The Rough-Face Girl 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
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SUMMARY
"The Rough-Face Girl" by Rafe Martin is a captivating retelling of the Cinderella story rooted in Native American folklore. Set in a Native American village, the book centers around a young girl known as the Rough-Face Girl, whose face is scarred from tending the fire. Despite her appearance, she possesses a kind heart and a strong spirit. When the Invisible Being announces a test to find his bride, all the beautiful maidens in the village attempt to win his favor. While her mean and cruel sisters try to marry the Invisible Being, the Rough-Face Girl overcomes obstacles and proves her worth through her inner beauty to the Invisible Being's sister. Through vivid storytelling and evocative illustrations, the book celebrates the power of inner strength, self-acceptance, and the belief in the true beauty that lies within. It showcases the values of Native American culture and delivers a powerful message about the importance of seeing beyond appearances.
 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.
- Encourage students to use their summarizing and retelling strategies.
- Discuss the different characters in the story and analyze their thoughts and actions.
- Teach a lesson on making connections to enhance comprehension.
- Practice identifying the genre of a story by analyzing this picture book.
- Explain to students the various ways to use a comma.
- Teach students a new suffix and give examples from the book.
- Discuss the importance of kindness.
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
- 30Â 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.
- Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
- Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
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!
