1
MINI- RESOURCE UNIT
Grade 4
Author Study: Mike Thaler
The teacher from the black lagoon
The music teacher from the black lagoon
The resource unit will take place over 3 weeks. 2 weeks of teaching and 1 week of developing
work for the final project. The first lesson is the first lesson of the unit and the second lesson is
one of the last lessons.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
page 3
Initiating Activity
page 4-5
Lesson One
page 6-9
Activity Page: Puns from book
page 10
Lesson Two
page 11-14
Activity Page: Pun-ch of life
page 15
Culminating Assessment
page 16-17
Student Handout
page 18
Rubric
page 19
Self Assessment
page 20
Peer Assessment
page 21
Storyboard Activity Sheet
page 22
Creature’s Features Activity Sheet
page 23
Monster Mindmap
page 24
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Introduction:
The following resource unit is an exploration of the author Mike Thaler and his series of
“Black Lagoon” books. Each of the lessons explored in this mini- resource unit focuses on a
different Mike Thaler book, including The teacher in the black lagoon and The music teacher in
the black lagoon. Both books are about a boy who is starting school, and discovers that his new
teacher (including his music teacher) is a real monster.
I choose the aforementioned books because I remember learning them in school and
finding them funny. Children enjoy books that are scary so to speak, and the Black Lagoon
series uses monsters that breathe fire, eat children, to appeal to the sensibilities of children.
Moreover, the books have a lot of word play, which creates much of the comedy within the text.
As I read these books as a child, I felt as though much of the appeal that they had towards me,
could be used towards grade 4 students in a full exploration.
The literature in the resource unit will be presented as a shared reading activity. Shared
reading is appropriate for this study, as the students will be able to follow along and see the
double entendres within the text. Also, students will be able to explore the illustration and study
the comedic element within the pictures. Moreover, as the students are older, they can practice
their own reading skills as the teacher reads aloud.
Throughout the study of the books written and illustrated by Mike Thaler, many themes
will be explored. First, the resource unit will study Thaler’s use of play on words and puns,
which will be studied in both texts. Next, the unit will study Thaler’s use of illustrations to
enhance the comedic elements of the books. The unit will culminate with students create their
own Black lagoon book, which studies the themes.
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Initiating Activity:
“Professional Monsters”
Learning Outcome:
Students will create their own monster that has a profession in relevant contexts.
Materials Needed:

Salt dough

Paint

Paint shirts

Water

Paint brushes

Slides of monsters and list of professions
Instruction:
Time Frame- 30 minutes total (5 minutes instruction, 25 minutes creation)
The teacher will show a series of images of different monsters in the media (including Disney
representations, mummies, mad scientists, etc.) As the teacher goes through the images, they
will discuss what makes each monster unique and what the different details in the image say
about the monster. After viewing the images, the teacher will explain that they are going to
make their own monster creations using salt dough, and paint. A slide with a list of different
professions will be displayed on the board (such as doctor, dentist, mail carrier, cashier, bus
driver, lifeguard). The teacher will explain that students must make their monster have a job
and demonstrate the monsters job in their creation. An example of a monster creation will be
shown (either from a previous year or the teacher’s own creation). Students will work at tables
with a portion of salt dough with the freedom to form their own monster. As the students work,
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they can discuss with one another their creation. While students are building their monsters, the
teacher will walk around the classroom offering encouragement, and hints to enhance their
creation.
Scaffolding:
While walking through observing the students at work, and their creations, the teacher might use
the following questions to scaffold learning.

What kind of tools would a person in that profession use? (tongue depressor, drill, mail
bag, hard hat, hammer, needle, etc.) How could you add that tool to your creature to
make it look even more monstrous? (I could add a mailbag full of worms, etc.)

