Interactive Read Aloud
Grade: 5th
Name: Jenna Komarin
Date: 10/6/11
WINGS BY CHRISTOPHER MYERS
Lesson Source/s: Wings by Christopher Myers
Lesson Objective: Through a close reading of Wings, students will see how Ikarus Jackson’s wings make him different and
potentially vulnerable, but also give him profound strength to rise above those who hurt him. I want the students to grapple with the
symbolic nature of his wings…how his wings begin as a source of pride and free-spiritedness, then become a mark of shame that
he cannot change, and finally through the support of a friend, his wings give him the strength to soar once again.
Standards:
R–5–4.1 Identifying or describing character(s), setting, problem/solution, major events, or plot, as appropriate to text; or identifying
any significant changes in character(s) over time (State)
R–5–4.3 Generating questions before, during, and after reading to enhance recall, expand understanding and/or gain new
information (Local)
R–5–4.5 Identifying literary devices as appropriate to genre: rhyme, alliteration, simile, dialogue, imagery, or simple metaphors
(Local)
R–5–5.2 Describing characters’ physical characteristics, personality traits, or interactions; or providing examples of thoughts,
words, or actions that reveal characters’ personality traits or their changes over time (State)
R–5–5.3 Making inferences about problem, conflict, solution, or the relationship among elements (plot, character, setting) within
text (e.g., how the setting affects a character or plot development) (State)
R–5–5.4 Identifying the narrator (State)
R–5–5.5 Identifying author’s message or theme (implied or stated, as in a fable) (State), R–5–5.6 Identifying causes or effects,
including possible motives of characters (Local)
R–5–16.1 Comparing stories or other texts to related personal experience, prior knowledge, or to other books (Local)
Multicultural Content: city/urban life, differences in physical appearance
Materials & Advanced Preparation: Youtube video of Christopher Myers talking to a class, have some of the new key vocab
words on index cards so I can post them on the chart paper when they’re mentioned
Key/ New Vocabulary: compassion, empathy, teasing, difference, disparaging words and actions, self-worth 
Lesson Procedure
Time
5 minutes
Teacher Actions
Student Learning
Activities
1. Connection
Make sure students are
sitting calmly and doing
active listening.
In a moment we’re going to read Wings by Christopher Myers.
It’s about a boy named Ikarus Jackson who is teased by
schoolmates because he is different. Before we begin, I want to
show you a few minutes of a video so you can see and hear the
author Christopher Myers and get a sense for the kind of writer
he is. As you’re watching, try to think about what his purpose
might be for writing this book.
18 minutes
Form of Assessment

2. The Read Aloud
Before I begin reading: based on what you know so far, what do
you think the author’s purpose in writing this book might be?
BEGIN READING:
Look at that strange boy! Everyone from the neighborhood is
pointing fingers and watching the sky. How’s he doing that?
They stretch their necks and shake their heads. Ikarus Jackson,
a new boy on my block, is flying above rooftops. He is swooping
and diving, looping past people’s windows and over the crowd. I
don’t think he’s strange.
Q: How does this first page introduce the setting? Who is the
narrator? What impression do you get about Ikarus Jackson’s
character based on the narrator’s description?
Ikarus Jackson, the fly boy, came to my school last Thursday.
His long, strong, proud wings followed wherever he went.
Q: The fly boy—how is the author using these words to have
more than one meaning? What impression do you get so far
about the narrator?
I will stop a lot to ask
questions about the text
as it relates to the big
idea of the book.
The whole school was staring eyes and wagging tongues. They
whispered about his wings and his hair and his shoes. Like they
whisper about how quiet I am.
Q: When the author writes, “the whole school was staring eyes
and wagging tongues” what does that mean? What
expectations do you have for the way the narrator will relate to
the teasing of Ikarus? Do you think she will empathize with him
and why or why not?
Our teacher complained that the other kids couldn’t help but
gawk and stare. He said that Ikarus’s wings blocked the
blackboard and made it hard for the students to pay attention.
The teacher told Ikarus to leave class until he could figure out
what to do with his wings. He left the room quietly, dragging his
feathers behind him. One boy snickered.
Q: What does this tell us about the teacher? Why isn’t the
teacher helping Ikarus?
