CHANDLER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUGGESTED RESOURCE GUIDE FOR REQUIRED TEXTS
EXTENDED TEXT:
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Title
GRADE LEVEL:
Patricia MacLachlan
Author
0-590-97409-2
ISBN
2
SYNOPSIS:
Caleb and Anna have been living without a mother for a long time. In fact, Caleb doesn't even remember Mama, who died a day
after he was born. Anna tells him that Papa and Mama sang every day, and now Papa doesn't sing at all. To remedy this situation,
their father places an advertisement in a newspaper for a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home.
All the way from Maine, a woman named Sarah answers the ad. Caleb wants to know if Sarah snores. Anna wants most of all to
know if Sarah sings. Sarah makes plans to arrive, and writes, "I will come by train. I will wear a yellow bonnet. I am plain and tall."
So the family waits. In the spring, she comes with her cat named Seal, gray like the seals that swim near her seaside home. She
also brings a sea stone, which she eventually gives to Anna. Jacob, the father, teaches Sarah some skills for the farm, like driving
a tractor. Everyone hopes she will stay — most of all Caleb and Anna — but Sarah misses the sea, her brother and her three old
aunts.
One day Sarah takes the wagon alone to town, and Caleb and Anna worry. What if she doesn't come back?
Scholastic.com
BACKGROUND:
Patricia MacLachlan is an American young reader’s author and is probably best known for her 1989 Newbery Medal-winning
novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall. The Sarah, Plain and Tall Series includes: 1-Sarah, Plain and Tall, 2-Skylark, 3-Caleb’s Story, 4More Perfect than the Moon, 5-Grandfather’s Dance. There is also a Hallmark Series of Sarah, Plain and Tall movies.
Listen to the backstory of the Sarah, Plain and Tall series by Patricia MacLachlan:
http://www.teachingbooks.net/book_reading.cgi?id=4046&a=1
Link to Social Studies, Strand 1 American History, Concept 5 Westward Expansion
TEXT COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS:
This book is listed on the Common Core State Standards Appendix B exemplar list for Stories in the 2-3 grade band.
Quantitative: Lexile- 560L, 2-3 grade band is 420-820L
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013
Qualitative: Sarah, Plain and Tall has a middle high complexity level for meaning due to the multiple levels and layers of
meaning involved. The structure of the book is middle low as it is largely conventional with no major shifts in time or point of view.
The language is middle high as it contains figurative language and occasional unfamiliar and domain-specific words. The
knowledge demands for Sarah, Plain and Tall ranks in the middle high level as there are many references to Maine and prairie life
that student may or may not be familiar with.
Reader and Task: Second graders possess the necessary attention to read and comprehend Sarah, Plain and Tall,
especially when taught in tandem with or following Westward Expansion in Social Studies. In the middle to late part of the year,
students will have the visualization, questioning, and comprehension skills to read this book. However, inferencing skills will need
to be developed and guided to aid in comprehension. Interest and engagement will be high as connections will be easily made to
what is being study in social studies. Again, if taught along with Westward Expansion, students should possess adequate prior
knowledge. Students will need some prior knowledge with the connections to the state of Maine.
MOTIFS AND THEMES:
-changes and new experiences, death, grief, loss, Westward exploration and expansion, blended families (Scholastic Book
Wizard
LANGUAGE:
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Tier 2 Vocabulary
 dusk p.3
 feisty p. 7
 pesky p. 12
 slick p. 16
 whickering p. 38
 pungent p. 47
 eerie p. 48
 dawn p. 49
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Tier 3 Vocabulary
hearthstone p.3
slab p.4
shingles p. 13
pitchfork p. 14
bonnet p. 15
windbreak p. 18
plains p. 20
paddock p. 24
dune p. 29
plow p. 33
tumbleweed p. 35
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013
Conventions of Standard English or Knowledge of Language focus standard:
Standard Code
2.L.4 a and e
Description of where and
how it fits with the extended
text
Standard Text
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on
grade 2 reading and content, choosing flexibly from
an array of strategies:
a. Use sentence level context as a clue to the
meaning of a word or phrase.
e. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries,
both print and digital, to determine or clarify the
meaning of words and phrases.
