Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (Click Clack Book)

Product Information

Farmer Brown thought that it was impossible that his cows could type. Write a new story about something an ‘impossible’ event that actually takes place.

Another word family in the first note to Farmer Brown is /-ight/. Write the word night on the whiteboard, chalkboard, or magnetic board. Show students how you can remove the n and change it to an r to make the word right. Instead of saying the letters as you change them, you will want to emphasize the sounds the letters make. This will help students know what to do when they come to a word they do not know in a text. Other words in the /-ight/ family are light, might, sight, tight, bright, and flight.Gather highlighting tape, a magnetic board and letters, and a whiteboard with dry-erase markers. Make sure that students will be able to easily see these materials from where they are sitting in the classroom. It's important for students to be able to see as you write the word family words and change the first letter to create new words. After the reading, draw students' attention to the chart or poster paper with the first note typed by the cows to Farmer Brown asking for electric blankets in the barn.

In Doreen’s latest book, Diary of a Worm, she explores the daily life of a lovable worm. Who knew that the underground dwellings and activities of worms could be so funny? Readers may even find that worm’s life is much the same as theirs except worm eats his homework and his head looks a whole lot like his rear! Have students read aloud together the first note from the cows while you point to each word on the chart paper. During this shared reading, it is important for your voice to model fluency and expression. This puts Farmer Brown in a tizzy because every fool knows you can't run a farm with no milk and no aiggs! So he dusts off his own typewriter and bangs out a letter reminding the cows and hens that they are animals and he demands that they produce for him. Look through the story for words that describe different emotions, e.g. impatient, furious. What does each type of emotion feel like? What might make us feel that way? In 2001, Weston Woods Studios, Inc. adapted the book to an animated movie narrated by Randy Travis and animation by MaGik Studios.

Grades

Look through the text for any new words that you are to familiar with, e.g. neutral, ultimatum. Use a dictionary to find out what these words mean. Farmer Brown will not give in to their demands, so they go on strike and withhold their milk. It's not long before the hens feel the chill in the barn and join the strike. Farmer Brown begins to hear typing sounds coming from his barn. He discovers that his cows have found an old typewriter in the barn and are using it to type letters requesting things from Farmer Brown, such as electric blankets to keep them warm at night. Farmer Brown refuses, and the cows withhold their milk until they get what they ask for. Soon, the cows type a similar letter about the hens asking for blankets which Farmer Brown refuses to provide. The hens join the cows and refuse to lay eggs. Finish this session by having students reread all five notes with fluency and expression, as you have modeled and they have practiced in previous sessions. The words family words in this note are pond and quite. Words with the /-ond/ rime include bond and fond. Words with the /-ite/ rime are bite and kite.

Note: Avoid making words that may cause confusion for students, especially at the beginning of instruction. For example, avoid the word know because the sound for the /-ow/ rime is not the same as in cow.Type your own letter to Farmer Brown, from the cows’ point of view, explaining how they are feeling. Listen to the sounds that a typewriter makes. Could you use these within your own composition or song? Before reading the story, look at the front cover. What might the cows be typing a letter about? Could you write what it might say?