The One And Only Ivan Novel Study- Free Activities
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated Feb 9, 2024
If you have read my previous post all about The One and Only Ivan, you already know how much I love this beautiful novel. I have happy memories of reading this story aloud to my son, and also sharing it with my grade 3 classes. The book is based on a true story, and is told from the point of view of a gorilla named Ivan. It is one of my very favorite novels, and makes a truly wonderful novel study for elementary learners.
I am here today to shares some engaging free resources that you can incorporate into your own The One and Only Ivan novel study!
Free Novel Study Activities for The One and Only Ivan
Check out some of my very favorite FREE resources for your next novel study!
Grace Gorilla Cam
EXPLORE is the largest live nature cam network on the planet. The YouTube link below follows the GRACE Explore.org livestream of one of two forest habitats in the world’s only sanctuary for rescued Grauer’s gorillas. These gorillas are a critically endangered subspecies found in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
GRACE provides rehabilitative care for gorillas that have been orphaned due to poaching. They focus on nursing orphans back to health and giving them the chance to be with other gorillas again.
This livestream is great to put on in the background while students are working. Students can watch the gorillas in their natural environment, playing, foraging, and interacting.
As an additional The One and Only Ivan novel study activity, I sometimes have my students make nature observations while watching the livestream. On a sheet of paper, I have them sketch and record the things they notice and wonder about. This leads to some super class discussions – and is a great opportunity for them to do a little additional research to find the answers to their questions!
For more fun nature study activities that you can complete with your learners, check out our post dedicated to classroom wildlife observations!
The One and Only Ivan Novel Study – Character Description Activities
The characters in The One and Only Ivan are incredibly well crafted. Readers learn about the characters through the eyes of Ivan. Because of this, they often have to make inferences about his descriptions. Ivan is often an animal of few words, but the words he does use to describe his friends are beautiful and heartfelt. Because of this, I like to include a variety of character activities when I teach this novel study. I have included two of my favorite free character activities below.
Character Description Templates
For this activity, students use the FREE character templates to record key details about characters in the novel. This is a great way to encourage students to keep track of the different characters, and also use text evidence to support their answers. It is also a great opportunity for students to work on their descriptive writing skills!
These templates are great for students to work on while listening to the text read aloud or while working independently. When completed, they make great Interactive Notebook additions!
Grab yourself a FREE copy of this resource by clicking here or on the image below!
Character 3-2-1 Activities
This is another fun activity that requires students to pull key facts about the different characters from the text. For each template, students must record 3 key character traits, 2 descriptive words, and 1 interesting fact.
Completed templates make great Interactive Notebook additions!
For more information on teaching about characters, you may want to check out our posts on character traits and character analysis! For novel specific characterization activities, check out our post on The One and Only Ivan characters!
You can grab a copy of these templates for FREE by clicking here or on the image above.
Word Search and Coloring Pages
Sometimes we just need some fun stuff to add to our learning, am I right? You can download this word search activity and coloring pages for FREE by clicking here or on the image below.
The word search and coloring pages are great activities for students to work on while listening to the story read aloud or watching the movie. They also make great early finisher activities!
For even more The One and Only Ivan coloring pages, check out our post (and grab some great freebies!) by clicking on the image or button below!
The One and Only Ivan Novel Study – Reading Comprehension Strategy Bookmarks
As teachers, we know that reading comprehension strategies are crucially important for students to master. These bookmarks are a great way to reinforce these skills. They focus on a variety of key reading comprehension strategies like connecting, questioning, and visualizing.
Students can choose a bookmark of their and corresponding strategy to work on while reading independently or listening to the story read aloud.
Snag a full set of these bookmarks for FREE by clicking here or on the image below!
Check out my previous posts here and here if you would like to learn more about incorporating reading comprehension strategies into your ELA lessons.
Group Discussion Cards
These FREE The One and Only Ivan group discussion cards make a fun class warmup or review activity for your novel study! I have used these cards in two different but equally successful ways with my learners. Both ways involve chart paper and markers. Something magic happens when you give a kid a marker and a piece of chart paper – talk about instant engagement!
The first way I have used these cards with my learners involves small group discussion. First, I divide the class into groups. Then, I give each group a couple of task cards, some chart paper, and some markers. Groups discuss the answers to the questions, and write their answers down on the chart paper. When done, student groups present their answers to the class. I love this activity because each group ends up becoming experts on a few select questions, and are able to share their expertise with the entire class.
The second way I use these cards involves an “Around the Room Discussion”. First, I tape each task card to a sheet of chart paper, and hang the chart paper around the classroom (or hallway, or outdoor space). Students silently and individually walk around and add their answers to the chart paper. I encourage students to expand on each other’s answers (in an appropriate way). When done, I bring the class back together and we share the results as a class. If you have students that tend to be too shy to share their thoughts in a group setting, this can be a really great way to encourage them to share their thinking!
Grab a full set of these discussion cards for FREE by clicking here or on the image below.
Looking for a complete The One and Only Ivan Novel Study?
Click here or on the image below to head over to my TPT shop to grab my complete The One and Only Ivan novel study! It has 150 pages of resources including comprehension questions, graphic organizers, projects, and activities.
This The One and Only Ivan novel study is a TPT top seller – over 8,500 copies have been sold! To see the resource in action, check out the video below!
Looking for more posts related to teaching The One and Only Ivan?
Check out the posts below!
Teaching Characterization with The One and Only Ivan
The One and Only Ivan Novel Study Activities
The One and Only Ivan Coloring Pages
Want to grab a copy of the novel?
You can grab a copy of this novel, and the two sequels, by following the links below!
Grab the sequels below!
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