How could your monster look more gruesome and monstrous? What kinds of things
could you add?
How it relates to resource unit:
The activity has a strong correlation with the resource unit. It sets students thinking
about monsters, and helps work toward using illustrations to convey meaning. Moreover,
students will be encouraged to make gross exaggerations in their monsters, which will tie into
Thaler’s use of play on words and highly exaggerative language to create comedy. Students will
use their monsters later in the resource study to help them write their own Black Lagoon book,
using their monster as the basis for illustrations.
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Lesson Plan One: Use of Play on Words and Puns
Lesson Goals:

Students will identify puns and play on words in The Teacher from the Black Lagoon and
The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon

Students will be able to explain what a pun is.
Program of Studies Outcomes:
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques- Experiment with Language

recognize how words and word combinations, such as word play, repetition and rhyme,
influence or convey meaning (Alberta Education, 2000, page 17)
Materials:

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon class copies

The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon class copies

White board and white board markers

Each student needs a pencil, pencil crayons

Activity sheet: Puns in The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon

Each student needs a piece of white paper
Lesson:
ME: (5 Minutes)
At the beginning of the lesson, the teacher gathers the students into the reading area and
hands out a copy of The Teacher from the Black Lagoon to each student. Teacher says “How do
each of you remember the first day of school? Did you have any fears?” (Allow time for
students to discuss their fears, impressions- excited, scared of what the year would be like, the
people I would meet, if I would have any friends, if the work would be hard). “Today we are
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reading a book that has every student’s worst nightmare- your teacher being a real monster!
Let’s read together.” The class starts reading The Teacher from the Black Lagoon. Reading
stops at selected pages, as the teacher highlights the usage of word play and puns. “But Mrs.
Green is supposed to be a real monster- what do you think Mike Thaler means when he says real
monster. That Mrs. Green is literally a monster? Or that she is not very nice and does not treat
others well?” (Allow time for class discussion- students may predict that Mrs. Green is actually
a monster, or she is just a really mean teacher.) The class continues reading, until the teacher
stops “Talk about bad breath, giggles Eric Porter- what do we normally use the phrase bad breath
to describe?” (stinky breath, smelly, unpleasant) “It’s interesting that here the author uses the
phrase to describe how Mrs. Green can breath fire.” Continue reading with the class. Stop
reading and discuss “Mrs Green swallows her in one gulp! No chewing in class she smiles.
Interesting! Notice how Thaler uses the word swallows and chewing to create humour.”
WE: (5 Minutes)
Class continues to read the story. The teacher reads until “Let’s call the roll, cackles Mrs.
Green. Freddy Jones is absent. Derek Bloom is half here. Eric Porter is here and there. Doris
Foodle is digesting. I want you all to think back to what happened to the characters here. What
happened to Freddy Jones (He threw a spitball and Mrs. Green breathed fire at him and he was
just a pile of ashes). What about Derek Bloom? (He said they never learned fractions so she ate
half of him to teach fractions). What about Eric Porter? (He commented on her breath and she
put his head on her globe stand). And Doris Foodle? (She cracked her gum and Mrs. Green
swallowed her. So what do you notice about the words used to describe the students on the roll
call? (Freddy Jones is absent because she incinerated him, Derek Bloom is half here because she
ate half of him, Eric Porter is here and there because she separated his head from his body, Doris
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Foodle is digesting because she has eaten her and is digesting her). So these words have double
meanings. What are the two meanings with the words (Absent has only one meaning, not herethough we know he’s not here because he is just a pile of ashes, half here could mean not fully
there mentally but really she means she’s eaten half of him, here and there describes how Eric’s
head is there and body is here, but if you just read it without knowing the story you would think
he is all over the place, digesting could mean thinking through and absorbing content, but she
means she is literally and physically digesting her). “I want you guys to look for these double
meanings and stick your thumb up if you see one in the book.” The teacher continues to read the
text. Students should have thumbs up with “spelling can be fun… Abracadabra Kazam!”. The
teacher asks the student with their thumb up “What is the double meaning?” (Spelling as in the
subject and spelling as in magic). Continue reading the story. Student’s thumbs should go up
when Penny Weber exclaims she has a huge headache and Mrs. Green zaps her head to the size
of a pin. “What is the double meaning in this section?” (Penny says huge headache to describe
how much pain she is in, but Mrs. Green takes it as her head size). The class should finish
reading the book.
YOU: (20 Minutes)
“From The Teacher from the Black Lagoon we see the use of double meanings to create
comedy. These double meanings are called puns or word play. There are many jokes that use
puns such as why is 6 afraid of 7. Because 7 8 9. Do you know any puns?” (Allow time for
students to share puns with the class). “We are now going to work in partners to find the use of
puns in another book by Mike Thaler The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon.” Give the
students time to separate into pairs. Hand out copies of The Music Teacher from the Black
Lagoon to the students. Each student should also receive a copy of the work sheet “Puns from
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The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon”. Students are given 10 minutes to read the book
together and search for puns within the text. When students find a pun, they have the choice to
either draw a representation of the pun or to write it down with the two different meanings the
word holds. As the students work together, the teacher walks through and assists the students
learning. After 10 minutes the class will make a collective list on the whiteboard of the puns
within the text (which they will work together as a class for 5 minutes). Students will be asked
to share their responses and why each phrase constitutes as a pun (see possible answers on
exemplar).
Scaffolding:

