The Mysterious Giant of Barletta by Tomie DePaola

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The Mysterious Giant of Barletta by Tomie
DePaola

• Theme 3

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Awards

• Notable Childrens Trade Book in the Field of
  Social Studies
• Best Books for Children
• IRA/CBC Childrens Choices

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Genre Folktale

• A folktale is a type of incredible story that
  traditionally was passed down orally, not written
  down.
• Something that is incredible is amazing,
  unbelievable, or not likely to happen.
• This story is from an old oral tradition adapted
  by the author.

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Summary

• The town of Barletta faces destruction until Zia
  Concetta asks the towns giant statue for help.
  With a clever idea, help from the townspeople,
  and an onion, the giant outwits the army and
  restores peace.

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Background Information

• Barletta is a city in Italy. The statue in the
  story is a real statue that still stands there
  today.

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Key Concept

• the mysterious statue in Barletta, Italy

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Key Vocabulary

• giant
• mysterious
• pedestal
• square
• statue
• weakling

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giant
a huge, strong, imaginary creature that looks
like a human
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mysterious
very hard to explain or understand
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pedestal
the base on which a statue stands
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square
an open area in the center of town
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statue
an image, often of a person or animal, usually
made of stone, metal, or wood
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weakling
a person lacking in power or strength
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Strategy Focus Question

• We question to help us understand what we see
  and/or read.
• As you read about Barletta and the giant, think
  of questions about
• the town
• its people
• and the strange things that happen there.

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Strategy Focus Question
Lets try it!

• Where does the Mysterious
• Giant stand? (p 295)

or
How does the Giant use an onion to help save the
town? (p 304-306)
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Comprehension Skill Focus Following Directions

• An action plan is an organizer we will use to
  list the steps used to solve a problem.
• Before beginning the plan, you must find the
  problem and the characters involved with solving
  it.
• In The Mysterious Giant of Barletta, the problem
  is that the army is coming to destroy their town.
• The characters who solve the problem are the
  townspeople and the Giant.

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Graphic Organizer
Fill in the organizer with details from the story.
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Meet the Author and Illustrator

• By the age of four, Tomie dePaola knew what he
  wanted to be when he grew up an artist and
  writer. (He also wanted to be a singer and tap
  dancer!) His parents bought his art supplies and
  let him work in a special space in the attic. Now
  Tomie dePaola works in a very old barn at his
  home in New Hampshire. At different times, Tomie
  dePaola has designed posters, greeting cards, and
  stage sets. He painted church murals and taught
  art, too. Now, though, he writes and illustrates
  children's books and paints pictures for
  galleries. His dream, he says, is that at least
  one of his books or pictures "will touch the
  heart of some individual child and change that
  child's life for the better."
• Tomie dePaola is very popular with his
  readers. More than 5,000,000 (that's five
  MILLION!) copies of his books have been sold.
  Each year, he gets over 100,000 fan letters and
  more than 1,000 invitations to speak. This
  author/illustrator loves dogs especially Welsh
  terriers.
• (from www.eduplace.com)

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Link to Houghton Mifflin

• If you enjoyed reading The Mysterious Giant of
  Barletta and would like to check out some more
  information and activities, click below to go to
  www.eduplace.com, Houghton Mifflins web site.

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