CHALLENGING WORDS
ballet
lessons
secret
madame
pointy
dandelion
recital
nervous
special
afterward
SUMMARY
A baseball loving girl worries that the ballet
class her mother forces her to take will ruin her reputation
with the other members of her baseball team.
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--- Conversation Questions--(1)
Tell your favorite part of the story.
(Answer) Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) Share with me why this was your favorite part.
(2)
Pretend you are the little girl, how would you feel peeking
from behind the curtain at the crowd?
(Answer) Have you ever performed before an audience?
(Follow Up) Have you ever performed before an audience?
(3)
Pretend you are Mary Ann. Describe your feelings as you
feel the crown fly off your head.
(Answer) Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) If you were Mary Ann what would you have done?
(4)
Compare a time something embarrassing happened to you
with what happened to Mary Ann.
(Answer) Any logical answer.
(Follow Up) How did you react?
(5)
Define ‘swaying’.
(Answer) To move back and forth.
(Follow Up) Use ‘swaying’ in a sentence.
(6)
Tell the name of the little girl’s baseball team.
(Answer) The Sharks.
(Follow Up) Do you have a favorite baseball team?
(7)
Name the position the little girl played.
(Answer) Shortstop
(Follow Up) Where does the shortstop stand?
(8)
Recall why the little girl’s mother wants her to take ballet
lessons.
(Answer) Her mother thinks baseball is for boys & she wants her
to do more girl things.
(Follow Up) Do you feel baseball is just for boys?
(9)
Describe how the little girl felt when she first learned they
were to have a recital.
(Answer) She felt like she “just got hit with a line drive.”
(Follow Up) Tell me why you think she felt that way.
(10)
List the people who came to see the little girl’s recital.
(Answer) Mother, baby sister, Uncle Ethan, Aunt Agnes, and the
baseball team.
(Follow Up) Do you think you would like to perform in front of
people? Why or why not?
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Activities
1.
Write a review of the performance of The Dance of the
Dandelions.
2.
Draw a picture of the little girl in her dandelion costume.
Give her a name.
3.
Write a few sentences describing how you might feel before
a big performance or game.
4.
Can you think of any ways taking ballet lessons might help
the little girl become a better baseball player? Write them
down. Then draw a picture of the little girl in her baseball
uniform.
Introduction
1. Have a baseball mitt and ballet shoes on the table. Ask the
child what these are used for. Ask which one they would
rather play. Say, “Today our story is about a baseball
ballerina”.
2. Have a baseball and ballet shoes on the table. Ask child if they
have ever played baseball or taken ballet lessons. Which one did
they like the most. Say, “Today our story is about a little girl
who plays baseball and takes ballet lessons also.”
3. Have a picture a picture of a dandelion or a bunch of real
dandelions on the table. Ask the child if they know the
flower’s name. Ask them to describe how they think the
dandelion might dance. Say, “Today we are going to read
about a little girl who plays baseball dances in The Dance of
the Dandelions.”
Book Title: Baseball Ballerina
Author: Kathryn Cristaldi
ISBN: 0-679-81734-4
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6
12
31
Illustrator: Abby Carter
# of Text Pages: 48
AR: 2.2 LEX: 290
Building Oral Vocabulary
shortstop
16
barre
29
ballerina
Prediction Questions
What kind of girl things does her mom want her to do?
Do you think anyone will find out the secret?
Do you think Mary Ann will get to wear a crown?
This resource is provided by THE LEARNING CORPS—Barren County Board of Education, an AmeriCorps project funded in part by the
Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism and Service and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
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