Budding Teacher Resources

Here’s a reading strategy that can be used with any text. Class members examine portions of a novel, and make predictions about the theme or subject matter of the book. Although designed for Christopher Paul Curtis’s Newbery Medal...

Readers of Bud, Not Buddy demonstrate their knowledge of the Great Depression with a list, group, label vocabulary strategy. Included are complete directions for the activity that will also introduce class members to the new vocabulary...

Ways to incorporate bud vases into a show of flowers is explained here.  Examples of how to use bud bases, and the difference that shape, structure and color make is discussed.  This PowerPoint would work for flower arranging...

Bud followed a series of rules from Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. The question is, how did he use those rules to thrive or survive? After a grand discussion, class members explore the novel to locate and cite textual...

After reading up to chapter 12 of Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, scholars read chapter 13 and take part in a grand conversation about the author's writing techniques. Pupils discuss how his writing conveyed literary themes...

Students investigate taste buds. In this taste buds lesson, students identify the four basic taste buds and their locations on our tongue. Students participate in an experiment to investigate how our taste buds work.

Learners investigate taste buds. In this biology lesson, students taste several sweet, sour, and salty foods to identify how their taste buds play a role in how things taste.

First graders taste a variety of items and record a full sentence about the way they taste.  In this taste buds lesson, 1st graders predict and then taste various items.  Students draw a picture of the tongue and show the part...

After your class finishes reading Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, they use the Venn diagram here to compare two characters from the novel, in this case Bud and his grandfather Herman E. Calloway. Examples of qualities on which...

The difference between an average and an unforgettable writing can lie in the author's word choice. The figurative language in Chapter 2 of Christopher Paul Curtis's Newbery Medal Winner, Bud, Not Buddy, is the focus of a series of...

Individuals utilize the strategies practiced in the previous lesson to complete a mid-unit assessment on figurative language and how Christopher Paul Curtis uses word choice to create meaning in Bud, Not Buddy.

Developing engaging opening and closing class routines is essential in post-COVID, face-to-face classrooms. The 7th routine of 15 in the Building Community series invites participants to begin class by reflecting on a success (rose), a...

Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...

Fifth graders embark on a literary journal with Bud in Bud, Not Buddy. They first read the novel Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. A time line is made from the novel along with a Venn Diagram.

The first lesson plan in a unit that uses Christopher Paul Curtis' award-winning depression-era novel, Bud, Not Buddy, as the anchor text establishes the routines that will be used throughout the unit.

A two-day assessment challenges scholars to read an excerpt from the story, Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis then complete a series of exercises in preparation for a writing assignment. Day one includes an independent...

Students explore the sense of taste. In this biology lesson plan, students investigate the sense of tastes as they experience salty, sour, bitter, and sweet tastes. Students then discover how taste buds do their job.

Before you embark on reading Bud Not Buddy with your class, have them imagine they are in Bud's shoes. They must prioritize which of 13 items listed on a printable worksheet they would take with them to survive as a Depression-Era...

Why should your class complete a story map? After reading Bud, Not Buddy, divide your class into pairs or small groups to complete the included worksheet. They list the main characters, the conflict, main plot events, the resolution, and...

Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...

Students learn how to preserve flower buds and blooms. In this gardening lesson, students explore the methods of air drying, using drying agents, and pressing plants to preserve them.

Mmmmmmm, here is a tasty little slide show to use when introducing upper-elementary learners to the sense of taste. Photographs and detailed computer images accompany explanatory text about how the taste buds and the nose send signals to...

Fifth graders read the book Bud, Not Buddy and participate in activities that generate understanding of the Great Depression. In this realistic fiction lesson, 5th graders read about a boy who grew up  during this time. Students...

Students solve a science mystery. In this biology lesson plan, students see how the delicate tissues of a tree bud are insulated so that they can survive the winter and learn how to determine the age of a branches and twigs.