THIRD READING: ANALYSIS – THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT

 

Share the reading responsibilities with the listener any way you wish. You may wish to alternate reading pages, or have your child retell the contents of each crayon’s letter. If your child is retelling the letter, help your child use the details in the illustrations to guide the retelling.

Help your child with emphasis on words in CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation marks. There are even a few ellipses (. . .) that appear, indicating a long pause to build interest.

 

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:

~Discuss additional details that Duncan could add to his final picture.

~Look back at the crayons’ letters. Are there  any common complaints shared by any of the crayons? Which letter was your favorite? Explain your choice.

~Pick a color of crayon that you would like to be. Imagine that you are the crayon writing a letter to your child. What would your letter say?  Remember to include words that indicate how you are feeling. (happy, sad, exhausted)

~This book is a series of letters. Do the letters make a story? Does it have the elements of a story (characters, setting, problem/solution)? Discuss.

 

ACTIVITY OPTIONS:

~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcVYE8eubY

This reading of the book is well done. Your child can listen to the emphasis but on certain words by a different reader. Hearing different ways to interpret a text helps to increase understanding of the text.

~Pick a toy of your child’s. What might the toy say in a letter to your child?

Read more...

FIRST READING and SECOND READINGS: ILLUSTRATIONS, TEXT and VOCABULARY – THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT

 

The format of this book requires a unique combination of First and Second Readings. Each full-page spread contains the illustration about and the letter from each of the colors in Duncan’s box of crayons. As you open to each new color, discuss the questions about the illustration. Then, read the letter or the text. The last step will be to discuss the questions about the letter or the text. These three steps are to be done before you turn the page to the next color. Using this discussion format may require two to three story times to reach the end of the book. Don’t hurry. Enjoy!

 

*If you’re numbering your pages, page 1 is the first page with text.

*Before you open the book, discuss what it means to quit something. Why might people quit doing something? What might crayons want to quit doing?

 

Pages 1 – 2:

~What do you see?

~Who might Duncan be?

READ THE TEXT.

 

Pages 3 – 4:

~Name the objects in the illustration.

~How might Red Crayon be feeling?

~What might Red Crayon be thinking?

~Who might have written the red letter?

READ THE LETTER.

~What is Red Crayon’s complaint?

~Do you agree with Red Crayon?

~What does “I wear myself out” mean? (I get so tired doing all of the work that I do.)

~How might Duncan be able to solve Red Crayon’s complaint?

 

Pages 5 – 6:

~How does Purple Crayon seem to be feeling?

~What might Purple Crayon be saying in the purple letter? (Its mouth is wide open. It might be yelling.)

READ THE LETTER.

~What is Purple Crayon’s complaint? Do you agree with its complaint?

~Why might Purple Crayon have written some words with all CAPITAL LETTERS, such as: “LISTEN”? (to show you the words to emphasize as you read the letter)

 

Pages 7 – 8:

~How does Beige Crayon seem to be feeling?

~This illustration has a single object with Beige Crayon. Why might that be?

~Why might Beige Crayon want to quit?

READ THE LETTER.

~What is Beige Crayon’s complaint?

~Can you help Beige Crayon by suggesting other things the Duncan might color beige?

 

Pages 9 – 10:

~What do you see?

~How does Gray Crayon seem to be feeling?

~Why might it want to quit?

READ THE LETTER.

Look at Gray Crayon’s use of CAPITAL LETTERS.

~Point out which words Gray Crayon wants to emphasize to Duncan. Reread the letter with special emphasis on these words.

~What do you think of Gray Crayon’s suggestion to solve its problem? Do you have any other ideas for Gray Crayon and Duncan?

 

Pages 11 – 12:

~What crayon might these two pages be about?

~How does White Crayon seem to be feeling?

~Why don’t you see much in this illustration?

READ THE LETTER.

~Discuss feeling empty (a negative feeling, feeling nothing, absence of emotion). Empty is used two different ways in White Crayon’s letter. Find the two different meanings of empty.

~When do you use a white crayon?

~How can Duncan make White Crayon feel better?

 

Pages 13 – 14:

~Look at the body language of Black Crayon. What does Black Crayon seem to be doing? (begging, pleading)

~What might Black Crayon be saying?

READ THE LETTER.

~What does brighter mean in Black Crayon’s letter? (smarter, more intelligent)

~Do you think Duncan should follow Black Crayon’s suggestion? Discuss.

 

Pages 15 – 16:

~Name all of the objects drawn with Green Crayon.

~What might Green Crayon want to quit doing?

READ THE LETTER.

~Does Green Crayon want to quit? Why did Green Crayon write a letter to Duncan?

~What does Green Crayon mean when he congratulates Duncan on a “very successful coloring things green career”? (In Green Crayon’s opinion, Duncan has done great work with his green crayon.)

~Who do you think should be the color of the sun?

 

Pages 17 – 20:

~What’s different about these two illustrations? (coloring book pages, two crayons are shown on the same page)

~Which crayon is talking in each illustration?

~What might the crayons be saying to Duncan in their letters?

READ THE LETTERS.

~How do both Yellow Crayon and Orange Crayon try to convince Duncan of their right to be the color of the sun?

~How would you suggest that Duncan solve the argument between Yellow Crayon and Orange Crayon?

~On page 19, tattletale: a person who tells information about another person for negative reasons. In your opinion, is Yellow Crayon a tattletale? Discuss.

 

Pages 21 – 22:

~What is different about Blue Crayon’s appearance?

~What might Blue Crayon want to quit doing? What might its reasons be?

READ THE LETTER.

~Do you think Blue Crayon is Duncan’s favorite color? Discuss.

~break: a pause in action or work. How can Duncan give Blue Crayon a break?

 

Pages 23 – 24:

~Are you surprised by some of the objects on Pink’s page? Discuss.

~What might be Pink’s complaint to Duncan?

READ THE LETTER.

~Do you think pink is a girl’s color? Discuss.

~After reading Pink Crayon’s letter, what emotion do you think Pink Crayon might be feeling?

~Is pink an important color to have in your crayon box? Why, or why not?

 

Pages 25 – 26:

~What is the color of this crayon?

~Discuss how this crayon seems to be feeling. Why might it be feeling this way?

READ THE LETTER.

~Why might Duncan have peeled off Peach Crayon’s wrapping?

~How should Duncan respond to Peach Crayon’s complaint?

 

Pages 27 – 28:

~Who do you think opened the letters?

READ THE TEXT.

~If you were Duncan, what would you do after you read all of the letters from your crayons?

 

Pages 29 – 31:

~On pages 29 and 30, who do you think might have drawn this picture?

~What do you notice about the objects and use of color in this picture?

~Why do you think Duncan drew this picture?

~On page 31, what might be the meaning of this illustration?

READ THE TEXT.

~Did Duncan make each of his crayons happy with this picture?

~Would you give Duncan an A for coloring? Discuss.

~On page 31, creativity: coming up with new ideas. Do you think Duncan’s picture shows creativity?

 

Read more...