Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco: Book-Themed Activities for Exploring Weather and Feelings of Fear and Anxiety
Feel free to use any part or all of the activities below, depending on whether you need a 15-diversion or to fill in a whole period for last-minute sub plans. (or anything else!)
Grades 2-5
Patricia Polacco reads Thunder Cake in the video above.
Set the Stage
- Circle up to set the stage for the lesson.
- Pose the question: What Makes You Scared?
- Board all of their answers.
- Students can turn and talk with a partner to share a quick story about why they are afraid of whatever they shared.
- Some of the words in the text are in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS…why does the author do this?
Discussion
Possible discussion topics and ideas:
- One key takeaway is that Patricia learned that she is a brave person because she faced fears and completed difficult tasks despite being scared.
- Sometimes it’s hard to do things but with support for friends and family, we can face almost anything.
- Some things are too scary to face right now but we know it will get easier as we get older and have more experiences and become more sure of ourselves.
- It feels good to stick with it and tackle hard things.
Writing Activities
As many of you may know, a great deal of Patricia Polacco’s work has an autobiographical component. This story is no different. This is a tale about a summer storm when she was a young girl on her grandmother’s farm in Michigan. The writing activity below asks the students to tell about themselves like Patricia does in Thunder Cake
Choose a time when you were fearful of doing something, but decided to move ahead and go through with it.- Did someone or something help to make you feel braver and more capable?
- Tell about the help or support you got and how and why it helped you work though your fear.
- Students map their fears.
- This could be a flow chart, web, or simple storyboard.
Other Extensions
- Science: Use this book as complement to your weather studies.
- Geography: Where is Michigan? What part of the country is it in? How might their weather be different from ours?
- Art: Paint or draw your favorite (or the scariest) weather scene. Use mixed media to create a tactile representation of weather-related scenes.
Downloadable Activities
Other "We Need a Break" Activities
These are plans that have been culled and cobbled from various sources and meant to be easily implemented as a sub plan or if you or your kids are stressed and need a break from the regular routine or you’re at a point where you can’t start the next lesson or unit today…a snow day schedule, or maybe an unplanned assembly changes your schedule.
If you have a favorite activity for teacher or classroom “regrouping,” or sub activities, share with us!
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