The teacher can use this strategy to when introducing author’s purpose, to explain what it means to persuade a reader.

“Sometimes author’s write stories to convince readers, or to persuade them into doing something. What is the pigeon trying to convince us to do in this story? Give me an example of how he’s doing that.” (Almost every page of the book includes the pigeon trying to convince the reader to let him stay up late.)

The teacher can also use the strategy to teach writing to entertain, as students laugh and comment on how much they enjoy the book.

While previewing text or completing a picture walk, students can connect with text. The teacher can ask if the students would like to share a time when they didn’t want to go to sleep, or didn’t feel ready for bed. The students may share things they’ve said to their parents to convince them to stay up. Student may also connect this text to other “pigeon books” by Mo Willems if they have read them before.

Punctuation is emphasized in this story, including “quotation marks, exclamation marks, question marks, and more.” Model for students how to use these marks to emphasize phrasing and prosody.

P. 18 Read each box on the page emphasizing the punctuation as a model for students.

This story is so filled with emotion. The pigeon jumps from angry, to excited, to begging, to tired. The teacher could use this strategy to model fluent reading with expression.

This strategy can be used if introducing the book as part of a series, or after having read other Mo Willems’ books, especially “pigeon books” to the students.

“I LOVE Mo Willems and his pigeon books. I am a voracious reader for his books! I just can’t get enough of them, so I am going to read Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late to you again today.”