Wiener Wolf & Common Core

Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby

A Dachshund is leading a boring and predictable life with Granny, until one day when he sees a pack of wolves on TV. This leads him to run to the woods to live with the exciting and unpredictable wolves. Life with his new friends is not anything like the domestic dream that he truly yearns. The call of the wild may not be all that it seems. Lots of places for predictions and inferences throughout the pages. I have shared this read aloud with students from kindergarten through 5th grade and they shared a common chant, for me to read on from the cover and title alone.

I love what Jeff does with the illustrations and appreciate the tension and drama they induce. The surprise double page spread with appropriate white space or a moment when Wiener Wolf breaks through the illustration's border, are meaty details that enhance the narrative. Conversations around the illustrations and purpose provide ample opportunity to comprehension building discourse.

Common Core Standards Opportunities:
Reading Literature
Key Ideas & Details
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.3 Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
Craft & Structure
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action. 
Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. 
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)