This book is about a sweet friendship between a young boy and a dog he finds mistreated. He vows to work for a man, Judd, to be able to keep the dog, Shiloh. The Lexile level is 890L. I would use this in a 4th or 5th grade classroom. I would first do a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast Marty (the protagonist) to Judd (the antagonist). Then we would hold a mock trial where Judd is on the defense for animal cruelty.  The students will develop roles and create questions for the prosecution and defense. The mock trial would be better for a 5th or 6th grade classroom.

This a classic book with a great story! The Lexile level is 730L. would use this in a 1st grade classroom in mathematics. I would make a Yellow Brick Road of paper for the classroom floor (or go outside and use yellow street chalk). I would ask the students, "How many bricks would it take to make our yellow brick road cross the hall? run across the playground? down the street? What about if the individual bricks were smaller or larger?"

I would also use this in reading with compare and contrast. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been called the first American fairy tale. I would have students use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast with other fairy tales they are familiar with (Grimm, Perrault, etc.).