This mentor text lesson using the book Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan, will provide your students with the practice they need making inferences . Students will use the graphic organizers provided to think about what the characters SAY, DO and THINK, as well as consider their BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE to construct an inference.

Rules of Summer, is a simple story outlining some interesting rules of summer learned by two boys. The deeper story is one that outlines the complexities of the boys' relationship. The illustrations are unique and essential to the understanding of the story. This text is a perfect choice to reinforce inferring with your students. The simplicity of the text encourage students to also rely on the illustrations and their own personal understanding to discover the protective, rival and supportive (and ever changing) relationship of the boys, revealed through the text.

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→ What is included in this resource?
A detailed common core lesson plan will help you to lead your students as they collaboratively analyze the text in order to make inferences about character relationships, and write a summary explaining the character-relationship development throughout the text.
Anchor Charts will help you to explain to your students the process of developing an inference while using BOTH evidence from the text, and the students' prior knowledge.
Graphic Organizers have been provided that encourage students to focus on a set number of pages while looking for specific evidence that outlines the changing relationship of the characters. Answer keys have also been provided (based on real answers from my students) to help you anticipate student misconceptions.
Additionally, Google Compatible - Paperless Digital Versions of student materials have been included to support your students while they collaborate with their group members.

→ How can this resource support your students?
Because this text relies a great deal on illustrations, it makes a great introduction to inferencing. However, even though this lesson is best suited for collaborative group work, but could be completed independently, if your students have a strong grasp on making inferences.
The visual puzzle pieces used to construct the anchor charts/graphic organizers, help to support students' understanding of how text evidence and schema work together to construct and inference.
You can check out a full blog post that outlines this lesson HERE

★ ★ ★ Looking for more?★ ★ ★
Spring Mentor Text Lesson - Descriptive Language
Fall Mentor Text Lesson - Determining Theme
Winter Mentor Text Lesson - Paraphrasing


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This resource was created by Megan Christensen - Thyme to Read. If you have any questions about this resource, please email me at megan.thymetoread@gmail.com