Oh, Brother! Brat Attack!

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1 ACTIVITY GUIDE Oh, Brother! Brat Attack! Curriculum Connections and Activity/Discussion Guide The activities in this guide align with the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards for grades 3 5. By Tracy Edmunds, M.A. Ed. Reading With Pictures

Lily is the quintessential slightly older and far more sensible sister. She takes it upon herself to look after her uninhibited, prank-loving younger brother, Bud.

2 Oh, Brother! Brat Attack! Bob Weber Jr. and Jay Stephens AMP! Comics for Kids Andrews McMeel Publishing ISBN: GRADE LEVEL: 3 5 CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Language Arts English Language Arts OVERVIEW Oh, Brother! stars the sibling duo of Bud and Lily. Lily is the quintessential slightly older and far more sensible sister. She takes it upon herself to look after her uninhibited, prank-loving younger brother, Bud. While Lily wins the occasional battle with her cool-headed maturity, Bud is intent on winning the war with his brazen brand of mischief. Despite their obvious differences, Bud and Lily love each other deeply and have a strong sibling bond. OBJECTIVE Students will read the book and analyze how the visual elements help the reader understand the characters personalities, thoughts, and motivations. Pre-reading Discussion Take students on a quick book walk through Oh, Brother! Brat Attack! without reading the dialogue. Ask students to point out who they think the main characters are in the comic, describe them, and make predictions about the characters based on visual cues. Activate students prior knowledge by having them turn and talk to a partner about their relationships with their siblings, cousins, or other younger family members. Post-reading Discussion Questions Did you think the book was funny? Why or why not? How did the pictures contribute to the humor? Did you like one character more than the other? Why? How is this comic similar to or different from your own life? Do you have siblings, cousins, or other people in your life who remind you of Bud or Lily? Why do you think the creators chose not to show adults in these stories? Post-reading Activities COMPARE THE CHARACTERS: Bud and Lily are brother and sister, so they share similar traits, but they are also quite different from each other. Complete the Venn diagram on the Compare the Characters worksheet by listing their similarities and differences. List obvious differences (Bud is a boy and Lily is a girl), and aspects of their personalities (Bud is immature and mischievous, while Lily tries to be responsible and grown up). Also, look at how artist Jay Stephens visually distinguishes between Bud and Lily in the way they are drawn (Bud has white hair and is short, while Lily has dark hair and is tall, but their facial features are almost identical). 2

FACIAL FEELINGS Although Bud and Lily s faces are drawn in a simple style, artist Jay Stephens is able to convey quite a range of emotion through their eyes, eyebrows, and mouths.

3 DRESS FOR SUCCESS: Why do you think Bud and Lily are almost always drawn wearing the same clothes? Find the pages in which their outfits are different and explain why you think the artist drew them differently for those particular stories. FACIAL FEELINGS Although Bud and Lily s faces are drawn in a simple style, artist Jay Stephens is able to convey quite a range of emotion through their eyes, eyebrows, and mouths. On the Facial Feelings worksheets, look at the different facial expressions and write what you think the character is thinking or feeling. Expand your vocabulary and list some creative words or phrases beyond mad or happy. BODY LANGUAGE In addition to facial expressions, Stephens shows the characters emotions through their body language a tilt of a head, hand gestures, or posture. Choose five panels in the book and describe how Lily and/or Bud s body language shows what they are thinking and feeling. How does this support the storytelling? Look for sound effects throughout the book. How do the font, color, shape, and size of each sound effect tell you what it sounds like? COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS Grade 3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.3.b Grade 4 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.3 Grade 5 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.7 VISUAL TEXT Analyze the word balloons throughout the book. Why do you think they are different colors? Copyright 2015 by Andrews McMeel Publishing, Inc.

4 NAME(S) DATE Compare the Characters Directions: Fill in the Venn diagram by describing the ways that Bud and Lily are different from each other and how they are the same. Include information about their personalities, as well as how they are drawn. Bud Lily

5 NAME(S) DATE Facial Feelings Directions: Look at each character s facial expressions. What do you think they are thinking or feeling? Expand your vocabulary and list interesting words or phrases to describe each facial expression and the thoughts or feelings it expresses.

6 NAME(S) DATE Facial Feelings Directions: Look at each character s facial expressions. What do you think they are thinking or feeling? Expand your vocabulary and list interesting words or phrases to describe each facial expression and the thoughts or feelings it expresses.

Curriculum Guide. TWO FUZZY CREATURES both

Curriculum Guide. TWO FUZZY CREATURES both Curriculum Guide BY Anna Kang ILLUSTRATED BY Christopher Weyant 978-1-4778-2639-3 Kang s stripped-down dialogue and Weyant s exuberant cartoons tap into the core of their characters emotions in a story