Ask students, “In writing this story, was the author’s purpose to entertain, inform, or persuade?” What text from the story supports their conclusion?

Many times, authors have more than one purpose in writing a story. Although the main purpose of this story is to entertain, see if students are able to find any underlying purpose to this story. (The overall message of the story about being true to yourself might be one idea a student could present.)

Use this strategy to assist students in making connections and becoming engaged in the text. There are many places in this text that encourage readers to think ahead. Remember to revisit predictions and use text to confirm. 

P. 1, ask students why they think Camilla screamed?

P. 2, confirm and adjust predictions, and make a new prediction about why Camilla is covered in stripes.

P. 4, ask students to predict what will happen when Camilla goes to school. 

P. 13, inquire about what will happen when Camilla takes her medicine.

P. 24, predict what the old woman will do to help.

Read each page aloud without showing pictures to allow students to visualize what is happening (you may even want to provide a short pause for students to draw what they visualize). After providing “think time”, reveal the photos in the text.

P. 4 Drowsiness -drow-si-ness. Do you notice a smaller word inside it? That’s right—'drowsy!' What does 'drowsy' mean? (Sleepy, tired.) Now, when we add ‘-ness’ to the end, it turns ‘drowsy’ into a thing—the state of feeling sleepy.

P. 10 Contagious -con-ta-gious. Does anyone recognize part of this word? You might have heard of ‘contain’ or ‘contact.’ These words give us a clue!

P.4 Drowsiness – 

Base Word: drowsy – This means sleepy or tired. 

Suffix: -ness — This suffix turns an adjective (drowsy) into a noun, meaning the state of being drowsy. So, drowsiness means ‘the state of feeling sleepy or tired.’

P. 16 Authority —

Base Word/ Root: Thee root word “author” is inside “authority.” “Author” means someone who creates or is responsible for something—this gives a clue that “authority” is related to control or leadership.

Prefix: “Au-” comes from the Latin root augere, meaning to increase or make grow, which can connect to power or influence.

Suffix: “-ity” is a common noun suffix that means the state or condition of something (e.g., responsibility, creativity). In “authority,” it turns the word into the state of having power or control.

Think aloud and tell your students to notice the up and down of your voice. Explain to them why your tone changes as you read a question versus a statement.

P. 2 – “Oh my heavens! You’re completely covered with stripes!”

P. 2 – “Do you feel all right?”

P. 8 – “Let’s see some purple polka dots!”

P. 22 – “What are we going to do? It just keeps getting worse and worse!”

P. 26 – “Yuck! No one likes lima beans, especially me!”

Possible choices in this text include: fretting, impress, contagious, relieved, uncontrollable, disaster, incredible, vanished