Cricket in
Times Square
Genre: Fantasy
Author’s Purpose: Entertain
Skill: Visualizing
Compiled by Terry Sams, Piedmont
By: George Selden
Summary
Chester Cricket got much more
than he bargained for when he climbed into a
picnic basket in his Connecticut meadow. He
got a trip all the way to New York City. There, in
the Times Square subway station, Mario Bellini,
the son of the newsstand owners, finds Chester
and makes a home for him in a matchbox. One
evening, after the newsstand closes, Chester
makes friends with Tucker Mouse and Harry the
Cat, who take him above ground to see the
sights of the city!
Genre: Fantasy
 In fantasy, animals talk, miniature
creatures inhabit a world beneath the
floorboards, and a peach swells to the
size of a house. Some of the
characteristics found in fantasy
extend to science fiction, which is set
most often in the future and deals with
the impact of technology and science
on humans. In science fiction, robots
talk, people travel faster than light,
and Martians exist.
Extend Skills - Fables
 A fable is a brief story that teaches a
lesson.
 The characters in fables, such as “The
Ant and the Grasshopper” are usually
animals.
 They talk and act like people and reveal
the good and bad points of human
nature.
Compare Fantasy and Fable




Fantasy
about something that
could not happen
may or may not have
talking animals as
characters
may be short or long
may or may not
teach a lesson
Fables
 about something that
could not happen
 usually has talking
animal characters
 is short
 teaches a lesson
Comprehension Skill Visualizing
When we visualize while
reading, we create pictures in
our minds. Visualizing helps us
to relate to the characters in a
text. We imagine what things
look like, smell, sound, taste,
and feel.
Practice Visualizing
TE 157a
Let’s look at page 144 when Chester is
in the picnic basket together.
Sights
Sounds Feelings
Taste
Smell
Comprehension Review –
Making Judgments TE 157b
 When you form opinions about what
people are like, you are making
judgments.
 You form opinions about characters in
stories by using story events and your
own experiences to make judgments as
you read.
 Look for story evidence to support your
judgment
Vocabulary Skill Synonyms
 Words with similar meanings are called
synonyms.
 You can often find out the meaning of
unknown words by finding a clue in the
words around it.
 Examples – melody and song
subway – underground train
Research Skills –Newspapers/
Magazines/Periodicals 157j
 Newspapers are published daily or
weekly.
 Newspapers contain news,
advertisements, feature stories,
editorials, and other useful, current
information.
Research Skills –Newspapers/
Magazines/Periodicals 157j
 Magazines, also called periodicals are
published at set intervals (weekly, monthly,
quarterly and so on).
 They may contain news articles, opinion
columns, advertisements, cartoons,
reports, and other current information.
 They often focus on a particular subject.
 The name of the magazine will usually tell
you what subject is covered.
Weekly Fluency Check Read with Attention to
Punctuation TE 157d
● Students should read with attention to
punctuation. Let the punctuation be your
guide as you read.
● Students should let their voices fall at the
end of a sentence, and rise at the end of
a question.
● Students should pause at commas,
semicolons, dashes, and colons.
 Go to pages 140-141, beginning with
“Tucker Mouse had . . .”
Read to Find Out – Pages 138 - 145
1.Where is Chester from?
2.How did he get to the newsstand
in the subway station?
3.How does Chester feel about
being in New York in the
beginning? Why?
Read to Find Out –Pages 138 - 145
1.How does Chester feel while
traveling in the picnic basket?
Why?
2.Find in the text the words the
author uses to help you visualize
Chester’s journey inside the
picnic basket?
Read to Find Out –Pages 146-154
1.What does Chester hear, see,
and feel when the cat arrives?
2.Why is Chester so concerned
about Tucker?
3.How does the author help the
reader picture the journey up the
drainpipe?
Read to Find Out –Pages 146-154
1. What are some details the
author uses to help create a
mental picture of New York
City at night?
2. Visualize Chester’s life in the
country and in New York City.
What are some of the
differences?
Writing Assignment
Choose one of the following and write a
paragraph:
 Write a paragraph and persuade me to live
in either the country or the city. You may
choose which place and then add details as
to why you think that is the best place to
live. Be sure to include a topic sentence
that includes which place you are writing
about.
 What are some of the problems that cities
have? Write a letter of complaint to a city’s
mayor, expressing your complaint clearly
and politely.
Fun Stuff






Character Practice
Match the Vocabulary
Spelling Words Hangman
Crickets
Reading Test
Spelling Test
More Good Stuff
 ABC order – This week’s
word list
 New York City Tour
 What’s Beneath a City
Sidewalk?
 Crickets Care Sheet
Say It!
occasion
furiously railroad
melody subway
venturing traffic
chirp
More Words to Know
eavesdropping
liverwurst
scrounging
sympathetically
chirp
a short, sharp
sound made by a
cricket
furiously
quickly; wildly
melody
a succession of
single tones in
music; tune
occasion
a special event
railroad
the track
with steel
rails on
which
trains
travel
subway
an underground
electric railway
traffic
cars, trucks,
and buses
traveling along
roadways
venturing
daring to go
eavesdropping
listening to talk
that you are not
supposed to
hear
liverwurst
a sausage made
mostly of liver
scrounging
searching about for
what you can find
sympathetically
with kindness
She furiously jumped
over the bike.
She furiously jumped
over the bike.
The student was
caught eavesdropping
at the teacher’s door.
The student was
caught eavesdropping
at the teacher’s
door.
My teacher talks
sympathetically to me
when I have had a bad
day.
My teacher talks
sympathetically to
me when I have had
a bad day.
The traffic is really
busy.
The traffic is really
busy.
Today is a very
important occasion.
Today is a very
important occasion.
He shared his
liverwurst sandwich
with me.
He shared his
liverwurst sandwich
with me.
The dog was
scrounging under the
bed for his lost bone.
The dog was
scrounging under the
bed for his lost bone.
Crickets love to chirp at
night.
Crickets love to chirp
at night.
The singers had
a soft melody.
The singers had
a soft melody.
The railroad tracks
are very old.
The railroad
tracks are very
old.
The subway is
very busy.
The subway is
very busy.
I went venturing
on my own.
I went venturing
on my own.
Spelling Words
Vowel Sounds in put/out
stood
took
wood
cushion
football
brook
bush
July
mountain
cloud
Spelling Words
Vowel Sounds in put/out
proud
butcher
pudding
power
shower
however
crowd
loud
house
outside
This Week’s Word Wall Words
Click and type your own
words for this week:
Let’s review our spelling
words.
Watch carefully because
they will flash on the screen
for just a moment. We will
clap as we spell the word.
stood
took
wood
football
brook
bush
July
cushion
butcher
pudding
power
however
shower
crowd
loud
house
outside
mountain
cloud
proud
GREAT
JOB!