Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Click Clack Book)

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Write a story about an animal (or a group of animals) that can do something that you wouldn’t expect, e.g. A frog that can tap dance or a rabbit that sings opera songs. Another word family in the first note to Farmer Brown is /-ight/. Write the word night on the whiteboard, chalkboard, or magnetic board. Show students how you can remove the n and change it to an r to make the word right. Instead of saying the letters as you change them, you will want to emphasize the sounds the letters make. This will help students know what to do when they come to a word they do not know in a text. Other words in the /-ight/ family are light, might, sight, tight, bright, and flight. Listen to the sounds that a typewriter makes. Could you use these within your own composition or song? Look through the text for any new words that you are to familiar with, e.g. neutral, ultimatum. Use a dictionary to find out what these words mean.

You might stop at the place in the book where the farmer reacts to the note that reads, "Sorry. We're closed. No milk today." Talk with students about the farmer's shadow on the wall. What does that mean? What do the cows want? What does it mean to go on strike? Next, introduce the concept of rime or word families. A rime is the first vowel in a word and all of the letters that follow. In the word dear, the rime or word family is /-ear/. In the word cow, the rime or word family is /-ow/. Students can be taught how to change the beginning sound or letters of a known word family to make a new word. After graduating from Pratt Institute where she studied illustration, Betsy Lewin designed greeting cards. Then she began to write and illustrate stories for children’s magazines. When an editor at Dodd, Mead & Company asked her to expand one of those stories into a picture book, Betsy says, “I jumped at the chance. I’ve been doing picture books ever since and loving every moment.” Have students read aloud together the first note from the cows while you point to each word on the chart paper. During this shared reading, it is important for your voice to model fluency and expression. Introduce the words families in the second note, which are /-en/ and /-ow/. Tell students that you will use the words they already know, hens and cows, to make new words. Also, point out that you will be taking the s off the end of each word.Finish this session by having students reread all five notes with fluency and expression, as you have modeled and they have practiced in previous sessions. Look at the cows’ letters. How could they improve their writing? Could they use more exciting vocabulary? Could they use additional punctuation? Farmer Brown will not give in to their demands, so they go on strike and withhold their milk. It's not long before the hens feel the chill in the barn and join the strike. When Farmer Brown refuses their demands, the cows leave another note to say they are going on strike. “Sorry. We’re closed. No milk today.” In the next letter, the cows raise their demands and request electric blankets for hens. The farmer again refuses and the hens refuse to lay eggs. Follow the procedure from Session 2 as you write and read the words, and then change the first letter or letters to make new words. Remind students that they can use this same method when they come to a word they do not know when reading or writing. Of course, not all new words can be solved using rimes or word families, but the principle applies to many words. For the /-en/ word family, words include den, men, pen, ten, when, and then. For the /-ow/ word family, words include how, now, brow, chow, and plow.

Read the book again and show students the chart paper with the second note to Farmer Brown typed by the cows asking for electric blankets for the hens.This puts Farmer Brown in a tizzy because every fool knows you can't run a farm with no milk and no aiggs! So he dusts off his own typewriter and bangs out a letter reminding the cows and hens that they are animals and he demands that they produce for him. Gather highlighting tape, a magnetic board and letters, and a whiteboard with dry-erase markers. Make sure that students will be able to easily see these materials from where they are sitting in the classroom. It's important for students to be able to see as you write the word family words and change the first letter to create new words. In 2001, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. adapted the book to an animated movie narrated by Randy Travis and animation by MaGik Studios.

Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows’ point of view, explaining how they are feeling. Farmer Brown thought that it was impossible that his cows could type. Write a new story about something an ‘impossible’ event that actually takes place.

Click, Clack, Moo: I Love You!

Look through the story for words that describe different emotions, e.g. impatient, furious. What does each type of emotion feel like? What might make us feel that way? Investigate persuasive writing… Can you write a more persuasive letter from the cows to Farmer Brown? Note: Avoid making words that may cause confusion for students, especially at the beginning of instruction. For example, avoid the word know because the sound for the /-ow/ rime is not the same as in cow. The words family words in this note are pond and quite. Words with the /-ond/ rime include bond and fond. Words with the /-ite/ rime are bite and kite. Post the five notes in the classroom for students to use as a resource when they are reading and writing. Students should be able to read the word family words in each note and can try using these words in their own writing.

After the reading, draw students' attention to the chart or poster paper with the first note typed by the cows to Farmer Brown asking for electric blankets in the barn. Before reading the story, look at the front cover. What might the cows be typing a letter about? Could you write what it might say? Farmer Brown begins to hear typing sounds coming from his barn. He discovers that his cows have found an old typewriter in the barn and are using it to type letters requesting things from Farmer Brown, such as electric blankets to keep them warm at night. Farmer Brown refuses, and the cows withhold their milk until they get what they ask for. Soon, the cows type a similar letter about the hens asking for blankets which Farmer Brown refuses to provide. The hens join the cows and refuse to lay eggs.

Session 3

In Doreen’s latest book, Diary of a Worm, she explores the daily life of a lovable worm. Who knew that the underground dwellings and activities of worms could be so funny? Readers may even find that worm’s life is much the same as theirs except worm eats his homework and his head looks a whole lot like his rear! Prepare the five typed notes from Farmer Brown and the animals in large print on chart or poster paper. Make sure that the words are large and clear enough so that each student will be able to see the words from his or her seat in the classroom.