The Year of the Book
4th grade common core curriculum
Reading-literature
http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/english-language-artsstandards/reading-literature/grade-4/
KEY IDEAS AND DETAILS
1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text
says and when drawing inferences.
a. In the first chapter of The Year of the Book, the narrator, Anna, says “I’d
rather stay with Ray (the crossing guard) than go onto the fourth grade
playground where Laura and Allison stand so close that there’s no place
left for me.”
What can you infer about Anna and her relationship with her classmates
from this quote? How do you know? Why do you think she might feel this
way? Have you ever felt like Anna?
What can you infer about Anna’s relationship with Ray, the crossing
guard? How do you know? Have you ever felt this way?
b. Later in the chapter, Anna’s class is supposed to write a paragraph about
a time that they were perseverant. What does Anna write about? What
do her classmates write about? If you were in Anna’s class, what would
you write about?
c. What can you infer about Anna and her family from the cover of The Year
of the Book, the title page, the dedication page, and the glossary?
d. Why do you think the title of the book is The Year of the Book? What
does this title tell you about the story? If you wrote a book about your
school year, and you wanted to call it The Year of ______, what would you
put into the blank? What could the reader infer from your title?
2. Determine the theme of a text and summarize it.
Write a one paragraph summary of The Year of the Book.
What is the theme of the book?
How does the theme relate to the summary?
Listed below are some of the themes in The Year of the Book. Find examples
of these themes in the text.
Resourcefulness
Perseverance
Shifting friendships
Cultural differences and similarities
Multiculturalism
Stereotypes
Thankfulness
3. Describe in depth a character, drawing on specific details in the text.
In literature, we usually get to know characters through what they say, what
they do, and what other characters or the narrator say about them. Try this
for the three main characters in The Year of the Book, Anna, Laura, and
Camille. For example, on p. 23, we are introduced to Camille. When she
sees Laura, she waves and her face looks friendly, but Laura is afraid to go
over to Camille and her group. Instead, she opens her book and reads.
What does this scene tell us about Camille? What does it tell us about Anna?
CRAFT AND STRUCTURE
4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a
text.
How are the following words used in The Year of the Book? What do they
mean?
perseverant p. 2,3
stage p.12
growing pains p. 13
landscape p.18
characters p. 28
observation p.36
for fun, funny p.40
miscellaneous p. 49
chopsticks p.58
bug p.75
rummage p.93
production line p.125
persuade p. 130
equinox p. 135
5. Explain the differences between poetry and prose.
In The Year of the Book, Anna’s teacher asks the class to write a paragraph
about a time that they were perseverant. Is this paragraph poetry or prose?
What is the difference? Write a paragraph about a time that you were
perseverant. Compare and contrast it to Anna’s paragraph.
Now write a poem about perseverance. Compare and contrast your poem to
your paragraph. What are the similarities? What are the differences?
Andrea Cheng, the author of The Year of the Book, has written some of her
books in poetry. For example, Shanghai Messenger (written by Andrea
Cheng, illustrated by Ed Young) is a short novel about an Asian American girl
named Xiao Mei who goes to China to visit her grandmother’s family. Read
this book. Why do you think Andrea Cheng chose to write this book in verse?
Do you think this was a good choice? Why or why not?
6. Compare and contrast the point of view from which stories are
narrated including the differences between first and third person.
The Year of the Book is written in first person with Anna as the narrator. How
does this affect the story? How would it feel if it were written in third person?
Why do you think the author chose to write the story from Anna’s point of
view? Rewrite one scene in the book from third person. How does it differ
from the original version?
Rewrite a scene in the book from the point of view of one of the other
characters. For example, rewrite the scene on p. 58-61 from the point of view
of Laura. What do you learn about Laura when you write the scene through
her eyes?
INTEGRATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND IDEAS
7. Make connections between a text and a visual or oral presentation of
the text.
Make a storyboard about the major events in The Year of the Book. Then
explain how Anna grows and changes from the beginning of the book to the
end. Which events cause those changes and why?
On p. 132-134 Ana’s teacher ask the class to make a timeline of their lives.
Make a timeline of your own life. How is it similar to Anna’s timeline? How is
it different? Why is it valuable to make a timeline of your of your life?
8. Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics in
stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
Anna Wang and her family are Chinese American. List some elements of
Chinese culture that you found in the text.(p. 21, 26, 119)
How does Anna feel about being Chinese? Does she feel differently in
different situations? For example, how does she feel at school? At home? In
Chinese class? How do you think she would feel if she went to China? Give
examples.
What does Laura think about Anna’s heritage? Why do you think she is
interested in learning Chinese?
What did you learn about Chinese culture from The Year of the Book?
Many of the students in Anna’s class were born in the year of the Dog.
According to the Chinese zodiac, which year were you born? What are the
differences between the Chinese zodiac and the Western zodiac?
How does the ethnicity of your family influence who you are? Give some
examples.
RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY
10. Read and comprehend literature including stories in the grades 4-5
text complexity band proficiency.
List the books that Anna reads in The Year of the Book. Read some of them
and talk about how you think they affected Anna. How do they affect you?
The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Little Blue and Little Yellow (picture book) by Leo Lionni
Hush by Jacqueline Woodson
My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L’Engle
The Prince and the Pauper by Charles Dickens
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
George Shrinks (picture book) by William Joyce