February 19th
Brooke Hardy
Text Talk Lesson
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
February 17, 2010
Dr. Ari
Text Talk Lesson
For
The Year of the Perfect Christmas tree
By Gloria Houston
Pictures By Barbara Cooney
Puffin Books, 1988
Summary: It was Ruthie’s family’s year to provide the perfect Christmas tree for the church. Ruthie and her father picked out Balsam tree on top of Grandfather Mountain in springtime and tied a red ribbon to the top to find in when it came time. Ruthie’s father was sent off to war so Ruthie and he mother had to go chop down the tree. It was tradition for her to be the angel in the church play, which she was so excited to be. She received an angel doll for Christmas but all she really wanted was for her father to return for Christmas. Just as they were leaving the church to go home for the night her father showed up and the whole town got together and sang Christmas carols.
Focus: The focus of the story was Ruthie and how a difficult Christmas turned into a wonderful one because of the love her family had for each other.
Cover:
1. Read students the title, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, and show them the cover of the book.
2. Ask the students “What do you think this story is about?” (Tell children that have read it to just give hints, not to give it away)
3. Read the author and illustrators name and ask the students to raise their hands to tell whom these two are.
4. “Lets find out what happens!”
Page 2:
1. Do you think Ruthie was able to find a Christmas Tree? (Yes, because it said, “The year Ruthie almost didn’t have a Christmas tree.”)
2. “I hope so, let’s listen to her story!”
Page 5:
1. “Why did Ruthie’s father want her to tie a red ribbon to the top of the tree?” (So they can find the tree when it comes winter time)
2. “What part in the play is it tradition for Ruthie to play?” (The angel)
Page 9:
1. “What does the word Rustled mean?” (“One day that fall, when the dried corn shocks rustled in the breeze, a package came from Papa.”)
2. “Do you all think that Ruthie’s father will make it home for Christmas?” (Yes, because he told the family in the letter he would be there.)
Page 13:
1. “How is Ruthie going to get the tree down if her father doesn’t return in time?” (Her mother and her will figure something out and probably go cut it themselves.)
Page 15:
1. “How did Ruthie and her mom find the same tree that Ruthie picked out so long ago?” (The red ribbon was tied to the top.)
2. “What do you all think the word Valley means? (“They could see the village sleeping in the valley far below.”)
Page 18:
1. “Why do you think Ruthie and her mom were singing the song about Ships?” (In hope that Ruthie’s father would arrive on ship Christmas morning.)
Page 21:
1. “Why did Ruthie’s mother not tell the preacher that it was her that left the tree on the churches porch?” (She wanted it to be a Christmas miracle and she also found it fun!)
Page 23:
1. “What do you think the word Reflection means?” (Reflections of the tiny red candles in their shiny holders fastened to the tips of the branches shone in the windows.”)
Page 26:
1. Do you think that the doll that Ruthie’s mother made her is lost?” (A tear rolled down Ruthie’s cheek because she was the only child that didn’t receive a present. On the next page it tells that St. Nicholas gives her the doll.)
Page 27:
1. “Ruthie received her beautiful doll but do you think her father is going to make it home for Christmas it’s almost time to go home?” (Her father shows up at the church on the next page while Ruthie and her mother are walking out of the church.)
Wrap-Up:
1. “This story shows us that if you keep your head up and look into the positive light then miracles can happen!”
2. “Who has had a story where they thought something wasn’t going to turn out and it ended up being wonderful?”
Vocabulary:
Rustled
Valley
Reflection
I am going to name some examples of when people could hustle and your job is to shout out “Hustle”, if you think it doesn’t fit shout “No Way”.
Hockey Game (Hustle)
Track Meet (Hustle)
Running from a dog (Hustle)
Falling asleep (No Way)
Reading a book (No Way)
Enjoying your dinner (No Way)
I am going to use the word Valley in a few short sentences. Let me know if you think it fits in the sentence or not.
-Sarah stood in the Valley between two mountains. (Fits)
-Joseph lived in a Valley right on the beach. (Doesn’t fit)
-Maggie’s house lived in a Valley in the Appalachian Mountains. When the snow fell it really piled up here because of the low elevation. (Fits)
-Ross said that the Valley he lived in was so high you could see the town below perfectly. (Doesn’t fit
I am going to name a few places that you could possibly see your reflection. If you think you would be able to see your reflection in these places let me know, if not let me know why.
-Pond (yes)
-Chocolate (no)
-Bath Tub (yes)
-Bowl of water (yes)
-Carpet (no)
-Grass (no)
