Written By Katherine Applegate
Illustrations by Patricia Castelao
HarperCollins
Copyright 2012
Awards: John Newbery Medal 2013
Summary:
The One and Only Ivan is an eye-opening tale of a gorilla
named Ivan and his life at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade. Ivan
doesn’t mind life in his domain with his friends Stella, Bob, and Julia. He
loves his TV, Not-Tag, yogurt raisins, and even coloring with crayons. It isn’t
until a new attraction comes to the Big Top Mall that Ivan realizes he has to
make a change. Ivan makes a promise and is determined to keep it even if that
means taking some risks.
Hero. Principle. Friendship. Freedom. Intelligence.
Communication.
Grade Level: 3.3
Interest Level: 3-5
Lexile Measure: 570L
Description: Fiction, but inspired by a real life gorilla
Suggested Delivery: Small groups, Independent
Key Vocabulary:
- Gorilla- a type of monkey or ape, Largest living primate
- Silverback- Type of gorilla, male, with silver/grey hair on it’s back
- Domain- an area, place where something is kept
- Promise- a thing you make with another person that assures you will do something or something will happen
- Principle- a belief that helps you know what is right and wrong
- Billboard- a giant sign that advertises things or places, found on the side of roads or highways
Electronic Resources:
This website includes many lessons along with a video of the
real life Ivan. The video and lessons should be delivered after the reading of
the book.
This website gives great reviews of the book but also more
information of the real Ivan. There is even a description of the author,
Katherine Applegate. This is a good website to visit before reading the book to
get a little background information.
http://theoneandonlyivan.com
Teaching Suggestions:
The back of the novel consists of discussion questions that
can further students inferential comprehension. Also there are many different
themes in this book such as identity, freedom, home, art, and animal rights.
These can be discussed and students can make real world connections.
Before: Before starting the book, the class should know that
Ivan was a real gorilla. This link will bring you to Ivan’s page on the zoo
website. Students can see a little of his history and pictures of him too!
During: When working in small groups, or as a whole class,
students can choose a partner or be paired up with one. Then after each chapter
or important event, they can think-pair-share. Students first take some time to
think about what they just heard or read and organize their thoughts. Then they
pair up with their partner and take turns sharing their opinions. Students
should take this time to practice using academic language to have an educated
discussion with one another.
After: Students can create a timeline of important events that
happened in the novel. The timeline can include the arrival of new friends,
changes to the mall, and any other transformations that happened and were very
important to the story. This is an activity that can be done individually or as
an entire class. Also stickers, markers, post it notes, and other fun supplies
can be used to make the timeline exciting and eye-catching.
Writing: Students can write a reader response to their
favorite part of the book. They choose the part that made them happy, sad, mad,
excited, ect. and then explain why they chose that part of the book to respond
to. Once finished, students can even illustrate the part that they chose to
write about.
