Novel Study Worksheets - Good Morning, Gorillas - Magic Tree House

Ten chapter-summary boxes for Mary Pope Osborne's "Good Morning, Gorillas", opening with where-and-when setting questions and closing with a postcard from the African Rainforest and an alternate-ending essay.

Grades: Grades 3–6
Pages: 3
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Aug 13, 2024

Subject: Reading Comprehension, Reading, ELA
Topic: Novel Study, Worksheets
Resource types: Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Novel Study Worksheets - Good Morning, Gorillas - Magic Tree House

This comprehensive English teaching resource offers a structured novel study activity centered on Mary Pope Osborne's beloved book, "Good Morning, Gorillas" part of The Magic Tree House series. Spanning three printable PDF pages, this resource is perfect for enhancing students' understanding and engagement with the novel.

Designed for primary and middle school students in grades 3 through 6, this resource is an excellent choice for post-reading activities that reinforce key elements of the story. The novel study includes a variety of exercises aimed at deepening comprehension and encouraging creative expression.

Key components of this resource include:

Setting Analysis: Students will answer two questions focusing on where and when the story takes place, helping them to grasp the importance of setting in the narrative.
Vocabulary Development: A dedicated section prompts students to identify and explore new vocabulary words encountered in the text, enhancing their language skills.
Chapter Summaries: Students are guided to summarize each chapter, reinforcing their understanding of the plot and key events.
Creative Writing Activities: Two engaging writing exercises are included to spark imagination. The first invites students to imagine themselves alongside Jack and Annie, the book's protagonists, and write a postcard to a friend or family member describing their adventure. The second activity challenges them to create an alternative ending to the story, fostering critical thinking and narrative skills.

This novel study resource not only aids in comprehension and vocabulary building but also encourages students to think critically and creatively about the story. It’s an ideal tool for teachers looking to enhance their English curriculum with interactive and thought-provoking activities related to The Magic Tree House series.

This English Language Novel Study on "Good Morning, Gorillas" PDF Printable Worksheets (3 slides) can be great for learners from 3rd grade to 6th grade to study this Magic Tree House Novel

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What's included

Two setting questions with writing lines: "Where does this novel take place?" and "When does this novel take place?"
Two numbered lists of ten blank entries each, running down the first page
Ten chapter boxes labelled Chapter 1 through Chapter 10, twelve ruled lines each, laid out two to a row
A postcard task: "Imagine to be with Jack and Annie, and you have just returned from an exciting adventure in the African Rainforest. Write a postcard to a friend or family member, describing your incredible experiences", with seven writing lines
An alternate-ending essay task asking students to "explore how different decisions made by the characters could have led to a completely different conclusion" and to explain how the new ending changes the story's message, themes and character development, with seven writing lines
A closing instruction to be ready to share the alternate ending with the class and discuss its effect on a reader

Resource types: Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

State where and when the story takes place, drawing both from the text
Summarise each of the ten chapters in turn, keeping each summary inside twelve lines
Write in role as a traveller returning from the story's setting, covering place, events, learning and feeling in a single short piece
Construct an alternate ending by changing a character's decisions, and explain the effect of that change on the story's message and themes
Present that alternate ending to the class and discuss how the change alters a reader's understanding of the story

Teaching tips

A copy of the novel is needed alongside the pages: none of the story's text is reprinted and every space is a response frame
The chapter boxes are printed two to a row, so a class reading a chapter a day can complete one box at a time without needing the whole sheet at once
Twelve lines per chapter is a fixed budget, which makes the summaries a useful exercise in cutting detail rather than retelling everything
The postcard task names four things to cover — the place, what was learned about gorillas, events witnessed and how the writer felt — so it can be marked against its own checklist
The alternate-ending task ends in a class share, so allow discussion time after the writing rather than collecting the essays straight in

Skills covered

Identifying setting — the opening two questions ask students to name where and when the novel takes place before any other work begins.
Chapter-level summarising — ten boxes, one per chapter and twelve lines each, require the story to be retold in sections rather than as a whole.
Writing in role — the postcard task puts the student alongside Jack and Annie returning from the African Rainforest and asks for a first-person account of the trip.
Descriptive writing — the same task calls for vivid description so that a reader feels present, and for the writer's own feelings, whether scared, excited or amazed.
Reasoning about cause and consequence — the essay task asks how different character decisions would have produced a different conclusion, and what that does to the story's message and themes.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

How much space does each chapter summary get?

Twelve ruled lines, in a box headed with the chapter number. The boxes run two to a row — Chapter 1 beside Chapter 2, Chapter 3 beside Chapter 4 — with Chapters 1 to 8 on the second page and Chapters 9 and 10 opening the third.

What do the two writing tasks ask for?

A postcard and an essay. The postcard is written as though the student has just come back from the African Rainforest with Jack and Annie, covering the place, what they learned about gorillas, events they witnessed and how they felt. The essay asks for an alternate ending built on different character decisions, with an explanation of how it changes the story's message, themes and character development, and ends in a class discussion.

What does a student need alongside these pages?

A copy of "Good Morning, Gorillas" itself. No text from the novel is reprinted anywhere in the set; every space is a frame for the student's own response, keyed to the book's ten chapters and its setting, so the pages are worked with the book to hand.