comics/ graphic novels.

Enrich the Learning: Paired Text Opportunities (time varies)

Making text-to-text connections builds knowledge and comprehension. We layer Storyworks 2 with many ways for your students to make connections.

Pairable Texts Big Read, “The Grandpa and the Penguin” (pages 6-11); the Fiction, “Sasha’s Solo” (pages 25-29); and the Poem, “The Fabulous Five” (page 32).

• These texts also ask questions similar to those posed in the Big Read. What does it take to be a good friend? What makes someone a good friend?
• Kids can compare the friendships in the texts using our “Friend Chart” printable. How are the texts alike, and how are they different?

NEW! Special Lesson for Independent Learning While Remote (30-40 minutes)

• We created a brand-new resource to make it easy for your students to do an independent remote lesson with the Mini Graphic Novel. 
• Look in your Resources section for the “Slide Lesson.” It’s a self-contained group of slides that walk your students through the Mini Graphic Novel.
• This easy-to-use group of Google Slides walks your students through watching the video “What Does It Mean to Be a Friend?” and then answering a question about it, reading the story independently, answering three questions after reading, and then doing our “What Happens Next?” inference page.
• It’s a simple way to take the resources we have already created and put them in one place so you don’t have to create anything new!