Picture books are a great way to teach students about diversity. The Girl Who Thought in Pictures is a book about the life of Temple Grandin, who is an author and speaker on animal behavior and Autism. Temple has Autism herself. It is so important for students to be accepting and understanding of those that might appear different than them. Picture books like this can be used to introduce students to those differences and teach them that it is something to be celebrated. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
The story The Girl Who Thought in Pictures follows the life of Temple Grandin. The story starts off with Temple being born, and the doctors thinking that she needed to be sent away because she was different. Temple liked to watch things spin, did not like loud noises or crowds, anything that was itchy, or big squeezy hugs. She also did not talk until she was three. Temple got diagnosed with Autism. Her mom said that Temple was “different, not less.” When Temple goes to school, the children there would tease her relentlessly. One day, Temple’s mom thinks that it would be better for Temple to stay on her aunt’s ranch. There, Temple finally feels comfortable and explores ways to help animals. Temple goes to college and gets three degrees! Now she travels the world giving speeches and spreading hope. She spreads the message that the world needs brains of all kinds.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
The Girl Who Thought in Pictures is a great mentor text for teaching students important reading comprehension strategies, writing skills, and grammar concepts. All of our book companions come with activities that relate to these subject areas. Check out just some of the skills included in our book companion!
- Practice identifying character traits that describe Temple.
- Practice making personal connections to the book.
- Integrate expository writing by asking students to write explanations for events that happened in the book.
- Allow students to get creative by writing their own version of the book.
- Use examples from the book to teach a lesson on action verbs and adjectives.
- Teach a lesson on contractions.
- Have a class discussion about diversity.
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 resource is all you will need when it comes to planning your read aloud for the book The Girl Who Thought in Pictures, Gone are the days when you have to brainstorm discussion questions, look online for student activities, and spend hours gathering resources. Now everything you need is included in this book companion allowing you to make choices on what you want to use with your students.
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- My Brother Charlie by Ryan Elizabeth Peete
- Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds
- Just Ask by Sonia Sotomayor
- Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
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!