Why is that word a pun? (It has two meanings)

What are the meanings behind that word?

If a student is struggling with finding puns. What about that word? What is one meaning
for it? What is another meaning for it?
Informal Assessment:
The teacher will be able to understand student’s levels of understanding in a variety of
ways. Firstly, as the teacher walks through they can observe students understanding in their
discussions with one another, and may take anecdotal notes, noting any extensions or difficulties.
The teacher may ask specific students to explain why the phrase is a pun. Next, the teacher may
observe students understanding in the group discussion, as students present their ideas of puns,
which they might also take anecdotal notes for. Finally, the class could hand in their activity
sheets and the teacher can assess whether or not each partner group understood what a pun is and
was able to put into words why it was a pun (through criterion based marking).
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PUNS FROM THE MUSIC TEACHER FROM THE BLACK LAGOON
PUN
MEANINGS
Example:
#1: pitchfork as in what farmers use to transfer hay
Pitchfork
#2: pitch as in musical terms
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Lesson Two: Thaler’s Use of Illustration to Bring Comedy
Lesson Outcomes:
Students will create an illustration to text that help conveys the text as well as the comedic
elements within the text.
Program of Studies:
2.3 Understand Forms, Elements and Techniques- Experiment with Language

recognize how words and word combinations, such as word play, repetition and rhyme,
influence or convey meaning (Alberta Education, 2000, page 17)
2.2 Respond to Texts- Appreciate the Artistry of Texts

explain how language and visuals work together to communicate meaning and enhance
effect (Alberta Education, 2000, page 14).
Materials:

