The Cow That Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill - Teaching Ideas

Does the cow really lay an egg or was it just a practical joke? Your students will love this hilarious book!

Reading level: 2.0
Theme/subject: friendship
Genre: general fiction 

Suggested Vocabulary/phrases: down in the dumps, ordinary, hatched a cunning plan, almighty commotion, astonished, pleased as punch, crafty chickens, hatch, promptly 

Reading skills and strategies:

• Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what the story is about. Can cows really lay eggs? I wonder where the egg came from. {possible questions during} I wonder how the other cows can do handstands. I wonder why the chickens want to help Marjorie. I wonder why Marjorie believes she laid an egg. I wonder why the farmer and his wife believed Marjorie laid an egg. I wonder where Marjorie is taking the egg when she wheels it around in the wheel barrow. I wonder how the cows could prove that Marjorie didn’t lay an egg. I wonder why the baby chicken said Moo. I wonder why Marjorie thinks the chicken is a cow. {possible questions after} I wonder how the other cows are going to treat Marjorie now that she thinks the chicken is her baby cow. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
• Author's point of view – Third person. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this. (The chickens, the other cows, them, Marjorie)
• Author's purpose – entertain {evidence} cows do not lay eggs. Chickens cannot play tricks. The illustrator drew some silly pictures.
• Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} Marjorie the cow felt very ordinary because she couldn’t do anything special. {most important event from middle} Marjorie woke one morning to find that she had laid an egg. {most important event from end} The egg hatched and out popped a chicken that MOOOed.
• Cause and effect – What caused Marjorie to feel down in the dumps? Marjorie didn’t feel special because she didn’t think she could do anything special. Why did Marjorie shriek that she laid an egg? Because the chickens hatched a cunning plan to help Marjorie feel special. Why did the other cows feel astonished? Because none of them had even laid an egg before. Why did people come from far and wide? Because they wanted to see the egg that the cow laid. Why did Marjorie now feel special? Because she had laid an egg. How come the other cows were not happy? Because they couldn’t believe that Marjorie really laid an egg. How come the cows didn’t think Marjorie laid that egg? Because they though the crafty chickens did it. How come there was tapping on the egg? because is was starting to hatch. How come the chicken that hatched said MOO? Because it was Marjorie that sat on the egg and she was the first person the baby chicken saw. Why did Marjorie think that the little chicken was a cow? Because when she hatched she said MOOO.
• Character analysis - describe Marjorie. Describe the other cows. Describe the chickens. {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
• Character changes – At the beginning of the story Marjorie was very sad and felt very ordinary. At the end of the story Marjorie was very happy, she felt very special; she had laid an egg and had a new chicken/cow baby to take care of and no other cow had ever done that before.
• Classify & categorize – Classify cows and chickens? Categorize what chickens do and what cows do.
• Compare & contrast – compare and contrast cows and chickens
• Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} A time when you felt ordinary. A time when someone helped you feel extra special. A time when you felt extra special.
• Drawing conclusions & inferencing – Why do you think the baby chicken said MOOO? {text clues} Marjorie sat on the egg the whole time. Marjorie was the first person the little chicken saw. {what I know} When babies are born their moms are usually the first people they see. {my conclusion} I think the little chicken said MOOO when she hatched because Marjorie was the first person she saw.
• Fact & opinion – {fact} Marjorie was a cow. Marjorie was felt very down in the dumps. The chickens hatched a plan to help Marjorie. The farmer and his wife were very proud of Marjorie. The other cows didn’t believe that Marjorie laid the egg. {opinion} The other cows were bullies. The chickens were clever. The farmer and his wife were not very smart. Marjorie was happy that she laid an egg. The other cows were jealous of Marjorie’s egg.
• Main idea & details - {main idea} The story is mostly about Marjorie finally feeling special. {details} Marjorie felt very ordinary compared to the other cows. The chickens helped Marjorie feel special by putting an egg under Marjorie as she slept. The farmer and his wife were very proud of Marjorie.
• Plot - the turning point or climax in the story was when Marjorie woke up and yelled, “I’ve laid an egg!”
• Predict – What do you think the story is going to be about? How do you think the cow laid an egg? What do you think the chickens’ cunning plan was? How do you think the other cows will react to Marjorie laying an egg? What do you think is going to hatch out of the egg? How do you think the story is going to end?
• Problem & solution - {problem} The problem in the story is that Marjorie feels very ordinary. {solution} Marjorie’s problem is solved when she woke up one morning to find that she laid an egg that was put there by the chickens.
• Sequencing – Marjorie felt like an ordinary cow. The chickens hatched a plan. Marjorie woke one morning to find she had laid an egg. The other cows were astonished. The farmer ‘s wife called the newspaper. People came from all over to see the egg. The other cows didn’t believe that Marjorie laid that egg. Everyone waited for the egg to hatch. The egg hatched. Out popped a chicken. The little chicken looked at Marjorie and said MOOO. Marjorie named the little chicken Daisy.
• Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
• Strong thought – Marjorie was finally happy but the other cows wouldn’t just let her be, they wanted her to prove that she laid that egg. How could the other cows have behaved instead of telling her to prove it?
• Summarize - {someone} Marjorie {wanted} wanted to feel special {but} she just felt ordinary {so} so the chickens devised a plan to help her. Marjorie woke one morning for find she laid an egg and {then} then the other cows were jealous of Marjorie. {finally} Finally Marjorie felt special.
• Theme – Friends can help you feel special. With the help of friends it is easy to feel special.
• Visualize – The chickens helped Marjorie by making it seem like she laid an egg. If you were Marjorie’s friend visualize what you would have done to help her feel special?

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Happy reading!