Ivan is a silverback gorilla and hasn’t seen another gorilla in 27 years. Instead, he has lived his life in a mall with other animals. There’s an elephant named Stella, a dog named Bob, monkeys, parrots and more. Ivan is content with his life until he meets a baby elephant named Ruby. Ivan doesn’t know it yet, but Ruby is about to change his life.

Each lesson we will learn new vocabulary words, talk about similes, the characters and some of the themes that occur throughout the book. We will also use different strategies to help improve reading comprehension. Students will be asked to read approximately 10 pages a day outside of class and we will read a few pages in class together. Students will be asked periodically to read in class but this is optional.

Day/week 1: Pages 1-70 ("Hello" through "Arrival")
Day/week 2: Pages 71-146 ("Stella Helps" through "Nine Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Days")
Day/week 3: Pages 147-225 ("A Visit" through "Phone Call")
Day/week 4: Pages 226-300 ("A Star Again" through "Silverback")

* Please read pages 1-70 ("Hello" through "Arrival") before the start of the first class.

** For this class, students need to be able to read at a third grade reading level or higher.

* Learners will need a copy of the book The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, paper, pencil and drawing utensils to complete some of the homework assignments.