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon class copies

The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon class copies

Pencil crayons

Legal sized poster board

List of puns/comedic phrases

Pencils

Chart paper and markers
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Lesson Plan:
ME: (5 Minutes)
Gather students and hand out copies of The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon. “For
the last couple of weeks we have been exploring Mike Thaler’s series of people from the Black
Lagoon. We started off looking at Thaler’s use of word play to create comedy. We also
explored the use of adjectives and verbal descriptors that Thaler used to enhance the story. Now
we are going to look at the use of illustrations to embellish and enhance the text. To start off,
let’s discuss what makes a good picture? (Give time for students to respond- lots of detail, bright
colours, etc.) “Mike Thaler is known for his usage of illustrations to create comedy. Let’s
explore the illustrations in The Music Teacher from the Black Lagoon and see what we can
learn.” The teacher will start reading through the book. They will pause and start talking about
the illustrations “Let’s stop and look at the illustrations on this page. It says all the kids who
wear glasses have to hide them when she hits high C. I like how Thaler showed what happens to
the glasses when the music teacher hits high C with the boy in the middle, with the cracked
lenses. The illustration helps explain what happens a little more.” The class continues reading
through the text. “Look at the illustration where it says I heard Miss LaNote uses her pitchfork
to keep all the kids on the same key. Interesting how the illustration enhances the use of pun by
having kids standing on a literal key. Let’s look at this page with the boy behind bars. It is
another picture that illustrates the play on words. Thaler is strong at using illustrates to enhance
the word play that he has used to increase the comedic elements of the story. So if I was going to
illustrate this pun “There was once a cross eyed teacher who couldn’t control his pupils” in
Thaler’s style, I would do something like this.” (Teacher draws on chart paper picture of a cross
eyed teacher with pupils throwing airplanes around). “The word pupil has two meanings. The
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pupil in the eye, which I showed with the cross- eyes and the pupil as in student in the
classroom.”
WE (5 minutes):
“What about this pun? The magician got so mad that he pulled his hare out.” The
teacher will then write the pun on the board. “How do you think we could illustrate this pun
using Thaler’s style?” (Draw a magician, pulling his hair, rabbit hopping across the stage).
Allow students the opportunity to come up and add to the drawing. “Great job with this
illustration. Like Thaler the illustration adds comedic effect and emphasizes the wording of the
pun. Let’s try another pun. Why is a fish easy to weigh? Because it comes with its own scales.
What do you think we can draw to show this pun? (Give time for kids to answer- a fish with
scales, on a weight scale). Allow time for the class to come together with a collective picture.
YOU (20 minutes- 3 minutes of explanation, 17 minutes to work)
“Now we are going to spend some time creating our own illustrations for puns. I have a
list of puns and I would like you to illustrate your own poster that illustrates the pun. Make sure
to write out what pun you have chosen at the bottom of the page. Each person needs to do a
poster, but you may work together to discuss and create ideas that can illustrate your pun.” The
teacher will then hand out the paper, with the list of puns, and will ensure that students
understand the instruction. As students work on their own poster, the teacher will walk through
and offer encouragement and hints to any students that need help getting started.
SCAFFOLDING:
As the students work on their pictures, the teacher will offer any hints and utilize questions to
enhance student learning.

Which pun have you chosen?
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
What words in the pun have more than one meaning? How do you think you may
represent the multiple meanings in a picture?

Is there anything else you might add to create comedy in the picture?

What do you think makes a picture funny? What features/details make it funny?
INFORMAL ASSESSEMENT:
Throughout the process, the teacher may use many methods to help determine whether or
not the students understand the content, and how well the content relates to the learning
outcomes. First, the teacher can understand student comprehension through the discussion, and
by talking anecdotal notes. Moreover, as the teacher walks through, and listens to discussions, as
well as observes student progress on their artwork, the teacher may gain insight to where
students understanding are. Also, the end product of a poster will assist the teacher in
understanding what students gained from the lesson. The teacher may assess the product with
descriptive feedback to let students know the strengths of their work and any suggestions, as well
as through peer and self assessment sheets. The end task of the lesson is one that has students
utilizing the medium of play on words, and has the students working on their own skills to use
illustrations to enhance text.
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THE PUN- CH OF LIFE
List of Puns to Choose from and Illustrate (Choose One)
Why did the little boy who was part of the wedding party roar as he walked down
the isle? He was the ring bear.
What do you call a train that sneezes? Achoo-choo train
Why did the bee go to the doctor? Because he had hives
Why did the pony go to the doctor? Because she was a little horse
Why did the golfer bring two pairs of pants to the game? In case he got a hole in one
Why was the horse so happy? Because he lived in a stable environment
Why did the boy put a stamp on the snail he found at the beach? Because he heard
his father preferred snail mail over email.
What did the Cat say to the bird? Let's do lunch.
What did the bird say back to the cat? Over my dead body.
What do ducks do when they see kids coming off the school bus? They quack up at
how funny the kids look.
Did you hear about the little boy who couldn't sleep? His mother told him to count
sheep, but he got all confused because he only had a cowculator
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FINAL ASSESSMENT
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION:
Students will culminate their knowledge about Mike Thaler and his writing/illustration
style in the Black Lagoon series in a variety of ways. The final assignment gives the student the
task to create their own Black Lagoon book. Students will be assigned to write the story,
including utilizing puns and play on words to create comedy. Another component of the
assignment is illustrating their story book. Students have the choice to create their story online
using Story Jumper, create a typical book presentation, or creating their story book using
powerpoint formats. There is also the opportunity for students to request to present their story in
an alternative format (such as video, verbal presentation, etc.) All presentations must include 3
puns, be 15 pages in length with a sentence on each page. Every page needs to have an
illustration, which enhances the writing on the page. Students are encouraged to refer back to
their professional monsters to use as the character in their Black Lagoon story, but have the
freedom to make another main character.
PROCESS:

