TOAD WEATHER is one of those books you can have fun reading more than one time. So after you read it the first time, read it again and again as you have fun with these activities.
Compare and Contrast
Can you find ways things change for Ally during her rainy day adventure in TOAD WEATHER?
1. How does Ally feel about a rainy day at the beginning of the story?
And when she's walking home with Mama and Grandma at the end of the story?
2. When she first gets outside, Ally starts to hurry. How is this different from the way Ally walks through the puddles?
How does Ally walk when she's on her way home?
3. Looking out the window at the beginning of the story, Ally thinks the rainy day is just gloomy gray. But outside, she thinks it's like being inside something colorful.
What is that something?
Why does she think that?
What Happened When?
Ally discovered a lot of things during her TOAD WEATHER adventure.
She counts five of them as surprises.
List those surprises in the order they happened.
Which one did Grandma think wasn't a nice surprise.
Its On The News
Pretend you are a television news reporter. Based on what happens in the story, write a TOAD WEATHER news report about this event.
Include a quote from Ally about what it was like to help the toads.
Include a quote from Grandma too.
Another Story
Ally isn't the only child who discovered the migrating toads. Look at the little boy and his mother on pages 18 and 19. Now, write a short story about his adventure. Be sure to tell why you think this boy and his mother are outside on a rainy night. Did they come especially to help or just happen onto the scene?
From the picture, how do you think the boy feels about the toads?
Tell why you believe he did or didn't help the toads.
Toads Eye View
Now tell about this TOAD WEATHER night from one toad's point of view.
Make this a story about an American toad. That's the kind of toad featured in TOAD WEATHER.
Tell how the toad goes from its home in a nearby park to a reservoir on the other side of a busy street. Be sure to include real facts about these toads. Find out more about American toads online at these websites.
BioKids: Critter Page about American Toads
Fairfax County Schools American Toad Page
Make your story an adventure by giving the toad a couple of close calls. A bird or a dog might almost catch it. It might almost get hit by a car before someone carries it across the road.
Extra Fun
And don't miss this website--Doug Wechsler Author and Photographer--American Toad. You'll see photos and learn about the stages an American toad goes through during its life.
It's a special site to visit after reading TOAD WEATHER because Dr. Doug Wechsler was one of the expert's who shared information and checked the facts included in this story.
Now, just for fun, draw lines on a white paper plate, dividing it into four parts. Then draw and color a picture of one stage of the American toad's life cycle on each part of the plate.
Egg
Tadpole
Toadlet
Adult
Then poke a pin through the center of the plate into a sturdy plastic straw. Spin the plate to see the toad's life cycle repeat over and over again--just as it does in real life.
