Lesson Plan for "The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant

Relatives Came, The

by Rylant, Cynthia. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell.  Picture Book. Grades 1+.  

Review

This is one of my all time favorite books.  The illustrations make it soooo much fun to read and look at.    The book tells of an old-fashioned family reuinion where relatives came from far across the mountains. They pile into and around the house with love and exuberance. Gammell's illustrations are so full of humor and distinctive characters that it's hard to get around to reading the delightful text.

Activities

• PreK - GRADE 3. QUESTIONING
• It appears that the driver of the station wagon isn't very good at it.
  Does he damage the car? Who fixes it?
• Where is their home?
• Where do the relatives live?
• GRADE 1 - 3. NUMERATION
  Figure out how many people there are. Be careful because some characters appear only once and others are on almost every page.
• PreK - GRADE 2. QUESTIONING, GATHERING DATA
  Look carefully at the boy in the blue-striped shirt, coming out to greet the people. Now find him on the next page.
  What is different about him?
  How could that have happened?
  Is it an illustrator's mistake?
• PreK - GRADE 3. CLASSIFICATION, PATTERN, NUMERATION
  Make a chart showing as many different patterns on people's clothing as possible. Make small squares of each kind of pattern, using wrapping paper or wallpaper.
  Form groups to find one pattern and post it.
  Which patterns are most frequently used?
  
  Patterns - - - - - - Number Found
  --------------------------------------------------
  Solid Colors
  Flowered
  Striped
  Plaid
  Checkered
• K - GRADE 3. TIME, ESTIMATION
  How far away do you think the relatives lived?
  What makes you think so?
  Have you ever traveled that long or that far?
  Did the relatives stay a long time?
  What makes you think so?

By Carol Hurst, thanks Carol for this great lesson plan... revised a bit by me.