Students will be given the assignment task sheet and a class discussion will be held as the
teacher explains the end product and shows the exemplar.

Students fill out plan sheets that highlight the beginning, middle and end of their story.

Students then write out a characteristic chart of their monster. They are supposed to use
wording that has strong adjectives.

Students fill out a mind map of words that are associated with their main character. They
will circle words that have two meanings and start to form the word play.

Student will form sentences for their story. They will write them all out.
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
Students will rewrite sentences and start to add the illustrations for their stories.

Students will colour and make final touches to story.
SCAFFOLDING:
As students progress in their projects, the teacher will use a variety of methods to ensure student
understanding of the outcomes, such as:

What does your character from the Black Lagoon look like? What do they do to earn a
living? How do they move, talk, act? Do they have any super powers?

How do others react to your Black Lagoon character? Do they laugh at them, are they
scared at them?

What kind of words would describe your character? What are some words that describe a
monster?

Why does your main character act the way they do? What motivates them?

How can you use illustration to let the audience know something about your story? What
can your pictures say that your words can’t say?

What do you think about your product at this point? What do you think you could
change to make it better?

Do you think your character is believable to be a child’s imaginative creation? Why?
FORMAL ASSESSMENT:
The finished product will be assessed with an analytic rubric. Students will be given the
rubric at the same time as receiving the assignment task. Another assessment will be taken as
students complete peer/self assessment of the work prior to handing it in for the teacher.
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STUDENT HANDOUT
??? From the Black Lagoon
We have spent the last month reading Mike Thaler’s books from the Black
Lagoon series. Now it is your turn to make your own horror comedy book.
The unit assignment is to create your own Black Lagoon story book. Using
Thaler’s style with word play and vivid illustrations that give greater
meaning to the text, you are going to make your own mysterious creature
from the Black Lagoon.
You may use the creature you created with clay prior to the unit to be the
monster your characters encountered.
Presentation styles may vary. You may draw your own illustrations and
write your text by hand, create the story using Story Jumper, make a
powerpoint, or choose your own method.
Final products must conclude with:
The usage of 3 puns in your story
A 15 page story with a sentence and illustration on each page.
An illustration that enhances your text
A peer evaluation (form given in class)
A self evaluation (form given in class)
All rough work
Your final product will be marked according to the attached rubric.
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Category
Puns
3
4
3 puns are used
in the story and
show some
evidence of
multiple
meaning.
Limited comedy
by using puns.
Little thought or Illustrations are
effort put in
good and
illustrations.
highlight some
Illustrations do of the comedy
not highlight
within the story.
story.
Ideas and
This story is a
scenes seem to
little hard to
be randomly
follow. The
arranged.
transitions are
sometimes not
clear.
The final draft
There are 4
has 5 or more
spelling, usage
spelling, usage
and punctuation
and/or
errors in the
punctuation
final draft, some
errors, even in
in common
common
aspects.
aspects.
Puns are well done.
Each pun is chosen
to show multiple
meanings of the
word but some
confusion. Some
comedy within the
story by using puns
Illustrations are
interesting and
show a great deal of
the comedy within
the story.
Puns are well thought
