Title: The Year of Billy Miller
Author: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Reading Level: 8-12 years old
Lexile Score: 620L
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read
Words to describe this book: zany, encouraging, humorous, delightful, thoughtful
Summary: The hilarious story of a young boy named Billy Miller. Billy is scared to start second grade for many reasons (one of them being that he doesn't feel he's smart enough). However, from the support and encouragement from his teacher, mom, dad, and sister, Billy has a remarkable school year. He learns about family, friendship, and how to make his second grade year one to remember.
Key Vocabulary:
Definitions can be found on http://merriam-webster.com
Before Reading Activity:
Electronic Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkHmWV_kIU
Interview with Kevin Henkes of his creation of "The Year of Billy Miller". Henkes discusses the reasons for writing a book about a second grader and how his idea turned into a fabulous book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DJKyM3JIAI
A quick two minute video of how to create a diorama. It shows the process of how it's built and different techniques you can use. Also, it's a great and quick example of a well-done diorama.
Writing Activity: At the end of the book, Mrs. Silver has a "We are Family" performance. The students in her second grade classroom create poems about someone of importance to them or a family member and share it. Have students write a poem by referring back to the text to see how Billy created his poem. The students can orally share their poetry to the class to practice their fluency.
Author: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Reading Level: 8-12 years old
Lexile Score: 620L
Suggested Delivery: Independent Read
Words to describe this book: zany, encouraging, humorous, delightful, thoughtful
Summary: The hilarious story of a young boy named Billy Miller. Billy is scared to start second grade for many reasons (one of them being that he doesn't feel he's smart enough). However, from the support and encouragement from his teacher, mom, dad, and sister, Billy has a remarkable school year. He learns about family, friendship, and how to make his second grade year one to remember.
Key Vocabulary:
- Hoisted - to raise or lift
- Exaggerated - abnormally increased or enlarged
- Habitat - the place where a person or a thing can be found
- Diorama - a display exhibiting people/place/things
- Ricochetting - rebound or bounce off a surface more than once
- Mica - any member of a group of minerals
Definitions can be found on http://merriam-webster.com
Before Reading Activity:
- Invite student's to participate in a word sort. Use they key vocabulary (and other key words in the story) and have students sort them into categories. Build their background knowledge on words and concepts such as dioramas and mica.
- In the story, Billy discusses the importance of the Chinese New Year envelope with his babysitter and sister. Billy's teacher, Mrs. Silver, said to write a letter to someone (it can either be a thank-you letter or an appreciation letter). Have students write a letter to someone of importance to them. They can brainstorm ideas based on Billy's experiences.
- Have student's create their own dioramas. Students can either create shoebox dioramas (would have to be a take home project) or they can draw a picture of a particular room they enjoy (in class activity). Students can share their dioramas and explain their significance.
Electronic Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCkHmWV_kIU
Interview with Kevin Henkes of his creation of "The Year of Billy Miller". Henkes discusses the reasons for writing a book about a second grader and how his idea turned into a fabulous book.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DJKyM3JIAI
A quick two minute video of how to create a diorama. It shows the process of how it's built and different techniques you can use. Also, it's a great and quick example of a well-done diorama.
Writing Activity: At the end of the book, Mrs. Silver has a "We are Family" performance. The students in her second grade classroom create poems about someone of importance to them or a family member and share it. Have students write a poem by referring back to the text to see how Billy created his poem. The students can orally share their poetry to the class to practice their fluency.