Thunder Boy Jr. 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
Â
SUMMARY
"Thunder Boy Jr." by Sherman Alexie is a heartwarming and empowering children's book that tells the story of a young Native American boy who wants a name of his own. Thunder Boy Jr., named after his father, feels overshadowed by his powerful name and yearns for a name that reflects his unique identity. Throughout the book, Thunder Boy Jr. explores various possibilities for a new name, each one capturing a special aspect of his personality and heritage. With the support of his loving and understanding family, Thunder Boy Jr. finds the perfect name that honors his individuality while still maintaining a connection to his roots. Through Alexie's poignant storytelling and Yuyi Morales' vibrant illustrations, the book celebrates the importance of self-identity, family bonds, and cultural pride. "Thunder Boy Jr." encourages young readers to embrace their individuality, express their own voice, and celebrate their heritage.
 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.
- Help students to analyze what the author’s purpose for writing the book might be.
- Teach students how contractions are used.
- Practice identifying conjunctions using examples from the story.
- Encourage students to think about ways they can show compassion.
- Lead a class discussion on the importance of individuality.
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.
- Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
- When I Was Eight by Christy Jordan-Fenton
- When We Were Alone by David A. Robertson
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!