out. Have a strong
emphasis on the multiple
meaning of the word.
Used puns to create
comedy within the story.
The story is pretty
well organized. One
idea or scene may
seem out of place.
Clear transitions are
used.
There are 3
spelling, usage or
punctuation errors
in the final draft, in
more complex
aspects.
Presentation
of Final
Product
The final draft
is not neat or
attractive.
The final draft
of the story is
readable and
some of the
pages are
attractive.
Requirements
Many
requirements
were not met.
Most (about
75%) of the
written
requirements
met, but several
were not.
The final draft of
the story is
readable, neat, and
attractive. It may
have one or two
erasures, but they
are not distracting.
Almost all (about
90%) of the written
requirements were
met.
The story is very well
organized. One idea or
scene follows another in
a logical sequence with
clear , interesting
transitions.
There are only 1 or 2
spelling, usage or
punctuation errors in the
final draft,perhaps
resulting from risktaking. Character and
place names that the
author invented are
spelled consistently
throughout.
The final draft of the
story is readable, clean,
neat, and attractive. It is
free of erasures and
crossed-out words.
Illustrations
Story
Conventions
1
2
All puns were
confusing. Did
not have 3 puns
included.
Illustrations are excellent
and highlight all of the
comedic aspects in the
story.
All of the written
requirements were met.
(peer self evaluation,
story boarding, mind
maps, etc.)
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Peer Assessment:
Please exchange forms with a partner in class. Use this opportunity to get and give
creative input to your peers and enhance your own work. Each person needs to give
comments on their peer assessment.
Rate on a scale of 1-5 Criteria
1 is lowest
5 is highest
1 2 3 4 5
Puns were creative and added humour
1
2
3
4
5
Puns clearly had 2 meanings.
1
2
3
4
5
Illustrations enhanced writing.
1
2
3
4
5
Illustrations added humour to text.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had a clear beginning, middle, and end.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had few spelling/grammatical errors.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had all necessary elements (3 puns, 15 pages, illustrations)
1
2
3
4
5
Story used stylistic cues from Mike Thaler.
Comments:
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Self Assessment:
Please evaluate your final product. At the bottom of the page, include comments that
justify your ratings.
Rate on a scale of 1-5 Criteria
1 is lowest
5 is highest
1 2 3 4 5
Puns were creative and added humour
1
2
3
4
5
Puns clearly had 2 meanings.
1
2
3
4
5
Illustrations enhanced writing.
1
2
3
4
5
Illustrations added humour to text.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had a clear beginning, middle, and end.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had few spelling/grammatical errors.
1
2
3
4
5
Story had all necessary elements (3 puns, 15 pages, illustrations)
1
2
3
4
5
Story used stylistic cues from Mike Thaler.
Comments:
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FORMS TO DEVELOP FINAL PRODUCT:
SICKLY STORY BOARDS
Introduction:
Page Numbers:
Middle:
Page Numbers:
End:
Page Numbers:
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MY CREATURE’S FEATURES
My creature looks like….
My creature sounds like….
My creature likes to….
My creature works at…
My creature does not like…
My creature smells like…
My creature’s favourite food is…
Anything else about your creature…
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MONSTER MIND MAP
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REFERENCES
Alberta Learning. (2000). Illustrative examples for English language arts: Kindergarten to
Grade 9. Alberta: Curriculum Standards Branch, Alberta Learning.
Thaler, M. (1989). The teacher from the black lagoon. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Thaler, M. (2000). The music teacher from the black lagoon. New York: Scholastic, Inc.