The Tale of Despereaux Teacher's Guide

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo—with its appealing characters, engaging plot, and rich themes—offers an ideal opportunity to teach children how to comprehend deeply. This reading comprehension guide is based on two teaching ideas. First, children understand better when they connect the story to their personal experiences and feelings, to their general background knowledge, and to other stories they have read. Second, effective readers ask questions before they read a story, while they are reading, and after they have read. This guide uses the strategy of making connections for the first and second books of The Tale of Despereaux and the strategy of questioning for the third and fourth books. Prereading activities are provided for all four books, and throughout the reading of the story, children are encouraged to express themselves and create meaning through discussion and writing. The guide also contains cross-curricular activities and a special section on character education.