Scholastic
1997
Grade 1
Title of Read Aloud: The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane DeRolf
Suggested Time: 20 minutes @2 days = 40 minutes total
Common Core ELA Standards: RL.1.1-3, RL.1.7, RL.1.9, W.1.3, W.1.5, SL.1.1, SL.1.2, SL.1.4, SL.1.6,
L.1.4, L.1.5.
Teacher Instructions
Refer to the Introduction for further details.
Before Teaching
1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for
teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task.
Big Ideas and Key Understandings (See teacher notes)
Working together and getting along can help resolve problems.
Synopsis
This is a fantasy story about a box of crayons that don’t get along. One day a little girl buys the box of crayons and begins
coloring with them. Through the little girl’s coloring, the crayons soon realize that they are each unique. They are able to
complete a beautiful picture by working together.
2. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings.
3. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary.
During Teaching
1. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud.
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Scholastic
1997
Grade 1
2. Teacher re-reads the selection aloud while stopping to engage students in responding to and discussing the questions and returning to the
text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, group work, etc.)
Text Dependent Questions
Text Dependent Questions
Let’s reread the first sentence of the story. Where does the
beginning of this story take place?
If I Overheard someone, I was listening without them knowing.
Who does the little girl overhear talking?
Why do all of the crayons dislike Orange?
Answers
The beginning of the story takes place in a toy store. (Page 2)
Teacher rereads page 6 and asks students, “On page 6, what is
wrong?”
Look at the illustration on page 8, What is the 2nd setting in this
story?
The crayons don’t get along (Page 6)
What did the crayons do as the little girl colored?
The crayons watcher her color. (Page 12)
Look at the illustration on the page 11 to determine what the
author means by “They watched me as I colored with red and
blue and green and black and white and orange and every color
in between”.
Look at the illustrations on page 15& 16. How do the crayons
feel about coloring together?
In the illustration I see more colors than the ones named (red,
blue, green, black, white, and orange). The colors not named
are the ones in between. (Page 11)
Unique means one of a kind and special. How are the crayons
unique? (Page 21)
They are all different colors. (all pages)
Re-read page 21 &22, and ask students, “How did the picture
get to be complete?
The crayons worked together to complete the picture. (Page
21)
The little girl overhears the crayon box talking. (Page 3)
No one knows just why. (Page 4)
The 2nd setting of the story is the little girl’s house. (Page 8)
The crayons are smiling and look happy about coloring
together. (Pages 15 &16)
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Scholastic
1997
Grade 1
Vocabulary
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING
WORDS WORTH KNOWING
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Scholastic
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT THE MEANING
sufficient context clues are provided in
the text
TEACHER PROVIDES DEFINITION
not enough contextual clues provided in
the text
BIG IDEAS OF TEXT
Words addressed with a question or task
Overheard (Pg. 3)
Unique (Pg. 21)
“Get along” (Pg. 6)
1997
Grade 1
Words to be part of systematic vocabulary instruction,
not essential for understanding the big ideas of the text
Well (pg. 7)
Others (Pg. 6)
“Laid out” (Pg. 10)
“In between” (Pg. 12)
Drifting (Pg. 14)
Finally (Pg. 17)
Culminating Task

Re-Read, Think, Discuss, And Write.
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Scholastic

1997
Grade 1
Complete A Story Map (When grading this story map ensure that the Problem and Solution relate back to the Key
Understanding)
Setting
Main Characters
-At the toy store
-Crayons
-At the house
-Girl
Problem
Solution
-The crayons were not getting along.
-All the crayons were used (worked together) to create a picture.
Additional Tasks
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Scholastic

1997
Grade 1
Students will complete the Double Bubble with details about “The Crayon Box that Talks” on one side, details about “Dot and
Bob” on the other side, and similarities between both stories in the middle.
Crayons
Dog
Tree
-working
together
Dot and Bob
Dig
Have a
problem
-Girl
Color
The Crayon
Box that
Talks
Picture

With your partner, describe how the story’s ending would change if the characters did not decide to cooperate.

Have students figure out how the crayons “became something new” by combining colors with table partners and discuss as a
group how this phrase also inferred that the crayons were beginning to work as a team and appreciate each other.
Note to Teacher
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Scholastic

1997
Grade 1
Expect students to respond with complete sentences. Model and scaffold responses with sentence starters as needed. Also,
expand on student responses (when responses are short and easily expanded) and have students repeat the expanded answer.
(SL.1.6)

Students may also need some help with the phrase “the day before yesterday” from the story.
***The Crayon Box That Talked is recommended as a supplement to Dot and Bob in HST Theme 2, Lesson 5. The texts can
share the same key understanding.
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