Why do you think Crickwing started picking on the leaf-cutter ants?

What did Crickwing hope to accomplish when he stuck his spiny leg across the path of the leafcutters?

What would the army ants do with Crickwing?

How would you describe the leafcutter ants?

This story has a lot of examples of creating an image through the use of show not tell. Compare the basic event to the author’s descriptive choice of words. Ask students to make a picture in their mind. What does the author’s word choice do for the reader?

After reading the beginning, the students visualize the setting of a forest floor; “Among the damp clutter of fallen leaves and branches, leaf-cutting ants toil all day while large cockroaches await their evening search for food.”

After reading his escape from the ocelot; “When he landed, Crickwing scrambled about in a panic and leaped into a crevice under a stone, where he collapsed in angry tears.”

After reading the army ants approach; “They poured like an angry river down the trail to the leafcutter anthill.” (note: simile used)

Sometimes, when you come across a tricky word, the best thing to do is slow down and say it piece by piece. Let’s try it with a few words from the story.

Take the word ravenous (which means really, really hungry). Instead of rushing, break it up and say it slowly: 
ra - ven - ous

Or try exoskeleton (the hard outer shell some animals have). Say it one part at a time: 
ex - o - skel - e - ton

When you stretch out a word and say it slowly, you give your brain time to recognize the sounds and figure out the word! You may also wish to try it with ferocious, eensy, or chortled.

Mood and emotions of characters can be conveyed with the action or words of the character. Focus on any dialogue in the story and talk about the word used to describe how it was said. Practice how to match the words to your voice to emphasize the meaning or feeling by rereading the text. (grumbled, seethed, snapped, yelped)

Model use of hyphens: “One cockroach had looked like all the others – until a close call with a hungry toad.” and “Another masterpiece – ruined!”

Model eclipse: “He was so absorbed in his work that he didn’t hear the soft footsteps behind him . . . “

Discuss the use of a thesaurus. Ask students to listen for words that are used for the word small: eensy, twerps, punier, tiny

Use a dictionary to help understand the meaning of words used in place of said. Some unfamiliar words may include: seethed, stammered, chortled, quavered, yelped

Search for a list of words the author used in place of said. Add the words to a word collector page in the students’ journal. Some words could include: seethed, growled, stammered, ordered, barked, snarled

Listen for interesting action words (verbs): flailed, wolfed down, dazzling, crouched, plummeted, crammed