At recess the snicker grew into a giggle and spread across the
playground. Soon all the kids were laughing at Ikarus Jackson’s
“useless” wings. I thought that if he just flew once everyone
would stop laughing. Ikarus looked up, flapped his wings a
couple of times, then jumped into the air.
Q: The students and teacher are acting in a disparaging way
toward Ikarus. To be disparaging is to be really cruel and make
someone feel worthless. The narrator is really upset by this. Do
you agree with her idea that flying will show everyone that his
wings are not uselss? Why or why not? [Turn and Talk]
He swept through the schoolyard like a slow-motion instant
replay.
But other kids were not impressed. One girl grabbed the
basketball. A boy stuffed the handball in his pocket. Somebody
nagged, “Nobody like a show-off.”
Q: What’s going on here? Are you surprised? Why or why not?
Their words sent Ikarus drifting into the sky, away from the
glaring eyes and the pointing fingers. I waited for them to point
back at me as I watched Ikarus float farther and farther away.
Q: What is the narrator suggesting when she says, “I waited for
them to point back at me”?
Walking home from school, I knew how he felt, how lonely he
must be. Maybe I should have said something to those mean
kids.
Q: What does this tell you about the narrator?
I ran through the streets with my eyes to the sky, searching the
clouds for Ikarus.
He struggled to stay in the air. His wings drooped and his head
hung low.
He landed heavily on the edge of a building and sat with the
pigeons. Pigeons don’t make fun of people.
Q: What do you make of this statement?
A policeman passing by blew his whistle. You with the wings,
come down from there! Stay yourself on the ground. You’ll get
in trouble, you’ll get hurt.”
Q: What do you think of the policeman’s words and actions?
It seemed to me Ikarus was already in trouble and hurt. Could
the policeman put him in jail for flying, for being too different?
When the neighborhood kids saw the policeman yelling at him,
they exploded with laughter. Ikarus dropped to the ground.
“Stop!” I cried. “Leave him alone.” And they did.
Q: What motivates the narrator to take a stand against the
neighborhood kids now?
I called to Ikarus and he sailed closer to me. I told him what
someone should have long ago: “Your flying is beautiful.”
Q: What else is she really saying to him here?
For the first time, I saw Ikarus smile. At that moment I forgot
about the kids who had laughed at him and me. I was just glad
that Ikarus had found his wings again.
“Look at that amazing boy!” I called to all the people on the
street as I pointed to my new friend Ikarus swirling through the
sky.
Q: How does the narrator change and grow alongside Ikarus
from the beginning of the book to the end? What’s the lesson
that we can learn from Ikarus?
3 minutes
3. Turn and Talk
Q: We never got to hear from Ikarus in his own words…if he
could say something to us now, how do you think he would
describe his experience as a new student in this school, and
what might his advice be to other kids who have been teased or
disparaged by others? [Turn and Talk]
Anticipated Responses/Outcomes
1 minute
4. Closing and Recording
You can see just how much disparaging words and actions can
hurt someone’s feelings…as you go throughout your you’re your
week, and your year, I want you to think about the ways that
your words and actions might affect other people. And if you’re
ever feeling bad about yourself, just remember Ikarus and his
wings. The things that make us different also make us strong.
Anticipated Responses/Outcomes
5. Follow Up
What will students do to practice what they learned during the
read aloud?
What mini-lesson might be developed from this reading?
Maureen: This section always confuses me…should I come up
with an idea for a follow up lesson?
This is really meant to address instructional elements (more
than responses) and so it doesn’t really fit with this lesson. One
of the challenges with this text is the narrator “voice” versus
Ikarus. The narrator is telling us about Ikarus, but we are also
learning a lot about her.
If your objective was tied to character traits, or motivation,
etc….then you might follow up with asking kids to pay attention
to characters in their books, etc….
Reflections:
HOW DID THE LESSON PLAN WORK? W HAT WAS EFFECTIVE? W HAT
DID YOU LEARN? W HAT WOULD YOU CHANGE FOR TOMORROW OR
THE NEXT TIME YOU WILL USE THIS PLAN?
 How are students
going to
review/practice what
they learned during
the read aloud?
 How will you assess
the application of the
strategy or
comprehension of the
key element you
wanted to demonstrate
using the text?