Amelia's Parade Chaos
Vocabulary Exploration· 5 min
- embarrassed 59: “I'm embarrassed, she thought.”
- declared 61: “Pete took one look at the tarts and declared”
- assembling 71: “Amelia Bedelia rode her bike to the town square, where the parade was assembling.”
- triggered 73: “Maybe it was triggered by her dad yelling "tart tarts"!”
- Show the word card and matching picture together
- Students chorus each word three times with rhythm
- Act out embarrassed and assembling with whole body
- Connect declared and triggered to story moments
- embarrassed means feeling shy or bad
- declared means said something loud and important
Fast finishers: find these words on the pages. Quiet kids: whisper-chorus first, then louder.
Tap the book cover three times — Reading Time.
Don't skip the picture cue — kids who can't decode yet need the visual anchor.
Reading in Class· 10 min
- Picture-walk pages 59-76: Amelia at the diner, the bike crash, decorating her bike, the parade chaos with all the dogs chasing her
- Read aloud once at storytelling pace, pausing at the dog-chase pages to build suspense
- Read again with students chorusing the refrain each time it appears
- What does Amelia say when things go wrong? 63: “"Are you all right?" asked Amelia Bedelia.”
- What do the dogs do when they smell the tarts? 73: “Then it began to wag its tail and bark. And bark. And BARK!”
- the dogs smell the tarts and go crazy
- Amelia has to throw all her tarts away
Struggling readers: point to each picture as we read that page. Fast finishers: count how many times dogs bark.
Howl like a dog three times — Questions Time.
Don't rush the dog-chase pages — the suspense builds when you slow down and let kids react.
Questions Time· 7 min
- Why do all the dogs start chasing Amelia during the parade? 73: “No wonder these dogs were barking. The basket was filled with tasty tart tarts, and they smelled delicious.”
- What happens to Amelia's bike at the very end? 76: “"That," said Amelia Bedelia, her eyes brimming with tears, "was my bike."”
Draw what Amelia's bike looked like before the dogs.
69: “Both sides of the front wheel looked like giant lemon slices. Both sides of the back wheel looked like giant lemon tarts.”
What students produce: A decorated bike with lemon wheels and tart wheels
- the dogs smelled the lemon tarts in her basket
- her bike got dragged and broken by the car
Quiet kids: draw first, then tell one word about your picture. Fast finishers: add the sign on Amelia's back that says Try a Bite.
Hold up your drawing high — Conclusion Time.
Don't accept 'the dogs were bad' — push kids to explain the tarts were the reason.
Conclusion· 3 min
Take-home: Ask someone: What would you do if dogs chased you?
- I wonder why Amelia brought the tarts to the parade
- I wonder if she'll ever get a new bike
Struggling wonderers: start with 'I wonder what Amelia felt when...' Fast wonderers: wonder about two different moments.
Don't let kids blame Amelia — frame it as wondering about hard choices, not mistakes.