Punxsutawney+Phyllis



1. **Author/Illustrator** – Author: Susanna Leonard Hill Illustrated by: Jeffrey Ebbeler

2. **Title and date of publication** – __Punxsutawney Phyllis__ Published: 2005

3. **Genre** – Contemporary Realistic Fiction

4. **Format** – Picture Book

5. **Award** – No awards listed

6. **Summary of book** – This book is about a young female groundhog who wants to be the next groundhog to predict the weather. No one thinks she can do it but she is determined to try.

7. **Strategies to use with the book** – I would begin by reading the book. Along the way, I would ask questions to ensure comprehension. We would talk about how there really is a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil that we watch on TV on Groundhog Day.

After I read the story, we will match some pre-selected picture vocabulary words on the felt board (If I had a smartboard like the rest of my school, we would use that, but I do not.) For this story, I would use the different words from the story. In order to do our vocabulary, we sing the “Surprise Bag” song and each child pulls out a vocabulary word. They then run it through the smart talk device, it reads the word to them and then they match it to the same picture on the felt board.

After we understood the story and the vocabulary, we would go outside to see if we could see our own shadows. When we got back inside, we would go to the art table to make groundhogs using popsicle sticks and Styrofoam cups.