Vocabulary throughout
COMPANION TEXTS:
Informational Texts
Text Title and Author
1. Living on a Prairie
by Jan Mader
2. L is for Lobster, A Maine
Alphabet
by Cynthia Furlong Reynolds
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
1. A brief introduction to prairies, describing where they are
located in the United States, the plants and animals found
there, and how their use has changed over the years.
Explain and show prairie life. Follett
2. From the Penobscots, Passamaquoddies, Puritans and
Pilgrims, to the proud people "Down East," "L is for
Lobster" is the alphabet book for all Mainers. The ryhmes
and text woven through A to Z teach children about the
many wonders of this great vacationland. Maine, where
"J" is for Jack-in-the-pulpit, M is for Moose, and N is for
New England clam chowder. To compare to prairie and
show where Sarah came from. Amazon
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for
Scaffolding
1. Grade Level
2. Scaffolding
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013
Literary Texts
Text Title and Author
1. Going to Town(My First Little
House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. A Little Prairie House : adapted
from the little house books by
Laura Ingalls Wilder
A short description of the text
and how it relates to the extended text
1. Long, long ago, a little girl named Laura Ingalls lived in a
little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin with her Pa,
her Ma, her sisters, Mary and Carrie, and their good old
bulldog, Jack. One spring day Pa has a wonderful
surprise--he is taking the family on a trip into town! Laura
is very excited, for she has never been to a town, and this
special visit is everything she imagined and more. Laura
Ingalls Wilder's Little House books have been cherished
by generations of readers. Now for the first time, the
youngest readers can share her adventure in these very
special picture books adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder's
beloved storybooks. Renée Graef's warm paintings,
inspired by Garth Williams' classic Little House
illustrations, bring Laura and her family lovingly to life.
Amazon
2. A family travels to a new home on the prairie, where they
build a house and meet a friendly neighbor. Follett
Label Difficulty:
 Advanced
 Grade Level
 Meant for Scaffolding
1. Grade Level
2. Grade Level/Scaffolding
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013
STANDARDS-BASED ACTIVITIES:
ACTIVITY #1
RESOURCES:
 Construction paper
 Blank/fill-in dictionary pages
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 2.RI.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 2 reading and
content, choosing flexibly from an array of strategies:
a. Use sentence level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
e. Use glossaries and beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the meaning of words and
phrases.
DESCRIPTION: Students will make a Prairie Dictionary. As they read through the book, they will keep track of words related to
prairie living in their dictionaries. Dictionaries should allow for students to write word, definition, sentence including word, picture,
and guide words.
ACTIVITY #2
RESOURCES:
 Construction paper with bubble map or similar graphic organizer used to describe
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 2.RL.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its
characters, setting, and plot.
 2.L.1 e Use adjectives and adverbs, and choose between the depending on what is to be modified.
DESCRIPTION: Students will choose to either describe the setting or a main character in their bubble map. Then, students will
draw a picture/mural of the character or setting adding symbols to the picture to represent the descriptions from their bubble
map(for example-adding a shell to Sarah’s picture to show that she misses her past but is happy to share her stories with the
kids).
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013
ACTIVITY #3
RESOURCES:
 Multi-flow map or similar cause and effect graphic organizer
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
 2.RL.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
DESCRIPTION: As students read through the story, they will keep track of cause and effect situations. This can also be done
whole group on a poster with sticky notes. At the end of the story, the class can review by removing a cause or effect and filling it
in.
WRITING PROMPTS:
Argument/Opinion Prompts:
o Would you prefer to live on the prairie or in Maine? Give reasons from the book that support your opinion.
o Do you think prairie living would be easy or tough? Give reasons from the book that support your opinion.
Informational/Explanatory Prompts:
o Write a letter to one of the main characters telling about yourself and where you live.
o Write about a time when you went somewhere new( a new school, neighborhood, etc). Tell about how you felt and
what helped you to feel more comfortable.
Narrative Prompts:
o Pretend you live on the prairie. Write a journal entry about your day. Provide time of day and what you did during
that time.
Research Prompts:
o Research how something was done on the prairie. For instance, did children attend school or how were clothes
cleaned on the prairie?
o Research another state. Compare and contrast it to Maine.
OTHER RESOURCES
Chapter by chapter resources including writing and vocabulary.
http://home.earthlink.net/~lizneb/chap1.html#vocab
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Chandler Unified School District Common Core Reading List
Created May 2013