Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School is part of our Starts With a Story Collection, which includes more than 550 picture book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Learn more about this children’s book below! - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
"Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School" by Mark Teague tells the humorous and endearing story of Ike, a mischievous but lovable dog, who is sent to obedience school by his owner, Mrs. LaRue. The story is presented through a series of letters written by Ike to Mrs. LaRue, detailing his experiences at the strict school. Through his letters, Ike tries to convince Mrs. LaRue that he is being mistreated and that obedience school is not for him. However, as the story unfolds, readers can see that Ike's version of events may not be entirely accurate. With witty illustrations and clever wordplay, the book explores themes of miscommunication, loyalty, and the importance of seeing things from different perspectives. In the end, Mrs. LaRue and Ike find a way to understand each other and appreciate their unique bond.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Our read aloud lesson plans for this picture book come with reading comprehension questions (with sample student responses), 30 writing prompts, teaching ideas for grammar skills, social emotional learning discussion ideas, and more. Check out our list below to get a sneak peek at some of the skills this resource teaches.
- Practice making predictions throughout the book. Encourage students to check and see if their predictions were correct.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- Have students identify the point of view and discuss the benefits of the narrator.
- Analyze the illustrations in the story. Discuss how they provide meaning that the words might not.
- Introduce students to proper nouns using examples from the story.
- Introduce homophones and discuss the multiple meanings of homophones in this book.
- Discuss the importance of making good choices.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
This book is a must have for your school or classroom library. Your students are going to love completing these activities for the book and you will be impressed with how much they learn. You will want to read this book to your class every year.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will love the similar books listed below, which can all be found in our free picture book list.
- Dear Dragon by Josh Funk
- The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
- Can I Be Your Dog? by Troy Cummings
- The Love Letter by Anika Aldamuy Denise
- Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
