The Dreamer, by Pam Munoz Ryan: A Novel Study

This 34 page packet is designed for teachers to use with students as they read The Dreamer. It includes a ready-to-use, 27-page student booklet, an answer key for the teacher or aide, plus a bookmark for students to use to keep track of vocabulary words while reading the book and using the student booklet. Created by Jean Martin

The student booklet includes a Spanish-English dictionary for logging Spanish words introduced in the book plus it divides the book into seven reading assignments with questions and tasks to go with each one. The questions and tasks in this booklet cover and reinforce balanced literacy skills. These include comprehension, vocabulary, visualization, point-of-view, summarizing, connecting to the text, identifying character traits, identifying the setting, literary crafts (such as personification and onomatopoeia), and inferring. The packet gives students critical practice in writing to explain their thinking and to demonstrate their understanding. It is designed for independent work so that students can work on this in class while the teacher is meeting with another group.

In my classroom students are responsible for completing one reading assignment with the accompanying questions each week. They then meet once a week with me (or an aide or a parent), along with the other students reading the same book (we call this a "book club meeting") to discuss the book and review the assignments.

The Dreamer in a nutshell:
Pam Munoz Ryan is known for her inspiring multicultural books for young people and this book is no exception. The Dreamer is a fictionalized biography about the Nobel Prize winning poet, Pablo Neruda. Poetry, art, and prose combine to tell the tender story of Pablo's life growing up in a Chilean family ruled by his abrasive and intimidating father. Labeled as absentminded and idiotic, Neftali (who later changed his name to Pablo) was a lover of words and dreams while at the same time a shy and tongue-tied stutterer. This compelling story is sometimes heartwrenching, sometimes heartwarming, yet always full of hope. It is bound to inspire every one who reads it.

Written for students in grades 4-9. Reading level approximately 6th grade.

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