Organization: Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey

Lesson Focus: Organization of purposeful paragraphs

Focus Grade Level:  3rd 

Time Frame: Several Days

Focus Text/Author: Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey

Materials: Dogzilla by Dav Pilkey, Paper, Pencil, 

Ohio Academic Content Standard: Writing Process

Ohio Benchmarks 3-4: E. Use revision strategies to improve the coherence of ideas, clarity of sentence structure and effectiveness of word choices.

Grade Level Indicators 3rd Grade: 

• 4. Use organizational strategies (e.g., brainstorming, lists, webs, and Venn diagrams) to plan writing
• 5. Organize writing by providing a simple introduction, body, and a clear sense of closure

Book Summary: In this fun and friendly book, Dav Pilkey has the town of Mousopolis run by mice and they are about to host their first annual barbecue. As the town is getting ready for the big event, Dogzilla is awakened by the wonderful smells. The mice become terrified and try to get away from the "creature" before it's too late.

About the author, Dav Pilkey: http://www.pilkey.com/meet-dav.php

"Most people pronounce it "Dave" (rhymes with "rave"), but "Dav" (rhymes with "have") is also correct. Bonus points are given for "Däv" (rhymes with "suave"). In 2005 I married my sweetheart, Sayuri (pronounced "Sy-you-dee"). We don't have any children yet. 

I had a pretty tough time in school.  I've always had reading problems, and I didn't learn the same way that most of the kids in my class learned  (being severely hyperactive didn't help much, either).

I was discouraged a lot, and sometimes I felt like a total failure.  But I had a lot of encouragement and support from my parents.  They helped me get through the hard times.  It's good to know that even if you're not successful in school, you can still be successful in life.  (Thomas Edison was terrible at school, but he turned out o.k!)"

Before the Lesson: 

Read through the book, Dogzilla, with the students the first day so that they are familiar with the content and can use for learning purposes the following day.

Introduction:  

Before reading the story the second time, discuss with the students that today while they read, they will be looking for how Dogzilla is organized and what they notice about the paragraphs in the story. All of the paragraphs have purpose. I will share with the students that Dogzilla  is a dog, and has the traits of dog; however, his size and strength is that of Godzilla. We will then discuss reasons as to why they think Dogzilla may be so large and how it might be because of something that went terribly wrong in a lab experiment. I will tell the students that they will be writing their own story about a scientific mishap that may have created a new creature (two words put together to make a new word-- Dog + Godzilla = Dogzilla) and all of the events that take place after it happens. They will need to make sure their story is organized in a meaningful way.

Lesson: 

1. Students will listen to the story Dogzilla and discuss the different writing styles of the text. We will specifically talk about the organization of the paragraphs.
2. Students will spend some time writing their ideas about what they noticed in the story (pertaining to the organization) on a piece of chart paper.
3. We will discuss as a group what we found and why it's important and then look at excerpts from A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon and discuss how the paragraphs captivate the readers attention through their details, humor, etc.
4. Students will then complete a story web for a pre-writing activity and be asked to come up with their own creature that went through a "mishap" in the lab. For example, maybe they mix an elephant and a turtle to get "Elephurtle."
5. They will then put that creature in the center of their web and start brainstorming different events that are going to take place in their story.
6. Now would be a good time to get "into the students' head" and see what they are thinking and have them talk through their ideas with you.
7. Remind students that as they finish writing they need to then think about how they are going to turn those ideas into a meaningful story with details and purpose. Refer back to list they made on chart paper. In the third grade they need reminded to start each paragraph indented and then they should have a beginning, middle, and end. 
8. Play soft music in the background as students are writing and walk around to monitor their progress--intervening at your discretion. 
9. As students finish their writing (this step can be done on the next day depending on your time block for writing) have them pair up with a partner and read their stories to each other.
10. Model for students how to listen and then give feedback. Have students give two things they like about their writing and two suggestions on how to make it better, or stronger. 
11. Have students edit their papers, you will probably have to model how since they are so young, and write their final copy.
12. Have students share their story in an "Author's Chair" with the class about their creature.
13. Follow-up Activity: Have students write a short paragraph describing what they learned about organizing their story and writing a purposeful paragraph, and why they think it is important to organize your thoughts when you write. Then create a second chart and list all their responses so they can refer back to this each time they write.

Additional Resources:
http://www.writingfix.com/Picture_Book_Prompts/Dogzilla3.htm 

http://www.campbell.k12.ky.us/schools/crossroads/crossroadselementary/6+1Organization.html 

http://www.pilkey.com/